June 1, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:9 - God Had a Plan of Salvation Before Time Began

“…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” - 2 Timothy 1:9

God had a plan of salvation from the very beginning, before time had even begun. God called Moses to write the Law, and God called the prophets to prophesy of the coming Messiah, both of which pointed to His plan of salvation: grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus had given up His life on the cross after having been crucified and now it was three days later after He had risen from the dead, fulfilling what He had previously told His disciples. That same day as He had risen, there were two of His disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus and they were discussing all that had happened regarding Jesus. Jesus came to them, but they did not know it was Him, and asked them what they were talking about and why they were sad. They told Him that Jesus “was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” and told Him that the chief priests and rulers of the Jews had had Him crucified. They told Jesus, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.” They told Him about the women who had come to Jesus’ tomb earlier that day but did not find the body of Jesus and had seen a vision of angels who had told them that Jesus was alive. They told Him that some who were with them had gone to the tomb but did not see Jesus. That is why they were sad. Did you notice that they said they “were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel”? They had given up hope. Though they had heard and seen the things that Jesus had done, and yet, after He died and they didn’t see Him with their own eyes, they no longer believed that He was the One. They had given up hope. Their eyes were closed to the truth.

“Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

Can you imagine hearing Jesus explain to them all the Scriptures and prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to Him, the coming Messiah, who now had come, was crucified, died, and rose again? Let us recall some of these prophecies of Jesus:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…” (Deuteronomy 18:15)

“I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

As they came to the place they were going to, Jesus told them that He was going to continue walking but they asked Him to come and stay with them, and Jesus did. Jesus ate with them, and then the Bible tells us, “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.”

“Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:31-32)

I love how it says, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us.” We too can have that same feeling, that same longing for Him, that same assurance within our hearts when we read His word for ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. When I read from the Old Testament the prophecies of Jesus coming to earth to offer salvation for all who believe in Him, my heart burns, for I know deep within my heart that it is all true, every word of God, and it all points to Him, from Genesis to Revelation. These two men who walked with Jesus and listened to Him tell of the Scriptures that pointed to Him reminds me of the psalm,“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Though He is not physically here with me, His word is, and it guides me through my path in this life. His light reminds me that the darkness will not win, for He has overcome.

Let us read Psalm 2, which is profound in its prophecy of Jesus:

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed [Messiah], saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”’ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 2)

Are not the nations raging in our world today, and the world rulers, those who call themselves the “elite,” are plotting a vain thing? They believe that God does not exist and deny His Son Jesus Christ, and yet they believe themselves to be “gods.” They persecute those who believe in Jesus and call them fools for believing in His word, the Bible. This psalm tells us what will become of those who are against His Anointed, and it’s not going to end well for them. But for those of us who are in Christ, we are blessed because we have put our trust in Him; Jesus is our only hope.

Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was the plan from the beginning of time. God used the people He chose Himself - the Jews - to show mankind that no matter how perfect, no matter how “good” one might think he is, there is nothing we could ever, ever do that could redeem us from all our sins. The Law that God gave the Jews was to reveal to us the depths of our sinfulness and that it took the precious blood of His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to wash us clean of our sins to all who choose to believe, to put their trust, in Him. The Law revealed our sin and the Son redeems us of our sin, but we must first choose to believe in Him, Jesus our Redeemer. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send HIs Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in Him is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16-18)

The key word in this passage of Scripture is “believe.” God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to provide the way - the only way - for mankind to be saved from all its sin. However, as with any rescue mission, it is up to each and every one of us to decide whether or not we want to be rescued. If we are in a burning building and firemen come to take us out of the fire, it is our decision whether or not to remain in the fire or to escape from it. If we are drowning in an ocean and a lifeguard comes to us, extending his hand to us to pull us out of the depths of the sea, it is up to his to take his hand or to reject it. God gave us free will, with the decision of whether or not to believe in Jesus, resting on our shoulders. God wants all of us to be saved, but He won’t force us to believe. His offer of salvation is His love for you, personified by His Son Jesus Christ. Will you take His hand or will you reject it? No greater love was ever known than the love that Jesus has for us.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, the tGod has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10) ✝️