God's salvation plan - to infinity and beyond!

Last Updated: December 2018

Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest (Matthew 11: 28). These words of Jesus uttered 2000 years ago and recorded in the Bible could well have been written for today’s audience; such is their relevance. Yet, all around me I see folk striving, to be heard, to be seen, to belong. Such a basic yet powerful instinct, and one that is sadly exploited by those who hold power or desire to. What saddens me is how divided the church (i.e. the body of Christ; 1 Corinthians 12: 12, 27) still is, and how, not unlike the Pharisees of his day, many church leaders keep people away, who would otherwise receive him, by emphasizing and doggedly maintaining distinctions that the Head of the church - Jesus Christ - did not.

For example, the belief that Jesus is God and must be worshipped as such has become a key sticking point for many Jews and I dare say Muslims, who might be willing to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the One who points us to God, in his own words the only way to the Father (John 14: 6). And yet the (right) fear of committing idolatry by worshipping someone other than the living God - I AM (i.e. Yahweh from the Hebrew translation; see Exodus 3: 14) - has become an obstacle to so many, and one that today’s church does little to accommodate. Some may even go as far as labelling as heretics those who, like me, believe that it is enough to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father, the only means of salvation (Acts 4: 12) without forcing converts to Christianity to worship him as God (see John 17: 3; 1 Corinthians 15: 27-28). 

However, it is worth noting that we can distinguish the Spirit of God (aka Holy Spirit) by acknowledgment of the humanity of Jesus rather than his divinity: “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4: 2-3). This does not negate the divinity of Jesus but reinforces the point that it is his incarnation, the advent of ‘Immanuel’ - God with us - in the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible (Isaiah 7: 14; Matthew 1: 21-23), that sets us apart and unites us as his followers. 

Another hallmark of Christianity is love, particularly love towards the brethren or fellow believers (John 13: 34-35). This love is what is so desperately lacking in the church today and is probably why I (and countless others) do not currently attend a local church, despite its importance (see Hebrews 10: 25). You stop listening (and stop going in my case) when you realize they don’t really care about you. This lack of love inevitably leads to disunity as evident in the abundance of denominations ("divisions") in the church. Paul the apostle starkly writes in his letter to the church at Corinth: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1: 13). Of course not (Ephesians 4: 4-6)! I am thankful for the growing number of online churches that seek to address this problem (e.g. https://live.life.church/ and http://live.everyday.online/).

You’ve probably heard the saying hurt people hurt people. Crucially, hurt Christians hurt the cause of the gospel. A worldly mindset of ‘quid pro quo’ seems to have pervaded the church. Yes, we are called to serve, to use our gifts for the good of the church body (Ephesians 4: 12; 1 Corinthians 12: 7), to exercise discernment (Acts 17: 10-11; 1 Corinthians 10: 23; 1 John 4: 1) and church discipline where necessary (Matthew 18: 15-17; 1 Corinthians 5: 7-13), but love must govern all that we do (1 John 4: 8; Colossians 3: 14; Philippians 2: 1-4; Romans 12: 9-10; 1 Corinthians 13). Furthermore, I detest the insidious practice of "mental reframing" (mind control) that I have encountered, whereby truth is often reinterpreted and people are increasingly not free to think for themselves, and not free even to choose who they share their thoughts with. This is not biblical (John 8: 32, Galatians 5: 1; 2 Corinthians 3: 17).

Instead of trying to control and manipulate others, the gospel of Jesus Christ (Christianity) exhorts us to forget all about ourselves and to look outwards, to live for God and for others This truly involves receiving a new nature (2 Corinthians 5: 17): being "born again". What is required of the church today to see a move of God in our times? A return to its first love. To hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5: 6). To be like Jacob as he wrestled with the angel saying "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32: 26. In the words of Bishop Paul S. Morton, “Lord, whatever you’re doing in this season, Don't do it without me”. This must be our heart’s attitude and cry.

After a weekend of listening to old school tracks including 2Pac’s greatest hits, I found myself playing the song ‘Unconditional Love’ over and over again. And it suddenly hit me that what really matters is not perfectionism but loving and being loved unconditionally (Matthew 22: 35-40). I can’t believe God just used 2Pac to minister to me - how cool! I am reminded of the words I spoke at my baptism in October 2013: “I am most thankful for God’s love that draws me close when others would seek to push me away”. We are called to love one another not because of what we have to offer, but because we have intrinsic value and worth. However, in an age of relativism, the biblical teaching of love is not an excuse to break God's commandments. Naturally, if you love someone, you want to please them and in the Bible, love and obedience are inextricably linked (1 John 5: 3). God has demonstrated His unconditional love for us all by his abundant provisions in nature and in his Son (Romans 5: 8; 1 John 4: 10). The ability to love like this comes from God and is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in us who believe (Romans 5: 5).

The realization that Jesus Christ is more than just a man, that he is both the sinless, sacrificial Lamb of God and Lord, is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (John 16: 8, 13-15), and should not be exploited by those that seek to impose Christian values and beliefs on others for their own ends (e.g. slave owners using Christianity in order to control slaves whom they oppressed and maltreated). That is NOT true religion (James 1: 27). Jesus was himself very critical of those who raise barriers and prevent people from following him and thereby knowing God (Mathew 23: 13). Instead, they are more concerned about being right or plugging their books from the pulpit, than leading people to a true knowledge of God and glorifying Him (Ephesians 1: 10; 3: 9-10), and put restraints on people that not even Jesus did (John 3: 16-17; 8: 10-11; Luke 9: 55-56), nor did the apostles (Romans 14: 13, 17-18; Acts 15: 10, 28-29, read the whole chapter for context).

I often wondered why my relationship with Jesus was not “as close” as my relationship with God the Father. I understood from Scripture that Jesus has reconciled me to the Father by his redemptive work on the cross and therefore I reasoned that this was the way it ought to be (2 Corinthians 5: 18; John 16: 23). It was only recently (March 2018), after watching a Kensington Temple Sunday service online about the work of the Holy Spirit, that it suddenly clicked: I do have a strong relationship with Jesus after all, through his Spirit (Romans 8: 9). Jesus is no longer physically present but abides with his people through the Holy Spirit (John 14: 16-20). Being born again i.e. born of the Holy Spirit (John 3: 3-6; Luke 11: 13) has revolutionized my Christian walk, so much so, that I wonder how I coped before. And now, throughout Scripture, I see Jesus. In Abraham and his seed, I see Jesus. In the exodus and the Passover, I see his blood as the Lamb of God (John 1: 29; Matthew 26: 28). In the temple, the priesthood and sacrifices, there he is (John 2: 19-22; Romans 12: 1). In the law and the prophets, I hear him say, “It is accomplished” (John 19: 30). I see him lifted up in the gathering of people from all walks of life at a church service (John 12: 32).

There are three persons of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son (aka Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1: 15-17; 2: 9; Ephesians 4: 4-6). The way I think of it is like H₂O, the chemical symbol for water. Water can be in three forms: solid (ice), liquid or gas (steam), distinct and yet essentially the same. In John 5: 22-23, Jesus speaks of himself saying “the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” Revering Jesus does not detract from true worship of God because the Father has exalted the Son to this status and this brings (or should bring) glory to God (Daniel 7: 13-14; Philippians 2: 9-11). At the coronation of Solomon, king David’s son, Benaiah son of Jehoiada said to the king, “As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and may He make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!” (see 1 Kings 1: 32-37). The footnote in my Stone’s edition of the Tanach explains that “this wish is an illustration of the dictum that a father is not jealous if his son surpasses him. To wish that Solomon become greater than David was not disrespectful; it was an expression of David’s own hope.” Isn't it therefore possible that God the Father is not dishonoured when people worship his Son Yeshua (Jesus)? There is no competition in the Godhead (John 10: 30). 

I happen to believe that Jesus is the Spirit of God inhabiting a human body, the seed of both Abraham and King David (in accordance with God's covenant promises), a man through whom the Holy Spirit could work powerfully, unlimited, unrestricted by sin (John 4: 24; 1: 32-34; John 3: 34; Hebrews 4: 14-15; 2 Corinthians 5: 21). One day, I was wondering how Jesus could be descended from King David if Joseph was not his biological father (Matthew 1: 18), when a still, small voice prompted me to use a search engine (no joke!). I quickly discovered that, besides conversion, Jewish identity is determined through maternal lineage i.e. if your mother is Jewish, then you are too ('Why is Jewishness matrilineal?'; Chabad.org). We know from gospel accounts that Joseph, Mary's husband, was of the house of David but not only did Mary, the mother of Jesus, subsequently marry into the house of David (Matthew 1: 19-25), based on her kinship to Elizabeth (Luke 1: 5 & 36-40), she was also highly likely from the tribe of Judah herself and so descended from David. Why does all this matter? Well, according to prophecies of Scripture, the Messiah would be a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23: 5; Isaiah 11: 1-2 & 59: 20-21). There is therefore no conflict between serving Jesus and the commandment to worship one God! In fact, I have found that faith in Jesus gives me peace from life's insecurities, because my mistakes and failings do not disqualify me from coming to him and laying down my burdens (1 John 1: 9; Hebrews 4: 16).

This raises another important question - do people of different faiths and religious beliefs all serve the same God? I have come to the conclusion that we do not, simply because the God Christians serve is Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3: 6; Matthew 22: 31-32). For example, in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, interfaith marriage is common. There is a popular belief that Muslims and Christians serve the same God albeit with different names. However, Yahweh is not the same as Allah because Yahweh established his covenant with Abraham through Isaac and his descendants (Genesis 17: 7, 18-21) but Muslims trace their lineage through Ishmael (Genesis 25: 12-16). If you are a Christian, you could simply respond by saying, ‘I serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, do you?’ Similarly, you can say this to a Jewish person and then add that you believe Y'shua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ in Hebrew) is God’s ‘Messiah’ (Messiah is the Jewish word for Christ, a title meaning ‘anointed one’).

As well as being a spiritual book (2 Timothy 3: 16), the Bible is also a historical book. The Jewish gospel writer Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus Christ, in order to demonstrate his descent from Abraham’s seed Isaac (see Matthew 1: 1-17) as well as King David (see 2 Samuel 7: 16; Isaiah 9: 6-7). Remarkably, “the Bible includes 66 books by 40 authors, written over 1,500 years, in three languages on three continents, and yet there is one consistent theme: the glory of God in the salvation of humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel” (excerpt from Our Amazing Bible Passport, Charles R. Swindoll). I find this extremely reassuring. It’s the difference between the credibility of revelation given solely to one man in a desert or to multiple people separated by time and space who each hold a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, the mystery of the gospel that has now been made known, namely to unite all things under Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1: 10) and so through him the Gentiles (non Jews) can become God’s covenant people together with Israel (Ephesians 3: 6; Joel 2:32; Matthew 26: 28; Romans 11: 25-27; Acts 10: 34-35).

So, whenever we commemorate the life of Jesus Christ, let us remember that the gospel is good news for all people, in keeping with God’s promise to Abraham, the father of many nations (Romans 4: 16-17; Genesis 12: 1-3; 15: 5-6; 17: 4-5; 22: 16-18; Revelation 22: 16-17). I am reminded of the song 'Whosoever Will' by Marvin Sapp, which nicely sums up this message.


[This post is still a work-in-progress.]