God’s plan for a savior is fundamental to His plan of salvation. Messiah, or “lit. ’the anointed one,’ is a saviour or liberator of a group of people”. We can read about the life of this Messiah, Jesus Christ, in the four Gospels. However, looking at God’s plan for a savior is another dimension all together.
Knowing that a savior came is important, but understanding how it fulfilled a plan for a savior through history shows God’s profound wisdom and sovereignty.
how Scripture answers "What was God’s plan for a savior?"
God’s plan for a savior literally began at the beginning1. The picture of this Messiah develops throughout history:
- (Creation; ~4,000BC) He would be born of a woman1, therefore human.
- (~2,000BC) He would come from Abraham2 and all people would be blessed by Him through His sacrifice3.
- (~1,500BC) He would be a prophet of God4 – speaking God’s words – and a Jew.
- (~1,000BC) He would come from David5 and establish an eternal kingdom and throne.
- (~700BC) He would be born of a virgin6 and his name would be “God with us”.
The gospels all confirm that the savior was born in the person of Jesus Christ7 in the first century – the exact right time. God’s plan for a savior was fulfilled in Jesus Christ who confirmed His own Kingship over an eternal, spiritual kingdom8.
the answer above is built on and footnoted with the following scripture-blocks
1
In the garden of Eden when God has discovered Adam and Eve’s disobedience. He pronounces judgment on the Tempter and shares the curses for both man and woman as a result of their disobedience.
God would provide an offspring from woman (a human) that would ultimately defeat Satan in spite of Satan wounding him.
2
Abram has just been introduced in the Bible narrative. Born of Terah in Ur of the Chaldeans and married to Sarai (11:31).
Genesis 12 begins accounting for a period known as the “Patriarchs”, or the “Patriarchal Dispensation”, beginning with Abraham. Approximately 2,000 years have passed since Creation (Genesis 1).
God promises Abraham an offspring that would form a great nation through which all people would be blessed.
3
Later, God tested Abraham by telling him to take his only begotten son Isaac, whom he loved, and sacrifice him on a mountain that He would tell him about in the land of Moriah.
The account of Abraham offering Isaac, where God stayed Abraham’s hand (vss 11-12) and it was “counted to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, Galatians 3:6, Romans 4:3, James 2:22-23).
The account of Abraham’s sacrifice of his only begotten foreshadows the Messiah’s sacrifice.
4
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
God is going to raise up a prophet to whom they should all listen.
God speaking to Moses before Moses’ death and the people enter the Promised Land. This verse, in particular, is quoted by Peter in his sermon in Acts 3:22 and referenced by Stephen in Acts 7:37, 52 – each of them in their full context interpreting this to be Jesus Christ.
Like Moses, he would be a prophet (spokesman of God) and Jewish.
5
In fact, we can plainly see this distinction in the very next verse (14): “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. [true with both Solomon and Jesus] When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, [true with only Solomon]”
God promised King David an offspring that would become king of an everlasting throne/kingdom.
6
With now more specificity of the promise made in the Garden of Eden1, God through Isaiah reveals the savior would be born of a virgin and called “Immanuel” (God with us).
7
The book of the lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The gospel of Matthew, recording the events of the life of Jesus with particular emphasis for the Jewish reader – including many prophetic interpretations.
Jesus was from the seed of David4 and Abraham2 before him.
8
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.
Jesus identifies himself as the King of a kingdom4 that is “not of this world” (e.g. spiritual, heavenly, eternal).
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…and if you’re wondering more about what we’re doing and why, here are some links we hope can help explain it (and maybe even get you excited about contributing):
- the Bible Study Framework and scripture-blocks
our format and the anatomy of a question
the Bible study standard that we follow
- our top four obstacles to letting scripture interpret scripture
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