First Corinthians 2 Part 6 Progressive Revelation & the Doctrine Of Salvation

Guided by the Holy Spirit of God, Paul has been teaching us about the beautiful things our Father has ready for us to receive.

The Father sends His own Spirit to indwell each believer's heart, and He is our teacher and instructor in the scriptures. 

In our last post, we looked into the principles connected to the progressive revelation of God in the Bible.

Today, I would like to look as some examples of this with you. 

Genesis 3:1-3  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 

Before the fall of mankind into sin, Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect, uninterrupted communion with God. 

They did their chores regarding caring for the garden of Eden, and then enjoyed fellowship with their Creator at the end of each day.

One day the serpent appeared, and he is the embodiment of the Devil. Satan asked Eve if she was allowed to eat from any tree in the garden.

God made it very clear that they could eat fruit from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (See Genesis 2:15-17). 

God told them that if they ate fruit from that tree then they would die. 

Eve added to the command of God by telling the serpent they were not permitted to touch that fruit, but God did not say that.

Genesis 3:4-6  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Then, the serpent also added to the Word of God one simple, three letter word. 

He added the word "not" by saying "Ye shall not surely die" and this challenged the authority of God and changed the truth into a lie.

The grave error and a lesson for us to heed, is "Do not listen to a voice other than God's."

Eve listened to the serpents lying tongue and was deceived. She sinned and convinced Adam to eat the fruit.

Thus, all humanity was plunged into sin. God must judge sin and He held Adam and Eve to account for their sin. They died spiritually and physical death followed many years after their sin.

Adam began blaming God for making his wife and blamed her for enticing him to eat the fruit. Eve immediately blamed the serpent. 

Thus, spiritual life was taken from the first couple as shame and guilt took its place.

The beauty in this whole account is connected with the thread of redemption that is progressively revealed from Genesis through Revelation. 

Do not lose sight of the fact that God sought out Adam and Eve after they sinned. 

He is omniscient and knew that they had sinned and were hiding, but God sought them out in order to draw their sin out into the open, to lead them to restoration. 

This is why Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost (See Luke 19:10). Christ is the seed of the woman. 

God promised to send a Redeemer through the seed of the woman. 

Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

This promise is the beginning of the doctrine of salvation and the redemption of mankind. 

Not much detail is given at this point because it will be revealed in a progressive manner, here a little and there a little, line upon line.

An innocent substitute must die in the place of the sinner.

Genesis 3:21  Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 

At this point God did not reveal what kind of animal He sacrificed to cover the sin of Adam and Eve.

An animal was sacrificed because that is the only way to make coats of skins for Adam and Eve. 

Therefore, we have the further revelation of an innocent substitute dying in the place of the sinner. 

This also means that the animals blood was shed because "without the shedding of blood is no remission" (See Hebrews 9:22).

There is only one way of salvation and this is determined by Holy God.

Genesis 4:1-7  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2)  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3)  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4)  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5)  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6)  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7)  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 

Two sons, two offerings, two different results. 

Cain brought fruit of the ground as an atonement for his sins, but God rejected this offering. 

He told Adam and Eve how they could approach Him. They in turn taught their sons what they must do to be right with God.  

Cain did not obey and tried to approach God his own way. 

Abel did obey and his offering was accepted by God. 

This teaches us that there is only one way of salvation, one Savior of the world, and one hope for all mankind, Jesus Christ the Lord.  

Cain was very angry and God challenged him telling Cain that if he brought the right offering it would be accepted.

The progressive revelation of this particular doctrine adds more detail: Abel was a keeper of sheep and he brought one of his lambs to sacrifice as God had taught them to do. 

A lamb must die in the sinner's place, and its blood must shed as a covering for sin. 

We can begin making connections to Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (See John 1:29).

Salvation is by grace alone and faith alone. 

Genesis 6:1-8  And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2)  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3)  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4)  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5)  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6)  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7)  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8)  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 

Humanity continued its downward spiral into moral depravity right up until God flooded the world.

Like today, all mankind was consumed with fleshly lusts and wicked imaginations that led to committing vile sins.

God progressively reveals that salvation is by grace alone and faith alone. Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah. Noah believed what God said to him and he complied with His Word. 

God provided the ram to be sacrificed, foreshadowing the cross of Christ.

Genesis 22:1-14  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2)  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3)  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4)  Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 ) And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6)  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7)  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8)  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9)  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10)  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11)  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12)  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13) And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14)  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 

God reveals His doctrine of salvation progressively. In this account, God gave the clearest picture possible of salvation.

Abraham is asked to slay his own son Isaac upon Mount Moriah. This mountain is where the cross of Calvary was located, where Christ would die in our place.

The language used by the Spirit of God is most revealing. Abraham is to sacrifice "thine only son whom thou lovest."

These words were selected with care because they point us to Jesus Christ. 

The Father said of Christ "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased" (See Matthew 3:17).

Isaac knew exactly what they were going to do. He asked his father where the lamb was, Abraham's answer reveals more about the doctrine of salvation.

"My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Consider these words carefully. God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. 

God did provide a substitute for Isaac. However, God both provided the lamb to be offered and He is the Lamb Himself! 

Jesus is "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16) and "He is the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

The Passover Lamb pictures Christ and its blood must be applied.

Exodus 12:1-13  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2)  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3)  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4)  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5)  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6)  And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7)  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8)  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9)  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10)  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11)  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. 12)  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13)  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 

We move into the book of Exodus and find more detail about the salvation of God. The Passover Lamb is a clear picture of Jesus Christ.

The lamb must be without spot, without blemish or defects. No illness or disability was permitted. Why? Because Christ is the spotless Lamb of God, without any sin or spot or defect.

The whole congregation must kill the lamb. Why? Because it foreshadows the Jewish people being guilty of crucifying their Messiah. 

The blood of this lamb must be applied to the door posts and header of each home. Failure to apply the blood results in death!

This is a longer post, but necessary to begin looking at the doctrine of salvation progressively revealed.

We only made it into the second book of the Bible, but you can clearly see how God progressively reveals His truth.

I hope this is a great help to each of you as you study God's Word.

We will look at comparisons, contrasts and cross references as tools of the Holy Spirit to teach us the deep things of God. 

God seeks out the sinner.

God kills an innocent animal to cover Adam and Eve's sin. 

God commanded a sheep or lamb for a sacrifice.

God's salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone. 

God provided the perfect lamb and He is the perfect Lamb!

The Lamb must be perfect, without defects or disease and its blood must be applied or you will die.

Thus, in this short review of salvation, we see clearly the principle of progressive revelation at work. 

Bob