The Eternal Plan of God.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden He understood they would sin. God was not taken by surprise. God did not cause them to sin, He permitted circumstances to take their natural course. God had prepared salvation in His Christ before Adam and Eve sinned.

From the beginning God has planned to change man from a living soul to a life-giving spirit. The first creation is nothing more than a scaffolding for the true Kingdom of God. From the moment of its conception the first creation was destined to be tossed aside as a used garment.

Throughout history God has appeared to people and has spoken to them in various ways. At one point the giving of the Law of Moses was the greatest of all revelations of God's Person and way.

Then God brought forth His Lamb, Christ. The Lamb of God was slain in order to forgive and remove the sins of the whole world.

. . . God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing (ascribing) their trespasses unto them;... (II Corinthians 5:19)

. . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

We have been forgiven for eternity. Now let us begin the plan of redemption, of entering the Kingdom of God.

The current teaching is that the Christian salvation is the forgiveness of those who receive Christ with the intent of bringing them to Heaven to live forever in joy and peace.

This definition of salvation is partially correct but is so limited as to be misleading.

The Christian salvation is the transformation of the human being from a living soul into a life-giving spirit so he can glorify God and have fellowship with Him, and also serve in the various roles and tasks of the Kingdom of God.

The Christian salvation is not the forgiving of the living soul so the individual can go to another place.

The Christian salvation is the delivering of the individual from the bondage of sin. Salvation is not a change of place but of personality.

The sixth chapter of the Book of Romans is a description of the plan of redemption. The new covenant is summed up in the following words:

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)

What is our "old man?" Our old man is our first personality, the living soul. Our old man is our natural mind, our soul, our physical body, and our spirit; for even our spirit is unclean (II Corinthians 7:1).

What is the "body of sin?" The body of sin is the sinful nature resident in our natural mind, our soul, our physical body, and our spirit.

What happens to our "old man?" Our old man is appointed to death. He is crucified with the Lord Jesus. The crucifixion of our old nature marks the end of the adamic creation.

What is the purpose of slaying the old man? The purpose of crucifying the old man is that the "body of sin" may be destroyed.

What is the purpose of destroying the body of sin? It is that "we should not serve sin."

To be continued.