The Father & Son in the Plan of Salvation Part 1
The plan of salvation is a masterpiece from the mind of God. It involves the Father & Son working together to bring us back to God.
The Father & Son in the Plan of Salvation
In John chapter 6 verse 37 we read these beautiful words,
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
Jesus was a master at using terse, insightful phrases to capture the essence of eternal purpose. In less than 25 words Jesus communicates eternal sovereignty, eternal responsibility and eternal security all within the short confines of one verse.
John 6:37 contains the three parts of salvation: the Father’s part, the Son’s part and our part. Let us consider the Father’s part first. God the Father planned salvation. God the Father planned that all would come to Christ. That Christ would bear the honour and glory of salvation was the Father’s plan from all eternity. This plan is unstoppable. All the Jews, all the Gentiles, from all the epochs of time, will ultimately come to the Son. Not to Moses, not to Michael the highest angel, not even to Jehovah, that glorious name by which sinners were saved in Old Testament times, but to the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father.
Man’s Part in the Plan of Salvation
But not all will come. There is man’s part in salvation, too. Although mankind can do nothing to merit or earn salvation, they must do something in response to what God has done, or else they will not be saved.
The promise is stated in the simplest and clearest terms: “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” All have been given but one by one they must come. God has given to the Son all the oceans of humanity but to Him they must come one drop at a time.
So far we have discussed the Father’s part in salvation, and our part. Now let us discuss the Son’s part in salvation and revel in the goodness of the Son. In his own words, Jesus said, “the one who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” This can be interpreted stronger than it sounds. In Greek, the works “in no wise” come from a double negative, so we might translate it “I will never ever, in any way, cast out the one who comes to Me.”
Safe, Secure and Sheltered
The one who comes to the Lord Jesus is safe, secure and sheltered from God’s wrath and judgment upon the sin of this world, safe and secure from all alarms – never to be kicked out of God’s family for all time and eternity. Someone once said – I can’t remember who – that when we come to Christ and give him the key of our faith, He handcuffs His arm to ours, takes the key we give Him and swallows it, forever linking Himself to us in permanent security.
But someone will say to me, What if I don’t want to be saved anymore? Will God forced me to be saved against my will? First of all, you choose to be saved so God did not force Himself upon you. He does not force Himself on anyone. Secondly, God is greater than our fickle hearts. If when the going gets tough we want to jump ship because something happens to us that we did not expect or enjoy, God holds on to us through emotional storm we are facing.
Many ships have been lost travelling through the Bermuda triangle but none have been lost while travelling through life in the strong hand of the Saviour. If you wander astray, He will seek you and bring you back. If you fall into a deep ravine of doubt, underneath are the everlasting arms. If you sin against Him so badly you feel you can never come back, fear not, the Lord says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
To read part 2, click here.
Are you dealing with difficult questions in your life? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Shane Johnson
Shane Johnson has been commended from Bethel-Park Bible Chapel since 1999. He resides in Brantford, Ontario with his wife Shelly and his five children.
He has his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in History. His passions are teaching children, inspiring young people, writing, music and playing soccer.
Shane is a regular contributor to our Christian internet radio station, HopeStreamRadio through his programs entitled “Christ Up Close,” “Raising Fathers,” and “Proverbs – Wisdom For Fools.“
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