The Gospel message

As we open Holy Scripture, we receive our first raindrop of the Gospel that will lead to an opening of the floodgates; “In the beginning, God…” (Gen 1:1a). God is the first and ultimate, the First Principle, or “Pure Being”. He has existed eternally and unbound by time and space. God created the universe and brings forth beings contingent on Him. These beings were not needed, but graciously created to be invited into the Trinitarian fellowship of glorification. The first man Adam, created for the glory of God, was deceived by the serpent, ultimately breaking his covenant with God, and plunging all of creation into sin. This descension changed our relationship with the Almighty Father. The Lord rebukes the first people and pronounces the curse upon them and upon creation. Humanity now stands condemned, under the wrath of a holy and righteous God. We see the thread of redemption begin as the Lord declares “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). For us, God leaves His testimony, faithfully recorded by His people. The salvation of God’s people comes through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Foretold through prophecy, the expected Christ came as the “Promised Seed” (Gal 3:16). Through His life and work, His passive and active obedience, Christ lived a perfect and sinless life, being both human and divine, therefore being our substitute. Through His sinless life, and finally death and resurrection, Christ has justified us. He has imputed His own righteousness upon us, declaring us clean and pure in front of the Father. We have received atonement through Christ as He has overcome the curse pronounced in Genesis. Through Christ, we receive our ultimate salvation. It is through repentance and faith in Christ alone that we receive atonement and are reconciled to our Father. Salvation is understood through the propositions and truths of the gospel, and a whole trust of those truths. By trusting these truths, we must recognize our sin nature, repent for our sin, and profess with our mouths and lives belief in the risen Lord Jesus. We are saved by faith in Christ alone, and we are saved for the glory of God.