Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day last week? Do you have Valentine’s Day keepsakes that are precious to you? If so, they are good markers or reminders of milestones in our relationships. Although I was never married, I was engaged on Valentine’s Day in 1994. I’ve forgotten many memories surrounding that relationship that ended before we were married, which was right. But that day stays with me as one of the most beautiful days in my life, as the pinnacle of my relationship with my fiancé. Another precious memory is the day I realized that Christ alone would give me the security and peace I longed for—Saturday, April 14, 1990. I have annual journals where I keep track of health issues and significant events in my life. I also have daily journals from 1999 that I’ve kept, either hand-written or computer-generated. Occasionally, I open one to see where I was spiritually since they are written to the Lord, not myself, with praises, thanksgiving, confessions, and supplications. God planned and executed the gospel as the culmination of his good, gracious, loving plan for sinful creatures in an immoral world from eternity past, continuously, into eternity future. We grow in our knowledge and conformity to the gospel if we are devoted followers of Jesus. Realizing that God is always at work helps us remember that the core expression of God’s love for us—the gospel. It’s his plan for the salvation and redemption of the world, which is underway and will reach its climax when Christ returns.
God’s Plan from Eternity Past
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4) “The revelation under the Old Testament is divine, as well as that under the New; in this they both agree, in whatsoever else they differ: and this revelation was made at several times, at different seasons, and to different persons; and consisted of a variety of things relating to doctrine and worship, and concerning the Messiah, his person and office; of whom, at different times, there were gradual discoveries made, both before and after the giving of the law, from the beginning of the world, or the giving forth of the first promise, and in the times of the patriarchs, of: Moses, David, Isaiah, and other prophets.” (1) Since we know that the gospel is the culmination of God’s loving plan for sinful creatures in a sinful world, how can we not delight in remembering and sharing God’s plan for our salvation and redemption of the world?
The Gospel Plan Confirmed
“The promise of blessedness God has made to believers is from God’s eternal purpose, settled between the eternal Father, Son, and Spirit. These promises of God may safely be depended upon; for here we have two things which cannot change, the counsel and the oath of God, in which it is not possible for God to lie; it would be contrary to his nature as well as to his will…The consolations of God are strong enough to support his people under their heaviest trials. Here is a refuge for all sinners who flee to the mercy of God, through the redemption of Christ, according to the covenant of grace, laying aside all other confidences. We are in this world as a ship at sea, tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. We need an anchor to keep us sure and steady. Gospel hope is our anchor in the storms of this world. It is sure and steadfast, or it could not keep us so. The free grace of God, the merits and mediation of Christ, and the powerful influences of his Spirit, are the grounds of this hope, and so it is a steadfast hope.” (2) “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself…so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:13, 18-20)
Great Gospel Love
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “God is the master of the understatement. Consequently, when he tells us that his love is great, he is telling us that it is so great that it goes beyond our own ideas of greatness or our own understanding. The Bible not only says that the love of God is great; it also says that it is infinite…God’s love is boundless and unfathomable…God not only tells us that his love is great and is infinite, he also tells us that his love is a giving love. This is the heart of John 3:16. How much does God love you? God loves you so much ‘that he gave his one and only Son’…The heart of the matter is that God loves in such a way that nothing you or I have done or will ever do will alter it…[Perhaps] You have believed in Christ, but the reality of that love has become distant for you and you have never fully realized that the love of Christ is to become the pattern of your love.” (3) But now is the time to rejoice in the gospel, God’s great plan for salvation.
Steady on in Gospel Grace
“Anchored in eternity means anchored in Jesus Christ…Some time ago I came across a little card upon which someone had printed John 3:16…The person looking at the card would read: ‘God (the greatest Lover) so loved (the greatest degree) the world (the greatest company), that he gave (the greatest act) his only begotten Son (the greatest gift), that whosoever (the greatest opportunity) believeth (the greatest simplicity) in him (the greatest attraction) should not perish (the greatest promise), but (the greatest difference) have (the greatest certainty) everlasting life (the greatest possession).’ And then over it all…was the title “Christ—the Greatest Gift.’ Jesus is the best God had to give. God so loved the world that he gave the very best…when God gave Jesus he gave himself. To give oneself is the greatest gift anyone can give…Jesus was a gift planned from before the foundation of the world. God had always intended to give Jesus…the Book of Revelation speaks of Jesus as ‘the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world’ (Rev. 13:8)…Consequently, before he even set the universe in motion, before he created us, he had determined to send Jesus Christ to die for the salvation of our race.” (4) The Lord planned and executed the gospel as the culmination of his gracious plan for sinful creatures in a sinful world.
“In Christ we have all the benefits of knowing God—chosen for salvation, being adopted as his children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God’s will, the hope of living forever with Christ. Because we have an intimate relationship with Christ, we can enjoy these blessings now.” (5) Do you have journals or notes in your Bible reminding you of how God has brought you into a more intimate relationship with him? We have been blessed, are being blessed, and will be blessed even more in eternity through the gospel. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6) “Should you not, besides reading the Bible, store your memories richly with the promises of God? You can recollect the sayings of great men; you treasure up the verses of renowned poets; ought you not to be profound in your knowledge of the words of God, so that you may be able to quote them readily when you would solve a difficulty, or overthrow a doubt? Since [Christ] is the source of all wisdom, and the fountain of all comfort, let it dwell in you richly, as ‘A well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.’ So shall you grow healthy, strong, and happy in the divine life.” (6)
Related Scripture: Leviticus 4:3; Psalm 2:6-9; Isaiah 2:2-3; John 7:29; 10:38; 12:47; Matthew 23:37; Romans 5:8; 8:32; Ephesians 2:4; 1 Peter 1:20; 1 John 3:1; 4:8-9, 14.
Notes:
1. Gill, John, John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Introduction to Hebrews 1, www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/hebrews-1.html
2. Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, Hebrews 6:11-20, www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhn/hebrews-1.html
3. Boice, James, Boice Expositional Commentary Series, John— John 3:16, Baker Books, Software version, 1998.
4. Boice, Ibid.
5. Wilson, Neil, Editor, The Handbook of Bible Application, Second Edition, Kindle Version, 2000
6. Spurgeon, Charles, Morning and Evening Devotions, February 21, Morning, Barbour Books, 2018.
February 22, 2024
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 