God's Rescue Plan For Mankind.

“For God So Loved the World” Is the First Part of God’s Rescue Plan.

Jesus came so that, though we were guilty and tarnished by sin, we could receive forgiveness and pardon for all we’d done or will do. Because of Jesus, we can have peace with God the Father, be adopted as His child, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live, fully, in His freedom. Christ’s life and death were prophesied and the gift of salvation promised, from the beginning of time. Adam and Eve rebelled against their good, attentive, and faithful Father. They chose pleasure in the moment over the peace and joy of a relationship with God. They chose their will and their wants, over trusting and obeying their God, and in this, they tried to elevate themselves above the very Creator who had loved them so faithfully.

Jesus is not surprised by sin; He was there in the beginning, the second person of the Trinity, and after He was born incarnate of the virgin, Mary, He learned God's Word from an early age and kept it in His heart. In Genesis 3:15, He said, “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” (ESV).

 In this, God promised sin would not win; though a battle would rage between light and dark, between good and evil, Christ would ultimately prevail, and He did. He secured His victory through His death on the cross. Colossians 2:15 puts it this way, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities” of darkness “and put them to open shame, triumphing over them” (ESV). This allows all who believe in Christ to say, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting.’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57).

"For God So Loved the World" He Sent His One and Only Son to Save

God sent Christ for one reason only, and here’s why: “So that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” We receive God’s free gift of eternal life through faith, by believing Jesus is who He says He is—the sinless Son of God who paid for the world’s sins—and did what He said He did—died in our place to grant us entrance into eternity with Him. But to receive that precious gift, we must acknowledge we need it. That’s hard because it pricks against our pride. We often take great satisfaction in our achievements and knowing we’ve progressed solely through our own merits. But the Holy Spirit helps us realize the futility of our efforts; we cannot earn grace, but we can accept it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Crosswalk.