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The Plan of Redemption

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 15, 1909

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 15.

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The Plan of Redemption

By Nellie B. Leach

NELLIE B. LEACH
The sublime beauty and infinite wisdom of the plan of redemption are much obscured by the prevailing conception of it. That sin was unforeseen by God, that upon its entrance the sacrificial system was devised and given to the patriarchs, that this was perfected in the Levitical system, and finally, upon its failure, was succeeded by the present plan of redemption through Christ,—all this evolution is contrary to a true conception of God’s wisdom and knowledge.
God, knowing the end from the beginning, was not surprised at the entrance of sin. Before the earth was created, plans were laid to meet all that might occur to thwart God’s design in forming the earth. In Rom. 16:25, 26, we are told that the plan of redemption was “kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, . . . made known to all nations.” This is made clearer in the revised version, which substitutes the expression “through times eternal” for “since the world began.” Through times eternal the plan of redemption was kept as a secret between the Father and the Son; but when the world was created, and sin entered, it began to be revealed, first, to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, later through the scriptures of the prophets, and now unto us by both prophets and apostles.
The plan of redemption was necessary to save mankind. Sin, the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), had entered the world, bringing death in its train. Rom. 6:23. The condemnation of the broken law rested upon the whole race. The law could not be altered, for it was righteous (Ps. 119:172), perfect (Ps. 19:7), and a transcript of the character of God himself. The integrity of the law, the justice of God, and the redemption of man could be attained in but one way—the offering of a substitute for mankind, to obey the law which man transgressed, and to suffer the penalty that man merited. He alone could be the substitute for all mankind who was their creator,—Christ, the Son of God; none lower than he would be an equivalent for the race. Therefore “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The plan conceived by an infinite mind and actuated by divine love was, in its fulness, far above man’s comprehension; for as the result of sin man was so weakened in faith and mental grasp that he was like a child in comprehension. God therefore taught him by symbols, revealing all that man was able to perceive. By the simple sacrificial system, given through Adam, man’s faith was directed toward the great offering by which his salvation was assured. At first the instruction regarding sacrifices was given orally; then as men multiplied on the earth, more specific instruction had to be given, that the service might remain truly typical, unperverted by man’s faulty conceptions. The Levitical law as given through Moses perpetuated the sacrificial system prefiguring the offering of Christ until it should be made.
The teaching as given by these ceremonials to the children of Israel was the same gospel that Christ himself proclaimed: it recognized the authority of the same law, proclaimed the same penalty for transgression, and pointed to the same means of salvation. Only the method of presentation was different. There could be but one everlasting gospel,—there is salvation in no other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12. To the Hebrews Paul wrote: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Heb. 4:2. These children of Israel heard the proclamation of the gospel, but they failed in the same way that man ever has failed, by not receiving it by faith. Only a few had the faith of Abraham, to see the day of Christ and rejoice in it. John 8:56. The innocent lamb, whose life man sacrificed for his sin, truly represented the nature of Christ, of whom it has been said, “He was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as he deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which he had no share, that we might be justified by his righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was his.”
How far beyond human comprehension is the grace of God! In Rom. 3:25, 27, Paul speaks of this justification “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, . . . that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Thus the plan as formulated by God unites a provision for the broken law and man’s salvation with perfect justice. Had the law been kept, the doer would have been righteous, for the law is righteous; but none have obeyed; all are under the condemnation of the law. But the righteousness of God without the law is manifested in this plan of redemption,—the righteousness to which the law and the prophets bear witness that it is genuine, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Truly is the man blessed to whom the Lord will not impute sin! Then let us unite with Paul in the words of Rom. 1:16, 17: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Mount Vernon, Ohio.