The Undeniable Logic in God's Salvation Plan

Therefore, let us begin, and to do that, we shall start at the top, which in this case is the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In considering such an event, recall from the previous chapter that Mary and Joseph were either newlyweds or soon to be married when it was discovered that she was already with child! Also recall that Joseph, not being the father, had planned to quietly vacate the scene and have nothing more to do with his pledged wife. However, before he could proceed with that idea, the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and revealed the remarkable Plan of God. As a result of that special revelation, Joseph stayed with his wife, and together, they brought Jesus into the world and gave Him His earthly home. This is quite a story! But is it really believable?

Critics would read the verses in the Gospel of Matthew which describe this account and immediately argue that a virgin birth is absurd. And who can blame them? If someone came to any of us today and said that he or she had been born of a virgin, we too would look at the person strangely and then quickly reject the whole notion. The reason that we would so rapidly object or disapprove is simple. Being born of a virgin is no small feat! Apart from what I understand about the Bible, I cannot even begin to know how something like that might have happened. Yet, according to Scriptures, it really did occur once, and I believe the story, just as it is presented in the Bible! No one can explain this miraculous event medically, but that is alright because medical explanations to accomodate the actual workings of the Lord are not necessary. Fortunately, no one has placed upon us the burden to understand how, and none of us will ever be required to present a medical dissertation on how one can be born of a virgin. Instead, all we really have to do is believe!

In considering one's belief of the virgin birth, a key point about all of this is worth mentioning. It is that God did not cause His Son to be born of a virgin just so that we and others would have something exciting and unusual to talk about. Behind every work of the Lord, there is always a sound, plausible explanation. He does not do anything just to be doing, and the same is true concerning the virgin birth. In his book, A Ready Defense, Mr. Josh McDowell shares some interesting observations about the virgin birth [2]. First, in quoting a letter to the early Ephesian Church written by a man named Ignatius, the elder author had shown that this virgin birth belief was widely held within the Church, even as far back as the Second Century. To complement that fact, Mr. McDowell adds three additonal reasons why the virgin birth "might have" actually happened.

The first is fairly simple! On one occasion, Jesus spoke to a crowd and told them that He had existed earlier in time, even before their patriarchal Father Abraham. The occurrence of that event was recorded by the Apostle John, in John 8:58. In another case, which is recorded in Philippians 2:7, the earlier existence of Christ is again implied as this verse written by the Apostle Paul talks about Jesus as having existed prior to His physical birth. Consequently, since both of these verses support the idea that Jesus had lived before He was physically born, then the need for Him to have been "created" a second time through the normal processes of reproduction would not have existed. Therefore, a virgin or non-conception type of birth would have been totally appropriate.

A second reason for the virgin birth, as pointed out by Mr. McDowell, is that the ancestry of Joseph would have prevented Jesus from having legal rights to the throne of David. In fact, it would have been a contradiction of Scriptures for Joseph to have actually been the father of Jesus! In Jeremiah 22:28-30, the Prophet Jeremiah wrote that no one from the line of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim and grandson of Josiah, would ever prosper, nor sit on the throne of David. Because of his evil deeds, King Jehoiachin had had this specific curse placed on him and his descendants by God. None of them could ever be King! In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter One, the genealogy of Joseph is presented. In Verse Eleven of that account, Joseph is shown to be a direct descendent of this same man, Jehoiachin, only in that account the former evil King is called Jeconiah and is listed as the son of Josiah. As a result of this direct lineage, no offspring of Joseph could have ever had a genuine, recognized claim to the throne of David.

In Matthew's record of Joseph's ancestry, though, one will note that one of the ancestors is omitted, namely the man named above as Jehoiakim who had been shown by Jeremiah to be the actual father of Jeconiah. Matthew, for some reason, purposely left Jehoiakim out, thus making the trail a little more difficult to follow. Nevertheless, despite this slight modification, the line of descent from Josiah to Jehoiakim to Jehoiachin to Joseph is still the same. One can read Jeremiah 22:18-30 and see the curse of God as it is actually placed on Joseph's family. Yet, for the sake of the critics and also for another example of a slightly modified ancestral chain, one can also read I Chronicles 3:15-19 and Matthew 1:11-12 to verify or qualify Matthew's tricky technique for reporting genealogies. In reading those two verses, one will note that Matthew also went from grandfather to grandson in another case, that time when he identified Zerubbabel as the son of Shealtiel in Verse Twelve of Matthew, Chapter One. In the parallel account from I Chronicles, Shealtiel's actual son and Zerubbabel's actual father, Pedaiah, is listed, but in Matthew, Chapter One, he is not.

Nevertheless, a person should not be alarmed by this unusual technique for listing a genealogy because Matthew might have been intentionally trying to show a consistent fourteen generations from Abraham to David, another fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and a final fourteen generations from that exile to the birth of Christ. See Matthew 1:17! To make his accounting work, he might have simply left out some of the lesser important individuals. Such a process is less factual, but it might have made for easier reporting, as well as easier learning for young Jewish children! Frequently, children are taught based on simple relationships. And it probably would have been simpler to teach them about these ancestors if they could have begun by only having to think about a constant fourteen generations between each of the above Jewish events, namely the birth of Abraham, the birth of David, the Babylonian exile, and the birth of Christ. Another possibility is that Matthew did not name both son and father if the son had died first. For example, in the above cases, Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, might have passed away before Josiah, and Pedaiah, son of Shealtiel, might have passed away before Shealtiel. Thus, these individuals who died first would not have been used in the Matthew accounting because the grandfather would have taken the father's place as father. Again, such a process is less factual, but it would have made for easier reporting, plus kept the generation span between each of the major Jewish events at fourteen.

The first two reasons offered for the virgin birth show the level of sophistocation and forethought associated with God's Plan. Critics, of course, would say that the Bible is full of errors and that Jesus was not born of a virgin. But for a moment, consider the above two reasons for Christ's remarkable entry into life! First, since He had existed prior to His physical birth, He did not require birthing through normal reproduction. This seems reasonable! Second, He could not have been descended from Joseph because God had already put a curse on that line of descent. This explanation also seems reasonable. So, without trying to prove or disprove the merit of either of those arguments, put yourself into the role of the critics and consider whether or not their claims against the virgin birth are actually valid!

For the critics to be correct, Matthew would have had to figure out that Jesus did not need to be born like other humans. He also would have had to deduce that the cursed line of descent in Joseph's family would be a good avenue for deception or for a general fooling of the masses. Similarly, Jeremiah who had originated his work about Joseph's family hundreds of years before Matthew was even born, plus Isaiah, who in Isaiah 7:14, had also prophesized the same miraculous virgin birth several hundred years before the time of Matthew, would both have had to initiate this whole deception within their common passages well in advance of the actual event. Thus, my question is simple.

I know that people would be devious enough to plot such a scheme. But does anyone really think that all of these guys, hundreds of years apart, would have been smart enough to have actually cooked up such an incredible story? I do not because the rational mind in trying to plot this hoax would have, from the start, viewed the whole idea of a virgin birth as too unbelievable! Stories of this magnitude are at the level of Hollywood in the Twentieth Century, not Bethlehem during the time of Christ. In fact, I do not believe that the virgin birth would have even occurred to someone as simpleminded as the Apostle Matthew. Yet, in addition to these first two explanations for Christ's incredible and miraculous entry into this life, there is still one more very valid reason for the virgin birth. And I do not believe that Matthew and company would have been able to come up with this one, either.

The third reason for a virgin birth is that, for God's Plan to work, sin could not be found in Jesus, a concept which carries us back to Confrontation Number Two in the Garden of Eden. Recall from Chapter Five that Adam was charged by God with direct disobedience! Note also that all humanity has inherited from him that same trait to sin against the Lord! Just like the child who tends to mix and match different physical characteristics from his or her parents, such as eye and hair color, facial features, and so on, each human born of Adam automatically receives or inherits this same tendancy found in the first man to sin. We all have it, and that is why and how the Bible maintains that all are sinners. See Romans 3:23! But for God's plan to work, Jesus could not be like all the others. He had to be different. He had to be sinless. Yet, if He were going to be without sin and not possess that same automatically inborn characteristic to commit sin, then it was absolutely imperative that He not be born of sinful man!

This final explanation for the virgin birth is obviously the most important. The first reason, that is that Jesus had already existed, is an interesting discovery but not one which is very critical to His work on earth. Similarly, the second explanation, which addressed the curse on Joseph's ancestry, is equally fascinating, but it does not really mean that Jesus even had to be born of a virgin. This latter fact actually only shows that Joseph could not have been the father. Yet, the third reason, which is that the sin trait found in Adam passes to all humans through the seed of the man, meant that God's only begotten Son could not be brought into this world by the traditional method of birthing. He had to be born differently. He could not have been the son of "any earthly" man! Thus, His unique virgin birth, or more accurately, virginal conception, was not done just for show. His birth, exactly like everything else which has already been discussed concerning God's Plan, maintained a particular place in that overall, comprehensive, all-inclusive Plan. And without that place, God's Plan would not have worked!

However, while this unique entry into life solved the problem of getting around the inherited capacity for disobeying God, it presented two different obstacles which required solutions. First, how could Jesus be born of a virgin and still be considered of the House of David? Second, how could He have experienced this very different type of birth and still have had a legal right to the throne? The answer to the first question is through His mother, Mary. He could claim to be of the House of David because she, like Joseph, was herself of the House of David. Joseph had been a direct descendant of Solomon, while Mary had come from another of King David's sons, this one being a man named Nathan. See Luke 3:31 for Mary's ancestral link to David! The Bible speaks of this latter son in II Samuels 5:14 and again in Zechariah 12:10-14, thus clearly showing Christ's Davidic heritage. The answer to the second question is simple inheritance. Though Jesus was only like a stepson to Joseph, Jewish Law viewed Him as a legal son, One who would also be able to inherit the right to the throne. Thus, how convenient and at the same time how ironic that God's Word would have been contradicted had Joseph been the actual father! Yet, through something as basic as a stepson's right to an inheritance, Jesus could still lay claims to the throne of Israel without violating prophesy.

Consequently, the reason that the virgin birth is a doctrinal truth should be clear. Mainly, because of the third explanation provided above, God's Plan of Salvation required it. Jesus had to be born of a virgin so that the capacity to sin would not be passed to Him by birth! But what happens to that individual who wants to come to the Lord, yet does not know or understand this vital truth? Must one really know and understand this and the other doctrinal truthes to receive Christ? I would answer that question in the negative and say no! Based on my study, I do not find any evidence to show that God directly penalizes ignorance or a basic lack of understanding in this regard. He does punish rebellion, but He does not seem to punish that individual who simply lacks basic knowledge. Instead, He teaches the person who wishes to learn so that that person can then rise up out of his or her particular type of spiritual darkness.

Therefore, relative to a person's being accepted or not being accepted by God based on their knowledge of a virginal birth, my opinion is that nothing negative happens. While being highly important to God's Plan, failing to know about the virgin birth does not prevent one from coming to the Lord. On the other hand, though, knowing about but not being willing to accept His special birth is an entirely different matter! If one knows about yet refuses to believe in the virgin birth, then such evidence probably suggests that the person has not really accepted the Lord!

The rationale for making such a statement is based on John 16:12-15. In that passage, the Apostle John wrote:

Based on the above words by the Apostle John, a man whom we can trust, Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would guide them in matters of spiritual truth. He told them that the Holy Spirit would ensure that they would understand all that they needed to know. Plus, according to the Lord, the Holy Spirit would specifically teach them about Him. Earlier in this work, the importance of the indwelling Holy Spirit was emphasized and shown to be something which happens when one receives Christ as Savior.

Hence, in my opinion, any person who lacks the indwelling of the Holy Spirit might easily get hung up on the idea of a virgin birth and have difficulty believing such a thing. After all, the occurrence of such a strange type of birth really does defy everything that most of us ever see and experience. For the Christian, however, one of the signs of an indwelling Spirit is that that individual will be able to accept certain spiritual truthes, even though those truthes might have, at some other time, been totally unacceptable. On our own, none of us is capable of really believing that Jesus was born of a virgin. I am not, and you are not! But with the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside, guiding us and teaching us all of the doctrinal truthes about the Lord, each of us should be able to accept even that which once did not make complete sense and also that which is not easily understood. If a person were required to believe either this or any other doctrinal truth as an upfront condition for receiving the Lord, then most or all of us would probably never make it. However, once we have gained the Holy Spirit, a belief in such truthes is not so difficult!

The next doctrinal truth to be examined is the sinless life of Christ. Like the virgin birth, this characteristic, too, is doctrinal because it is vital to God's Plan. Also like the virgin birth, one cannot readily believe or accept this fact of Christ's perfection without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Recall from the discussion in the previous chapter that Jesus was brought into this life to be our sacrifice, a sacrifice which was described throughout that dialogue as Confrontation Number Five. However, part of the concept of the Old Testament sacrifice, as stated in Leviticus 5:17-19 and elsewhere in that Book, was the requirement imposed by God for the offering to be firstborn, spotless, and without blemish. One would typically consider such an animal to be the best of the flock, and this is exactly what God demanded in the case of our sacrifice!

Jesus was described in an earlier discussion as the sacrifice for sinful, lost humanity, and in passing, references and comments have been made to and about His life without sin. Therefore, the connection between the two should be obvious! If He were going to offer Himself or be offered on our behalf, then He would have to meet His Father's strict standards. He would have to be firstborn, without spot, and without blemish. According to Scriptures, He met all of those qualifications and filled the bill. In I John 3:5, we are told that He took away or paid the debt for our sins, also that He, Himself, was without sin. In I Peter 2:22. The Apostle Peter wrote that Jesus did not commit any sin. In fact, He never even spoke in a manner which would cause Him to transgress God's laws. That alone, given normal human nature, was quite remarkable! Of course, Jesus was not a normal human. He was and He is God's only begotten Son. In another example, the writer of the Book of Hebrews, who was probably the Apostle Paul, called the Lord our High Priest and described Him as the sinless one who could easily empathize with sinful humanity. Accordingly, the author wrote:

The Lord's sinless life was even acknowledged by His enemies. In the Gospel of Luke, that writer shared the remarks of Pontius Pilate, the man who eventually appeased the crowd and ordered our Lord to the cross. After a careful interrogation of the prisoner, Pilate concluded that Jesus had not done anything wrong. So, to this end, the following is recorded:

According to this passage, the people wanted Jesus to be killed. They had been incited by the Jewish High Priests and been made to see the Lord as a blasphemer and heretic. But as is shown in Mark 14:55-56, those claims by His accusers were false! The witnesses against Him could not even agree on their own testimony. Hence, the whole ordeal of His trial from start to finish had been nothing more than a mockery of justice and right. Yet, the High Priests prevailed, and Jesus was nailed to the crucifixion cross.

At this point, an earlier comment is worth noting again. As Jesus was being led away to be beaten, scourged, and crucified, the devil probably thought that he had finally won. But he was wrong! He was most likely focussing only on the single event of Christ's death, rather than seeing the big picture of God's whole, well-conceived Plan, a Plan in which Jesus was actually "supposed to die" as our sacrifice. If Jesus had not been born of a virgin, then this plan would have failed because He would have carried the "sin" trait within His Person. If Jesus had at any time during His life committed even one sin, no matter how big or small, then this Plan would have failed because He would not have been our spotless sacrifice, without blemish.

In all points, Father and Son brought to pass each key element of God's agenda so that the entire Plan could work. They did not leave out or miss a thing! So, the Plan went exactly according to plan, meaning that when the devil might have been feeling great excitement over an anticipated victory, his celebration, if anything, was premature. As Jesus uttered his final words from the cross, "It is finished" (see John 19:30), the sacrificial offering was complete, and the devil was defeated, once and for all. The Apostle Paul efficiently summed up the whole matter when he penned the following account:

The name of the game in this situation was reconciliation. Because of Christ's selfless work on the cruel Roman cross, each individual can be reconciled to his or her Maker, but it is important for all of us to realize that we do not accomplish this on our own. It is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ, Who was and Who is the true sacrificial Lamb of God, that we can obtain real, lasting peace with God. Moreover, this conclusion is the ultimate spiritual truth for which all humanity yearns.

The third doctrinal truth to be considered is the sacrificial death of Christ. Much has already been shared about the Lord, particularly about His being our sacrificial Lamb and His having to die on our behalf. In that regard, Jesus taught His disciples that the time was near:

The statement has already been made several times and is clearly verified again by the above passage. Jesus knew His role in God's Plan. He knew that He was here to die. He knew that He would be poorly treated by His own. And He knew that His death would be by way of the cross. Yet, nowhere in Scriptures or secular history is there any evidence to show that He ever questioned or challenged His part. In fact, if anything, the exact opposite is true. All records show that He freely gave Himself so that He could be sacrificed on our behalf.

That being the case, only one point of interest remains concerning Christ's death, and that is, why the cross? Why was Jesus crucified? Did He have to be killed in that way, or would any kind of death have done? The answer to these questions comes from Numbers 21:4-9, where Moses wrote:

As one reads through the writings of Moses, it becomes clear that the children of Israel stumbled frequently. On the particular occasion cited above, the Lord had sent poisonous snakes into their camp. Many people were being bitten, and many were falling dead, right in their tracks.

So, to respond to that specific crisis, Moses made a passionate plea to the Lord, and God instructed him pertaining to a truly unique method for dealing with the situation. He told Moses to mount a bronze serpent on the top of a pole. Then, if any person upon being bitten would just look at the snake on the pole, he or she would be spared. There was obviously not any magic in looking at that figure on a pole. To the best of my knowledge, such an action did not carry any special medicinal benefits, not even in those days! However, according to Scriptures, the amazing remedy worked, and all were pleased. But the reason everything worked, in my opinion, is actually very simple. Yet, it had nothing or very little to do with the snake on a pole. To put that whole incident into the proper spiritual perspective, one must recognize that God had offered a particular solution. When the people obeyed Him, that is by looking at what many would have considered a silly figure on a pole, then the outcome was highly favorable. In short, the people stopped dying!

The same favorable outcome is possible today when one thinks of God's current Plan for dealing with the sins of mankind and womankind, only instead of a bronze serpent on a pole, it is now Jesus on a cross. This time, we look in faith to Him and accept His finished work, and the result is that we automatically become partakers in God's amazing Salvation Plan, just like the Israelites in the wilderness those many years ago when they looked at a bronze snake on a pole. And while looking to Christ on a cross might to many seem silly, this is God's Plan! And it is a Plan which works! According to John 3:14-15, Jesus' being lifted up on the cross was a symbol of the bronze serpent being mounted on top of a pole, and the purpose for both acts was to bring all of those who had, and who have, strayed back to God:

Today, many critics reject the writings of Moses. They also reject God's Salvation Plan. But anyone should be able to examine the above two passages in context and see the connection. For each piece of God's Plan, there is a spiritual basis. Hence, recall an earlier statement which still applies. Behind every work of the Lord, there is always a sound, plausible explanation! God has not done anything just to be doing. He is incredibly efficient, and He has a purpose for everything.

Hence, the cross is a picture of Moses in the desert with the children of Israel. Yet, in addition, the cross paints still another ugly picture which everyone needs to know. This other picture is one which shows the real horror of Christ's death! As He was suspended in midair, nailed to His crucifixion tree, this manner of death portrayed the Son of God as being off the ground, while at the same time being under Heaven. Thus, the obvious implication is one of a dual rejection, rejected both by God above and also by man below. In Matthew 27:46, Jesus uttered from the cross with a broken heart, asking His Father why He had been forsaken. Jesus knew the answer, but under the pain and agony of the moment, plus probably for the benefit of others to hear, He had to ask. Consequently, it was at that precise moment that God was purposely turning His back on His only begotten Son, openly rejecting Him because He had taken on our sins. As our sacrifice, Christ bore our sins, and in so doing, He freely paid the penalty of those sins for each of us, each of us as individuals. The conclusion, then, is that the first three doctrinal pieces of this Plan fit like a tight glove, as they indicate the first three necessary elements for the Plan to work - Jesus as the virgin born sacrifice, Jesus as sinless perfection, and Jesus as dying on the cross, rejected both by Heaven and by Earth.

Was Christ's death on the cross significant? The answer is yes, as that specific action showed symbolically and physically the seriousness of sin. Not only that, but the discovery about the significance of His manner of death leads to the fourth doctrinal truth, a truth which pertains to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As was seen in Chapter Three of this book, His being resurrected showed first that He is Lord and second that His ministry was approved by God. Both are important! But then in that same chapter, toward showing the validity of the actual Resurrection, some solid evidences were presented. Yet, critics of Christ's Resurrection would still respond by denying the credibility of such evidence. Someone like Mr. Hume, for instance, who also was discussed earlier, would find fault with those who claimed to have seen the risen Lord, saying that those people did not actually understand what they were seeing. Other critics would simply ignor the fact of the Resurrection along with the supporting evidences and then casually dismiss the whole event by saying that someone being raised from the dead is not realistic, not reasonable, and certainly not logical!

I would quickly disagree with people like Mr. Hume because making a broad generalization about all people who have either experienced or seen a miracle is, in my mind, not using good judgment. One person cannot readily tell another about what he or she has experienced or seen, especially when the two individuals are far removed and separated by so many centuries. I would not, however, be as quick to disagree with those critics who find the Resurrection too amazing to be plausible. In my opinion, the Resurrection just like the first two doctrinal truthes really is unrealistic! The Resurrection also is unreasonable! And it is certainly illogical! Nevertheless, I do believe and do accept the biblical account of the Lord's bodily Resurrection. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I can accept this doctrinal truth, even though it, like the other doctrinal pieces of this puzzle, is too amazing to be plausible! Because I accept the virgin birth and the sinless life of Christ, along with His sacrificial death on the cross, I am also able to accept without reservation His Resurrection from that horrible death.

However, we would be careless if we did not at least consider the real significance of the Resurrection. Once again, as with everything else, God did not raise His Son from the grave just to give people like you and me something exciting and interesting to talk about. He always has a meaningful purpose for everything, including the Resurrection. In Romans 6:23, the Apostle Paul said that sin brings death. In Confrontation Number Two, we saw a simple application of that teaching in action, as Adam and Eve were cast from the garden. But because Jesus was without sin, death could not contain Him. Because He had lived His earthly life from the first day until the last without once transgressing God's Laws, death could not hold Him! Thus, in effect, He became "not separated" or "not dead," if you will. He actually won victory over sin and the grave, and that victory has been passed on to all who embrace Him.

A second reason for the evidence of the Resurrection is that this single event in history, more than any other, becomes the automatic hope of all of those who have put their trust in Him. Moreover, the logic of such a hope is quite sensible. If one receives the Lord's finished work, then that same person also receives the benefits of His finished work, which in this case is "not being separated" from God. Once again, the conclusion of the whole matter is rather simple. Through Christ, we can regain an eternity with God and undo the true damage which was done by Adam and Eve in the garden. Also through Him and because of Him, no one needs to be excluded!

The fifth doctrinal truth concerns Christ's Ascension into Heaven. In John 14:1-3, He had promised that He would leave. He also promised that He would come again. The passage below, written by Luke, shows the fulfillment of the first part of that promise, as He was literally taken up into the clouds:

As the verses in the Book of John, Chapter Fourteen, state, Jesus has returned to Heaven to prepare a place for those who come to Him. While He is gone and until He returns, the Church He has left behind patiently waits. The second time that He comes to earth, though, it will not be as a sacrifice to die. The penalty for our sins has already been paid once. They will not have to be paid for again. Therefore, the second time He comes, He will be here as the glorified Victor, and He will be here to lead the charge against the devil, a charge which was earlier referred to as Confrontation Number Six.

The five doctrinal truthes just presented are important! They are above other spiritual truthes because they encompass and describe the very essence of God's perfect Plan of Salvation for humanity. To summarize what has been shown in these past three chapters, these are the significant facts which drive the truth about coming to the Lord. First, Confrontation Number Two many years ago initiated the sin problem for all men and women, boys and girls. Accordingly, we have inherited from Adam our capacity to sin. Then, Confrontation Number Five, with Jesus as our sacrifice on the cross, solved that sin problem and restored the way between God and man. Lastly, the five doctrinal truthes which have been talked about in this chapter piece together the loose ends and clearly show the perfect unity and organization of God's Plan. In short, our Heavenly Father has not left anything out, and there are no logical shortcomings!

Yet, critics still are quick to reject this systematic theology, as inappropriate for the advanced and sophistocated mind. In fact, when they use the word "faith", they often make it sound like a dirty word or like the ranting of fools. However, such disapproval on their part is not really important. In time, all will see the truth of God's Word, as well as the Deity of Jesus Christ. Also in time, as the excerpt below indicates, all will bow before Jesus and acknowledge Him as Lord:

At this point, as we conclude this chapter, only one brief comment remains. Namely, God's Plan is for those who are looking for a way to close the sin gap which exists between them and Him, and it is available to everyone! In the next chapter, the discussion will deal with how one can actually go about closing that gap with the Lord and also with how one can successfully live for Him.

1. John 20:26-29.

2. Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense (San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers, Inc., 1991), page 188.

3. John 16:12-15.

4. Hebrews 4:14-15.

5. Luke 23:20-25.

6. II Corinthians 5:21.

7. Matthew 26:1-2.

8. Numbers 21:4-9.

9. John 3:14-15.

10. Acts 1:9-11.

11. Philippians 2:5-11.

CHAPTER 8. WHAT ALL OF THIS MEANS TO US

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