Salvation For The Nations
After his resurrection, Jesus declared: “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,” and he dispatched his disciples to announce his Lordship and Salvation to the “uttermost parts of the Earth.” The Era of Salvation commenced with his Death and Resurrection; therefore, his life-giving message must be announced to all men.
God exalted Jesus to the Messianic Throne as promised in Scripture:
“I
will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for your possession,” and therefore, he sent
his emissaries to announce his sovereignty and salvation throughout the Earth –
(Psalm 2:8).
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| [Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash] |
By bestowing the Gift of the Spirit on them, Jesus empowered his disciples to proclaim his Good News to the entire world, the one task he assigned to his Church before his Ascension - “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the Earth” – (Acts 1:8).
This salvation is for men of every generation and nation
without exception. Jesus died and God raised him from the dead so no longer must
they live in fear or for themselves but for Him. God loved humanity so much
that He “gave his only born Son” so all men might believe and receive “everlasting
life.” Jesus has bequeathed to each of us the ministry of reconciling men
and women to God by proclaiming his Gospel – (John 3:16, Acts 2:36-38, 2
Corinthians 5:17-20).
Because of his suffering “for our sins,” God raised Jesus
from the dead and “highly exalted him, granting him the name that is above
every name,” – JESUS - the name that means “Yahweh saves.”
In him, the salvation promised by the God of Israel has become
reality for all humanity, and His Son is now the “Ruler of the Kings of the
Earth” who “shepherds the nations” to everlasting life in the New
Creation – (Philippians 2:6-11, Revelation 1:4-6, 7:9-17, 12:5-11).
All peoples and nations belong to Jesus whether they know it
or not. His sacrificial death voided the legal claim of Satan over mankind, and
his resurrection broke the iron grip of Death that held us all, a radical
message of liberation from the tyranny of sin, Satan, and death that all men must
hear – (1 Corinthians 15:1-6, Philippians 2:6-11, Hebrews 2:14-15, Revelation 1:6-8,3:21,
5:5-14).
ONE PEOPLE
God has “spoken” definitively and with eloquent finality
through His Son who “achieved the purification of sin,” therefore, he sits
“at the
right hand of the Majesty on High places” as the
Great High Priest who mediates salvation and life for his people – (Hebrews
1:1-4).
Salvation is available to all men “through
the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction.” Life is offered to all men because
of the faithful obedience of the Son of God, the one who “died for our sins”
when we were still “enemies of God” and “dead in our trespasses” –
(Romans 3:21-22).
Sin is the Great Leveler that condemns
every man, woman, and child to bondage, decay, hopelessness, and death. In the
end, neither ethnicity, political power, nor economic status makes any
difference. Death awaits us all.
However,
because of his Death and Resurrection, anyone may receive the forgiveness of
sins and justification before God “from the faith of Jesus Christ.” Death still occurs, but for the
disciples of Jesus, its sentence will be reversed when he raises them from the
dead on the Last Day – (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
Considering
his faithful act for us when we deserved only death, all that penitent men and
women can do is respond to his generous and unmerited gift by placing faith in
Jesus and what God accomplished in him.
Ever
since His Son “achieved the purification of sins,” his Father has been
creating a new community composed of men and women from every nation who have
been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, the ‘Ekklésia’, the “Assembly.”
Every person who places faith in him becomes a member of this holy community –
(Ephesians 2:15).
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| [Photo by Amelie & Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash] |
No nation, civilization, or political ideology can claim Jesus or his teachings as its property. His Gospel is a message for every man, woman, and child, and therefore, it transcends all national and cultural boundaries. His disciples proclaim one message for all men, whether “Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male and female, for all are one in Christ Jesus” – (Galatians 3:28).
In the truest sense, then, his “Good News” is a universal
message and religion. All men have sinned. Everyone needs salvation
and everlasting life. No one deserves it, “No, not one,” but God graciously
offers it to one and all through His Son, and “freely” so.
Finally,
salvation is provided on the same basis to every man, woman, and child, namely,
from the faith of Jesus Christ. All we can do is respond with repentance
and faith to this offer and the self-sacrificial act of the Nazarene who “gave
his life as a ransom for many.”
RELATED POSTS:
- A New Message - (Jesus summons his disciples to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God in every inhabited corner of the earth)
- His Unique Kingdom - (Jesus proclaimed a new and different political reality, the Kingdom of God, one that bears little resemblance to the powers of this evil age)
- Greatness in His Kingdom - (Jesus summons his followers to live lives of self-sacrificial service to others, and doing so is how they emulate him and become great in his Kingdom)
