FOUR SPANS IN THE BRIDGE OF SALVATION

EPHESIANS 2:1

A. TO AFFECT MAN'S REUNION WITH GOD, FIVE THINGS MUST BE DONE
  1. Man must be restored to such a relationship with God as shall make possible the fulfillment of the original, divine intention in creation:
    1. Adam was made in the image of God - Gen. 1:26, 27
    2. He was made perfect or upright - Eccl. 7:29
  2. The sin question must be fully and finally settled:
    1. God's broken law must be vindicated - Rom. 8:1-6
    2. Sin must be dealt with in respect to its guilt, penalty, power and presence.
  3. Such propitiation and reconciliation must be effected as shall remove the barrier of separation between God and man and give to every person the opportunity of restoration to God's favor and fellowship:
  4. A new order of human beings must be inaugurated to supersede the old order which is in ruin and rejection:
  5. Satan, the original cause and continual instigator of sin in man, must be defeated and dethroned. God's sovereignty over all things must be fully restored:
B. TO ACCOMPLISH SUCH A BRIDGE OF SALVATION GOD ERECTED A BRIDGE OF FOUR SPANS OVER THE CHASM MADE BY SIN
  1. Incarnation is the first span:
    1. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" - Isa. 7:14
    2. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isa. 9:6
    3. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth." - John 1:14
  2. The crucifixion of our Lord is the second span in the divine bridge:
    1. The incarnation brought God to men, but it could not bring man to God.
    2. The incarnation was not an end but a means to an end.
    3. It paved the way for our Lord's death on the cross
    4. The goal of the incarnation was His death and his death is the span bridging the chasm of sin.
    5. Christ came not only to live here, but also to die. Please read very prayerfully Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:11; Matt. 20:28; Heb. 10:5, 10
  3. The resurrection of Christ is truly the third span in the bridge of salvation:
    1. Peter emphasized very strongly the close relationship between the death and the resurrection of Christ - Acts 2:32-33
    2. Paul, too, connects the two great events in the experience of Christ - 1 Cor. 15:1-18; Col. 1:18
  4. But, to complete the divine bridge across the chasm between the sinner and God, it took the fourth span - Ascension and exaltation of our blessed Lord:
    1. His ascension was necessary to become our mediator or intercessor - 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1-2
    2. Also, to send the Holy Spirit to take his place in this world - John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7, 8
    3. What a day it must have been when the Victor over sin and death entered heaven bringing some of his trophies with him! Ps. 24:7-10
    4. What is important for us is that He took humanity with Him to the highest heaven - Eph. 2:1-4
    5. And what is still more glorious for us, he went to heaven to prepare a place for us - John 14:1-3
    6. O the height and the depth of God's unspeakable gift to men!


Design © John Bryant 2011