God's one and only blueprint for man's salvation

The Fall of Man

God's Holy Bible says in the Book of Genesis that God created Adam & Eve and they lived in the Garden of Eden. At the time of their creation they were sinless and innocent.

And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.

The Serpent (Satan) tricked them and they disobeyed God and sinned against Him and they carried with them the death penalty for their sin.

Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'"?

The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel..." (Genesis 3:15).

This is interpreted as a promise from God to send a Savior (Messiah) to save the human race from Satan, sin and death sometime in the future. Then He banished them from the Garden to prevent them from populating the earth and live eternally in this sinful state by eating the fruit of the Tree of Life. If they were to live in that state, even the promised Messiah would not be able to save the human race from Satan, sin and death because they would be eternally dead beyond rescue.

Genesis 3:21-24

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Old Testament: Animal sacrifice

As a temporary measure God introduced the animal sacrifice for various sins people committed during the Old Testament time.

Leviticus 4:27-31

"If a member of the community sins... he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed, a female goat without defect. He is to lay his hands on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest is to take some blood with his finger and put it in the horns of the altar of the burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ...In this way the priest will make an atonement for him, and he will be forgiven."

This had to be repeated year after year proving its temporary nature till the seed of the woman God will provide offered a perfect sacrifice once and for all. Anything not perfect needs to be repeated.

Hebrews 10:3-10

But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am -- it is written about me in the scroll -- I have come to do your will, O God.'"

First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.'

He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Therefore, God set in motion His eternal plan to bring the promised Savior. The Omniscient God in His Sovereign authority chose God-fearing and faithful persons from each generation to fulfill this promise of a Savior. He made covenants with those whom He chose and gave specific commands to guide them from time to time. He continued choosing faithful ones from among their descendants, until the time was ripe for the Savior's triumphant entry into this world as a seed of a woman who will make one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. By that one sacrifice He will also defeat Satan, sin and death once and for all opening the door to heaven for all to enter.

An Overview of God's Blueprint for man's Salvation

God's Blueprint for Man's Salvation

1-2) Adam to Tower of Babel and Scattering

Pre-historic
1. Noah and the Great Flood

After the creation of the world and the first man Adam and his mate Eve, this was the first time God in His anger had to destroy the human race (except Noah and his family) through the great flood.

Genesis 6:5-9

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air -- for I am grieved that I have made them."

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

Pre-historic
2. God confused their language and scattered them around the world.

After the great flood, Noah and his family multiplied and filled the earth. His descendants too became proud, evil and powerful.

Genesis 11:1-9

Now the whole earth had one language and a common speech.

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

This reveals that God hates evil and proud men. And He knows what is happening here on earth and the intentions of our hearts.

3) Abraham

From One Man to a People
3. God called Abram

Abram was a descendant of Noah and his son Shem. God chose Abram to set the stage for fulfilling His promise to crush Satan's head and rescue mankind from him and save them from sin and death. Abram was not a perfect man, but God knew that he had a God fearing heart and would be faithful to Him. God appeared to him from time to time and gave specific instructions to guide him.

Genesis 12:1-5

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

God makes a covenant with Abram.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates ..." (Genesis 15:18).

Abram, Sarai & Hagar (Genesis 16:1-6)

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, 'the Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.'

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, 'You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.'

'Your servant is in your hands,' Abram said. 'Do with her whatever you think best.' Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

God blesses Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 16:7-16)

The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.

And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"

"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."

The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

God reconfirms His original covenant with Abram (Genesis 17:1-19).

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said,

"I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

Abram fell face down, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep:

Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner -- those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.

My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."

God also blesses Ishmael (Genesis 17:20-22).

"And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."

When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

Birth of Isaac and Contention in Abraham's home (Genesis 21:1-14).

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."

And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.

But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

God tests Abraham's faith and obedience (Genesis 22:1-14).

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.

As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"

"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.

God was pleased with Abraham's faith and obedience.

4-7) Isaac to Jacob, Judah, Joseph and Virgin Mary

From One Man to a People
4. Isaac, son of Abraham

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said,

"I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:15-18).

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. This shows that Abraham lived in loving harmony with all his children even though they lived far apart.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

From One Man to a People
5. Jacob, son of Isaac

Jacob received the blessings of the eldest son from Isaac.

When Isaac got the smell of his clothes he blessed him and said, "Ah the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed" (Genesis 27:27).

"May nations serve you and people bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. ..." (Genesis 27:29).

God confirmed His covenant blessing with Jacob (Genesis 28:12-22).

He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and He said,

"I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All people on earth will be blessed through you and your off-springs. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. ..."

God changed Jacob's name to Israel and blessed him (Genesis 32:22-31).

Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

The man asked him, "what is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.

Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

Jacob, aka Israel, had 12 children one of them was Judah. Descendants of Jacob were called Israelites to this day.

From One Man to a People
6. Judah, son of Israel

Then Jacob (Israel) called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come." He blessed them one by one and Jacob gave Judah the covenant blessing.

"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you" (Genesis 49:8).

"The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his" (Genesis 49:8).

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him (Genesis 49:28).

David, the 2nd king of Israel, was the 7th son of Jesse from the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:3-15).

"The sons of Judah:..." (1 Chronicles 2:3)

Jesse was the father of Eliab his first born; ... the sixth Ozem, and the seventh David (1 Chronicles 2:13).

Samuel 16:13, "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power."

From One Man to a People
7. Joseph & Mary

Joseph, Virgin Mary's betrothed husband was from the line of David and Judah according to the genealogy of Jesus.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child (Luke 2:4-5).

8-10) The Promised Seed of the Woman

The Lamb of God
8. Virgin Mary gave birth to a son

According to the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14,

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: 'The virgin will be with a child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel' (meaning, God is with us).

2,000 years ago when Virgin Mary gave birth to a son, the long awaited seed of a woman finally arrived to crush Satan's head.

Matthew 1:20-25

As he lay awake considering this, he fell into a dream, and saw an angel standing beside him.

"Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "don't hesitate to take Mary as your wife! For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a Son, and you shall name him Jesus (meaning 'Savior'), for he will save his people from their sins. This will fulfill God's message through his prophets --

'Listen! The virgin shall conceive a child! She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called "Emmanuel" (meaning "God is with us").'"

When Joseph woke, he did as the angel commanded, and brought Mary home to be his wife, but she remained a virgin until her son was born; and Joseph named him "Jesus."

The Lamb of God
9. God confirmed Jesus as His beloved Son and the Lamb of God

Jesus was the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice prepared by God before the foundation of the world according to His eternal plan.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29)

And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:16-17).

The animal sacrifice God introduced temporarily during the Old Testament time was not perfect, because it needed to be repeated year after year.

...because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4).

First He said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then He said, "Here I am. I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Hebrews 10:8-10).

...because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14).

For you know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake (1 Peter 1:18-20).

The Lamb of God
10. New Testament

God's plan is to bring everyone in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Ephesians 1:3-14

...For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.

In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will -- to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.

In Him we have redemption though his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He proposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of His glory.

Jesus began His ministry when He was thirty years old.

"Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22).

Jesus openly claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah. Towards the end of three years of His ministry, He was betrayed into the hands of His enemies and they crucified Him to death. They buried Him in a borrowed tomb.

Three days later He rose from the dead triumphantly defeating Satan, sin and death and appeared to His disciples and His followers many times over a period of 40 days before He was taken up into Heaven,

"He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:28).

"He (Jesus Christ) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

This includes the whole human race; men, women and children of all nationalities, languages, color, creed, and people of all religions. They all belong to Him because He is our loving Creator God of the whole human race.

Jesus is the Saviour of the whole humanity. Christians are part of that humanity; He is not 'Christians' exclusive Savior. If you receive Him, you will also belong to Him.

God is waiting for all people everywhere to come to Him through Jesus Christ, because He does not want anyone to perish. God does not have any other alternate plan for any one or any group of people.

God did not exclude any one from His Blueprint from coming to Him. But we could exclude ourselves from Him by our own choice.

"Everyone who (sincerely) calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21)

"...whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37).

"God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:16-18).

"You are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:26-29).

"No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also" (1 John 2:23).

Because, John 1:1 in the Bible says, "Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God." Again Jesus says,

"I and the Father are One" (John 10:30).
"He who has seen Me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

How can we be sure that Jesus Christ is the Only Way to God?

Advent of the Holy Spirit

How can we be sure that Jesus Christ is the only way to God?

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He commanded His disciples saying,
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28-18-20).
After His ascension into Heaven, on the Day of Pentecost, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon all ethnic groups, the Jews, the Samaritans, the Gentiles, and the Free with the same Signs and Wonders.

He did this in four separate occasions as His seal of acceptance of each group into His everlasting Kingdom, merely on the basis of their faith in Jesus. Before each of them lived segregated and in hostility with one another. On that day,

The Holy Spirit testifies for Jesus

God poured out His Holy Spirit upon each ethnic group at different times and formed His first Church on earth.

Ephesians 2:11-22

"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves 'the circumcision' (that done in the body by the hands of men) -- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

First Wave: Jews received the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:1-4).

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5).

"...we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean? ..." (Acts 2:11-13).

Apostle Peter preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God had made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'

Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call.'

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:36-41).

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles (Acts 2:42-43).

Second Wave: Samaritans received the Holy Spirit

Samaritans, a mixed race of Jews and Gentiles who lived in hostility with one another.

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. (Acts 8:5)

But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12).

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17).

Third Wave: Gentiles received the Holy Spirit

Gentiles are considered unclean people according to the Jews. God brought Apostle Peter, (a Jewish believer in Christ) and Cornelius, (a Gentile), together through visions and dreams.

He said to them: 'You are aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?' Cornelius explained his vision to Peter. (Acts 10:28)

'Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us' (Acts 10:33).

Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those listening! The Jews who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to the Gentiles too! But there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Peter asked, 'Can anyone object to my baptizing them, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?' So he did, baptizing them in the name of Jesus, the Messiah (Acts 10:44-48).

Forth Wave: Those who have not heard received the Holy Spirit.

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' They answered, 'John's baptism.' Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance (Acts 19:1-4a).

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:5).

Thus God proved that He is gathering all people irrespective of their nationality, race or language into His eternal Kingdom by imparting His Holy Spirit into them all when they believed in Jesus.

Jesus, the Only Way, (The Door) into the Kingdom of God

11. Those who reject Jesus will have no eternal life.

They remain condemned and will face God's wrath on the day of judgment and will not escape the eternal death in the lake of fire.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:17-18).

In summary

In the beginning God scattered the human race around the world to prevent them from becoming united, powerful and bent on doing evil. After, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world with His sinless blood by dying on the cross, He rose from the dead defeating Satan, sin and death. He forgave all our sins through Jesus Christ.

"Giving thanks to the father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Since the Day of Pentecost, God is gathering people from all walks of life from all around the world back to Himself through His Son, Jesus.

God proved this by pouring out His Holy Spirit on four different occasions, on various ethnic groups, baptizing them into the body of Christ with the same Signs and Wonders, that all people groups are welcome into the Great family of God merely on the basis of their faith in Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

"For it by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8).

All of us belong to one of the ethnic groups by our genealogy. Now God is welcoming all of us into His eternal Kingdom through Jesus Christ, His Only Son. God has done His part.

Now it is our part, whether we like to enter through that 'Door' or not. Jesus says,

"I am the door if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, ..." (John 10:9).

I am an Indian by birth, Singaporean by Nationality, and was a Hindu by religion; I speak both my native tongue and English. One day on hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ I opened my heart to receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Just as He promised He came into my life in the form of the Holy Spirit, forgave my sins, and gave me eternal life. My life began to change as I trusted and obeyed Him. I had dislike for other religions and races. But now Jesus helps me to love all people irrespective of their Nationality, religion, race or language. He gave me a new heart and a new Spirit to help me do that just as God promises,

"And I will give you a new heart--I will give you new and right desires--and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my Spirit within you so that you will obey my laws and do whatever I command" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in the life of those Israelites who received Jesus. It was also extended to all other ethnic groups as and when they received Jesus till this day.

God loves you and you can also become His child by receiving Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will forgive all your sins; will give you a new heart and a new spirit just as He promised to all who receive His Son Jesus. He will also give you peace and purpose for your life and eternal life in Heaven.

"Adam's one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead" (Romans 5:16).

Church is the body of Christ on earth.

Church belongs to God. Christians are all members of that body. Christians were all like you before, belonging to other beliefs and Nationalities and races and languages. In Jesus Christ we are all 'One Big Family of God'.

I hope you now clearly understand God's Blueprint for man's salvation.

I encourage you to receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord today. No matter who you are, come to Jesus Christ as individuals and families, by ethnic groups and of languages. Come and join the Great family of God. Time is running short. Don't put it off for another day.

You may be saying, I want to be included in God's Family. I want to receive Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. If that is your desire, and you are sincerely willing to trust and obey Him hereafter, here is how you can receive Christ.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Genealogy of Jesus Christ points out God's Blueprint to rescue the lost human-race from sin and death.

The insert here shows the Genealogy of individuals from Adam to the seed of the woman God chose to prepare the way for His personal entry into this world.

He also ordained prophets to prophesy from time to time to prepare His chosen people to accept what was happening as the workings of the Sovereign God who made the promise, so that they will believe in Him when He arrives through the miraculous Virgin birth.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 7:14,

"The Lord Himself will choose the sign -- a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel meaning, 'God is with us'"