What is God
Content
What is God’s will for humanity? Salvation
It is God’s plan that all men will be saved, God wants all men saved and this
does not exclude anybody..
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus;
It is God and man in Christ Jesus
Observe two things;
-It is the will of God for them to be saved
-God will have all men come to the knowledge of truth
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live:
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
God’s plan has always been for all men, that all men would be saved.
The longsuffering of God is salvation,
Salvation is the will of God for everyone, it is ALL- INCLUSIVE.
How did God achieve Salvation for man?
Salvation was achieved for man by the death of Jesus, he became sin for man to be
saved.
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God reconciled man to himself in Christ, salvation must be seen from Christ Jesus.
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Salvation is through the man Christ Jesus.
Who did Jesus die for?
The whole world so it means the plan for everyone is salvation so God’s plan is to
save the whole of humanity. God wants every sinner saved.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
How does a man get saved?
A man is saved by hearing the word of faith (the gospel) because a man must hear
a message for him to believe in it.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 1:16 For 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.
How is the message communicated? Mk.16:15-18, Matt.28:18-20.
The gospel is communicated by preaching and teaching. It must be preached and
taught for another to hear.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
and how shall they hear without a preacher?
A human agency is always involved in the preaching of the gospel there must be a
preacher.
Who can be saved?
Any one that hears the gospel and believes in it can be saved.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.
The “whosoever” are multitudes in the world not a particular people but anyone is
a “whosoever” (irrespective of who a man is or what he has done wrong, he can be
saved because Jesus died for him.)
The whosoever is to believe in what Christ has done so that they can be saved.
At what point is a man saved? Rom.10:8-10
Salvation is at the point of a man believing in his heart the Lordship of Jesus and
confession with his mouth.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not
be ashamed.
What is the width of salvation?
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at
the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him;
The rule of the offence is through one man, all sinned likewise when the wrong was
right, it was for all men (Rom.5:12-20), so the width of salvation is FOR ALL, it is
wide enough to accommodate all men.
The plan of salvation is for all, we must preach and learn to go back to the fellow,
we must learn to persist in preaching the gospel.
Nobody is destined for destruction so we must preach from that perspective of
God’s salvation plan is for ALL.
What is the length of salvation?
The salvation is forever, it is as long as Jesus is alive.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them.
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
He lives as a man forever to grant salvation forever. Salvation is either complete or
not. Those that are saved forever and completely are those who come to God
through him since He intercedes for them, he prevents from falling.
The salvation and redemption is forever, it is not temporary.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that
by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise
of eternal inheritance.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.
It is also important to know that;
The length of our salvation is ETERNAL LIFE, (sin, the devil cannot get you), you do
not need to get to heaven to enjoy it.
There is no way eternal life can be lost. A man saved is born-again.
We have eternal life- Jhn3; 16, 1Jhn.5:14
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask
any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Joh 3:16 For 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 devil plucks out but Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us.
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
It often believed that “God’s Sovereignty” is to mean that God can do anything at
any time, it is to think that God is in control of everything.
What is God’s Sovereignty?
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
Joh 1:14 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.
The word of God is the person of Jesus.
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
So we cannot explain God’s sovereignty outside the person of Christ Jesus. All the
scriptures were written concerning him so if you have seen Jesus then you have
seen the Father.
God’s will that cannot be changed is found in Christ Jesus and that will is
to save all men(1Tim.2:1-4).
God’s Sovereignty is not an erratic decision of God, not an academic terminology
but it is in Christ Jesus. God’s Almightiness is explained in Christ Jesus.
God’s sovereignty is to save mankind which is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
Can God be the author of sin?
He is the author of faith and not of confusion (Heb.12:2).
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He does not commit to sin but can permit sin, God he does not commission or
inspire sin.
He was not behind Adam’s transgression, Jam.1:13-15,
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Sin starts with man’s desire, it neither comes from God or from the devil.
What man has is “desire” so man has a choice. God made man with something
called desire (Gen.2). Desire is what God has granted man, God gave us a right to
choose if to please him or not.
This desire is seen in the temptation of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus was to prove
his humanity, that he can choose but he did not choose outside God (Heb.4:15).
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin.
Heb.9:25-28- the entire debt of humanity is on the death of Jesus, the death of Jesus
is humanity’s deliverance from sin.
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of
the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.
Salvation is God’s choice so we see God’s Sovereignty in his choosing to save all
men in Christ Jesus.
It was God’s plan to save man, God chose to save man – GRACE.
Man did not initiate the salvation plan, he did not ask for it as well.
There is a holy calling according to purpose and grace (unmerited favor)
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,.
The subject of Salvation cannot be complete without the grace of God.
How wide is the love of God
The love of God is unbiased. We are saved by grace through
faith. Grace and faith are two incompatible twins in the Christian
life.
Grace what Christ has done.
faith what you believe.
Romans 10:8-10.
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which
we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So the gospel is a gospel of faith, a message that tells you to
believe. (Vs 9-10)
See how simple it is to be saved. Many people don’t know when
they got saved, because they have moved from faith to works.
The minute you confess with your mouth the lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are
saved. One can academically interpret the simplicity of the faith
and lose the reason why Jesus came.
All we are learning today is to grow spiritually, Christ has come he
has fulfilled the will of the father. Vs17 i.e. what are we to believe?
The gospel. Every question of the unsaved man is answered when
he hears the gospel. When he hears the gospel he believes and
he is saved.
What message? The gospel of Christ.
The gospel is the message of grace –what Christ has done(without
man’s input)
How do we receive the gospel? By faith.
Jesus Christ came to die for our sins, I believe it. That is salvation.
We preach the gospel so that men may believe.
John 20:31.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name.
We are preaching for men to receive what Jesus has done, it is
that receiving that we call faith. In Gods dealings with humanity,
he does not disregard human will.
John 1:10-13.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and
the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Vs 13 is a consequence action to vs. 12. One does not get born
then he/she now believes. You believe the gospel then you are
born again, born of the spirit. The new birth does not precede
believing. It is faith that precedes the new birth. God doesn’t do
anything to you until you are born again. So the new birth is after
you receive the gospel.
Everything available to person A is available to B to believe the
gospel when it is preached. God doesn’t assist one to believe and
neglects the other. The concept of grace is that it is freely given
to ALL, no special interest in any one.
NOTE: Jesus did not appear to saul/paun to save him but to stop
the persecution of the church.
Acts 9:4
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto
him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
A man has to believe the gospel, because it is only received by
faith
Why are some saved and others are not
saved?
There are two reasons why we have some people saved and
others are not
1. Ignorance –when the person has not heard the gospel
2. Unbelief –in this case, the person has heard the gospel but
has refused to
be persuaded.
Rom.10:1-3
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is,
that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
NOTE ignorance
EPH4:17. Ignorance
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart:
1 Tim1:13 Ignorance
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly
in unbelief.
Sometimes ignorance doesn’t mean you don’t know anything, it
could mean to have the wrong knowledge.
2Cor. 4:3-4
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them.
Their blinds are blinded by what they know. Prayer power is the
power to influence a man with the gospel. That’s why Paul asked
timothy to pray for all men.
1Tim2:1-2.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may
lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.
The gospel is not preached in rhetoric but in power. So in
preaching the gospel we must be prayerful. We pray against the
forces which could be influencing the minds of men with the
wrong knowledge.
2thess3:1-2.
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord
may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with
you:
2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and
wicked men: for all men have not faith.
So why are some men not saved because off ignorance, ignorance
of the gospel of Christ. So we must insist on preaching the gospel.
(Rom. 10:13-17)
UNBELIEF
Mark 16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
We see an example in the children of Israel who did not enter the
rest of God because of their unbelief. They were not persuaded by
the message God communicated to them.
Heb. 4:6
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter
therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered
not in because of unbelief:
The responsibility to save a man is 3 fold
1. The work of Christ –grace
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men
2. The work of believers to preach it.
Rom.10:13-15
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have
not believed? and how shall they believe in him of
whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as
it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
good things!
3. The response of the man to believe it.
Mark16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
Rom.10:8-10
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which
we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Mark 16:15-16 -Go into all the world.
1john 2:2. –All the world
He lets you know that Jesus died for the whole world not for the
church.
John 3:16 -the world…
So Jesus makes salvation available to entire humanity no one is
excluded, no one is precluded. The plan of God is salvation and
that salvation plan is for everyone. JEUS IS our man for salvation.
The concept of salvation must then be seen from the person of
Jesus. Salvation is for everyone, we can see this by looking at
Jesus. The minute we begin to take out Jesus from salvation, we
begin to see salvation as personal, that God can save this person
and leave the other. If the fall wasn’t personal, then salvation
can’t be personal. The decision to receive salvation is personal
but the grace to save is not. Salvation is for ALL.
The width – breadth
Eph 3:14-19
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the
inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of
God.
We are going to look at the width of God’s love. How wide is God’s
love. Some will say the love is not wide but restricted. The width
of God’s love is called grace. Grace is the width of that salvation.
Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Grace can only be seen
from Jesus to Jesus, it is simply what Christ has done. The minute
you take grace away from what Christ has done and see it from
an individualistic point of view, you will miss the essence of
salvation.
The first width of God’s plan of salvation is that;
”No man deserves what God did. It was an unqualified
measure of love. “
Rom. 3
deeds.
-begins to explain that no man is saved by his righteous
The law can be seen as the old testament before the death
of Jesus or as the ten commandments. But the law is the
summation of the old testament.
Vs19
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God.
the law further came to prove that all were sinners, all are found
guilty. The law reveals the inadequacy of the sinful man to love
God. So before the love of God, before the grace of God, all are
guilty, no man is qualified.
Vs 24
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus
note “freely”;
no condition attached, nothing is asked of you. He tells us what
the grace is; the redemption which is in Christ. So the grace
can be seen in the redemption.
Redemption means the price paid. So the grace of God should be
seen in the price paid for all that did not deserve it. The recipients
of God’s love are not qualified. The moment you say God chose
Ayo and didn’t choose Funke that in itself is a qualification. But
there’s nobody that stands above the other, all are guilty and so
all are by God’s grace qualified for salvation
The second fact about God’s love is that;
it is an unbiased love
Rom.4:1This blessedness of grace is for the man whom God will not
reckon sin. That is anyone whom God will not count his sin
against, this is one whom God has made His grace available to. So
that grace will be defined by this fact. So if you look at Abraham
and begin to explain, you will loose sight of salvation which is
Christ Jesus, not Abraham, not Moses, not Paul. We are looking at
what Jesus did.
2cor5:17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
so the blessedness of God is for the world. So the grace
available to the Abraham is available to the whole world.
How wide is this salvation?
It is God’s plan that all men will be saved, God wants all men saved and this
does not exclude anybody..
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus;
It is God and man in Christ Jesus
Observe two things;
-It is the will of God for them to be saved
-God will have all men come to the knowledge of truth
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live:
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
God’s plan has always been for all men, that all men would be saved.
The longsuffering of God is salvation,
Salvation is the will of God for everyone, it is ALL- INCLUSIVE.
How did God achieve Salvation for man?
Salvation was achieved for man by the death of Jesus, he became sin for man to be
saved.
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God reconciled man to himself in Christ, salvation must be seen from Christ Jesus.
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Salvation is through the man Christ Jesus.
Who did Jesus die for?
The whole world so it means the plan for everyone is salvation so God’s plan is to
save the whole of humanity. God wants every sinner saved.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
How does a man get saved?
A man is saved by hearing the word of faith (the gospel) because a man must hear
a message for him to believe in it.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 1:16 For 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.
How is the message communicated? Mk.16:15-18, Matt.28:18-20.
The gospel is communicated by preaching and teaching. It must be preached and
taught for another to hear.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
and how shall they hear without a preacher?
A human agency is always involved in the preaching of the gospel there must be a
preacher.
Who can be saved?
Any one that hears the gospel and believes in it can be saved.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.
The “whosoever” are multitudes in the world not a particular people but anyone is
a “whosoever” (irrespective of who a man is or what he has done wrong, he can be
saved because Jesus died for him.)
The whosoever is to believe in what Christ has done so that they can be saved.
At what point is a man saved? Rom.10:8-10
Salvation is at the point of a man believing in his heart the Lordship of Jesus and
confession with his mouth.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not
be ashamed.
What is the width of salvation?
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at
the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him;
The rule of the offence is through one man, all sinned likewise when the wrong was
right, it was for all men (Rom.5:12-20), so the width of salvation is FOR ALL, it is
wide enough to accommodate all men.
The plan of salvation is for all, we must preach and learn to go back to the fellow,
we must learn to persist in preaching the gospel.
Nobody is destined for destruction so we must preach from that perspective of
God’s salvation plan is for ALL.
What is the length of salvation?
The salvation is forever, it is as long as Jesus is alive.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them.
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
He lives as a man forever to grant salvation forever. Salvation is either complete or
not. Those that are saved forever and completely are those who come to God
through him since He intercedes for them, he prevents from falling.
The salvation and redemption is forever, it is not temporary.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that
by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise
of eternal inheritance.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.
It is also important to know that;
The length of our salvation is ETERNAL LIFE, (sin, the devil cannot get you), you do
not need to get to heaven to enjoy it.
There is no way eternal life can be lost. A man saved is born-again.
We have eternal life- Jhn3; 16, 1Jhn.5:14
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask
any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Joh 3:16 For 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 devil plucks out but Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us.
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
It often believed that “God’s Sovereignty” is to mean that God can do anything at
any time, it is to think that God is in control of everything.
What is God’s Sovereignty?
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
Joh 1:14 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.
The word of God is the person of Jesus.
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
So we cannot explain God’s sovereignty outside the person of Christ Jesus. All the
scriptures were written concerning him so if you have seen Jesus then you have
seen the Father.
God’s will that cannot be changed is found in Christ Jesus and that will is
to save all men(1Tim.2:1-4).
God’s Sovereignty is not an erratic decision of God, not an academic terminology
but it is in Christ Jesus. God’s Almightiness is explained in Christ Jesus.
God’s sovereignty is to save mankind which is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
Can God be the author of sin?
He is the author of faith and not of confusion (Heb.12:2).
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He does not commit to sin but can permit sin, God he does not commission or
inspire sin.
He was not behind Adam’s transgression, Jam.1:13-15,
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Sin starts with man’s desire, it neither comes from God or from the devil.
What man has is “desire” so man has a choice. God made man with something
called desire (Gen.2). Desire is what God has granted man, God gave us a right to
choose if to please him or not.
This desire is seen in the temptation of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus was to prove
his humanity, that he can choose but he did not choose outside God (Heb.4:15).
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin.
Heb.9:25-28- the entire debt of humanity is on the death of Jesus, the death of Jesus
is humanity’s deliverance from sin.
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of
the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.
Salvation is God’s choice so we see God’s Sovereignty in his choosing to save all
men in Christ Jesus.
It was God’s plan to save man, God chose to save man – GRACE.
Man did not initiate the salvation plan, he did not ask for it as well.
There is a holy calling according to purpose and grace (unmerited favor)
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,.
The subject of Salvation cannot be complete without the grace of God.
How wide is the love of God
The love of God is unbiased. We are saved by grace through
faith. Grace and faith are two incompatible twins in the Christian
life.
Grace what Christ has done.
faith what you believe.
Romans 10:8-10.
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which
we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So the gospel is a gospel of faith, a message that tells you to
believe. (Vs 9-10)
See how simple it is to be saved. Many people don’t know when
they got saved, because they have moved from faith to works.
The minute you confess with your mouth the lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are
saved. One can academically interpret the simplicity of the faith
and lose the reason why Jesus came.
All we are learning today is to grow spiritually, Christ has come he
has fulfilled the will of the father. Vs17 i.e. what are we to believe?
The gospel. Every question of the unsaved man is answered when
he hears the gospel. When he hears the gospel he believes and
he is saved.
What message? The gospel of Christ.
The gospel is the message of grace –what Christ has done(without
man’s input)
How do we receive the gospel? By faith.
Jesus Christ came to die for our sins, I believe it. That is salvation.
We preach the gospel so that men may believe.
John 20:31.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name.
We are preaching for men to receive what Jesus has done, it is
that receiving that we call faith. In Gods dealings with humanity,
he does not disregard human will.
John 1:10-13.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and
the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Vs 13 is a consequence action to vs. 12. One does not get born
then he/she now believes. You believe the gospel then you are
born again, born of the spirit. The new birth does not precede
believing. It is faith that precedes the new birth. God doesn’t do
anything to you until you are born again. So the new birth is after
you receive the gospel.
Everything available to person A is available to B to believe the
gospel when it is preached. God doesn’t assist one to believe and
neglects the other. The concept of grace is that it is freely given
to ALL, no special interest in any one.
NOTE: Jesus did not appear to saul/paun to save him but to stop
the persecution of the church.
Acts 9:4
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto
him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
A man has to believe the gospel, because it is only received by
faith
Why are some saved and others are not
saved?
There are two reasons why we have some people saved and
others are not
1. Ignorance –when the person has not heard the gospel
2. Unbelief –in this case, the person has heard the gospel but
has refused to
be persuaded.
Rom.10:1-3
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is,
that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
NOTE ignorance
EPH4:17. Ignorance
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart:
1 Tim1:13 Ignorance
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly
in unbelief.
Sometimes ignorance doesn’t mean you don’t know anything, it
could mean to have the wrong knowledge.
2Cor. 4:3-4
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them.
Their blinds are blinded by what they know. Prayer power is the
power to influence a man with the gospel. That’s why Paul asked
timothy to pray for all men.
1Tim2:1-2.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may
lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.
The gospel is not preached in rhetoric but in power. So in
preaching the gospel we must be prayerful. We pray against the
forces which could be influencing the minds of men with the
wrong knowledge.
2thess3:1-2.
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord
may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with
you:
2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and
wicked men: for all men have not faith.
So why are some men not saved because off ignorance, ignorance
of the gospel of Christ. So we must insist on preaching the gospel.
(Rom. 10:13-17)
UNBELIEF
Mark 16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
We see an example in the children of Israel who did not enter the
rest of God because of their unbelief. They were not persuaded by
the message God communicated to them.
Heb. 4:6
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter
therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered
not in because of unbelief:
The responsibility to save a man is 3 fold
1. The work of Christ –grace
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men
2. The work of believers to preach it.
Rom.10:13-15
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have
not believed? and how shall they believe in him of
whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as
it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
good things!
3. The response of the man to believe it.
Mark16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
Rom.10:8-10
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which
we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Mark 16:15-16 -Go into all the world.
1john 2:2. –All the world
He lets you know that Jesus died for the whole world not for the
church.
John 3:16 -the world…
So Jesus makes salvation available to entire humanity no one is
excluded, no one is precluded. The plan of God is salvation and
that salvation plan is for everyone. JEUS IS our man for salvation.
The concept of salvation must then be seen from the person of
Jesus. Salvation is for everyone, we can see this by looking at
Jesus. The minute we begin to take out Jesus from salvation, we
begin to see salvation as personal, that God can save this person
and leave the other. If the fall wasn’t personal, then salvation
can’t be personal. The decision to receive salvation is personal
but the grace to save is not. Salvation is for ALL.
The width – breadth
Eph 3:14-19
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the
inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of
God.
We are going to look at the width of God’s love. How wide is God’s
love. Some will say the love is not wide but restricted. The width
of God’s love is called grace. Grace is the width of that salvation.
Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Grace can only be seen
from Jesus to Jesus, it is simply what Christ has done. The minute
you take grace away from what Christ has done and see it from
an individualistic point of view, you will miss the essence of
salvation.
The first width of God’s plan of salvation is that;
”No man deserves what God did. It was an unqualified
measure of love. “
Rom. 3
deeds.
-begins to explain that no man is saved by his righteous
The law can be seen as the old testament before the death
of Jesus or as the ten commandments. But the law is the
summation of the old testament.
Vs19
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God.
the law further came to prove that all were sinners, all are found
guilty. The law reveals the inadequacy of the sinful man to love
God. So before the love of God, before the grace of God, all are
guilty, no man is qualified.
Vs 24
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus
note “freely”;
no condition attached, nothing is asked of you. He tells us what
the grace is; the redemption which is in Christ. So the grace
can be seen in the redemption.
Redemption means the price paid. So the grace of God should be
seen in the price paid for all that did not deserve it. The recipients
of God’s love are not qualified. The moment you say God chose
Ayo and didn’t choose Funke that in itself is a qualification. But
there’s nobody that stands above the other, all are guilty and so
all are by God’s grace qualified for salvation
The second fact about God’s love is that;
it is an unbiased love
Rom.4:1This blessedness of grace is for the man whom God will not
reckon sin. That is anyone whom God will not count his sin
against, this is one whom God has made His grace available to. So
that grace will be defined by this fact. So if you look at Abraham
and begin to explain, you will loose sight of salvation which is
Christ Jesus, not Abraham, not Moses, not Paul. We are looking at
what Jesus did.
2cor5:17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
so the blessedness of God is for the world. So the grace
available to the Abraham is available to the whole world.
How wide is this salvation?
