The Plan of Redemption

Lesson #2- The Formulation of the Plan of Redemption

 

1. Who were responsible in the formulation of the plan of redemption?

Signs of the Times, June 17, 1903 par. 2
“The Gospel is the hope of the world. The cross is God’s agency for counterworking Satan’s plans, and restoring man to his original purity. The plan of salvation devised by the Father and the Son will be a grand success. Christ’s atoning sacrifice will arouse the sluggish mind, quickening into activity man’s mental and spiritual powers.”

Review and Herald, September 13, 1906 par. 4
“Before the fall of man, the Son of God had united with his Father in laying the plan of salvation.”

Note: There is a group of SDAs that believe the Godhead is made up only of two divine beings – the Father and the son. They call themselves “anti-trinitarian SDAs.” To them the Holy Spirit, also known as Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ, is a third person but not a third being. With these references they take the position that The plan of salvation was devised only by the Father and the Son” and that the Holy Spirit was not involved in its formulation.

2. Do we have some clues in the bible that the Holy Spirit is also involved in the formulation of the plan of redemption?

Colossians 2:2
2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

Note: The plan of Redemption referred to in the bible as “the mystery” (DA 22) is said to be “of God, of the Father, and of Christ.” Meaning,

a. It is of God, it belongs to God. This God must be the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-4) as distinguished from the Father and Christ.
b. It is of the Father, it belongs to the Father. This Father must refer to God the Father (1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6) and not to Jesus Christ who is also called “the everlasting Father” (Isiah 9:6).
c. It is of Christ, it belongs to Christ. This must refer to Jesus Christ known as the son of God (1 John 1:1; Heb. 1:8-12)

Thus, the plan of redemption is not only “the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4) but “the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Col. 2:2).

Note: We have learned from Desire of Ages, p. 22 that “the mystery that hath been kept in silence through times eternal” is none other than “The plan of redemption.” Paul calls it “the mystery of Christ” in Ephesians 3:4, meaning this “mystery” belong to Christ since the preposition “of ” means “from, as the cause or source” and it denotes possession. That which proceeds from or is produced by a person, is naturally the property or possession of that person as in “church of Christ” which made that the church was established by Christ therefore the church is owned by Christ.

However, it does not mean that only Christ devised the plan of redemption because the SOP said it was “devised by the Father and the Son” and therefore the plan of redemption is not only the mystery of Christ but is of the Father also. How about the Holy Spirit? Paul said in Col. 2:2 that the plan of redemption is “the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;” which means that…
a. The mystery is of God, it belongs to God. This God must be God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-4)
b. The mystery is of the Father, it belongs to the father. This Father must be God the Father (1 Cor. 8:6), not Christ who is called the everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6.
c. The mystery is of Christ, it belongs to Christ. This Christ must be Jesus Christ the Son (1 John 1:1; Heb. 1:8-12)

If the plan of redemption is called the mystery of God the Holy Spirit, and of God the Father, and of Christ the Son, then it must follow that the Holy Spirit also participated in its formulation, otherwise the Holy Spirit could not be a co-owner. This is further proved by the fact that “Christ and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and “the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost…these three are one.” (1 John 5:7).

The oneness of the Father and Christ is defined by the SOP to mean that they are “one in nature, in character, and in purpose” (7ABC 440). In like manner the oneness of the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit must also mean that they are one in nature, in character and in purpose. Such oneness in purpose among the three living persons of the Godhead must include oneness in the formulation of the plan of redemption.

3. Do we have a clear statement of inspiration that the Holy Spirit was one with the Father and the Son in the formulation of the plan of redemption?

Counsels on Health, p. 222
“The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin.”

Note: One of the meaning of “work out” given by Collins English Dictionary is “to devise or formulate” as in “to work out a plan.” See www.collinsdictionary.com/…/english/work-out.

The “idioms.thefreedictionary.com/work+out” tells us that “work out” is an idiom and the meaning is as follows:

work out
1. Accomplish by work or effort, as in I think we can work out a solution to this problem. [1500s] For work out all right,see turn out all right.
2. Find a solution for, solve, as in They hoped to work out their personal differences, or Can you help me work out thisequation? [Mid-1800s]
3. Formulate or develop, as in We were told to work out a new plan, or He’s very good at working out complicated plots. [Early 1800s]
4. Discharge a debt by working instead of paying money, as in She promised she’d work out the rest of the rent bybaby-sitting for them. [Second half of 1600s]
5. Prove effective or successful, as in I wonder if their marriage will work out.
6. Have a specific result, add up, as in It worked out that she was able to go to the party after all, or The total worksout to more than a million. [Late 1800s]
7. Engage in strenuous exercise for physical conditioning, as in He works out with weights every other day. [1920s]
8. Exhaust a resource, such as a mine, as in This mine has been completely worked out. [Mid-1500s]

Thus, when EGW said that “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption” she was saying that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were involved in the formulation of the plan of redemption.

4. There are Adventists who deny that the Holy Spirit is a third person or a third being in the Godhead. What evidence is there that shows that the Holy SPIRIT is a member of the Godhead distinct from the Father and the Son?

a) The Holy Spirit is part of the eternal Godhead.

Upward Look, p. 148
“The work of salvation is not a small matter, but so vast that the highest authorities are taken hold of by the expressed faith of the human agent. The eternal Godhead–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost–is involved in the action required to make assurance to the human agent, . . . confederating the heavenly powers with the human that man may become, through heavenly efficiency, partakers of the divine nature and workers together with Christ.” Ms 45, May 14, 1904.

How many “highest authorities” are there in the “eternal Godhead”?

Answer: There are three highest authorities in the eternal Godhead.

b) The Holy Spirit is one of the three eternal heavenly dignitaries.

16MR p. 204.4
“But they (God’s people) were not left to fight the battles in their own human strength. The angelic host coming as ministers of God would be in that battle. Also there would be the eternal heavenly dignitaries–God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit–arming them [the disciples] with more than mortal energy, . . ..”

1. God the Father is one of the three eternal heavenly dignitaries.
2. Christ is one of the three eternal heavenly dignitaries.
3. The Holy Spirit is one of the three eternal heavenly dignitaries.

c) The Holy Spirit is one of the three highest rulers in heaven

Evangelism, p. 617
“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven, –the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,–and these powers will work through us, making us workers together with God.”

Note: Powers here means rulers as in Luke 12:11, Rom. 8:28; 13:1, Eph. 3:10; 6:12. Thus the three highest powers in heaven means three highest rulers in heaven.

1. The Father is one of three highest rulers in heaven.
2. The Son is one of three highest rulers in heaven.
3. The Holy Spirit is one of three highest rulers in heaven.

d) The Holy Spirit is one of the three holiest beings in heaven.

Sermon and Talks, vol. 1, p. 367 (1990)
“You are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You are raised up out of the water to live henceforth in newness of life–to live a new life. You are born unto God, and you stand under the sanction and the power of the three holiest Beings in heaven, who are able to keep you from falling…When I feel oppressed and hardly know how to relate myself toward the work that God has given me to do, I just call upon the three great Worthies, and say: You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and by me, and through me, sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and bringing me into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the moving of the Holy Spirit of God upon my mind and character.”

1. The Father is one of three holiest beings in heaven.
2. The son is one of three holiest beings in heaven.
3. The Holy Spirit is one of three holiest beings in heaven.

e) The Holy Spirit is one of the three living persons of the Godhead.

Special Testimonies Series B number 7 pg. 63.2 (Bible Training School, March 1, 1906 par. 2)
“There are three living persons of the heavenly trio. In the name of these three powers,–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.”

Note: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are called the three living persons of the heavenly trio (not heavenly duo).

The Father is a living person.
The Son is a living person.
The Holy Spirit is a living person.
Therefore, they are three living persons.

5. How do anti-trinitarian Adventists attempt to prove their allegation that the third highest being in heaven was Lucifer instead of the Holy Spirit?

a. Notebook Leaflet, vol. 1, p. 114.8 “Christ is our Example. He was next to God in the heavenly courts. But He came to this earth to live among men.” Letter 48, 1902.”

b. Early Writings, p. 145.1 “Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Christ.”

The three highest beings in heaven according to Anti-trinitarians. There are
1. God the Father – First highest being
2. Jesus the Son, being next to God, is the second highest being in heaven.
3. Satan, being next to Christ, is the third highest being in heaven. After his apostasy, Satan was replaced by angel Gabriel.

Note: GC 493 States that though Satan was “next to Christ” yet he “had been most honored of God and stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven.”

ST April 28, 1890 clarified that “Lucifer was the covering cherub, the most exalted of the heavenly created beings.”

Satan stood highest among the created inhabitants of heaven, but he was not one of the third highest being in heaven in the sphere of the Godhead.

6. Who is the real third person of the Godhead according to inspiration?

a. Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 10, p. 37. (1897)
“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.”

b. Testimonies to Ministers, p. 392.2
“Evil had been accumulating for centuries and could only be restrained and resisted by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. Another spirit must be met; for the essence of evil was working in all ways, and the submission of man to this satanic captivity was amazing.”

7. What of the claim that the Holy Spirit is not a third God-being distinct from the Father and the Son?

Inspiration tells us the Holy Spirit is a divine being and is God:

a. Desire of Ages, p. 512.3
“John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth. If we will live in communion with God, we too may expect the divine Spirit to mold our little ones, even from their earliest moments.”

b. Life Sketches, p. 472.3
“The Holy Spirit, Christ’s representative on earth, is set forth and exalted as the heavenly teacher and guide sent to this world by our Lord at His ascension, to make real in the hearts and lives of men all that He had made possible by His death on the cross. The gifts of this divine Spirit, as enumerated in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament, are acknowledged, prayed for, and received as fully as the Spirit sees fit to impart them.”

c. Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892 par. 3
“The Holy Spirit indites all genuine prayer. I have learned to know that in all my intercessions the Spirit intercedes for me and for all saints; but his intercessions are according to the will of God, never contrary to his will. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;” and the Spirit, being God, knoweth the mind of God; therefore in every prayer of ours for the sick, or for other needs, the will of God is to be regarded. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

d. Acts 5:1-4
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

8. If the Holy Spirit is a divine spirit and is God, should He be worship along with the Father and the Son.

“Now a little point. As the saints in the kingdom of God are accepted in the beloved, they hear: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And then the golden harps are touched, and the music flows all through the heavenly host, and they fall down and worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” {Ms139-1906.32}

Note: This quote is attributed to Ellen White with the bibliography entry being “White, E. G. (1906). Ms 139, 1906.”

WHEN WAS THE PLANE OF REDEMPTION FORMULATED?

9. What Biblical reference is wrongly interpreted by some Christians to mean that the plan of redemption was formulated after the creation of the world?

Romans 16:25 “Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.”

10. How do we know that the plan of redemption was actually devised even before the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1:18-20 “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…But with the precious blood of Christ…Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

Desire of Ages, p. 22
“The plan of redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery that hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.”

Patriarch and Prophets, p. 63
“The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth.”

11. How far back before the foundation of the world did the plan of redemption existed?

Desire of Ages, page 147
“The words, “Mine hour is not yet come,” point to the fact that every act of Christ’s life on earth was in fulfillment of the plan that had existed from the days of eternity. Before He came to earth, the plan lay out before Him, perfect in all its details. But as He walked among men, He was guided, step by step, by the Father’s will. He did not hesitate to act at the appointed time. With the same submission He waited until the time had come.”

Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 186
“The plan of salvation had its place in the counsels of the Infinite from all eternity.”

Summary and Conclusion:

To conclude this lesson, let us summarize the points we have learned? We have learned that…
a. The plan of redemption was formulated, not only by the Father and the Son (ST, June 17, 1903 par. 2), but by the three living persons of the Godhead (CH 222).
b. That the plan of redemption was formulated by the three persons of the Godhead is further proved by the fact that “the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost, though three in individuality, yet they are one” (1 John 5:7), “one in nature, in character, and in purpose” (7ABC 440) which obviously include the purpose regarding the redemption of man.
c. Therefore the Plan of Redemption is not only the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4), but the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Col. 2:2).
d. The third highest being in heaven was not Lucifer nor Gabriel but the Holy Spirit (Sermon and Talks, vol. 1, p. 367).
e. That the plan of redemption was devised before the creation of the world (PP 63), and it existed from the days of eternity (DA 147).

When we study the plan of redemption we will be led to see and appreciate the wisdom, knowledge and greatness of God.

Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

Psalms 139: 2, 6 “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off….Such knowledge is too wonderful; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”