The mystery of salvation has been revealed to man. Paul told the Ephesians of this, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him” (Eph. 3:1 – 12).

When man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God could have justly destroyed man, but instead He devised a way for man to be justified in His sight again. The story of how man’s redemption was to occur is found in the pages of God’s word. The coming of a savior was promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1 - 3), and the story of this man and his descendants leads us to the time of Christ. The account takes us through two periods of captivity for God’s people. We read of the direction God gave to His people and how they many times failed to follow His word, and how they suffered for their disobedience. It is also seen that God blessed them when they followed Him and even delivered them from enemies as long as they followed His commands. God kept His promises to man.

The apostle Peter wrote the following, “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. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:9, 10). God’s desire is that all men would be saved, but He leaves the choice up to man whether to accept or reject His terms. He has given the ultimate sacrifice – Jesus to die for all men (John 3:16); He has given an instruction manual to be followed – the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16 – 17); and He has given man time to obey (2 Cor. 6:2).