God's salvation

Sunday June 27, 2021

God's salvation

I have waited for your salvation, O Lord ! Genesis 49:18

Alleluia ! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God ! Revelation 19:1

The thought of God's salvation runs through Sacred Scripture.

The first mention is like a sigh of the soul at the devastation caused by the power of Satan : I have waited for your salvation, O Lord ! (Genesis 49:18). This expression is a beautiful summary of the whole of the Old Testament, the salvation prepared by God is expected by the faithful. The exit from Egypt is the great foreshadowing. The people were able to sing : Jah is my strength and my song, and he has been my salvation (Exodus 15:2).

In the Gospels, salvation is revealed in Jesus : My eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30), says Simeon, holding the little child in his arms. All flesh will see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6), says John the Baptist in turn, preparing the way of hearts to receive the Messiah. God saved men from their perdition, and our Lord Jesus Christ lifted up on the cross was the only way to do it.

In the Acts of the Apostles we see salvation propagated. The Lord Jesus himself had given this mission to his disciples and had defined its three great spheres : You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Simple believers also spread this great salvation : Those who had been scattered in the persecution that occurred after Stephen's death went as far as Phenicia, the island of Cyprus and Antioch (Acts 11:19). But they only spoke the Word to the Jews. However, a few of them went to Antioch and began to preach the Lord Jesus to non-Jews (Acts 11:19,20). We also like to think of the Ethiopian eunuch who takes away the scroll of Isaiah and brings the knowledge of Jesus to his country.

In the Epistles, salvation is explained to believers. The Holy Spirit unfolds before us the beauties of the Lord Jesus and his work, its implications for God and for us.

In Revelation, salvation is brought to completion. The finality of the ways of God towards Israel, the nations and the Church is reached : Alleluia ! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God !

But, from now on, I am invited to take hold of this great salvation from God, to appropriate it, to rejoice in it, to celebrate it and to announce it.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)