Salvation Is God’s Greatest Gift to Humans

You inquired as to what God’s greatest gift to man was. Salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans.

Definition of salvation

Salvation is defined as God’s special love for man manifested in the giving of His Son, as well as His death and resurrection, by which we now have access to the Father. This salvation gives us a relationship with God, allowing us to understand Him and His will more clearly.

Explanation of why salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans

After God created man, he said to him, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Genesis 1:28”. God put a man in charge of the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam everything he had but told him not to eat from a certain tree. Just don’t do this one thing. See the scripture:

"You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. Genesis 3:3." 

However, Adam disobeyed God. When the singular disobedient sin entered the world, it brought death with it. It was not God’s intention for the man he created to die.

God’s original plan was for man to reign with him forever. The good thing is that that plan was restored even though Adam disobeyed God and lost his original privilege of living forever.

Biblical Evidence of Salvation

The prophecy about the birth of Jesus showed that God had planned for us to be saved through the coming of Jesus.

By dying on the cross and rising again, Jesus demonstrated His love and opened the door for us to experience life with God.

Old Testament

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14.

Isaiah foretold the birth of a Messiah who would be God’s servant and would bring forth justice and righteousness, providing redemption to all people. As he prophesied, the coming of Jesus marked a new covenant between God and humanity.

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Adam was the first man created by God, and then later God created Eve, his wife. God used to come to them in the cool hours of the evening to fellowship with them in the Garden of Eden.

Unknown to Adam, though, the devil was busy looking for ways to break the relationship that he had with God.

The Scriptures say that the serpent was wiser than all the beasts of the field that God created. The serpent deceived Eve, which resulted in both her and Adam’s disobedience.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:1-5.

According to the Bible, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also to her husband with her; and he ate.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

The consequences were far-reaching and difficult to ignore. So, the Lord was incensed, and as punishment, He exiled Adam and Eve from His kingdom.

New Testament

Mary was chosen by God to be the vessel through which Jesus will enter the world.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. Gospel Lk 1:26-38

Salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans, which we did not obtain through our good works. It’s simply God’s grace for you and me.

God has blessed you and me with His grace. His grace has been revealed to you so that you will recognize and accept Jesus as the greatest gift.

Jesus’ sole purpose in life was to restore what had been lost. It was to restore us to God. He came that you and I might have an abundant life.

His mission was to bridge the gap between God and mankind so that all who accepted his salvation could have an abundant life. Jesus was the ultimate example of God’s grace and mercy.

Practical Examples of Salvation

Sin may appear appealing at the time of its commission, but the consequences can be disastrous.

Their (Adam and Eve’s) eyes were opened by sin. the same way many think that willfully disobeying God and committing sin is smartness; all because they want to gratify their flesh.

Temporary pleasures don’t last. Something you did just a few minutes ago that has now filled your heart with sorrow, assuming the sinner’s heart has not been completely taken over by sin.

At least if you have some conscience, you will agree that the pleasure of sin does not last long.

At first, it seems as if the whole body wants it, but the next minute after the event, one may become resentful.

Sorry if this appears harsh, but it is true. Oh, I want this, or I will get that, but later we realize that all is vanity.

Disobedience to God results in hatred of the deed, at least for the person whose conscience is not dead to sin.

I say this because I have experienced the pain of sin. It is not worth it at all. The best thing is for one to serve God in obedience to His Word and remain true to it.

This salvation, when accepted, brings about an essential transformation of a person’s life.

Redemption of Sin

After the fall, Adam and Eve lost the domineering power that God gave them over his created works. They lost it to the devil through his deception.

Right there, sin, diseases, afflictions, hatred, lack, want, and whatever else you can name entered the world.

God wouldn’t have summarily dismissed us because of our sins, and He wasn’t going to destroy the devil immediately. Of course, Satan will be destroyed for all his mischief, but the hour hasn’t come.

In the interim, there had to be a way for God to save us. So, He sent Jesus for our redemption. God demonstrated his love for us by forgiving us while we were still in sin. Romans 5:8.

The Bible says that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. On this particular day, “Christmas,” Christ, the saviour of the world, was born.

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There are spiritual laws of God that govern this world. And those are unbreakable because God keeps his promises. Satan knew this and thus capitalized on it to steal the power over death that was originally ours.

Since then, humanity has suffered the consequences of this theft, and we have been subjected to death, disease, and darkness

The world is held together by God’s word. It is written:

"In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands" (Heb. 1:10). Moreover, he sustains the present creation, bearing "all things by his powerful word" (Heb. 1:3).

Satan knows this very well. Remember that the devil is God’s creature. Known as Lucifer, he was an archangel of God but was cast down to earth due to pride.

At some point, the devil aspired to ascend to the throne of God. But he was defeated, and now the devil is wreaking havoc everywhere in order to steal God’s most precious creation: man.

Don’t let him take you away from God through deception. You must give your life to Christ in order to stop the devil’s tricks and lies.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! Isaiah 14:12.

Jesus, the greatest gift

Now, because God cannot break His word, and considering that Satan has stolen God’s gift to man, there needed to be another way for Him to restore the broken relationship.

“What did Satan get from his trickery? “The power of death, Remember, I did say that God created man to reign with him forever. Death was not in the original plan of God for us.

Hebrews 2:14, NLT: Because God's children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

God devised another method after realizing that His word could not be broken. At the time, Satan had stolen God’s precious gift of “life” to man.

So what did God do? There has to be a way to get back what was stolen.

The blood of a bull and a ram could not cut it. Nor could our blood do it because we were still in sin.

As a result, God decided to come by Himself. God is in Jesus, and our Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh.

Jesus was conceived in a womb like every other person and born of a virgin. Briefly, this was how Jesus came into the world, as revealed in the Gospel of Luke.

Gospel of Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." 

But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." 

But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 

Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." 

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. "May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

After the angel had finished revealing God’s plan to Mary, she said, “Let God’s will be done.

In case you’re asking why God had to go this far to redeem us from sin, I said earlier that the spiritual laws of God cannot be broken.

The “death and resurrection of Jesus” was the only way that you and I could have been saved.

Relationship with God

Salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans. According to the Bible, salvation is only possible through Jesus, the greatest gift.

He who knew no sin was made sin for us so that we may be saved. Jesus’ death and resurrection were God’s way of providing salvation to all people.

According to John 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."

God sent Jesus to restore what had been stolen. Jesus came into the world in fulfillment of God’s plan that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Beloved, the season we are in is a very special moment. One that calls for thanksgiving to God. Please hear this: if Jesus had not come down to die for us, we would all have perished in hell.

But because God loved us, He found a way to break the middle wall that the devil erected through deception.

Therefore, Jesus was sacrificed for our sins; He died, went to Hades, and destroyed the devil, who possessed the power of death. He retrieved what was stolen, and He has now given us the keys to life.

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:14–19.)

As a born-again Christian, you have received the keys, one of which is the key that nullifies death. The Bible teaches that “Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.” Isaiah 28.

The keys work when you pray in the name of Jesus. You can now use the name of Jesus to overcome every life challenge.

Christ obtained this victory for us on the cross, and afterward He said, “It is finished.”

Eternal Life

So, therefore, when a child of God dies a physical death, the angels of God carry the soul of that person into heaven. Our spirit does not die.

Man dies physically, but the soul will live on; however, where it will live is based on our decisions to either accept Jesus as the Son of God and Lord over our lives or not.

Accepting Jesus into your life guarantees you eternal life in God’s kingdom.

The spirit in man is the real person that doesn’t die. That spirit is a true reflection of that person, with all their soulish attributes of mind, emotions, intellect, etc. That child of God is transitioned into God’s kingdom to reign with Him forever.

If Jesus hadn’t paid the price for our sins, the one who dies immediately goes to hell because of Scripture. It says we were all born in sin.

Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

So, we thank God for His unspeakable gift. The gift of salvation; is that it is through this one man, Jesus, that we now have eternal life.

There is an answer to the question, “What is the greatest gift God gave to man?”

For scarcely a righteous man will one die; yet, perhaps, for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:7-8.

Salvation is God’s gift of grace to the world. The question then is, “Are you born again? Have you given your life to Christ? Would you continue in sin so that grace would abound? God forbid.

God’s graciousness to you should not be taken for granted. Rather, believe the Bible, accept God’s grace, and you will live to see the Lord.

Christmas reminds us that salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans.

Christmas is celebrated across the world to mark the birth of Jesus Christ, through whom we have access to God.

The birth of Jesus Christ was orchestrated by God to restore the broken relationship between Himself and man.

It is a season of celebration for the believer, the one who has been saved or, better yet, born again. It is a time when we look at each other and say, “Father, we thank you for saving us.”

However, for the unbeliever, the person who is yet to reconcile himself with God, it should be a time for sober reflection.

It should be a time to look inward and ask yourself, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”

Your question should be, “Is it truly worth it to continue in sin?” If your answer is no, which I pray it will be, give your life to Christ.

The pleasure of sin is temporary, whereas God’s gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So, decide today who you will serve. But as a child of God, my advice to you is to surrender your life to Christ.

Allow God to be at the center of your life. Remember Adam? One act of disobedience destroyed him.

That disobedience to God’s Word brought about too much suffering. He would have to suffer so much to find something to eat, according to the Bible.

Conclusion

Here’s something to know: God punished Adam for his disobedience; however, that penalty is nothing compared to suffering in hell. How did I come to this conclusion?

First and foremost, we have established that God’s word cannot be broken and that God does not lie because he is not a man who should lie.

Remember the parable Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus when he walked the earth (Luke 16:19–31)?

Both died; however, Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (the same as heaven), but the rich man was not.

Now see, at one time, the rich man looked up from where he was undergoing agony, pain, and sorrow and saw Abraham; he said, “Father Abraham, please get Lazarus to dip his finger in the water so that the drop of it will cool his thirst.”

He went on to beg Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his remaining brothers to avoid sin so that they did not end up like him.

I like Abraham’s response though; he said what you are asking me to do is not possible because there is a great gulf fixed between us and you, and neither we nor you can come into contact with each other.

This leads me to believe that the suffering in hell is never-ending, despite the fact that the person’s soul never dies.

Now tell me, does this picture look nice to you? Of course not. Adam had an abundance of water to drink; however, he had to work hard to survive.

Judging by the foregoing, it is clear that Adam’s sin penalty is nothing compared to the rich man’s suffering in Hades.

Summary of the importance of salvation

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Genesis 3:17 KJV

Since God is a spirit, those who worship him must do so in spirit and in truth.

If you’ve given your life to Christ, Christmas should be a time to look inward and ask God to have his way in your life.

Allow Him to build you up through the power of His word, because you will need it to navigate the world’s issues.

Your current suffering, however, pales in comparison to the glory that will be revealed in you when Jesus returns.

Salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans; it makes us better all around and shapes our lives. It is through salvation that we are able to develop godly character.

Reflection on how salvation can transform lives

God’s greatest gift to those who dare to believe His word is salvation. This is the truth; you can’t add or subtract anything from it.

If you do, then you have no part in what is being discussed here. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

Salvation is God’s greatest gift to humans. It is not a complex concept, as it only requires faith and trust in God’s word.

If you have not consciously given your life to Christ, know that none of these precious promises of God’s heaven apply to you.

You do not become a partaker of this God’s precious promises unless and until you willingly accept Jesus into your life.

All of God’s words are precious; they are inspired by His Holy Spirit, but I’d like to close with this one where Jesus says,

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Mathew 11:28-30.

Are you ready to come now? Stop trying to navigate the issues of this life by yourself. You cannot.

It cost God the life of His precious son to redeem you and me; how then can you do it in your own power?

Whoever thinks self-righteousness will get them to heaven is wasting away. You will fail miserably. The only way to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Tags: Death Following Jesus Life After Death Love Surrender Your Life to Jesus