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  GOD BEGINS TO REVEAL HIS ETERNAL PLAN
  by G.W. North
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Summary: God's original purpose for man is gracious engulfment in love,
where He provides the Lamb and regenerates people's spirits and saves
their souls through floods of Holy Spirit.

Topics: "Baptism", "God's Eternal Plan"
Scripture References: Matthew 3:11, John 1:29, Hebrews 10:1

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DESCRIPTION
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G.W. North emphasizes that through the ministry of John the Baptist, God
began to reveal His eternal plan, showcasing Jesus as both the ultimate
Sacrifice and the Baptizer. Unlike the outdated Mosaic sacrificial
system, which had become mere ritualism, John's call to baptism
signified a transformative shift towards a relationship with God through
the Holy Spirit. North highlights that God's original intention was
never for people to bear the burden of their own sacrifices, as He had
already provided the Lamb through Abraham's revelation. This transition
from the old system to the new covenant illustrates God's gracious love
and the regeneration of spirits through baptism. Ultimately, the sermon
underscores the significance of recognizing Jesus' role in fulfilling
God's eternal purpose for humanity.

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CONTENT
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By the Mosaic propitiatory system the Lord Jesus was chiefly set forth
as both sacrifice and priest; but differing from His illustrious
predecessor Moses, John's ministry unmistakably revealed Jesus to be
both Sacrifice and Baptizer. John never led anyone to an altar; he
called them to a river, where later He who was the Lamb of God and the
Baptizer in the Spirit was to be presented. Whether or not John knew
what his actions and preaching would effect among men we do not know,
but by his light we see that baptism has now replaced the practice of
that former sacrificial system.

History reveals that by John's day the Mosaic system had already ceased
to be anything more than mere ritualism. Behind the Temple veil in
Jerusalem there was no Ark of the Covenant, no tables of stone, no Mercy
Seat, no blood, no glory, no Holy of Holies, no God. But this was not
the only reason why God was making moves to replace that old system. He
was revealing the greater and more wondrous fact that the onus which had
lain upon people under Moses' law to provide themselves with their own
sacrifices for sin was not God's original and eternal purpose for man.

For those who had eyes to see it, He had revealed to Abraham long before
Moses' day that He Himself would provide the Lamb. Through John He was
giving men a glimpse of the fact that His method for mankind is gracious
engulfment in love, which is by floods of Holy Spirit in which to
baptise dead men into life, regenerating their spirits and saving their
souls, Of necessity God had imposed upon His people the historic
sacrificial system, but He did so reluctantly and then only until the
time when according to His original purpose, the symbols should be swept
away in the reformation brought in by His Son.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/god-begins-to-reveal-his-eternal-plan/
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