Rebellion occurred not only in God’s original creation, which came under God’s judgment; it took place also in God’s restoration. Man, the center of this restoration, was deceived by Satan; he followed Satan and rebelled against God. Consequently, the restored universe once more became fallen and corrupted. At this point, He had to find a way to save man or abandon His original plan. Thankfully, God is a God who does not change. Regardless of the damage done by Satan, God will accomplish what He planned; He would never give up halfway. Therefore, God came to redeem man.
Immediately after Adam sinned and fell, God came to seek him out (3:8-9).
God came and sought out the fallen Adam and promised him a Savior, who would be the seed of the woman; He also promised him a way of salvation, which involved killing a sacrifice and putting on its skin (vv. 15, 21).
God did not merely promise a way of salvation, He also revealed it through many types. The way of salvation is nothing other than the redeemed ones being identified with the Redeemer.
In order for Noah and his family to be saved through the ark, they had to enter into the ark. For us to be saved through Christ, we must enter into Christ. Therefore, whenever the matter of believing in Jesus is spoken of in the New Testament, the Greek word for to believe is always followed by the preposition into. To believe into the Lord Jesus means to be identified with the Lord Jesus; without identification there is no substitution. Noah’s family of eight was hidden within the ark; the floodwater assailed the ark instead of them. God saw the ark instead of them. The ark became their substitute by virtue of their being identified with the ark. In the same way, a sacrifice could be slaughtered in place of Adam because Adam was identified with the sacrifice. Furthermore, when the Israelites observed the passover, they hid within houses that were sprinkled with blood and consumed the meat of the lamb. These are all stories of identification. Rahab the harlot and her family were saved because they gathered in a house with a scarlet thread tied to it. Later, the Israelites entered Canaan and established six cities of refuge. Those who unintentionally committed sin could flee to a city of refuge to avoid punishment. Here God clearly reveals the way of salvation—there must be identification in order for there to be substitution. The Lord Jesus can replace us because we have been identified with Him. Therefore, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” We must be in Him to become the righteousness of God.
In Genesis 12:1-3, 26:3-4, and 28:13-14 God called Abraham and promised that he and his descendants would receive the salvation that God gave for man. For this we need to refer to the covenant God made with Abraham.
After God called and promised man salvation, He was still concerned that man might not know the Savior or the way of salvation. So He established numerous types, like a kindergarten education, conveying thoughts through pictures and describing them in numerous ways.
God redeemed the Israelites with the Passover lamb in the land of Egypt, and with His mighty hand, He delivered them out of Egypt through the Red Sea. In this type God revealed that His way of salvation causes the redeemed to receive His life through a substitutionary shedding of blood and delivers the redeemed from the bondage of Satan and the world with great power through the death of Christ.
God gave the law at Mount Sinai so that through the law man’s corruption and impotence would be manifested and proven. In this way man would be subdued, knowing that he could not do good, and thereby, would draw near to the way of salvation.
This is another group of the types of the way of salvation, explaining the means by which the redeemed ones fellowship with God in their daily living.
This is the third group of types of the way of salvation, explaining the process and the ultimate goal of salvation. Together, the three groups reveal the way of salvation in full.
In the Pentateuch and the books of history, God speaks of the Savior and the way of salvation through types. In the books of prophecy and the Psalms, God promises the Redeemer and the redemption through prophecies in plain words.
All of the above six points are matters in the Old Testament. However, God eventually became flesh to be man’s Savior according to what He had promised, typified, and prophesied. He accomplished redemption through crucifixion and resurrection. This is the record of the Gospels.
The Lord died and resurrected, accomplished redemption, ascended to the height, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and then descended as the Spirit to carry out His accomplished redemption in man for the building up of the church. This is seen in the book of Acts and in the Epistles.