When Did God Form His Eternal Plan of Redemption?

How appropriate that we celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus during the spring season, a time of rebirth after the cold death of winter. Every year we receive a picturesque reminder of Jesus dying on the cross in our place to take away our sin, lying dead in the tomb, and then being resurrected to secure our eternal life.

Have you ever wondered when God came up with this magnificent plan to use Jesus to bridge the chasm between sinful humanity and perfect God? It had to be before Jesus actually came to earth because, while he was here, he told us why he came. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). So, we must go back further for our answer.

Could the plan have come about sometime during the millennia of the animal sacrifices? The Lord told the Israelites through Moses, “…Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” (Leviticus 16:34). Blood was required “for the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11).

Did God become weary of the “sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year” (Hebrews 10:1)? Or maybe he felt sorry for his people and so devised an alternative plan.

The yearly sacrifices, though, were never meant to be permanent. They were only “³…an annual reminder of sins, ⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4). They were part of the Mosaic Law the Israelites were to live by. However, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship” (Hebrews 10:1).

A shadow is only a representation of an object, not the actual object. It’s like a drawing of a house compared to the finished structure that provides shelter. The animal sacrifices were not the real thing. They only represented and pointed to “the good thing that was coming”: Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice. There can’t be a shadow without the object to cast it. Therefore, throughout the ages of the animal sacrifices, Jesus’ sacrifice already existed in the future.

This will take us all the way back to the Garden of Eden where we find the first animal sacrifice, or shadow. After Adam sinned, God himself shed the blood of an animal to make “garments of skin” for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). He did this to cover their sin and shame because “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Was it here he realized he needed to come up with a better plan than this so his creation would have a way to be permanently reconciled to him?

No. Look at what God said to Satan even before the first sacrifice. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The woman’s offspring refers to Christ. “He will crush your head” foreshadows Christ defeating Satan when he rises from the dead. “Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his son, Jesus Christ.” [1]

But revealing still does not tell us when the plan was formulated. We’re already at the time of creation. Can we go back any further? As a matter of fact, we can!

Peter tells us we are redeemed “¹⁹with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:19-20). This places “the atonement in eternity past; Calvary was no afterthought but the centerpiece of God’s predetermined plan.” [2]

Before our world existed, before man existed, God already had a plan. “God foresaw the fall of humanity and lovingly prepared a remedy to restore the broken relationship caused by sin.” [3]

“Theologians call this the Covenant of Redemption—a sacred, eternal agreement between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to secure salvation for a chosen people.” [4]

Paul spoke of “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). It was “a promise made from the Father to the Son…that if the Son would become the Lamb of God, the Father would grant eternal life to all who placed their trust in Him.” [5]

In Revelation, John refers to Jesus as “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Barnes explains: The intention to give him for a sacrifice was formed then, and…it was so certain that it might be spoken of as actually then occurring. [6]

God did not react to man’s disobedience.

God was not trying to improve an imperfect plan.

God was not making things up as he went.

The eternal plan of redemption existed in the mind of God from before the foundation of the world, and it unfolded throughout history precisely according to his divine plan.

[1] NIV Life Application Study Bible, footnote for Genesis 3:15

[2] Topical Lexicon

[3] “When was the plan of salvation formulated?”

[4] “Before Time Began: The Eternal Plan of Redemption”

[5] “The plan of God…From before the creation of the world”

[6] Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Scripture quotations are from NIV.

Commentary notes are from Bible Hub. See Resources.

Feature image from Bible Art