|
A LIFE TO OVERCOME By Laura L. Whitley
Chapter Two
Full Scope of Your Salvation
You are a complex and unique creation of God. God “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). And if one studies the anatomy of man — his cell structure, his DNA, his blood flow, his organs and how they all come together in an inclusive and complex unity — it is a surety that only God, the Creator, could have accomplished this most multifaceted and prodigious task.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . . .” (Genesis 1:26a)
God made man in a most exceptional form. He made man in His “image,” in His “likeness.” One may wonder about the composition of that “image.” Well, in the same verse (above), God refers to the formation of man in a plural sense, using the words “Us” and “Our.” Also, the Hebrew word translated God is Elohim, a word that is plural in nature, which means “three,” revealing that God is a tripartite (three-part) being. Although God is a Trinity, He reveals Himself in three distinct persons — God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Since God is a tripartite being and He made man in His image, man is also a tripartite being. In the “likeness” of God, man is composed of a spirit, a soul and a body.
This is clearly seen when Paul prays for the members of the Thessalonian church, that each part of their being (spirit, soul and body) may be preserved blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Before Adam and the Woman fell into sin they were covered with the glory of God, created in His likeness. But after their fall they found themselves naked, no longer having the covering of glory and thereby disqualified from ruling (having “dominion”) over the earth. And the consequence of their fall was that now they existed in a state of death,
. . . but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:17)
The death that they experienced by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was multifaceted in nature. Their spirits immediately died, which placed their souls and bodies in a state of regressive and eventual death. Their souls became corrupted as they now possessed a sin nature and their bodies began to decay, because they no longer were immortal. Therefore, since the fall of Adam, man no longer possessed the image of God, an image that is without sin — from that day forward man has been born dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1). And in order to free man from this sentence of death and the bondage of sin, God had to send His Son to shed His blood — signifying His spiritual death (separation from the Father ) — thereby paying the price, to the Father’s satisfaction, for man’s sin (Isaiah 53:4-6, 11; 1 Peter 2:24a).
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
It would be prudent at this point to understand that the consequence (price) of man’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17) was primarily spiritual death, even though physical death was a component. And to understand death contextually within Scripture is to understand that it is a state of separation. Just as a person is separated from the connection to life (the animation of the body, also expressed in Scripture as the “soul,” which is contained in the blood [Leviticus 17:11]) upon physical death, he becomes separated from his connection to God upon spiritual death. Upon man’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden both Adam and Eve became separated from God (i.e., the death of their spirits); and, as well, their physical bodies (i.e., the animation of each body, their souls), became subject to the regression of the dying state.
And it was the shedding of blood, represented by the clothing of skin (Genesis 3:21) that God provided to cover their nakedness, the complete nakedness from the covering of glory that they enjoyed upon their creation. This may be understood by the contrast of the two Hebrew words for “naked” (seen in Genesis 2:7; 3:21) of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:7). This covering, as a type (example), looked forward to and represented the death of Christ Jesus on the cross; a death that, when accepted by faith, is the covering for a person’s spiritual nakedness (i.e., his separation [spiritual death] from God).
For it was on the cross that God the Son experienced spiritual death by becoming separated from God the Father for a period of three hours (“from the sixth hour [noon] until the ninth hour [3:00 P.M.] — Matthew 27:45), in which He cried, “‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46). This spiritual separation was the price [which satisfied God the Father (Romans 3:25, 26; 1 John 2:2; 4:10)] that God, in the person of His Son, paid for the sins of mankind — a price that may only be accepted by faith for man to be eternally saved (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
In Christ’s physical death upon the cross we see the distribution of all three components of His composition, as His soul went to Paradise/Hades (Luke 23:43; Acts 2:27), His spirit went to God the Father (Luke 23:46) and His body to the tomb (Matthew 27:57-60).
Upon His resurrection on the third day, all three (soul, spirit, and body) were then re-united. Likewise, upon physical death, the believer’s soul will go up to Paradise (its location having been relocated from the center of the earth [Luke 16:22] to the “third heaven” [2 Corinthians 12:2-4] when Christ rose from the dead [Ephesians 4:8-10]), his spirit will go into the presence of God (Acts 7:59; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8) and his body will go to the grave (or to be cremated) until he is resurrected. Then, at his resurrection, all three components will be re-united to stand before Jesus Christ at His judgment seat. And those believers that remain alive will be raptured to the judgment seat as well (1 Thessalonians 4:13ff; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
But for the unsaved upon physical death, the soul will go down to Hades and the body and spirit to the grave until after the Millennium. Then, Death and Hades will deliver them up to the great white throne judgment where they will be judged according to their works. Their exclusion from the Book of Life will result in the unsaved being found insufficient by their works; therefore, they will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11ff).
Beginning the study of man’s three components, we find that the spirit is the immaterial part of man’s composition that was the result of God creating man in God’s “image,” according to His “likeness,” and then breathing into man’s nostrils the “breath of life” (Genesis 1:26; 2:7). The spirit is that component of man that allows him to be permanently linked to God, to be able to have a relationship with all that is divine. But it is only when one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ that his spirit is made alive and his eternal salvation is secured.
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . . .” (Acts 16:30, 31)
But for an unsaved (unregenerate) person, his spirit remains dead, with no link to or with God.
The Greek word pneuma (G4151) is translated both “breath” and “spirit” in the New Testament. The Spirit of God (Breath of God) is the One who gave life to man upon creation, and who gave the living Word to man. From the day that Adam sinned in the Garden and his spirit died, everyone born thereafter possessed a dead spirit. However, Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of the world and made it possible for man’s redemption.
The moment one believes in Christ, the Holy Spirit brings the person’s spirit to life. It is at that moment the person who was “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) passes from “death into life” (John 5:24). And from that moment on it is possible for God to guide him “into all truth” (John 16:13) by and through the Word, which is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), and which will transform him by the renewing of his mind that he may “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).
He is now able to commune with God by means of his living spirit as it is inalterably linked to God by and through the Spirit of God, and he is now able to grow from immaturity to maturity. And if the believer will diligently and earnestly seek God through the study of His Word, he will be given “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” as his eyes of understanding are enlightened and he understands what is the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17, 18).
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)
At the beginning of the present dispensation (beginning at Pentecost), God assigned a unique feature to the mission of the Holy Spirit pertaining to His presence in the world — to acquire a bride for His Son — which is the antitype of the Old Testament type of Abraham when he sent his “oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had” into Mesopotamia to acquire a bride for his son (Genesis 24). In this respect, the Holy Spirit has an entirely different mission from that which He has fulfilled from the time when man fell in the Garden of Eden, man’s eternal salvation. In order to acquire a bride for His Son, which will have direct application relative to the kingdom during the Messianic age, God commissioned the Holy Spirit for this unique purpose.
Salvation in Scripture is also spoken of in three tenses — past, present and future. This has been done to point out a beginning with an end in view. The Spirit can take the one who now has spiritual life and perform a work in the life of that individual, with a view to an inheritance that will be realized at a future time.
In Ephesians 2:8, we see that salvation of the spirit is a past, completed work, which is based solely on the work (sacrifice) of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. This aspect of salvation is the gospel of grace, which is the good news of the free gift of eternal salvation.
For by grace you have been saved [past tense salvation] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
Once you are eternally saved, you can never again be unsaved, irrespective of what you do.
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)
There was nothing that we did to be eternally saved, for the work was completed in the past by the Lord, and therefore there is nothing we can do to become unsaved again.
The salvation of the spirit is just the beginning of our walk with God. Remember that all three aspects of our being: spirit, soul and body must be saved to be able to rule and reign with Christ in the Millennium. Salvation of the spirit is exclusively associated with entrance into the kingdom of heaven during the eternal ages, which do not begin until one thousand years after Christ’s return.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a prominent aspect of salvation of the spirit (John 7:39; 14:16, 17; Romans 5:5; 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 4:6; 1 John 2:27), will (if allowed) assist the Christian in a righteous walk that will insure the salvation of his soul. The Christian’s temporal earthly life is a testing ground of his faith in God, and all that he does during this time will significantly affect his future during the coming millennial age. His works during his Christian walk will eventually and surely be judged at Christ’s Judgment Seat to determine whether or not he will be worthy for that coming day.
As children of God, we are also joint-heirs with Christ, but only if we walk like Him, in faith and love through suffering.
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:16, 17)
This takes us to the second component of our created being: the soul. The Greek word psuche (G5590) throughout the New Testament is translated “soul” or “life.” Therefore, both soul and life mean the same thing and are used interchangeably in Scripture. This word defines the natural life of a person. The soul is the foundation of a person’s emotions, feelings, desires, likes and dislikes. In Leviticus 17:11, we see that the life [soul] of the flesh is in the blood. It is the animating principle of the body of flesh.
By means of the salvation of the spirit, a person is then in a position to realize the purpose of his salvation — the salvation of his soul or life. The difference between the salvation of the spirit and the salvation of the soul is that the salvation of the soul is conditional, dependent on the life one lives after his spirit has been saved, which in turn, is dependent on him allowing the Holy Spirit to control his life through his own spirit. The Holy Spirit does this by imparting spiritual truth, understanding and direction, a function that is directly connected and proportionate to the reading and study of Scripture.
The control of one’s life by the Holy Spirit, referred to in Scripture as being “filled with the Spirit,” may be seen by comparing the following two companion passages of Scripture:
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20)
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:16, 17)
A proper comparison of these two companion passages clearly indicates that the filling with (control by) the Holy Spirit is proportionate to one’s study and assimilation of Scripture. One must read and study the living Word of God in order to have the Spirit’s truth, understanding and direction. Then, one must act upon the Spirit’s truth, understanding and direction, being a doer and not just a hearer of the Word (James 1:22). It is not an easy road to follow, but knowing what is to come in the future, should make the Christian want to try hard to attain the salvation of his soul.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time . . .
. . . Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-5; 8b, 9)
All Christians will be judged following their rapture or their resurrection to determine whether their souls are saved. There are rewards for those whose works are found worthy and have attained the salvation of their souls, which enables their entrance into the kingdom. There will also be great loss for those who are found unworthy, who will not be able to enter the kingdom, but who are cast outside into outer darkness where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (an Eastern expression showing deep grief [Matthew 22:13]).
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men . . . . (2 Corinthians 5:9-11a)
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment . . . . (Hebrews 9:27)
The salvation of the soul constitutes an active, continuing work of salvation accomplished by the Christian by and though the power of the Holy Spirit. In writing to the Christians in the Grecian city of Corinth, the apostle Paul uses the present tense in expressing this salvation as a present, continuous work:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The salvation of the soul deals strictly with millennial life, and not eternal life. A Christian’s eternal salvation, the salvation of the spirit, has already been dealt with by Christ in the past and is a finished work, never to be changed.
When Christ came to earth approximately 2,000 years ago, He did so to be the “propitiation” — the vicarious and expiatory sacrifice — for our sins (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). It was on the cross that He took the sins of the world, the sins from all of time, and He became that sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) in order to pay the price for it and thereby satisfy the righteousness and justice of God. Now, anyone who will, by faith alone in Christ alone, can receive eternal life — the salvation of the spirit.
In the near future when the Lord returns the second time, it will be to judge Christians in order to determine the salvation of their souls, which only has millennial verities in view. If the Christian allows the Holy Spirit to have proper influence and control in his life, he will become an overcomer and attain the salvation of his soul. The Spirit accomplishes this by teaching him all things that encompasses the whole gospel (good news of God’s grace and glory).
Whereas the gospel of grace is restrictive to the salvation of the spirit of man with eternal verities in view, the gospel of glory is focused on the salvation of the soul with millennial verities in view. The gospel of grace and the gospel of glory together present the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
Lastly, the third part to be saved is the body. Salvation of the body will occur at the judgment seat of Christ. During the rapture, all Christians will be raised in their spiritual bodies in order to appear before the judgment Seat of Christ. Therefore, the body awaits its redemption at the Lord's return for His Church. While the body of flesh continues on earth in this unredeemed condition, there is conflict between the body of flesh and the spirit. Once the bodies are raised with Christ, then they must put on incorruption. Furthermore, those Christians that are found worthy at the judgment seat of Christ will experience their bodies being enswathed in glory. Those Christians that are found unworthy at His judgment seat will only experience the same after the Millennium, when the eternal ages begin.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. . . . (1 Corinthians 15:42-44a)
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body that is may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20, 21)
The salvation of the body is a future tense salvation. In Hebrews 1:14, salvation is presented as a future, inherited possession:
Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those [Christians] who will inherit salvation?
This future aspect of salvation marks the final realization of the Christian’s redemption, to be apprehended at the judgment seat of Christ. It involves the Christian’s inheritance — to rule and reign in the kingdom.
The key that unlocks the “mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 13:11), the solid food of the Word of God (Hebrews 5:12-14) is a proper understanding of the three components of man (spirit, soul and body) and the three aspects of salvation (past, present and future). All the components of man must be preserved blameless at Christ's return in order to inherit salvation in the kingdom of heaven and gain the reward of rulership with Christ during the Millennium (1000 year reign) and throughout the eternal ages. Therefore, if a Christian overcomes this present life, he will be clothed with the “wedding garment” — the “white garment” of “fine linen clean and bright” (Revelation 3:5; 19:8) — that will allow him to rule and reign with Christ in the Messianic Era, and beyond. This wedding garment may indeed be that “covering of light,” which covered man at his creation, a covering unique to God (Psalm 104:1, 2) and which is a facet of His “image” and “likeness.”
Below is a brief overview of spirit, soul and body salvation:
1) Salvation of the spirit is that aspect of God’s redemptive plan for man that is based on a past completed action. It transforms a person from a spiritual state of being dead in trespasses and sins, who has an unredeemed, inanimate spirit, and who is alienated from God (Ephesians 2:1, 12); to a spiritual state of being eternally alive in Christ (John 5:24; Ephesians 2:5), to a state possessing an animated spirit, possessing spiritual life, and to a state of no longer being separated from the One who Himself is Spirit (John 4:24). This transformation, which is a grace-gift from God, is brought to pass by the Spirit of God breathing life into the one having no life, is based solely on Christ’s finished work at Calvary, a work that can never be added to by man or God, and is apprehended solely by placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30, 31; Ephesians 2:8, 9).
2) Salvation of the soul, on the other hand, should never be associated with the past aspect of God’s redemptive plan for man. Scripture carefully distinguishes between the soul and the spirit, never using the words interchangeably in this respect (cf. Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). And Scripture also carefully distinguishes between salvation in relation to the spirit and salvation in relation to the soul. Salvation in relation to the spirit is always dealt with in a past sense, whereas salvation of the soul is always dealt with in a present or future sense (1 Peter 1:9; James 1:21; Hebrews 10:39). It represents the further transformation of a person who has experienced the salvation of his spirit; but, unlike the salvation of the spirit, which happens in an instant of time, it is a process that happens over time. And unlike the salvation of the spirit, which is wholly dependent upon the work of Christ, it is dependent upon the works of the individual during his temporal life as a Christian. If one submits to the Holy Spirit by means of the assimilation of God’s Word, he will thereby abide in Christ, be sanctified in this life, and produce fruit (good works) that will insure the salvation of his soul (John 15:1-8; 17:17), i.e., at the judgment seat of Christ he will be deemed qualified to become part of the bride of Christ and to rule and reign with Christ during the Messianic Era. On the other hand, if he should choose to follow his carnal nature during his temporal life, he will suffer grave loss at the judgment seat and will be denied a position in the coming millennial kingdom.
Of this salvation (v. 9: salvation of the soul) the prophets have inquired and searched carefully . . . the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things which angels desire to look into. (1 Peter 1:10-12)
It is this salvation, the salvation of our souls, that will result in our glorification in the kingdom of heaven and the reception of rewards because of our choice to follow Christ.
3) Salvation of the body is that aspect of God’s redemptive plan for man that is strictly a future realization, to be determined at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ when all Christians will stand before the judgment seat having raised bodies. However, only those believers that have denied themselves, have taken up their crosses, and followed Christ during this temporal life will be chosen out of the body of Christ, the Church, have their bodies enswathed in glory, and be permitted to rule and reign with Christ during the Messianic Era (Matthew 16:24-27). Those remaining from the body of Christ, who did not deny themselves and produce fruit (good works), will not be allowed to rule and reign with Christ during the Messianic Era. And their bodies will not be enswathed in glory until after this time frame. |