By Elaine
Author "Calling the Rainbow Nation Home"
Complete Deliverance
Colossians 1:10-14 (NIV)
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
"Salvation" seems like a
pretty simple word. To most of us this means that which occurs when we
accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And while this is certainly
true, the word carries with it a meaning that far surpasses a one-time
event.
The word “Salvation” comes from the Greek word "Soteria” (Strongs #4991) or “Sozo" (“soozoo”) which means to rescue, save or be in the process of saving. Deliverance and completion lay at the heart of it’s meaning. We could say it like this. Salvation means to completely deliver something or someone.
By its very definition Salvation is an ongoing work. Both a verb and a noun it implies something that has occurred, something that is occurring and something that will occur. Its work begins the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and continues on throughout our entire life until it reaches its final objective. That being that we may “be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29) and “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 4:13). Let these words sink in for a moment…
Two things stand out for me. First, these proclamations have far reaching and mind boggling implications. The full extent of which far surpasses my wisdom and understanding. Second, no matter your final interpretation of these passages. There is little doubt that God has very high expectations for us individually and for the Body of Christ as a whole.
But I Don’t FEEL Finished …
The problem is I don’t feel very ‘finished’! While I am a better person than when I first was saved some twenty odd years ago. I can hardly claim to be “conformed to the likeness of His Son"! I could write all day about my faults but some stick out more than others. For instance I’m way too stubborn and selfish and my tongue can be downright wicked when I get angry! Nor have I exactly ‘put the body under’ as my ongoing diet attempts can attest! I could go on but it’s readily apparent that I haven’t been exactly conformed to the likeness of Christ yet!
So what gives? Am I just a lousy Christian or what? Is being a “new creation in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17) just a figment of my imagination? Am I interpreting these passages incorrectly? I gain some solace knowing I'm not alone in my struggles. None other than the Apostle Paul himself wrote; “I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15 NLT) So what gives? Why do we struggle so after we’re saved and how do I reconcile all this with 2 Corinthians 5:17?
Three in One
Some of these questions are answered when we understand that there is more to us than meets the eye. In fact most things that carry the greatest value and worth cannot be measured or seen. Instinctively we know this. After all we reason with our mind yet we cannot see our thoughts. Out of love we will give our life for another yet we cannot measure loves volume or quantify it’s worth. So what exactly are we?
Scripture sheds light on this question by declaring that we are first and foremost spiritual beings. Our spirit is the ‘real’ us and lies at the very core of our existence. Yet we are more than some ethereal being floating about God’s creation. For we also posses a soul which is comprised of our intellect, emotions, feelings etc. (Hebrews 4:12) all of which are housed in a physical body (2 Corinthians 4:7, 5:1). Paul said it like this while praying for the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Born Again
So how do I reconcile being a “new creation in Christ Jesus” with my obvious shortcomings? Simply this. Unless a subsequent miracle occurred when I was "born again", only one aspect of me was changed during that miraculous moment – my spirit (John 3:5-8; Romans 8:15-16; Galatians 4:3-7)! Not one iota of my thoughts, bad habits or anything else for that matter changed the moment I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Bummer! Our mind and our body are still in need of renewal. Now we can see why we struggle so at times becoming this “new creation in Christ Jesus”! Because there is still quite a ‘clean-up’ job left ahead!
Does this affect our ability to call ourselves sons and daughters of the most high? Not in the least! That aspect of salvation is ours forever to keep! Our entry into heaven is assured! What I’m talking about here is the journey of Salvation that lies ahead (i.e. the verb aspect of Salvation!). But take heart! The most difficult and important part of the job is already done! Why do I say that? Because no amount of hard work (i.e. a doctrine of ‘works’) or good intentions is capable of earning our salvation. Nor is it capable of changing our spirit within! Only God can do that! And He did that the moment we accepted His Son as our Lord and Savior!
Romans 8:15-16 (NIV)
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.”
The Journey Ahead
So why do we still feel the need to get rid of our bad habits and “work out" our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13) if our salvation is already assured? Because we want to! We don’t want to stay mired in our ‘old’ ways and our ‘old’ habits that only hurt ourselves, hurt others and cause a rift in our relationship with God.
Simply put, we want to 'grow up'! God's spirit within us compels us to grow up! God desires us to mature and become all that He's intended us to be (1 John 2:12-14; 1 Corinthians 13:11-12)! God wants the best for us. He wants us to have an abundant life (John 10:10) full of Him and of His grace. He didn’t come so that we could be saved and then live on the breadcrumbs of our initial Christian experience for the rest of our lives! Being a Christian is to be on a journey. A journey of discovery, of renewal, of learning about Him and about His ways. But most importantly, it’s a journey about making our character become a reflection of Christ's character. Just as Christ's character was a perfect reflection of His Father's character (Hebrews 1:3; John 14:9; 1 John 4:8). So ours is destined to become like Christ's (2 Corinthians 3:18)!
Loving Parent
Is this a journey we travel alone? No! God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Nor has He left us ill equipped for our travels. He has given us His Word to instruct us (2 Timothy 3:16), His Spirit to guide us (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 16:13-15) and the five-fold ministry to encourage us (Ephesians 4:11-13). He has given us all the provision we need to move forward with our lives. In spite of all this He will not take this journey for us. We must become active participants in this process. Seeking and following God's will for our lives. Living out our lives according to His great commandment of Love (Matthew 22:37-40; Galatians 5:22-23). Salvation's journey is not finished the moment we accept Christ! It has only begun.
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