SALVATION – PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
For by grace are ye saved [lit. ‘you have been saved’] through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8, 9).
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish [lit. ‘to the ones perishing’] foolishness; but unto us which are saved [lit. ‘who are being saved’] it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).
And they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of [lit. ‘for the sake of the ones about to inherit’] salvation (Heb. 1:14)?
Salvation in the Word of God is spoken of in three tenses – past, present, and future: 1) Christians have been saved, 2) Christians are being saved, and 3) Christians are about to be saved.
In Eph. 2:8, 9, salvation is a past, completed act; in1 Cor. 1:18, salvation is a present, continuous work; and in Heb. 1:14; salvation is a future, inherited position. Since the Word of God presents salvation in a framework of this nature, it is vitally important in Scriptural interpretation to first ascertain to which of these three aspects of salvation any given passage pertains.
Christians talk about soul winning in connection with the unsaved. Soul winning conferences are held with this same end in view; but this is not the way Scripture deals with soul winning.
Soul winning, as seen in Scripture, has to do with the reaching those who already possess eternal life (those who have a redeemed spirit, those who have ‘passed from death unto life’), not with reaching those who are still ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ Soul winning, rather than having to do with the free gift of eternal life, has to do with the faithfulness of the saved (resulting in works), and just recompense of reward, and life in the coming kingdom of Christ. Soul winning is reaching Christians with the Word of the Kingdom, reaching those that have already believed in the Lord Jesus Christ with the message concerning the purpose of their salvation.
For by grace are ye saved [lit. ‘you have been saved’] through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8, 9).
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish [lit. ‘to the ones perishing’] foolishness; but unto us which are saved [lit. ‘who are being saved’] it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).
And they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of [lit. ‘for the sake of the ones about to inherit’] salvation (Heb. 1:14)?
Salvation in the Word of God is spoken of in three tenses – past, present, and future: 1) Christians have been saved, 2) Christians are being saved, and 3) Christians are about to be saved.
In Eph. 2:8, 9, salvation is a past, completed act; in1 Cor. 1:18, salvation is a present, continuous work; and in Heb. 1:14; salvation is a future, inherited position. Since the Word of God presents salvation in a framework of this nature, it is vitally important in Scriptural interpretation to first ascertain to which of these three aspects of salvation any given passage pertains.
Christians talk about soul winning in connection with the unsaved. Soul winning conferences are held with this same end in view; but this is not the way Scripture deals with soul winning.
Soul winning, as seen in Scripture, has to do with the reaching those who already possess eternal life (those who have a redeemed spirit, those who have ‘passed from death unto life’), not with reaching those who are still ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ Soul winning, rather than having to do with the free gift of eternal life, has to do with the faithfulness of the saved (resulting in works), and just recompense of reward, and life in the coming kingdom of Christ. Soul winning is reaching Christians with the Word of the Kingdom, reaching those that have already believed in the Lord Jesus Christ with the message concerning the purpose of their salvation.
In the first aspect of salvation, dealt with in Eph. 2:8; the word in the corrected text, “you have been saved,” is a translation of two Greek words which is form what is called in the Greek text a “periphrastic perfect.” The “perfect” tense refers to action completed in past time, with the results of this action extending into the present and existing in the finished state. The “periphrastic” construction places additional emphasis on the present, finished state and refers to the persistent results during present time of the past, completed work.
The eternal security of the believer cannot be expressed in stronger terms than the periphrastic construction of the perfect tense in Eph. 2:8, for the present results of the past action, in this case, can only continue unchanged forever.
However, in 1 Cor. 1:18, dealing with the second aspect of salvation, things are presented in an entirely different light than seen in Eph. 2:8. Rather than the tense in the Greek text referring to a past, completed act, the tense refers to a present continuous work.
Then in Heb. 1:14, dealing with the third aspect of salvation, matters are presented in a completely different light yet. The wording in the Greek text refers to something which is about to occur. Nothing is past or present; the reception of this salvation, in its entirety is placed in the future.
Further, the salvation referred to in Heb. 1:14 is not only to be realized in the future, but it is also an inherited salvation. Our present salvation was obtained as a free gift during the time we were alienated from God. As aliens, (outside of the family of God), we were in no position to inherit salvation, for inheritance in Scripture is always a family matter. Consequently, an individual must first be a family member before he can be considered for the inheritance, which, during the present dispensation, is restricted to “children” or “sons” of the Owner. That’s why the statement in Rom. 8:17, “If children then heirs….” And that’s also why, in Heb. 1:14, that an inherited salvation pertains to those who have already been saved, those who are no longer alienated from God but are presently family members. Thus, one should immediately be able to see the importance of proper distinctions being drawn and observed in the realm of these three aspects of salvation.
THE TRIPARTITE NATURE OF MAN
1 Thess 5:23
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
KJV
Man is a tripartite being comprising of spirit, soul, and body; and the salvation of man within its complete scope (past, present, and future) pertains to the salvation of man with respect to his complete being.
The first chapter of Genesis reveals that man was created in the “image” and “likeness” of God. The word translated “God” in the Hebrew text of this statement is Elohim. This is a plural noun, which, in complete keeping with related Scripture, would include all three members of the Godhead – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (e.g. cf. John 1:1-3).
Since Elohim is a trinity, for man to be created in the “image” and “likeness” of God, he too must be a trinity. Jesus is Elohim manifested in the flesh; and having being made in the “likeness” of man (but apart from man’s fallen nature), He, as man, must also be a trinity (John 1:14; Phil. 2:7). The tripartite nature of Christ, in Whom “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9), was clearly revealed at the time of His death.
At the time of the fall, Adam and Eve lost something; and it is clearly stated in the Scripture that both immediately recognized this fact. That which they lost could only have been covering of pristine glory which had previously clothe their bodies, for they, following the fall, found themselves in a twofold condition: 1) naked, and 2) separated from God.
God is arrayed in a covering of “light,” connected with “honour and majesty.” Man created in the “image” and “likeness” of God, could only have been arrayed in a similar manner prior to the fall.
The eternal security of the believer cannot be expressed in stronger terms than the periphrastic construction of the perfect tense in Eph. 2:8, for the present results of the past action, in this case, can only continue unchanged forever.
However, in 1 Cor. 1:18, dealing with the second aspect of salvation, things are presented in an entirely different light than seen in Eph. 2:8. Rather than the tense in the Greek text referring to a past, completed act, the tense refers to a present continuous work.
Then in Heb. 1:14, dealing with the third aspect of salvation, matters are presented in a completely different light yet. The wording in the Greek text refers to something which is about to occur. Nothing is past or present; the reception of this salvation, in its entirety is placed in the future.
Further, the salvation referred to in Heb. 1:14 is not only to be realized in the future, but it is also an inherited salvation. Our present salvation was obtained as a free gift during the time we were alienated from God. As aliens, (outside of the family of God), we were in no position to inherit salvation, for inheritance in Scripture is always a family matter. Consequently, an individual must first be a family member before he can be considered for the inheritance, which, during the present dispensation, is restricted to “children” or “sons” of the Owner. That’s why the statement in Rom. 8:17, “If children then heirs….” And that’s also why, in Heb. 1:14, that an inherited salvation pertains to those who have already been saved, those who are no longer alienated from God but are presently family members. Thus, one should immediately be able to see the importance of proper distinctions being drawn and observed in the realm of these three aspects of salvation.
THE TRIPARTITE NATURE OF MAN
1 Thess 5:23
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
KJV
Man is a tripartite being comprising of spirit, soul, and body; and the salvation of man within its complete scope (past, present, and future) pertains to the salvation of man with respect to his complete being.
The first chapter of Genesis reveals that man was created in the “image” and “likeness” of God. The word translated “God” in the Hebrew text of this statement is Elohim. This is a plural noun, which, in complete keeping with related Scripture, would include all three members of the Godhead – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (e.g. cf. John 1:1-3).
Since Elohim is a trinity, for man to be created in the “image” and “likeness” of God, he too must be a trinity. Jesus is Elohim manifested in the flesh; and having being made in the “likeness” of man (but apart from man’s fallen nature), He, as man, must also be a trinity (John 1:14; Phil. 2:7). The tripartite nature of Christ, in Whom “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9), was clearly revealed at the time of His death.
At the time of the fall, Adam and Eve lost something; and it is clearly stated in the Scripture that both immediately recognized this fact. That which they lost could only have been covering of pristine glory which had previously clothe their bodies, for they, following the fall, found themselves in a twofold condition: 1) naked, and 2) separated from God.
God is arrayed in a covering of “light,” connected with “honour and majesty.” Man created in the “image” and “likeness” of God, could only have been arrayed in a similar manner prior to the fall.
Ps 104:1-2
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with [‘you have put on’] honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
KJV
Recognizing the loss of their covering, realizing that they were naked, explains why Adam and Eve immediately sought to clothe themselves following the fall. They tried to replace the covering that was lost with the work of their own hands. Apparently, recognizing the utter inadequacy of this covering in their fallen state, they hid themselves.
God finding Adam and Eve in this condition completely rejected the works of their hands. God completely rejected their own efforts to atone for their own sin through seeking to replace the covering of pristine glory with fig leaves.
Then to bring fallen creature back into a right relationship (although not complete in keeping with the previously unfallen state – something still future even today), God provided a covering consisting of animal skins (Gen. 3:21). This necessitated death and the shedding of blood; and herein lies basic, unchangeable truths concerning the state of fallen man and the means which are necessary to effect his redemption.
The Bible is a book of redemption; and basic, unchangeable teachings surrounding redemption are set forth in the Scripture, at the very beginning, revealing a purpose in view. In the first chapter of Genesis, God sets forth the unchangeable manner in which He, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, restores a ruin creation. There is a restorative work which follows a specific pattern, and the matter is accomplished entirely through Divine intervention. Within the unchangeable pattern set forth at the very beginning. God reveals how any subsequent ruin creation would, of necessity, have to be restored. It would have to be restored after a certain order, entirely through Divine intervention, over a six-day (six thousand year) period.
Thus to establish correct thinking relative to the fundamentals of salvation, one must begin in Genesis. If all those holding erroneous views, had begun in Genesis chapter one and understood and adhered to that which God set forth at the very beginning concerning how a ruin creation is to be restored, not a single erroneous view concerning salvation would have existed today; such couldn’t exist. (If the foundation be destroyed what shall the righteous do Ps.11:3).
Going to the more specific thoughts concerning salvation, the preceding would equally apply to not only the salvation of the spirit, but the salvation of the body and soul as well. Within the structure of the fundamental framework, the salvation of the spirit (the salvation which we presently possess) is realized at the very beginning of the six days; but the salvation of the soul (a salvation occurring at the end of one’s faith, or as the goal of one’s faith [1 Pet. 1:5, 9]) is an on-going process and is to be realized only at the end of the sixth day. The salvation of the body presents very few problems for the majority of Christians. Very few Christians contend, contrary to Scripture, that the body is in the process of being redeemed. Scripture places the redemption of man’s body entirely in the future (Rom. 8:23).
In this respect, the unchangeable basics pertaining to redemption in relation to the whole of that which, in reality, is the man himself (body, spirit and soul) has been set forth at the very beginning of Scripture, in Gen. 1:1-2:3. If a person would understand salvation within its correct perspective, avoiding all error, he must begin here. This is where a person can see the unchangeable foundation, setting forth the unchangeable basics, laid down at the very beginning.
SALVATION OF THE SPIRIT
Man’s sin in the Garden of Eden produced death. Man died that day he ate of the forbidden fruit. Since his body continued to live, revealing that his soul – the life-giving principle in the blood (Lev. 17:11; cf. Gen. 9:4) – remained unchanged with respect to life (natural life), it is evident that it was his spirit that died.
Hebrews 4:12 reveals a division being brought to pass between man’s soul and spirit and this is the teaching drawn from the very opening verses of Genesis (as seen earlier in this same section in Hebrews) relative to the “rest” set before “the people of God” (vs. 4, 9). The Spirit of God moves in Gen. 1:2b, and God speaks in Gen. 1:3. In relation to man’s salvation, it is at this point (in what would be referred to as the foundational type) that a division is made between man’s soul and spirit (in what would be referred to as the antitype).
In the type, the Spirit of God moved, God spoke, and light came into existence. Genesis 1: 2b, 3 records the initial act of the Triune Godhead in bringing about the restoration of the ruined material creation, and act in which the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit participated – the Spirit moved, God spoke, and note nothing can come into existence apart from the Son (John 1:3).
In the antitype, within the framework of man’s salvation experience, the matter is identical. There must be an act of the Triune Godhead, for this is how God worked to restore a ruin creation in the Genesis account, establishing an unchangeable pattern for a later work. Thus, as in the type, so in the antitype – the Spirit of God moves, God speaks, and light comes into existence.
Everything is based on the Son’s finished work on Calvary. The Spirit moving and God speaking are both based on that which occurred almost 2000 year ago. When the Son cried out from the cross, “It is finished [lit., ‘it has been finished’]” (John 19:30; cf. Luke 23:46), He meant exactly that; and when the Word of God reveals that we have a salvation of Divine origin, based entirely on the Son’s finished work, that’s exactly what is meant.
The spiritual nature is the part of man that links him directly with God. “God is Spirit” and man’s worship of Him must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The death of Adam’s spirit separated him from God (establishing the primary meaning of “death” in Scripture – separation from God) and this death, this separation from God was passed upon all men (Rom. 5:12).
When man sinned in the garden, he died spiritually; and when unregenerate man, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), is made alive today, he is made alive spiritually. The movement of the Spirit (Gen. 1:2b) and God speaking (Gen. 1:3) in order to restore the ruin creation are simultaneous events. It is the Spirit using the God-breathe Word to effectually perform a supernatural work in unredeemed man. It is at this point – through the inbreathing of God – that life is imparted to that which previously had no life. God breathes into dead man (the Spirit using the God-breathe Word, based on the finished work of the Son), and man is “quickened [‘made alive’]” (Eph. 2:1, 5).
At this point, light shines “into darkness” (11 Cor. 4:6), a division is made between the light and the darkness (Gen. 1:4), and the darkness has no apprehension or comprehension of that which is light (John 1:5; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14).
It is at this point in man’s salvation that the spirit is separated from the soul. The “spirit” in unsaved man is dead. It is a part of the totally depraved man, with his “body of….death,” in which there dwells “no good thing” (Rom. 7:18-24). With the movement of the Spirit, using the God-breathe Word, man’s spirit is made alive and, at the same time separated from his soul.
The “soul” remains into the sphere of darkness, which is why “the natural [Gk. psuchikos, ‘soulical’] man” cannot understand “the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:14). That which remains in the sphere of darkness can have no apprehension or comprehension of that which has shined out of darkness. There is a God-established division between the two which cannot be crossed over (cf. Luke 16:26).
Once a person has been born from above, he is then spoken of as having passed “from death unto life,” as having being “quickened” (John 5:24; Eph. 2:5). This aspect of salvation is brought to pass through the Spirit of God breathing life into one having no life, based on Christ finished work at Calvary; and once this has been accomplished, everything surrounding the work effecting this aspect of salvation has been completed, with this work existing in a finished state, (as previously seen through the use of the perfect tense in Eph. 2:8).
Thus the salvation experience which man enters into at the time of the birth from above is a work of the Spirit, based on a previous work of the Son. It is a Spiritual birth and has to do with man’s spirit alone. “…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6b).
SALVATION OF THE SOUL
The preceding process is the manner which God uses to deliver the spirit from its fallen state, resulting from Adam’s sin. Now, because the spirit has been delivered, there can once again be communion with God. Man can now comprehend spiritual things, and there can now be a progressive, continued work by the Spirit of God within man so that he can ultimately be delivered to the place which God has decreed that he occupy at the end of six days - at the end of six thousand years.
Within the framework of the type in Genesis chapter one, this is the very first thing that is foreshadowed. This has to be set first, for man has to first be made alive – he has to first “pass from death unto life” – before anything else in the restorative process can occur.
Thus, this is fore shadowed at the very beginning of the six days which God, in accordance with the established pattern, would use to bring about man’s complete restoration – spirit, soul, and body (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23).
To briefly illustrate how God’s complete restoration of man is patterned after God’s completed restoration of the material creation in Genesis chapter one, note two things: 1) that which occurred on each day, and 2) where the whole of the restorative process was leading.
Within a type-antitype framework – pertaining to man’s salvation in the antitype – that which occurred in the type on day one pertains to the salvation of man’s spirit, and that which occurs in the type on days two through six pertains to the salvation of man’s soul.
The salvation of man’s spirit is an instantaneous event where one passes “from death unto life,” but not so with the salvation of the soul. It is a progressive event. It is an event which begins at the point one is made alive spiritually, and it will not be completed and realized until
the end of that foreshadowed by the six days of restorative work – 6000 years of restorative work.
(The issue of the judgment seat of Christ at the end of the present dispensation – which will occur at the end of the present dispensation – which will occur at the end of the six days, at the end of 6000 years – will have to do with issues surrounding the salvation [or loss] of the soul/life. It will be at the judgment seat – not before – that man will realize [or fail to realize] the salvation of his soul/life).
Since the salvation of the spirit cannot occur apart from an exact duplication in the antitype of that which occurred in the type during day one of the restoration in Genesis, it should be evident that the salvation of the soul and its relationship to that which occurred in days two through six must be looked upon in the same way. The latter must follow the pattern to the same degree as the former. There can be no difference in this respect.
Since this is the case, note what happened on days two through six in the restoration of the ruined material creation in Genesis. Then, to see the overall picture of that which must be done to bring about the salvation of redeemed man’s soul, these same events can be viewed in relation to God’s continuing present restoration of man, a subsequent ruined creation.
Events on days two and three (as events on the first day) have to do with divisions. On the second day God established a division between the waters (vs. 6-8), and on the third day He established a division between dry land (with its vegetation) and the waters (vs. 9-13).
The events on days four through six belong together as another unit, depicting things beyond the divisions previously established. On the fourth day God placed light in the heavens to give light upon the earth (vs. 14-19), on the fifth day He created birds that could sore above the earth and marine life that could move throughout the depths of the sea (vs. 20-23), and on the sixth day He created the land animals, which included great creatures capable of roaming the earth (vs. 24, 25).
As previously noted, the whole of God’s restorative work relative to the material creation in Genesis foreshadows the whole of God’s restorative work relative to man today. After man has passed “from death unto life,” wherein the spirit is separated from the soul – wrought entirely through Divine intervention – redeemed man finds himself in a position and condition where a continued Divine work not only can occur but must occur. Only through this continued Divine work can the whole of God’s restorative work, as it pertains to man, be realized.
(Man, as the material creation, must be completely passive in relation to salvation of the spirit [he is dead, rendering him incapable of acting]; and man, as the material creation [“And the earth brought forth….”] must be active in relation to salvation of the soul [he now has spiritual life, allowing him to act in the spiritual realm]. As in the restoration of the material creation, the entire salvation process [spirit and soul and ultimately the body] is a Divine work. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2: 9].)
Events occurring during the first three days in Genesis chapter one would point to elementary things or the basics in one’s spiritual life and growth. Events occurring during day one would point to a division between the soul and spirit, having to do with the impartation of life. Then events occurring during days two and three would point to divisions and distinctions as one begins to progressively grow within the framework of the new life brought into existence on the first day. One would learn to distinguish between the soulical and the spiritual, spiritual and carnal (fleshy), Jews, Gentiles, and Christian, the dispensation etc.
Only when one learns the division and distinctions depicted by that which was brought to pass on days two and three is he in a position to move on into the things depicted by that which was brought to pass on days four through six. On these three days, light was restored to the sun and moon (day four vs. 14-19); sea life and the birds of the air were created (day five, vs. 20-23); and then God created all the living creatures that roam the earth, followed by His creation of man (day six, vs. 24-27).
That depicted by the work of the Triune Godhead during these three days points to things beyond elementary truths in the antitype. After one has passed “from death unto life” and has been instructed in the elementary truths (days one through three) – after he has been “born from above” and has grown to a degree in his Christian life – he can then begin to view with understanding deeper spiritual truths of the Word. He can then begin to view with understanding those things in the Word depicted by events on days four through six of Genesis chapter one.
An individual in this position can begin to sink deep shafts into the Word and mine its treasures. He can look into the Word and understand that which is depicted by the lights in the heavens. He can, in the true sense of the Word, “mount up with wings as eagles….run, and not be weary…walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31), as he scales the heights; or he can scale the depths of the Word, as the sea creatures plunge into the depths of the sea; or he can roar through the Word, as the land creatures roam the earth.
The salvation of the soul should never be associated with the past aspect of salvation. Scripture clearly distinguishes between the soul and the spirit, never using the words interchangeably in this respect (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). 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, but not so with salvation of the soul. Rather the salvation of the soul is always dealt with in a future sense:
1 Peter 1:9
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
KJV
James 1:21
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
KJV
Heb 10:39-11:1
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
KJV
The statements and exhortation in these verses pertain to Christians alone – those whose spirits have already been saved and whose souls are in the process of being saved, with the salvation of the soul being realized only at a future time.
SALVATION OF THE BODY
The Christian’s body is presently in a conscious state of deterioration. The body grows old and weakens with time; and the body is subject to sickness, diseases, and eventually death. They must ever remain as long as the body remains unredeemed. The “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and the unredeemed body must pay the price which sin requires.
Within this unredeemed body lie two opposite entities, each seeking dominion – a redeemed spirit and the redeeming soul. The soul being redeemed is housed in an unredeemed body, and the two are mutually compatible. But the redeemed spirit housed alongside the soul being redeemed in an unredeemed body experiences no compatibility with either of the other two at all. Compatibility is not possible, for “what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness; and what communion hath light with darkness?” (11 Cor. 6:14).
This heterogeneous union is what produced the cry of the Apostle Paul:
“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7: 24).
Christian maturity and spiritual victory – bringing to pass the salvation of the soul – go hand-in hand. The entire process of God’s restoration work throughout the six days is with a view to that which lies beyond, on the seventh day. It is with a view to the Sabbath rest awaiting the people of God.
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with [‘you have put on’] honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
KJV
Recognizing the loss of their covering, realizing that they were naked, explains why Adam and Eve immediately sought to clothe themselves following the fall. They tried to replace the covering that was lost with the work of their own hands. Apparently, recognizing the utter inadequacy of this covering in their fallen state, they hid themselves.
God finding Adam and Eve in this condition completely rejected the works of their hands. God completely rejected their own efforts to atone for their own sin through seeking to replace the covering of pristine glory with fig leaves.
Then to bring fallen creature back into a right relationship (although not complete in keeping with the previously unfallen state – something still future even today), God provided a covering consisting of animal skins (Gen. 3:21). This necessitated death and the shedding of blood; and herein lies basic, unchangeable truths concerning the state of fallen man and the means which are necessary to effect his redemption.
The Bible is a book of redemption; and basic, unchangeable teachings surrounding redemption are set forth in the Scripture, at the very beginning, revealing a purpose in view. In the first chapter of Genesis, God sets forth the unchangeable manner in which He, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, restores a ruin creation. There is a restorative work which follows a specific pattern, and the matter is accomplished entirely through Divine intervention. Within the unchangeable pattern set forth at the very beginning. God reveals how any subsequent ruin creation would, of necessity, have to be restored. It would have to be restored after a certain order, entirely through Divine intervention, over a six-day (six thousand year) period.
Thus to establish correct thinking relative to the fundamentals of salvation, one must begin in Genesis. If all those holding erroneous views, had begun in Genesis chapter one and understood and adhered to that which God set forth at the very beginning concerning how a ruin creation is to be restored, not a single erroneous view concerning salvation would have existed today; such couldn’t exist. (If the foundation be destroyed what shall the righteous do Ps.11:3).
Going to the more specific thoughts concerning salvation, the preceding would equally apply to not only the salvation of the spirit, but the salvation of the body and soul as well. Within the structure of the fundamental framework, the salvation of the spirit (the salvation which we presently possess) is realized at the very beginning of the six days; but the salvation of the soul (a salvation occurring at the end of one’s faith, or as the goal of one’s faith [1 Pet. 1:5, 9]) is an on-going process and is to be realized only at the end of the sixth day. The salvation of the body presents very few problems for the majority of Christians. Very few Christians contend, contrary to Scripture, that the body is in the process of being redeemed. Scripture places the redemption of man’s body entirely in the future (Rom. 8:23).
In this respect, the unchangeable basics pertaining to redemption in relation to the whole of that which, in reality, is the man himself (body, spirit and soul) has been set forth at the very beginning of Scripture, in Gen. 1:1-2:3. If a person would understand salvation within its correct perspective, avoiding all error, he must begin here. This is where a person can see the unchangeable foundation, setting forth the unchangeable basics, laid down at the very beginning.
SALVATION OF THE SPIRIT
Man’s sin in the Garden of Eden produced death. Man died that day he ate of the forbidden fruit. Since his body continued to live, revealing that his soul – the life-giving principle in the blood (Lev. 17:11; cf. Gen. 9:4) – remained unchanged with respect to life (natural life), it is evident that it was his spirit that died.
Hebrews 4:12 reveals a division being brought to pass between man’s soul and spirit and this is the teaching drawn from the very opening verses of Genesis (as seen earlier in this same section in Hebrews) relative to the “rest” set before “the people of God” (vs. 4, 9). The Spirit of God moves in Gen. 1:2b, and God speaks in Gen. 1:3. In relation to man’s salvation, it is at this point (in what would be referred to as the foundational type) that a division is made between man’s soul and spirit (in what would be referred to as the antitype).
In the type, the Spirit of God moved, God spoke, and light came into existence. Genesis 1: 2b, 3 records the initial act of the Triune Godhead in bringing about the restoration of the ruined material creation, and act in which the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit participated – the Spirit moved, God spoke, and note nothing can come into existence apart from the Son (John 1:3).
In the antitype, within the framework of man’s salvation experience, the matter is identical. There must be an act of the Triune Godhead, for this is how God worked to restore a ruin creation in the Genesis account, establishing an unchangeable pattern for a later work. Thus, as in the type, so in the antitype – the Spirit of God moves, God speaks, and light comes into existence.
Everything is based on the Son’s finished work on Calvary. The Spirit moving and God speaking are both based on that which occurred almost 2000 year ago. When the Son cried out from the cross, “It is finished [lit., ‘it has been finished’]” (John 19:30; cf. Luke 23:46), He meant exactly that; and when the Word of God reveals that we have a salvation of Divine origin, based entirely on the Son’s finished work, that’s exactly what is meant.
The spiritual nature is the part of man that links him directly with God. “God is Spirit” and man’s worship of Him must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The death of Adam’s spirit separated him from God (establishing the primary meaning of “death” in Scripture – separation from God) and this death, this separation from God was passed upon all men (Rom. 5:12).
When man sinned in the garden, he died spiritually; and when unregenerate man, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), is made alive today, he is made alive spiritually. The movement of the Spirit (Gen. 1:2b) and God speaking (Gen. 1:3) in order to restore the ruin creation are simultaneous events. It is the Spirit using the God-breathe Word to effectually perform a supernatural work in unredeemed man. It is at this point – through the inbreathing of God – that life is imparted to that which previously had no life. God breathes into dead man (the Spirit using the God-breathe Word, based on the finished work of the Son), and man is “quickened [‘made alive’]” (Eph. 2:1, 5).
At this point, light shines “into darkness” (11 Cor. 4:6), a division is made between the light and the darkness (Gen. 1:4), and the darkness has no apprehension or comprehension of that which is light (John 1:5; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14).
It is at this point in man’s salvation that the spirit is separated from the soul. The “spirit” in unsaved man is dead. It is a part of the totally depraved man, with his “body of….death,” in which there dwells “no good thing” (Rom. 7:18-24). With the movement of the Spirit, using the God-breathe Word, man’s spirit is made alive and, at the same time separated from his soul.
The “soul” remains into the sphere of darkness, which is why “the natural [Gk. psuchikos, ‘soulical’] man” cannot understand “the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:14). That which remains in the sphere of darkness can have no apprehension or comprehension of that which has shined out of darkness. There is a God-established division between the two which cannot be crossed over (cf. Luke 16:26).
Once a person has been born from above, he is then spoken of as having passed “from death unto life,” as having being “quickened” (John 5:24; Eph. 2:5). This aspect of salvation is brought to pass through the Spirit of God breathing life into one having no life, based on Christ finished work at Calvary; and once this has been accomplished, everything surrounding the work effecting this aspect of salvation has been completed, with this work existing in a finished state, (as previously seen through the use of the perfect tense in Eph. 2:8).
Thus the salvation experience which man enters into at the time of the birth from above is a work of the Spirit, based on a previous work of the Son. It is a Spiritual birth and has to do with man’s spirit alone. “…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6b).
SALVATION OF THE SOUL
The preceding process is the manner which God uses to deliver the spirit from its fallen state, resulting from Adam’s sin. Now, because the spirit has been delivered, there can once again be communion with God. Man can now comprehend spiritual things, and there can now be a progressive, continued work by the Spirit of God within man so that he can ultimately be delivered to the place which God has decreed that he occupy at the end of six days - at the end of six thousand years.
Within the framework of the type in Genesis chapter one, this is the very first thing that is foreshadowed. This has to be set first, for man has to first be made alive – he has to first “pass from death unto life” – before anything else in the restorative process can occur.
Thus, this is fore shadowed at the very beginning of the six days which God, in accordance with the established pattern, would use to bring about man’s complete restoration – spirit, soul, and body (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23).
To briefly illustrate how God’s complete restoration of man is patterned after God’s completed restoration of the material creation in Genesis chapter one, note two things: 1) that which occurred on each day, and 2) where the whole of the restorative process was leading.
Within a type-antitype framework – pertaining to man’s salvation in the antitype – that which occurred in the type on day one pertains to the salvation of man’s spirit, and that which occurs in the type on days two through six pertains to the salvation of man’s soul.
The salvation of man’s spirit is an instantaneous event where one passes “from death unto life,” but not so with the salvation of the soul. It is a progressive event. It is an event which begins at the point one is made alive spiritually, and it will not be completed and realized until
the end of that foreshadowed by the six days of restorative work – 6000 years of restorative work.
(The issue of the judgment seat of Christ at the end of the present dispensation – which will occur at the end of the present dispensation – which will occur at the end of the six days, at the end of 6000 years – will have to do with issues surrounding the salvation [or loss] of the soul/life. It will be at the judgment seat – not before – that man will realize [or fail to realize] the salvation of his soul/life).
Since the salvation of the spirit cannot occur apart from an exact duplication in the antitype of that which occurred in the type during day one of the restoration in Genesis, it should be evident that the salvation of the soul and its relationship to that which occurred in days two through six must be looked upon in the same way. The latter must follow the pattern to the same degree as the former. There can be no difference in this respect.
Since this is the case, note what happened on days two through six in the restoration of the ruined material creation in Genesis. Then, to see the overall picture of that which must be done to bring about the salvation of redeemed man’s soul, these same events can be viewed in relation to God’s continuing present restoration of man, a subsequent ruined creation.
Events on days two and three (as events on the first day) have to do with divisions. On the second day God established a division between the waters (vs. 6-8), and on the third day He established a division between dry land (with its vegetation) and the waters (vs. 9-13).
The events on days four through six belong together as another unit, depicting things beyond the divisions previously established. On the fourth day God placed light in the heavens to give light upon the earth (vs. 14-19), on the fifth day He created birds that could sore above the earth and marine life that could move throughout the depths of the sea (vs. 20-23), and on the sixth day He created the land animals, which included great creatures capable of roaming the earth (vs. 24, 25).
As previously noted, the whole of God’s restorative work relative to the material creation in Genesis foreshadows the whole of God’s restorative work relative to man today. After man has passed “from death unto life,” wherein the spirit is separated from the soul – wrought entirely through Divine intervention – redeemed man finds himself in a position and condition where a continued Divine work not only can occur but must occur. Only through this continued Divine work can the whole of God’s restorative work, as it pertains to man, be realized.
(Man, as the material creation, must be completely passive in relation to salvation of the spirit [he is dead, rendering him incapable of acting]; and man, as the material creation [“And the earth brought forth….”] must be active in relation to salvation of the soul [he now has spiritual life, allowing him to act in the spiritual realm]. As in the restoration of the material creation, the entire salvation process [spirit and soul and ultimately the body] is a Divine work. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2: 9].)
Events occurring during the first three days in Genesis chapter one would point to elementary things or the basics in one’s spiritual life and growth. Events occurring during day one would point to a division between the soul and spirit, having to do with the impartation of life. Then events occurring during days two and three would point to divisions and distinctions as one begins to progressively grow within the framework of the new life brought into existence on the first day. One would learn to distinguish between the soulical and the spiritual, spiritual and carnal (fleshy), Jews, Gentiles, and Christian, the dispensation etc.
Only when one learns the division and distinctions depicted by that which was brought to pass on days two and three is he in a position to move on into the things depicted by that which was brought to pass on days four through six. On these three days, light was restored to the sun and moon (day four vs. 14-19); sea life and the birds of the air were created (day five, vs. 20-23); and then God created all the living creatures that roam the earth, followed by His creation of man (day six, vs. 24-27).
That depicted by the work of the Triune Godhead during these three days points to things beyond elementary truths in the antitype. After one has passed “from death unto life” and has been instructed in the elementary truths (days one through three) – after he has been “born from above” and has grown to a degree in his Christian life – he can then begin to view with understanding deeper spiritual truths of the Word. He can then begin to view with understanding those things in the Word depicted by events on days four through six of Genesis chapter one.
An individual in this position can begin to sink deep shafts into the Word and mine its treasures. He can look into the Word and understand that which is depicted by the lights in the heavens. He can, in the true sense of the Word, “mount up with wings as eagles….run, and not be weary…walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31), as he scales the heights; or he can scale the depths of the Word, as the sea creatures plunge into the depths of the sea; or he can roar through the Word, as the land creatures roam the earth.
The salvation of the soul should never be associated with the past aspect of salvation. Scripture clearly distinguishes between the soul and the spirit, never using the words interchangeably in this respect (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). 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, but not so with salvation of the soul. Rather the salvation of the soul is always dealt with in a future sense:
1 Peter 1:9
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
KJV
James 1:21
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
KJV
Heb 10:39-11:1
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
KJV
The statements and exhortation in these verses pertain to Christians alone – those whose spirits have already been saved and whose souls are in the process of being saved, with the salvation of the soul being realized only at a future time.
SALVATION OF THE BODY
The Christian’s body is presently in a conscious state of deterioration. The body grows old and weakens with time; and the body is subject to sickness, diseases, and eventually death. They must ever remain as long as the body remains unredeemed. The “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and the unredeemed body must pay the price which sin requires.
Within this unredeemed body lie two opposite entities, each seeking dominion – a redeemed spirit and the redeeming soul. The soul being redeemed is housed in an unredeemed body, and the two are mutually compatible. But the redeemed spirit housed alongside the soul being redeemed in an unredeemed body experiences no compatibility with either of the other two at all. Compatibility is not possible, for “what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness; and what communion hath light with darkness?” (11 Cor. 6:14).
This heterogeneous union is what produced the cry of the Apostle Paul:
“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7: 24).
Christian maturity and spiritual victory – bringing to pass the salvation of the soul – go hand-in hand. The entire process of God’s restoration work throughout the six days is with a view to that which lies beyond, on the seventh day. It is with a view to the Sabbath rest awaiting the people of God.
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