Thesis #43 of 95 - Biblical salvation is provided to a specially chosen people for them to relate to God whilst in mortal flesh and function within His royal priesthood. For such they require spiritual renewal and ongoing sanctification through a mystical participation with Christ
BIBLICAL REFERENCES
1Pet2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.
Jn6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
Acts13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and those who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Jn6:54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Phil3:13-14 I do not regard myself as possessing it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2Cor4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Rev19: 7 Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”
Rev3:21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
Rev10:10 I took the little book from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey but when I had eaten it, my gut became bitter.
COMMENTS
Whilst the gospel of Jesus Christ was intended to be preached to the whole world, as a result of historical cultural and religious formation, exacerbated by ecclesiological division and apostacy, relatively few have heard a faithful account of the gospel. And of those only the proportional few that God has chosen/predestined/appointed to eternal life have effectually responded. The above verses refer, and they make clear that those who do respond and persevere in the faith shall experience inestimable glory. In Paul’s words such are the “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, providing that is we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom8:17). That such glory should be on offer to fallen humanity (Col1:27) is breathtakingly extraordinary, but then so is the notion that the vast majority who are not called and enabled by God’s grace to attain such sublimity are to be condemned to hell, which is what so many Christians believe.
That prospect with its dire implications to God’s providential care, loving nature and equitable justice results from a misunderstanding of what the bible actually means by “salvation”. This thesis has briefly defined biblical salvation, but only its barest bones. The remaining 94 theses should help, some more recent ones having explained what salvation is from and what it is for. But for exactly how such soteriology is to be squared with the teaching of the bible as a whole, refer to The Little Book of Providence.
LINKS
Free PDF of The Little Book of Providence HERE
Enlarged version suitable for mobile phones HERE
Author’s FACEBOOK page HERE