Sunday, June 3, 2018 – Ephesians 6:17
The Armor of God, Pt. 25
The Helmet of Salvation, Pt. 4
What Salvation Means to the Believer.
Grace
Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher,
Jim Rickard
Stand in Warfare –
Eph 6:10-20.
3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.
Eph 6:17; Psa 18; 30; 31; Mat 1:21; Rom
5:9-10; Gal 5:1, 13-14
Vs. 17, “And take THE
HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
By far the most common NT use of
salvation has to do with salvation from sin, Mat 1:21, “And you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His
people from their sins.” To be precise, one is saved from:
·
The penalty of sin, Luke 7:48, 50.
·
The power of sin, Rom 6:12-14.
·
The practice of sin as
a way of life, 1 John 3:9-10; 5:18.
Yet, it is impossible to
understand salvation apart from some notion of that from which one is saved,
whether external physical threats or internal spiritual ones. In these, God
saves first of all from doom and disaster, from natural and national catastrophes,
and from enemies or energies. He “saves” us both in the spiritual and the
physical realm. The Biblical language for salvation depicts the transition from
need to fulfillment and from problem to solution.
That is why the “Helmet of
Salvation” is given to us, to protect us from the problems of everyday living
inside of Satan’s cosmic system. For example:
·
The psalmist asks to
be saved from defeat by enemy nations, Psa
44:1-8.
·
Jesus’ disciples asked
to be saved from the waves that threatened to swamp their boat, Mat 8:25.
·
One may be saved from
disease and physical defects, Mark 5:28,
34, (“well” = SOZO); James 5:15, (“restore”
= SOZO).
·
Many of the psalms
contain “songs of deliverance” that attribute salvation to God alone, e.g., Psa 18; 30; 31; 34; 46; 91; 105; 106; 118;
136.
·
The Bible speaks about
salvation from spiritual dangers: Jesus’ exorcisms are signs that he has the
power to release people from demonic possession and from the dominion of Satan,
Mark 3:23-27; Luke 8:36.
·
Equally important is
deliverance from the wrath of God that falls upon sinners, Rom 5:9-10, and from the day of God’s judgment, Rom 2:5; 1 Thes 2:16.
Rom 5:9-10, “Much more then, having now been justified by
His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For
if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His
Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
The noun “salvation,” pertains to
the positive effects of God’s saving action. In general, one is saved from bondage
and brought to a state of well-being or blessedness. Three images in particular
tend to dominate the Bible’s depiction of well-being.
1. Salvation is a liberation,
freedom from bondage.
a. The God of Israel is a Savior God, because He is a God who delivers, Ex 20:2.
b. Jesus was sent “to set free
those who are oppressed,” Luke 4:18.
c. Paul states that “for freedom
Christ has set us free,” Gal 5:1,
and explains that Christians have been liberated from the requirements of the
law in order to be free to love and to serve, Gal 5:13-14.
Gal 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of
slavery.”
Gal 5:13-14, “For you were called to freedom, brethren;
only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through
love serve one another. 14For the whole Law is fulfilled in one
word, in the statement, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’.”
2. The blessedness of salvation is
depicted in terms of health, wholeness, and soundness. Mark 2:17, describes Jesus as a “physician.” Jesus’ ministry was to
make people well. In His ministry, the physical and spiritual aspects of
healing miracles are linked together: When Jesus heals, there are transforming
physical and spiritual effects. Jesus’ healings are signs both of His saving
power and of the nature of salvation.
3. The third image of the
well-being that defines salvation, peace, or shalom, is found primarily in
prophetic literature. The community of the saved is pictured by the prophets as
living in a peaceful and just society in which people will live together in
peace and harmony and “nation shall not
lift up sword against nation,” Isa 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4; Zech 2:6-12.
Communion
The Bible is essentially the story
of the one creature to bear God’s image (human being), with sin as the basic
complication, Christ as the central character and salvation as the unifying
plot. The Bible tells of an initial condition which is disturbed (the Fall), of
the consequences of this complication (sin, death), of what is done to overcome
these conflicts (the Cross) and of the resolution of the problem (resurrection
and Pentecost), a conclusion that improves upon the original situation.
It is a mystery story, for it was
not clear, before Christ, just how God could save the ungodly, Mark 4:11; Eph 1:9. The logic and scope
of salvation develop as the story progresses. The first hint of salvation
follows the account of the Fall, when God says to the serpent, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel,” Gen 3:15, though neither the identity of the Savior nor
the means for reversing the Fall becomes clear until the NT. Nevertheless, “bruise his heel” already alludes to
the cost of salvation, to the Cross of salvation and to the Christ of
salvation.
Next, it concerns God’s dealings
with the children of Abraham (that is, Israel), in the middle the focus turns
to Jesus and His followers, and toward the end, the story embraces the Gentiles
and the whole created order. The Biblical story pictures not only the act and
effect of salvation, but its culmination as well, namely, the wedding
celebration of the Lamb of God and His bride, the Church, Rev 19:6-9.
Between the beginning and the end
of the story, the plot unfolds in the history of Israel and culminates in the
passion of Jesus Christ, when salvation is accomplished once for all, and in
the life of the Church, where salvation is celebrated and proclaimed. The Bible
ends with Edenic imagery, the tree of life, and with the Savior’s promise to
complete the saving work He has already accomplished: “Yes, I am coming quickly,” Rev 22:20.
The story of salvation has two
main parts. The first recounts Israel’s history: The saving act, (exodus), and
the resultant effect, (life in the Promised Land). The OT recounts a story of
deliverance from captivity and oppression that culminates in Israel’s crossing
of the Red Sea. The second part describes a new exodus, Jesus’ death or
“exodus” from this life, Luke 9:31,
and its effect, (life in the promised Spirit). The NT tells the story of how a
new deliverance, a release from the bondage of sin, was made possible by
Christ’s departure from this life, Rom
6:9; Eph 1:7; Col 1:20, and by the “red sea” of blood that flowed from His
Cross. Christ’s life, poured out on the Cross, is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” Rom 1:16.
For this, we celebrate the Lord’s
Supper in the partaking of the bread and wine, in remembrance and thanksgiving
of Him and His efficacious work in death, resurrection, and ascension, 1 Cor 11:23-26.
Copyright © 2001 - 2018.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment