Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - Eph 6:17
The Armor of God, Pt. 29, The Helmet of Salvation, Pt. 8
The Meaning of Salvation -
New Situation, New Self, New Steps, Pt. 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w89xUcgG-k

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.  

Vs. 17, “And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The Meaning of Salvation, Pt. 3. We can group the Bible’s many images of salvation into three distinct categories: New Situation, New Self, and New Steps.

1. New Situation: Salvation means our legal status has changed, and we have new rights and responsibilities based on our union with Jesus Christ because of our: Redemption, Justification, Adoption, and Reconciliation.

2. New Self: Salvation as inner change.

Next, we have the “New Self.” This means that to be “In Christ” is to undergo inward renewal, 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15.

2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

This means that we have a new subjective condition, a new self, to go along with new objective status of our new situation, noted above. It means that because of our new situation being “In Christ,” we are to live for Christ.

One of the most striking images of this inner transformation is Jesus’ metaphor of rebirth, being “born again,” John 3:3-7; cf. 1 Peter 1:23.

1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

The need for this inner renewal was perceived by the psalmist in Psa 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

As a macrocosm to the spiritual life of the Church Age believers, the prophets foresaw a time of national renewal and spiritual cleansing for Israel, Ezek 36:25-28, when God would make a new covenant by writing His law on people’s hearts, Jer 31:31; Heb 10:16.

Ezek 36:25-27, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Paul exhorts all believers to walk in the newness of this rebirth we have received, as Jesus’ resurrection is a sign that the new life has already begun. Because believers share in Christ’s resurrection, Paul can refer to the “new man,” which is the reborn spiritual nature inside of the believer that provides for his personal relationship and walk with Jesus Christ, Rom 6:4; 8:1; Eph 2:10, Col 2:6.

Rom 6:4, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Col 2:6, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

John also exhorts the believer to walk in the newness of life, 1 John 1:7.

1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

God calls upon men and women who are “In Christ” to put off their old natures and be renewed in the spirit of their minds, Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:9-10.

Rom 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Eph 4:22-24, “That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, ²³and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

Col 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, ¹⁰and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

The “New Self” designates a new power and a new orientation to life, which is described as a renewal of God’s image in humanity, defined by Christ. To be born anew means, to join in the new humanity of the Second Adam, to be made more Christ-like through the renewal of one’s inner nature by the Holy Spirit, John 1:13; Titus 3:5.

Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”

Therefore, as part of our salvation past, present, and future, being “In Christ,” having been made a new creation, a new spiritual species, we are to walk in that new nature consistently, allowing God’s transforming work to occur within our souls through the intake and application of Bible Doctrine through the power and filling of God the Holy Spirit.

Eph 4:23-24, “And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

3. New Steps: Salvation as behavioral change.

The company of the saved, as a result of their union with Christ, rebirth, and gift of Christ’s Spirit are expected to live differently.

Not only the natures but the actions and interpersonal relations of the saved are transformed, Gal 5:22-25. 1 John also provides special emphasis on the moral and spiritual implications of our rebirth.

Gal 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

1 John 3:9, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

1 John 2:6, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

James’ epistle demonstrates that as a result of salvation by faith, a new way of life should emerge that is filled with Divine Good Production, good works, which are the evidence of faith, James 2:24f. Therefore, salvation received in faith is expressed in good works performed in faith, rendering that believer a “vessel of honor,” 2 Tim 2:21-22.

Christ gave himself for the Church not only to change our legal standing before God, but also “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word ... that she would be holy and without blemish,” Eph 5:25-27; cf. Col 1:22; Heb 9:14.

Col 1:22, “Yet, He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

Heb 9:14, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The body of the saved give evidence of their new natures by walking according to the Spirit, and in particular by the quality of their love for one another, 1 John 4:7.

1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Therefore, the meaning of Salvation to the believer is that they have a “New Situation,” an objective change to their legal status before God. What signifies this new status is that they have been redeemed, justified, adopted, and reconciled by God through the work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross and the resultant ministry of the Holy Spirit. With that, believers have a “New Self,” an inner change that means to be “In Christ” is to undergo inward renewal. This is first accomplished by the regeneration of your human spirit at the moment of your conversion, and then the continued renewal of your mind by the intake and application of God’s Word through the filling of God the Holy Spirit. That then leads to the “New Steps,” or behavioral change we are to undergo as a result of our salvation with the result of producing Divine Good, the Fruit of the Spirit. Believers are expected to live differently in this world because of the Christ-like nature that is developed within. This is the demonstration of our salvation to God and to a lost and dying world.

Summary.

Taken together, the biblical imagery for salvation makes up a three-dimensional description: Salvation is an objectively new situation, a new self, and a new way of life that is past fact, present experience, and future hope, and partakes of the economy of the gift of God’s own triune life; Father, Son, and Spirit, to those who do not deserve it. To be among the body of the saved is to be united with Him who is, “the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. It is to enjoy a New Situation, (the truth of our life in Christ), a New Self, (the life of the Spirit of Christ in us), and a New Way of life, (the way of righteousness defined by Christ). With all this said, the Bible’s controlling image of salvation is neither of a process nor of a promise, but of a person, Psa 27:1a, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” 2 Cor 9:15, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”