Meeting Jesus and Following HimSample

SALVATION : BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT Let’s talk a little bit about the reality of salvation, because it is more than simply eternal life, it is life in abundance here and now. To follow Jesus, is to walk in the reality of salvation and our salvation includes a dimension of progression. In Philippians 2 :12, Paul encourages us to work on our salvation and in Ephesians 2 :8, it literally says that we are in the process of being saved. To better understand this, we need a quick Greek lesson (the language in which the New Testament was written). Salvation comes from the Greek word “SOZO“, which implies our whole being:  spirit, soul and body. Jesus didn’t come to give His life so that we change our ideas, or to give us a good conscience… He didn’t only come to give us eternal life : too many Christians believe that and suffer in their life waiting for their death as a sort of deliverance that will allow them to enter into eternity with God. Jesus came to save us completely, spirit, soul and body (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5 :23) and thus to give us life in abundance (cf. John 10 :10). Because God has a full life for us on all levels, here, from now and for eternity ! Salvation first of all manifests itself in our spirit, because that is where we receive His forgiveness and the assurance that God calls us His children, His sons, His daughters (cf. Romans 8 :16). The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity comes and awakens our spirit, which allows us to have a relationship with God, and the relationship that was broken by Adam and Eve’s disobedience is restored. Therefore our spirit is the most powerful part of our lives, the part that must guide the rest of our being, because it is by the spirit that we are in communion with God. In terms of our soul, when salvation manifests itself, our thoughts are filled with the thoughts of Christ and our will is submitted to Him. It is no longer our soul that is leading our lives through our emotions or our desires, but it is the Holy Spirit that is leading us. Living by faith is living in accordance with the Word of God, not according to the state of our soul, our emotions or our feelings… In regards to our body, we receive physical healing. Illness doesn’t come from God, no illness comes from Him, it is a result of the Fall. Salvation acquired by Jesus Christ on the cross equally leads to restoration and healing in our body. In 1 Peter 2 :24 we can read that it is by the bruises of Christ that we have been healed. It is an acquisition and if we remove the reality of healing received on the cross, we cannot pretend to keep the receipt of forgiveness of sins. And so, on the cross we also obtain healing of the body. As I said earlier on, it is a progression, a path on which we are following Jesus and His salvation continues to manifest itself in our lives… We are therefore invited to persevere in our faith to follow Him, without letting go, until the fullness of His salvation manifests itself in our lives. And so salvation touches our spirit first, it’s the reason why when we first meet Jesus, we ask ourselves what is happening, because our spirit is awakened and we cannot explain what we are experiencing. Next, salvation touches our soul and body. And it always happens in this way, which means that physical healing in our body starts with a revelation in our spirit. We can see this for example in the case of the paralysed man in Luke 5 :24 to whom Jesus said, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the paralysed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up completely healed. In fact, the paralysed man was healed in his spirit at the moment when Jesus said to him : “When Jesus saw their faith, He said, Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5 :20). The physical healing was a direct result of the forgiveness of his sins in his spirit. Jesus’ salvation for us concerns our whole being… The Holy Spirit wants to spread the fruit of salvation in our spirit, in our soul and in our body. To follow Jesus is to live in dependance, face to face of Him in our spirit, in our soul and in our body. Make sure that you are living in a correct spiritual alignment, that is that your spirit is submitted to the Holy Spirit, your soul submitted to your spirit and your body submitted to your soul. Living like this makes all the difference ! REFLECTIONS : Salvation comes from the Greek word “sozo“ which implies our whole being, that is our spirit, our soul and our body. Read 1 Thessalonians 5 :23 and John 10 :10 and take a moment to answer the following questions : ➤ What parts of our lives did Jesus come to save by giving His life on the cross ? And, in your view, which does salvation touch first : the spirit, soul or body ? ➤ What does Jesus promise in John 10 :10 ? What does that mean and is it only for today or for eternity ? ➤ Read Luke 5 :17-25 again : in which verse do we see that salvation has touched his spirit first of all, before his soul and his body ? And how does salvation manifest itself ? MY DECISION : What I have understood for my own personal life : What I am deciding to do in my life based upon what I have just learnt : What you decide to do today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow ! Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse.  - All rights reserved.