JESUS, THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHER "And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight." (Colossians 1:20-22) The salvation of God is worthy of the most profound and extended consideration. There is nothing about it that is infantile or simplistic. Anything requiring the purpose of God, the work of Jesus, the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of angels cannot be elemental and easy to be comprehended by men. -- Tomorrow:
Devotion 1 of 32
Consider the manner in which the Lord refers to this salvation that is in Christ Jesus. These texts confirm the greatness of salvation, and the purpose that is being realized through it.
1. ALL FLESH WILL SEE. "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). These very words challenge our thinking. Salvation is not only global in provision, but is also tailored for global perception.
2. UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. "For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth" (Acts 13:47). The wake of salvation will reach the furthest extremities of the earth, stretching as far as the effects of sin. This is not something men will plot, but that God will do.
3. THE TIME IN WHICH GOD SUCCORS. "For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor 6:2). Salvation not only has to do with coming out of sin, but with staying out of sin. It has to do with nurturing and sustaining the believer while in a hostile realm.
4. APPOINTED TO OBTAIN. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess 5:9). Salvation is associated with Divine appointment. Although the nature and extent of this appointment may be the subject of disputation, the fact of it is to be believed.
5. CHOSEN TO. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess 2:13). The salvation of God is implemented by Divinely chosen means. On God's part, it is through the separating power of the Holy Spirit. On man's part, it is through the belief of the truth.
6. WITH ETERNAL GLORY. "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Tim 2:10). Salvation comes with more than forgiveness more than cleansing. It also comes with "eternal glory," and it is not completed until that glory is experienced in fulness.
7. BROUGHT BY GRACE. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). Men cannot climb up to salvation, it has to be brought down to them. It cannot be brought within their grasp by humanly devised means, but can only come within our reach by the grace of God – something God alone gives and controls.
8. A GREAT SALVATION. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him" (Heb 2:3). Salvation is "great" – great in size or bulk. The word "great" includes the ideas of important and mighty as well as immense in extent and provision. It also carries the idea of great age, stretching from "before the foundation of the earth" into eternity, when time shall be no more.
9. SALVATION WITH A CAPTAIN. "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Heb 2:10). Salvation, in all of its phases, requires a Captain, or Chief Leader. The "sons" must not only be delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of Christ, they must be brought to God (1 Pet 3:18), and led to glory (Heb 2:10). That leading must take them through the "wiles of the devil," all manner of temptation, times of ignorance and frustration, and all manner of testing.
10. ETERNAL SALVATION. "And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him" (Heb 5:9). Salvation can only be viewed properly within the context of eternity. The framework of "this present evil world" is too small to contain the concept or experience of salvation. After the present heavens and the earth have passed away, and the devil, his motley host, and all who followed him, have been cast into the lake of fire, we read of "the saved of the nations" (Rev 21:24). Indeed, this is an "eternal salvation" with "eternal life" (Tit 1:2), an "eternal inheritance" (Heb 9:15) and a "reign" that is "for ever and ever" (Rev 22:5).
11. WITH GREAT ACCOMPANIMENTS. "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak" (Heb 6:9). The salvation of God has certain accompaniments – things that blend with it, and are the consequence of it. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22- 25), the love of the brethren (1 Thess 4:9), the love of the truth (2 Thess 2:10), overcoming the world (1 John 5:4-5), and much more company salvation. Where they are found, salvation is found, and where they are absent, salvation is absent.
12. THE SUBJECT OF PROPHET'S INQUIRY. "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you" (1 Pet 1:10). Holy prophets of God spoke of this salvation, and when they did it whetted their appetites and challenged their thinking. They sensed its largeness as well as its effectuality, and therefore probed into it, seeking to comprehend something of its nature and timing. Yet, they were told it was not for them to know such things (1 Pet 1:11- 12).
13. READY TO BE REVEALED. "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet 1:5). The salvation of God is experienced in this world, but only in a first fruits sense (Rom 8:23). There remains grace that will be "brought" to us at "the revelation of Christ" (1 Pet 1:13). We have yet to experience "The redemption of the body" (Rom 8:23), seeing our Lord "as He is," and being "like Him" (1 John 3:2).
How could a salvation like this, in any way, be characterized by childlike simplicity? The modern church has not done well in its representation of the salvation of God. It speaks of "the salvation of the lost," as though that exhausted the concept of salvation. This is a completely erroneous concept of salvation, and is nowhere so represented in the Word of God.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for a salvation that is suitable to Your glory and honor.