In meditations 26 and 27, we saw that ‘salvation’ is God’s gracious gift to us. We receive it as a divine response to our repentance and faith in the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
Furthermore, we discovered in meditations 35 to 37 how the apostle Paul binds our ‘divine salvation’ to the crucifixion, death and resurrection of God’s only Son.
The New Testament depicts ‘divine salvation’ in many ways. Here are some ‘salvation pictures’ from the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Although most of these pictures of ‘divine salvation’ occur more often in the New Testament, I only mention them once as an example:
‘Divine Salvation’ is pictured as:
• Salvation from sins
(The angel of the Lord said:) "She [Mary] will have a son, and you [Joseph] are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
• Being baptised with God the Holy Spirit
(John the Baptist said:) "After me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit." Matthew 3:11
• Being sons [and daughters] of God's Kingdom [the Kingdom of Heaven]
(Jesus said:) “The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom.” Matthew 13:38
• Inheriting eternal life
(Jesus said:) “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29
• Inheriting God's Kingdom [the Kingdom of Heaven]
(Jesus said:) ”Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Matthew 25:34
• Having your name registered as citizens of heaven
(Jesus said:) “...rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven." Luke 10:2b
• Knowing God the Father
(Jesus said:) "My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Luke 10:22
• Being one of the chosen [the elect] of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of Man
(Jesus said:) “And he will send forth his angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones [his elect] from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” Matthew 24:31
• Sitting down at the feast in God's Kingdom [the Kingdom of Heaven]
(Jesus said:) “And I tell you this, that many Gentiles [non-Jews] will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 8:11
• Being righteous and shining like the sun in God's Kingdom [the Kingdom of Heaven]
(Jesus said:) “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matthew 13:43
• Drinking of the fruit of the vine with Jesus the Messiah in God's Kingdom [the Kingdom of Heaven]
(Jesus said:) “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:29
All these ‘pictures’ are like facets of a diamond. They all display something of the present or future aspects of divine salvation. I suggest that you take time to reflect on each of them. Are they an integral part of your life and of your prospects for the future?
Next time, let's look at the ‘salvation pictures’ in John’s Gospel which we have not yet seen in the other Gospels.
The Bible verses Matthew 3:11, Matthew 13:38, Matthew 13:43 and Matthew 19:29. All other texts are quotes of the New Living Translation.
