In meditations 38 to 40 we searched through the Gospels, the book of Acts, and the apostle Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome to see how they depict ‘divine salvation’. Today we will look for ‘salvation pictures’ in Paul’s letters to the followers of Jesus in the Greek town of Corinth. As we already said earlier, we will not repeat the pictures which we have already found in the New Testament, although many of them are repeated:
‘Divine Salvation’ is pictured as:
• Being a member of God’s church [God’s people]
We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere-- whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs. 1 Corinthians 1:2
• Being ‘in Christ Jesus’
God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. 1 Corinthians 1:30
• Having the mind of Christ
“’Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give him counsel?’ But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
• Being ‘a plant’ in the soil that God is cultivating
“Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. The ones who do the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God's field...”
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
• Being ‘a living stone’ in God’s spiritual temple
"Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16
See also the further illustration in 1 Peter 2:5 “And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.”
• Being one with God in spirit
"But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:17
• Having received the manifestation (i.e. one or more gifts) of God’s Spirit
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:7
• Being baptised into ‘the Body of the Messiah’ by having received his Spirit
"Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles [non-Jews], some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:13
• Being a part of ‘the Messianic Body’ [the Body of Christ]
"Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27
• Having received God’s Spirit as the first instalment [deposit] of the future inheritance
"It is God who gives us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first instalment of everything he will give us." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
• Being ‘a messianic aroma’ presented by the Messiah to God the Father
"Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God [other translations: we are the aroma of Christ]. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those being saved and by those perishing. To those who are perishing we are a fearful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?"
2 Corinthians 2:15-16
• Being ‘a letter from the Messiah’ for the world
"The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3:2-3
• Being ‘a mirror’ to reflect the glory of the Messiah
"...But the people's minds were hardened, and even to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, a veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ [the Messiah]. Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away. Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:14-18
• Manifesting the life of the Messiah in our mortal bodies
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." 2 Corinthians 4:6-11
We continue to be amazed how all these ‘pictures’ speak about the present and future reality of God’s salvation. May they help you to understand better what God has in store for us when we come to him in remorseful repentance.
Next time we will continue our journey to look into the ‘salvation pictures’ in Paul’s letters.
The Bible verses Acts 2:4, Acts 2:38, Romans 1:7, Romans 6:5 and Romans 8:29 are quotes of the New International Version. All other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
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