This article that expounds on 2Tim3:1-5 ended on this note-
“The idea of “servant” becomes clearer when we understand it as “slave.” Slavery is another metaphor for what self-satisfaction produces. Sin puts us in bondage to the cruelest taskmaster in the universe, Satan, the one who generates this host of self-centered attitudes.
We are completely unable to break free from this bondage without supernatural help, (as said in) Hebrews 2:14-15.”
It is a little appreciated truth that the new man in Christ is still enslaved.
God describes this freedom from bondage in Jhn8:36 to mean being set free from the old man’s slavery, but the new man remains a slave to righteousness (Rom6:16,22).
The shift of the slave realm of the old man (Rom6:6) subject to the law of sin and death (Rom8:2) to the new man subject to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom8:2) is a clear sign that this new slave relationship with God is not a relationship where anything goes.
For this reason, God says He is not mocked in Gal6:7, for any man that sows to not bear the burdens (moral faults) of others of Gal6:2 and to not bear his own burdens of Gal6:5 (this burden is God’s will for the individual manifested in life circumstances) such shall reap what they sow. (paraphrase of Gal6:7).
It goes back to the article’s focus that man is enslaved by their obsessive entitled sense of “Self Satisfaction.”
The new man operating under the new law of enslavement is the solution for this old disease.
Self-examination or prove (KJV) is related to the Greek word dokimazo.
It means to test, examine, and scrutinize to recognize as genuine and deemed worthy.
Dokimazo is used in the NT in various contexts.
Inward (self) Proving
1. 2Co13:5, self-examination focuses on examining whether one is in faith, living by the power of God as displayed in the resurrection of Christ (2Co13:4).
This faith of 2Co13:5 is the belief in the hope of this resurrection, our resurrection, especially the 1st resurrection of Rev20:6 that needs to be earned according to Paul in Phil3:10-11.
Paul goes on to frame this faith in the resurrection as the truth in 2Co13:8.
The other inward proving is related to taking the holy communion found in 1Co11:28.
Outward Proving
2. The other forms of examining in the NT are no longer, about an inward examination but an outward examination
2.1 Rom12:2, Rom2:18, andv 1Th5:21- Prove what is good to discover and align with God’s will.
2.2 2Co8:8 and Phil1:10 are about proving love and excellence for sincerity, Gal6:4 proving one’s own work (of bearing burdens to fulfill the Law of Christ), 1Jhn4:1 is about proving every spirit relating to false prophets.
In-Summary
Personally, I practice self-examination using a clear and pure conscience to guide me in areas of sincerity, bearing the burdens of Gal6:2 and testing and validating God’s will.
I talk, think and dream about the resurrection daily, so the encouragement to examine one’s faith in the resurrection is moot for me but needful for the body of Christ.
Other forms of self-examination or examinations would be outside the wise counsel of the NT scriptures.
The NT is a life led after the Spirit, for then the believers are sons of God (Rom8:14).
Rom8:14-
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God.”
There are two widely known verses that caution the believer against doing that will jeopardize the relationship with the Spirit.
They are – do not quench the Spirit of 1The5:19 and do not grieve the Spirit of Eph4:30.
The context of not quenching the Spirit has the context of 1The5:16-23 concerning Christian conduct, and do not grieve the Spirit has the context of Eph4:17-32 concerning the Christian walk.
Both Christian conduct and Christian walk mean generally about the same; it is about the theme of obedience, emulating Christ by fulfilling the love commandments in practical ways.
Contextually speaking from 1The5, not quenching the Spirit appears to focus on inward (for self-benefit) and outward (benefiting others) conduct.
Do not quench the Spirit is sandwiched between these two forms of Christian conduct.
1. 1The5:16-18 detail the inward conduct of rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks precedes 1The5:19.
2. 1The5:20-23 detail the outward conduct of not despising prophesying, examining all things as per the guidelines of Rom 12:1-2 for the goal of doing good and abstaining from all evil, even in appearance. This outward conduct follows 1The5:19.
Therefore the wise counsel to not quench the Spirit has a specific context.
The Spirit is quenched when we are trapped in grieves of this world vs. rejoicing in the eternal promises, communing with the world vs. praying, and complaining vs. giving thanks.
The Spirit is also quenched when we despise or resent the gifts of prophecy in others out of envy or doubt, when we neglect to test all things to confirm the will of God and when we fail to abstain from even the appearance of doing evil.
God’s will is shrouded in a mist of unknowingness for believers and randomness for non-believers. The believer’s favorite verse to reinforce this perspective is, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” taken from Isa55:8. That was true in the Old Covenant because man does not have the Holy Spirit indwelling with their spirit in the body that is the (temporary) temple of God (1Co6:19). It is temporary because the true temple of God is the body of Christ (John2:19).
Holy Spirit In-dwelling Man
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit holds a significant advantage over those that lived under the Old Testament. It gives believers in Christ access to the mind of God (1Co2:11-12).
This post reflects on how the man in the new covenant engages with God’s will and God’s means to support this engagement.
God’s Will – Rules of Engagement
Transformed by the Renewal of the Mind
Rom12:2- “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphoō) 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.”
Rom12:2 offers guidance to the new covenant believer on how to engage with God’s will. This engagement is about testing God’s will for its veracity, confirmation, and clarity. The means to perform this test is with a transformed mind as opposed to a carnal mind.
The evidence of a transformed mind is a spirit-led life (Rom12:1 offers this context) that honors the physical body as holy. There is still the question, how to develop a transformed mind? 2Co3:18 offers a clue because the same word transformed (metamorphoō) is used in this verse.
2Co3:18- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed (metamorphoō) into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
God Tearing the Veil Separating Man and God
Two events underpin the mind transformation.
The first event is God’s prerogative. God has already accomplished this, where the face is already unveiled (katoptrizō). This veil is the barrier of the Law of the Old Covenant that separates man and God due to sin. God had removed this veil by the physical tearing of the veil between the holy place and holy of holies (Mat27:51) when Jesus paid the price for sin on the cross.
It is noteworthy that the Greek word “unveiled” is a participle verb in the perfect passive tense, which means the unveiling has been accomplished in the past and still ongoing with its effects felt in the present. God is the initiator of this unveiling experience where the man takes the passive role.
This event describes the spiritual justification apart from works (Jesus’ death fulfilled the original unveiling, Eph2:8-9) and sanctification by the Spirit of God (where the Spirit of God continues to unveil the face) when beholding as in the mirror, which brings us to the 2nd event.
The second event is man’s prerogative experienced in the present. This event involves an active decision to behold Christ’s glory. Beholding (katoptrizō) is used only once in the bible in this verse. This Greek word is a participle verb with the present tense with a middle voice. This beholding is ongoing in the present with the man as the agent of this action of beholding. This event appears to describe the soul sanctification experience.
From above, one can conclude that beholding Christ’s glory is the key to the mind transformation that equips one to test God’s will. Next, it is needful to expand the understanding of the glory that this beholding is focusing on.
What is this glory that is scripture referring to here? The glory of Christ is the suffering of Christ. Jesus referred to His crucifixion ordeal as glory (John12:23). Beholding Christ’s glory can be done in prayer, expressing gratitude/thanksgiving from the depths of an undeserving soul saved by Jesus suffering and death on the cross. This remembrance becomes significant, especially when partaking the Holy Communion elements and talking about the sufferings of Christ, for such experiences are re-enacting the sufferings of Christ.
The unfortunate fact is that many Christians fall prey to their flesh and test God with a carnal mind. God’s response – I AM NOT MOCKED (Gal6:7-8). John defines the carnal mind as the lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and life pride in 1John2:16. This carnality’s most common experience is living and hanging on to this life on earth as if there no God to account for, and there is no afterlife. A transformed mind that test’s God’s will not settle for such outcomes.
In-summary, testing God’s will prerequisites a transformed mind that knows Christ has reconciled man with God and continuously nurtures the mind with the knowledge of Christ’s suffering love for man’s salvation.
This post is an extension of an earlier post titled “Faith and Work in Harmony” that explored the controversy of Jam2:17, where James indicted the believers that lacked works as having faith that is dead. See the following link for this post-.
The purpose of this reflection is to offer evidence to support the claim, “Once Saved Always Saved.”
Once Saved Always Saved
Three approaches are adopted to support this claim.
The first approach enhances the clarity between works mentioned in Jam2:17 and the works that lead to soul salvation in 1Pet.
The second approach explores the implications of 1Co5 concerning the Corinthian believer, who is foolishly brave to commit adultery with his stepmother openly.
The third and final approach is to examine Col2:13 and John10:27-29, which offer direct scriptural evidence to support the claim, “Once Saved Always Saved.”
Apostle Peter with a key before St. Peter’s Cathedral, Vatican
First Approach – The Connection between 1Pet and Jam2:17
A more explicit connection between these two verses provides a better foundation to support the conclusion that Jam2:17 was speaking of the faith that saves the soul and does not relate to the salvation of the born again spirit.
1Pet9 states, “obtaining as the outcome (telos – final destination, purpose, goal) of your faith the salvation of your souls.” This faith spoken of here is the means to produce the goal, which is soul salvation.
This faith is the loving faith in the unseen Christ (1Pet1:8) and the living hope of the resurrection (1Pet1:3-5). In the context of 1Pet1, this faith was tested in fiery trials (1Pet1:7) of persecution to validate their faith genuineness as to whether their faith is sufficiently genuine to produce soul salvation, which has nothing to do with spiritual salvation.
Later in 1Pet1:22, Peter reveals this faith’s manifestation that purifies (saves) the soul taking the form of sincere brotherly affection-love with a pure heart. 1Pet2:1 defines this sincerity in negative examples of “laying asideall malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.”
The rest of 1Pet has a repeated theme that supports the scope of this sincere love. This theme shows believers committing their souls to the will of God the Father (1Pet4:19), enduring temporal suffering (1Pet1:6, 1Pet5:10), as they pour out their lives in sincere love for righteousness sake (1Pet4:14). By doing so, they partake (1Pet4:13) in Christ’s suffering where His suffering is set as an example (2Pet2:21) for believers to emulate in action (1Pet4:2) and attitude (1Pet4:1).
When one can appreciate the arduous journey to produce soul salvation, it makes sense when 1Pet18 says,” If the righteous one is scarcely saved” (NKJV). This “saving” refers to the soul salvation and not the salvation of the born again spirit. Soul salvation is difficult!
For the born again spirit is perfectly saved by God’s the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (John3:6 and John3:16). The only part played by a man is to believe by confessing (Rom10:9) Christ’s saving work apart from works (Eph2:8-9). The spiritual salvation is secure apart from the man’s works!
1Peter’s works that save the soul and Jam2:17 works share the common elements of suffering and submission to God’s will.
The two examples of works mentioned by James 2 is about Abraham and Rahab. Abraham suffered the loss of Isaac when he offered Isaac to God. However, Abraham submitted to God’s power to resurrect Isaac from the dead (Heb11:19). Rahab suffered the threat of execution for betraying Jericho when she sheltered the two Israelite spies and submitted to God’s manifested power (Joshua 2:9-11).
It stands to reason to assert at this point with greater confidence that the walk of sincere love that suffers while doing good, as the believer’s work is to emulates Christ’s suffering, is the mentioned in Jam2:17.
Aerial drone photo of the iconic archaeological site of Ancient Corinth built in the slopes of Acrocorinth, Peloponnese, Greece
Second Approach – Believer in a Sinful Lifestyle
1Co5:1 is about a man who openly indulged in a sexual relationship with his stepmother. Paul’s solution to this thorny issue of 1Co5:5 – “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
It is notable for drawing attention.
The scripture deems the spirit saved despite his brazen behavior to openly promote his sexually immoral relationship with his stepmother and threatening to corrupt the Corinthian Church with this sin(1Co5:6).
The scripture is silent about soul salvation. Since good works (1Pet) and natural decay of the body (2Co4:16-18) produces soul salvation, such practice of sin against the body deserves the bodily death of 1Co3:17
1Co3:17- “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”, where the body is destroyed.
Paul did not attempt to cast doubt concerning the believer’s salvation (born again spirit) status. Apostle Paul is faithful to his revelation that such judgment belongs to God (1Co4:4-5).
The above implications support the understanding that sin does not deprive the believer of their place in heaven.
Colossae ancient city in Denizli, Turkey
Third Approach- Col2:13 and John10:27-29
The Bible has three God personas, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The whole person also has three personas, the Spirit, Soul, and body (1The5:23)
It is an often committed error in the reading of scripture.
The failure to identify the various God personas speaking or spoken.
The failure to identify which part of the man that particular God persona is speaking to.
When the one reads the scripture bearing the above in mind above, scripture becomes relevant and alive. A careful examination of Col2:13 will reveal this benefit.
KJV
Col2:13- “And you, being (G5607) dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
The Greek Interlinear Bible clarifies that the tense of this being (G5607- ōn) is a present participle that indicates the ongoing action in the present.
The next step is to identify where the born again spirit, unsaved soul, decaying body, God the Father, and God the Son fit within the scripture.
And you ( born again spirit), your soul being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh that is in your decaying body, hath he, God the Father, quickened the born again spirit together with him, Jesus, having forgiven you ( born again spirit) all trespasses;
Interpretation
The above holds the perspective of a believer’s walk after the spirit is born again. The born again spirit is immune to the unsaved soul that experiences death when it sins due to the sinful flesh.
God the Father confers immunity by the quickened (syzōopoieō- to make alive with Christ) of born again spirit. For the born again spirit HAS received forgiveness from sins once and for ALL. God has thereby immunized the born again spirit against harmful effects of the soul and body that sins—thus securing the “Once Saved Always Saved” salvation.
John10:27-29 truths echo and resonate with Col2:13. Jesus refers to believers as sheep that are given eternal life in John10:27-29. The sheep secure eternal life by the protection offered by His hands and the hands of His Father, who is greater than Him. The power of God secures the sheep’s salvation once and forever.
Conclusion
While I have attempted to offer systematic reasoning of evidence to support the belief of unshakable eternal salvation, there are always outlier scenarios that reside in the domain of God to determine the authenticity of the believer’s salvation status in the very first place.
Two outlier scenarios come to mind.
The unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirt seems to the sword hanging over the believer’s secure salvation. (Mat12:31-32)
The sins of apostasy.
Another post or posts is required to cover the unpardonable sin in detail. For this post, the fact that no other scriptures further warn of this sin suggests that this sin’s applicability does not extend beyond the specific circumstances required for the sin to be relevant. The circumstances were such that Jesus had to be physically present, and Man blasphemes the Holy Spirit operating through Him. Christ’s physical presence with the Holy Spirit in Him are realities not available to Man.
Apostasy in Greek, apostasia, is mentioned twice in the new testament. In 2Th2:3, Paul used apostasia in the anti-christ context, and in Act21:21, Paul’s accusers used apostasia to voice their concerns of forsaking the old covenant traditions. Hence the apostasy is used in a specific context. Scripture DOES NOT support the casualness among Christians to lay this charge against their brethren.
In-summary, It makes little sense to construct barriers to salvation based on these outliers, given the great price paid by our Lord Jesus for humanity’s salvation. Let’s set aside these needless arguments that seek to divide the unity of the faith in the love of Christ.
Those that are adamant about doing so are usurping God’s sovereignty to judge His flock by discriminating their born again spirit genuineness in-place of God the Father.
