Part X.1 - The Salvation Of The Soul..
The Salvation Of The Soul-Life Gained In the previous chapter, we saw how a person who is dead in sins and trespasses is saved by grace through faith, receiving eternal life. When a person believes on Jesus, he becomes part of the Body of Christ, which is the Church of God. However, this is only the beginning, because believers are called to walk in such a manner that they will be found worthy to enter into the Reign of the Heavens when Christ comes a second time to reign over this earth. A Christian is called to enter into and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and this comes about through the salvation of the soul, the subject of this chapter.
Man is made of spirit, soul and body and it is Paul the apostle who stated this fact very clearly: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is at the parousia of the Lord (His coming) that the adopted sons of God will come into their full salvation. The spirit is saved when we first believe, and the body will be redeemed at the resurrection (discussed in the next chapter). However, the soul must be saved, as well; and this takes place while we are in the body, after we receive eternal life. There are three obstacles facing every disciple of Christ which must be overcome if he is to inherit the Kingdom-the world (1 John 5:4; James 4:4), the flesh (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5) and the devil (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9). It is the life laid down that overcomes these obstacles, and it is this life that does the good works that will be approved at the judgment seat of Christ. The salvation of the soul is vitally linked to overcoming; doing good works; entering the coming Kingdom of our Lord, the Reign of the Heavens; and receiving an inheritance in His Kingdom. The good works come from a life that has been laid down to follow the Lord. At the outset, it must be stated that the salvation of the soul might seem like a heavy, depressing topic to those who have never studied the Lord’s teaching on this matter. After all, at the heart of it is the laying down of one’s life, which is a dying to self. God’s principle is out of death comes life (John 12:24). This might lead some to question: "Do you mean that I have to give up everything in my life? Do you mean that I am to live like a monk? Do you mean that I can never do what I want to do? Will I not have any joy?" The fact of the matter is that we will not know real righteousness, peace and joy in this age or in the age to come unless we lose our soul in this life. Our soul is in a battle with the fleshly lusts of our old nature (1 Peter 2:11). We can give in to these lusts and the pleasures of sin, which are always fleeting, but this will lead to spiritual death (Romans 8:13) and a gaining of our soul in this life. Consider Moses’ perspective: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26). Moses refused the best that the world had to offer him. Why? Because the world’s best is the passing pleasures of sin. God’s best is Christ and His reward, which are far greater than anything the world has to offer.
Every disciple of Christ is to taste the coming Kingdom by experiencing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17); and this only comes as we die to our self, losing our soul-life. In this dying, we will know true freedom. In the Garden of Eden when Adam rebelled against God’s one command, it could be said that man lost his God-given identity. Man’s spirit went into a place of death, losing spiritual communion and communication with God. The soul also died in a sense because it could not partake of the tree of life but instead relied on the tree of knowledge. This knowledge led to the moral corruption of man that is a form of death, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Instead of the life of God directing the soul through the spirit, the knowledge of good and evil became the soul’s center. In that day, man was subjected to the yoke of slavery, having become a slave to sin. Thank God; at the cross of Calvary, the door was opened for man to be free from this yoke of slavery (John 8:31-32; Romans 6:6-7; Galatians 5:1).
Through the disobedience of the first man, we can see that the divine order of death is first the spirit, followed by the soul and then the body. Through the obedience of the second Man, the divine order of redemption follows the same pattern that is, first, the spirit, followed by the soul and then the body. Through the first man, we lost our God-given identity; but through the second Man, we gain our God-given identity. Through the first man, we lost our freedom; but through the second Man, we gain our freedom.
We are now faced with the question of how the soul is saved. To answer this question, we need to begin with an understanding of the soul. The Soul
Man was created with a soul and the soul represents who man is in the body. It is the center of self, which is expressed through the mind (thoughts), the emotions (feelings) and the will (action). It is through the action of the soul that we relate to and respond to other people and the world around us. As we interact with all these influences and experiences of life, we reason or form thoughts about them in our mind, we react to them through our emotions, and we act upon them through our will. However, throughout all of this reason, reaction and action, the center of fallen man is the self, and it is here that we discover the need for our soul to be saved. When Adam partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his soul began to govern his life, instead of his spirit (Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:11-13). Since that fatal day, the soul of the natural man has one primary goal-to satisfy self. Another way of stating this is that the center of the natural man’s universe is man and not God who is the Creator of the universe. Everything is centered on what benefits the man. It is best summed up as "I," "me "and "my"-What I want; What is best for me; What is mine. This is the same rebellious heart that is in Satan-I will (Isaiah 14:13-14). In this condition, the soul is self-centered and focused on the pleasures, passions and desires of this world which lead to the lust of the flesh (James 1:14-15; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 2:16). It is earth-bound and not heaven-bound. It is I-centered and not God-centered. The soul is not inherently good or evil; however, the soul can live one of two ways-its own way or God’s way. When Adam was created, his spirit was to govern his life. God is Spirit (John 4:24NKJ), and Adam was to remain in communication with God in the spirit. This relationship was to govern Adam’s life. When Adam fell in disobedience to God’s command, his spirit died and the spiritual communication was broken and Adam’s soul began to govern his life (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:9-11). This is what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents. When he partook of this tree, Adam turned from God’s will and rule over his life and began to live according to his own will and rule over his life. With man’s spirit in a place of death, the soul became the center of the life of Adam’s race, leading to either good or evil. This is the natural man, not the spiritual man (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). Paul summed up the natural man: A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (1 Corinthians 2:14). The problem that fallen man faces is that his soul is not set on the things of God and the things above (heavenly), only on the things of man and the things below (earthly). In this condition, man cannot and will not do the will of God. Once a person’s spirit is born again, the soul of the person is to move from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. The reality is that when we first believe, this self-centeredness is still alive in us. However, we are to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29); and this means that our entire focus must become God-centered and more, specifically, Christ-centered. The Christ-centered life says: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20). "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Php 1:21). This new life knows that it has been raised up with Christ and keeps seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. This life sets its mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, knowing that it has died and its life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3). This life enters into a personal and intimate love relationship with God. This is the Christ-centered life, the soul that is being saved.
Now, it is the Lord Jesus Himself who laid down this principle of the salvation of the soul.
Whoever Loses His Life
Starting in Matthew 16:13, the Lord began to unveil to His disciples the whole matter of the Kingdom. He started with a question to His disciples: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" When He used His title of the Son of Man, Jesus immediately was drawing attention to His Second Coming as the King. In prophesying of Christ being given dominion and glory and a kingdom, Daniel spoke of the Son of Man coming and having a kingdom that shall not be destroyed but shall be everlasting (Daniel 7:13-14). Further, the first mention of son of man in the Bible is found in Messianic Psalms 8:1-9, which is also referenced in Hebrews 2:6-8, which is a clear reference to Christ taking the scepter of the Kingdom (Hebrews 1:8). With the answer that He is the Christ (the Anointed One, which is also a Messianic title), the Son of the living God, Jesus established Himself as the coming King. He then continued to teach His disciples about His Church (first mention of this word), the keys of the Kingdom, His death on the cross as the way to bring in the Kingdom and a disciple losing his life as the way into the Kingdom (Matthew 16:15-27). Not only this, but after six days, on the seventh day, He took three of His disciples up on a mountain and He was transfigured in their presence and they saw a prophetic view of the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom and Glory (Matthew 16:28; Matthew 17:1-8) at the end of Man’s Day (represented by the sixth day). The Lord’s words on losing the soul are often overlooked in studying this account; however, they are vital in understanding this matter of the salvation of the soul. It is very significant that immediately after He laid down this principle, the Lord spoke of His coming in glory and rewards; and then He was transfigured, representing the manifestation of His Kingdom and Glory. What was the Lord teaching His disciples, then and now? A death to self must take place if a disciple is to come into the glory of His Kingdom. This is an inescapable fact!
Most translations of the account given in Matthew use the word life, which in the Greek is the word psuche, which means "soul." A better translation of the word life is soul-life, and it is best captured in the following translation.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone is desiring to come after me, let him forget self and lose sight of his own interests, and let him pick up his cross and carry it, and let him be taking the same road with me that I travel, for whoever is desiring to save his soul-life shall ruin it, but whoever will pass a sentence of death upon his soul-life for my sake, shall find it. For what will a man be profited if he gain the whole world but forfeit his soul-life? Or, what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul-life? For the Son of Man is about to be coming in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall recompense to each one according to his manner of acting." (Matthew 16:24-27KSW)
Unfortunately, these verses often are ignored in Christian teaching. In fact, very few Christians know anything about the salvation of the soul because they have been taught that it is automatic when a person first believes. This is why evangelists incorrectly preach to "save souls." It is not automatic. Part of the difficulty comes when the spirit and the soul are viewed as one; however, as we saw at the beginning of the chapter, Paul clearly presented them as separate parts of man (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The salvation of the soul must be worked out, for this is the key to inheriting the Kingdom. Evangelists often use these verses to preach to the lost, but this is an incorrect use of these Scriptures for they refer to disciples and the Kingdom, not the lost and eternal life. Others teach that these words of our Lord are not relevant to Christians today because they were said before He went to the cross. If this were true, then practically all of the Lord’s words would have to be ignored, as well. It is important to understand that the Lord’s teaching on the soul was not forgotten or put on the shelf by His disciples, for they took up their Master’s words and wrote of the salvation of the soul in their epistles. Others refuse to think that Christians must have a cross or suffering in their lives. All they want to consider are blessings and experiencing moves of the Spirit. Let us be clear that without suffering, there is no glory (Luke 24:26; Romans 8:17; 1 Peter 2:20-21; 1 Peter 4:14-16); and if there is no suffering, then what some call an experience of the Spirit may be an experience but from another kind of spirit or from the soul.
Now, what did the Lord teach? In one sense, the Lord was making a statement to His most immediate disciples. Practically all of His disciples were about to go the way of their Master, making the ultimate sacrifice by suffering a martyr’s death for their testimony of Jesus. John the abiding apostle was the one exception of those who were standing there listening to the Lord (John 21:23). In the coming days of the Tribulation, in like fashion, multitudes will lose their lives because of their testimony (Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 12:11). But what about today? Do our Lord’s words only mean a physical death? Given the meaning of the soul, it is obvious that the Lord was laying down a much greater principle. He taught that our self-interests must be laid down or go to a place of death if we are to follow Him as His disciples. We are called to be disciples of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:52), and discipleship demands the losing of our soul-life if we are to inherit the Kingdom. The translation previously cited from Matthew clearly expresses the meaning of the Lord’s words, which give four steps in the pursuit of the Kingdom.
Come After Me
First, there must be a desire to follow the Lord Jesus after we believe on Him. It is a decision that we must make as a purposeful act of our will. In other words, we set our will to follow the Lord. When He spoke of following Him, the Lord was speaking to men who had already believed on Him (Thou art the Christ) and who had given up everything to follow Him (Matthew 19:27). The heart of the matter was entering the Kingdom; therefore, the Lord was not giving a word to the lost. He was speaking to disciples to show them what they must do to remain His disciples and reach the goal of the Kingdom.
Baptism For example, in following the Lord, there is an act of the will which is vital to a disciple of Christ-something which is greatly misunderstood and neglected amongst many Christians-the believer’s baptism. Many who say they believe in Jesus have been "christened" (usually sprinkled) as infants and they believe they are baptized. However, the Bible never presents baptism in this way. It is an immersion of a believer in water. It is a statement of faith, something that an infant does not possess.
Paul wrote: Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also {in the likeness} of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Romans 6:3-7).
Baptism is a recognition on the part of believers of what transpired on the cross of Calvary, that is, our old self (self-centered life) was crucified with Christ. It is a declaration that we are not going to live according to the old way but according to the new way. We are going to walk in newness of life because we are free from the nature of sin that resides in fallen man. Thus, it should be seen quite clearly that the believer’s baptism is an essential step to be taken (after receiving eternal salvation) and is a vital step in following the Lord. In fact, if we are not water baptized (immersed), then it is a good indication that we are not on the road to the Kingdom. The Lord said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Being born of water speaks of the believer’s baptism, without which we cannot enter the coming Kingdom.
Forget About Your Self
Second, in our decision to follow Him, we determine to forget about or deny our "self," which means to lose sight of our own interests. A disciple has legitimate interests or needs to live in this world; however, the Lord has instructed us to lose sight of these things. Why? Because our Father knows what we need (Matthew 6:8). Instead, we are to dwell upon what is to come and pray to our heavenly Father, "Thy Kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). We are heaven-bound and we must live with a view to the goal and prize set before us. The world eagerly seeks after the things that satisfy self, but a disciple must not live this way.
"And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. (Luke 12:29-31)
One who loses sight of his own interests is one who is a seeker of the Kingdom. God is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and the reward comes when the Kingdom comes. Until it comes, we are to trust God to take care of our needs. This a difficult lesson to learn, particularly in our modern world which has become increasingly complicated and demanding. Nevertheless, we must seek God in these days, even more so as we see the Day approaching. In the Greek, this matter of denying self means "to deny utterly, to disown, to abstain" from self. Notice that the meaning is not merely to give up things; on the contrary, it is an utter denial, a disowning. These are strong words, but the Lord knows that this is what it takes to follow Him. Anything short of this will encumber the race of the faith. Why? Because He knows the nature of man, and that nature is to protect and defend self. The opposite of denying is saving which means "to protect" or "to deliver." This is what the Lord has done in saving us; however, it has the opposite effect when we try to save our soul-life. When we try to save our soul-life, we are protecting it; we are trying to preserve (deliver) it. In simple terms, we are trying to protect our own interests rather than taking up the interests of God. We want our rights over our life, not the rights of God over our life. A disciple must give up all effort to defend, protect or preserve self, even if it leads to physical death. The disciple must keep his eyes set on the One he is following and not on himself.
Pick Up Your Cross And Carry It
Third, we are to pick up or take up our cross and carry it. The cross is a sign of self-denial, a sign of death to self. When we pick up our cross, we are saying that we are dead to our old ways, to our self-interests, even to the ways of the world. Paul spoke a similar word: But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14).
Taking up our cross represents the Christ-centered life. However, it is not just something that we take up and lay down. We are to carry it as long as we are on the path following the Lord. In other words, the cross is something that we never put down but that we carry daily (Luke 9:23), even if it leads to martyrdom for the name of our Lord.
Take The Same Road With Me
Fourth, we are to walk on the same path or road as our Lord. He walked through this life not having a place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). There was nothing in the world that answered to His likeness and He could claim no attraction to this fallen world (John 14:30). This was not His realm (John 18:36). His path to the Kingdom and Glory was one of suffering by denying Himself and dying on a cross (Luke 24:26). He was a sojourner who passed through this foreign land and exited through the cross. This is the road of a disciple.
Having revealed the road that a disciple must travel, the Lord then proceeded to explain the meaning and purpose of denying self-whoever is desiring to save his soul-life shall ruin it (lose it), but whoever will pass a sentence of death upon his soul-life for my sake, shall find it. As we have seen, the word save means "to deliver" or "to protect." Simply stated, whoever chooses to deliver or protect his self-centered life (own interests) will end in ruin. In the Greek, the word for lose or ruin in the translation being quoted means "to destroy fully." In other words, the Lord was making a very strong statement about a disciple protecting his own interests. If our priority in life is to seek after our own interests, then how can we follow the Lord and pursue His interests? We cannot! It is like running a race with a heavy load strapped to our backs (Hebrews 12:1). In a very similar word, in reference to riches, the Lord told His disciples: "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other" (Luke 16:13). It is no different with our soul. In fact, riches bring only temporary satisfaction to one who is seeking to save his soul-life. If our soul is the master, then we will despise the Lord as our Master. The Lord continued with: For what will a man be profited if he gain the whole world but forfeit his soul-life? Or, what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul-life?
Forfeit means "to injure." In other words, we can seek after all that the world has to offer and bring great satisfaction to our soul, but this will lead only to injury of our soul-life. When we forfeit our soul-life, there is nothing that we can offer to save it. There is nothing for which we can exchange it.
John gave a similar warning about the world: Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).
If a disciple of Christ desires to find his soul-life, then he must lay it down today. This is the heart of the Lord’s exhortation. The way to find the soul-life, or as some translations state, to gain the soul-life is to deny this life. If we seek to satisfy all our passions and desires, seek to gain all that the world has to offer and do not pursue the things of God, then we will end in ruin.
Now, when does this ruin occur? When does one find his soul-life? The Lord Himself has left us the answer in the next verse: For the Son of Man is about to be coming in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall recompense to each according to his manner of acting. The ruin or the finding will occur when He comes to take the scepter of the Kingdom and recompense His people. The disciple who has followed his Master will receive reward for a life laid down, for this is the life that produces a profit for the Master. He will find his life in the Kingdom. Find it means that he will enter the joy of his Master in the Kingdom. The denial of self which yields a profit for the Lord will be rewarded with millennial glory which will bring great satisfaction and delight to his soul: "I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21). The Kingdom is to be a time of great joy to Christians. Paul said the Kingdom is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), which speaks of a foretaste of the coming Kingdom. Today, those who are following the Lord on His path taste the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5), but this is only a taste. In that day, righteousness, peace and joy will be experienced unhindered in their fullest expression. We have no idea what it will be like because we have never truly experienced it. Instead of weeping, there will be laughter. The way to this joy is through passing a sentence of death upon our soul-life for His sake, today. If we do this, then we shall find or gain our soul in the Kingdom. We can seek profit for our soul in this world; but it will lead only to ruin, to weeping and gnashing of teeth during the Kingdom Age (Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30). Gaining the whole world means that we allow our soul-life to be completely and fully satisfied in this life. If we go this path, it will not lead us into the joy of the coming Kingdom. We will forfeit all rights to share in the inheritance. It is like the prodigal son who chose to squander all that his father had given him. Fortunately, he humbled himself and returned to his father. Thank God; as long as it is still today, there is opportunity for any Christian who has been on the wrong path to deny self and follow the Lord. But the time is slipping away and a day will come when it will be too late. The choice is ours. We can satisfy our own interests in this life and gain our reward here; or we can deny our own interests in this life and gain the Lord’s reward in the Heavenly Kingdom. When the Reign of the Heavens comes, nothing more can be done to gain our soul-life in the Kingdom. It will be too late to deny self. What shall a man give in an exchange for his soul-life? In that day, there will be nothing that can be done to exchange a ruined soul-life. The person will have to suffer loss as long as the Lord determines. We are not told if it will last the entire 1,000 years of the Kingdom Age. However, the weeping will end one day. When eternity comes, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4NKJ). What mercy! The heart of the matter is that the disciples of Christ are to go from being self-centered to being Christ-centered. Taking up our cross is saying that it is no longer our will but the will of God. We choose to die daily to our desires and passions and to the attractions of the world. Once again, it is as Paul wrote: The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14). This is the cross at work in a life. The choice is simple, but the path is often difficult because there are many temptations and trials along the way. It is a daily battle to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. What profit would it be to us if we gained the whole world, that is, our soul was fully satisfied with all the world has to offer, and yet we lost the privilege of reigning in the Kingdom? Are we willing to give up a 1,000-year inheritance for a measly 50-80 years of satisfaction in this world? Moses wasn’t willing (Hebrews 11:24-26). This is the message the Lord was teaching His disciples, and it is foundational to every Christian who sees the Kingdom and desires to run the race to receive the inheritance of the Kingdom. The Son of Man is going to come in His glory and recompense every man for his deeds (good or bad). The good deeds will result from a soul that was lost (died) in this life. The bad deeds will result from a soul that was gained in this life.
Soul, Take Your Ease The Lord reinforced this matter of gaining the soul in this life by telling a parable of a certain rich man who stored up his goods.
"The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years {to come;} take your ease, eat, drink {and} be merry."’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This {very} night your soul is required of you; and {now} who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21) This rich man was a fool in the sight of God. Why? He was very productive and had acquired many things. There is nothing inherently evil in having prosperity. What was evil was how his soul responded to all of his success. Notice where the rich man placed his emphasis and began his discussion. It was to himself: I. He began reasoning to himself, saying: I will do;I will tear down;I will build;I will say. But look where he turned. He spoke to his soul: "Soul, take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." In other words, this rich man had acquired many things that brought great satisfaction to his soul and he determined to give his soul all the satisfaction it desired.
He lived a life that satisfied his soul and its passions and desires. He was living according to the flesh, not the Spirit; and because of this, he was gaining his life only to lose it in the sight of God. He was coveting his possessions which was giving his soul all the earthly satisfaction it wanted. There was no suffering. In fact, his desire was to eat, drink and be merry. This is the motto of the soul that is being gained in this life. He was rich toward his soul but not rich toward God. His treasures were on this earth and his mind was not set on the things above, where Christ is seated (Colossians 3:1-2). In the Day of Judgment, he will hear: ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you!" Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 12:20; also Matthew 22:13-14; Matthew 25:12; Matthew 25:30). When will the soul of such a one be required? At the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). He will enter the millennial Kingdom with no reward, only loss (1 Corinthians 3:15). He will have gained the whole world only to forfeit his soul-life in the Kingdom. In other words, he will have no reward; he will not reign with Christ; he will suffer loss; he will have great regret and suffering during the Kingdom Age. He will have chosen the wide path to ruin, rather than the narrow path into the Kingdom (Matthew 7:13-14). He will be saved for eternity but left out of the intimate affairs of the Kingdom during the reign of Christ. This is a most serious matter.
Calculating The Cost The Lord gave another set of parables concerning discipleship and following after Him.
Now great multitudes were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with ten thousand {men} to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks terms of peace. So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (Luke 14:25-33; also Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 8:34)
Jesus started with the fundamental principle of being His disciple-hating even one’s own life. This might seem to be a very harsh statement and one that is difficult to accept. After all, we are exhorted to love one another. How can we hate our father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even our own lives? Once again, life is the same word as soul-life. The word hate is not a negative word as we think of it. In the Greek, the word has the meaning of "to love less." In other words, we are to love all these relations in our lives, even our own soul-life, less. But less than what? Less than the Lord. Our heart’s affections are to be set upon the One whom we are following. In fact, we follow Him because we love Him: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). His commandment is to follow Him. The Lord then spoke two parables. The first was about a man who wanted to build a tower. No one deciding to undertake such a task would start without first calculating the cost to build the tower so that it could be brought to completion. It would bring a ridicule to one to start the project and discover that all he could afford was to build a foundation. In the same fashion, Jesus was saying that anyone who determines in his heart to follow Him must know right from the start that the cost will be great and that cost is everything that the soul-life desires to bring satisfaction to itself. All believers start on the foundation of Christ, but how many will yield their lives to the Holy Spirit and build upon this foundation until they are a complete man in Christ (Colossians 1:28)? The second parable was about a king going into battle with 10,000 men to fight against 20,000 men. As a king, he most likely had more than 10,000 men; however, he was unwilling to commit all that he possessed to defend himself and his people. He was willing to commit only a portion of his troops that were half as many as the enemy’s. What point was the Lord making? We must commit our all to follow Him. We are engaged in a spiritual battle, and this requires that we give up all to the Lord: So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
What is our most prized possession? It is our self-life. Don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise. Are these words too difficult for you? Do they seem to be harsh, too demanding? But let us consider the path our Lord followed. It required His entire life to set us free from the slavery of sin (John 8:32-36; Romans 6:2-18). He paid the full price. He gave up His all so we could gain our freedom from sin and death. He laid down His soul-life by going to the cross, wearing a crown of thorns to gain the crown of glory (Hebrews 2:9). If we love Him, we must follow Him and He demands that we give Him our whole life. It demands that we lose our soul-life to gain it in His Kingdom. If we lose it today, we will reign with Him in His day. If we gain it today, we will not reign with Him in His day. The choice is ours. Does this mean that we become stoic, monkish people with no joy in our hearts? Does this mean that there is nothing in life that we will ever enjoy until He comes? Absolutely not! As stated previously, His Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We will not truly experience life as it should be until we yield to our loving Master and allow His life to live in us and out from us under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. A life laid down for the Master is a full life, a life that wins, a life that overcomes, a life that will enter into the Kingdom of the Son. It is an exciting life because the Lord will lead a life laid down into greater experiences of His life, into more intimate depths of His life. It won’t be something static, but rather something dynamic and changing as we grow in the mature knowledge (see chapter 16) of the Lord and in ever-increasing depths of His love. A disciple is to be dead to the world and alive to God. This is what it takes to lose our soul-life today to gain it in the day of His Kingdom. Our works do not enter into eternal salvation, but they do enter into the matter of inheriting the Kingdom. There are good works for us to do, and these will be rewarded by us receiving positions of power and authority in the Kingdom. However, it is the soul-life that is laid down that does the work of God. Out from such a life come forth the good works which were created in Christ (Ephesians 2:10) to the glory of God. In other words, it is the soul-life that has been laid down in this life that produces the good works of Christ, bearing fruit (John 15:1-8), and it is this life which will receive the reward of the inheritance of the Kingdom (Colossians 3:24). It is the life lost today to be gained in the Kingdom. Gaining means reigning!
Paul, the beloved apostle, is a wonderful example of a life laid down. A time came when Paul set his sights on traveling to Asia to preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit forbid it and in a vision he was told to go to Macedonia. What did Paul do? He went to Macedonia and the gospel was brought to Europe. Paul was a man given wholly unto the Lord, whose interests were the Lord’s interests. He stated that he died daily (1 Corinthians 15:31); and through this death, many others were brought to the Lord and grew up in Christ, becoming a complete man in Christ. There is nothing greater than laying down one’s life for the brethren. When you do, it requires you to lay down your all and to serve. The road may be difficult and there may be much sacrifice of your own desires, but seeing others grow in Christ and being encouraged to run the race as we see the Day approaching, produces a joy unspeakable and a peace that surpasses all understanding. This type of heart was expressed by Paul to the Thessalonians: For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). Paul was like his Master who saw the joy set before Him even in the midst of the cross and its shame (Hebrews 12:2).
Much can be written on this matter of the salvation of the soul, for it is a greatly neglected subject in Christian teaching. However, the Lord was not alone in speaking about the matter of the losing and gaining of the soul. Everything that the disciples later taught came from the embryonic words of their Teacher. As such, throughout the epistles, we discover the Lord’s teaching on the soul presented in various ways by His disciples.
Paul was exercised over the souls of the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:15; 2 Corinthians 12:19-21; 2 Corinthians 13:5-10). He exhorted the Philippians to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Php 2:12), which refers to the salvation of the soul. He also wrote to his beloved Timothy: For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus {and} with {it} eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10). The salvation that is to be obtained with eternal glory speaks of the full salvation-spirit, soul and body-which will come when Christ comes from heaven to receive His people to Himself (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is at this time that His people will enter into glory. To those who resided as aliens, Peter wrote of a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5) and of obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:9). The outcome of faith is received when Christ comes to reward His people. The salvation of the soul is the salvation to be revealed in the last time. Peter also exhorted the pilgrims of the Dispersion, the sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11NKJ). He wrote of purifying your souls in obeying the truth (1 Peter 1:22NKJ). Further, he reminded the pilgrims that they had been like wandering sheep but that they had returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls (1 Peter 2:25NKJ). The writer of Hebrews reminded the brethren that we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:39NKJ). The soul is described as having a hope, which in Hebrews refers to the coming Kingdom: This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a {hope} both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:19-20). The entire book of Hebrews is about the entrance into the coming Kingdom, the world or age to come (Hebrews 2:5).
James wrote to those dispersed abroad to receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). He then proceeded to lay out the necessity that every child of God not only must be a hearer of the Word but also a doer of the Word. This is very similar to Peter’s word on purifying the soul in obeying the truth. We must study the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to work it into our lives; and out from this, we are to act upon the Word. This requires a change in our character (to be like Christ), and it requires that we take up the good works, working out our faith. In reference to entering the Kingdom, we are justified by our works (James 2:24). But let us stress once again that this is not in reference to eternal life which is ours by grace through faith and based on the one finished work of Christ. Our works have nothing to do with our eternal salvation, but they have everything to do with the salvation of our soul and an abundant entrance into the Kingdom (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-26; 2 Peter 1:10-11).
Thus, in these few examples, we can see that the soul was a major teaching of the apostles. We could say that it is one of the most critical issues that every born-again believer faces in running the race of the faith into the coming Kingdom.
Sanctification
Another dimension of the salvation of the soul is to be found in the matter of sanctification. What is sanctification? Very simply, it is being set apart for a particular use, and in this case a believer is set apart for God. When we believe, our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). In other words, we are set apart for God by being placed in Christ, who is our life (Colossians 3:4). This is an objective truth that cannot be altered for anyone who has believed on God’s Son. Further, sanctification not only sets apart a believer unto God but also brings one into relationship with God. Being set apart for God means that we can have a personal relationship with Him. Another way of stating this is that we can commune or have fellowship with God. Why is this possible? Because a born-again believer is in Christ by God’s own doing. What a tremendous truth! As Paul wrote: But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). [In this verse, we can see the full salvation that is in Christ: righteousness-salvation of the spirit, sanctification-salvation of the soul, redemption-salvation of the body.] Because Christ is our sanctification, a believer is rightly called a saint or a sanctified one, one who is set apart for God. Another way of stating this is that a saint belongs to God. This is why Paul could write to the believers in Corinth-to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling (1 Corinthians 1:2)-even though many of them were not walking as spiritual men but as carnal Christians. They belonged to God because of the precious blood of the Lamb, not because of who they were or what they were doing. In other words, being called a saint is not something to which a believer must attain, as is held by some people. We do not attain to "sainthood." The Scriptures do not teach this. Just like imputed righteousness, sanctification is in Christ for all who are in Him. As such, sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit as an outcome of believing, and rightly belongs in any discussion of the gospel of the grace of God and eternal salvation (Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11; Hebrews 10:10; Hebrews 10:14; Hebrews 10:29; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2).
However, just like righteousness goes beyond initial salvation, so does sanctification. Sanctification is a process that must be worked out in the life of a saint, just like righteousness must be practiced in the life of the righteous (1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:7). As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: For this is the will of God, your sanctification; {that is,} that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). God’s will in setting apart a believer unto Himself is that the believer will be separated from all forms of evil, as well. As the Psalmist wrote: Hate evil, you who love the Lord (Psalms 97:10). At the end of his life, Paul wrote to Timothy: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness." Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these {things} he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work (2 Timothy 2:19-21). In other words, a sanctified life is a holy life, and it is this life that is useful to the Master in doing the good works which are in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). Sanctification demands a separation from all wickedness and the development of holy character in the saint. A life wholly set apart for God is a holy life. It is a life set apart from the flesh, the world and the devil. A holy life is a life that is being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). As Peter wrote: Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all {your} behavior; because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Or as John wrote: Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope {fixed} on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3). This is the life that is useful to the Master. The Scriptures are full of exhortations about fleeing all that is evil and pursing that which is related to holiness (e.g., 2 Corinthians 7:1; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22; James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:11; 2 Peter 3:11; Jude 1:20-23).
However, let us be very clear that we cannot live a holy life apart from Christ. If we try to do it through our own strength and through a list of do’s and don’ts, we will find ourselves in a never-ending cycle of success and failure. Only the Lord’s life in us can live a holy life before God. We must yield to His life; and by grace, we will be wholly separated unto God, living a life of holiness and purity, doing every good work.
It should be noted that the words sanctification, saint, holy and pure are all from similar root words in the Greek. Depending on the context, they speak of the objective truth that, in Christ, every believer is sanctified, holy and pure in the sight of God because of Christ; but also they speak of the need for every blood-bought saint to become sanctified, holy and pure in his actions, words and thoughts. Believers are being called unto sonship in the coming Kingdom. As a son, they are called to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:5-10), and this requires that a believer be made clean, holy and pure. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). When will the pure in heart see God? When the Spirit completes the work of transforming many sons from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). In that day, God will bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). When is this day? It is at the coming of God’s Son when He comes to take the scepter of the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is most instructive that the first mention in the Bible of the words sanctified and sanctify are found in reference to the seventh day of rest and the first-born offspring.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2:3)
"Sanctify to Me every first-born, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me." (Exodus 13:2)
Both verses speak loudly of the day that is coming. The Kingdom Age is the seventh day, the day of rest (Hebrews 4:4); and in that day, there will be many sons who will come unto glory and enter the Reign of the Heavens. The firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5) and the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15) is God’s only begotten Son, our Savior, Lord and King. Christ is the firstborn among many brethren who are called, justified and glorified (Romans 8:29-30). These firstborn are enrolled in heaven, awaiting the day in which they will come to the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22-23). Thus, sanctification is the way to the coming Kingdom and Glory. In fact, it opens the door to the inheritance of the Kingdom (Acts 20:32; Acts 26:16-18).
Now, what does sanctification have to do with the salvation of the soul? They go hand in hand. As we deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow the Lord, in a very practical way we come into the sanctified life that is a life set apart to God. As we deny our self, our self-centered life, we begin to walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh (Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 5:16-25), being separated from that which is evil. We take up the works of Christ. As we walk in this way, we not only do the good works of Christ, but we are conformed to His image and transformed from glory to glory. We begin to live the sanctified, holy life, the life that will see God in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is all by the grace of God, which leads us into the last matter of the salvation of the soul.
Grace As he was about to depart his beloved brethren in Ephesus, Paul said: "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build {you} up and to give {you} the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). Paul declared the truth about sanctification that we have reviewed, and that is, everyone born of God is sanctified by grace. However, notice that Paul also joined the word of His grace to receiving the inheritance (of the Kingdom). Being sanctified at the new birth does not guarantee the inheritance anymore than the salvation of the spirit alone guarantees it. We must become sanctified, just as we must save our soul by losing it. The key to all of this is grace.
We will not know the salvation of the soul apart from the grace of God. We are saved by grace through faith; however, we must not lose sight of the fact that grace does not stop when we are born again. In fact, according to Paul and the testimony of every saint who has gone on with the Lord to finish the race of the faith, when we first believe on Christ, we are introduced by faith into this grace. As Paul wrote to the Romans: Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2). We are to stand in this grace with a view to the glory which lies ahead. It can be stated with confidence that everyone who has finished the race has stood in this grace to the end.
Once our spirit is saved, we need grace for the salvation of our soul. In fact, we need abundant grace to die to our self. It is grace that brings us into the inheritance, into the Kingdom and Glory.
We touched upon grace in the previous chapter, but this matter is so important that some of it is worth repeating. What is grace? The Greek word charis means "acceptable; benefit; favor; good-will; gift; grace; lovingkindness; something that affords joy, pleasure, delight; sweetness; charm; loveliness." In the New Testament, grace is the word most commonly used for charis and is used over 120 times. After reviewing many of these verses, it would seem that a good definition of grace is: "the enabling power of God, apart from human merit." If every time we see the word grace we think of the enabling power of God, apart from human merit, we will come into a better understanding of how tremendous the grace of God is to the lost and the saved. In fact, grace is a necessity once we are saved. When we first believe, we know nothing about grace. It is God’s lovingkindness that reaches down and touches our hearts to believe. However, once we believe, we must learn to take hold of the grace of God and the One who is grace. We must take hold of the Lord Jesus who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace (John 1:16).
Grace is so important in this matter of our soul that we need to look at this subject, recognizing that we only are touching upon it. The reader is encouraged to study grace in greater detail. A Greater Grace But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
James’ epistle has been misunderstood down through church history. Some saints believed it did not belong in the inspired Scriptures. This controversy arose because of not rightly dividing the word of truth. Confusion arose when the salvation of the spirit (by grace through faith, with a view to eternal life) and the salvation of the soul (by the implanted word, with a view to reigning in the Kingdom of Heaven) were not rightly divided in studying the Word of God. James spoke of the salvation of the soul and offered no contradiction to eternal salvation. As emphasized previously, when we first believe by grace through faith, our spirit is saved for eternity. Once our spirit is saved, we must begin the process of saving our soul. Our soul is not automatically saved with our spirit. Our soul is saved as the greater grace is worked out in our life. Through a life-long process of daily denying ourselves (soul-life, self-life) and following the Lord, we receive as the outcome of our faith the salvation of our soul in the Day of Christ (1 Peter 1:9).
James 1:21 (NKJ) tells us to receive with meekness the implanted or rooted Word, which is able to save our souls. James 4:5 (NKJ) asks the question: Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?" As we will see, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.
James was exhorting believers who were lusting in the flesh: You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You spend on pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:1-4NKJ). Please understand that James was writing to believers, not the lost. Too often, the Lord’s people take Scriptures and apply them to the lost when the Holy Spirit is speaking to the saved.
Believers of the tribes scattered abroad were living a carnal, worldly life. They were being overcome by their flesh and not living according to the Spirit. They were not receiving with meekness the implanted Word, which was able to save their souls. They were living a life that would lead to the death of their souls in the Day of Christ. With this in view, James exhorted them: Does the Scripture speak in vain? Are you reading the Word of God and allowing it to do its work in you? Are you hearing the living Word? Do you not think that the Holy Spirit who dwells in you is jealous for your soul? In other words, the Holy Spirit is jealous to save our souls through the Word of God. Do we read the Word of God, not expecting the Holy Spirit to work through it? Do we read it and not believe it? Do we read it and not become doers of the Word (James 1:22)? By grace we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. It is God’s enabling power that will lead us to do His Word, and out from that, to do His works which will bear fruit. We must flee the things of the old nature. We must lay aside all overflow of wickedness (James 1:21NKJ). There is a way back to God, and it is by grace. If we repent and turn back to God, allowing the Word to do its work and allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way within us, then God will give us greater grace. The Holy Spirit is jealous, and He calls out to God’s people to turn aside from the world and all forms of evil and to humble themselves before God. He gives more grace, a greater grace to yield and continue to yield to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. When He gives grace, it is to save our soul for the Day of Christ. Without grace and the implanted Word working in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not receive the end of our faith-the salvation of our soul. Thank God, the Holy Spirit jealously desires our soul. By Grace I Am What I Am But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Paul considered himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church before his eyes were opened to the truth. He could say that it was all grace that he not only was saved but was pressed into the service of the Lord to preach the Kingdom. He labored harder than all the apostles, but he took no credit for himself. It was by the grace of God that was with him. Of all the apostles, Paul’s life was a testimony to the grace of God. He knew the daily grace to live for Christ and to be found worthy to enter the Kingdom and Glory. At the end of his life, he declared that he had fought the fight, finished the course and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). The crown of righteousness is awaiting him in the Day of Christ. He had full assurance that the grace of God had done its work in his life and that the end of his faith would be the salvation of his soul. What a victory! What an example of the overcoming life!
Paul laid hold of the abundant grace to reign in life through the one Man, Jesus Christ. He knew it was not of his own doing, but he labored to work out the salvation of his soul (Php 2:12). He knew the grace that was in Christ (2 Timothy 2:1) that abounded to many (Romans 5:15-17). Even when he was afflicted by a messenger of Satan, Paul knew the all-sufficiency of the grace of God (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). By grace, Christ was formed in him (Galatians 4:19). By grace, Paul could say that it was "no longer I, but Christ" (Galatians 2:20). By grace, he knew the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death (Php 3:10). By grace, he pressed on toward the goal for the prize (Php 3:14). By grace, he endured light afflictions that were producing for him the exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). By grace, he was transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). By grace, Paul walked worthy of the God who called him into His own Kingdom and Glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Hallelujah! What an example and encouragement we find in Paul’s life. It was all grace.
Grace, Grace To It!
Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel {you will become} a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"’" Also the word of the LORD came to me saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish {it.} Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you." (Zechariah 4:6-9) When Zerubbabel was commissioned to rebuild the house of God for Israel, it is recorded that when the last stone, the top stone was put in place, the shout went up: "Grace, grace to it!" It was not rebuilt by the might or power of man, but by the Spirit.
Today, God is building His house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end (Hebrews 3:6NKJ). Oh, of all the people on the face of the earth, believers are the only ones who have any true hope. By grace, through the implanted Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, we will be conformed to the image of Christ. This is the way to hold fast. This is the way to maintain our confidence so that in the Day of Christ we will be found worthy to enter into His Kingdom and Glory. This is our hope. By grace, we must press on toward the goal. We must allow the implanted Word to save our soul. By grace, we must be those who do not draw back to perdition but who believe to the saving of our soul (Hebrews 10:39NKJ). In writing to the pilgrims who were dispersed, Peter said, "Grace to you and peace be multiplied" (1 Peter 1:2 b NKJ). Peter had a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is leading to an inheritance incorruptible, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God (grace in action) through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5NKJ). It is a salvation that comes as the outcome of faith, and this is the salvation of the soul (1 Peter 1:9). It is very instructive that in referring to the salvation of the soul, Peter wrote that this was of importance to the prophets and that even the angels desire to look into this matter (1 Peter 1:10-12). What is instructive is that the prophets prophesied of the grace that would come, but notice what Peter wrote: Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober {in spirit,} fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
Although we are saved by grace through faith, coming into the Reign of the Heavens will be based on grace as well. When we appear before the Lord in His Day, it will be grace that will enable us to stand in His presence. In that day, we will see the tremendous enabling power of God that saved us and kept us. As Jude wrote: To those who are the called, beloved (sanctified, NKJ) in God the Father, and kept (preserved, NKJ) for Jesus Christ (Jude 1:1).
It is grace in the beginning, grace along the way and grace at the end. It is all of grace. In the Day of Christ, the shout will be: "Grace, grace! God’s grace!"
Losing today means reigning in His Day. By God’s grace, let us lose our soul-life today to gain it in the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we conclude, it seems appropriate to end as we started, with Paul’s words of encouragement: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).