Salvation of Man’s Spirit, Soul and Body

Salvation by God is often misunderstood by Christians to mean salvation from hell fire and eternal damnation in the future. What about this present life?

When an unbeliever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, God positionally saves the spirit (pneuma), progressively saves the soul (psyche: life) and will perfectly save the physical body (soma).

1)  Positional Salvation (justified, adopted). God saved him permanently from the penalty of sins. There is no condemnation for all who are in Christ Jesus. Previously dead in trespasses and sins, God revives his spirit. Now he is conscious of a holy God, conscious of his sinfulness, and desires God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; 63:1-2). The believer’s spirit is forever saved by God (1Cor 5:5).

2) Progressive Salvation (being sanctified, growing up). God is delivering him from the power of sin. God works actively to form Christlikeness in the believer. The believer has to rely on God’s Spirit to grow in experiential knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Each time he confesses his sins, he is restored to fellowship with God and fellow believers.

Victorious living on earth is by:
(a) washing by the Blood of Christ,
(b) walking in step with the Holy Spirit, and
(c) warring against the sinful desires of the flesh.

This is the progressive salvation of the soul of Christ’s disciples while on earth (Jas 1:21). His life is delivered from the pitfalls of the world’s lures of power, pride and pleasures.

3)  Perfect Salvation (glorified by God). One day, God will save him from the presence of sin. Every church age believer will experience this deliverance in a perfective sense. The believer at death, timely or untimely, will be given a glorious body by God, in the twinkling of an eye at the rapture of the Church (1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:15-17).

Elder Yoong Yuen Soo