Salvation and the Bible 5: Mission

Having finished up the OT over view, one point I wanted to make clear is that the norm for God is to mediate salvation. It is in and through humans that He saves. Another issue, that act of saving seems always to be costly, both to the recipients and the 'saviors.' This story seems writ large into creation and is fertile ground for meditation on the question, what kind of world do we live in. I made the point that the OT is really where we get our foundation for understanding salvation, what follows is the conclusion of my talk. I will add some final reflections in a couple days.

So salvation is a BIBLE-wide concept. And with that foundation we look to the NT. The Greek word, sozo means

to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction; from injury or peril

to save one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health

to save in the technical biblical sense

to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment

to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

What if “To save in the technical biblical sense” is applied to all the usage? What if the OT reference to the God who saves Israel is also a technical biblical usage? How does that impact our understanding of God’s work among us?

More importantly; How does it change our view of the ministry of healing and exorcism?

The word sozo occurs 113x in 101v in the NT

However, the first appearance of the word salvation is in the OT Genesis 49:18. It recounts Jacob blessing his sons, but the verse seems to be prayer unexpectedly dropped in.

“I wait for your salvation, YHWH”

I am inclined to give special prominence to things which appear first. I am tempted to think that there is a special message in this first appearance of the word salvation. It is something for which we WAIT. There is a future aspect to salvation. And Jesus certainly told us “to watch and wait” in His parables and exhortations. There is great wisdom here. Salvation is something for which we wait, even when we have it. In healing of mind, body and soul, we experience HERE AND NOW the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom. The finger of God is among us and the fruits of the new Jerusalem are manifest. Yet even as we celebrate we know there is more. There is, in a real sense, the realization that healing is a foretaste of the kingdom. It is a 'commercial of coming attractions'. It is a 'free sample' at a grocery store, enough to excite our taste buds and make us hunger for more. It is real. It is here. And it is something for which we wait. Anxiously!

COME LORD JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salvation is, in a sense, going home. It is a return. A return to Jerusalem, perhaps a return to the Garden. And it is always an unmerited gift. God saves not because we deserve it but because we need it. And while unearned, it costs everything. Long days trudging through the hot desert sands. Constant conflicts and battles, bloody and brutal, as they fought for every inch of the land which God had graciously given them. Day and night, under constant threat and duress, the people of Israel struggled and fought to find their way. They worked so very hard to receive the free Gift from God’s hand

That work and battle continues today.

Their story of salvation is our story too.

You and I, fallible humans all, have been chosen to be vessels of salvation. We are the sacrament of  healing/salvation. We are the sacrament of Jesus.

If we understand that we live in a world which is ultimately under God’s control, but not yet directly under His dominion, then we also understand our task.

We are to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

We are to go forth and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We understand that we are not orphaned, that He is with us always, but we are also clear that He has ascended to His Father and we are to wait, patiently in hope and courage, for His return. And we know that we are not merely to stand looking up at the sky, but like the apostles in Acts 1, we are to return home and engage in the every day work of proclamation.

Healing the sick and exorcising demons is the most effective way of declaring God’s Kingdom. Salvation is, in the end, inclusion in God’s Kingdom. Salvation means we belong to His people. Some day, as Revelation 21 says, that Kingdom will come.

God will make His home among mortals. He will dwell with us and we will be His people. God will be with us, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more…to the thirsty He will give from the spring of the water of life. He will be our God and we will be His children…. There will be no Temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb will be its temple, and there will be no need of sun or moon, because God is its light and the Lamb is its lamp.

Salvation impacts mind, body, heart, soul. It renews all creation, every relationship. It makes us healthy and strong. And it begins today.

It frees us from sin and punishment, yes, but also the consequences of this earthly sojourn. Today we declare to you that God does hear, He does see, He does know and He does remember His covenant with you. God has come down to save His people, again and again, temporary rescues which give us hope in the final rescue.

He sent Noah, Abraham, Moses and Joshua. Ultimately He sent Jesus, and now, in this day, Jesus has sent us.

To declare a time of favor.

To set prisoners free.

To forgive sins.

To cast our demons.

To heal the sick of mind, body and spirit.

And all we need do in response is believe. Perhaps, like that Father at the mountain’s base the best we can do is say “I do believe, help my unbelief.” But let us live in this faith, however weak or flawed, each day. Let us cling to it. Let us act like people who have been sent forth with Jesus’ Spirit. That is what our world needs and hungers for. It is why the church exists.

Come Lord Jesus

And until you do come in glory, come in us to do Your work!