The Growth of Salvation

He has not withheld one possibility that was manifested in Jesus from any man, but on the contrary invites mankind to come forth in the dignity and power of sons of God, and to that Christ and in Christ join in the might wonder of the salvation of the world over sin and sickness, and the power of death and darkness and hell...Salvation is a progressive condition. -John G. Lake (1870-1935)

John and I agree here that salvation is a continuing experience. I stand believing that for many reasons: God is eternal and we will never see the end of Him, even in heaven; when we look through both Testaments in the Bible we see God continually revealing new things about Himself that the earth had not yet experienced before; God, as our Creator, has made an existence that is still expanding--researching how the universe is still expanding will give clear evidence.

So what does this mean for us in our relationship with God? Simple, it means that God has more for us today that we had yesterday, and if we are continually being filled with the Spirit we will participate with God in His continual unfolding of salvation in our lives. This is exciting news! This is the Gospel.

This leads me to ask another question, how do we get this? Well, Jesus said it best, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 18:2-4). Sonship is the answer, and if we properly understand what being a child of God is like then we will know that is the best thing Jesus could ever tell us. See, children do something really well that adults struggle with--receiving. We feel that as adults we have to be independent and do everything on our own--we have to be the masters of our own life, well, what that does not tell us is that it removes humility from our lives and replaces it with pride, so that we kill the receiver inside of us. We need to awaken the receiver inside of us!

Let us become childlike in our reception of the salvation in which we receive, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure" (Phil 2:12-13). God's good pleasure is our good pleasure when we are one with Him. Adults mistake God for being harsh; children understand Him to be good. It is in that place that we see salvation growing inside of us, so that we receive the wonder of God "over sin and sickness, and the power of death and darkness and hell."

In this salvation I've seen people be saved from death, from lifelong sicknesses, from lifelong sins that destroy them and their families; I've seen marriages restored that some thought were beyond hope; I've seen people be saved from the grips of hell and demons, and all those people now understand how much life there is within their identity as a child of God so much that they are sharing their salvation experiences with the world around them, so that they too can share within the goodness of God. "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom 8:19).

Everyone is looking for a Daddy, and everyone wants to belong in a family--the invitation and experience of salvation that is growing inside of us is revealing those deep truths within the Father heart of God. Experience salvation for yourself, then give it away to your neighbor who is in desperate need of it. You were made for a mission to be a child of God who calms the anxious longings of creation, so that you are literally the answer the world is looking for.