April 8
THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."-- Rom_10:9.
SALVATION IS a great word. It is conjugated in three tenses:
The Past Tense. We were saved at the moment when we first trusted Christ. This salvation is a distinct and definite matter, which is ours at the moment we exercise simple faith in Jesus. "Being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom_5:9).
The Present Tense. "To us who are being saved, Christ is the power of God," such is the accurate rendering of 1Co_1:18. We are being saved perpetually from the love and power of sin. The disinfectant of Christ's Presence is ever warding off the germs of deadly temptation. The mighty arm of the Divine Keeper is always holding the door against the attempts of the adversary. The water is always flowing over the eye to remove the tiny grit or mote that may alight. "We are being saved by His life" (Rom_5:10).
The Future Tense. We are being kept by the power of God unto a salvation which waits to be revealed in the last time (1 Pet. 1.). Salvation is a great word. It includes the forgiveness that remembers our sin no more; deliverance from the curse and penalty of our evil ways; emancipation from the thrall of evil habit; the growing conformity of the soul to the image of Christ, and the final resurrection of the body in spiritual beauty and energy, to be for ever the companion and vehicle of the redeemed spirit.
PRAYER
Oh blessed Spirit of God, we pray Thee to give us the assurance of being the children of God, the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty; and so prepare us for the glory to be revealed to us, and for that great hour when the whole creation, which now groans and travails in pain, shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. AMEN.
Then this assurance from Bob Hoekstra:
April 8
Living in Christ, Christ Living in Us
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him... At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (Joh_6:56 and Joh_14:20)
In our verses, we again see the extent of the intimate relationship that the new covenant of grace provides. An astounding intimacy is declared in these words: "abides in Me, and I in him." We have not merely come near to Christ, nor has He simply drawn close to us. Rather, we live in Him, and He lives in us! We live by being in Christ (by being related to Him, by being united with Him, by drawing our spiritual life from Him). Moreover, He lives in us and desires to express His life through us.
This unique arrangement for spiritual intimacy is experienced by the one "who eats My flesh and drinks My blood." Although the language sounds strange to the natural mind, the picture is common, that of eating and drinking to find life-giving nourishment. The unusual aspect is that the source of the nutrition is a person. Earlier in Jesus' discourse, He had indicated what this process encompassed. "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (Joh_6:35). Eating and drinking of Jesus' flesh and blood involves simply coming to Him in faith. When we come to Jesus, we are counting upon who He was (His person, His flesh, the Son of God becoming a man). When we believe in Jesus, we are also relying upon what He did (His work, His blood poured out for us upon the cross). As we relate to Jesus in this manner, we are finding our spiritual sustenance in Him. Thus, we abide in Him and He in us.
Of course, the Holy Spirit would participate fully in this process. "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." Jesus was leaving His disciples soon, to return to the Father. So, He comforted them: "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also" (Joh_14:18-19). On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured forth in fullness and power. Now, the Spirit would make the very life of Jesus available to all of His followers. As they trusted in Him, Christ would live in and through their lives.
Dear Lord of life, help me to learn to live this way — me living in You, and You living in me. Help me to see it is as simple as eating and drinking. As I trust food and drink for my physical life, I want to trust in who You are and what You have done for my spiritual life, Amen.
May you have Love and eternal salvation through our Risen Savior, Jesus!
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