TOTAL REDEMPTION - OF SPIRIT, SOUL & BODY
In the beginning of mankind, God made man in His own image and likeness.
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
That holy and divine image and likeness was lost when mankind sinned with the tempting of the Satan when he used a serpent to deceive Eve, (Mrs. Adam). That is when they died spiritually having lost their righteous God given covering and relationship with Him. God, in His foreknowledge, knew that Satan would initiate such treachery and already had a plan to restore fallen mankind. Scripture says that this plan was established before the foundation of the social order of mankind.
Ephesians 1:3-4 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
1 Peter 1:18-20 – forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
(Note that the word world as used in the Bible is translated from the Greek word cosmos which means “social order” which refers to mankind. So before the foundation of the world means before mankind was established on earth.)
God’s plan to redeem mankind from his fallen state was to thwart the works of Satan and to restore what was lost in the garden.
Matthew 18:11 – For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
1 John 3:8 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Since God placed dominion of earth in man’s hands, according to Genesis 1:26 above, man would have to depend on his own means of redemption; this is why God sent His own Son AS A NATURAL MAN to become that atoning sacrifice for sin to redeem all of mankind. However, this redemption is accomplished only by believing in Jesus Christ, born as a man and crucified for sin, making atonement for us.
Romans 10:9-10 – that 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 (redeemed or restored).
We need to understand that man is composed of three parts: spirit, soul and body; thus in the image of God – Father Son and Holy Spirit. All three parts of man are to be redeemed or restored to what God had originally made. Unfortunately, most believers are not taught this vital fact that each part of man.is to be redeemed, or saved. This is God’s plan of restoration to bring mankind back into the full image and likeness of God as at the beginning.
This restoration to full spiritual maturity is a process that occurs in three progressive stages, depending on how quickly the believer grows to maturity in the Lord. Christ even gave specific gift ministries to develop us in this maturity.
Ephesians 4:11-13 – And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The first stage in redemption occurs in the spirit of man when he is “born-again”. This is when a person believes and accepts that Jesus is the Son of God and gave His life of us on the cross.
John 3:3 & 7 – Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. …. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting (redeemed) life.
This is simply a matter of accepting the fact by believing it!
Acts 16:30-31 – …. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
This rebirth of our spirit is instantaneous! The remaining two stages may not be attained by every believer and are not necessary to go to be with Jesus at their passing away. This is exemplified by the thief on the cross crucified with Jesus.
Luke 23:43 – And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The purpose of stage two of redemption is to produce in believers a living witness to the world that God is love and that Jesus died for our sins and made provision for us to be God’s children.
The second stage is the redemption of the soul/mind which is the seat of your personality and thought processes. We are to change our thinking from the way of the world to heavenly ways and kingdom thinking. This is the process of sanctification, adjusting our lifestyle to conform to His. (Sanctification refers to being separate from this vile world and being set apart to God as His own beloved ones.)
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 – For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
This is a progressive and life changing process that the Lord will guide us in as we submit ourselves to him as living sacrifices. (A living sacrifice means that we die to our own selfish way and seek His living way for each us individually.)
Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Renewed thinking changes our behavior as we conform to the will and way that God wants according to His Word.
Ephesians 4:20-24 – But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
This second stage of redemption is to restore the character and nature of God to His children. What is it that was lost in the Garden, the likeness of God which is His character and nature, (referred to as His glory).
Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
(Note: the word glory used here comes from the Greek doxa which means dignity, and dignity refers to one’s character and nature.)
God’s character and nature was fully manifested in Jesus Christ, and Jesus gives it to us by His Spirit in us, and He expects us to have it showing in our lives. It is known as the Fruit of the Spirit – His character and nature.
Galatians 5:22-24 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
This is the fruit Jesus, and the Father, are looking for to be formed in us.
John 15:4-5 – Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (This fruit is not possible without Christ indwelling you, so it is not about your works.)
This also requires us to seek first the kingdom of God and not the things of this world.
Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
As we seek Him and His righteousness first He promised to provide all that we need to live in this vile and corrupt world. Thus we prove our love for Him as well as His love for us.
1 John 2:15-16 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The final stage is the redemption of the body. This is entirely an act of God which He orchestrates on our behalf. That bodily redemption occurs at the Rapture, if we remain alive at that time; or at the Resurrection after we die.
The Rapture or being caught up:
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 – For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Resurrection from the grave:
2 Corinthians 15:51-53 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Until then we are to be living in this vile and corrupt world while being living expressions of Him as His true disciples.
Romans 8:18-19 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 – But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
God’s plan of redemption is for mankind to be fully restored back to what He made in Adam at the beginning. That restoration is completed through belief in Jesus Christ and being conformed to His image.
Romans 8:29 – For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Colossians 1:27 – to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (being restored):
In the beginning of mankind, God made man in His own image and likeness.
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
That holy and divine image and likeness was lost when mankind sinned with the tempting of the Satan when he used a serpent to deceive Eve, (Mrs. Adam). That is when they died spiritually having lost their righteous God given covering and relationship with Him. God, in His foreknowledge, knew that Satan would initiate such treachery and already had a plan to restore fallen mankind. Scripture says that this plan was established before the foundation of the social order of mankind.
Ephesians 1:3-4 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
1 Peter 1:18-20 – forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
(Note that the word world as used in the Bible is translated from the Greek word cosmos which means “social order” which refers to mankind. So before the foundation of the world means before mankind was established on earth.)
God’s plan to redeem mankind from his fallen state was to thwart the works of Satan and to restore what was lost in the garden.
Matthew 18:11 – For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
1 John 3:8 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Since God placed dominion of earth in man’s hands, according to Genesis 1:26 above, man would have to depend on his own means of redemption; this is why God sent His own Son AS A NATURAL MAN to become that atoning sacrifice for sin to redeem all of mankind. However, this redemption is accomplished only by believing in Jesus Christ, born as a man and crucified for sin, making atonement for us.
Romans 10:9-10 – that 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 (redeemed or restored).
We need to understand that man is composed of three parts: spirit, soul and body; thus in the image of God – Father Son and Holy Spirit. All three parts of man are to be redeemed or restored to what God had originally made. Unfortunately, most believers are not taught this vital fact that each part of man.is to be redeemed, or saved. This is God’s plan of restoration to bring mankind back into the full image and likeness of God as at the beginning.
This restoration to full spiritual maturity is a process that occurs in three progressive stages, depending on how quickly the believer grows to maturity in the Lord. Christ even gave specific gift ministries to develop us in this maturity.
Ephesians 4:11-13 – And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The first stage in redemption occurs in the spirit of man when he is “born-again”. This is when a person believes and accepts that Jesus is the Son of God and gave His life of us on the cross.
John 3:3 & 7 – Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. …. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting (redeemed) life.
This is simply a matter of accepting the fact by believing it!
Acts 16:30-31 – …. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
This rebirth of our spirit is instantaneous! The remaining two stages may not be attained by every believer and are not necessary to go to be with Jesus at their passing away. This is exemplified by the thief on the cross crucified with Jesus.
Luke 23:43 – And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The purpose of stage two of redemption is to produce in believers a living witness to the world that God is love and that Jesus died for our sins and made provision for us to be God’s children.
The second stage is the redemption of the soul/mind which is the seat of your personality and thought processes. We are to change our thinking from the way of the world to heavenly ways and kingdom thinking. This is the process of sanctification, adjusting our lifestyle to conform to His. (Sanctification refers to being separate from this vile world and being set apart to God as His own beloved ones.)
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 – For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
This is a progressive and life changing process that the Lord will guide us in as we submit ourselves to him as living sacrifices. (A living sacrifice means that we die to our own selfish way and seek His living way for each us individually.)
Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Renewed thinking changes our behavior as we conform to the will and way that God wants according to His Word.
Ephesians 4:20-24 – But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
This second stage of redemption is to restore the character and nature of God to His children. What is it that was lost in the Garden, the likeness of God which is His character and nature, (referred to as His glory).
Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
(Note: the word glory used here comes from the Greek doxa which means dignity, and dignity refers to one’s character and nature.)
God’s character and nature was fully manifested in Jesus Christ, and Jesus gives it to us by His Spirit in us, and He expects us to have it showing in our lives. It is known as the Fruit of the Spirit – His character and nature.
Galatians 5:22-24 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
This is the fruit Jesus, and the Father, are looking for to be formed in us.
John 15:4-5 – Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (This fruit is not possible without Christ indwelling you, so it is not about your works.)
This also requires us to seek first the kingdom of God and not the things of this world.
Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
As we seek Him and His righteousness first He promised to provide all that we need to live in this vile and corrupt world. Thus we prove our love for Him as well as His love for us.
1 John 2:15-16 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The final stage is the redemption of the body. This is entirely an act of God which He orchestrates on our behalf. That bodily redemption occurs at the Rapture, if we remain alive at that time; or at the Resurrection after we die.
The Rapture or being caught up:
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 – For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Resurrection from the grave:
2 Corinthians 15:51-53 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Until then we are to be living in this vile and corrupt world while being living expressions of Him as His true disciples.
Romans 8:18-19 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 – But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
God’s plan of redemption is for mankind to be fully restored back to what He made in Adam at the beginning. That restoration is completed through belief in Jesus Christ and being conformed to His image.
Romans 8:29 – For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Colossians 1:27 – to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (being restored):
