Israel was in Egypt. It seemed providential since Joseph was sold into slavery before the great famine. The sitting Pharoah had lost the history of Joseph and later generations were in bondage. They cried to be free. God sent an unlikely hero to be their deliverer. He was Moses.They needed deliverance from the tyranny of their bondage, the effects of 400 years of captivity, the toll of hard physical labor.
Salvation, much like their bondage is 3-fold. The plan of salvation as revealed in scripture is: the spirit is saved, the soul is being saved and the body will be saved on the Day of the Lord. Salvation is the transformation from the “Kingdom of Darkness into His marvelous light” I Peter 2:9. Jesus said one must be born again, that is, borne of water and of the Spirit. In this process one’s spirit is is renewed and becomes open for being in contact with God.
Man was created in God’s image and likeness or his form and similitude. God is a tri-fold being manifest as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Man is a tri-fold being as he is a spirit, he has a soul and lives in a male or female body. While the born-again experience is immediate and complete, the soul salvation takes considerably longer.
The soul consists of the mind, the will (volition) and the emotions. The Bible describes both Father God and the Holy Spirit as emotional stating they can be grieved, can be pleased and laugh. [James 2 and Psalm 59] Jesus openly shared emotion with his disciples and the world. He wept, showed anger and frustration and most importantly compassion. As is most things, our goal is to imitate Christ in all ways especially his emotion.
The writer of Hebrews says that Christ learned obedience through the things he suffered. Our soul salvation is limited or enhanced by how much we study and imitate his emotion, his conviction and how he subjugated his volition.
I Corinthians 1 says we have the mind of Christ. If we received this promised benefit, what would it look like? A mind that wouldn’t forget, that wouldn’t be distracted by the fiery darts of the adversary [Ephesians 6:16]. A mind that keeps focused on the trail and that esteems others more highly than he does himself.
Will is defined as the mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action that is not prescribed but surrendered to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The beautiful grace of God is that once you set you affections upon Him, his will, the Kingdom – He helps you turn your emotions and will toward Him.
To be Continued!!
inset photo of an Egyptian deity figure part of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum collection photographed by the author.