God's Salvation (1)

[Romans 8:29-30]

Let’s look at Romans 8:29-30: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.”

First, who is God in "God's salvation"?

God is the God of salvation. Let’s look at Romans 8:3-4: “For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” What the law could not do, God did (v. 3). This means God saves. Therefore, God is the God of salvation. Now, how did God save us? He sent His Son, the only begotten Son (God the Son), in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh and save us (v. 3). The Bible does not say He sent His Son in "sinful flesh," but in the "likeness of sinful flesh." This is because the only begotten Son of God, Jesus, had no sin. The Word, the only begotten Son, is God (John 1:1). The Word, the Son of God, became flesh (v. 14). He became a man. How? The only begotten Son, Jesus, was born of the virgin Mary, a descendant of David (Romans 1:3), and conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). Therefore, Jesus had no sin. The phrase "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3) means that although He had no sin, He came in the appearance of sinful flesh, or more specifically, in the appearance of a weak human being. That’s why Jesus got tired and couldn’t sleep (Mark 4:38), was thirsty when He couldn’t drink, was hungry when He didn’t eat, and suffered greatly when He was nailed to the cross. Satan didn’t miss the opportunity to tempt Jesus. For example, after Jesus fasted for 40 days, the devil tempted Him (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus was tempted many times by Satan, but He overcame them all. Let’s look at Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” God sent His only begotten Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, but because Jesus overcame all temptations, He had no sin. We also experience weakness at times. During those times, Satan, the tempter, tries to tempt us. But because Jesus overcame, we must fight against Satan’s temptations (and temptations in general) with the certainty of victory, using God’s Word.

Second, what is salvation in "God’s salvation"?

In Romans 8:29-30, the term "salvation" refers to a broad concept of salvation. God created the first Adam in His image (Genesis 1:27). Then, God planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and placed Adam there (Genesis 2:8). God commanded Adam: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). However, Adam disobeyed this command and sinned. Thus, death came. There are three kinds of death:

Spiritual death: Separation from God. Adam’s fellowship with God was broken, and he was expelled from the garden of Eden with Eve (Genesis 3:23).
Physical death: Adam died at the age of 930 years (Genesis 5:5).
Eternal death: When Adam died at 930 years old, his body was buried, and his soul was destined to suffer eternally in hell. But when Jesus returns, his body will be resurrected from the grave, and his soul and body will be reunited to suffer eternal punishment in hell.

That is where salvation lies — "God's salvation"!

God saved Adam. First, his salvation is spiritual. Look at Genesis 3:21: "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife. To do this, He had to kill an animal (shedding blood), dry its skin, and make clothes to clothe Adam and Eve. This covered all of Adam's (and Eve's) impurities. This is called justification. The animal symbolizes Jesus Christ. God killed the animal and made garments of skin to clothe Adam (and Eve), and in God's eyes, Adam was righteous. Therefore, although Adam's body went to the grave, his soul went to heaven. When Jesus returns, his soul, which is in heaven, and his body, which is in the grave, will be resurrected and united with his soul to enjoy eternal life in heaven. This is God’s salvation!

God saved us. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and through sin, death entered, and thus death came to all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12). We, as descendants of Adam, were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), condemned to receive eternal punishment and to live forever in hell. However, the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, died on the cross and rose again, so all our sins were forgiven, and we were declared righteous (Romans 4:25). In God’s salvation, those He foreknew, He also predestined, and those He predestined, He also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30). The term "glorified" here refers to the completion of salvation. Although we have not yet been glorified, the Scripture uses the past tense to describe it. Look at Ephesians 2:4-6: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." The phrase "sit together in the heavenly places" is also in the past tense.

The apostle Paul speaks about those "whom God foreknew" in Romans 8:29. The word "knew" here has a special meaning beyond just "knowing." Look at Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" Even though Jesus knows all things, He said that He does not know the false prophets who mislead and torment the saints (verse 15). What He means by this is that Jesus does not love the false prophets. As a result, the false prophets will depart from Him (verse 23), and they will be destroyed and punished eternally in hell. Look at Amos 3:2: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." When God says that He "only knew" the nation of Israel among all the families of the earth, it means that God loved only the people of Israel. God knew and would punish (or discipline) them for all their sins, from the time they left Egypt until the time of the prophet Amos. When they did not repent, God would discipline them because He loved them (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Those whom God foreknew (Romans 8:29) are the ones He loves. God loves His children. Therefore, when we, His children, are weak and fall into temptation and sin by the devil's tests, and do not repent, He disciplines us because He loves us (Hebrews 12:5-6).

We must understand more about God’s salvation. We must pray that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, will teach us and help us understand every verse of this truth. Especially when we are learning about God’s salvation, we must come to know the God of salvation and deepen our understanding of His salvation. In particular, as we come to understand the broad meaning of God’s salvation, we must be awed by the greatness and wonder of His love and grace. When we do this, we will not only learn and hear this wonderful message of salvation in the Bible, but we will also feel compelled to share this gospel of salvation. May the Lord use our preaching of the gospel as a tool to save every soul.