Message Four—The Three Stages of God’s Full Salvation
1 Pet. 1:5 Who are being guarded by the power of God through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.
The Full Salvation of the Triune God
The word “salvation” in 1 Peter 1:5 denotes the full salvation of the Triune God. This means that it does not refer only to a part of our salvation, to that initial aspect of salvation that comes through the Savior, Jesus Christ. Rather, this is the full salvation of the Triune God, of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In this full salvation a great part is accomplished by the Father; another great part, by the Son; and yet another great part, by the Spirit. Therefore, this salvation is the full salvation of the Trinity of the Godhead.
The full salvation of the Triune God comprises many items in three stages. As we have pointed out, these stages are the initial stage, the progressing stage, and the completing stage. These three stages are not divided according to knowledge or merely according to objective aspects of God’s salvation. On the contrary, these stages are arranged according to life. Spiritual life, as we all know, begins with regeneration, continues in transformation, and reaches maturity in the stage of consummation. Therefore, these three stages of salvation are divided according to the experience of life.
The Stage of Regeneration
The initial stage, the stage of regeneration, is composed of redemption, sanctification (positional—1:2; 1 Cor. 6:11), justification, reconciliation, and regeneration. Redemption, sanctification, justification, and reconciliation are all for regeneration. Regeneration is the totality of redemption, sanctification, justification, and reconciliation. Regeneration is the result of these four matters.
In the stage of regeneration God has justified us through the redemption of Christ (Rom. 3:24-26), and He has regenerated us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit (John 3:3-6). Thus, we have received God’s eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9) and His eternal life (John 3:15), and we have become His children (John 1:12-13), who shall not perish forever (John 10:28-29).
This initial salvation of God has saved us from God’s condemnation and from eternal perdition (John 3:18, 16). However, although this initial salvation saves us from God’s condemnation and from eternal perdition, it does not save us from God’s discipline. During our lifetime God will discipline us and may even punish us. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul indicates that God judges, disciplines, and even punishes the believers. This does not mean, however, that those who are disciplined by God will lose their salvation. According to Scripture, on the one hand, we have been saved for eternity. We shall never be condemned by God, and we shall never perish. On the other hand, while we are living on earth in the flesh, God will deal with us and discipline us. Sometimes He may even judge us or punish us. By this we see that through the initial stage of God’s salvation, we receive eternal salvation and eternal life. Although we shall never perish, we may experience God’s discipline during our lifetime. But it is altogether contrary to the Bible to teach that to be disciplined by God means that we shall lose our salvation. God may punish us for certain things, but we have been saved for eternity and we shall never lose this eternal salvation.
The Stage of Transformation
The second stage of God’s full salvation, the progressing stage, is the stage of transformation. This stage is composed of freedom from sin, sanctification (mainly dispositional— Rom. 6:19, 22), growth in life, transformation, building up, and maturing. The sanctification in this stage is mainly dispositional, although there is still an amount of positional sanctification. In the first stage sanctification is altogether positional; in the second stage sanctification is mainly dispositional.
In this stage of transformation God is freeing us from the dominion of indwelling sin—the law of sin and death—by the law of the Spirit of life through the effectiveness of the death of Christ working subjectively in us (Rom. 6:6-7; 7:16-20; 8:2). In the second stage God is also sanctifying us by His Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16), with His holy nature, through His discipline (Heb. 12:10) and His judgment in His own house (1 Pet. 4:17). God is now sanctifying us by a Person, and this Person is the Holy Spirit. The element, the substance, God uses to sanctify us is His holy nature. The means through which we are sanctified is God’s discipline and judgment, the judgment He exercises in governing His own house.
In the progressing stage of salvation God is also causing us to grow in His life (1 Cor. 3:6-7). He is transforming us by renewing the inward parts of our soul by the life-giving Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6, 17-18; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) through the working of all things (Rom. 8:28). He is building us together into a spiritual house for His dwelling (1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:22), and He is maturing us in His life (Rev. 14:15) for the completion of His full salvation.
In the first stage of God’s salvation we are saved from God’s condemnation and from eternal perdition. But in the second stage we are being delivered from the power of sin, the world, the flesh, the self, the soul (the natural life), and individualism. Therefore, in this stage we are in the process of being delivered from so many negative things. The goal of this deliverance is that we would have maturity in the divine life for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose.
The Stage of Consummation
The third stage of God’s full salvation, the completing stage, is the stage of consummation. This stage is composed of the redemption (transfiguration) of our body, conformity to the Lord, glorification, inheritance of God’s kingdom, participation in Christ’s kingship, and the topmost enjoyment of the Lord. These matters are beyond our present experience. They will be revealed to us in the future. Although we have experienced the first stage of salvation and are now in the second stage, the third stage is still far beyond us. The items in this stage will be revealed at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus.
In the completing stage of salvation, God will redeem our fallen and corrupted body (Rom. 8:23) by transfiguring it into the body of Christ’s glory (Phil. 3:21). He will conform us to the glorious image of His firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29), making us holy and absolutely like Him in our regenerated spirit, transformed soul, and transfigured body. He will also glorify us (Rom. 8:30), immersing us in His glory (Heb. 2:10) that we may enter into His heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18; 2 Pet. 1:11), into which He has called us (1 Thes. 2:12), and inherit it as the topmost portion of His blessing (James 2:5; Gal. 5:21), even to reign with Christ, to be His co-kings, participating in His kingship over the nations (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27; 12:5) and sharing His royal, kingly joy in His divine government (Matt. 25:21, 23). Our body will be freed from the slavery of corruption of the old creation into the freedom of the glory of God’s new creation (Rom. 8:21), and our soul will be delivered out of the realm of trials and sufferings (1 Pet. 1:6; 4:12; 3:14; 5:9) into a new realm, full of glory (4:13; 5:10). In this new realm we shall share and enjoy all the Triune God is, has, and has accomplished, attained, and obtained. (Life-study of 1 Peter, msg. 7)
