Lawrence Grott
When you think of salvation does it bring to mind the prophetic? If not, perhaps it should. It may surprise you to learn there are three distinct phases, or stages, to salvation. Additionally there is a prophetic aspect to all three stages. There are promises of God waiting to be fulfilled to the one that is willing to step out in faith.
When you think of salvation does it bring to mind the prophetic? If not, perhaps it should. It may surprise you to learn there are three distinct phases, or stages, to salvation. Additionally there is a prophetic aspect to all three stages. There are promises of God waiting to be fulfilled to the one that is willing to step out in faith.
When we think of salvation we tend to think of it in the context of getting saved. That once we receive Christ we’re good and then it’s just a case of moving on or forward with our walk, whatever that may look like, until He returns. This ends up being an unfortunate view of salvation. Some of it is the result of the way the original texts from the original languages were translated into English. It’s not to say they’re bad, but more to the idea that we don’t have the same vocabulary in some instances, so the translators had to do the best they could. I would say the other side of it (and probably the bigger of the two main reasons) is that today’s Christians don’t study scripture as those who came before us did.
When we talk about salvation, we’re really talking about three different things. In the scriptures, depending on the translation you use, you’ll find salvation talked about in different tenses: past tense, present continuous tense, and future tense. Remember, it’s all future tense with specific prophetic promises to the one who has yet to take the first step. The translation you use may state it something like this: you got saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved. All three are salvation, but all three are defined differently and use different Greek vocabulary words for: justification, sanctification, and redemption.
Translations that use these words are great, but if we don’t know what they mean in the context of scripture how will we ever have the needed understanding? Let’s take a look at each one so we have a better understanding of not only what it means for us now, but what the prophetic ramifications are.
Justification: The action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God. “I got saved.”
The prophetic promise is that we are made righteous in the sight of God the moment we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. This is also the timeframe when the Holy Spirit shows us that we are sinners and need to repent to be forgiven. We could never do this if not for God’s initial grace showing us we need a savior and are sinners. Anyone who has received Jesus into their hearts will tell you this is the moment they got saved. This is a one-time thing and is referred to in the past tense form in English which is the equivalent to the Greek word for justification. This is what is referred to as being justified by faith. Let’s take a look at just one of many scriptural examples of this.
Romans 4:5 NASB: But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.
Sanctification: The act or process of being made or becoming holy. To be set apart from all else and dedicated for the use of God. “I am being saved.”
If you have already been justified by faith in Jesus you’re now in the sanctification phase of salvation. This encompasses your walk as a Christian. Our prophetic promise is that we go from immaturity to maturity as we learn and grow in the Lord through a refining process that purifies us. The bible compares this aspect of salvation to gold being refined and purified through fire. Fire in biblical typology represents trials and tribulations (not to be confused with THE tribulation). As this process takes place our sin nature tries to rise back up while we learn to continually crucify our flesh. Additionally our faith itself is tested as we face different trials (James 1:2-4). This is what gives us the ability to trust God’s Word no matter what we face in life. Let’s take a look at a scripture that illustrates this for us.
Job 23:10-12 NASB: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
Redemption: The act of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. “I will be saved.”
Redemption is a future prophetic aspect of salvation for all of us. It speaks of a time in the future when Christ Jesus will return for His bride the church which is made up of the true believers in Him. The bible refers to this as the blessed hope. It’s the hope our Messiah will return to take us unto Himself to spend eternity with and worshiping Him. I talk about this in detail in chapter five of my book: The Purpose for the Passion. If you don’t have a copy I would recommend you read chapter four of Ruth. In that chapter we see how Boaz plays the role of kinsman redeemer and what it means. It is a prophetic picture of what Christ will do at the culmination of human history not only for us, but the entire earth, in Revelation 5. By familiarizing yourself with what plays out in Ruth 4 you will understand Revelation 5. So what do we have to look forward to?
Revelation 5:9-10 NASB: And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
My prayer is that this gives us a better understanding of the true nature of salvation. This is by no means a complete understanding, but a snapshot. I hope this will encourage you in your own daily study of scripture to not only see and understand the beauty of salvation for yourself, but to share it with others. To know it is a free gift to us and those who believe, but cost God the death of His only son. God Bless!
Lawrence Grott
If you’d like to learn more or get a copy of my book: The Purpose for the Passion, please visit me at: https://spiritandtruthministries.life
