Chapter 8. The Salvation of Christ
"Salvation" is a wonderfully comprehensive term. It is a great mistake to suppose that it is merely a synonym for forgiveness. God is as much concerned with our present and future as with our past. His plan is first to reconcile us to himself, and then progressively to liberate us from our self-centeredness and bring us into harmony with our fellow men. We owe our forgiveness and reconciliation chiefly to the death of Christ, but it is by his Spirit that we can be set free from ourselves and in his church that we can be united in a fellowship of love. These are the aspects of Christ's salvation which we must now consider.
The Spirit of Christ
As we have seen, our sins should not be viewed as a series of unrelated incidents, but as the symptoms of an inward moral disease. To illustrate this, Jesus several times used the simile of the tree and the fruit. The quality of fruits, he taught, depends on the quality of the tree which bears them. "Every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." The cause of our sins, therefore, is our sin, our inherited nature which is perverted and self-centered. As Jesus put it, our sins come from within, out of our "heart." Therefore an improvement in behavior depends on a change of nature. "Make the tree good," said Jesus, "and its fruit (will be) good."
But can human nature be changed? Is it possible to make a sour person sweet, a proud person humble or a selfish person unselfish? The Bible declares emphatically that these miracles can take place. It is part of the glory of the gospel. Jesus Christ offers to change not only our standing before God but our very nature. He spoke to Nicodemus of the indispensable necessity of a new birth, and his words are still applicable to us: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.... Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'"[1] See John 3. Paul's statement is in some ways even more dramatic, for he blurts out, in a sentence which has no verbs: "If anyone in Christ—new creation!"[2] 2 Corinthians 5:17, literally. Here then is the possibility of which the New Testament speaks—a new heart, a new nature, a new birth, a new creation. This tremendous inward change is the work of the Holy Spirit. The new birth is a birth "from above." To be born again is to be "born of the Spirit." It is hardly relevant here to discuss the mysterious doctrine of the Trinity. For our present purpose it is sufficient to consider what the apostles wrote about the Holy Spirit as their teaching was illumined by their experience.
First, however, it is important to realize that the Holy Spirit neither came into existence, nor began to be active, at Pentecost. He is God. He is therefore eternal and has been at work in the world since the creation. The Old Testament contains many references to him, and the prophets looked forward to the time when his activity would increase and spread, when God would put his Spirit within his people, and so enable them to obey his law. What the Old Testament prophets foretold, Christ promised as an immediate expectation. A few hours before he died, secluded in the upper room with the apostles, he spoke of "the Comforter," "the Spirit of truth," who would come and take his place. Indeed, the Holy Spirit's presence would be better for them even more than his own earthly presence had been. "It is to your advantage that I go away," he said, "for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." The advantage was mainly this. Christ had only been with them, at their side; but "he... will be in you."[3] See John 16:7; 14:17. There is a sense in which we may say that the teaching ministry of Jesus had proved a failure.
Several times he had urged his disciples to humble themselves like a little child, but Simon Peter remained proud and self-confident. Often he had told them to love one another, but even John seems to have deserved his nickname "son of thunder" to the end. Yet when you read Peter's first letter you cannot fail to notice its references to humility, and John's letters are full of love. What made the difference? The Holy Spirit. Jesus taught them to be humble and loving; but neither quality appeared in their lives until the Holy Spirit entered their personality and began to change them from within.
On the Day of Pentecost "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." Do not imagine that this was a freak experience for apostles and other eminent saints, although doubtless we are not to expect a repetition of the outward phenomena like the rushing wind and tongues of fire. "Be filled with the Spirit" is a command addressed to all Christians. The inner presence of the Holy Spirit is the spiritual birthright of every Christian. Indeed, if the Holy Spirit has not taken up residence within us, we are not real Christians at all. "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him," Paul wrote.[4] See Acts 2:4; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:9. This then is what the New Testament teaches. When we put our trust in Jesus Christ and commit ourselves to him, the Holy Spirit enters us. He is sent by God "into our hearts." He makes our bodies his temple.[5] Galatians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 6:19.
This does not mean that from now on we are exempt from the possibility of sinning. On the contrary, in some ways the conflict is intensified; but on the other hand, a way of victory has been opened. Paul gives a vivid description of the battle in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians. The combatants are "the flesh," his name for our inherited self-centered nature, and "the Spirit." "The desires of the flesh," he explains, "are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other."
This is not arid theological theorizing; it is the daily experience of every Christian. We continue to be conscious of sinful desires which are tugging us down; but we are now also aware of a counteracting force pulling us upward to holiness. If "the flesh" were given free rein, it would stampede us into the jungle of immoral and selfish vices which Paul lists in verses 19 to 21. If, on the other hand, the Holy Spirit is allowed his way, the result will be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." These attractive virtues Paul names "the fruit of the Spirit." Our human character is likened to an orchard which the Holy Spirit is cultivating. Let him make the trees good, and their fruit will be good also.
How then can "the flesh" be subdued, so that "the fruit of the Spirit" may grow and ripen? The answer lies in the inner attitude which we adopt toward each. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." "Walk by [or, in] the Spirit, and do not [or, you will not] gratify the desires of the flesh." Toward "the flesh" we must take up such an attitude of fierce resistance and ruthless rejection that only the word "crucifixion" can describe it; but to the indwelling Spirit we must trustfully surrender the undisputed dominion over our lives. The more we make a habit of denying the flesh and obeying the Spirit, the more the ugly works of the flesh will disappear and the lovely fruit of the Spirit will take their place.
Paul teaches the same truth in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." It is by the Spirit of Christ that we can be transformed into the image of Christ, as we keep looking steadfastly toward him. We thus have our part to play, in repentance, faith and discipline, but essentially holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit.
And every virtue we possess
And every victory won, And every thought of holiness,
Are his alone. Spirit of purity and grace,
Our weakness, pitying, see;
O make our hearts thy dwelling-place, And worthier thee!
William Temple used to illustrate the point in this way. It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can't. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can't. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like that. This is the secret of Christian sanctity. It is not that we should strive to live like Jesus, but that he by his Spirit should come and live in us. To have him as our example is not enough; we need him as our Savior.
It is thus through his atoning death that the penalty of our sins may be forgiven; it is through his indwelling Spirit that the power of our sins may be broken.
The Church of Christ
The tendency of sin is centrifugal. It pulls us out of harmony with our neighbors. It estranges us not only from our Maker but from our fellow creatures too. We all know from experience how a community, whether a college, a hospital, a factory or an office, can become a hotbed of jealousy and animosity. We find it very difficult "to dwell together in unity."
But God's plan is to reconcile us to each other as well as to himself. So he does not save independent, unconnected individuals in isolation from one another; he is calling out a people for his own possession. Already in the early chapters of Genesis this is made clear. God called Abraham to leave his home and relations in Mesopotamia, and promised to give him both a land for his inheritance and descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. This pledge to multiply Abraham's posterity and through them to bless all the nations of the earth was renewed to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob, however, died in exile in Egypt. But his twelve sons survived him and became the fathers of the twelve tribes of "Israel," the name God had given to Jacob. With these "children of Israel," rescued years later from their Egyptian slavery, God renewed his covenant.
But how were all the families of the earth to be blessed? Century followed century, as the fortunes of Israel unfolded, and still the nation seemed to the rest of the world more a curse than a blessing. Surrounded by high walls of their own building, God's people protected themselves from defiling contact with the unclean Gentiles. It seemed as if they would miss their destiny as benefactors of the world. Was God's promise to Abraham to prove a lie? No. Many of the prophets knew by the word of the Lord that when the Messiah came, God's own anointed Prince, pilgrims would come from every point of the compass to enter the kingdom of God.
At last the Christ came. Jesus of Nazareth announced the arrival of the long-awaited kingdom. Many would come, he said, from north, south, east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God's people would no longer be a nation apart, but a society whose members would be drawn from every race, kindred and language. "Go," the risen Lord commanded his followers, "and make disciples of all nations." The sum total of these disciples he called "my church."[6] Matthew 28:19; 16:18.So God's pledge to Abraham, repeated several times to him and renewed to his sons, is being fulfilled in the growth of the worldwide church today. "If you are Christ's," wrote Paul, "then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."[7] Galatians 3:29. One of the most striking pictures which Paul uses to convey the unity of believers in Christ is that of the human body. The church, he says, is the body of Christ. Every Christian is a member or organ of the body, while Christ himself is the head, controlling the body's activities. Not every organ has the same function, but each is necessary for the maximum health and usefulness of the
body.
The whole body is also animated by a common life. This is the Holy Spirit. It is his presence which makes the body one. The church owes its coherent unity to him. "There is one body and one Spirit," emphasizes Paul. Even the outward, organizational divisions of the church, regrettable as they are, do not destroy its inward and spiritual unity This is indissoluble, for it is "the unity of the Spirit" or "the fellowship of the Spirit."[8] Ephesians 4:3-4; Philippians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 13:14. Our common share in him makes us deeply and permanently one. It is nonsense of course to claim membership of a great worldwide body, the church universal, without in practice sharing in one of its local manifestations. It is here, as members of a local church, that we shall find opportunities to worship God, to enjoy fellowship with one another and to serve the wider community. Many today react against the church as an organization, and some entirely reject it. This is often understandable, for the church can certainly be archaic, inward-looking and reactionary. We must remember, however, that the church is people—sinful and fallible people. This is no reason to shun it, for we are sinful and fallible ourselves.
We have also to recognize that not all members of the visible church are necessarily members of the real church of Jesus Christ. Some whose names are inscribed on church rolls and registers have never had their names, as Jesus put it, "written in heaven." Although this is a fact to which the Bible often refers, yet it is not for us to judge: "the Lord knows those who are his." The minister by baptism welcomes into the visible church those who profess faith in Christ. But only God knows those who actually exercise faith, for only God sees the heart. No doubt the two companies largely overlap. They are not, however, identical.
The Holy Spirit is not only the author of the common life of the church, but the creator of its common love as well. The first-fruit of the Spirit is love. His very nature is love, and he imparts it to those whom he indwells. All Christians have known the remarkable experience of being drawn to other Christians whom they hardly know and whose background may be very different from their own. The relationship which exists and grows between the children of God is deeper and sweeter even than blood relationships. It is the kinship of the family of God. Truly "we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren," as John says. This love is not sentimental. It is not even fundamentally emotional. Its essence is self-sacrifice; it manifests itself in the desire to serve, help and enrich others. It is by love that the centrifugal force of sin is counteracted, for sin divides where love unites, and sin separates where love reconciles. Of course the pages of the church's history have often been smudged by stupidity and selfishness, even by open disobedience to the teaching of Christ. Still today some churches appear to be dead or dying, rather than vibrant with life; and others are torn by factions and blighted by lovelessness. We have to admit that not all those who profess and call themselves Christians exhibit either the love or the life of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless the Christian's place is in the local Christian community, however imperfect it may be, there to seek the new quality of relationship which Christ gives his people, and in that fellowship to share in the church's worship and witness.