THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
God’s Complete Salvation
Message Five—God’s Complete Salvation Arriving at Our Reigning in Life
Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:16-17; 5:10, 17; 12:1-3
I. God’s complete salvation of two sections is unveiled in Romans 5:10—”For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled”:
A. The first section, the section of foundation, is by the redemption of Christ judicially as the initiation and procedure of God’s salvation to satisfy His righteous requirements—1:16-17:
1. God redeemed us judicially by the blood of Christ on the cross from our sins from God’s righteous judgment, wrath, and condemnation from eternal perdition in the lake of fire and from the accusation of Satan, God’s enemy—cf. 12:10-11; 1 Pet. 2:24a; Rom. 3:24-25; Rev. 1:5b; Rom. 2:5-6, 16; 3:19b; John 3:18b; Rev. 21:8; 22:15.
2. The judicial aspect of God’s complete salvation, His judicial redemption, was accomplished by Christ in the flesh in His earthly ministry and includes the forgiveness of sins, the washing away of sins, justification by God, reconciliation to God and positional sanctification unto God—Eph. 1:7; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 3:24-25, 5:10a; Heb. 13:12.
B. The second section, the section of consummation, is by the life of Christ organically as the completion and purpose of God’s salvation to fulfill His heart’s desire:
1. God saves us organically by the life of Christ in the Spirit of life from the indwelling sin, from the condemnation due to the sinful action of the indwelling sin—Rom. 5:10b; 8:2; 7:17; 8:1.
2. Saves us from the old man, from the natural I, from the self, from the flesh with its passions and its lusts, from worldliness, from tribulations and all kinds of environmental troubles, from spiritual death and weakness, and from the vanity and slavery of corruption—6:6; Gal. 2:20; Matt. 16:24; 1 John 2:15-16; Rom. 5:3; 8:35-39, 5, 7, 24-26; Rev. 3:1-2; Rom. 8:20-21.
II. The organic aspect of God’s complete salvation, His organic salvation, is carried out in Christ’s heavenly ministry by Christ as the Spirit with our spirit in the following steps—v. 16:
A. The generating Spirit in our spirit, quickened by Christ, regenerates us, giving us authority to be the children of God, begotten of God—John 3:6b; 1:12-13.
B. The nourishing Spirit in our spirit, cherished by Christ, feeds us with the spiritual milk of the Word that we may grow unto salvation—1 Pet. 2:2.
C. The sanctifying Spirit from our spirit, captivated by Christ, sanctifies us with the nature of God, making us holy unto God—Rom. 15:16; 1 Thes. 5:23; Eph. 5:26.
D. The renewing Spirit in our spirit, indwelt by Christ, renews us so that we may put on the new man through the breaking of the cross—Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 4:16.
E. The transforming Spirit in our spirit, filled by Christ, transforms us into the glorious image of Christ for His expression—3:17-18.
F. The building Spirit in our spirit, possessed by Christ, builds us into the house of God and the Body of Christ for Their dwelling—Eph. 2:21-22; 4:15-16; Col. 2:19.
G. The maturing Spirit in our spirit, enriched with Christ, conforms us to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God—the model of God’s sons—1:28; Eph. 4:13; Rom. 8:29.
H. The sealing Spirit in our spirit, exulting with Christ, saturates us with and brings us into the glory of God for our glorification—Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Rom. 8:23, 30; Heb. 2:10; Phil. 3:20-21.
I. Furthermore, the intensified work of God’s organic salvation by the intensified Spirit in our spirit, drawn by the Lamb, motivates us to overcome the degradation of the church for the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem—Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10; 14:4.
III. God’s complete salvation for us to reign in life is unveiled in Romans 5:17—”For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ”:
A. The gift of righteousness (Christ as our covering) is for God’s judicial redemption; grace (Christ as our enjoyment) is for us to experience God’s organic salvation—Luke 15:22-23.
B. The issue of our reigning in life, living under the ruling of the divine life, is the real and practical Body life expressed in the church life:
1. We reign in life, live under the ruling of the divine life, in living the Body life by the presenting of our bodies, by the renewing of our mind, by the exercise of the gifts, by living a life of the highest virtues, by being subject to authorities, by practicing love, and by living a watchful life—Rom. 12:1, 2-3, 4-8, 9-21, 13:1-7, 8-10, 11-14.
2. We reign in life, live under the ruling of the divine life, in living the church life by receiving the believers according to God’s receiving and Christ’s receiving in the light of the judgment seat of God, in the principle of love, and for the kingdom life—14:1—15:13.
Ministry Excerpts:
The outline which begins in this message presents cases from Romans 6 through 16 to show that if we reign in life, we are in all the matters presented in chapters six through sixteen.
In Being Sanctified
We reign in life in being sanctified in the Spirit (6:19, 22; 15:16). To be in sanctification requires us to reign in life.
In Being Renewed
We reign in life in being renewed by the mingled spirit in our mind (12:2b; Eph. 4:23).
In Being Transformed
We reign in life in being transformed to the image of Christ from glory to glory by the Lord Spirit (Rom. 12:2b; 2 Cor. 3:18).
In Being Conformed
We reign in life in being conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son through the Spirit’s interceding that all things may work together for the conformation of those who love God (Rom. 8:26-29).
In Being Glorified
We reign in life in being glorified (v. 30) to be redeemed in our body (v. 23c) to participate in our divine sonship ultimately (v. 23b) through the sealing of the indwelling Spirit (Eph. 4:30).
In More Than Conquering
When we reign in life, we more than conquer the environmental hardships and sufferings by having God being for us, who did not spare His own Son, who gives us freely all things with Him, and who has chosen us and justified us (Rom. 8:31-33); by having Christ who died for us, who was raised, and who is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us (v. 34); by being captivated by the love of Christ and by the love of God in Christ from which we are inseparable (vv. 35-39); and by being faithful to Christ and God unto death (v. 38).
In Gaining the Righteousness of God
When we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to reign in life, we gain the righteousness of God which is the subjective Christ (9:18-33; Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30). This righteousness is gained out of faith to faith (Rom. 1:17a) according to His mercy in order to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy (9:18-23).
In Enjoying the Riches of God
When we reign in life, we enjoy the riches of God (10:12-15) by calling on the name of the Lord (v. 13), by believing in the Lord’s word (v. 14), and by announcing the glad tidings (v. 15). It is only when we reign in life that we can call on the Lord properly.
In Living a Grafted Life
We reign in life in living a grafted life (11:17-24; Gal. 2:20a). This is not an exchanged life, with the good life replacing the bad one and the bad one becoming functionless, but this is a grafted life. We are branches of the wild olive tree (Rom. 11:17, 24) that were grafted into Christ, the cultivated olive tree, who is one with Israel (v. 24; Psa. 80:15-17; Matt. 2:15). We stand by faith to partake of the root (which bears us, Rom. 11:18) of fatness of the olive tree (vv. 20, 17). Furthermore, we, as the grafted branches, and Christ, as the cultivated olive tree, live together one mingled life in one mingled living.
Reigning in life is the full experience of the organic salvation of God. God’s complete salvation is through our receiving grace and righteousness, and this complete salvation issues in our reigning in life as the goal of His complete salvation. Reigning in life in chapter five is the key to open up the rest of the book. We need to see everything in Romans chapters six through sixteen in this light. This is altogether a new way to interpret the book of Romans.
When we are reigning in life, we are in all the matters presented in Romans six through sixteen. When we are reigning in life, we are being soaked and saturated with the holy nature of God for sanctification in our disposition, and our mingled spirit spreads into our mind to renew our mind. When we are reigning in life, we can be conformed to the image of God’s firstborn Son and glorified through the sealing of the indwelling Spirit throughout our entire life. When we are reigning in life, we more than conquer the environmental hardships and sufferings, even being faithful to Christ and to God unto death. We also gain the righteousness of God, which is the subjective Christ, and we enjoy the riches of God. It is when we receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to reign in life that we call on the Lord in a proper way. When we are reigning in life, we live a grafted life with Christ. If we do not reign in life, we cannot participate in these processes, but if we reign in life, we can be in all these things, and we can be constituted Christ’s overcoming bride for His satisfaction, pleasure, and delight. (Crystallization-Study of the Complete Salvation of God, msg. 4)