LIVING IN THE FULLNESS OF OUR REDEMPTION : Rev IK Utah (MARCH 10, 2024)

Man is a spirit, he has a soul and dwells in a body. Our redemption or salvation is a three-stage process, impacting all the three dimensions of man. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) First, our spirit undergoes regeneration or being born again, receives eternal life (John 17:3), and becomes a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour. This is our justification. Then follows a lifelong process of getting our soul (will, intellect and emotion) renewed, spirit-controlled and becoming progressively mature and Christlike. (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 18:3) This is our progressive sanctification; by this process, our soul is being saved or redeemed. In the meantime, we are expected to present our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1) At the coming of our Lord, our bodies will be glorified, then our redemption will be completed. (1 John 3:1-3) This is our glorification. God’s aim in our redemption is to restore us to our original state before the fall so that we can reflect His image and likeness, fully exercising dominion and ruling the earth on His behalf. The question we must constantly ask ourselves is, ‘how much of this redemption am I experiencing?’