READ: 2 Timothy 1
THINK: “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time…” – 2 Timothy 1:9
Paul, in this passage uses two perfective aorist participles in this verse. Pretty cool, huh? Actually it is. Let me explain: the verbs in question are the ones translated “has saved us” and “called us” above. And the perfective aorist tense means something really powerful in the Greek. It means that the “us” in question – everyone who has put their faith in Christ – are saved. Totally. Already. Believers aren’t looked upon as individuals in some sort of hopeful state, wishing to ultimately be saved one day. They’re already saved.
Salvation isn’t some sort of blessing that we finally get to enjoy on our deathbeds or right after we exit them. It’s not just something that might possibly enjoy in Heaven. It is something to be obtained, received, and enjoyed right now! There is a “not yet” aspect to it – that eventually we will be made whole and perfected for eternity in a way that we’re not right now. But salvation is now. It’s here! That’s what Paul is telling us. We’re saved completely and perfectly. The price has already been paid. Just as we were dead in Adam we are alive in Christ.
And that salvation means something. It means that we are meant to do more than just exist or waste our way through life. It means that we have a way bigger purpose than just sitting around waiting for God to save us finally on one future day. We are saved. To a calling! To a holy life! To be difference makers who impact the world around us by the way we live. Salvation changes everything about who we are. It equips us to be like Jesus and to reflect him to the world around us. We choose holiness and Christ-likeness not out of compulsion or because of coercion but because our identity is changed – because we know we’re saved and called.
By God’s grace we can live fully in salvation right now. And because we can live with great purpose and with a high calling, and we can powerfully impact the world around us by reflecting Christ to it. Pretty cool, huh?
PRAY: Thank God for salvation today! And ask him to show you how you can live in it and reflect Christ to those around you today.
throughin2.com 