The Ongoing Reality of Salvation
9/10 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 4-5; 1 Corinthians 15; Ezekiel 13; Psalms 52-54
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
9/10 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 4-5; 1 Corinthians 15; Ezekiel 13; Psalms 52-54
1 Corinthians 15:2
and by which you are being saved.
SAVED
The phrase in the original Greek is said to be in the present participle. In other words, the ESV renders this part of the verse more correctly than the KJV, sine the apostle conveys a continuous action, which addresses three situations.
First, being saved addresses those in the congregation who are not yet saved. Because of the errors Paul had been correcting chapter after chapter, there were those who have made false confessions among their number. Paul testifies directly that “some have no knowledge of God,” which he adds, “to their shame” (1 Cor 15:34). The gospel of Christ crucified and risen, according to the Scriptures, is of first importance (1 Cor 15:3-4), and can save those unbelievers, just as it did us.
Second, being saved addresses the culmination of the believers’ salvation in the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. Although we have been saved by God’s grace, and though we have eternal life (which is not confined to time), our salvation awaits the return of Christ and the resurrection to come, a truth the apostle drives home at length in this chapter (1 Cor 15:35-55).
Finally, being saved addresses the present reality of our salvation since sin is still present in the world that surrounds us, and by the corruptions of flesh still within us (1 Cor 15:56). God’s saving grace has given “us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57) because, by Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, we are being saved from the power of sin. Although the empowerment and victory comes from God and through Christ, we are not passive in the battle that begets victory. We must “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord [our] labor is not in vain” (1Cor 15:58) because the Father will be glorified in it as Christ is exalted by it. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Salvation is a living truth
With power for each day
To forsake sin and bear good fruit
’til Christ comes in that Day.