What is salvation?

Let me first give a few statistics. There are five Greek words in the New Testament that have to do with salvation. I will put the Greek words in parentheses along with an English pronunciation for those who would like to have them. One is a verb meaning “save” (σῴζω, SODZ-o).The others are three nouns and an adjective. One noun means “Savior” (σωτήρ, so-TIER) and two mean “salvation” (σωτηρία, so-tee-REE-a, and σωτήριον, so-TEE-ree-on). The adjective means “bringing salvation,” or, as one of my professors said, “salvific” (σωτήριος, so-TEE-ree-os). I never knew if “salvific” is a real word or if he made it up till right now. I just looked it up. It is! We had a laugh in class when he said it. 

It is God’s rescue of people from evil and hurtful things, such as hell, sin and sins, mental and emotional damage, and so forth. As Christians we know that salvation comes to us by grace through faith (Eph. 2.8-9), not by works. It is the free gift of God to all who trust in him. As we dig into the subject of salvation in the Scriptures we learn more and more about it. I want to look at one line of the study of salvation in this article. We will look here at three aspects of salvation as set forth in the word of God.

The word for “save” occurs 103 times in the New Testament. “Savior” occurs 24 times. The main word for “salvation” occurs 46 times, and the other, four times. This second word for “salvation” is not relevant to this paper. “Salvific” occurs once, in Ti. 2.11. It is not relevant to this paper. Many of the verses that use these words deal with salvation in general and do not apply to our present consideration, but we will look at each verse that does and attempt to show what aspect of salvation they relate to. Some are a bit tricky.

What I want to set forth is three aspects of salvation that apply to different parts of our makeup as humans. This study will also answer a couple of questions some may have. 

Initial Salvation

First, there is what I call initial salvation, when we are first saved. We are all used to the terms “the salvation of the soul” and “save a soul.” We apply these to initial salvation, but this is not strictly correct. Keep in mind that as humans we consist of spirit, soul, and body. The human spirit is the means of communicating with God, as the body is the means of communicating with the world. The problem lost people have is that their spirits are dead toward God (Eph. 2.1), so they cannot communicate with God directly. They can pray, and God hears all prayers, though it is not up to us to say whether or not he answers all prayers. A lost person can certainly hear from God in the sense of conviction for sin, hearing and understanding the good news, and calling on him for salvation. But initial salvation is not the salvation of the soul. The soul is not born again, but the spirit. The spirit is born again, made alive when one trusts in the Lord Jesus and the consequent entering of the Holy Spirit into the human spirit. We had a physical birth. We have a spiritual birth. Initial salvation has to do with the spirit. It is interesting that not all the Scripture verses that refer to this reality do use the words for salvation, but in Jn. 3.1-8, the Lord Jesus uses the terms “born from above” (or “born again”) and “born of the Spirit” to describe initial salvation.

In Ti. 3.4-5 we read, “But when the kindness and the love of man of our Savior God appeared, not by works which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewing of the Holy Spirit….” Our Savior God saved us by rebirth, the making alive of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit. This is initial salvation. We see new birth (a different Greek word) again in 1 Pt. 1.3, “having caused us to be born again,” and 1.23: “… having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God….” Initial salvation is the making alive of the dead human spirit by the entry of the Holy Spirit in new birth.

The Salvation of the Soul

There is much more in the New Testament about the salvation of the soul. What is the salvation of the soul? Remember that the soul is our psyche or psychological aspect. The Greek word for “soul” is psuche, from which we get “psychology.” The soul is generally considered to consist of mind, emotions, and will. A soul is a person. Gen. 2.7 says that when God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of the man he had formed from dust, the man became a living soul. Man does not have a soul. He is a soul. It seems to me from what I hear people say that most of us see the soul as something like a little round ball in our chests, and when we die the soul leaves. No! The soul is the person. I do not have a soul. I am a soul. The soul is the essence of the person, the seat of temperament and personality. I have heard that the spirit is the essential person and that it has a soul and a body. I have said that myself. But I have come to believe that the essence of the person is the soul, and that he has a spirit and a body to commumicate with God and the world. It is of interest that animals are also living souls (Gen. 1.20), but they do not have spirits so as to communicate with God.

A human being is complex. Heb. 4.12 reads, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Can you divide your spirit and soul? I cannot. I sometimes wonder if something I feel is the Lord or my emotions. That is one example. Spirit and soul are intertwined. In addition, the body plays a role in how we feel or think. We have glands, physical organs, that secrete chemicals, physical substances, and they can have great influence on our emotions, an aspect of the soul. What is the mind? We say that it is a part of the soul, but is it not also related to the brain, a physical organ? When we say that someone has lost his mind, do we mean that his brain is missing? Do you see why it is only the word of God that can pierce to the dividing of soul and spirit?

All of this relates to the salvation of the soul. The salvation of the soul is the lifelong process by which God brings our wounded and damaged souls or psyches into full health, and deals with our flesh so as to crucify it and conform us to the image of Christ (Rom. 8.29) and form Christ in us (Gal. 4.19). The verb for “save” that we have referred to can mean either “save” or “heal.” After a number of his healing miracles, the Lord Jesus said to the person healed, “Your faith has saved you.” Did he mean “saved” or “healed”? Probably both.

All of us have been damaged by our own sins, and many by being mistreated and abused. Many feel unloved or that they do not belong or measure up. Many live in depression because of past mistreatment or disappointment. Many are full of anger or bitterness. Many find life so unfulfilling that they give up hope and live in despair, or die – at their own hands. Many live with fear or anxiety. We could go on, but you know what I am writing about. I hear that some have been instantly healed of these conditions when they came to the Lord, but I suspect that many struggle with these situations for years, even decades. God is at work to repair this damage, but it takes our cooperation.

Ja. 1.8 and 4.8 and Jude 19 speak of “a double-souled man.” This is the person with a divided heart, torn between two masters. Trying to serve God and mammon is an example. Ps. 86.11 is a prayer of David that cries out for a united heart, possibly an example of this doubled-souled condition. I am sure that all of us have felt that tug between two masters. We want to serve God, but something is so enticing. Divided loyalty. Soul sickness.

All of us have struggled with the flesh, experiencing what brought Paul in Rom. 7.24 to cry out, “Wretched man that I am!” And we have gone through the Lord’s efforts to conform us to the image of Christ and form him in us. All of this belongs to the salvation of the soul. We said that the soul is the person. The salvation of the soul is the work the Lord does to save and heal the whole person, mind, emotions, will.

Let us look at the passages that deal with this matter. Note especially that none of the verses that refer to the salvation of the soul or to saving a soul have to do with initial salvation, with one possible exception (Ja. 5.20).

Mt. 16.25, paralleled by Mk. 8.36, says, “For whoever wishes to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.” The word for “soul” can also mean “life,” and it is probably best to translate the word here as “soul-life.” The person, even a Christian, who is out for himself will not experience soul salvation. It is the one who yields his soul-life unreservedly to God, laying it down, who will find in the end that he has come to full soul health. Living for self is in itself damaging. Surrender to God opens the way for healing.

In Rom. 5.10 we read, “For if being enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life.” When we experience the new birth and are saved in spirit, the life of the Lord Jesus, who lives in us (Gal. 2.20) begins a healing process. As we more and more let him exchange his life for ours, he manifests his perfect health in us. We are reminded of Is. 40.31, which can be translated: “… they who wait upon I AM will exchange their strength….”  (“I AM” is the English translation of the name of God revealed to Moses in Ex. 3.14). We exchange our puny strength for his.

Paul writes in 1 Cor. 1.18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” “Who are being saved.” We were saved when we first trusted the Lord and were born from above. We are being saved by the word of the cross, the application of the cross in putting to death our flesh, our self-nature. As that “old man” is put off and the “new man” is put on (Eph. 4.22-24, Col. 3.9-10), we experience ongoing healing of the soul and formation of Christ within. The same thought of being saved is found in 2 Cor. 2.15: “… For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved….” We move from giving off a bad odor to people to being a fragrance of Christ!

In 1 Tim. 2.15 we read, “But she will be saved through the bearing of children if she remains in faith and love and holiness with sound judgment.” This verse could be taken to indicate salvation by works, but we know that that is not a possibility since the Bible is unequivocal that salvation is not by works, but by grace through faith. How then are we to understand it? The answer is that “saved” here does not refer to the initial salvation of the new birth, but to the salvation of the soul. The woman who bears children in obedience to God “and remains in faith and love and holiness with sound judgment” will find that her obedience to these commands works healing in her soul. Obedience is inherently healing. And it works toward conformity to the image of Christ.

We go on to 1 Tim. 4.16: “Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching. Persist in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” Again we have the question of salvation by works, but the answer is the same. Paul is writing about the salvation of the soul, at least for Timothy. “Those who hear” could be either initially saved or not, so the statement about saving them could refer to either new birth or the saving of the soul. It is the latter in the case of Timothy. He would experience ongoing soul-healing by his diligence in serving the Lord and his people.

Ja. 1.21 is of much interest: “… receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” It is vital that we as Christians read and study and pray over God’s word. It is his word that works in us by the operation of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 8.4-9 we have the parable of the sower, and in v. 11 the Lord Jesus tells us that the seed is the word of God. In 1 Cor. 3.6, Paul writes that “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was giving the increase.” The word of God is like a seed. When it is implanted in a person and is watered by the work of the Holy Spirit (typified by water in the Bible), God gives an increase. A plant is produced. James tells us that when we receive the implanted word and it is watered, it produces salvation in our souls. The word growing in us is healing in nature. We more and more have Christ formed in us.

It is also James who tells us in 5.20 that, “… the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” This verse could well be taken as dealing with initial salvation, turning a sinner from the error of his way, and I would not argue the point, for with many words used in the Greek New Testament there is an overlapping of uses. I believe, though, that the verse applies also to the salvation of the soul that we have been considering. The soul of a lost person will come to an ultimate spiritual death that is called the second death in Rev. 20.6 and 14. This is a death from which there is no possibility of recovery. The person is alive and conscious, but his life is a living out of death beyond the comprehension of any of us. The soul will never be healed and conformed to the image of Christ, but will remain forever in its earthly condition of sickness and damage. Take this verse to heart. Whom do you know who is facing such a prospect? Can you turn that person from the error of his way? Are there lost people for whom you are praying and seeking opportunity to lead to the Lord? Such a course will also result in healing to our souls.

In 1 Pt. 1.5-9 Peter writes that we are “kept by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, in which you rejoice greatly, even if now for a little while you must have suffered in various trials, in order that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though tested by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom not having seen you love, in whom now not seeing, but trusting, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and glorified, receiving the result of your faith,  salvation of souls.” Vs. 5 and 9 tell us that there is “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” and that salvation is “salvation of souls,” and it includes the essential point, that the salvation of souls is the result of faith. The salvation of souls is the healing and freeing of souls damaged by sin and its effects, from the flesh, and unto conformity to the image of Christ. That comes about through faith. Much of our difficulty comes from unbelief, such as fear, worry, and so forth. We just do not trust God to take care of us. Faith is taking God at his word. We do not just believe with our minds, but we do actually trust in God, “casting all your care on him,” as Peter says in 1 Pt. 5.7, “for it matters to him about you.” You matter to God. Trust him. That is one of the most saving and healing things you can do.

Peter writes to his readers that they should “long for the logical, guileless milk, that by it you may grow into salvation.” It may seem strange to read of “logical milk,” but the Greek word is logikos, “reasonable” or “logical.” The Greek and New Testament scholars lament the fact that there is not a better translation, but I have decided that if the Holy Spirit inspired “logical,” he meant “logical.” My take on it is that if one has been born of God, it is only logical to want milk. And we might also say that the milk itself is logical, that is, our spiritual food is teaching and the Lord himself (the bread of life). The Bible and Christian teaching are logical to a person who has faith. The Lord Jesus is certainly logical! If he is who the Bible says he is, it is only logical to feed on him and his word (he is the living word). What about guileless? It means “without guile, or deceit.” Certainly the milk of God and his word are without deceit. They are pure truth. I have used the word “guileless” because the Greek word is a negative. It could be “the true milk,” but it is not just true, it is not deceptive. And we are to long for this milk because by it we may grow into salvation, in this case the salvation of the soul. Feeding on the things of God has a healing effect. Let me just say here that I do not think milk here is just for babies, as opposed to meat, as in 1 Cor. 3.2 ad Heb. 5.12-13. I think it refers to anyone who comes to the Lord and needs spiritual nourishment.

In 1 Pt. 2.11 we read, “Beloved, I urge you as strangers and sojourners to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” We who are the Lord’s are living in this world as strangers, sojourners, exiles, refugees. We do not belong here. Our commonwealth is in Heaven (Phil. 3.20). This world is evil and immoral, glorying in indulging in fleshly lusts. The results are evident to all: broken marriages and homes, suffering children, unwanted children, often resulting in abortion, disease, and so on. It is obvious that these results war against the soul. Just as true is it that abstaining from these lusts of the flesh is healing to the soul. It is remarkably puzzling why so many people do so many self-destructive things. May the Lord give us grace to do constructive things, salvific things.

Finally, we have 1 Pt. 3.21, a difficult verse because it reads, “… baptism now saves you.” The difficulty arises, of course, because the Bible is abundantly clear that we are saved by grace through faith with no reference to works at all. The difficulty comes when we see this verse as applying to initial salvation, the coming alive of our dead spirits, but it does not. It applies to the salvation of the soul. Baptism is commanded by the Lord Jesus. When we are baptized we are being obedient, and we have already seen that obedience is saving and healing in its effect. Obedience to the Lord works in us toward the healing of soul damage and toward conforming us to the image of Christ. Baptism did not save us when we were born again, which has to do with our spirits. It is saving or healing our souls as we obey. And keep in mind that we are baptized after we are born from above. We trust Christ and our spirits are made alive by the entrance of the Holy Spirit. We do a work of obedience by being baptized after that, and that is salvific.

Let me add, too, that Noah and his family were not saved in the sense of escaping hell and going to Heaven by being in the ark. They were saved from physical death. Nor are we saved in the spiritual sense by baptism.

The Redemption of the Body

Finally, we have the saving of the body, we might call it, or as Paul writes in Rom. 8.23-24, “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruit of the Spirit, we ourselves also groan within ourselves, waiting expectantly for son-placing, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in hope….” Hope is one of the benefits of salvation, initial and of the soul. Having new birth gives us hope for more. Experiencing the salvation of the soul gives hope for more. What is this hope? Go back to Rom. 8.19: “For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the unveiling of the sons of God.” Why does the creation wait so eagerly for the unveiling of the sons of God? Because when the sons of God are unveiled, the creation will be set free from its bondage to futility and corruption (vs. 20-21). And what is the unveiling of the sons of God? Go back to v. 23: “son-placing.” One more question: What is son-placing?

I’m glad you asked! The Greek word huiothesia is usually translated “adoption,” but its literal meaning is “son-placing.” We often hear that we are adopted sons, and daughters, of God. Well – I’m sorry, but I am not an adopted son of God. I was born of God. And so are you. Having an adopted daughter I am keenly appreciative of adoption and encourage it strongly, but I am not adopted. I am born of the Spirit. And so are you. And why would God adopt someone who had just been born of him? “Son-placing” is the correct translation. When the end of this age comes, those who are sons of God will be unveiled for all to see, and they will be placed in their positions of responsibility in the Kingdom of God. In the context of his suffering, Paul says in 2 Tim. 2.12, “… if we endure, we will also reign with him.” Rom. 8.17 says “ … if we suffer with him indeed, in order that we may also be glorified with him.” The verse that proves that “son-placing” is the correct translation is Rom. 8.23, just now considered. It says that son-placing is the redemption of the body. When someone adopts another person, the adoption is done at the beginning, but the son-placing here is done at the end, the end of this age.

This son-placing is the salvation of the body. Up to that point, everyone who has lived has died or will die, with the exceptions of Enoch, Elijah, and those who are alive at the Lord’s coming, but the word of God tells us that God will raise us from the dead at the coming of Christ (1 Thess. 4.16-17). Paul tells us that we will received glorified bodies like the Lord’s “in an instant, in a blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15.52), and in Phil. 3.21 that Christ “will transform the body of our humble state to sharing the likeness of the body of his glory.”

Finally, 1 Pt. 1.5 says that we are “being kept by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be unveiled at the last time.” What is that salvation yet to be revealed? The redemption of the body of Rom. 8.23. And, I believe, the experiencing of full soul health, the completion of the process of applying salvation to our damaged souls. As 1 Pt. 1.9, noted above, says, we receive the result of faith, salvation of souls.

So we see that salvation has come full circle. Our spirits were made alive when we were born from above, initial salvation. Our souls are being saved. Our bodies will be saved. Salvation complete. Praise to our wonderful God!

Copyright © 2018 by Tom Adcox. All rights reserved. You may share this work with others, provided you do not alter it and do not sell it or use it for any commercial purpose. “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10.8). Also you must include this notice if you share it or any part of it.

Old Testament quotations are the author’s update of the American Standard Version. New Testament translations are the author’s unless otherwise noted.