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SOUNDING OUT:
Joy Of Salvation
How wonderful and awesome it is that
our salvation has been established on a legal basis. The
broken body and the shed blood of our lord and savior
Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the necessary requirements.
Therefore God, the Righteous Judge, has established our
justification and redemption on a most solid foundation.
However, salvation is more than a mere legal exchange
where Christ takes our sin and guilt upon himself, and
God imputes His righteousness to us. The forensic reality
also provides for a true and vital relationship with a
God Who delights in His workmanship.
An intellectual grasp of the legal particulars
of salvation alone is not enough. Not only should the
verdict be met with excitement and rejoicing, but joy
should pervade our entire life thereafter. We have been
given newness of life, and we reign in life in Christ
Jesus. Our salvation has a dimension that unites us with
the Creator of the heavens and earth in a family relationship.
Ephesians 2:19 blends both the legal and domestic elements
to show that our legal standing provides for familiarity
and intimacy as well.
Ephesians 2:19:
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household
of God;
This verse has a nice introversion:
A. No more strangers
B. No more foreigners
BUT
B. Fellowcitizens with the saints
A Household of God
"Strangers" and "Foreigners"
deals with each of us individually, and "Fellowcitizens
with the saints" and "Household of God"
deals with all of us collectively. The outside terms "Strangers"
and "Household" emphasize the familiarity and
intimacy of relationship, and "Foreigners" and
"Fellowcitizens" emphasize legal or civil rights.
God provided for our intimate relationship with Him on
legal grounds. God not only established our relationship
with Him on perfect and solid legal grounds, but He also
intends that we enjoy the relationship in a most intimate
way.
We are not only, NOT foreigners with
no legal rights before God, but we are also NO LONGER
strangers. We should never feel estranged from God. God
has welcomed us into His household, and will never turn
us away. Once learned and recognized our legal standing
with God rarely comes into question. However, what is
frequently lost or overlooked is the intimacy that He
wants us to enjoy with Him. Our salvation is a cause for
rejoicing.
Psalm 13:5:
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice
in thy salvation.
Psalm 35:9:
And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice
in his salvation.
Isaiah 61:10:
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be
joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments
of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 12:3:
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells
of salvation.
Habakkuk 3:18:
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God
of my salvation.
I Samuel 2:1:
And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the
LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is
enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy
salvation.
David, after going through difficult
and trying times out of fellowship with God, returns to
God, confesses his sin, and desires to once again enjoy
his intimacy with God. He asks:
Psalms 51:12:
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold
me with thy free spirit.
If we want to be men and women after
God's own heart (like David was), we have to be involved
on a heart-level. Superficial pleasantries and niceties
rarely make for a meaningful relationship. But, when we
live our lives with delight and passion for the things
of God, even a mundane and routine life can be transformed
by a heartfelt personal relationship with God our heavenly
Father. This relationship has been established on legal
grounds and it continues in loving and meaningful intimacy
and familiarity with Him.
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