Are we Saved or Working Out our Salvation?
July 20th 2026
And if one is “born from above”, as Jesus calls the new creating human state, and one IS “the righteousness of God” then how is it, in practical terms, that we still slip up, display pride, vanity, selfishness and other ugly behaviours? This question has a simple answer. The righteous state imputed by the Death and Resurrection Life of Christ is imputed to the core or spirit of our being. That is the power house.
Hebrews 4:12 lets us know our soul and spirit are pretty hard to tell apart. But they are two different parts of our personhood, along with the third part – the body. We can begin to understand this three-in-one personhood when we understand God’s Word. That is a key thing in enabling the understanding of the difference between soul and spirit and how it affects the mind, then the emotions, and finally, our human body.
The purpose of our journey in this life is to bring our soul, that is, our mind, using our will – into line with, and from the powerhouse of the new creation spirit within. We can’t just do it overnight. It is a transforming process. I believe it is faster than I was previously taught, but it is progressive throughout life. It happens in increments. And we need to die to self, daily. Jesus says, to take up our cross daily. It’s the only way to walk in resurrection joy.
It is our responsibility as well as our joy according to the terms and conditions written over our lives. It says this in Romans 12:2 where the word for transform is μεταμορφούμεθα (metamorphoumetha) which, is the origin of our word metamorphosis, used of a chrysalis into a butterfly. From verse one we see this is actually our worship – to make a sacrifice of all that exalts us personally as we look into the mirror of God’s Word and see how vain, how ugly, how destructive our Old Adam personality is. And as we repent of this deepest hidden flaw, and claim the cleansing blood of Christ, we are covered in blood as a corpse, spiritually speaking. We acknowledge all our natural skills, attainments and riches are really of no account, except “dung” as St Paul calls it. And from this buried “coffin”, which is our immersion in Jesus Christ, His Spirit raises us up in metamorphosis through His Word to His new life and love and we are healed in the soul.
This all happens in the spiritual realm because the spirit is always seated with Christ in that unseen realm that is all around and with us. The soul, too is in that realm, connecting us to this physical one through our physical flesh. Thus the clean-up works from the centre out, progressively healing soul and body as we age. This too, I have experienced, with much more to come.
The reason I know there is much more to come for me is because the Holy Spirit teaches us to see the difference between walking in the spirit and walking in the old soulish nature. The former is a kind of humble perfect peace without striving. The latter, where I was early this morning, is anything from an uncomfortable feeling to something worse – varying from a disconnect or lack of inner harmony to a great suffering, see James 1:2. Such a state, if we are trying to overcome the disquiet with our own efforts, can possibly be soothed somewhat by relaxing music. Or we can try to alleviate it with a chocolate bar or some other stronger indulgence, or even pain killers like alcohol. But in the final analysis, nothing will heal like Jesus.
Sadly, when the effects of the dulling of the senses wears off, we’re left with the disconnect and maybe some extra side effects. But in the end, nothing beats repentance and returning to God, to give us the refreshment that a continued walk with Jesus brings. We are designed to be glory carriers, after all. That’s what old’ Adam fell short of, Romans 3:23.
And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, just as from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
In this wonderful little video we see how this process is mirrored in the monarch butterfly:
