In the previous three volumes we covered thirty topics concerning the matters between God and us, and between us and God. In this fourth volume, we still need to have an overall view of God’s full salvation. We will first look into the way to enjoy God’s full salvation; then we will consider the different aspects of God’s full salvation. According to the divine revelation in the Bible, there are clearly three steps which constitute the way to enjoy God’s full salvation.
1) “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:2).
The word here shows us how the Triune God causes His salvation to reach us: God the Father chose us according to His foreknowledge, and God the Spirit sanctifies us that we may receive God the Son’s redemption, denoted here by the blood of Christ. According to our experience of God’s full salvation, the sanctification of God the Spirit is the first step in our enjoyment of God’s full salvation. God the Father chose us in eternity past according to His foreknowledge. Then, after we were born, God the Spirit came to sanctify us from the world, according to the Father’s selection, that we might enjoy the redemption of God the Son. Therefore, the sanctification of God the Spirit becomes the first step in our enjoyment of God’s full salvation. This step, however, is not taken by us. It is the work of God the Spirit.
The sanctification of God the Spirit separates us from the world that we may belong to God and enjoy God’s full salvation. This sanctification in us is divided into three stages. The first is for our repentance, the second is for our justification, and the third is for our transformation. Hence, God the Spirit’s coming to separate us unto repentance according to God the Father’s selection in eternity is the first stage of His complete sanctification in us. In this first stage of sanctification He enlightens us, causing us to be convicted concerning sin (John 16:8), to come to ourselves (Luke 15:17), and to repent and turn to God (Acts 26:20).
1) “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
This word tells us that in order to enjoy God’s full salvation, we must repent and believe in the gospel; that is, we must receive God’s salvation. Therefore, our repentance is the second step in our enjoyment of God’s full salvation.
2) “Light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek carefully...one sinner repenting...he came to himself” (Luke 15:8, 10, 17).
In these verses, lighting a lamp, sweeping the house, and seeking carefully signify that, at the time that we hear the gospel, God the Spirit (the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us) enlightens us from within and searches out our sins one by one, that we may know our sins and repent. Hence, this portion of the Bible shows us that it is because of such enlightening and searching of the Holy Spirit in us that we the sinners come to ourselves and repent. The Holy Spirit enlightens and searches us inwardly to sanctify us from the world and to cause us to turn to the Lord and receive God’s full salvation. Thus, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit is the first step in our receiving salvation, and our repentance is the second step.
3) “Repent and turn to God” (Acts 26:20).
Repentance literally means a change in mind which produces regret and a consequent change in goal. We repent and believe in the Lord because, after we hear the gospel, our mind is sanctified by the Holy Spirit to become regretful and to have a change, a turn to God to take Him as our goal in everything.
4) “Preaching...repentance...Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked places shall become straight, and the rough places smooth roads;...shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:3-6).
It is through much straightening and smoothing in our hearts that we see (that is, possess) the repentance in God’s salvation. The ravine, the mountain, the crooked places, and the rough places are figures of speech describing the conditions of men’s hearts toward God and toward each other and the relationships among men. When we repent and believe in the Lord, our repentance straightens all the crooked places and fills up all the rough places in our hearts, making our entire being straight and smooth for God to come in to carry out His full salvation.