When was Peter saved? This is a difficult question to answer. Was Peter saved when he was called in chapter one of Mark? If you say that he was not saved then, I would ask, “How could Peter have been called without being saved? The Bible reveals that once we are called, we are saved.” However, if we say that Peter was saved when he was called in Mark 1, we may wonder why he did not show any signs of being a saved one. Peter was selfish and natural. He was always in himself, not giving any indication that he had been saved.
Perhaps Peter was saved when his mother-in-law was healed, or when he declared that Jesus is the Christ, or when he saw the Lord Jesus transfigured on the mountain. But in none of these situations does Peter give any indication of being saved.
Peter told the Lord Jesus that even if the others would deny Him, he would never deny Him (14:29, 31). This might be a sign that Peter was saved by that time. However, soon afterward Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times. Then he went out and wept (14:72). Perhaps that was when he was saved. It certainly is difficult to determine the time Peter was saved.
From chapter one of Mark until the time the Lord Jesus in resurrection came to the disciples, breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22) was a long time of sowing. I believe that the Lord’s sowing of Himself into Peter began in Mark 1 when the Lord called him and he followed the Lord. This sowing continued until the resurrected Christ breathed on the disciples who had come together in a closed room. I believe that the Lord’s sowing was complete at that time. One proof of this is that in chapter one of Acts Peter is a different person. No longer is he natural. In Acts 1 Peter truly bears the signs of having been saved by the Lord. My point here is that the Lord Jesus as the Sower went through a lengthy process to sow Himself into Peter and the other disciples.
In your experience has it not taken the Lord time to sow Himself into you? In asking this question I am not referring to salvation, regeneration, justification, or reconciliation in a doctrinal way. I am speaking concerning our enjoyment of God’s salvation experientially. Some may think that for the Lord to take three and a half years to accomplish the sowing of Himself into Peter was too long. However, to the Lord this is not long at all, for to Him a thousand years are as one day (2 Pet. 3:8).
Instead of emphasizing the Lord’s teaching and training of the disciples, the Gospel of Mark gives us a clear view of how the Lord was doing the work of sowing Himself into them. From chapter one through chapter sixteen the Lord was sowing the seed into the “earth” of the disciples. He even brought this earth with Him wherever He went, all the while sowing Himself into it.
The crucial point is that God’s New Testament economy is not a matter of improving our culture, religion, ethics, morality, character, or philosophy. Neither is the New Testament economy of God merely a matter of helping us to improve in being more scriptural, spiritual, holy, and victorious. God’s New Testament economy is to sow Himself into us so that we may live a life according to His economy.
Is it merely a doctrine to you that God in His economy is sowing a wonderful Person, Jesus Christ the Son of God, into you? Is the Lord not a real and living Person within you? Some Christians oppose the fact that Jesus Christ actually dwells in the believers. They claim that He is in the heavens and is represented in us by the Holy Spirit. But from the Word of God and our experience we know that Jesus Christ is not only in the heavens but is also in us. He dwells in us as the life that lives according to God’s New Testament economy.