The Full Gospel Transforms Your Spirit, Soul, and Body
The Full Gospel of the Kingdom - Part 6
The full Gospel includes the Truth about eternal judgment that each of us will face.
“on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.”—Romans 2:16 (ISV)
To be prepared to face God on the day of judgment, the Gospel makes provision for us to be prepared and ready to meet the Lord.
“So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things, be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at His return] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him].”—2 Peter 3:14 (AMP)
The full Gospel of the Kingdom of God not only provides for salvation of our spirits, but the Gospel also provides for the cleansing and transformation of our souls (our minds, our emotions, and our wills), and the healing and transformation of our physical bodies into perfectly healthy spiritual bodies that are everlasting!
Transformation of Your Body
Our physical bodies are well-suited to live and function in this physical environment while we live here on earth, but to live forever in the heavenly realm, we must be clothed with new spiritual bodies.
“There is a glory and beauty of the sun, another glory of the moon, and yet another [distinctive] glory of the stars; and one star differs from another in glory and brilliance.
“So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.”—1 Corinthians 15:41-44 (AMP)
We are three-part beings. Each of us has a spirit, a soul, and a body. God has made provision for each part to be transformed through the power of the full Gospel.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV)
After your death, your physical body will be transformed into a spiritual body that will live forever in the heavenly realm with God.
Transformation of Your Spirit
Your spirit Is made up of wisdom, communion, and conscience. Your spirit is transformed and sanctified (thoroughly cleansed and made acceptable to God) by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith in His sacrifice for us on the cross. This is what we usually think of as the salvation experience.
“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.”—1 Peter 1:2 (NLT)
“With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”—Hebrews 9:12-14 (NLT)
“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”—1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NLT)
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.’”—Acts 15:7-9 (NIV)
God commissioned the Apostle Paul to carry this life-transforming Gospel message to the Gentiles.
“But arise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, that I might appoint you to serve as [My] minister and to bear witness both to what you have seen of Me and to that in which I will appear to you,
“Choosing you out [selecting you for Myself] and delivering you from among this [Jewish] people and the Gentiles to whom I am sending you—
“To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me.”—Acts 26:16-18 (AMPC)
Transformation of Your Soul
Transformations of the spirit and the body happen very quickly, but the transformation of the soul (your mind, your emotions, and your will) is a life-long process. This takes place as we give focused attention to reading, memorizing, and meditating on the Truth of Scripture.
Jesus modeled this for us. He is the living Word of God. In His time here on earth, He kept His soul so saturated with the Truth of Scripture that there was nothing in Him that contradicted God’s Word. The Truth of Scripture completely sanctified Him, keeping Him clean from anything that was impure, and always prepared to serve as the perfect vessel of God and the Gospel message.
“It is for their sakes that I sanctify myself, so that they, too, may be sanctified by the truth.”—John 17:19 (ISV)
This is our life’s calling as disciples of Christ.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.”—Romans 12:2 (ISV)
As we give ourselves to focused reading, memorizing, and meditating on Scripture, our souls will also be cleansed of impurities, and we will be prepared as vessels of honor for our Master’s use.
“In a large house there are things made of gold and silver. But also there are things made of wood and clay. Some things are used for special purposes, and others are made for ordinary jobs. If anyone makes himself clean from evil things, he will be used for special purposes. He will be made holy, and the Master can use him. He will be ready to do any good work.”—2 Timothy 2:20-21 (ICB)
This process of saturating ourselves with the word of God will cause us to be continuously cleansed and purified from any wrong thoughts, wrong attitudes, and wrong motives. This will become evident in our words and actions.
“And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”—2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMPC)
“So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.”—James 1:21 (AMPC)
This will prepare us to meet our Heavenly Bridegroom when He returns.
“For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”—Ephesians 5:25-27 (NLT)
This life-long process of the transformation of our souls through meditation on Scripture will cause us to be conformed into the image of Jesus Himself. The more we become living examples of the Truth of Scripture, the more we will become like Jesus. This is God’s great desire for us!
“For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.”—Romans 8:29 (AMPC)
This will ensure for us an inheritance of eternal rewards that is far beyond anything that we could ask or think!
“And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God’s set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul).”—Acts 20:32 (AMPC)
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