ON SAFETY OR PRESERVATION

 There are some differences in theological terms. “Redemption” is what Jesus did for you, and self-control is what you do for God (and yourself) in gratitude. Those who trust in Jesus shall have eternal life (1 John 5:13).  Jesus “saves.” That is redemption. He propitiated the blood for the sins of the world. (1 John 2:2). His blood was shed, not only for Christians, but all sinners, of which Christians sin as well.

  All are sinners. Jesus was not. The sacrifice always had to be unblemished. Hence, animals — without sin — were a good substitutionary sacrifice, so until Jesus, self-sacrifice was never efficacious.

  Neither was Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son efficacious because Isaac was a blemished sacrifice. Therefore, nobody has ever done anything that could save themselves. That is the message in John 3:14; the trust that it takes to be “born again” (John 3:7). When Jesus died for all, he saved all mankind for then everyone had the opportunity to be partakers of eternal life. But they must “drink” the blood and water to have the antidote.

  Now examine sin. Adam and Eve ate of poisonous fruit. It was poisonous because it would cause death. Perhaps, the Tree of Death was a fig tree for they were obviously under one (Gen 3:7). However, it was not the figs that were poison, but knowledge. Theretofore, Adam and Eve were innocent and had no knowledge of evil. If Adam and Eve knew evil as well as good, they would have the Knowledge of what causes death. The Serpent hit the “nail” on the head; “Ye shall be as God” (Gen 3:5). It turns out that the English word “sin” is “TO BE” master of one’s own destiny — TO BE “gods.”

  Now consider what John wrote:

KEY VERSE: We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. (1 John 5:18)

  “Born of God” is “born again” (John 3:7). As was seen in John 3:14, “born again” is total dependence on God for life even in the face of certain peril. “Born again” is reborn in innocence, the original spiritual condition of Adam and Eve.

  By grace, the Word (Jesus) provided them coats of skins from a lamb to Comfort and Preserve them outside the Garden Paradise in the world. So long as that flesh was worn, Satan could kill their flesh, but the flesh of the animal protected the soul from death.

  “Born again” means that Jesus covered sin with His own Flesh. His blood cleansed from all “sins that are past” (Rom 3:25), but the “Water” is the protection from further sin.

  It is not what you think. Living Waters flowed from the belly of Jesus as it does from true Christians (John 19:34).  It did at His death as His Holy Ghost was given up (John 19:30). Hence, the “Water” is not the baptism of John, but the baptism of the Holy Ghost of Jesus, to wit: “Then remembered I the Word of the Lord, how that He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’”

  The baptism of John is water baptism, and the baptism of Jesus is not by water, but the Holy Ghost.  Rather than the Lamb of God’s Flesh covering the reborn person, God’s Spirit covers the new person’s soul but not their flesh. They can still commit fleshly sins and live but not spiritual sins. John mentioned that without naming which ones: “He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death” (1 John e:16).

  Do carnal sins lead to death? No, only spiritual sins. It is the soul that the Holy Ghost “Comforts,” not the flesh. The spiritual sin, according to John, is disbelieve in the Name Jesus (1 John 5:13) which is blasphemy. Just what is the theophoric name Jesus? “Yah(weh) saves,” obviously through His Son, and God’s Flesh — the Lamb of God preserves just as with Adam.  Hence sins of the flesh are non-damning but sins of the soul are.

  That does not make fornication and such allowable, but blasphemy against the covering of the Holy Ghost is, to wit: “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men” (Mat 12:31).

  Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is removal of the Protection of the very Ghost of Jesus. It is God’s Spirit that still provides the coat of protection. The skin of the Lamb is in Heaven, but His Ghost remains with us because that Spirit is the very Essence of God!

  “Sinneth not” is perhaps, that those born again, are not TO BE God. They have sacrificed their soul to God. With that, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mat 26:34). Then, the Holy Ghost covers the spirit, but the Christian must control the flesh; in other words, “He that is begotten of God keepeth himself.” The “begotten of God” are those “born again.” Those so begotten, keepeth themselves. Hence, the Holy Ghost protects the souls of men so that their souls not die, but Christians are responsible for keeping their flesh pure. If they fail on the latter, then they remain safe, but if they remove the preserving coat of the Holy Ghost, they reject the protection of the Holy Ghost by blasphemy.

  Although the flesh remains vulnerable, the soul does not. The HolY Ghost is the “protective shield” around the soul of Christians so “that wicked one toucheth him not.” The Book of Job is all about the safety of the faithful man. Satan accused, rightfully so, that God put a “hedge” around Job to keep demons from touching him (Job 1:10). It turns out that Satan could touch Job’s flesh (with boils; Job 2:7) but not his soul: “Only upon himself put not forth thine hand” (Job 1:11). I once thought that was the flesh of Job, but the essence of Job was his faith that protected his soul. Satan, nor his demons, could touch the soul of Job because God had indeed but a hedge around it — His Holy Spirit.

  “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28). Others can kill the body, even Satan and demons, but not the soul. The body and soul are vulnerable, and all Satan needs to do is have the “hedge” removed. Only one person can remove the protective barrier from the soul, and that is “him,” the person himself!  Removing by rejection of the Holy Ghost is exposing the soul to destruction, and only you can do that!

  He that is born of God, “keepeth himself.” Carnal sin is exposing the flesh to destruction. Satan, as we learned from Job, can touch the flesh, and his cunning plan for doing so. They are temptations and tribulations. Why does Satan tempt the flesh of mankind? To expose the soul. He is ripping off the “fig leaf apron” that is superficial to see if the Lamb’s Flesh is beneath.

  By exposing the soul to the desires of the flesh leads to destruction. Satan gets to the soul through the flesh, hence the Sons of God, just as Seth’s seed willingly walked off the Holy Mountain into the sin in Cain’s plain (Secretss of Enoch), to this day, the righteous can still walk away from the Holy Protection of God! Seth’s line perished in the flood although they had been righteous. They perished along with Cain’s seed, but righteous Noah kept on his coat of the Lamb in the form of an ark.

  In the water, blood, and the spirit is safety. John summed up his discourse with one warning: “Keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). The Serpent knew who the “idols” were — they are our own fleshes. To preserve our souls, Christians must keep ourselves from ourselves. Our flesh exposes the soul to perishing, and Satan knows and uses that. Now consider this:

⁶ This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:6-8)

  The blood is Jesus. The Spirit is the Holy Ghost of Jesus. But what is meant by “water” bearing witness? Is that water baptism? Many think that, but the “Water” is the Father. Many have argued about that, but when God created, all things were from Him. The “waters” in Genesis 1 is directly translated as “semen’ (Strong’s Dictionary), or “water” is the very Seed of God. The Seed of God is Jesus, God in the Flesh. Those passages do not refer to the baptism of John but the baptism of Jesus, the One Person of the Holy Trinity.

  Now for the obvious: This commentary is to expose the doctrines of both eternal security and water baptism as soterial. Things would be much easier if we trusted a moment in time and water for salvation, but the “begotten of God keepeth himself” safe from exposure to spiritual death.

(picture credit: Dreamstime.com)