“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]” (Isaiah 26:3 AMP)
“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 NKJV)
“Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]” (John 14:27 AMP)
Shalom: According to Strong’s Concordance (7965): “Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full.”
Wikipedia states: “Shalom (Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם shalom; also spelled as sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye.”
Salvation: According to Strong’s Concordance: “sótéria: deliverance, salvation; Original Word: σωτηρία, ας, ἡ; Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine; Transliteration: sótéria; Phonetic Spelling: (so-tay-ree’-ah); Definition: deliverance, salvation; Usage: welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, safety.”
Saved (4982) (sozo) has the basic meaning of rescuing one from great peril. Additional nuances include to protect, keep alive, preserve life, deliver, heal, be made whole. The context must be considered to determine whether preservation of physical life or spiritual life is in view.”
As I began looking deeper into these words I started to see just how consistent my Heavenly Father’s design and desire (Will) for those He created has always been. In the Old Covenant, prior to Jesus coming to set things back in order, those who followed the Father were promised Shalom. The focus was external as they were still living in sin waiting for the coming Messiah. There was an elaborate system by which they were able to live in a state of being pardoned until full salvation became available. After Jesus came in human form, and lived a sinless life, was crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended back to the right hand of the Father, salvation became available to all who believe.
Salvation takes the Shalom of the Old Covenant, completes and improves it, and moves it from the outside to the inside. Sin is no longer covered, it is removed. I am no longer pardoned, I am redeemed. I am no longer a servant of God, I am a child of God. I no longer reach up, or out, to receive from God, I reach within to draw from what God has deposited within me. I now have everything needed for this life and eternity.
In both the Old and New Covenants it has always been the Lord’s design and desire (Will) for us to experience all of the blessings of Heaven, and benefits of living in the Kingdom of Heaven, on Earth. My Heavenly Father (Abba – Father / Papa – Daddy) has never been mad at me. He has never turned His back on those He created. I am the one that turned my back on Him. It is Daddy’s desire that no one perish. It is His longing that everyone come to Him and accept the salvation offered through His Son Jesus Christ and experience complete Shalom (peace with God, the peace of God, and peace on Earth).
Along with all of the aspects of Shalom and Salvation that were already defined, the Hebrew concept of peace results in living a life in which there is nothing broken, and nothing missing. In the New Testament that condition of life is called “perfect peace” and it flows from the inside out. I already possess everything that Heaven has to offer. As I work out my salvation (take what is in me and by faith expect it to flow through my mind bringing renewal, through my body making it alive, strong, and full of health, and to my surrounding world expanding the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the Earth) Heaven will begin to manifest in my life, and the lives of those around me.
There is an abundance of pain, sickness, division, destruction, hatred, and fear in this fallen world. Those things knock on the door of my life every day. Each day presents me with a new opportunity to take what I possess and use it to overcome the enemy and win another battle.
I must remind myself every day of…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 120: “Shalom and Salvation (peace and prosperity): Parallel Powers that have revolutionized my life” Part 1