The current world in which we live is under the dominion of Satan and his angels, it was given to Satan (Luke 4:6) and he will keep it until Christ takes it (Rev. 11:17).
Eph 6:12
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (KJV)
However, the world [Gk oikoumene - (empire, domain)] to come will be run by Jesus Christ and His co-heirs (those that overcome at the Judgment Seat, and being saved does not guarantee one will overcome [Rev. 2, 3]).
Heb 2:5
5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. (KJV)
The Scripture refers to Satan as ‘the god of this world’ :
2 Cor 4:4
4 In whom the god of this world [Gk. aion - age] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (KJV)
After Lucifer’s fall, God made man to replace him and his angels as the provincial ruler of this earth (Heb. 2:5-9).
Gen 1:26, 28
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (KJV)
Satan sought to disqualify man at Eden (and he succeeded), and ruined the restored earth and remained its incumbent ruler, though rebel capacity:
Gen 3:1-5
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (KJV)
Though Satan succeeded and caused man to die spiritually (be disqualified); God has made provision to restore man to that place where he can realize his purpose:
Eph 2:1-2
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (KJV)
When one believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and becomes saved, it’s his spirit that is saved:
Eph 2:8
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (KJV)
It is at the point of ‘spirit salvation’ that the distinction is made of the tri-partite being that man is; spirit, soul, and body:
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (KJV)
The spirit is that part of man that connects him to God, now saved — which is on the basis of Christ’s finished work on Calvary:
Eph 2:9
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. (KJV)
Titus 3:5
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (KJV)
The soul is that part of man associated with the natural. It is the seat of a person’s emotions, feelings, and desires pertaining to his man-conscious existence. The Christian still has an unregenerated soul living alongside his regenerated spirit:
1 Cor 1:18
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish [lit. them that are perishing] foolishness; but unto us which are saved [lit. us which are being saved] it is the power of God. (KJV)
The salvation of our souls, unlike that of our spirits; is realized at the end of our faith, the soul is currently “being saved” as seen in 1 Cor. 1:18.
1 Peter 1:3-5, 9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (KJV)
The Christian at the Judgment Seat of Christ, will either ‘overcome’ or ‘be overcome’; as seen in the warnings given to all seven Churches of Revelation chapters two and three. The Church at Laodicea (the one depicting the current state in which the Church currently exists), is warned against ‘nakedness’:
Rev 3:18
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (KJV)
The clothing of the Christian (fine linen, clean and white), is [lit. ‘the righteous acts of the saints‘]:
Rev 19:7-8
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (KJV)
The Christian that does not overcome at the Judgment Seat, who is not clothed or whose raiment is not white; will ‘suffer loss’.
1 Cor 3:14-15
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss [Gk. zemioo - to injure or experience detriment]: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire [lit. ‘through fire’]. (KJV)
Our Lord, in praying for His own said:
John 17:14-15
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world: 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (KJV)
The word ‘world’ is a translation of the Gk. kosmou, — orderly arrangement, the world system; in which the Church currently has to coexist but should not be influenced by. The Church, however, to our shame, has taken on worldliness to the extent where it’s difficult to make distinctions between them at times — the orderly arrangement:
2 Cor 6:17-18
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (KJV)
God expects Christians to constantly seek to live holy lives or we will be castaway [disapproved] at the Judgment Seat:
1 Cor 9:27
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (KJV)
Or we could be rejected:
2 Cor 5:8-9
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (KJV)
Christ in addressing His disciples expressed the same warning:
Matt 16:26
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (KJV)
Mark 8:35-37
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (KJV)
Luke 9:23-25
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (KJV)
Jesus was actually saying to His disciples, “you can loose your souls”. (The Gk word translated “soul” is the same one translated “life” psuche).
Remember it’s the salvation of the spirit that is realized when one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, the soul is ‘being saved’ and determined at the end of our faith (1 Peter 1:9).
Acts 16:30-31
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (KJV)
The writer of the Hebrews says:
Heb 2:1-3
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (KJV)
The “great salvation” is the salvation of the soul, which relates to “the world [lit. the age to come] to come” of verse five:
Heb 2:5
5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. (KJV)
The Christian that looses his or her soul at the Judgment Seat, will be denied the ‘rest’ that remains for the people of God, castaway, overcome, and will have negative impact on his inclusion in the kingdom for a thousand years:
Heb 4:1, 6, 9, 11
1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (KJV)
Jesus taught kingdom exclusion in the parables of the “friend” in improper garment in Matthew 22:1-14; the “virgins” of Matthew 25:1-13; and corresponding parables. Like the Jews during the time of Jesus’ first coming who were over looking the suffering that Christ had to undergo prior to His reign; so the Church today is over looking the Millennial Kingdom (1000 year reign of Christ) which precedes the eternal ages or the Day of God:
Rev 20:6
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (KJV)
Christians are not taught that “the inheritance” that’s awaiting the people of God, is not the same as the “Heaven” of the Bible. Heaven is not an ‘inheritance’ (it is derived on the basis of one’s believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved), but only those in the ‘family’ can be eligible to receive inheritance. That is what Jesus was referring to when He told Nicodemus that he had to be born again before they can even discuss “the kingdom”:**
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (KJV)
It was in that same passage He said, “you have to walk holy to inherit the kingdom:
John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (KJV)
Paul in his epistle to the Galatians Christians gave a list of things that would exclude them from ‘inheriting’ the kingdom:
Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (KJV)
Unfortunately, Christians often do these things. Does that mean they won’t go to Heaven? It’s not in reference to Heaven, but to the inheritance — rest.
** The term “born again” is incorrectly used to describe one’s becoming saved. To be more accurate, when one becomes saved, he is “born from above” and not “born again.” It is the Jewish people that were ‘born before’ — born out of Egypt, by water and the Spirit — that had to come to a place of repentance (being born again) so they can be included in the inheritance that was first given to them, that they subsequently rejected (Matt. 21:43).
The term “born again” is used only three times in Scripture (John 3:3, 7; 1 Pet. 1:23) and all three are in reference to Jews (who were already born out of Egypt by the water of the Red Sea).
A similar error is perpetuated in Christian circles by what has become known as “soul winning.” The way it’s taught is surely not the Scriptural teaching on the subject. Soul-winning has erroneously been equated with reaching the unsaved with the message of the gospel of grace; and few Christians, viewing soul-winning in this manner, seem to even give the matter a second thought.
Books have been written on soul-winning, Bible colleges and seminaries teach courses on soul-winning, and soul-winning conferences are held by those same institutions and by various Churches. But, among these groups, almost without exception, soul-winning is viewed from a non-Scriptural perspective.
Soul winning in Scripture has to do with the saving of the soul/life of those who are already saved, whether Israelites in the Old Testament or Christians in the New. When it comes to the saving or loosing of the soul/life in this respect, solely from a Scriptural standpoint, the unsaved are not in view.
What then is soul-winning? And why is there so much confusion on this subject today? The questions are interrelated, and Scripture is quite clear concerning the answers to both.
Soul-winning, having to do with those who are already saved, is seen connected with a kingdom in both Testaments. In the Old, this kingdom was an existing kingdom (the O.T. theocracy); and in the New, this kingdom is seen as the coming kingdom (the coming Kingdom of Christ).
Thus, it is no wonder that corruption and confusion have marked the proclamation of this message throughout Man’s Day. Satan, the present ruler in the kingdom — ruling from a heavenly sphere through the Gentile nations on earth (cf. Dan. 10:13-20; Luke 4:5, 6; Eph. 6:12) — knows that the ultimate outworking of that contained in the message surrounding the salvation of the soul will bring about the end to his rule.
Accordingly, Satan has done all within his power, over millenniums of time, to destroy this message and with tremendous success, to the point where most Christians know nothing about this truth. And exactly how well he succeeded can be seen on practically every hand in Christendom today (cf. Matt. 13:31-33; Luke 18:8; Rev. 3:14-21).
Written by Pastor Al Williams (reprinted with permission).
