What's It Mean To Be Saved?

Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:20-24

I will be honest I love John 17, it is my absolute favorite chapter in the Bible. John 17 just teaches us so much as to why Jesus came and did what He did for us. Several years ago our Father had me begin to ask the question: what is salvation? He had me ask believers, non-believers, and preachers what their definition of salvation was. To my surprise most struggled with a specific definition of what it means to be saved. Mainly I was told by those who I asked that it meant to go to Heaven. After several weeks of asking, our Father then asked me, do you see why I had you ask? People need know what it means to be saved. We talk about it all of the time, yet so many really don’t know.

Thank God for John 17, because it plainly tells us what salvation is. Salvation is us becoming one with our Father through Jesus Christ. To be saved means that we are perfectly united with God through Christ. It is just that simple. The glory that Jesus has, we now have. It is all a gift. It is all undeserved, yet it is all freely bestowed on us who have been called and chosen by God to be given it. We do not choose our Father, He chooses us. Then He uses us to serve the world and to show them that He loves them too.

A benefit of salvation is that we will spend eternity with our Father, but salvation means being perfectly united with Him through our Lord and Savior Jesus. And amen, today is the day of our unity with our Father, 2 Corinthians 6:2.