The Doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved is Biblically True

What Does The Bible Say About Eternal Security

What does the Bible say about Once Saved, Always Saved?

The topic of eternal security or once saved always saved (OSAS) very often comes up in the Christian world because people want to know whether or not a true Christian can lose their salvation. From my reading of Scripture and from studying many perspectives, I have come to the conclusion, based on the Lord Jesus' words and the words of the Apostles, that salvation is eternal or it cannot be lost. I'm going to share with you the reasons why true salvation is secure and eternal.

First thing we have to define from Scripture is the word Eternal. Here's what Strong's Concordance from BibleHub has to share:

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Now that we see that eternal means everlastng life and an inherent quality of God's life, let's look at the main salvation scripture from the New Testmanent 

Main Scriptural Text

Ephesians 2:5-10  ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Now let's go to John.

1) John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Here The Lord Jesus promises to believers eternal life that doesn't end, life that is forever, and so for someone to lose their salvation, it would imply that they lost the gift of God. 

But since we know the gift of God is eternal life through Christ, Jesus, Our Lord, we know that we can't earn it, and because we can't earn it in the first place, it is a gift, we can't lay claim on it based on works, as the Scripture says, it's based on grace through faith. And grace and faith are what God gives to us. Faith, contrary to what alot of people teach doesn't come by work or trying to muster it up, it is the gift of God. Our humility enables faith to be received for faith has to come to us from The Author of our faith.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

This of course is not talking about hearing with the natural ears, but the spiritual ears.

Remember, The Lord Jesus saying: he that hath ears to hear let him hear.

This implies that not everyone has the ability to hear The Lord, but His sheep do (John 10:27)

Let's read the verses that follow from in the Romans text above from Romans 10:18-21

¹⁸ But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.¹⁹ But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.²⁰ But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.²¹ But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

So ye see, faith doesn't come based on human will, but based on God that willeth. So salvation is not based on us and our works but on God and His works- it is the gift of God. Faith does not begin and end with us. The Lord Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith. So we can't continue believing based on our natural human will, but our perseverance in the faith is the work or operation of God Himself.

¹² Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (Colossians 2:12-13)

Faith again is not of human origin. It is the gift of God. It is the working or operation of God in you for you to have faith. This is why salvation or being born again is not of the will of men, but of God! And since eternal life is a quality of God we can't lose our salvation for as believers our lives are hid with Christ in God (Colossians 2) and He is in us and we are in Him(1 John 4:13), so His inherent qualities as His children become ours. (Hebrews 2:11)

⁶ Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)

This is not to say that we do nothing because we're saved, but what we do is only because He has done His work in us. We are to work out our salvation that He has put in us, by humbling ourselves so we can live godly lives as God wills and does His work through us to others according to Philippians 2:13 and James 4:6.

2) John 5:24 

²⁴ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

The Lord Jesus here clearly says that He who believes in Him has everlasting life, reiterating John 3:16. This is not "will have" or future tense, but "have" eternal life in the present.

Now this spiritual transformation or regeneration as Scripture calls it entails the work of God, so for somebody to lose their salvation and then to come back to that place would entail another working of God. We know that this working of God was done when Christ Jesus was raised from the dead (Colossians 2:12) and this immortality is brought to the light by the Gospel. 

⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,¹⁰ But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:(2 Timothy 1:9-10)

So since it was done when Christ Jesus was raised from the dead, and immortality was brought to light through the gospel according to the Scriptures, salvation is the working or choosing of The Lord Himself. For you died and rose with Him. Who decided that you would die and rise from the dead with Him but God Himself?

It follows then that we were chosen in Him, as the scripture says, before the foundation of the world. The Apostle Paul confirms this when he wrote that when He died, we died with Him. Since the penalty was paid in Christ we don't pay the price for our sins in the sight of God separately. And when He rose, we also rose so our life is hidden with Christ in God. So His life is ours. Since Christ can't lose eternal life, neither can we.Again, for us to lose our salvation would mean that Christ's sacrifice for all was not enough, and His life isn't eternal. Which we know are patently false. 

Also for us to lose salvation we would have to be taken out of Christ so Christ would lose His members. This again is patently false.

As we know the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

 Salvation is the gift of God. It is therefore without repentance.

Our life cannot be taken away because of sin or anything else, because our life is of the choosing of God, for He Himself placed us in Christ, Jesus, and raised us up together in Him with every spiritual blessing. 

That's not man's choice. That's God's choice, and it's God's choice of putting us in Himself. For we're hidden with Christ, in God, implies that we are an eternal part of Christ in God, who cannot change, cannot lose any, and will not lose any.

Colossians 3:1-5 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.² Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.³ For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.⁴ When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.⁵ Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Notice good works, when he says "mortify therefore" are the admonition as a result of salvation and not the cause. If good works can't cause it then good works can't keep it or get it back if some say you lose it. However, we are to live holy as His children, and the following verses say this:

¹² Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;¹³ Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Colossians 3:12-13

And this:

²³ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;²⁴ Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.²⁵ But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Colossians 3:23-25)

John 10:27-31 here again speaks about eternal life, that God gives The Lord Jesus, says again that we shall never perish. He gives us a promise to never lose our salvation.

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.³⁰ I and my Father are one.³¹ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

4) John 1 

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.¹⁵ John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.¹⁶ And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.( John 1:10-16)

And here we see in John 1 that we are born of God, not of the will of man nor of the flesh, but of God. 

Can God lose eternal life? No. Remember when born again we are new creatures, and the new creature doesn't die because we're of the family of God.

And so if our salvation is chosen by God, and if He is the one that does it, as The Scripture says, He is The Only One able to keep us.

And so salvation is a permanent fixture in the life of a believer, for it is God's activity. 

And since God, our Heavenly Father, is all-knowing and all-powerful, and not bound by time or the limitations of time, He who chose us before the foundation of the world has already decided our case - we are justified and no one can lay a charge against us, His elect.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.³⁰ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.³¹ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?³² He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?³³ Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.³⁴ Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:28-37)

5) Ephesians 1:13   

¹³ In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,

Here, the Scriptures talk about the sealing of the Holy Spirit in the true believer. Sealing here means that God seals the Holy Spirit within us. That means The Holy Spirit is permanently in us until the day of redemption. The Lord says that He will never leave us or forsake us. The Holy Spirit will abide with us forever, just as the Lord Jesus said.

We are sealed by the One who foreknew, predestinated, called, justified and glorified us! Notice in the Romans 8 text it's a done work by God. We can not lose or salvation because our salvation is the work of God.

Notice, The Holy Spirit is also given to us as an earnest or a guarantee!

Ephesians 1:13-14

¹³ in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

2 Corinthians1:19-22 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. 20For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

6) Ephesians 4:30 

And here, the Scripture talks about Him keeping us until the day of redemption, which is ofcourse referencing the redemption of our bodies.

³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

This is the follow up to the text above that says that after we believe we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. And to prove that salvation is not lost, the Apostle Paul says that we are sealed unto the day of redemption!

Salvation cannot be lost. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, The Lord, Our Salvation.

Yes God by His power establishes and keeps us!

1 Peter 1:3-5

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.

Just as a reminder, faith also comes from God. 

Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17

This hearing is something that God has to give to you, words alone don't bring about faith! Read the remainder of Romans 10. God determined those who heard!

As the Lord Jesus said, believing is the work of God.

Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God: that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29

Remember Philippians 2:13 For it is God in you who causes you to will and do of His good pleasure.

To will you and cause you to do He causes you to have faith!

God gives you faith. That's why He's the author and finisher of your faith. In other words, He's the beginning and ending of your faith.

What we have to do is humble ourselves so that He can give us grace that gives us faith that causes us to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our reward, however is in our humility for it's by humility that we keep his commandment to love as He loved, because it is surrendering to Him that He does the work through us on earth as it is in heaven. This is the only way that we can have works that remain: if they are performed by God Himself through us. If it's of the flesh it will burn up, but fruit that remains is the work of God, and endures forever like His Word.

Remember without faith no one can please God.  So faith is for God's pleasure. Therefore certainly this is the work of God in us for it is God in you who causes you to will and do of His good pleasure.

God's "willing and doing" pleases God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Therefore faith is the work of God to will and cause us to do of His good pleasure. Faith is the working of God in us. Since saving faith is God's work, we know that there can be no failure or loss of salvation because He is the author and finisher of it. 

7) Hebrews 10:20

The Lord Jesus Christ died once for all, and He paid the price once; one sacrifice for sins forever, and that means past, present and future sins have already been paid the price for. And so when that sacrifice was made and we died with Him, there is no second death or second penalty for the true believer.

⁹ Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.¹⁰ By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.¹¹ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;¹³ From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.¹⁵Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

All of our sins were placed upon Him. We died in Him so that the newness of life that He has, we now have, and when He appears, we shall appear, and we shall be like Him. The entire process is based on Christ Jesus and His finished work. 

We are the beneficiaries of the great love that God has towards us. 

1 John 3:1-3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.² Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.³ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

And lastly, let's look at the Apostle Paul's teaching on his own salvation in 2 Timothy 1.

⁸ Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,¹⁰ But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:¹¹ Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:8-12)

The Apostle Paul here says that he received this grace before the foundation of the world, implying, then that your salvation is God-authored just as John 1 says, you were born not of the will of the flesh, but of God. 

Salvation is what God instituted for you before the foundation of the world, and he causes all things to work together for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. The preaching of the Gospel is His work in His Body to bring about the purpose of God in the lives of people that He has given grace to before the foundation of the world. 

And nothing shall separate us from His love. 

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?³⁶ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.³⁷ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And since nothing can separate us from His love, all things will work together for our good for we love Him (the result of His love) and are called according to His purpose (before the foundation of the world).

Warning: He however commands us to be holy just as He is holy. 

But our works do not determine our salvation, our salvation determines our works. 

It's because we're saved that we do the good works of Christ for the Bible indeed declares that what sinful man couldn't do he did by sending His Son, and we have the Spirit of His Son dwelling in us. The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us as we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, who now dwells in us.

We now who are saved, who dwell in His Son, in the Spirit that dwells within us, will do the same works of Christ and fulfill the law. 

Now, does everybody do this perfectly? No. No one does. But we press towards the mark of The High Calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Does everybody do that the same way? 

No, in any house there are going to be different types of vessels, as the scripture says, but we do good to cleanse ourselves of the former vessels, so that we can be like a precious vessel unto the Lord. 

²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.²¹ If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. ²² Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:20-22

Sin in the Life of the Believer Presents an Issue Though. It's not a salvation issue, though, but a rewards issue.

Notice, different types of vessels exist in a great house, which is definitely a reference to The Father's house where there are many dwelling places showing it's great size. And here the Apostle Paul says there are different types of vessels, some to honour and some to dishonour. But, he says that we are to purge ourselves from the things of dishonour and pursue righteousnes, faith, charity and peace with fellow believers (those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.)

Those who are of the former are believers that don't walk worthy of their calling. They will lose rewards but not salvation. They will lose out on the rewards of the inheritance, but not salvation. Many of their works will burn up but they will be saved, but through fire. 

Believers who don't walk worthy of the Lord may also be in danger of Great tribulation(Revelation 2), but believers who are deemed worthy escape the great tribulation. Escaping great tribulation is a reward for being deemed worthy by The Lord.

The Apostle Paul talks about pressing towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This is what we should all pursue as believers, but it's important here to realize that this pressing towards the mark is not our doing either, it is God's grace that works in us as we humble ourselves before Him (James 4:6).

And this grace that works in us is in Christ Jesus, in whom we live and have our being. Also notice that the apostle Paul posits in his argument to the Greeks that being a child of God means that you live, move, and have your being in The Only True and Eternal God. 

²⁸ For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring. (Acts 17:28)

He died once for all so that we who live may no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us! 

¹⁴ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:¹⁵ And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

For God didn't save us and make us separate from Him, but He made us even members of Christ's own body. So salvation is not just you believing something. It's a work that God has done, and because it's a work that God has done in making us part of Christ's body, His work shall endure forever because His Word in whom we live and have our being endures forever. So, we, too, as His children, the family of God in His Word(as members of Him), have eternal life forever.

For we were not born of corruptible seed but of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God.

Just as the Word endures forever, we too endure forever.

The Debate About Once Saved, Always Saved vs Losing Salvation

I think that one of the things that we have to understand when addressing the doctrine of eternal security is we have to know what we have actually received when born again. 

If you think about being born again as another religion that has to do with a thought process or a belief process, then you can come away thinking that you can lose your eternal salvation.

However, what God did in Christ is something very extraordinary. When you look at the fact that we died with him, and we rose with Him over 2000 years ago, and that all of our sins past, present and future have been for given once and for all, you have to recognize that this is more than religion. 

Do you know that according to Scripture that you have been given grace even before the foundation of the world? Do you know that we that know Christ, were created in Christ Jesus to do good works before the foundation of the world. Think about that. We were created in the Word Himself. To be created in the Word would imply a different order. It's not the old creature. In fact, the Scripture says it's the new creature. Old things have passed away. And behold, all things have become new. So when a person is born again, they have been created in Christ, Jesus, who is the Word made flesh. They have been created in the Word.

It is not a man's activity any longer, but God's activity, which is what we see with many of the texts that that have to deal with eternal security. "It is God in you who causes you to will and to do." Philippians 2:13, or "it's no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20)". These are not just words being spoken by a man that is just caught up with the idea, but these are realities.This is The Truth. To be a new creature in Christ Jesus means that you have been created in Him. 

You remember with Adam, the Scripture says that through the first man Adam, all died, but through Christ, Jesus, we know all will made alive. Of course, this is for all those who believe in Him, right? Because it's of a different order. Adam's order is of the old creature, but the new creature is made after Christ, and because the new creature is made after Christ, and Christ endures forever since He is the Word of God, the new creature likewise does not end.

The new creature does not end

The new creature clearly does not end since it's created in Christ, Jesus, and He does not end. So when the understanding of the new creature comes in, I think that's when we will understand that this is not just a belief change. This is a total change that has not existed before. 

This is not about a person just believing something. It's about God, our Heavenly Father, doing a completely new work of creation. So it does not follow the old order, it follows the new and last one. 

And what is the new order? 

The Word of God is the new order.

We were created in Him, the Word made flesh. We are created in Him. We are members of His Body. We're members of the Word made flesh.

But let's go back again and look at this context because in the book of Peter, he tells us very clearly that we're not born of corruptible seed, meaning seed that can decay, or be contaminated. We're not born of that type of seed. He says that we're born of incorruptible seed, that means seed that does not die; seed that does not end; seed that cannot be contaminated. We are born by the word of God, which lives and endures forever.  

Now, when you think about a man and a woman coming together to get a baby, we know that half of the genes of the father and half of the genes of the mother join to create the new human.

 But to be born of God, it is not so. To be a son of God, or a child of God is to come from God. There is no one that He's combining with to get you. There's no contamination. There is no other entity that is combining to make you. It is God Himself. He creates you out of Himself, ie. created in Christ Jesus.  The new creature is not earthly, like the first Adam but The Lord from Heaven, The Word of God, like the last Adam, Christ Jesus. 

This is why scripture says that He who sanctifies (God) and those who are being sanctified (believers) are of one (Hebrews 2:11)! We're of the same family as God. Romans 8:15 

The whole family of God gets our name from The Father. Read Ephesians 3:14-19.

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,¹⁶ That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

The Scripture there says that we can be filled with all the fullness of God. How can this be for a human being. It's not. It's only possible for members of the Word of God, Christ Jesus, or The Body of Christ.

Since we are of the family of God, and are of His Spirit we have eternal life and can never lose our salvation. Our being as new creatures are of the same stuff as God Himself.

¹¹ For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren... Hebrews 2:11

Remember, to be children of God we have to live, move and have our being in Him!

²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

This is confirmed when the Scripture declares that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus is our elder brother and we're of the God family. 

¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

This is why the Scripture says we're born of incorruptible seed by the Word of God which ever lives and abides forever. 

The Lord Jesus talked about His words that come out of His mouth. He said, His words are spirit and life.

Look at the incorruptible seed mentioned above which lives and abides forever. The Lord Jesus said, His words are spirit and life. We know the Spirit abides in us forever. And we have eternal life.  So, guess what? When you were born again, you are born again of the water and the Spirit, the water of life and The Spirit, which are the constituents of the Word of God. You cannot lose your salvation because you are not earthly. The new creature is not earthly. Sure your flesh is, but that too will be redeemed, but the new creature is born of God, born of the Word of God, and born of The Spirit.

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.⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit (John 3:5-6)

By saying born of water and of the Spirit, The Lord Jesus here was talking about the born-again believer being born of The Word (the Spirit and water of LIFE in John 6:63). This shouldn't be too far out there, because just as the woman was taken out of the man Adam, the Church was taken out of Christ, The Word.

Just in case you'd like more proof, The Scriptures say that we were created in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. Question: who was Christ Jesus known as before His incarnation? He was known as The Word (John1)

That's why the Holy Ghost is in you, and that's why you have eternal life, because that is what the Word has. The Word has The Spirit, and the Word has Eternal Life (endures forever), and that is what you have received when you were born again, illustrating who God has made you out to be. You cannot lose your eternal salvation. That's why you are members of the Body of Christ, because you are members of the Word. You cannot be separated from the Word, because He made you in the Word before the foundation of the world.

You cannot be separated from God.

That's why the scripture talks about the love of God, and that nothing shall separate us from the love of God. Why? Because we're in Him and He is in us.

Did you know that just as The Father sent the Lord Jesus, The Lord Jesus sent us?

John 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Look at what the Lord Jesus Christ says twice in John 17. He says this is in John 17:14, and John 17:16

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

And just in case you missed it, look at this in John 17:18-23 from The Lord Jesus Himself:

¹⁸ As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.²⁰ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.²² And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Again, this is for those who believe on Him (John 17:20)- those who are saved - He prays that they may be one with and in the Godhead. This proves that the new creature is of the God family and therefore cannot lose salvation, since eternal life is part of the nature of the new creature.

Adam and Eve, The Lord Jesus, The Church, and Eternal LIfe 

Adam is a type of Christ in that he is a typology, or witness of Christ. Likewise, the woman Eve is a witness of the church. And the Apostle Paul says that marriage between man and woman is representative of Christ and the Church. 

But a lot of people say that Adam was both man and woman because they don't understand how male and female came about. 

But, Adam was never both man and woman. Because we know that the first man, was Adam was a man through which all human beings died, because we have Christ, Jesus, who is the last Adam, and he is the man, through whom all believers will be made alive. 

But here is the understanding. The Church was in the last Adam, or the church was in Christ, when God raised Him from the dead and the church was in Christ Jesus, when He died. Similarly, when God put Adam to sleep which was a type of death, the woman, Eve was in him, and then God took out a rib and built the woman, just as the Church is made of the substance of Christ, the Word made flesh.  When he woke up, which is a type of resurrection. The church came out of him and was sent into the world as God prepares The Church as a bride to be presented to her Bridegroom, The Lord Jesus at the last, just as God brought the woman to Adam.

It's important in recalling this text to note a few things:

1) The woman is flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone

This is the old earthly order. What's the new heavenly order? The new creature. 

Since Adam is a witness of Christ in this area, we should see similarities between Adam's bride and Christ's bride, and we do. 

Flesh is the make up of the earthly man, but Spirit is the make up of the heavenly man. The woman Eve received his flesh, but the Church receives Christ's Spirit.

Bone is a structural concept and relates to the integrity of a person's physical structure. It is all the seat of life because blood is made from the bones, in the bone marrow to be exact. Therefore when mentioning here about bone of his bone he is referencing life for the life of the body is in the blood. And the parallel for Christ is The Water of Life. 

We are born of the Word of God and thus have received His Spirit and His Life.

And again we see confirmation of the truth for the believer, He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of one. For the bride Eve was of the same family as Adam, and likewise, The Church, is of the same family as Christ Jesus - The God family. And this is proven by the fact that He is not ashamed to call us brethren, ie. fellow heirs of the same Father.

Also, notice we don't have any indication in Scripture that God blew directly into Eve. It seems that since the life was already in Adam, she received it as a result! Just like we do with Christ- it's in Him that we live, move and have our being and we live by Him.

Galatians 2:20 ²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Here's Some Insight from Pastor Caleb Penwell from Bethel Christian Church in Conyers, GA

We've been talking about John 3:5-6, and about our call to be born again, and the distinction Christ was making between born of the flesh and born of the Spirit. 

And then we spoke about Romans 6. The first 14 verses really cover the idea that we have a physical death, yet we have a spiritual rebirth. And that is where I was prompted to talk about the idea of when a seed goes into the ground and it dies. 

And in The Scriptures, The Lord Jesus talks about His own life in John 12, that when He goes into the ground, He will die, and His life will then produce a harvest, meaning His kingdom, His Church. 

But specifically, I was referring to Paul in 1 Corinthians, 15:35 - 38 and there it speaks about how we are transformed through our death. So Paul says these words:

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 1Cornithians 15:35-38

He goes on to talk about the idea that not all flesh is the same flesh, and we need to sow what is of spiritual value and soul transformation. 

Also when we were talking, we jumped to Ephesians 1:13-14, which talks about the Holy Spirit being our seal. 

We received The Holy Spirit At Our Salvation

We receive the Holy Spirit at our salvation when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, like Acts 2:38 tells us.

And what I think is interesting about that additionally, and we didn't talk about this on Sunday, are some of the things I've read in Jewish history about the responsibilities of the best man. 

The Holy Spirit is Like The Best Man

The best man had many responsibilities. 

You remember in the story of the 10 virgins, where they hear a call and they all get their lamps ready? 

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (Matthew 25:1-6)

Well, they were doing that because they didn't know which of the young ladies might actually be the bride, because the groom would come at whatever hour. 

And so every virgin in the town was ready with her lamp and ready to go. 

And so in one sense, The Spirit is taking the part of that best man who was responsible to give the proclamation, "We're getting ready for the wedding. Everything's ready. It's time to go."

 And so it's almost as if the Spirit, and maybe in that sense, has taken on that idea of the best man, of declaring, "Hey, the wedding is here. Here comes the bride," if you will. 

And also, in Jewish history, the best man had the responsibility of proclaiming it to be a legitimate wedding that was consummated. It was his responsibility to announce that they were married.  It's a powerful connection with The Spirit as it was, ascending into heaven and bringing and coming with the bride on the day of triumph.

Thought that was very insightful so I had to ask Pastor Caleb to share that with us as The Spirit that we are sealed with testifies that we are the bride of Christ. Powerful! Okay, let's continue.

Right Now We're Seated In Heavenly Places 

Right now we're seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So to lose our salvation is to lose our seated position in Him.

And this is not the case, because the word of God shall not return unto him void, but it shall prosper that for which it was sent. So God Himself watches over His word to perform it. God ensures the integrity of His Word in whom we live and have our being. So we cannot lose our salvation, because God who does not and cannot fail is our security.

That's why the Holy Ghost is in you. That's why the Holy Ghost is with you forever, to watch over the Word of God to ensure that you get to your expected end by the will of God.

Now, will you miss the mark at times if you don't submit to the Lord? Yes, but lose your salvation, no. If you don't submit to the Lord and you sin, you lose some of your rewards, the rewards of your inheritance that Paul talks about, but you do not lose salvation, because salvation has nothing to do with your works, your rewards have to do with what you do in your body or your works, but your salvation is based on what The Lord Jesus did in His body, and he did not sin.

Look at the example of a man who was in a grievous sinful state with his own father's wife. The Apostle Paul put him out and mentions some things that I think should be put under a microscope for our edification on this matter.

1Corinthians 5:4-5 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,⁵ To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Notice the man's grievous fornication of incest was put out of the Church, but it did not negate the man's salvation. He lost some of the rewards of the inheritance, but not salvation itself or rather Himself.

Let's take another look at a person who has no lasting good works, or a person who may have lived in sin. In this illustration by the Apostle Paul this person suffered loss of his rewards but did not lose salvation.

1 Corinthians 3:8-15 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.⁹ For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.¹⁰ According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.¹¹ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;¹³ Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.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: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

 When does this trying of the works happen? Works in the body for believers, the saved, are tried at the bema or judgement seat of Christ. 

¹⁰ But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Romans 14:10)

People who think that eternal security is a license to sin need to understand that God will judge His people for what they do in their body whether it be good or bad, but salvation will not be lost by any that are saved.

The Lord Jesus was crucified and died and on the third day, according to the Scriptures, rose again from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God, and that is with all power and authority and is alive forevermore (eternal) (Revelation 1). 

That's why the Lord Jesus says, I have all the power and authority, now you go. Why can he say now you go? Because you have that power and authority as he delegates it to you, because you are in Him, and He is in you. Also, the phrase you in me and I in you is a statement of oneness. Hebrews 2:11 confirms it and the Lord Jesus, high priestly prayer in John 17:20-22 confirms the oneness of the believer and God Himself.

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who ^[j]will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

Similarly, eternal life is in you for you are in Him and He is in you. 

If you read the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus in John 17, you will see something very powerful. Number one, to know God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, is eternal life according to John 17:3. 

You remember those people who were performing different miracles and stuff. He said, I never knew you.

To know God is to first be known by God (Galatians 4:9). And of course, that known by God there is not just talking about knowing in terms of the omniscience of God, but it's talking about intimacy. I know you. I know you. When he says I never knew you, he's not saying that I don't know about you. He doesn't say that I'm not all-knowing. He's saying (me paraphrasing) I don't know you on the basis of how I know my children, because My children are known by me intimately, because I am in them and they are in me.

So for you to lose your salvation is for the Word of God to fail, and that is not the case because you were born of the incorruptible seed by the Word of God that lives and endures forever. So your salvation will live and endure forever. That's why you have eternal life from the time that you have believed; you have passed from death to life because of the incorruptible seed, by The Word of God that you have been saved.

Conclusive Evidence That Passing From Death To Life is Everlasting And Cannot Be Lost

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passedfromdeathtolife, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

And we know that we love because He first loved us according to 1John 4:19. Since we love Him because He first loved us and nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35-39), and us loving the brethren for we love God is how we know we have passed from death to life according to 1 John 3:14, then IT IS THE Love of God in Christ Jesus that has caused us to pass from death to life. Since nothing present or things to come or anything can ever separate us from His love, His love guarantees that we have passed from death to life for without it we cannot love the brethren!

Isn't it interesting that it is mentioned that the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit by which we have been sealed. Since we have the Holy Spirit in us until the day of redemption, OUR SALVATION CANNOT AND WILL NEVER BE LOST. GOD's LOVE GUARANTEES IT!

Thank you Jesus! It's God's Love. Remember for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)!

This is what it means to be born again, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the flesh, but of God. And the Lord Jesus explains how this happens in John 3:5-6 below:

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.⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

 And we know that the Word of God is Spirit and the water of life (John 3:5-6, John 6:63, Revelation 22:1-2, Psalm 1:2-3). So, you have the Spirit and you have eternal life because you have been born of the Word of God. 

You therefore again cannot lose your salvation, but you at the same time, are commanded to live holy, for He is holy. Why? You have to walk worthy of the calling? What calling? The calling of God in Christ Jesus, as the Apostle Paul said. This is where the reward of your inheritance comes in. 

Now, because you remember, the reward of your inheritance has to do with what you do in the body, your works, your activity, how faithful you are to the Lord. And what does the Scripture say about your inheritance? It says that you are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, Jesus. 

This is why the Apostle Paul said again, he presses on towards the mark of the higher calling. This is not his activity, but the grace that has been given to him, just as we are to do activities by the same grace that has been given to us in Christ Jesus. Why? Because that's where the reward of our inheritance is - in our walking worthy of the calling as we humble ourselves so God can will and do His will through us as children of The Word.

Salvation Is A Person

This is what we have to understand in order to recognize that salvation cannot be lost, and that is because salvation is the Lord Himself. Did you know that the book of Psalms, Scripture says that The Lord is my salvation.

To be saved, therefore means to be Lorded. Let's see the proof of this:  People who are saved receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within them until the day of redemption.

How is this the case?

It's because they have been Lorded or saved. The Holy Spirit is the Lord and so salvation is the Lord as Psalm 27:1 says.

That's why The Scriptures say that you are to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 

Why fear and trembling? This is because those who are saved have to face the Lord at The judgment seat of Christ to receive rewards for what they've done in their bodies. And if there are no good works (good works are done through God), they will lose rewards but will be saved but by fire! (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:10)

What does work out your salvation mean? Salvation has to be worked out for it is God, The Lord, in you that causes you to will and do of His good pleasure.

He illustrates that God is our salvation.

We are to work out our salvation means that we are to work out God. And we know this, because The Apostle Paul then goes into the work of God in and through us. So the life of the believer is not a life of self, it's a life of God.

Just as the Apostle Paul says, it's no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me.

So we have to understand who we are in Him and the divine nature that we are partakers of in order to live with, in, through and for Him.

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4

This is again, why the Lord Jesus talked about the greater works. He says, Greater works shall you do because I go to my Father.

 Why greater works? Greater works there is talking about the number of works based on the Lord Jesus explanation of greatest in Mark 10:43-45.

It was only the Lord Jesus before, but now it is His entire body, The Church.

He already told us that if He goes to the Father, he's going to prepare a place for us. We already know that there are mansions,  there.

So it's not mansions that He went to prepare for us when He said He goes to prepare a place for you.

He was talking about the heavenly places that are in Himself. Ephesians 1 says that we are seated in heavy places in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing.

He went to prepare a place in Himself in God for us.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:3)

So our abode is in God. See Colossians 2:8-13 below.

⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.⁹ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:¹¹ In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:¹² Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

For Christ is in God. That's why we can do greater works or more works in terms of the number, because we are now in Him and He in us!

So can we lose our salvation? No. We cannot lose the Lord, our salvation (Psalm 27:1, Philippians 2:13), for we are in Him and He is in us (1John 4:30), we are sealed unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30), joined as one Spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17) and of the same God family (Hebrews 2:11, Ephesians 3:15) through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as believers in Him, His sheep.

John 10:25-30 ²⁵ Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.²⁶ But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.³⁰ I and my Father are one.

Scripture on The Perseverance of The Saints

Ecc 3:14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

Isa 46:3-4 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; 4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Ps 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Col 3:3-4 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Phil 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

2Tim 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1Pet 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Cor 1:4-9 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Believers in Christ have the Assurance of Salvation

Jn 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

1Cor 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Heb 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

1Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Phil 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

1Thess 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

In conclusion: The biblical truth is that once you're saved you can never perish or lose your salvation.