The Threefold Plan of Salvation: When you are teaching the reality of the sons of God, what you are teaching is salvation, but salvation is threefold. When you teach the reality of the manifestation of God's sons (their disclosure, their revealing, their unveiling) you are teaching about what God has promised to the overcomer. "That thy trust may be in the Lord. I have made known to thee this day, even to thee." Proverbs 22:19 God is telling us that He is making something known to us. "Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightiest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?"

Proverbs 22:20-21 The Lord has made known to us excellent things that we might know the certainty of His words of truth.

The strange thing about this is found in verse 20 where it speaks of 'excellent' things. The Hebrew word for excellent is 'shalosh' and it means three, third, triangle, threefold measure. It has roots that speak of things that are weighty. It also means the captain, or general, over a third rank. God has written to us of threefold things that are both excellent and weighty.

The Bible says, in Ecclesiastes 4:12 "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

The principle of three is significant in the Scriptures and is brought forth repeatedly. The reason we are told about principles and pictures in the Old Testament (which are types and shadows that depict the glorious realities and experiences which are in God) is to prepare us for entry into those realms. In other words, if you preach salvation as it relates to the new birth, people will get saved because your teaching prepares their spirit to receive it. If you teach the baptism of the Holy Spirit, people are sure to get baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some churches do not have healing, because they do not teach that Jesus is a healer. However, if they did, you can be sure that people would get healed. Other churches will not preach deliverance, and as long as it is not preached it will not follow because the signs confirm the word that is preached. When you preach deliverance you prepare people to receive it. When we teach a full salvation - spirit, soul and body...there is going to be a people who are going to come into it.

Speaking of Israel and all of their experiences from the time they came out of Egypt until they had come into the land, the Bible says, "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [age] are come.

1Corinthians 10:11 Why did God have a nation called Israel, so that all the things that happened to them in the natural sphere, in the earthly realm, could be examples for us for our admonition. They were written because the ends of the age have come upon us. As we see the unfolding of God's plan in that natural nation, we see the unfolding of God's plan in this spiritual nation of God. God is speaking to us of excellent things and these excellent things are threefold.

Progressive Salvation: When you look up the term 'salvation' as it is used in the Bible you will find it has different meanings. The Greek word 'soteria' in Vine's Expository denotes deliverance, salvation, and preservation. There are many references for salvation in Strong's Concordance that basically mean rescue and health. It comes from another root word 'sozo' which means to protect and to make whole. In 1Thessalonians Paul wrote that God would preserve our whole spirit, soul and body blameless, preserved, made whole, completely. When we speak of the term salvation, we are not merely talking about being born again although this is what the whole church world has been led to believe. That is only the beginning of the process, not the whole thing. Even Paul knew that salvation was in at least third dimensions. He speaks of God "...which raiseth the dead; Who delivered us from so great a death... That is past tense; You have been saved. Your spirit has been quickened and made alive. ...and doth deliver and it is a present tense deliverance." That is what is taking place in our lives;(souls) right now. We are being saved. We were saved and we are being saved. We were delivered and we are being de-livi-red and we trust that he will yet deliver us [future] "

2Corinthians 1:9-10 This is salvation that is threefold, a salvation that is in three dimensions. The danger of the expression:

"I am saved, I am sanctified, I am filled," is that you are saying that there is nothing else that you can receive from God. You are cutting off any future move of God in your life. We ere being delivered but, when you say, " I'm delivered," you are saying that there is no more that you need, no further place for you to go in Christ Jesus. You are saying that you are totally free. We are going to be free (but, until that time happens it is wrong for us to say, "I'm delivered" We are not delivered until we are totally delivered. You ask, "What is going to be the sign?" You will be a son of God in all of its expression. There are going to be certain characteristics about us then that are just not evident now.

Do you know that the just are those justified by faith? This is what God says about them. "But the path of the just [the believers] is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18 In the same way, we are growing into and unto Him. He says that the pathway of the just is like a light that shines brighter and brighter. The same verse in the Amplified Bible reads as follows: "But the path of the uncompromisingly just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shine more and more: brighter and clearer until...it reaches its full strength and glory there-in... the perfect (to-be-prepared) day." Our salvation is an ongoing and continuous process, which is causing the light of God, the living Christ to dwell in us more and more.

The day "...that perfect day..." speaks of is the day of the Lord. Someone says, "But, Brother Peter, the day of the Lord is dark and gloomy. " Yes, but Joel said that it is also like the morning spread upon the mountain. There is going to be great darkness upon the earth but Isaiah 60 says that the glory shall be upon thee. The Bible says in Malachi 4:1-2 that day shall burn like an oven bur, he said that unto them that fear the Lord, "...shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..." We are coming into a greater experience in God.

*To order your copy of "Preparing for Immortality" by Peter Demetris simply E-mail: pastorpeterd@comcast.net