The Example (6)

With the “salvation template” defined and ready to be used, let us consider how it works.  Rather than explaining how it operates, we will just watch it work… using a scriptural example.

A quick point first: 

·         Salvation needs to be understood as a process as opposed to an event.  If it were a single event (as many teach it to be… as in “so and so got saved today”) it could be attained and we could go on our “merry way”!  But, as our template indicates, it is a process that contains three components to it… again, they are death, burial, and resurrection.

An example:

·         The story of God delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership.

A quick recount of the story:

The children of Israel were in slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt.  God had chosen Moses to lead them out of their bondage and used him to send a total of ten plagues upon the land of Egypt.  After each plague Pharaoh had opportunity to let the people of God go.  After each plague he considered releasing the Israelites, but decided not to after thinking on it (a definite case of bad thinking!).  The tenth plague was enough to cause the Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go.  It was the plague of the death of the first born.  Each family in Egypt lost their oldest male child.  God gave a warning to the Israelites in order to keep their first born child alive… a substitution would die in place of the child… the substitution was a spotless lamb.  The blood of the lamb was to be placed over the door and on the sides of the door posts.  This would cause the death angel to pass over that house… thus, the feast of the Passover got its origin.

Pharaoh allowed the children of Israel to leave the next day, after his own son died.  The Israelites left Egypt and were led by a supernatural cloud in the direction of the Red Sea, but Pharaoh and his army decided (bad thinking) to follow and return them to Egypt.  The Red Sea halted Israel’s escape and Pharaoh’s army had trapped them.  During the night a wind blew and the sea divided.  The children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground as they followed the cloud to freedom.  As Pharaoh and his army followed into the path through the sea, the waters came back together and they enemy was drown.

That is a brief description of the exodus from Egypt.

Now, let us consider the story with the “salvation template” in place over it.  We are going to look for:

·         The need for salvation

·         The first element of our “salvation template”… death

·         The second element… burial (removal)

·         The third… resurrection

Questions that give the answers:

1.       Is there a need for salvation?  Answer: Of course, the Israelites are in bondage to the Egyptians.  Even as we (as a race) are in bondage to sin.

2.       Is there a type of death in the story?  Answer:  Of course, the death of the first born.  But there was also a substitutionary death for those who would belief and obey… the death of the Lamb.  (Very clearly a type of the coming of Jesus as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world).

3.       Is there a type of burial in the story?  Answer:  Of course, the people of God were “buried” as they crossed the Red Sea under the leading of God by Moses.  Another question here:  Did that burial rid the Israelites of their bondage (bondage to us is sin)?  Again, of course, the power of their bondage was once and for all separated from them as Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the waters.

4.       Finally, was there a type of resurrection in the story?  (I will not say “of course” this time.)  If the Red Sea was their place of burial where bondage was separated from them, then their arising from that sea would typify their resurrection, especially in light of the fact that there would be no more bondage to follow them.  There is also resurrection typology in another place.  If we remember it was the spirit entering into Adam that gave him life and it will take the spirit’s return into a lifeless body to resurrect one from the dead.  We see a clear type of the spirit in the cloud that led them.

One last point to be made here, it is always good to have a scriptural authority lending credibility to our conclusions.  Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t.  This story has some biblical authority in the typologies presented.

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”  (I Corinthians 10:1-2)

It is clear that this story and the template we have seen are very compatible.  We would not make a teaching from this alone, but if this fits with other conclusions from the scripture it becomes strong evidence that we are seeing things concerning salvation correctly.  Further strength to any conclusions are the statements from the New Testament (Paul in his letter to the Corinthians) declaring that there were baptisms of water and spirit typified in the story.

This is a single example of how the template works and is not an attempt to form solely from it any doctrine or teaching on salvation… only an illustration of how the template works.  However, that does not negate our conclusions… but they must be revisited as we continue.