“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ( Rom 7:24)
This is the third blog regarding “soul-salvation.” There are only two terms in the New Testament correctly translated “love,” “agape” and “philia.” For the Christian, agape is an act of the will choosing to do the will of God. Philia is the desire for what is righteous and holy. Both are expressions of the soul.
Unfortunately, those who suppose other terms for love fail to exegete and define the concept of love in the context of the whole of the New Testament. Perhaps the greatest failure is the inclusion of the term, epithumia, as “love.” The term is translated in the KJV as “desire,” “concupiscence,” and “lust.” The majority of the occurrences are translated as “lust.” The NASB translates it as “coveting.” In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, particularly in chapters 6 and 7, he refers to epithumia and its cognates in a manner that clearly defines their meaning.
Epithumia consists of two terms, epi, a preposition meaning upon, and thumos, meaning passion or a strong desire. Microsoft Copilot states:
Thymos (θυμός) is never used in a positive sense anywhere in the New Testament. Every NT occurrence carries a negative or destructive connotation…
Unfortunately, in the Americanization of the gospel, new Christians are led to believe that being born of God is a single act. Some even teach that once saved, we become sinless. Others teach that if a child of God sins, he loses his salvation and must be saved again. The error is in misunderstanding soul-salvation.
In the book of Romans, Paul speaks in terms of life and death regarding the soul. He is not referring to physical life and death. He weaves these terms together, describing the battle against wrongful desires, epithumia, in this life under the sun. He wrote:
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, . . .so we too might walk in newness of life. . . .if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. (Rom 6:4-10)
In chapter 7, Paul describes the battles every Christian encounters in this new life in Christ. These ongoing battles require soul-salvation. Elsewhere, he repeats this in different words
…that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection . . . being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Phil 3:10-12)
Spirit-salvation does not end the struggle with the desires of the flesh. It may even unleash a fierce battle between the flesh and spirit. The armament to win this battle is Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It is the Church. Yet when the message given each Sunday focuses on spirit-salvation to the neglect of soul-salvation, the Church fails in its primary mission, soul-salvation.