Salvation—Already Here, It’s Just Not Complete… Yet
Salvation, as it’s laid out from Genesis to Revelation, isn’t a footnote or a formula—it’s the spine of the whole story. And it’s not just about a one-time “getting saved” event, and it’s not only a promise waiting in the sky when you die. It’s something that already exists, right now, in the believer’s life—but also something we’re still waiting for, still pressing toward, still aching to see completed. That’s the tension Scripture never shies away from: salvation is already, but it’s also not yet.
And once you see it, you realize this “already, not yet” thread weaves through everything. It’s in the wilderness, it’s in the Cross, it’s in your own soul when you feel the pull of grace and the grind of suffering in the same breath. This is no static theology—it’s a living journey.
Let’s start at the beginning—the Old Testament, where the word for salvation is yesha (יֵשַׁע), from the root y-sh-‘ (י–ש–ע). This root carries a strong, clear meaning: to save, to deliver, to rescue, to snatch from danger and bring into a place of safety or peace. It’s not passive. It’s not polite. It’s a desperate cry and a divine response.
The word yesha shows up in some of the most vivid, life-or-death moments in the Tanakh. When King Hezekiah is facing destruction at the hands of the Assyrians, Isaiah tells him not to fear, because the salvation—yesha—of YHWH is at hand (Isaiah 37:35). When David cries out in Psalm 3:8, “Salvation belongs to the LORD,” the Hebrew is liYHWH haYeshua, pointing to God alone as the source of deliverance.
But one of the most iconic uses is the Exodus. The Israelites are cornered—Pharaoh’s army behind, the Red Sea ahead. They’re out of options. Then Moses says:
“Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation (יְשׁוּעַת Yeshua) of YHWH.” (Exodus 14:13)
The word used here, yeshuat, is a feminine construct form of yesha—and yes, it’s the same root as Yeshua, the name of Jesus. This isn’t accidental. What the Israelites experienced at the Red Sea—complete deliverance through no strength of their own—is a shadow of the ultimate Yeshuah, the Messiah.
But that Red Sea moment? That wasn’t the end. That was just the beginning. They were saved from slavery, but they hadn’t reached the land. They were out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn’t out of them yet. That’s where the process of salvation begins—walking through the wilderness, learning to trust the One who rescued them, failing, repenting, being sustained by fire, cloud, manna.
Their yesha was real. But it wasn’t yet complete. And neither is ours.
That truth carries forward into the New Testament, where salvation comes into sharper, deeper focus with the word sōtēria (σωτηρία) and its root verb sōzō (σῴζω). The noun sōtēria means deliverance, rescue, preservation, and even well-being. The verb sōzō expands the meaning: to save, yes, but also to heal, to restore, to make whole. We’re not just talking about being saved from hell—we’re talking about being made whole in body, soul, spirit, and creation.
Take Matthew 9:22. The woman who had been bleeding for twelve very long years pushes through the crowd and touches the edge of Yeshua’s garment. He turns and says,
“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”
That phrase “made you well” is sōzō—it means “you’ve been saved.” But not in the modern evangelical sense of “you said a prayer.” No, it’s deeper. Her body is healed, her shame is erased, her place in society restored. She was not just made better—she was made whole. That is sōzō. That is present-tense salvation.
Paul echoes this in Ephesians 2:8–9,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves—it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast.”
The Greek verb for “have been saved” is in the perfect passive participle1—meaning the action was completed in the past, but the results are still ongoing. You were saved then, and that saving power is still saving you now.
But then Paul turns right around in Romans 8:24 and says,
“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope. Who hopes for what he already sees?”
So which is it—are we saved, or are we hoping to be saved? The answer is both. We’ve already crossed the Red Sea—but we haven’t entered the Promised Land. We’ve received salvation—but we haven’t yet seen its fullness.
This gets even clearer in Romans 8:22–23,
“We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now. And not only this, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits (aparchē, ἀπαρχή) of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons—the redemption of our bodies.”
We have the Spirit—the down payment, the guarantee—but we’re still groaning. Because the body isn’t fully redeemed yet. The world isn’t healed yet. Sin is still here. Death still stings. The earth is still broken. But the Spirit in us says, “Hold on—it’s coming.”
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul calls Christ’s resurrection the firstfruits of what’s to come. He says that what happened to Jesus—resurrected, glorified, transformed—that’s what’s coming for all who belong to Him. That’s why salvation isn’t just about forgiveness. It’s about resurrection, restoration, re-creation. The whole created order is being redeemed. The curse of Genesis is being reversed. The thorns are coming off the roses.
And yet, in the middle of all this theology—this beautiful paradox—we are still living here. In this broken, unjust, painful world. That’s why Romans 8:18 hits like thunder:
“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
That’s the cry of someone who knows salvation has begun—but is still waiting with eyes lifted and heart burning for the not yet.
Yeshua said in John 5:24,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death into life.”
That’s the already. You’ve passed. You’ve crossed over. But then He also says in the Lord’s Prayer to ask: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Why would we pray that if the Kingdom was already complete? Because we are still waiting for its final breaking in.
And it’s coming. In Revelation 21:3–4, John writes:
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
That’s the not yet. That’s the day when salvation, which began in Eden, was blood-bought at Calvary, will be crowned and completed. And nothing will be broken ever again.
So what does that mean for us now?
It means we live in tension—but not in despair. We live in the already of redemption—sealed by the Spirit, free from condemnation, walking in newness of life. But we also live in the not yet – of longing—groaning with creation, grieving with hope, and refusing to let go of the promise.
We don’t wait passively. We press forward. We carry Kingdom seeds into the dirt of this world. We bring hope into hospitals, truth into the chaos, healing into the cracks. And we keep our lamps burning, because our Bridegroom is coming.
So yes—we are saved.
And yes—we are still being saved.
And yes—the fullness of salvation is coming with the King of Glory.
Until then, we live with eyes lifted to the Heavens and hearts steady.
Because what’s begun in us will be completed in Him.
Salvation is already here. It’s just not done… yet.
Image done by chatgpt at my direction
1Perfect Passive Participle – It means the action has already happened, and the person or thing had it done to them. Like “the torn curtain”; it didn’t tear itself, it was torn. Simple as that.