Some Thoughts

Today we took up the last topic in our series on the foundations of the faith, namely, The Doctrine of Redemption (Redemption Applied). Together with Redemption Accomplished, [Creation, and Providence] this could be subsumed under the greater heading of “The Works of God.”

We began by reviewing our last session on Redemption Accomplished, remembering Christ’s work as Prophet, Priest, and King. I referenced Hebrews 10:14 [show] [14]For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (ESV)
, pointing out that the purchase of redemption can be seen in the first part of the verse (For by a single offering he has perfected for all time…), and the application of it in the second (…them that are being sanctified). We then looked at Romans 8:28-30 [show] [28]And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29]For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30]And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)
, noting that there are important distinctions to understand, both in our own devotional relationship with Christ, and in our evangelistic efforts. Incorrect theory leads to ineffective practice, and ineffective practice fails to be fruitful. Part of our “cultural mandate” (Matt. 28:16-20 [show] [16]Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17]And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18]And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19]Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20]teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV)
) includes a responsibility to understand this. So, we started by going through the various aspects of the entire process of salvation, using Part II of John Murray’s excellent little book, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, as a guide.

• The Various aspects of the Redemption Fully Purchased by Christ.
1. Effectual Calling. The call in which “his sheep hear his voice.” Different from the general, gospel call. Matt. 11:25-26, 22 [show] [25]At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; [26]yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (ESV) [22]But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. (ESV)
   :14; Romans 8:30 [show] [30]And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)
   ; 1 Cor. 1:9 [show] [9]God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (ESV)
   ; Ephesians 1-2 [show] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: [2]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [3]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4]even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love [5]he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, [6]to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. [7]In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, [8]which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight [9]making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10]as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. [11]In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, [12]so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [13]In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14]who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. [15]For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, [16]I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, [17]that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, [18]having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, [19]and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might [20]that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, [21]far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. [22]And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, [23]which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2]in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- [3]among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4]But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- [6]and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [11]Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- [12]remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13]But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14]For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15]by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16]and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. [17]And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. [18]For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [19]So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20]built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21]in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22]In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (ESV)
   ; 1 John 3:1 [show] See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (ESV)
   ; 2 Tim. 1:9 [show] [9]who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, (ESV)
   . Generally considered the special role of the Father in the covenant of redemption (though all three persons of the Godhead are involved in every aspect of creation, providence and redemption). This call is eternal and irrevocable (John 6:37-38 [show] [37]All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. [38]For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. (ESV)
   ; Romans 11:29 [show] [29]For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (ESV)
   ).
2. Regeneration. “That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.” John 3 [show] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2]This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4]Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" [5]Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6]That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7]Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' [8]The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." [9]Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" [10]Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? [11]Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. [12]If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? [13]No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. [14]And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15]that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [16]"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17]For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18]Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19]And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20]For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21]But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." [22]After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. [23]John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized [24](for John had not yet been put in prison). [25]Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. [26]And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." [27]John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. [28]You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' [29]The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. [30]He must increase, but I must decrease." [31]He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. [32]He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. [33]Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. [34]For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. [35]The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36]Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
   . We must be born again before we can express faith, “enter the kingdom,” or even “see the kingdom.” This rebirth is precisely the promise of the New Covenant. As the Cambridge Declaration (1996) correctly (re)states, “Faith cannot be produced by our unregenerate nature.” See the story of Lazarus for a great illustration/analogy of this process (John 11 [show] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2]It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. [3]So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4]But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." [5]Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6]So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. [7]Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." [8]The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9]Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10]But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." [11]After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." [12]The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." [13]Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. [14]Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, [15]and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16]So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." [17]Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18]Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19]and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20]So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. [21]Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22]But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." [23]Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24]Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." [25]Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26]and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27]She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." [28]When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29]And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. [30]Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. [31]When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32]Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33]When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. [34]And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35]Jesus wept. [36]So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37]But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" [38]Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. [39]Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." [40]Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" [41]So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42]I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." [43]When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44]The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." [45]Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, [46]but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47]So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. [48]If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." [49]But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. [50]Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." [51]He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, [52]and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. [53]So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. [54]Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. [55]Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. [56]They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?" [57]Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him. (ESV)
   ). The point of John 3 [show] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2]This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." [3]Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4]Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" [5]Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6]That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7]Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' [8]The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." [9]Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" [10]Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? [11]Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. [12]If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? [13]No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. [14]And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15]that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [16]"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17]For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18]Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19]And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20]For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21]But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." [22]After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. [23]John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized [24](for John had not yet been put in prison). [25]Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. [26]And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." [27]John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. [28]You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' [29]The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. [30]He must increase, but I must decrease." [31]He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. [32]He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. [33]Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. [34]For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. [35]The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36]Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
   is the necessity of the new birth for salvation, and the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is neither baptismal or decisional–it is entirely monergistic and not synergistic (more, deeper still). Regeneration is the work of God alone.
3. Repentance and Faith. A turning away from false pleasures (sin, the flesh, the world, the devil) toward holy pleasures (Christ, purity, chastity, godliness, etc.). A fundamental correction of our innermost “wants.” The result, not the cause, of regeneration. John 1:12-13 [show] [12]But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13]who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV)
   . Whereas regeneration is the work of God alone, repentance and faith (though a gift) are the work of man alone. The Holy Spirit enables this work–enablement which is itself a gift (Acts 11:18, 16 [show] [18]When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." (ESV) [16]And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' (ESV)
   :14; 2 Timothy 2:25 [show] [25]correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, (ESV)
   ; Romans 10 [show] Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. [2]For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. [3]For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. [4]For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. [5]For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. [6]But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) [7]or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). [8]But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); [9]because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10]For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11]For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." [12]For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. [13]For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [14]How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15]And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" [16]But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" [17]So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. [18]But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." [19]But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry." [20]Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me." [21]But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people." (ESV)
   , Lazarus example again). (I paused here to give the compass needle example–that we do not turn by external coercion, but by a fundamental change in our internal ‘principle,’ or ‘impetus,’ or ‘driver’ – the very composition of our nature is changed to be more attracted by God than by sin…so we turn.) These are a condition of salvation–where election is unconditional, salvation is not. We must repent and believe in Christ.
4. Justification. A declaration of our righteous standing before God, on the basis of Christ’s imputed righteousness. As John Stott said about 2 Cor. 5:21 [show] [21]For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)
   , “…Christ has no sin but ours, and we have no righteousness but his.” An event that happens on the basis of faith alone (or, sola fide) — the material cause of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. “It is faith alone that justifies; but the faith that justifies is never alone.” In contradistinction from the Roman catholic doctrine that justification is the reward of faith and good works, and which must be ‘sustained’ or ‘maintained’ by faith and good works, or which can be increased. (more - see Canon IX, XI, XII, XXIV, XXV, XXX, XXXII). Romans, Phil. 3 [show] Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. [2]Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. [3]For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- [4]though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5]circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6]as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. [7]But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8]Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9]and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- [10]that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11]that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12]Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13]Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14]I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [15]Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16]Only let us hold true to what we have attained. [17]Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. [18]For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19]Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20]But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21]who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)
   , Galatians, etc. Justification is an event, which precedes Sanctification.
5. Adoption. John 1:12-13 [show] [12]But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13]who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV)
   ; Romans 8:15-16 [show] [15]For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (ESV)
   ; Galatians 4:6 [show] [6]And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (ESV)
   ; Hebrews 2, 9-10 [show] Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [2]For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, [3]how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, [4]while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. [5]Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. [6]It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? [7]You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, [8]putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. [9]But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. [10]For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. [11]For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, [12]saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." [13]And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me." [14]Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, [15]and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. [16]For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. [17]Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [18]For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (ESV) Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. [2]For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. [3]Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, [4]having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. [5]Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. [6]These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, [7]but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. [8]By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing [9](which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, [10]but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. [11]But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) [12]he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. [13]For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, [14]how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. [15]Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. [16]For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. [17]For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. [18]Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. [19]For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, [20]saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you." [21]And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. [22]Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. [23]Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24]For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. [25]Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, [26]for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27]And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, [28]so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. [2]Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? [3]But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. [4]For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [5]Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; [6]in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. [7]Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" [8]When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), [9]then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second. [10]And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11]And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12]But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [13]waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. [14]For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. [15]And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16]"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," [17]then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." [18]Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. [19]Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, [20]by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21]and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22]let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23]Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24]And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25]not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. [26]For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27]but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. [28]Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [29]How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? [30]For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." [31]It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [32]But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, [33]sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. [34]For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. [35]Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. [36]For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. [37]For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; [38]but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." [39]But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (ESV)
   ; 1 John 3:1 [show] See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (ESV)
   ; Matthew 6:9 [show] [9]Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
   . A most glorious truth, that God makes his enemies sons, whom he brings to his table and to his throne to rule alongside him.
6. Sanctification. The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, whose trials and tribulations are never punishments or condemnation, but the loving discipline of our heavenly Father. It is a process, not an event, and will not be complete until we are glorified with Him. Romans 6-8 [show] What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2]By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3]Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4]We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [5]For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6]We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7]For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8]Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9]We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10]For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11]So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12]Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13]Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [14]For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. [15]What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! [16]Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17]But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, [18]and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. [19]I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. [20]For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. [21]But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. [22]But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. [23]For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Or do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to those who know the law--that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? [2]For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. [3]Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. [4]Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. [5]For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. [6]But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. [7]What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." [8]But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. [9]I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. [10]The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. [11]For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. [12]So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. [13]Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. [14]For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. [15]For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [16]Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. [17]So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [18]For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19]For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [20]Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [21]So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. [22]For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23]but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. [24]Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [25]Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2]For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3]For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4]in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5]For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6]For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7]For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8]Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9]You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10]But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11]If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. [12]So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13]For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14]For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15]For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. [18]For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19]For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20]For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21]that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22]For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [23]And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [24]For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? [25]But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [26]Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. [27]And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. [28]And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29]For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30]And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. [31]What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32]He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [33]Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34]Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35]Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36]As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." [37]No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38]For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39]nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)
   outlines the struggles of a believer, the fight between the new internal principle of the Spirit (or, the ‘new man’) against the desires of the flesh (or, the ‘old man’). Enablement to fight this fight is itself a gift of God; and part of the full redemption purchased by Christ on Calvary. Hebrews 10:14 [show] [14]For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (ESV)
   ; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5 [show] [3]For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV) [5]not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; (ESV)
   :23.
7. Perseverance. Also part of the ‘full redemption’ purchased by Christ on Calvary. It is the distinguishing mark of a true saint, that he perseveres to the end. “Perseverance proves election–so persevere!” John 8:31-32 [show] [31]So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, [32]and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (ESV)
   ; Hebrews 3:6,14, 10 [show] [6]but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. (ESV) [14]For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (ESV) [10]Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.'
   :14 (note verb tenses); Hebrews 6 [show] Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, [2]and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [3]And this we will do if God permits. [4]For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, [5]and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6]and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. [7]For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. [8]But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. [9]Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things--things that belong to salvation. [10]For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. [11]And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, [12]so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. [13]For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14]saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." [15]And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. [16]For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. [17]So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, [18]so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19]We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, [20]where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)
   (esp. vv. 9-12); Phil. 2:13 [show] [13]for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)
   ; 1 Peter 1:10 [show] [10]Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, (ESV)
   . As Piper has said, “we shall persevere and we must persevere!” Important to understanding this correctly is the doctrine of concurrence, discussed previously under the heading of the Doctrine of Providence.
8. Union with Christ. What Christ prayed for in John 17 [show] When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, [2]since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. [3]And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. [4]I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. [5]And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. [6]"I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. [7]Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. [8]For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. [9]I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. [10]All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. [11]And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. [12]While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. [13]But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. [14]I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [15]I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [16]They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17]Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. [18]As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19]And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. [20]"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21]that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22]The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23]I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. [24]Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. [25]O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. [26]I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (ESV)
   . Union with Christ, or (for Paul) being “in Christ” is a huge theme of Christianity–in fact, being in Christ is the nature and purpose, the means and the end, of Christianity–communion with Christ. 1 John 1:3 [show] [3]that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (ESV)
   .
9. Glorification. Our hope, the result of being with Christ. We shall see him as he is, and we shall know as we are known–the perfect will have come. We shall have new bodies–incorruptible. Death shall be swallowed up in life, Joy will always increase and never level off or decrease, it will always ebb and never flow, always rise and never diminish, it will grow increasingly more intense and never grow weary. Phil. 3 [show] Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. [2]Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. [3]For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- [4]though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5]circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6]as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. [7]But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8]Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9]and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- [10]that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11]that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12]Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13]Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14]I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [15]Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16]Only let us hold true to what we have attained. [17]Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. [18]For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19]Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20]But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21]who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)
   is the cry for this state; many other verses too numerous to list.
• We didn’t have time for it, but here I hoped to go through Questions 29-36 of The Westminster Catechism.
• I’d also prepared a chart comparing and contrasting the different views of today’s topic, namely Calvinism and Arminianism, which we didn’t get to. (Probably just as well.)

I wrapped up the class, and the course, with the amazing illustration of the essence of the Christian Life Sam Storms uses in Chapter 7 (“Sweeter Than All Pleasure”) of his excellent little book, OneThing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God…which I won’t give away here. For those who’ve read, or for those who will read, it’s the contrast between how Odysseus and Jason meet the Sirens’ Song. Pick up Dr. Storm’s book, and get the good stuff right from the source.

For those who attended the course, thank you so much for the honor and the privilege to teach you from His Word each week. The pressure drove me further into Him and His word, and I learned wonderful things from Him, and through you and your questions as well. I hope and pray these weeks have been instructional as well as inspirational, informative and reformative, that your heads have been enlightened and your hearts set ablaze for the glory of Christ Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

We’ll wrap up the series this evening at 6:30pm at the church, as Pastor Greg graciously leads us through the doctrinal distinctives of the Advent Christian denomination. Oh and yes…there will be pizza. Hope to see you there!