Eph 807ff 5/11/88
A. Introduction. In this dispensation only, God has provided forty things for the believer at the moment of faith in Christ. These are grace gifts from God at salvation. You receive these forty things at the very moment of salvation before you have had a chance to do anything! Therefore, you obviously receive these things by grace; you don’t earn or deserve them.
B. Efficacious Grace.
1. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit makes the Gospel perspicuous in common grace. Then we receive the divine call, the divine invitation by God the Father to believe in Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus Christ, the ministry of God the Holy Spirit makes our faith effective for salvation.
2. Eph 1:13, “In whom also, when you heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation [common grace]; in whom also, when you believed [efficacious grace], you were sealed by means of the Holy Spirit.”
3. So the first thing given to you at the moment of salvation was the fact that the Holy Spirit made your faith in Jesus Christ valid.
C. The Sealing Ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit gave a signature guarantee at the very moment you believed in Jesus Christ. Sealing is the signature guarantee of God the Holy Spirit. He guarantees four things: His ministry in common and efficacious grace, eternal salvation, eternal security, your portfolio of invisible assets.
2. Since the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of other things, it is considered a separate ministry from efficacious grace.
3. It is documented in Eph 1:13, “In whom also, when you heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation [common grace]; in whom also, when you believed [efficacious grace], you were sealed by means of the Holy Spirit.” Eph 4:20; 2 Cor 1:22, “Who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our right lobes as the guarantee.”
D. An Eternal Inheritance.
1. At the moment we believe in Christ, we receive an inheritance which is eternal. We become the heirs of God. We can’t earn or deserve it.
2. Eph 1:14, “Who is the guarantee of our inheritance for the release of your assets for the praise of His glory.” Eph 1:18; Rom 8:17; Gal 3:29, 4:6-7; Eph 3:6; 1 Pet 1:4, 3:7; Heb 9:15.
3. 1 Pet 1:4, “We have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.”
4. Heb 9:15, “And for this reason, He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions [committed under the first covenant], those who have been called [divine invitation] may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
E. Regeneration.
1. Regeneration is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation whereby He creates a human spirit for the purpose of the imputation of eternal life.
2. At the moment of physical birth, we receive the imputation of human life to our soul. But at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit to which God the Father imputes eternal life. Just as we have soul life forever, we have eternal life forever.
3. This is what it means to be “born again.” It is not a physical birth, like Nicodemus thought (Jn 3). It is a spiritual birth accomplished by the Holy Spirit. We did not earn it or deserve it or do anything for it.
4. Once we receive a human spirit, we become trichotomous having a body, a soul, and a human spirit.
F. Eternal Life.
1. If you’re going to live with God forever, you must have the life of God, which is eternal life. At the moment of faith in Jesus Christ, God the Father imputes eternal life to our human spirit.
2. This is documented in Jn 3:15-16, 3:36, 10:28, 6:47; 1 Jn 5:11-13.
3. Eternal life is imputed to us forever. We don’t earn or deserve it. The unbeliever has soul life, which is everlasting life, in the lake of fire forever. But spirit life is eternal. Eternal life is living in the presence of God forever. Everlasting life is living in the lake of fire forever.
G. The Imputed Righteousness of God.
1. If you are going to live with forever, you must be as good as God is; therefore you must have the righteousness of God.
2. This is documented in Rom 3:22; 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9.
3. Rom 3:22, “Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.”
4. 2 Cor 5:21, “He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
H. Resultant Justification.
1. With the righteousness of God imputed, we are justified, Rom 3:28, 4:1-5, 25, 5:1-2, 9, 8:30; Gal 2:16, Tit 3:7.
2. Gal 2:16, “Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no person will be justified.”
3. Rom 3:28, “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”
4. Tit 3:7, “That being justified by His grace, we might be made heirs on the basis of the confidence of eternal life.”
I. Reconciliation.
1. Reconciliation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that removes the barrier between God and man.
2. Therefore, with the barrier removed, our faith in Jesus Christ causes us to simply step over the line into eternal salvation. We were reconciled to God at the moment we believed in Christ.
3. 2 Cor 5:19, “Namely that God, by means of Christ, reconciled the world to Himself by not imputing their sins to them.”
4. Rom 5:10, “For if, while we were enemies [spiritual death], we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more now being reconciled, we shall be delivered by His life.”
5. Col 1:20, “And through Him [JC] to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of the cross.”
6. Reconciliation is ratified at the moment of faith in Christ. Col 1:22, “Yet He has now reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death [substitutionary spiritual death], in order to present you before Him holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.”
J. Beneficiaries of Propitiation.
1. While reconciliation is directed toward mankind, propitiation is directed toward God.
2. Propitiation means that God the Father is satisfied with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God the Father is only satisfied with one person in history: Jesus Christ, because He remained impeccable throughout the thirty-three years of his life and while bearing our sins on the cross.
3. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are the beneficiaries of that propitiation. Since God the Father is satisfied with the work of Christ on the cross, and since we believe in Christ who performed it, therefore God the Father is satisfied with us as individuals positionally.
4. This is documented in Rom 3:22-26; 1 Jn 2:2, 4:10.
5. Rom 3:24-25, “Being justified as a gift by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God the Father has publicly displayed by His blood as the mercy seat through faith in Christ for a demonstration of His integrity, because of the passing over of previously committed sins, because of the clemency of God.”
a. The blood was sprinkled twice on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement, once for the priest and once for the people.
b. The mercy seat was constructed of wood and gold. Inside were three items that spoke of the sins of Israel. On each side was a gold cherub: one represented the righteousness of God; one represented the justice of God.
c. When the high priest came into the Holy of Holies twice on the Day of Atonement, he sprinkled blood over the top of the ark or mercy seat. That blood represented the saving work of Christ on the cross.
d. The righteousness of God looked down and was satisfied because Jesus Christ was perfect in His humanity. The justice of God judged those sins, and God the Father was satisfied with His own judgment.
6. Therefore, propitiation means that God the Father is satisfied with one offering only, the efficacious offering of our Lord Jesus Christ.
K. Beneficiaries of Unlimited Atonement.
1. Unlimited atonement means that Jesus Christ was judged on the cross for all personal sins in the history of the human race, from the first sin of Adam to the last sin committed in the Millennium.
2. Unlimited atonement means that salvation is open to anyone who will believe in Christ. Only those who believe in Christ become the beneficiaries of unlimited atonement.
3. This is documented in 2 Cor 5:14-15, 19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 Jn 2:2.
L. Beneficiaries of Redemption.
1. Redemption views salvation from the standpoint of our being in a slave market of sin. We are born into the slave market of sin. Jesus Christ paid for our freedom by His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross.
2. Therefore, redemption means that at the moment of our salvation, we are freed from the slave market of sin. We have now been liberated from slavery to Satan and to the old sin nature.
3. While reconciliation is directed toward man and propitiation is directed toward God, unlimited atonement and redemption are directed toward sin.
4. This is documented in Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; Tit 2:14; 1 Pet 1:18-19.
M. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
1. At the moment of personal faith in Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit takes every new believer and enters him into union with Christ.
2. We are in union with Christ forever and ever, and can never get out.
3. 1 Cor 12:13, “By means of one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks [Gentiles], slaves or free, and we were all made to drink into one Spirit.” 4. Gal 3:26-27, “You are the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile [no racial distinctions in Christ]; there is neither slave nor free [no social distinctions in Christ]; there is neither male nor female [no sexual discrimination], and we are all one in Christ.”
N. Created a New Spiritual Species.
1. We are created a new spiritual species.
2. There are two new species in human history.
a. The new racial species of the Jew began when Abraham was circumcised at age 99.
b. The Church Age believer, at the moment of faith in Christ, becomes a new spiritual species. This is never true in any other dispensation.
3. 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come [ten unique factors of the Church Age].”
4. Gal 6:15, “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision; but a new spiritual species.”
O. Entered into the Royal Family of God Forever.
1. There has never been a royal family of God before the Church Age.
2. Our Lord has three titles or patents.
a. Our Lord’s first royal patent is divine royalty as God, Jn 1:18, 6:46; 1 Tim 6:16; 1 Jn 4:12; Rom 1:4. These passages indicate He is the revealed member of the Godhead. His royal family is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. His royal title is Son of God, Rom 1:3.
b. Our Lord’s second royal patent is His human royalty, which began at his birth. His title is Son of David. His royal family is the dynasty of David.
c. Our Lord’s third royal patent is the victory of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, 1 Tim 6:15, 1:17; Rev 17:14, 19:16. His royal title is King of kings and Lord of lords. When God the Father said to God the Son after His ascension, “Sit down at My right hand, and I will make Your enemies Your footstool,” He was speaking to the humanity of Christ, and at that point gave Him His third royal patent. However, our Lord had no royal family. Therefore, the Church Age was inserted into history for the purpose of calling out a royal family of God.
3. The moment you believe in Christ, you became royal family of God.
4. Royalty should conduct itself in a certain way, i.e., according to the protocol plan of God. The sooner you learn to function as royalty, the better. We must learn grace and how to function graciously; we do not come by it naturally.
5. Eph 1:5, “By means of virtue-love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ on the basis of the grace purpose of His will.”
a. In the Roman custom, adoption was the means by which a Roman aristocrat would select someone, often someone other than his own son, to become his heir.
b. Likewise, we are royal family by adoption, not by birth. Since adoption took place at the new birth, we’re royal family by new birth.
P. Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity of Computer Assets.
1. There is only one thing in life that makes all people equal, and that is what God does for each believer at the moment he believes in Christ.
2. At the moment of our salvation, we are given equal privilege and equal opportunity.
3. The computer asset of election is the expression of the sovereign will of God for the Church Age believer. Equal privilege is provided in the royal priesthood; equal opportunity is provided in logistical grace.
4. The computer asset of predestination is the provision of the sovereign will of God for the Church Age believer. Equal privilege is provided in positional sanctification; equal opportunity is provided in the operational-type divine dynasphere.
Q. Positional Sanctification.
1. There are three categories of sanctification in the Christian way of life.
a. Positional sanctification is union with the person of Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation.
b. Experiential sanctification refers to the spiritual life after salvation.
c. Ultimate sanctification refers to when we receive our resurrection bodies at the Rapture.
2. Positional sanctification makes every believer in union with Christ positionally higher than angels, Heb 1-2.
3. Positional sanctification removes all the barriers related to arrogance, prejudice, antagonism, and discrimination. Positional sanctification removes: racial prejudice, cultural differences, social distinctions, personal antagonisms, economic barriers, ideological differences, sexual discrimination, environmental subjectivity, pre- salvation religious prejudice.
R. The Computer Asset of Election, Eph 1:4.
S. The Computer Asset of Predestination, Eph 1:5.
T. The Universal Priesthood of the Believer.
1. Only in this dispensation is every believer appointed a priest at the moment of salvation, 1 Pet 1:5,9; Rev 1:6, 5:10, 20:6. 2. As a priest, every believer represents himself before God.
U. The Royal Ambassadorship of the Believer.
1. At the moment of salvation, each one of us is appointed a royal ambassador. This is unique to the Church Age.
2. 2 Cor 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We invite you, on behalf of Christ, become reconciled to God.”
3. Since you are an ambassador, a part of your responsibility is witnessing for Jesus Christ. It is your responsibility to make the issue clear, for God the Holy Spirit is the sovereign executive of personal witnessing.
V. The Indwelling of God the Father.
1. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, God the Father indwells every Church Age believer, Jn 14:23; Eph 4:6; 2 Jn 9.
2. The indwelling of God the Father has a purpose.
a. It is related to the glorification of His protocol plan, Eph 1:3, 6, 12.
b. It is a guarantee of His personal ministry to every believer:
(1) As the author of our portfolio of invisible assets.
(2) As grantor of our escrow blessings for time and eternity.
(3) As the mastermind of the protocol plan.
(4) As the designer of the divine dynasphere.
W. The Indwelling of God the Son.
1. At the moment of salvation, God the Son comes to indwell the body of every believer; this is unique to the Church Age, Jn 14:20, 17:22-23; Rom 8:10; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27; 1 Jn 2:24.
2. The purpose of the indwelling of Jesus Christ.
a. It serves as a crest or an escutcheon for the royal family of God.
b. As the Shekinah Glory, His residence in us guarantees our portfolio of invisible assets.
c. As the depositary and escrow officer, Jesus Christ’s indwelling is the guarantee of the irrevocability of our escrow blessings for time and eternity.
d. It is a guarantee of eternal life for every believer, 1 Jn 5:11-13.
e. It is the basis for assigning #1 priority to Bible doctrine under the principle of occupation with the person of Christ.
X. The Indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
1. At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells the body of the Church Age believer, Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19-20; 2 Cor 6:16.
2. The Holy Spirit indwells the body of every believer for a purpose.
a. To provide a temple for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory.
b. To provide a base of operations for the utilization of His omnipotence in the execution of the protocol plan of God inside the divine dynasphere. Gate #1 of the divine dynasphere is the filling of the Spirit.
Y. The Unique Availability of Divine Power.
1. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, we have three categories of divine power available. This is an unprecedented extension to every believer. Available to us is:
a. The omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets.
b. The omnipotence of God the Son related to the preservation of the universe and the perpetuation of human history.
c. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit providing the enabling power for the perception of Bible doctrine, and related to the divine dynasphere, the power base for executing the protocol plan of God.
2. The fact that this divine power is available at salvation does not imply that most believers today ever utilize this power. In fact, most believers are powerless and useless through ignorance of Bible doctrine.
Z. The Unique Protocol Plan of God. We enter this protocol plan at the moment of faith in Christ.
AA. The Filling of the Holy Spirit.
1. This occurs for the first time at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ.
2. At the moment we believe in Christ, God the Holy Spirit picks us up and enters us into gate #1 of the divine dynasphere, the filling of the Spirit.
3. The first time the believer sins, he is outside the divine dynasphere. He can only recover through the use of the rebound technique.
BB. The Distribution of Spiritual Gifts.
1. At the moment you believe in Christ, God the Holy Spirit provides for you at least one spiritual gift.
2. The initial distribution of spiritual gifts in the first generation of the Church Age was made by God the Son, Eph 4:7-11.
3. Subsequently, God the Holy Spirit provides the spiritual gifts, based on His sovereign decision. Never complain about your spiritual gift; it is based on the wise decision of God the Holy Spirit.
CC. All Judgment Removed.
1. At the moment of your salvation, all judgment is removed. You are never again subject to the Last Judgment or the lake of fire.
2. Jn 3:18, “He who believes on Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is judged already because he has not believed in the unique person of Jesus Christ.”
3. Rom 8:1, “There is, therefore, now no judgment to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Heb 9:27-28.
4. The believer is no longer subject to the Great White Throne Judgment and the lake of fire, due to one simple act of faith in Jesus Christ.
DD. Deliverance from the Kingdom of Satan.
1. At the moment you believe in Christ, you are delivered from the authority of darkness. Col 1:13a, “For He delivered us from the authority of darkness.”
2. At the moment we believe in Christ, salvation removes us from cosmic involvement. All unbelievers are in the cosmic system under spiritual death and the control of the old sin nature.
3. For some who are demon possessed, salvation through faith in Christ removes demon possession. For others who are demon influenced, salvation through faith in Christ removes demon influence.
EE. Transferred into the Kingdom of God.
1. At the moment of our salvation, we are transferred into the kingdom of God. Col 1:13b, “And He transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
2. Therefore, everything that happened to us before salvation that could be a handicap in our lives has been eliminated. This includes whatever we were and however we failed.
3. Therefore, the only way that anything that happened to you before salvation can be a handicap is if you make it so by ignorance of Bible doctrine and ignorance of God’s policy of grace.
FF. We are a gift from God the Father to God the Son. We are a gift in that we are formed as the royal family of God, Jn 10:29, 17:2, 6, 9, 11.
GG. We are delivered from the power of the old sin nature.
1. This concept is found in Rom 2:29; Phil 3:3; Col 2:11; Eph 4:22ff.
2. At the very moment we believe in Christ, we are delivered from the power and the authority of the old sin nature.
3. As soon as we choose to sin, we get back under the authority of the old sin nature. But the rebound technique is the means by which we can escape from being under the authority of the old sin nature.
HH. We are given access to God. At the moment we believe in Christ, we start having access to God (in prayer), Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; Heb 4:14, 16, 10:19-20.
II. All scar tissue is removed from the soul.
1. During our lifetime as unbelievers, we accumulate scar tissue of the soul.
2. Scar tissue of the soul is a total hindrance to any form of permanent happiness or peace or blessing of any kind. Therefore, that scar tissue must be removed before we have can divine blessing.
3. At the moment we believe in Christ, scar tissue is removed, Isa 43:25, 44:22.
4. Through cosmic involvement, the believer can again accumulate scar tissue on the soul.
JJ. Escrow Blessings.
1. We are the recipients of escrow blessings at the moment we accept Christ as Savior. That is when our escrow blessings become applicable.
2. Billions of years ago, God the Father as the Grantor deposited into escrow greater blessings for us. In His omniscience, He knew we would believe in Christ. So He deposited into escrow greater blessings for both time and eternity.
3. These blessings are irrevocable. We are Church Age believers are the grantees. At the moment we believe in Christ, these blessings become applicable or available.
4. By growing in grace after salvation to spiritual maturity, we receive our escrow blessings for time. Then at the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will receive our escrow blessings for the eternal state.
5. All Church Age believers have equal privilege and equal opportunity to advance to spiritual maturity and receive these greater blessings.
6. However, many believers are losers instead of winners, in that they fail to use these opportunities. They are not consistent in post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation. Therefore, their escrow blessings remain on deposit in heaven forever. Since the blessings are irrevocable, they either remain on deposit for losers, or they are distributed to winners.
KK. We are on a secure foundation.
1. We are instantly on a secure foundation at the moment of our salvation, 1 Cor 3:11, 10:4; Eph 2:20.
2. We can never be removed from our secure foundation.
LL. We are related to God the Son by Biblical analogy. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the Church Age believer becomes related to God the Son through eight special Biblical analogies or relationships.
1. The Last Adam and the new creation.
2. The Head and the body. As body of Christ, we are in union with the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The Great Shepherd and the sheep.
4. The True Vine and the branches.
5. The Chief Cornerstone and the stones in the building. 6. The Great High Priest and members of the royal priesthood.
7. The Groom and the bride. Our wedding occurs at the Second Advent.
8. The King of Kings and the royal family of God.
MM. Recipients of Eternal Security.
1. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, we have eternal security.
2. There are many approaches to teaching eternal security.
a. The logical approach, Rom 8:32, “If God [the Father] spared not His own Son on the cross, but delivered Him over to judgment, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” All things includes a security that neither we nor God can break.
b. The positional approach says that once we are in union with Christ, we can’t break the union.
c. The experiential approach is found in 2 Tim 2:13, “Though we deny Him, He cannot deny us.”
d. The family approach is taught in Gal 3:26, “We are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” At the point of our salvation, we were born into the family of God; we cannot be unborn from God’s family. Once a son; always a son. You will always be a child of God.
e. The inheritance approach is found in 1 Pet 1:5.
f. There is also the body of Christ approach.
3. There is nothing God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit can do to cancel our salvation after we believe in Jesus Christ, and there is nothing we can do either. There is no renunciation, no system of sin, no evil, no failure or blasphemy on our part that can ever cancel our salvation.
NN. Guaranteed a Resurrection Body Forever.
1. At the moment anyone believes in Jesus Christ, he is guaranteed a resurrection body, a perfect body forever.
2. Jn 11:25, “Jesus said to her [Martha], `I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall live, even if he dies.’”
3. Dying does not keep us from having a resurrection body; only unbelief in Christ does that.
OO. Beneficiaries of Problem Solving Devices.
1. At the moment we believe in Christ, whatever problems we have had in the past, and whatever our inadequacies, God makes available to us problem solving devices.
2. Like the other forty things, we are not aware of these problem solving devices at the point of our salvation. Awareness comes through consistent post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation.
3. These problem solving devices are exclusive to the believer only.
a. The rebound technique is the only way we can recover fellowship with God after we have sinned. We simply name our sins, and according to 1 Jn 1:9, “ If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Rebound is all grace; no human works, human merit, or penance can be added. This is because in rebound, you are simply citing, naming, or acknowledging a sin already judged on the cross.
b. The filling of the Spirit results from using rebound.
c. The faith-rest drill mixes the promises of God with your faith. This is how you develop a strong faith by meeting your problems with promises you find in the Bible.
d. Grace orientation.
e. Doctrinal orientation is the constant need to put doctrine first in your life and to function under perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine.
f. Personal love for God the Father is your motivational virtue.
g. Impersonal love for all mankind is your functional virtue, the only way in which you can handle people problems.
h. +H is sharing the happiness of God.
i. A personal sense of destiny.
j. Occupation with the person of Christ.
4. Again, these problem solving devices are available at the moment of your salvation, but they are not usable apart from post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation.
PP. Conclusion.
1. The believer should be made aware of these forty things as soon as possible after salvation, so that he can express his options for spiritual growth and glorification of God.
2. These forty things which we receive at salvation are the basis for grace orientation, experiential sanctification, execution of the protocol plan of God, and glorification of God in the great power experiment of the Church Age.
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© 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
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