Using Correct Terminology (Part 8) – Five Phases of Salvation (Part A)

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Five Phases of Salvation

1. The means by which God saves men from their sins includes several phases beginning before the foundation of the world and ending at the end of time.
   1. There are five distinct phases of God’s plan of salvation, which are:
      1. The Planning Phase – Salvation from the Plan of sin
      2. The Legal Phase – Salvation from the Penalty of sin
      3. The Vital Phase – Salvation from the Power of sin
      4. The Practical Phase – Salvation from the Practice of sin
      5. The Final Phase – Salvation from the Presence of sin
   2. Each of the five phases of salvation happen in Christ.
2. The predicament of sin
   1. When Adam sinned, as the federal head of the human race, he placed the entire human race in a state of sin and spiritual death (Gen 2:17 c/w Gen 3:6 c/w Rom 5:12).
   2. In that state of sin, men are not able to be subject to the law of God (Rom 8:7), to please God (Rom 8:8), to hear God’s words (Joh 8:43-47), to understand the gospel (1Co 1:18; 1Co 2:14), or to believe in Christ (Joh 10:26).
   3. God looked down on all men (Jews and Gentiles) to see if there were any that would understand and seek Him and He found NOT ONE (Psa 14:2-3 c/w Rom 3:9-12).
   4. Therefore, if any were going to be saved from their sins, God would have to devise a plan whereby He would sovereignly save them.

The Planning Phase – Salvation from the Plan of sin

1. 1. 1. The plan of salvation was conceived in the mind of God before the world was.
         1. This phase took place before the world began.
         2. This phase is a necessary prerequisite for all the subsequent phases.
      2. Before the foundation of the world, knowing that Adam would fall and defile all of his posterity, and viewing all of mankind as a fallen lump (Rom 9:21), God decided that He would choose a portion of them (His elect) and give them to Jesus Christ (who would be born in time as the Word made flesh – Joh 1:1, 14) to bear their sins on the cross to make them holy (Eph 1:4).
      3. The Father elected them to have their sins atoned for by the blood of Christ (1Pe 1:2).
      4. God predestinated His elect to be His children by adoption through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:5) according to His purpose and His own will (Eph 1:11).
         1. Purpose n. – 1. a. That which one sets before oneself as a thing to be done or attained; the object which one has in view.
         2. God purposed to save His elect by His grace before the world began (2Ti 1:9).
         3. God promised their eternal life before the world began (Tit 1:2).
      5. This phase happened in Christ in covenant (Eph 1:4; 2Ti 1:9).
      6. The elect had nothing to do with the planning phase since it happened before they existed.

The Legal Phase – Salvation from the Penalty of sin

1. The next phase of the plan of salvation would be for Jesus to bear the sins of His elect and make legal payment for them.
   1. This phase took place in approximately 33AD when Jesus died on the cross.
   2. This phase is dependent on the planning phase.
   3. This phase is a necessary prerequisite for the next three phases.
2. The penalty for sin is death (Rom 6:23).
3. Jesus lived a sinless life and then died for the sins of His elect in their stead (2Co 5:21; 1Pe 2:22, 24; Isa 53:5; Joh 10:15).
   1. God reconciled His elect to Himself by Christ’s death on the cross (2Co 5:19; Rom 5:10).
   2. God condemned sin in the flesh by sending His Son in the flesh (Rom 8:3).
   3. Christ’s death on the cross justified (to declare free from the penalty of sin on the ground of Christ’s righteousness) all of the elect (Rom 5:9).
4. This phase happened in Christ (2Co 5:19; Gal 2:20).
5. The legal phase is contingent on the planning phase (1Pe 1:2; 1Pe 1:18-20).
6. The elect had nothing to do with the legal phase since it happened before many of them existed and after many of them were dead.