What Did God Do to Accomplish Our Salvation?

Salvation is commonly seen as just the work of atonement and forgiveness of sin, but the work of salvation which God has wrought includes not only the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, but also His resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon God’s people on the Day of Pentecost.  Thus, all three Persons of the Godhead are involved in the work of salvation, making it a truly Trinitarian activity.  Understanding this lays the groundwork for explaining how this applies to us as Christians. To see this on the level of practical experience, we can look at the Apostle Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus.

Paul’s experience pointed to the crucifixion of Christ, His resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as the essential acts of salvation.  For Paul, the grace He experienced after encountering Christ could not have been possible if Christ had not paid the penalty for sin at the cross.  The crucifixion changes our position before God.  The resurrection of Christ enables our new life and gives us a Mediator with the Father.  And through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God brings us into continual communion with Christ, renovating us to conform to His image.  Indeed, this idea of our union with Christ is essential to understanding how the work that God did applies to us and moves us to the fulfillment of God’s purposes for us. 

Handout and Notes for Lesson 4

Handout for Lesson 5