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How Can We Have Eternal Life through Jesus Christ? · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to The Deep Dive, the audio where we cut through the
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noise to get you quickly and thoroughly informed on vital
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topics. For those tracking, along with
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our broader body of content, today's Deep Dive is firmly
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situated within reformed thinking.
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We're diving into, well, the architecture of life itself, the
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theological structure of salvation, how eternal life is
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obtained, understood and maintained.
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And this material, it really gets into what's arguably the
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biggest question of human existence, the one all our
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source documents wrestle with. How can sinners who Scripture
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describes, as, you know, guilty, helpless, spiritually dead, how
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can they possibly come to share in the life of a holy God?
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It really does seem like an insurmountable gap.
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It is an insurmountable gap, certainly from the human side.
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And that's precisely why the answer provided by the sources,
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the core Gospel thesis, is so radical.
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I suppose it gives us that simple, yet well profound
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statement that frames the entire discussion.
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We have eternal life by grace alone, through faith alone in
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Christ alone. And this entire saving work,
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It's planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and
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applied by the Holy Spirit, all within the one overarching
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covenant of grace. But before we go any further, we
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really need to clarify our terms, specifically eternal
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life. When we hear that phrase, I
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think many people instinctively think just of time, you know,
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unending existence. The sources stress that while
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duration is certainly part of it, the primary meaning actually
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refers to quality. Christ himself defines it in
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John 17.3. This is eternal life, that they
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know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
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OK, so it's not just about living forever after death.
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It's a relationship that starts well now.
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Precisely the sources define it as covenantal communion with the
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triune God through the mediator Jesus Christ.
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And that word for no the Greek gingoscope.
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That's key here. It's not just intellectual data
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retrieval like knowing a fact. It signifies deep personal,
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relational fellowship and experience.
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This Zudayanios, this life of the age to come.
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It's a participation in divine fellowship that starts the
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moment we're united to Christ. It's relational knowing that
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accents both with its quality and its duration.
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OK, let's unpack this then, because to really appreciate the
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solution, we have to genuinely grapple with the severity of the
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problem. If eternal life is this
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communion with a holy God, then the primary obstacle has to be
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our unholiness, our sin. So what is the biblical
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diagnosis of the human condition, the one that makes
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God's remedy not just helpful but absolutely necessary?
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The diagnosis the sources provide as well.
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It's unflinching, and it's twofold, addressing both our
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standing before God and our internal state.
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Humans suffer from both guilt and corruption.
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First, guilt. This is a forensic reality, a
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legal, objective problem. It issues directly from Adam's
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first transgression. According to the sources, Adam
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acted as the federal head for all humanity.
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This means his first sin is reckoned or imputed to all his
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descendants. OK, let's pause on imputation
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and federal headship for just a moment.
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These are sort of academic terms, but they carry a lot of
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weight for our listener who might be encountering this for
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the first time. What does that mean in simple
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terms? Why are we considered guilty for
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a choice we didn't personally make?
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Yeah, that's a necessary clarification.
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It's a hard concept sometimes. Think of maybe a head of state
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signing a treaty, or perhaps a representative making a binding
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decision for a group. When Adam fell, he wasn't just
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acting as a private individual. He was acting as the
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representative for all those who would descend from him
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naturally. So when he broke the covenant of
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works, the legal status, that guilt was reckoned to all of us.
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That's what the sources mean by original sin being imputed.
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We are initially guilty because we chose to sin.
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Later on, we're born under God's righteous displeasure because of
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our covenantal connection to Adam.
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By nature, Paul says, we are children of wrath.
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This guilt is a fixed legal debt we inherit.
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Second, beyond that legal debt, there's corruption.
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This is the existential reality, our inherent state.
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The Bible states humans are dead in trespasses and sins.
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Ephesians 2.1 and the Greek word used there is necroy, meaning
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literally dead. And the sources are very
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insistent, aren't they, that dead doesn't just mean sick or
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weak? Absolutely.
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And this isn't just playing with words.
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It fundamentally changes the entire approach to a remedy.
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If you're merely sick, maybe any medicine, a doctor, perhaps some
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encouragement to try harder. But if you are dead, you need
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life itself. You need resurrection.
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The analogy of a corpse is often used.
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Corpse cannot choose to rouse itself.
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It can't respond to stimulus. It can't seek treatment.
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Spiritual death means alienation from God and, critically, total
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inability to respond favorably to Him.
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This inability is expressed through the doctrine of total
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depravity. Now, this doesn't mean every
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person is as wicked as they could possibly be.
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God's common grace restrains that, thankfully.
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But it does mean sin has pervaded every single faculty of
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the human being. The sources describe the mind as
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darkened, unable to grasp spiritual truth correctly, the
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affections disordered, preferring created things over
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the Creator, and the will enslaved, unable to choose the
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good that pleases God. OK.
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Here's where it gets really interesting, I think, because we
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often intuitively believe we're basically good or maybe just
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neutral and just need a little boost or guidance.
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But the sources provide biblical claims that really challenge the
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deeply held human assumption. What does this spiritual
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paralysis look like in action, particularly concerning our will
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and our ability to actually seek God?
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Well, look at Romans 8 verses 7 and 8.
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That's foundational here. It says the mindset on the flesh
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does not submit to God's law. Indeed it cannot.
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That cannot is definitive. We are simply unable to please
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God or perform actions that truly merit His favor, because
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even our best acts are tainted by self-interest or, you know,
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imperfect motives. The human will isn't free to
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choose God. It's bound to sin.
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And Jesus gives the ultimate verdict on this.
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Inability doesn't. He says no one can come to me
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unless the Father who sent me draws him in.
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John 6.4, Four. That isn't about permission.
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It's a statement of capability, or rather, incapability.
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Apart from divine intervention, we remain hostile toward God.
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So the consequence is clear. The ground has been cleared
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entirely for grace. The problem is summarized as
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being guilty by imputation, corrupt by nature, impotent by
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bondage, dead, hostile, and helpless.
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If humanity could contribute even a small part, well, the
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solution wouldn't need to be so radical.
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But because we are utterly incapable, the solution must be
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entirely outside of us. Right.
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If we are helpless, dead under a legal sentence, then the hope
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has to come from an outside source, one strong enough to
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address all those problems at once.
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And This is why the sources center everything, absolutely
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everything, on the person of Jesus Christ.
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The problem is cosmic guilt before a holy God.
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The solution has to be divine. It absolutely must be both
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divine and human simultaneously. In fact, the sources established
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Christ as the only mediator between God and sinners.
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There's no other way. He had to be true God to possess
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the infinite worth required to satisfy God's infinite justice
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and, crucially, defeat death. But he also had to be true man,
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assuming human nature, yet without sin, as Hebrews 4.15
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tells us. This was so he could stand as
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humanity's representative and render the obedience man owed to
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God and also bear the curse man deserved from God.
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Christ performs the saving work through his three mediatorial
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offices. These describe the distinct ways
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he fulfilled his Commission. First, as prophet, he reveals
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the Father. He is the ultimate word of God.
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John 1.1 says He declares God's truth and causes it to dwell in
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our hearts. By the Spirit.
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He teaches us what we must believe about God and what duty
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God requires of us. Second, as priest, this is where
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he offered himself once for all to satisfy divine justice.
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This great sacrifice that she's reconciliation, taking away our
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sin. He's the Lamb of God.
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And now, having accomplished that perfect sacrifice, Hebrew
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says he ever lives to intercede for us.
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That's Hebrew 7.27. This ongoing intercessory role
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ensures the continuation of the benefits he secured at the
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cross. 3rd, as King, he seduced us to himself.
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He rules and defends US against all enemies, both internal like
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our remaining sin, and external like Satan, the world and death
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itself. His ascension confirmed his
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enthronement. You see in Ephesians 1, he now
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reigns over all things for the good of his people.
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These three offices, prophet, priest, king, they really
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encapsulate the entirety of his work, his life, death,
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resurrection, ascension, and his ongoing reign.
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Now let's focus in on that saving work, the part that
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provides the actual ground of our salvation.
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The sources make a really critical distinction here.
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Christ's obedience wasn't just about his dying, it was his
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entire life. Can you walk us through the two
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inseparable aspects of this obedience?
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Yes, this distinction is crucial because it ensures believers
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receive a perfect standing before God, not just, you know,
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a clean slate. Christ's saving obedience is
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typically divided into active obedience and passive obedience.
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Passive obedience is probably what most people think of first,
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His obedience suffering unto death, culminating in the cross.
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This was where He bore our curse, satisfying divine
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justice. It was a penal propitiatory
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death, meaning He suffered the penalty in our place to appease
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God's just wrath against sin. OK, but if he only died for our
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sins, his passive obedience, that just takes care of the
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penalty, right? The debt we owed.
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It sort of brings us back to neutral, doesn't it?
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Doesn't seem like that alone would earn us eternal life,
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which seems to require positive, perfect righteousness.
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That is the key insight. Exactly.
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If he only paid the fine, we'd still be left standing there
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without the positive righteousness required for
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heaven. That's where active obedience
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comes in. This was his lifelong flawless
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conformity to God's law, fulfilling the law for us
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perfectly. From the moment of his
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conception to the moment of his death, He met the requirement of
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perfect obedience that Adam, and consequently all of us failed to
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keep. The sources strongly affirm that
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you need both. Passive obedience removes the
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condemnation the hell we deserve.
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Active obedience earns the positive right to heaven.
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The eternal life Adam forfeited, and the glory of salvation rests
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on imputation. Our sin and guilt were legally
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reckoned to Christ on the cross and His perfect two.
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Full righteousness, both active and passive, is legally reckoned
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to us when we believe. So what does this all mean then
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for the believer? The immediate result of Christ's
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perfect life and substitutionary death is this legal verdict we
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call justification. Can you walk us through the
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nature of that verdict? Yes, justification is defined
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very strictly and importantly as a forensic verdict.
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It is a purely legal declaration.
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It's a once for all legal act where God sitting as the
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righteous judge, declares the ungodly righteous in his sight.
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Now this is absolutely critical. It is not a process of internal
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change. It's not God making us righteous
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intrinsically at that moment. It's an external official change
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of legal status and the ground. The basis of this declaration is
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made only on account of Christ's obedience and blood.
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Our standing rests entirely upon His alien righteousness, meaning
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a righteousness that originated completely outside of us,
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belonging fully to Christ, which is then imputed or legally
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reckoned to the believer. Why do the sources emphasize so
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strongly that our confidence has to rest wholly outside the
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believer? Why is it so crucial that this
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righteousness is alien? Because if our standing before
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God rested on anything internal, our feelings, our spiritual
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growth, our sincerity, anything like that, it would fluctuate
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daily, maybe even hourly, We could never possess true,
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settled peace with God. Human righteousness, even the
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best of it, is always flawed in this life.
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By insisting it is Christ's righteousness alien to us, the
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sources ensure that the believers peace is anchored not
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in their own performance, but in the perfect finished performance
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of their Mediator, Jesus Christ. This declaration removes
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condemnation forever. Romans 8.1 is clear on that, and
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it establishes permanent peace with God.
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OK, this brings us right to solofedo faith alone.
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If Christ's righteousness is the ground of justification, how
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exactly does faith function in this legal transaction?
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Is faith itself the work we perform to earn the verdict?
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Because that sounds like it could undermine grace.
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That is the necessary question, absolutely, because if faith is
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considered a meritorious work, then we're right back under the
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law trying to earn salvation. The sources answer this
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definitively. Faith is not a meritorious act.
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It's defined as the instrument, the tool, if you like, by which
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the Sinner receives and rests upon Christ alone for
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justification in life. The classic description, and
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it's a helpful 1, is that saving faith is the empty hand that
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receives Christ and his righteousness imputed.
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The hand itself offers no value. Its function is merely
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reception. It holds nothing to offer God.
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When Paul contrasts the one who does not work but believes in
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Romans 4.5, he's establishing that faith functions as a non
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working receptor. It's the conduit, not the source
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of the merit needed for justification.
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So if it's not a work, what exactly is saving faith?
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What does it involve? Well, saving faith involves 3
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necessary components. First, knowledge.
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Notisha, you have to have an understanding of the basic
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gospel facts, who Christ is, what he did.
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Second, ascent A census. You have to agree that these
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facts are actually true, but these two alone are
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insufficient. James 2.19 reminds us that even
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demons believe the facts are true and they tremble.
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So the 3rd and most essential component is trust, fiduciation,
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personal reliance, and entrustment.
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This is the heart of faith captured by the Greek verb
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pistouche. It's the soul resting on Christ
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alone for rescue, completely giving up all pretense of self
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merit or self-reliance. And it's also critical to
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understand that this instrumental faith is
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necessarily joined with repentance.
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Repentance involves turning from sin to God with genuine grief
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over sin and the purpose of new obedience.
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The two are inseparable graces. Though faith is the specific
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instrument that lays hold of justification, the stability
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this provides is just immense. Justification isn't like a
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weather vane turning with your feelings.
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It depended on how good you feel today.
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It's an objective verdict written in Christ's blood and
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ratified by his resurrection. Because the ground is objective
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entirely outside of us, the legal status is fixed eternally.
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That legal verdict of justification is incredibly
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fixed. As you say, it changes our
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status immediately and forever. But a fixed status doesn't mean
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a fixed life. True life involves relationship
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and change, doesn't it? So how do the sources describe
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the spiritual transformation that flows from this legal
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declaration? And what's the central reality
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from which all these other benefits flow?
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Right. The central reality, the sort of
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hub and the fountain from which every saving benefit flows, is
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union with Christ. You could say justification is
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what Christ did for us. Objectively.
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Union with Christ is what the Spirit does to us, subjectively
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bonding us to the Savior so that all His benefits become ours
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personally. This union is forged by the Holy
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Spirit and faith is the means by which we embrace the Savior and
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enter into that union. Now the spirits application of
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salvation follows A logical sequence.
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It's sometimes called the ordo salutis or the order of
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salvation. It's important to remember this
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is a logical order, not necessarily always strictly
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chronological. In our experience, it begins
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with effectual calling. This is God's powerful drawing
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of the Sinner to Christ. It happens through the preaching
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of the Word and the internal illumination of the Spirit.
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It's called effectual because it actually overcomes the natural
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hostility and inability we talked about earlier.
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It works inseparably. Joined to calling is
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regeneration, or the new birth. This is described as a
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monarchistic act. OK, let's define monarchistic
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clearly for everyone. Monarchistic means God alone
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acts one worker. Regeneration is the sovereign,
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instantaneous creative act of the Spirit granting new
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spiritual life. He replaces the heart of stone
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with a heart of flesh, as Ezekiel puts it, and the sources
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are very precise here. Faith is the fruit of
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regeneration on its cause. A spiritually dead person must
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first be made alive before they can believe the Sinner is
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resurrected spiritually, not merely improved or persuaded.
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Then from this new life springs conversion.
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This is the human response which comprises those necessary graces
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of repentance and faith we mentioned.
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By means of these graces, the Spirit brings the now
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regenerated believer into that vital living union with Christ.
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OK, so once that union is forged, we have the legal
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verdict justification and the new life regeneration.
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What are the subsequent benefits that flow in their proper order
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from this central union with Christ?
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Flowing right out of union with Christ, we receive a whole suite
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of benefits that address both our legal needs and our
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relational needs with God. First, of course, we receive
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justification. The legal verdict we've already
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detailed our standing is secure. Second, we receive adoption.
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This is a new filial status. We become not just pardoned
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criminals, but actual sons and daughters and God's family.
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And this confers all the privileges of sonship, fatherly
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pity, provision, discipline, and an inheritance with Christ
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himself. The spirit of adoption bears
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witness within us that we are now family.
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That's Romans 8.15, 3rd we receive sanctification.
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This is the transformational benefit the Spirit wrought
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holiness that makes us progressively more like Christ
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in our actual character and conduct.
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Like justification. That has two aspects.
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It's definitive meaning. Sins.
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Dominion is broken the moment we are united to Christ and it's
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progressive. It continues throughout our
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lives as we renewed after God's image.
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I think we really need to reiterate the distinction here,
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because confusing justification and sanctification is such a
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common mistake, and it really undermines assurance, doesn't
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it? Why do the sources stress so
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firmly that sanctification must never be the foundation for our
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acceptance with God? Yes, that's critical.
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If justification is the judge's verdict, guilty declared
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righteous, then sanctification is the ongoing consequence of
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being adopted into the royal family and living out that new
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identity. They are inseparable, yes, but
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they are not interchangeable. Justification is perfect,
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instantaneous, and complete the moment faith takes hold of
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Christ. Sanctification, though real and
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necessary, is always imperfect in this life.
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If we relied on our own holiness or sanctification for
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acceptance, we would fall short every single day.
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So we must preserve the grammar of the gospel.
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We are accepted solely because of the perfect holiness of
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Christ reckoned to us. Justification.
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And because we are accepted, the Spirit begins the work of making
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us holy. Sanctification.
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Sanctification is the fruit and the necessary evidence of true
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faith, but it's never the ground or basis of our standing.
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OK. Moving now to the practical
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conduct of the believer, if salvation is entirely by grace
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through faith alone, and we're accepted solely on Christ's
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merit, well, what is the proper role of obedience and good
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works? Why should the justified person
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even bother with obedience if their legal standing is already
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secure? That's the perennial question,
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isn't it? And the sources address this
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tension directly. Good works are the necessary
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fruit and evidence of a genuinely justified and adopted
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life. But crucially, they are never
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the root or the ground of acceptance before God.
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They are the spontaneous, inevitable outpouring of a heart
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that has been made new by the Spirit.
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As Ephesians 2.8 to 10 puts it so well, we are saved by grace
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through faith, and we are creating Christ Jesus for good
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works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk
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in them. The works follow the salvation.
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Good works are acts of grateful obedience.
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They don't make us right with God.
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They demonstrate that we are right with God and that we are
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truly in union with Christ. If someone claims to have faith
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but shows no discernible movement toward holiness or
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obedience, the book of James tells us that faith is probably
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dead or spurious. And the source is very specific
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aren't they, about what actually constitutes a good work in God's
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eyes? It's not just any act of human
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kindness or some self chosen religious effort.
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What are the three defining non negotiable criteria for a work
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to be truly good? That's right.
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The criteria define the work source, its execution, and its
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ultimate goal. First, good works must be
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commanded by God in His Word. Good intentions alone aren't
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enough works of will worship. These are self chosen rituals or
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acts of obedience not actually warranted by Scripture.
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They cannot please God because they essentially ignore His
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sovereignty over how He is to be worshipped and obeyed.
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Second, they must be performed in faith.
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They have to be faith energized, done not to earn merit or out of
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slavish fear, but springing from reliance on Christ and
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confidence in His promises. 3rd, they must be done to the glory
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of God. That's first Corinthians 10.31.
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The ultimate purpose has to be his honor, not our own visible
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reputation or even our own personal satisfaction.
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If any of these criteria are missing, the work isn't properly
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defined as a good work in the biblical sense, even if it looks
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good outwardly. And we must also address their
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imperfection. Even the very best works
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performed by genuinely regenerate believers cannot
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merit part in our eternal life. Why?
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Because they are always imperfect and mixed with
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remaining corruption. As Isaiah 64.6 puts it, our
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motives are never 100. Percent pure in this life, our
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execution is never 100% flawless.
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OK, but if even our best works are imperfect, why does God
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accept them at all? How can they please Him?
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God accepts the believers imperfect obedience because they
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are in Christ. That's the key.
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He looks upon their acts not in isolation, but through the lens
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of His Son's perfect righteousness which covers them.
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It's a bit like a loving father appreciating A crayon drawing
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from his young child. The drawing is technically
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flawed, maybe even messy, but the father values the child's
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effort and the relationship behind it.
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The sources sometimes call this process grace.
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Crowning grace, God graciously rewards what He Himself works in
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US, treating the acts of His redeemed children not as payment
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for a debt earned, but as a further expression of His
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ongoing gracious favor toward them in Christ.
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That distinction, obedience flowing from gratitude not
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performed for merit, that naturally leads us back to the
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law of God, since the law cannot condemn the believer anymore.
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Romans 8.1 makes that clear. How does it function now?
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Doesn't the freedom we have in Christ somehow diminish the laws
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necessity or relevance? Not at all.
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The law itself remains holy, righteous, and good as Paul says
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in Romans 7.12, and it continues to serve 3 divinely appointed
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uses, even for the saved believer.
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The redeemed Christian doesn't get rid of the law.
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They have a completely changed relationship to it.
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The first use is often called the pedagogical use, or
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sometimes the mirror. This function continually
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reveals sin. It holds up God's perfect
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standard and shows us where we fall short.
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This drives sinners and especially believers day by day
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back to Christ for cleansing and forgiveness.
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Think of first John 1.89. Even after justification, the
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law strips away any lingering self boasting and prompts
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ongoing repentance and reliance on grace.
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The second use is the civil use, sometimes called the curb.
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The law acts to restrain evil in society, primarily through the
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fear of punishment. This function benefits the whole
22:10
Commonwealth by maintaining a basic level of moral order,
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regardless of whether individuals have faith or not.
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The third use, and this is the most pertinent one for the
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believers daily life, is the normative use or the guide.
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This is key. The moral law remains the
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believer's rule of life, as the Westminster Confession puts it.
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WCF 99.6. It acts as a guide for grateful
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obedience, showing us how to live in a way that pleases the
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God who saved us. OK, but if we're saved by grace,
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how is obeying the law supposed to be joyful?
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Doesn't it still feel like pressure?
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Maybe like a checklist we inevitably feel at keeping
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perfectly. Well, the nature of the pressure
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changes completely. Before conversion, we tried to
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obey the law, or felt we should try in order to earn life and
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acceptance, and under those terms it becomes an impossible,
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crushing burden. But after conversion, the
22:56
believer relates to the law because they already have life
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and acceptance in Christ. The burden of earning salvation
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through law keeping is removed because Christ fulfilled its
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demands perfectly for us and bore its curse in our place.
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Under the New Covenant, Jeremiah 31.33 promises the law will be
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written on the heart. This happens through the
23:14
indwelling Holy Spirit who enables the believer to actually
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desire and begin to fulfill what God requires.
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So this obedience is described not as a crushing burden, but as
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a joyful yoke of grateful obedience.
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It's still a yoke. It requires effort, but it's
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joyful because it flows from love and gratitude.
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The law maps the terrain of love, directing both our worship
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toward God and our actions toward our neighbor in very
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concrete ways. It guards US against
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antinomianism, that dangerous idea of having Christ without
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his commands, which the sources universally reject.
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Right now, this life we have is fundamentally relational.
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It's covenantal communion with the Triune God, and
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relationships require maintenance and often certainty
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or security. How does the believer enjoy
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certainty or what's often called assurance in a way that avoids
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either unwarranted presumption on one hand, or crippling doubt
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on the other? Assurance is defined as a spirit
24:03
wrought certainty that the believer truly shares in Christ
24:06
and is saving benefits now. It's not considered an essential
24:09
component of saving faith itself.
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It's possible to have true faith and still struggle with
24:13
assurance, sadly, but it is a certainty that believers may and
24:17
should enjoy through diligence in the Christian life.
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Crucially, true assurance must rest on objective truth, not
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just on fluctuating feelings or experiences.
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The sources typically detail a three fold foundation of
24:28
assurance. This structure draws stability
24:30
from both Christ's objective work outside of us and the
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Spirit subjective witness inside of us.
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The 1st and the most stable bedrock foundation is the
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objective promises of the Gospel.
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Assurance rests first and foremost on the finished work of
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Jesus Christ and the absolute sufficiency of His imputed
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righteousness. The logic is, if Christ's
24:48
righteousness is perfect and it's mine for faith, then my
24:51
justified standing is perfect and secure.
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Confidence must be anchored wholly outside the self, resting
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on the fixed external Word of God and the unchangeable
24:59
forensic verdict of justification.
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The second foundation is the inward evidences of grace.
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This is the subjective reflection or confirmation of
25:07
that objective truth in the believer's life.
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This includes the Spirit born fruits of genuine repentance,
25:13
ongoing obedience, love for God and neighbor, and growth and
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holiness. While holiness, as we said, is
25:19
never the ground of acceptance, it is the necessary evidence and
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expression of our fellowship with the Holy One.
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These good works testify to the reality of the justified life
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within us. OK.
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So just to clarify, we look to the objective, finished work of
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Christ for the basis of our faith in standing, but we can
25:35
look at the evidences of grace in our lives as confirmation
25:39
that our faith is genuine, not fake.
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Exactly. It's a reflective backward
25:43
looking check on the reality of our faith, not a forward-looking
25:46
attempt to build merit. And the third foundation sort of
25:49
seals this whole system, the testimony of the Spirit, the
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Holy Spirit himself bears witness directly with the
25:55
believer Spirit that they are indeed children of God.
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That's Romans 8 verses 15 to 17. The Spirit acts as the pledge.
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The Greek word is erebum, like a down payment or guarantee, and
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the seal of our inheritance a showing us internally that the
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life begun in US will surely be brought to completion by God.
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And that certainty, that relational life with God, it is
26:14
just left afloat, is it? It's actively maintained and
26:18
nurtured by what the sources consistently called the ordinary
26:21
means of grace. What are these appointed
26:23
channels through which Christ communicates and strengthens the
26:26
benefits of salvation to us, and why are they described as
26:29
ordinary? They're called ordinary because
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they are the standard, churchly appointed path of spiritual
26:34
discipline and growth that God has given.
26:36
The believer is called to abide in these regular means.
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This common pathway, Rather than constantly expecting or chasing
26:42
extraordinary, direct, miraculous interventions, God
26:46
usually works through means. Christ communicates and
26:50
strengthens faith through three chief channels. 1st, and often
26:54
listed as chief among the means, is the Word preached.
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The Spirit normally creates and nourishes faith through the
27:00
reading and especially the faithful preaching and hearing
27:02
of the Word. Done with faith.
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Romans 10.7 quote Faith comes by hearing.
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The Spirit's ordinary pattern is to convert sinners and conform
27:11
believers to Christ through the Christ centered proclamation of
27:14
Scripture. Second are the sacraments,
27:17
baptism and the Lord's Supper. These are described as holy
27:20
signs and seals of the covenant of grace.
27:22
They visibly represent Christ and the benefits of the new
27:25
Covenant. There's a key distinction here,
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isn't there, that these seals are not automatic in their
27:30
effect? The sources often use that Latin
27:32
phrase exo paraparato. What does that mean and why is
27:35
rejecting it important for the believer?
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Right. The phrase ex operatorato
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basically means by the working of the work itself.
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It's the idea that the sacrament is effective simply by being
27:45
performed correctly, regardless of the faith of the recipient or
27:48
even the minister. The Reformed sources firmly
27:51
reject this view. They affirm that the sacraments
27:54
are effectual only by the work of the Holy Spirit and through
27:57
the instrument of faith in the recipient.
27:59
The physical elements themselves, the water, the
28:02
bread, the wine, don't contain or confer grace automatically.
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They serve to confirm and nourish the faith that already
28:09
unites the believer to Christ. So baptism signifies and seals
28:12
our union with Christ in his death and resurrection.
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The Lord's Supper nourishes our faith by vividly exhibiting
28:18
Christ crucified and risen, strengthening our spiritual
28:21
resolve and communion with Him. Third, among the ordinary means
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is prayer. This is an appointed conduit,
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you could say the spiritual breath of the Christian life by
28:29
which the church and the individual believer approaches
28:32
the Father through the Son in the power of the Spirit.
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This includes public worship, prayer, family prayer, and
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private prayer. It provides the necessary
28:39
ongoing communion required for a healthy relational life with
28:42
God. So diligent use of these
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ordinary means, sitting under sound preaching, receiving the
28:48
sacraments rightly by faith and praying consistently.
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This is the God appointed pathway to robust assurance and
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to deepening our fellowship with the Father and the Son.
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OK, so let's try to put this entire system back together.
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We've looked at the foundation of our misery and sin, the solid
29:02
ground of the mediators work, the definitive verdict of
29:05
justification, and the necessary flow of benefits like adoption
29:09
and sanctification, all secured in Christ alone.
29:12
What's the big picture? Well, we can really return to
29:15
the beautiful Trinitarian shape of eternal life.
29:18
This whole architecture of salvation is sovereignly planned
29:21
by the Father in His electing love before time began.
29:24
It's secured perfectly and completely by the Son through
29:27
his obedient life and substitutionary death.
29:30
And it's applied personally and effectively by the Holy Spirit
29:32
through effectual calling, regeneration, and ongoing
29:35
sanctification. Our assurance and life itself
29:38
rests wholly on the objective gift of the Son and His finished
29:41
work. It's a the structure designed
29:43
specifically to guard the believer against trusting in the
29:45
shifting sands of human affections or performance.
29:48
The focus stays on Christ. And the life believers possess
29:52
now this relational communion with God, which we taste in
29:55
regeneration and justification. It's real.
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But the sources also remind us it's only a foretaste, isn't it?
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It necessarily tends toward a final completion with a source
30:06
is called the eschatological fullness.
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This is the future aspect of eternal life, the ultimate
30:10
consummation that we look forward to.
30:12
Exactly that final completion will resolve the tension we
30:16
currently live with between our perfect legal status and
30:19
justification and our imperfect ongoing process of
30:22
sanctification. This future fullness includes
30:25
the glorious resurrection of the body, patterned after Christ's
30:28
own resurrection, and culminates in the ultimate, unhindered
30:31
vision of God Himself. The Scriptures assure us we
30:34
shall see Him as He is. That's in first John, and
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Revelation 22.4 points to it too.
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That face to face, beatific vision is what grounds our
30:41
final, complete sanctification, transforming God's children
30:45
perfectly and forever into the image of Christ.
30:47
So until then, we trust the objective verdict grounded in
30:50
Christ's finished work, we make use of the means he's given, and
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we continue seeking the Mediator, Jesus Christ, in whom
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alone we possess life and deed.