Now let us consider how the miracles recorded in the Gospels have a bearing on people’s
lives today. To understand the connection of the Gospels to today, it is best first to step
back and consider the very nature of redemption, according to the plan of God.
Redemption Accomplished and Applied
Theologians distinguish between the accomplishment of redemption and its application. The accomplishment of redemption includes all the events of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Christ accomplished redemption through his work. The
application of redemption describes the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit in turning
individuals from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18), so that
they are united to Christ in a life-giving way. They begin to live for God rather than for
themselves. It also includes the work of God in the church as a corporate body (1 Corinthians 12). This application extends to today. People today are receiving eternal life through faith in Christ. They receive life through the Holy Spirit, who unites them to Christ.
The application of redemption includes the whole life of each Christian believer on earth, viewed from the perspective of what God does in his or her life: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). The application of redemption also includes the works of God in believers subsequent to bodily death. They continue to be united to Christ
and to live in his presence, awaiting the resurrection of the dead (Phil. 1:21, 23). At the
last day, God raises believers from the dead and gives them transfigured, immortal bodies
(1 Cor. 15:50–57). This bodily resurrection of individuals goes together with the renewal
of creation and the appearance of the church in glorious form as the bride of Christ (Rev.
19:7–9; 21:2, 9).
The accomplishment of redemption and its application go together. They are like two
sides of the same coin. When Christ accomplished redemption, he accomplished it in order
that people might actually be saved. That is to say, accomplishment implies application. In
the end, accomplishment of salvation does no good unless it comes to be applied to
someone. Even the very concept of salvation implies that someone is going to be saved.
Salvation has to come to people who are lost, and when it is applied to them they are no
longer lost.
Conversely, the application of redemption presupposes its accomplishment. People can
experience salvation only if God has already provided a basis for overcoming the enmity
and guilt that belong to our fallen, sinful condition. The basis for overcoming our
condition is the actual accomplishment of salvation. As we observed already, this basis
was already being presupposed when people received the application of redemption during
the Old Testament period. During that period, in a mysterious way, God applied beforehand to the saints the achievement of Christ. That achievement was yet to be accomplished in history, at the appropriate time (Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 2:6; 2 Tim. 1:10), but it was already certain according to the plan of God.
Union with Christ
The accomplishment and application of redemption belong together still more closely
because of the way in which they come together in the biblical teaching about union with
Christ. The Bible indicates that whatever blessings come to us in salvation come to us “in
Christ”:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, . . . (Eph. 1:3)
Christ is not only the source of blessings; he is the representative human being whose
work and victory are reflected in those whom he represents. Christ died and was raised.
We who trust in Christ have died and been raised with him:
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, . . . (Col. 2:20)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Col. 3:1)
[God] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, . . . (Eph. 2:6)
The application of redemption includes the application of the pattern of Christ’s death and
resurrection to each believer.
Forms of the Application of Christ’s Work to Us
The pattern of death and resurrection starts with Christ himself, who is our representative.
The pattern is actually applied to us at the time of conversion and baptism:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we
too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:3–4)
Romans 6 proceeds to lay out the further implications of the application of the pattern of
death and resurrection to us:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united
with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with
him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that
Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has
dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he
lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
(Rom. 6:5–12)
The pattern of Christ’s life is applied to us in a decisive way at the beginning of the
Christian life, so that the new life is indeed new. We have died to the old way of living,
and we live now by the power of Christ’s resurrection. But the Bible also indicates that the
pattern of life, death, and resurrection is applied not only once and for all at the beginning,
but daily:
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for
Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So
death is at work in us, but life in you. (2 Cor. 4:8–12)
. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain
the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:10–11)
The final application of this pattern of death and life comes at the time of bodily
resurrection:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised
is imperishable… . Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we
shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Cor. 15:42, 49)
Thus there are several instances of the same pattern, all of which originate with
Christ’s death and resurrection:
1. Christ’s death and resurrection, once and for all in history.
2. The believer’s spiritual death and resurrection, at the beginning of the Christian
life, as signified by baptism.
3. The believer’s daily walk with Christ, which involves the experience of death and
resurrection in union with him.
4. The final resurrection of the body.
All of these aspects of salvation serve to display the glory of God, and result in praise
being given to him (Rom. 11:33–36; 1 Cor. 10:31; Rev. 4:11; 19:6–7). The different aspects of salvation take place for the benefit of the people who are saved. But the benefit to us is not the sole purpose, or even the main purpose, for the events. If it were, it would imply that God and Christ exist only to serve man. That is the exact reverse of the truth.
We are created by God to serve and honor him. We are created in such a way that we find
our highest joy in serving and honoring him. Our service is indeed a wonderful,
spectacular benefit to us, but preeminently it serves the glory and praise of God.
To be continued...
lives today. To understand the connection of the Gospels to today, it is best first to step
back and consider the very nature of redemption, according to the plan of God.
Redemption Accomplished and Applied
Theologians distinguish between the accomplishment of redemption and its application. The accomplishment of redemption includes all the events of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Christ accomplished redemption through his work. The
application of redemption describes the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit in turning
individuals from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18), so that
they are united to Christ in a life-giving way. They begin to live for God rather than for
themselves. It also includes the work of God in the church as a corporate body (1 Corinthians 12). This application extends to today. People today are receiving eternal life through faith in Christ. They receive life through the Holy Spirit, who unites them to Christ.
The application of redemption includes the whole life of each Christian believer on earth, viewed from the perspective of what God does in his or her life: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). The application of redemption also includes the works of God in believers subsequent to bodily death. They continue to be united to Christ
and to live in his presence, awaiting the resurrection of the dead (Phil. 1:21, 23). At the
last day, God raises believers from the dead and gives them transfigured, immortal bodies
(1 Cor. 15:50–57). This bodily resurrection of individuals goes together with the renewal
of creation and the appearance of the church in glorious form as the bride of Christ (Rev.
19:7–9; 21:2, 9).
The accomplishment of redemption and its application go together. They are like two
sides of the same coin. When Christ accomplished redemption, he accomplished it in order
that people might actually be saved. That is to say, accomplishment implies application. In
the end, accomplishment of salvation does no good unless it comes to be applied to
someone. Even the very concept of salvation implies that someone is going to be saved.
Salvation has to come to people who are lost, and when it is applied to them they are no
longer lost.
Conversely, the application of redemption presupposes its accomplishment. People can
experience salvation only if God has already provided a basis for overcoming the enmity
and guilt that belong to our fallen, sinful condition. The basis for overcoming our
condition is the actual accomplishment of salvation. As we observed already, this basis
was already being presupposed when people received the application of redemption during
the Old Testament period. During that period, in a mysterious way, God applied beforehand to the saints the achievement of Christ. That achievement was yet to be accomplished in history, at the appropriate time (Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 2:6; 2 Tim. 1:10), but it was already certain according to the plan of God.
Union with Christ
The accomplishment and application of redemption belong together still more closely
because of the way in which they come together in the biblical teaching about union with
Christ. The Bible indicates that whatever blessings come to us in salvation come to us “in
Christ”:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, . . . (Eph. 1:3)
Christ is not only the source of blessings; he is the representative human being whose
work and victory are reflected in those whom he represents. Christ died and was raised.
We who trust in Christ have died and been raised with him:
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, . . . (Col. 2:20)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Col. 3:1)
[God] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, . . . (Eph. 2:6)
The application of redemption includes the application of the pattern of Christ’s death and
resurrection to each believer.
Forms of the Application of Christ’s Work to Us
The pattern of death and resurrection starts with Christ himself, who is our representative.
The pattern is actually applied to us at the time of conversion and baptism:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we
too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:3–4)
Romans 6 proceeds to lay out the further implications of the application of the pattern of
death and resurrection to us:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united
with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with
him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that
Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has
dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he
lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
(Rom. 6:5–12)
The pattern of Christ’s life is applied to us in a decisive way at the beginning of the
Christian life, so that the new life is indeed new. We have died to the old way of living,
and we live now by the power of Christ’s resurrection. But the Bible also indicates that the
pattern of life, death, and resurrection is applied not only once and for all at the beginning,
but daily:
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for
Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So
death is at work in us, but life in you. (2 Cor. 4:8–12)
. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain
the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:10–11)
The final application of this pattern of death and life comes at the time of bodily
resurrection:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised
is imperishable… . Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we
shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Cor. 15:42, 49)
Thus there are several instances of the same pattern, all of which originate with
Christ’s death and resurrection:
1. Christ’s death and resurrection, once and for all in history.
2. The believer’s spiritual death and resurrection, at the beginning of the Christian
life, as signified by baptism.
3. The believer’s daily walk with Christ, which involves the experience of death and
resurrection in union with him.
4. The final resurrection of the body.
All of these aspects of salvation serve to display the glory of God, and result in praise
being given to him (Rom. 11:33–36; 1 Cor. 10:31; Rev. 4:11; 19:6–7). The different aspects of salvation take place for the benefit of the people who are saved. But the benefit to us is not the sole purpose, or even the main purpose, for the events. If it were, it would imply that God and Christ exist only to serve man. That is the exact reverse of the truth.
We are created by God to serve and honor him. We are created in such a way that we find
our highest joy in serving and honoring him. Our service is indeed a wonderful,
spectacular benefit to us, but preeminently it serves the glory and praise of God.
To be continued...
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