Thirty-three Things Accomplished at Salvation

Thirty-three Things Accomplished at Salvation

The thirty-three things are given to you strictly by God's grace; they are not experiential but indicate our positional standing with Christ – it is our STATUS QUO before God forever.
• The 33 things are not experienced.
• The 33 things are owned instantly at the point of salvation.
• The believer’s status quo before God is not earned by merit.
• They are only known by revelation – the Bible.
• They come to us by grace alone by God alone.
• The 33 are eternal in character, none can be lost.
• We are either perfectly saved or we are perfectly lost. 

THE BELIEVER’S STATUS AT SALVATION

1. The Believer Is in the Eternal Plan of God.
God has a sovereign purpose for every believer. Each believer is significant in God’s infinite, eternal purpose. God will fulfill that purpose with an absoluteness that belongs to his infinity. Rom 8:29 , 30
2. Redeemed
The believer is purchased out of the slave market of sin. Even his physical body will be redeemed. Rom 3:24 ; 8:23
3. Reconciled
The Christian has a perfect and unending peace with God on the ground of the merit of Christ. II Cor. 5:18-20
4. Related to God Through Propitiation
God is satisfied that the sin problem has been solved perfectly. The ever-recurring need of adjustment between God and the child of God is possible because of propitiation. God is free to relate to believers. Rom 3:24 ; 1 John 2:2
5. Forgiven All Trespasses
All trespasses past, present and future are covered. All condemnation is removed forever. We, therefore, have an abiding peace with God. Col. 2:13
6. Sin Capacity Co-crucified with Christ
The death of Christ is a judgment of the sin nature. God is now righteously free to deal with that nature (capacity) as a thing judged. The believer is thus delivered from the reigning power of sin. It is an application of the forensic truth to experience. We are placed permanently before God as totally judged in Christ. Rom. 6:1-10 ; Gal. 2:20
7. Free from the Law
The law is a system which demands human merit. The injunctions addressed to the believer under grace are unrelated to human merit. Since the child of God is already accepted in the beloved and stands forever in the merit of Christ, application of the merit system to him is both unreasonable and unscriptural. The believer does not do to be blessed. He does because He is blessed. Rom. 6:14 ; 8:1-4 ; Gal. 5:1-4
8. Children of God
The believer becomes an heir of God. He is born into the family of God. John 3:3 , 7 . The first person becomes his father.
9. Adopted as a “Son”
Divine adoption is a divine act by which one already a child by actual birth through the spirit of God is placed forward as an adult son in his relation to God. We are placed before God as a mature son with the right to draw on eternal assets. Gal. 3:26-4:7 ; Eph 1:4 , 5
10. Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ
Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit the Christian is joined to Christ. He, therefore, partakes of all that Christ is. There is imparted to him eternal life (John 20:31 ); imputed righteousness (II Cor. 5:21 ); positional sanctification (I Cor. 1:30 ); perfected forever (Heb. 10:4 ); made accepted in the beloved one (Eph. 1:6 ); and made meet (Col. 1:12 ).
11. Justified
The believer is declared righteous by God. Righteousness imputed is the abiding fact and justification is the divine recognition of that fact. Rom. 4 ; 5:1 .
12. Made High
A work of God whereby a Christian is brought into a relationship to God which is of infinite perfection and completeness. To it nothing could be added in time or eternity. This is a close relation to God. Eph. 2:13
13. Delivered from the Power of Darkness
Liberation from satanic realms. Col. 1:13 ; II Cor. 4:3 , 4
14. Translated into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love
At salvation we are inducted into and established in the kingdom of God’s dear son. The word “translated” indicates removal from the sphere of Satan’s dominion to that of Christ. Col. 1:13 ; I Thess. 2:12 .
15. On the Rock, Christ Jesus
This is not salvation of Christian character but of Christian service. All Christian work should be built upon Christ, not sand. I Cor. 3:9-15 ; Matt. 7:24-27 .
16. A Gift from God, the Father, to Christ
The Father has given each believer to the Son. We are the Father’s love-gift. The believer’s security rests on the Father’s faithfulness to His Son, Jesus Christ.
17. Circumcised in Christ
We stand before God as one whose sin capacity has been judged and for whom a way of deliverance from the dominion of the flesh has been secured. Eph. 2:17 ; Col. 2:11 .
18. Partakers of a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Every saved person in the present age is a priest unto God. He also has a kingly reign. I Pet. 2:5 , 9 ; Rev. 1:6
19. A Chosen Generation, A Holy Nation, A Peculiar People
“Generation” – the believer is an offspring of God.“Nation” – a separate and distinct grouping among all the peoples of the earth.“Peculiar People” – born of God and are, therefore, not of this cosmos world. I Pet. 2:9
20. Heavenly Citizens
The sphere of the believer’s citizenship is heaven, not earth. He is merely a pilgrim here. This involves commonwealth privileges. Phil. 3:20 ; Eph. 2:19
21. Of the Family and Household of God
We have a true relationship with God as our Father. This is more restricted in extent that “citizenship”. Eph. 2:19 ; Gal. 6:10
22. In the Fellowship of the Saints
As the “citizenship” pertains to a relation to heaven, and “household” to God, so the fellowship of the saints pertains to their relation, the one to the other. This is a spiritual family tie. We are fellow members in the body of Christ. This is an organic, not an organizational unity, Eph. 4:1-3 ; John 17:11-23 .
23. A Heavenly Association
The phrase, “the heavenly places”, is the believer’s inherent right of association with Christ. We are partners with Christ in:
1) Life – Col. 1:27
2) Position – Col. 3:1
3) Service – I Cor. 15:58
4) Suffering – I Pet. 4:12 , 13 ; Phil. 1:29
5) Prayer – John 14:12-14
6) Marriage – Eph. 5:24-57
7) Expectation – Tit. 2:13 ; Heb. 10:13
24. Having Access to God
We have access:
1) Into His grace. The believer is not only saved by Grace, but he stands in grace, Rom 5:2
2) Unto the Father. Eph. 2:18
3) In reassuring. The believer is urged to come with confidence. Heb. 4:16 ; 10:10-20
25. Within the Much More Care of God
If God loved sinners and enemies enough to give His son to die for them, His attitude will be “much more” toward them when they are reconciled and justified. Rom 5:8-10 ; Eph. 2:7-9
26. His Inheritance
The child of God is an inheritance of the Father. Each Christian is the means whereby God is glorified. Eph. 1:6 , 18
27. The Inheritance of the Saints
The believer has an inheritance in God. His inheritance is God Himself and all that God bestows. Eph. 1:14 ; Col. 3:24 ; I Pet. 1:4 ; Heb. 9:15 .
28. Light in the Lord
God is transparently holy. The believer has, by divine Grace, become light. It is not that divine light shines upon him merely, but he is light in the Lord. Eph. 5:8 .
29. Vitally United to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
It is said that
1) The believer is in God, the Father. I Thess. 1:1
2) God, the Father, is in the believer. Eph. 4:6
3) The believer is in the Son. Rom 8:1
4) The Son is in the believer. John 14:20
5) The believer is in the Spirit. Rom. 8:9
6) The Spirit is in the believer. I Cor. 2:12 Note the word “in” in each case.
30. Blessed with the Earnest or First-Fruits of the Spirit
The child of God has some down payments which bind with certainty the larger gifts of heavenly glory. Eph. 1:14 ; Rom. 8:23 . There are five:
1) Born of the Spirit. John 3:6
2) Baptism by the Spirit. I Cor. 12:13
3) Indwelt by the Spirit. Rom. 5:5 ; 8:9
4) Sealed by the Spirit. Eph. 4:30
5) Filled with the Spirit. Eph. 5:18
31. Glorified
What God has determined, though it be yet future, is properly looked upon as sufficiently certain to be considered a present achievement. Rom. 4:17 ; 8:18 ; Col. 3:4 ; Rom. 8:30 .
32. Complete in Him
Because of his vital union with Christ, the believer partakes of all that Christ is, Col. 2:9-10 . The Father takes infinite delight in the Son, nor can He find delight in that which is less than the perfection of the Son.
33. Possessing Every Spiritual Blessing
All of the preceding thirty-two points are to be included in the sweeping term, “all spiritual blessing”, Eph. 1:3 .
Summary of “Things Accomplished at Salvation” by Dr. Lewis Chafer (Systematic Theology) by Dr. Grant C. Richison.