Theology 101 Notes: Doctrine of Christ and Salvation

These are the notes from the fifth week of Theology 101:

THEOLOGY 101

DOCTRINE OF CHRIST AND SALVATION

Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God. The Scripture declares his virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-23); His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26 & I Peter 2:22 & I John 3:4,5); His miracles (Acts 2:22 & 10:37-38); His substitutionary death on the cross (II Corinthians 5:21 & I Peter 2:24 & I Corinthians 15:4); His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:1-6 & I Corinthians 15:4); His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11 & Philippians 2:9-11).

- From National Community Church Statement of Beliefs


CHRISTOLOGY
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Christology: the study of the identity and mission of the Christ whom Christians proclaim is Jesus of Nazareth. (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

Matthew 16:15
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

This is the most important question we will ever answer. The way we answer that question will have profoundly personal and eternal consequences. We can summarize the biblical teaching about the Jesus as follows:

“Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever.” (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

Humanity
Jesus was fully human:

• Jesus was born.

• Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”
• Luke 2:7, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

• Jesus had a human body and experienced physical limitations.

• John 4:6, “…So Jesus, being wearied from His journey…”
• John 19:28 “…I am thirsty…”
• Matthew 4:2 “…He then became hungry.”
• Luke 23:46 “…Having said this, He breathed His last.”
  

• Jesus grew intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

• Luke 2:40, “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."
• Hebrews 5:8, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
  

• Jesus expressed human emotions.

• John 12:27, “…Now My soul has become troubled.”
• John 13:21, “…He became troubled in spiri…”
• In both verses in John, the word "troubled" comes from the Greek word tarasso, which was used to describe people who were anxious or suddenly very surprised by danger. (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)
• Matthew 8:10, “…Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled…”
• John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
  

• Jesus was sinless.

• Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
• Hebrews 7:26, “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens”
• 1 Peter 2:22, “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth.”
• 1 John 3:5, “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.”
  

“…the conditions of human existence include such common dimensions of life as knowing human needs, undergoing times of trail and temptation, and being subjected to a variety of limitations. According to the Gospels, all of these aspects of human life characterized Jesus’ existence.” (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

Because Jesus was fully human, he has the ability to act in the following ways:

• Jesus represents us- Romans 5:19, “For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”
• Jesus pays the penalty for us- Hebrews 2:17, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
• Jesus mediates for us- 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
• Jesus serves as our example- 1 Peter 2:21, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
• Jesus understands us- Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” And Hebrews 2:18, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Deity
Jesus was fully God.

The word “Incarnation” refers to the fact that Jesus was God in human flesh. In Bible Doctrine, Grudem defines “incarnation” as “the act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature.”

• Jesus’ birth was supernatural.

• Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”
• Luke 2:11, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
• Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”
  

• Scripture claims that Jesus is God.

• Colossians 1:19, “For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,”
• Colossians 2:9, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”
• Hebrews 1:3, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
  

• Jesus claimed that He was God.

• John 8:58, “Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
• Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
  

• Jesus displayed attributes of deity and performed miracles.

• He changed water into wine (John 2)
• He multiplied food (Matthew 14)
• He calmed a storm (Matthew 8)
• He knew people’s thoughts (Mark 2, John 6:46)
• He forgave sins (Mark 2:5-7)
  

Because Jesus was fully human, he has the ability to act in the following ways:

• Jesus bore the full penalty of sin- Isaiah 53:6, “…But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
• Jesus offers salvation to man, Jonah 2:9, “….Salvation is from the LORD."
• Jesus mediates between God and man, 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

Fully God and Fully Man
Jesus was both fully God and fully man.

Romans 1:3-4
“Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord”

Hypostatic Union: the description of the unity of the divine and human natures in Jesus’ one person. (Horton, Systematic Theology)


The Virgin Birth Provides a Link
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4)

“Since as early as the fourth century, theologians have proposed that his special birth forms the link between Jesus eternal sonship and his historical earthly life as a human being.” (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)


Four Historical Heresies

• Arianism- Jesus was not fully God but was created by the Father.
• Apollinarianism- Jesus had a human body, but not a human mind or spirit. His mid and spirit were part of his divine nature.
• Nestorianism- Jesus was comprised of two separate persons- one for the human nature and one for the divine nature.
• Monophysitism or Eutychianism- Jesus had a hybrid human and divine nature.

The Kenosis Theory
The Kenosis Theory purports that Jesus gave up some of his divine attributes while on earth. Did Jesus empty himself of his divine abilities? What is the meaning of Philippians 2:5-7?

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

“The reformulated theory postulates that in the incarnation the Logos did not lay aside the divine attributes themselves, nor those powers inherent to deity. Rather, the son gave up the independent exercise of these powers. In other words, although he retained all the attributes, powers, or prerogatives of God, the earthly Jesus refused to draw on his divine abilities merely at his own whim. Rather, he willingly submitted his prerogative to use his divine capabilities to his Father’s will as directed by the Spirit.” (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

“When we use all the data of the New Testament on this subject, we realize that Jesus did not stop being God during the Incarnation. Rather, He gave up the independent exercise of the divine attributes. He was still fully Deity in His very being, but He fulfilled what seems to have been a condition of the Incarnation, that His human limitations were real, not artificial.” (Horton, Systematic Theology)

**For further reading on this topic, see Across the Spectrum, Chapter 7, The Christology Debate.

“The fact that the infinite, omnipotent, eternal Son of God could become man and join himself to a human nature forever, so that infinite God became one person with finite man, will remain for eternity the most profound miracle and the most profound mystery in all the universe.” (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)


ATONEMENT
Atonement: the work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation. (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

Atonement: “the act of reconciliation” to God by covering with a price, the blood of a substitute, so that no punishment is necessary. (Horton, Systematic Theology)


The word atonement actually means “at-one-ment.”

“The word ‘atonement’ is an Anglo-Saxon term deriving from the sixteenth century. According to the New Oxford Dictionary, it first appeared as two separate words, ‘at onement,’ and referred only to harmonious personal relationships. By the seventeenth century the word ‘atonement’ had come increasingly to be used as a quasi-theological term.” (Williams, Renewal Theology)

Propitiation: a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath to the end and in doing so changes God’s wrath toward us in favor. (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)


Foundations of the Atonement
The atonement was an act of the love of God:

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”


The sacrifice of Christ was necessary for atonement:

Hebrews 9:22
“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Heb 2:17
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”


Views of the Atonement

• Ransom Theory- Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated Satan and set humankind free of his oppressive rule. Thomas Finger, Gustaf Aulen, and Gregory Boyd are modern proponents of this view.
• Satisfaction Theory- Jesus’ death brought “satisfaction” between God and humanity by paying the penalty that humanity’s sin deserved. Anselm offered this theory in the 11th century.
• Governmental Theory- Jesus did not literally take on the sin of the world and suffer God’s punishment on behalf of humanity. He did suffer but as a demonstration of God’s wrath against sin. Thus, the cross preserves God’s moral government in the world. Hugo Grotius presented this view in the 17th century. Gordon Olson and George Otis, Jr. are modern proponents of this view.
• Moral Influence Theory- Jesus’ death provided us with an example of how to live. The perfect love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross is a model for us to emulate. It is also called the subjective view of atonement. Abelard proposed this view in the 12th century.
• Penal Substitution Theory- Jesus bore the sin of humanity and took the punishment that humanity deserved. This view was advocated by Martin Luther and John Calvin and has been defended in recent years by Leon Morris and John Stott. This is the view most embraced by the evangelical community.
• 2 Peter 2:24, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
• Romans 3:24-26, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In the book Who Needs Theology?, Stanley Grenz states, “we might say that each of these theories presents a dimension of what remains a mystery greater than any single explanation—the mystery of salvation.” There are elements of truth in each of these views. Christ’s death does ransom us from the grip of death and Satan. Christ’s death does provide satisfaction and give us an example of how to live. However, the Penal Substitution Theory most adequately and completely describes the Biblical view of atonement.

** To read more on these views, see Across the Spectrum, Chapter 8, The Atonement Debate and Theology for the Community of God, pages 340-345.


Significance of the Atonement

• Sacrifice- Ephesians 2:13, Romans 5:9
• Redemption- Matthew 20:28, Romans 3:24
• Reconciliation- Romans 5:1, Romans 5:10-11
• Justification- Acts 13:39, 1 Corinthians 6:11

“How are we to understand this central declaration of our faith? What is the significance of his death? And how does his sacrifice affect us? We cannot understand the full meaning of the cross of Christ. We can only stand in silence before it, acknowledge its wonder, and submit to its power.” (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)


The Salvation of Man
The only means of salvation is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12 & John 14:6). He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins (I Peter 2:24). He offers each of us a pardon for our sins (Hebrews 9:26) and wants us to become children of God (John 1:12). When we put our faith in Christ, it triggers a spiritual chain reaction. We become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19). Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 3:5). We become citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). We are given eternal life (John 3:16). We are adopted and become children of God (Gal. 4:4-7). Our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Heb. 8:12). We are credited with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 4:4-5). We are born-again (John 3:3). God takes ownership of us (I Cor. 6:20). We receive an eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14 & I Peter 1:3-5). The evidence of salvation is two-fold. The internal evidence is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). The external evidence is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). We become a new creation (II Cor. 5:17) and are transformed into the image of Christ (II Cor. 3:18).

- From National Community Church Statement of Beliefs

THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
We find forgiveness of sins and peace with God through the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus alone. Our salvation is entirely a work of God’s and God’s alone.

The following passages from Romans summarize beliefs about salvation; you may find it helpful to memorize these verses so that you can use them when sharing your faith and beliefs with others.

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:13
“For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved”

Romans 10:9-10
“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Calvinism vs. Arminianism
**Refer to the handout from Across the Spectrum for a summary of Calvinism and Arminianism.


Components of Salvation
No one verse or passage of Scripture contains the chronological order of salvation. However, we see

Ephesians 1:11-14
“Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Romans 8:29-30
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”


Election
“We experience salvation because the triune God, who is relational in his own nature, chooses to enter into relationship with us his creatures. He calls sinful humans to share in the divine fellowship. This central dimension of God’s eternal intentional leads us to the concept of election (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

John 15:16
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit”

Ephesians 1:4-5
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”

2 Thessalonians 2:13
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

The questions and debate surrounding the doctrine of election revolve around how election works, when it occurs, and on what basis it occurs.

Calling
The Holy Spirit calls us into relationship with God. The Gospel call is often made in the proclamation of God’s Word.

Calling involves illumination and enablement. Illumination enlightens the minds of the hearers of the Gospel to see the divine truth disclosed therein. Additionally, the Holy Spirit enables an individual to respond to the Gospel call in repentance and faith. Illumination is directed primarily at the mind while enablement is directed primarily at the will. (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

1 Corinthians 1:9
“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Timothy 1:9
“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,


Regeneration
Regeneration is a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us; sometimes called “being born again.” (Grudem, Bible Doctrine).

Regeneration effects a change in our nature (Horton, Systematic Theology)

Ezekiel 36:26-27
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Ephesians 2:4-5
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”

1 Peter 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”

Conversion
Conversion is the life-changing encounter with the triune God which inaugurates a radical break with our old, fallen existence and a new life in fellowship with God. (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God). Grenz goes on to state that “exactly how this ‘great transaction’ transpires—how God brings us to know him—is beyond our comprehension.”

Conversion is our willing response to the Gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of our sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation (Grudem, Bible Doctrine). Conversion involves conviction, repentance, and faith. It is a turning from sin and a turning to Christ.

Conviction- the work of the Holy Spirit to expose sin and foster within us an awareness of our need for forgiveness.

Repentance- a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ…It is an intellectual understanding (that sin is wrong), an emotional approval of the teachings of Scripture regarding sin (a sorrow for sin and a hatred of it), and a personal decision to turn from it (a renouncing of sin and a decision of the will to forsake it and lead a life of obedience to Christ instead). (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

Repentance was a central theme in the teachings of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:5-12, Luke 3:7-14), Jesus (Matthew 4:17, 11:20-21, Luke 5:32, 13:3-5, 15:7, 16:30, 24:45-47), the early church (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 8:322, 17:30, 26:19-20), and the apostolic teachers (Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).

2 Corinthians 7:9-10
“I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Faith- trust or dependence on God based on the fact that we take him at his word and believe what he has said (Grudem, Bible Doctrine). This is also called “saving faith,” and it involves knowledge, assent, and trust.

Acts 20:21
“I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”

Romans 3:28
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

Justification
Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he 1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and therefore, 2) declares us to be “just” or morally righteous in his sight. (Grudem, Christian Beliefs)

Justification is a forensic term, referring to a change in our legal standing before God. (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

Justification effects a change in our status before God. (Horton, Systematic Theology)

Romans 3:24
“And are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 2:16
“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”


Adoption
Adoption is an act of God whereby he makes us members of his family. (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

John 1:12
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name”

Romans 8:14-17
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Ephesians 1:4-5
“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”

** See also 1 John 3:1-3, John 1:12, and Hebrews 2:10-11


Sanctification
Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

Sanctification is the Holy Spirit accomplishing God’s purpose in us as Christian life proceeds. (Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology)

Romans 6:11-14
“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Romans 12:2
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Ephesians 4:24
“And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

** See also John 17:17, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Peter 2:2, Philippians 3:12-14, and 1 Thessalonians 5:23.


Perseverance
Perseverance refers to the ongoing operation of the Holy Spirit through which the work of God begun in our hearts will be carried on to completion. (Horton, Systematic Theology)

John 8:31
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine”

John 10:27-29
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”

Ephesians 1:13
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”

** See also Colossians 1:22-23, Matthew 7:21-23

Glorification
The final step in the application of redemption. It will happen when Christ returns and raises from the dead the bodies of all believers for all time who have died, and reunites them with their souls, and changes the bodies of all believers who remain alive, thereby giving all believers at the same time perfect resurrection bodies like his own (Grudem, Bible Doctrine)

Glorification refers to the Spirit’s eschatological completion of our salvation, when he brings us to reflect perfectly the goal of our conversion and sanctification. (Grenz, Theology for the Community of God)

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Romans 8:11
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

** See also 2 Thessalonians 4:14-16, Revelation 21:3-5


APPLICATION
Read the book of Romans.