Good News for All Nations

The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, including the gift of the Spirit, our Resurrection, and new creation – Romans 8:1-30. Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God accounted the Patriarch’s faith as righteousness when he was still uncircumcised. This means that he was declared righteous without the deeds and rituals required by the Torah .

Redemption includes our resurrection and the new creation, and the Spirit is the guarantee of the future inheritance . Paul presents Abraham as the model of faith. God justified him apart from the works of the Mosaic Law because of his faith in the promises of God. Likewise, we are acquitted by God “ through the faith of Jesus Christ ,” his faithful obedience unto death, and through him, we become heirs of the covenant promises– (Romans 3:21-24, 4:10-13, Galatians 2:15-21, 3:5-9).

Salvation includes the resurrection of believers and the New Creation, both of which will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven . Central to the doctrine of salvation is redemption . God will not abandon what He first created. The term ‘redemption’ signifies the recovery of that which was lost. The universe has been enslaved and condemned to decay and death by sin. In God’s redemptive plan, however, the end state of the things and creatures rescued by Him will not simply be restored. They will be vastly superior to their original state, and this is epitomized by the promised bodily resurrection.

According to Paul, there is “ now no condemnation ” for anyone who is “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death .” Moreover, he links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of the creation. Adam’s transgression condemned the entire universe to bondage and death, not just humanity. However, “ much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus, abound to the many .”

Jesus will arrive at the end of the present age, rewarding his saints but judging and condemning his enemies . Jesus will arrive at the end of the age “ on the clouds of heaven ,” as promised in the Scriptures. The Day of the Lord will mean the completion of the Kingdom of God, the end of death, the new creation, and the judgment of all men.

The Son of God gives the Spirit to men and women, without which there is no enduring life. His words are spirit, and they are life . “ The Spirit gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The declarations I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life. ” Christ’s statement echoes the biblical principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked – (John 6:63).