Plan of salvation

Last updated

The plan of salvation is a Christian concept regarding God's plan to save humanity from sin and its consequences. It occurs first in the New Testament, for example in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, although some scholars consider the idea fully developed first in the Gospel of Luke. [1]

According to some writers, this plan of salvation is equivalent to the idea of a divine economy in history. This idea is developed by Ignatius, [2] Augustine [3] [4] and Johann Albrecht Bengel. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christology</span> Theological study of Jesus Christ

In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of the Jewish people from foreign rulers or in the prophesied Kingdom of God, and in the salvation from what would otherwise be the consequences of sin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Predestination</span> Doctrine in Christian theology

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity</span> Christian doctrine that God is three persons

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is the central doctrine concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons (hypostases) sharing one essence/substance/nature (homoousion). As the Fourth Lateran Council declared, it is the Father who begets, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds. In this context, one essence/nature defines what God is, while the three persons define who God is. This expresses at once their distinction and their indissoluble unity. Thus, the entire process of creation and grace is viewed as a single shared action of the three divine persons, in which each person manifests the attributes unique to them in the Trinity, thereby proving that everything comes "from the Father," "through the Son," and "in the Holy Spirit."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace in Christianity</span> Concept in Christianity

In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesus in Christianity</span> Jesus as seen in the Christian tradition

In Christianity, Jesus is believed to be the Son of God as chronicled in the Bible's New Testament, and in most Christian denominations he is held to be God the Son, a prosopon (Person) of the Trinity of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justification (theology)</span> Concept of Christian theology

In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divine providence</span> Gods intervention in the Universe

In theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term Divine Providence is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which refers to God's continuous upholding of the existence and natural order of the Universe, and "special providence", which refers to God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people. Miracles and even retribution generally fall in the latter category.

In Christian hamartiology, eternal sin, the unforgivable sin, unpardonable sin, or ultimate sin is the sin which will not be forgiven by God. One eternal or unforgivable sin, also known as the sin unto death, is specified in several passages of the Synoptic Gospels, including Mark 3:28–29, Matthew 12:31–32, and Luke 12:10, as well as other New Testament passages including Hebrews 6:4–6, Hebrews 10:26–31, and 1 John 5:16.

Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. It is also present in Reformed theology, through the form of an effectual calling leading some individuals irresistibly to salvation. It is also in Arminian theology, according to which it is dispensed universally in order to enable people to respond to the offer of salvation, though it does not ensure personal acceptance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegorical interpretations of Genesis</span> Readings of the biblical Book of Genesis that treat elements of the narrative as symbols or types

Allegorical interpretations of Genesis are readings of the biblical Book of Genesis that treat elements of the narrative as symbols or types, rather than viewing them literally as recording historical events. Either way, Judaism and most sects of Christianity treat Genesis as canonical scripture, and believers generally regard it as having spiritual significance.

Eastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a Sacred Tradition, a catholic ecclesiology, a theology of the person, and a principally recapitulative and therapeutic soteriology.

Free will in theology is an important part of the debate on free will in general. Religions vary greatly in their response to the standard argument against free will and thus might appeal to any number of responses to the paradox of free will, the claim that omniscience and free will are incompatible.

The doctrine of the Trinity, considered the core of Christian theology by Trinitarians, is the result of continuous exploration by the church of the biblical data, thrashed out in debate and treatises, eventually formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 in a way they believe is consistent with the biblical witness, and further refined in later councils and writings. The most widely recognized Biblical foundations for the doctrine's formulation are in the Gospel of John, which possess ideas reflected in Platonism and Greek philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penal substitution</span> Postulation about the significance of Christs death

Penal substitution, also called penal substitutionary atonement and especially in older writings forensic theory, is a theory of the atonement within Protestant Christian theology, which declares that Christ, voluntarily submitting to God the Father's plan, was punished (penalized) in the place of (substitution) sinners, thus satisfying the demands of justice and propitiation, so God can justly forgive sins making us at one with God (atonement). It began with the German Reformation leader Martin Luther and continued to develop within the Calvinist tradition as a specific understanding of substitutionary atonement. The penal model teaches that the substitutionary nature of Jesus' death is understood in the sense of a substitutionary fulfilment of legal demands for the offenses of sins.

Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalism" and "the belief or hope in the universal reconciliation through Christ" can be understood as synonyms. Opponents of this school, who hold that eternal damnation is the ultimate fate of some or most people, are sometimes called "infernalists."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">God in Christianity</span> Christian conception of God

In Christianity, God is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Most Christians believe in a monotheistic, trinitarian conception of God, which is both transcendent and immanent. Most Christians believe in a singular God that exists in a Trinity, which consists of three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Christian teachings on the transcendence, immanence, and involvement of God in the world and his love for humanity exclude the belief that God is of the same substance as the created universe but accept that God the Son assumed hypostatically united human nature, thus becoming man in a unique event known as "the Incarnation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bread of Life Discourse</span> Parable in the Gospel according to John

The Bread of Life Discourse is a portion of the teaching of Jesus which appears in chapter 6 of John's Gospel and was delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum.

Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity and Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument. Theologians may undertake the study of Christian theology for a variety of reasons, such as in order to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knowledge of Christ</span>

The knowledge of Christ refers to one of two possible, and at times related, topics in Christology: one addresses how Christians come to know Christ, the other focuses on the knowledge of Christ about the world. Discussions regarding the knowledge of Christ have had a central place in Christology for centuries. In the 20th century, the interplay between the two concepts was epitomized in the title of a book by Hans Urs von Balthasar: "Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sovereignty of God in Christianity</span> Concept in Christian theology

Sovereignty of God in Christianity can be defined as the right of God to exercise his ruling power over his creation. Sovereignty can include also the way God exercises his ruling power. However this aspect is subject to divergences notably related to the concept of God's self-imposed limitations. The correlation between God's sovereignty and human free will is a crucial theme in discussions about the meaningful nature of human choice.

References

  1. TWNT Pe-R - Page 688 1968 "Zeit (1954), 81 f., 112f., 116, 128-133 etc. thinks the idea of a plan of salvation is peculiar to Lk. and is not much developed in the earlier Gospels. It is worth noting that the itp6 of the Lucan passages finds no counterpart in the other Synoptists. Yet the concept of a plan of salvation occurs both in Mt. and Mk., e.g., Mt. 8:29 (-r lines 22 ff.); Mk. 14:41."
  2. Paul Tillich - A history of Christian thought - 1968 - Page 21 "Ignatius in particular develops this idea of a plan of salvation. In his letter to the Ephesians he speaks of the "economy towards the new man". This is a wonderful summary of the Christian message. Economy here means "building a house"."
  3. Aloys Grillmeier Christ in Christian Tradition: From the Apostolic Age to ...- 1975 - Page 100 "Through the express subordination of this typology to the idea of a plan of salvation, however, his work takes on a special character in comparison with that of his exemplar."
  4. Saint Augustine (Bishop of Hippo.), On Genesis -John E. Rotelle 2002 Page 20 "The idea of a plan of salvation that began with the very act of creation made way for a metaphysical meditation on the being and order of creation.
  5. Klaus Vondung The Apocalypse in Germany 2000- Page 43 "There remained by them”—and now Lessing appears to take up Bengel's concept of a plan of salvation, of a “divine economy” in history—“similarity of the economy of the same God. Ever, to let them speak my words, ever the self-same plan of ...