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Two tools to understand redemption

koot van wyk Seoul South Korea 29 November 2008

Whether one wants to understand redemption, reconciliation, election, salvation, atonement, the following two tools will help clear up a number of issues.

Tool A: de iure redemption and de facto redemption

de iure:    1. of law   2. on paper     3. forseen reality     4. before the Fall

de facto:   1. of fact   2. reality        3. concrete reality    4. now 2008

de iure reconciliation

1. A case of de iure reconciliation is in Ephesians 1:4.

2. "Just as He has elected us in Him before the Fall of the world".

3. We select the meaning "throw down" rather than create for kataboles.

4. Main point is that we were elected in Christ redemption, expiation, crucifixion, propitiation, wrath removal, bailout (hilasterion) before the Fall of Adam and Eve.

5. This salvation was de iure for us, since we were not yet alive. However, for God it was de facto since God can see in future the end from the beginning.

6. For the angelic world it was de iure since they had to wait as creatures like us created beings, for history to unfold the Messiah to come in 31 CE at the cross.

de facto reconciliation

1. A case of de facto reconciliation is Galatians 4:4-5.

2. God waited for the right time in the chronological charts of heaven to send Christ to bail us out (exagorase).

3. In this verse the incarnation through Mary is in mind (gunaikos = woman) in 4 BCE at the birth of Christ.

4. History is needed to make things happen. Washing needs a line to hang outside.

Question

Why did God not kill Adam and Eve in Eden and created two other people?

Answer

God also created angels and they were the audience to the creation and thus humanity was very special to reveal the character of God to the universe. They failed.

God had two options: exterminate them or exterminate Himself. He chose the last.

There is no other religion on earth, past and present where the God sacrificed Himself for the believer. Christianity is unique in this regard.

Other de iure and de facto cases:

de iure election, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation, redemption, eschatology.

de facto election, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation, redemption, eschatology.

de iure eschatology

1. It is the chronological plan of God of events related to the time between Heaven and New Heaven.

2. It is the scheme of God.

3. Evidence of this scheme abounds from Genesis to Revelation, in poetry, prose, narrative, history, hymns, wisdom literature et al.

de facto eschatology

1. It is the daily events happening which may or may not ring a bell in the Bible depending if the Holy Spirit as editor of the events, who cut and paste from the whole continuum only selected bits and pieces here and there, provided examples for us as signifiers, or indicators on the Roadmap for world history of God.

2. It is a realizing of what God knew before and revealed to the prophets and that happen through the centuries mostly only once.

3. The tricky part is to know if an event in one's own time is one of those signifiers.

4. Full publicity, good sources, worldwide recognition, are all essentials to make this signifier in the Bible connect to the outside event.

Tool B: One time event and process event

One time event

1. This is a dot (⊙).

2. It happened only one time.

3. In the English Bible we can recognize it with the attachment of -ed (e.g. reconcil-ed).

4. In Greek this distinction is also there and such a dot is indicated by the Aorist tense of the verbal form.

5. An example is 2 Corinthians 5:18 with the word "reconciled us" katallaxantos = Aorist thus a dot, thus a one time event.

6. When this one time event was, can be tricky. Most scholars assume that it is in 31 CE at the cross but in the light of Ephesians 1:4 it could very well have been before the Fall de iure. For God, Who can see the future it can be de facto in advance since He had confidence that the future event will surely happen. For us as human beings and the angels as creatures it would be only de iure since we cannot see into future and has to wait for reality to take its course in history.

Process event

1. This event is a spiral or line __________________________________

2. It continues to happen.

3. In the English Bible we can recognize it with the attachment of -ing (e.g. reconcil-ing).

4. In Greek this distinction is also there and such a line or spiral is indicated by the present tense, particle, imperfect etc.

5. An example is 2 Corinthians 5:19 with the word "reconciling" katallasson = present particle thus an ongoing process.

6. We know that the reconciling event was still ongoing in 58 CE when this letter of Paul (Corinthians) was written, since he makes a comment in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that people should "reconcile yourself to God". The reconciliation was not completed de facto for each individual human being yet. It is reconciliation as an ongoing process.

7. It will do us well to connect here the book of Hebrews and Jesus ministry in Heaven on our behalf as well as going back to Ephesians 1:3 which indicate that spiritual blessing in the heavenly's in Christ" (heavenly's = epouraniois = sanctuary in heaven).

Some notes

Election in Ephesians does not mean that God has favorites but that God is prepared.

Salvation is not emergency measure only quenching fires but is well-planned.

It is not a case of predestination or predetermination but prepared is He before the Fall (Ephesians 1:4).

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