Aug 24
11
Baptist Catechism 32-33
Q. 32. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us, by His Holy Spirit. (John 3:5,6; Titus 3:5,6)
Q. 33. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling. (Eph. 2:8; 3:17)
Scripture Reading: Titus 3:1–11
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:1–11, ESV)
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Q. 32. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us, by His Holy Spirit. (John 3:5,6; Titus 3:5,6)
Question 32 asks, How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? Answer: We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.
Notice a few things about this question and answer.
One, notice that the phrase, “of the redemption purchased by Christ”, is in the past tense. Jesus Christ purchased our redemption long ago. The accomplishment of our redemption by Jesus Christ is not ongoing. When Jesus said, “It is finished” immediately before he died on the cross, he meant it (see John 19:30). And what was finished? Well, the accomplishment of the redemption of the elect was finished. The work that God the Father gave Christ the Son to do was finished. Christ actively obeyed God’s law, he passively suffered during the whole of his life, and he laid down his life as a sacrifice for the sins of many. When Christ breathed his last, the work of redemption was finished.
Two, notice that the phrase, “We are made partakers”, is in the present tense. The question is, how do the elect of God living throughout history come to benefit from the redemption Christ earned so long ago? Please understand, the elect of God are not born saved or justified. No, even the elect are born in sin. At some point, they must be saved. At some point, they must have the redemption purchased by Christ applied or given to them. This transition from being not saved to saved is what Paul the Apostle describes in Ephesians 2:1-10. He wrote to Christians living in the city of Ephesus saying, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind…” Notice the past tense. These people who were Christians when Paul wrote his letter were not always Christians. They were not always saved. They were not always God’s beloved children. Quoting the text again: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” So you can see, at some point in time, a great transition occurred in these people. They were dead in their sins, and then they were made alive. They were children of wrath, and then they were adopted as God’s beloved children. What happened to these people to bring about this change? Well, that is the question addressed in Baptist Catechism 32-34.
The third thing to notice about Baptist Catechism 32 is that it says, We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit. So here is your answer. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? It is by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit. There are a few things to notice about this little phrase.
One, notice that the work of the application of redemption is attributed (or appropriated) to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the third person (or subsistence) of the Triune God (remember Baptist Catechism 8 & 9), applies it to us by effectually calling us.
Can you see, then, that our redemption is the work of the Triune God? Truly, all of the works of God are one. But certain works may be attributed to particular persons within the Godhead. We may say that the Father sent forth the Son to accomplish the redemption of the elect (see John 3:16, John 17, and Galatians 4:4). And we may say that the Father and Son have sent forth the Spirit to apply the redemption that Christ has earned to God’s elect living in every time and place.
Many texts speak of this. In John 16:7-10 Jesus speaks about sending the promised Holy Spirit after his ascension to the right hand of the Father. We see the fulfillment of this throughout the Book of Acts. And in Titus 3:5-6, which is listed as a proof text in our catechism, we are told that “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:5–6, ESV). That passage is clear, isn’t it? When Paul says that “[God] saved us”, he is here referring, not to the accomplishment of our redemption by Christ, but to the application of this redemption to us. “He saved us”, Paul says, “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…” So, if we have faith in Christ, we came to be saved, not because of good works or obedience, but by God’s mercy and grace. And how was this salvation applied? Paul says it was “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom [God] poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior…” As I have said, our salvation is Trinitarian. God the Father sent the Son to accomplish our redemption. And God the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit to apply the redemption that Christ has earned to God’s elect at just the right time.
The second thing I want you to notice about this little phrase at he end of Baptist Catechism 32 is the word, “application”. I have been using this word throughout this lesson. It would probably be good to define it. To apply is to implement. To apply is to administer. Application is the action of putting something into operation. As has been said, Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption a long time ago. What did he earn for us when he died on the cross and rose again? Among other things, he earned the forgiveness of our sins, our right to be adopted as sons and daughters of God, and life eternal. The question is, how do these benefits that Christ has earned come to be ours? They come to be ours when the Holy Spirit of God applies them, that is to say, implements, administers, or puts these benefits into operation. When does the Spirit do this for God’s elect? It differs from person to person according to God’s eternal decree. Some are saved at a very young age. Some are saved just before they die. Many are saved somewhere in between.
Three, notice the word “effectual”. Effectual means effective. When we say that someone’s work is effectual, we mean that the person gets the job done. Did Christ the Son get the job done regarding the accomplishment of our redemption? Yes. It is finished. And does the Holy Spirit get the job done regarding the application of the redemption that Christ has earned to the elect? Yes. Always. Remember, we are talking about God here and the accomplishment of his eternal decree. God the Son paid for the sins of all whom the Father gave to him in eternity (see John 17). He finished this work. His work was perfectly effective. And God the Holy Spirit has (and will) apply this redemption to every one of God’s elect at the appointed time. None will be lost (see John 10:25-30)
Question 33: How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
Answer: The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling.
Question 33 builds upon question 32. It asks, How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? In other words, how does this work? Answer: The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling.
I have three observations to make about this answer.
One, the Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us. Remember, it is through faith that we are saved. That is what Ephesians 2:8 says. “For by grace you have been saved through faith… (Ephesians 2:8, ESV). Faith in what? Faith in the good news of Jesus Christ. And faith in whom? Faith in God and in the Christ he has provided. But the question we must ask is, where does this faith come from? How could we, who were by nature dead in our trespasses and sins (see Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13), ever turn from our sins and to Christ to trust in him? Here is the answer. It is the Holy Spirit who works faith in us. Notice how carefully that phrase is worded? Who believes? Who is the one who exercises faith? Does the Holy Spirit believe for us or on our behalf? No. It is we who believe. But it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to do so. And that is why our catechism says, the Holy Spirit works faith in us. This is what Ephesians 2:8 goes on to say. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV). Faith, that is to say, our trusting in Christ as Lord and Savior, is a gift from God. Here our catechism is helping us see that it is a gift the Holy Spirit gives. The Holy Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us.
Two, our catechism teaches that it is by faith that we are united to Christ. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? Answer: The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ… This little phrase, and thereby uniting us to Christ, helps us to understand how faith can bring salvation to us. Please hear me, it is not the faith that saves us. No, it is Jesus Christ, his person and work, that saves us. But it is by faith that we come to be united to him.
If you were adrift at sea and a fisherman happened upon you in his boat, drew near to you, threw you a lifeline, pulled you into his boat, and brought you to safety, you would not tell people that it was the lifeline that saved you, would you? No! You would tell them the fisherman saved you, for it was the fisherman who spotted you hopeless and helpless in the water. It was the fisherman who threw the line to you and pulled you to safety. You would give glory to the fisherman, and not the lifeline. The lifeline was merely the means by which you came to be united to the fisherman. And so it is with saving faith. We are saved through, or by the means of, faith. But it is not the faith — that is to say, the act of believing — that saves us. Rather, it is Jesus who saves us. It is through faith that we come to be united to him. And we have just learned that faith itself is a gift from God.
The Scriptures speak often about union with Christ. This concept is often expressed by the phrase “in him” or “in Christ”. Listen to Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…” Galatians 3:26 says, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” Many other Scripture texts could be cited. The point is that we are saved in Christ Jesus through our Spirit-wrought union with him. And how do we come to be united to Christ? It is by faith that we are united to him. Faith is the hand that reaches out to take ahold of Christ and to cling to him unto salvation. And faith is a gift from God.
At this point, I should remind you of the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. Who is the head or representative of the Covenant of Works? Adam is. It is important to remember that all born into this world through the ordinary process of procreation are born in Adam (Christ is the exception. He was born into this world but not in an ordinary way, and therefore, not in Adam). We are united to Adam as a federal head or representative by birth. We are born, therefore, into the covenant that Adam represents, namely, the broken Covenant of Works. Its promised blessings are gone — only its curses remain. And now I ask you, who is the head or representative of the Covenant of Grace? Jesus Christ is. And how do men and women come to be united to Christ and, therefore, brought into the Covenant of Grace to partake of all of its blessings? It is through faith that we are united to Christ. And we know that faith is a gift from God. In just a moment we will learn that faith is made possible only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. So, men and women are born in Adam. The elect of God are reborn in Christ being united to him by faith.
Here is an immensely important question: who are you united to? Are you united (covenantally speaking) to Adam or Christ? Again I say, all who are born into this world are born in Adam and into his covenant. Only by faith do we come to be united to Christ to partake of the blessings of the Covenant of Grace he mediates. Listen to 1 Corinthians 15:21-22: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” As I have said, the question is, who are you in? Is it Adam or Christ? All in Adam die. All in Christ shall be made alive.
How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? Answer: …by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ, in our effectual calling.
The third thing to notice about this answer is that this work of the Holy Spirit is called effectual calling. You should know that Baptist Catechism 34 asks and answers the question, What is effectual calling? We come to this question next Sunday, Lord willing, so we need not define effectual calling here.
Conclusion
I’ll remind you of this by way of conclusion. Our salvation is the work of the Triune God. Who has saved us from our sin and misery? God has. God the Father sent to the Son to accomplish our redemption. It is finished. And the Father and Son sent the Spirit to apply the redemption that Christ has earned to the elect at the appointed time. That work is ongoing. Thanks be to God for the marvelous grace he has shown to us in Christ Jesus. May we be found in him on the last day.
