A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Union with Christ
2. Election
3. Calling
4. Regeneration
5. Conversion
6. Justification
7. Adoption
8. Sanctification
9. Preservation and Perseverance
10. Eternal Life and Glorification
11. Salvation and Theological Themes
12. Salvation and the Christian Life
13. Salvation and the Glory of God
Summary
Chapter 1: Union with Christ
God planned salvation before creation; accomplished salvation through Christ’s work; and applies salvation in saving grace. It is in union with Christ that God grants us all the benefits and blessings of Christ’s saving work. In union with Adam all die, and in union with Christ believers experience eternal life. The OT provides examples of corporate solidarity where the people are included in their covenant representative. Abraham, Moses, David, and the Servant of the Lord represented God’s people. For the apostle Paul, union with Christ (i.e., being “in Christ” and similar expressions) is significant, and he uses it in a variety of ways and contexts. Paul insists that people are either in Adam or in Christ; those in Christ are under his covenantal headship and he is their representative before God. Adam’s headship brings sin and death, but Christ’s brings righteousness and life. In Christ, the covenant promises of Abraham are fulfilled.
Jesus’s prayer in John 17 reveals that the three members of the Trinity indwell each other, and that they will indwell believers. Those in Christ are dead to sin but alive to God (Rom. 6); as a result, they are to live holy lives. Ephesians 1:1-14 is saturated with the concept of being in Christ. In this passage Paul proclaims that every spiritual blessing is found in Christ, and then he enumerates a number of them. Ephesians 2 teaches that in union with Christ we died, are raised up, and are seated with him in glory. Jew and Gentile are reconciled together in Christ. We are united to Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, and in being united with him we are united to the Trinity. This meets our desperate need, since we are alienated from God due to our sin. Our union with Christ is personal and definitive. The Spirit is given to us as a deposit guaranteeing the consummation of our salvation, so union endures forever. It is in union with Christ that we are justified, sanctified, adopted, preserved by God without condemnation, and glorified. . . .
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