The Ordo Salutis And Monergism: The Case For Faith Preceding Regeneration, Part 3

By R. Bruce Compton

[R. Bruce Compton is Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature and New Testament Chair at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, Allen Park, Michigan.

This is the third article in a three-part series offering exegetical support for a Calvinist soteriology that places faith logically before regeneration. An earlier edition of this article was presented at the sixty-seventh annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Atlanta, Georgia, November 17, 2015.]

Abstract

Pauline passages that theologians often use to argue that regeneration precedes faith in the ordo salutis in fact support the opposite order. At the same time, human depravity and the spiritual state of the lost at the moment of conversion require a life-giving work of the Spirit preceding faith. The key texts identify this work as Spirit illumination. Furthermore, these texts distinguish illumination from regeneration. According to these texts, illumination is an ongoing activity in the life of the believer, whereas regeneration is a one-time event that takes place at conversion.

Ephesians 2:5–8a

Arguments For Regeneration Preceding Faith

In Ephesians 2:1–10 Paul recounted for his readers how God had transformed them from being dead in trespasses and sins to being alive. Interpreters holding to regeneration preceding faith commonly point to Ephesians 2:5 as supporting that order. There Paul described the readers’ former lost condition as being spiritually dead and enslaved by sin. As such, the readers were incapable of responding savingly to the gospel and, therefore, of contributing in any way to their own salvation.

The remedy for his readers’ lost condition, Paul stated, was that God had intervened to make them alive, that is, to regenerate them, and he did this on the basis of the saving work of Christ. To reinforce God’s exclusive role in their deliverance, Paul added the parenthetical statement that their salvation was based solely on God’s grace. Thus, proponents of regeneration preceding faith conclude from Ephesians 2:5 that the first act in initial salvation is that the spiritually dead are made alive. In other words, God initiates the sequence of events in salvation with regeneration, and with this initial event the individual is entirely passive. Furthermore, since the individual is passive, their faith, in which the individual is active, cannot precede or condition regeneration.[1]

Arguments For Faith Preceding Regeneration

When Paul made his parenthetical comment in 2:5 about the readers’ being saved by grace, he specifically had in view God’s making them alive, that is, his regenerating them.[2] In other words, the parenthesis immediately following Paul’s statement about God’s making the readers alive was intended to clarify the gracious nature of God’s saving act. Thus, the expression “by grace you have been saved” necessarily refers to the readers’ regeneration.[3] Paul then listed two additional actions in 2:6 that God accomplished on behalf of the readers. God raised them up with Christ and seated them in the heavenly realms with Christ.[4] Following this, Paul identified in 2:7 God’s purpose in these actions—to display in the coming ages the riches of his grace.[5]

After describing in 2:5–7 what God had done for the readers in saving them, Paul returned in 2:8 to the parenthetical statement he made in 2:5, but with a key addition. Clarifying the nature of the actions God accomplished for the readers, Paul declared that they “have been saved by grace through faith.” The prepositional phrase “through faith” signifies the means by which the readers “have been saved.” In short, faith conditioned and therefore preceded the actions God performed on their behalf—as expressed by the phrase “you have been saved.”[6] Since Paul’s statement in 2:8 clarifies the nature of God’s saving actions in 2:5–7, and since it repeats the parenthetical expression from 2:5 where it refers to regeneration, Paul’s statement in 2:8 must include a reference to regeneration.[7] Yet if Paul’s statement in 2:8 includes a reference to regeneration, then regeneration likewise must be conditioned by and logically follow faith. To restate Paul’s declaration, the readers have been saved by grace through faith.[8]

Placing faith before regeneration does not diminish the gracious nature of initial salvation or deny that it is ultimately monergistic, that is, a work of God and not man.[9] As argued here, the antecedent work of God’s Spirit that logically precedes conversion is Spirit illumination. Spirit illumination overcomes depravity and effectively equips the individual to respond to the gospel in saving faith. Furthermore, Paul established in 2:8 that faith was a gift from God. Following the expression “by grace you have been saved through faith,” Paul added two qualifying clauses to reinforce the gracious nature of this salvation: “and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” The phrase “and that not of yourselves” incorporates a demonstrative pronoun that points to an antecedent in the preceding clause. Although the demonstrative pronoun can have a single word with which it agrees in gender and number as its antecedent, such is not the case here. The demonstrative is neuter singular, while all of the constructions in the preceding clause are either feminine singular or masculine plural.

However, the neuter demonstrative can refer to a combination of words or to an entire clause as its antecedent. This is how the demonstrative is to be understood in 2:8. The demonstrative pronoun in the statement “and that not of yourselves” has the entire preceding clause, “for by grace you have been saved through faith,” as its antecedent.[10] In effect, Paul is saying that both salvation and the faith associated with it are gifts from God. But if faith is a gift from God, then all of the saving activities Paul mentioned in this passage are derived ultimately from God and not from humans.

Putting it in Paul’s language, salvation is all of God’s grace, including the faith that conditions and precedes these saving acts.[11]

In sum, the readers’ initial salvation was received in response to their faith, and this salvation included being made alive or regenerated. That being the case, Ephesians 2:5–8 establishes the logical order of faith preceding regeneration and not the reverse.

Colossians 2:11–13a

Arguments For Regeneration Preceding Faith

Those who champion regeneration preceding faith focus on Colossians 2:13a and Paul’s declaration “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him.” The argument here is similar to that used with Ephesians 2:5. The sequence indicated by this verse is that the readers were regenerated when they were spiritually dead. For Paul to describe the readers as spiritually dead meant the readers were unable to respond to the gospel in saving faith. But if the readers were spiritually dead and unable to respond savingly to the gospel at the time they were regenerated, then saving faith cannot come before or condition regeneration. Consequently, regeneration must logically precede and, in fact, enable saving faith.[12]

Arguments For Faith Preceding Regeneration

The problem with that interpretation of Colossians 2:13a is the same problem encountered with Ephesians 2:5. Those who argue for regeneration preceding faith from Colossians 2:13a fail to harmonize their interpretation of that verse with Paul’s discussion of regeneration in 2:11–12. Colossians 2:11–13a supports Paul’s admonition in 2:8 that the readers were to reject any teaching about Christ that was in conflict with apostolic tradition. As part of that apostolic tradition, Paul reminded his readers in 2:11 that “in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.” By describing the readers’ circumcision as something that was internal (“without hands”), Paul had in view the circumcision of the heart, or regeneration.[13] At the end of 2:11, Paul explained that the readers’ circumcision had been accomplished “by the circumcision of Christ,” that is, by the circumcision that Christ provided, based on his sacrificial death on the cross.[14]

In 2:12, Paul then clarified the relationship between the readers’ circumcision and the sacrificial death of Christ, transitioning from the metaphor of circumcision to the metaphor of baptism.[15] Their “circumcision” had been accomplished by Christ, Paul added, by their “having been buried with Him in baptism” and also by their having been “raised up with Him.” Paul’s description of the readers’ burial and resurrection with Christ in 2:12 is parallel to and clarifies his statement about the readers’ circumcision in 2:11.[16] The readers’ circumcision was accomplished (2:11) by their “being buried” with Christ and “being raised up” with him in baptism (2:12). Thus the expressions “being buried” and “being raised up” in 2:12 are roughly synonymous with the expression “circumcised” in 2:11, and, as such, provide a further description of the readers’ regeneration.[17]

That being the case, Paul specifically stated in 2:12 that the readers’ being raised up with Christ was accomplished “through faith,” that is, by means of their faith.[18] In other words, the readers exercised saving faith, and, in response, they were (buried and) raised up with Christ. In 2:13a, Paul restated his point, describing the readers’ regeneration in terms of their “being made alive.” When the readers were dead in their transgressions and the uncircumcision of their flesh, Paul wrote, God “made them alive” together with Christ. In sum, the expressions “circumcised” (2:11), “raised up” (2:12), and “made alive” (2:13) are all synonyms for regeneration. Furthermore, since Paul stated that the readers were “raised up” by faith, then the conclusion must be that faith logically precedes regeneration and not the reverse.[19]

The above conclusion does not conflict with Paul’s statement in 2:13a that the readers were regenerated when they were spiritually dead. The expression, “when you were dead,” in 2:13a represents an adverbial participle, identifying the condition of the readers at the time they were “made alive,” or regenerated. In other words, at the point in time when God regenerated them, the readers were spiritually dead.[20] It must be added, however, that the various events in initial salvation—hearing the gospel, responding in faith, being buried with Christ, being raised with Christ—effectively take place simultaneously. For this reason, the debate over the ordo salutis involves a logical order, not a chronological order.[21] With this in mind, these events individually and collectively can be described as taking place at a point in time when the recipient is spiritually dead—the events all happening simultaneously.[22] Thus, there is no conflict with the conclusion that faith precedes regeneration and the statement in 2:13a that regeneration takes place at a point in time when the recipient is spiritually dead.

Definition Of Illumination

The position defended in this study is that illumination logically precedes repentant faith (repentance and faith) and that regeneration logically follows. Without exception, the evidence from the key texts concurs with placing regeneration as logically following repentant faith. What remains to be proven is that illumination logically precedes repentant faith and that illumination and regeneration are distinct activities of the Spirit. Support begins with a survey of the word groups used for illumination in the Old and New Testaments and a proposed definition of illumination. Next, selected texts are examined to support placing illumination prior to repentant faith. Finally, evidence from these texts is used to distinguish illumination from regeneration.

Illumination In Old And New Testaments

The concept of illumination in the Old and New Testaments is linked with the activity of God in providing a proper understanding of his word. The concept revolves principally around three word groups: the word group for “opening” or “enlightening”; the word group for “teaching” or “instructing”; and the word group for “knowing” or “understanding.”[23]

For the sake of brevity, the survey of representative Old Testament passages is limited to the Psalms. The psalmist in 19:8 [9] declared that the Lord’s commands are pure, “enlightening” the eyes. In 119:18, the psalmist asked the Lord to “open” his eyes so that he could see wonderful things from God’s law. Later in this same psalm, the psalmist declared that the “unfolding” (lit., “opening”) of God’s word gives “understanding” to the simple (v. 130). The psalmist also asked God to “teach” him “discernment” and “knowledge” (v. 66). This request is preceded and followed by parallel requests for God to “teach” him his statutes (vv. 64, 68). From these references, the Old Testament concept of illumination entails God’s giving knowledge and discernment for a proper understanding and application of his word.[24]

Among New Testament authors, Luke recorded that the Lord “opened” the heart of Lydia to respond to the gospel (Acts 16:14). Similarly, Paul informed the Corinthian believers that God had given them his Spirit in order that they might “know” the things from God, things that Paul communicated to them by the Spirit (1 Cor 2:12–13). In addition, Paul prayed that God would give believers a “spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of him and that the eyes of their heart “may be enlightened” so that they might have greater understanding of God’s promises (Eph 1:17–18).[25] Finally, John described the Holy Spirit as an anointing that God gives believers to “teach” them all things concerning the truths of his word (1 John 2:20–21, 27).

This work of God’s Spirit in illumination can be further clarified by noting the consequences of its absence. For example, Paul informed the Corinthians that unbelievers do not have God’s Spirit and so do not “accept” or “understand” the things the Spirit communicates through the apostle (1 Cor 2:14). From the larger context, the person without the Spirit fails to understand the true significance of the apostle’s message. Though the meaning is available to all through the application of the rules of language, Paul’s message is properly evaluated only by means of the illuminating work of God’s Spirit.[26] Elsewhere, Paul stated that Satan had blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they would not “see the light of the gospel,” that is, so that they would not properly understand or appraise the gospel message (2 Cor 4:4; cf. 4:6).[27]

Drawing particularly on New Testament references that are linked with conversion (Acts 16:14; 1 Cor 2:12‒13), illumination refers to the work of God’s Spirit on the human personality—on the mind and heart—that effectually enlightens the individual at salvation as to the true significance of the gospel. As such, it is an internal work of God’s Spirit that convicts the individual of sin, convinces the individual of the truth of the gospel, and effectively equips the individual to respond savingly to the gospel in repentant faith. In short, illumination is that initial life-giving work of the Spirit that logically precedes and results in conversion.

Support For Placing Illumination Prior To Repentance And Faith

The Need For Illumination

The need for a work of God logically preceding repentance and faith or conversion is based on passages that describe the unconverted as incapable of responding savingly to the gospel. As discussed earlier, Paul depicts individuals at the time of their salvation as spiritually dead and enslaved to sin (Eph 2:1, 5; Col 2:11–13; cf. Rom 6:6). Unbelievers are further described as unable to properly assess spiritual realities and as blinded by Satan so that they are prevented from perceiving the truth of the gospel (1 Cor 2:12–14; 2 Cor 4:4). These and other passages speak to the inability of the lost to understand correctly their own spiritual need, to grasp the true significance of the gospel, or to exercise repentant faith so as to be saved. Moreover, this is the description of the lost at the very moment of salvation.

Thus, if the lost are incapable of responding savingly to the gospel prior to the moment they are converted, God must intervene at that very moment in a unilateral work of grace that overcomes the effects of depravity and grants the desire and ability to respond. As argued here, the initial illuminating work of God’s Spirit is that divine work of grace. This work is limited in that it is exercised toward some, not all, and it is effectual in that those so illumined exercise repentant faith and are saved. Furthermore, this description of the lost at the moment of conversion rules out equating the enabling work of the Spirit with prevenient grace in the Arminian sense. By definition, prevenient grace in the Arminian sense is a general work of God’s Spirit and is not effectual.[28]

It must be granted that there is a general illuminating work of the Spirit accomplished in connection with the proclamation of the gospel that is non-efficacious, that is, it does not result in conversion/salvation. This illuminating activity of the Spirit is an expression of common grace and is part of the general call of the gospel (e.g., John 16:8–11). It is to be distinguished from the more specific work of illumination that the Spirit accomplishes in connection with the conversion of the elect as part of God’s special grace exercised in the effectual call. This more specific work of illumination is in view here.[29]

An Examination Of The Evidence

Does Scripture explicitly state that such a work of illumination takes place at the moment of conversion? A key text in answer to this question is located in the context of Paul’s ministry in Philippi (Acts 15:36–16:40). Paul began his ministry there by preaching on the Sabbath to women who had gathered for prayer at a nearby river. One of those in attendance was a woman named Lydia, a Gentile from Thyatira who was a follower or “worshiper” of the God of Israel.[30] While Paul was preaching, the Lord “opened” Lydia’s “heart to respond” to Paul’s message (16:14).

Although several who place regeneration before faith see a reference to regeneration in this verse,[31] Luke’s description of the Lord’s “opening her heart” is metaphoric language best taken as a reference to illumination. As noted earlier, the psalmist prayed that the Lord would open his eyes to see wonderful things in the law (Ps 119:18). That this refers to illumination and not regeneration is evident from the fact that the psalmist prayed as a believer, as one who was already regenerated. Elsewhere in Psalm 119, the psalmist declares that he loves God’s law (v. 97), fears the Lord, and keeps his commandments (v. 63). Similarly, Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened so that they would grow in their understanding of God’s promises (Eph 1:18). Comparing the above metaphors, the expressions “to open the eyes” in Psalm 119:18, “to open the heart” in Acts 16:14, and “to enlighten the eyes of the heart” in Ephesians 1:18 are parallel and synonymous. In that the expressions in Psalms and Ephesians are metaphors for illumination, the one in Acts 16:14 is to be taken in that sense as well (cf. Luke 24:45).[32]

Furthermore, the expression “to respond” in Acts 16:14 means to “give heed to.” In this context it has the idea of believing, that is, of responding in repentant faith to the gospel.[33] Luke supports this meaning by noting that after Lydia responded to Paul’s message she was baptized, apparently by a member of the apostolic entourage (Acts 16:15). Later Luke described those gathered in Lydia’s house as “brothers,” as fellow believers, a description that necessarily includes Lydia (v. 40). Finally, the construction Luke uses in verse 14 indicates that Lydia’s response was the direct result of the Lord’s opening her heart.[34] Taking all of this together, Luke informs his readers that in connection with Lydia’s conversion, the Lord illumined Lydia with the result that she responded in faith to the gospel. From this it can be concluded that saving faith is contingent upon and logically follows initial Spirit illumination.

Distinguishing Illumination From Regeneration

The Nature Of Regeneration

As noted above, several who place regeneration before faith take the Lord’s “opening the heart” in Acts 16:14 as a reference to regeneration.[35] Although it was argued above that the expression refers to illumination, it must be shown that illumination and regeneration are not synonymous. Proof of this rests principally on comparing and contrasting the two concepts in Scripture.

The consensus among those on both sides of the debate is that regeneration is a single, instantaneous act of God’s Spirit.[36] Several of the metaphors used for regeneration—being born, being made alive, being raised up—effectively restrict the concept to a single act, not an ongoing activity. Although the effects of regeneration continue to be realized in the life of the recipient, the act itself is never said to be repeated or to be experienced by an individual beyond initial salvation.[37]

The Nature Of Illumination

The same is not the case with illumination. Several of the passages noted above speak of the illuminating work of God’s Spirit as iterative, that is, as repeatedly experienced in the life of the believer. For example, the psalmist asked God to teach him discernment, to illumine him regarding the proper understanding and application of God’s word (Ps 119:66). In that the psalmist elsewhere in the psalm gives evidence of being a believer, of already having been illumined in connection with salvation, his request must be for God to give him further illumination in the application of Scripture.[38]

Furthermore, John described the Holy Spirit as an anointing received from the Father at salvation (1 John 2:20). Because of this, John declared in 2:27 that his readers do not need anyone to teach them. The reason is that this anointing “teaches” them all things—again a reference to the Spirit’s teaching the readers the proper assessment and application of God’s word.[39] The expression “teaches” represents a customary present, signaling that this activity of God’s Spirit is a repeated and continuing activity.[40] In other words, John did not say that the readers experienced the ongoing results of a previous illuminating work of God’s Spirit. Rather, John affirmed that the teaching activity of God’s Spirit, his illuminating the readers, continued to be experienced.[41]

Similarly, Paul prayed that God through his Spirit would enlighten his readers to have a greater appreciation of God’s promises (Eph 1:18). Paul’s prayer is difficult to understand without an ongoing work of God’s Spirit in illumination, in that Paul prayed for those who had already experienced illumination in connection with salvation.[42] While other passages could be added, these are sufficient to point out the fundamental difference between regeneration and illumination. While both are accomplished by God’s Spirit and both are experienced in initial salvation, regeneration is a one-time act, whereas illumination is a repeated or ongoing activity. If that is the case, then the two cannot be synonymous. Regeneration and illumination must be distinct ministries of God’s Spirit.

Resolving Remaining Tensions

The Relationship Between Illumination And Regeneration

With these distinctions in mind, some theological tensions remain. The first involves the state of the individual at the moment of conversion, at the moment repentant faith is exercised. If the individual is spiritually dead prior to faith and is not regenerated or made alive until after faith, as has been argued, how is it that this individual is spiritually dead and, at the same time, able to respond to the gospel? By definition, being spiritually dead means that one is unable to respond savingly to the gospel.

Without question, this is a tension in the ordo salutis, but one Scripture itself creates. Jesus himself said that the one who hears him and believes in the one who sent him has eternal life and has passed from death to life. To clarify his point, he added that it is the dead who hear, and those who hear will live (John 5:24–25). Thus, according to Jesus’s own statement, the dead who hear and believe pass from death into life. As to how the dead hear and believe, the text does not say.

Having said that, what has been argued is that initial illumination is the work of God’s Spirit that equips and brings the spiritually dead to a saving response to the gospel. It is the initial, temporary, life-giving work of the Spirit logically preceding faith that results in the permanent life-giving work of the Spirit in regeneration following faith.[43] The dynamic between initial illumination and regeneration is somewhat similar to the dynamic between divine foreknowledge and predestination. That foreknowledge and predestination are distinct is evident in Paul’s discussion of the chain of events in personal salvation in Romans 8:29–30. Each activity Paul mentions in this chain is distinct from and subsequent to the preceding activity.[44] What God initiates with divine foreknowledge—his choosing beforehand[45]—becomes fixed or certain in predestination—his foreordaining.[46] In a similar way, then, what God initiates in illumination—the initial, temporary, life-giving work leading to repentance and faith—results in the permanent impartation of life in regeneration following repentance and faith.

Two Provisions Of Life

Describing the relationship between illumination and regeneration in this way, however, creates a second tension. Placing illumination prior to faith and having regeneration following faith means, in effect, that two provisions of life are experienced in initial salvation. There is the initial temporary provision of life that logically precedes faith, and there is subsequent permanent provision of life that logically follows faith. Again, it must be granted that this is a tension with placing faith prior to regeneration.

But reversing the order and placing regeneration before faith creates a similar tension. Those arguing for the logical priority of regeneration acknowledge that Scripture speaks of the Spirit giving life that is contingent upon and therefore follows faith.[47] In that this life is contingent upon faith, it must be distinct from regeneration, which, they argue, logically precedes faith. Regeneration cannot both precede faith and, at the same time, be contingent on faith. However, if this life-giving work is distinct from regeneration, then there must be two provisions of life with this ordering of the events as well. There is the imparting of life in regeneration that logically precedes faith, as well as a second, distinct imparting of life that logically follows faith. Thus, placing regeneration prior to faith does not solve the tension with two provisions of life in initial salvation.[48]

Theological Constructs

Some who place regeneration before faith attempt to counter the passages that reverse the order by explaining these as engaging in the language of appearance. These texts appear to place faith before regeneration, but, in fact, the opposite is true.[49] In defense of this explanation, there are statements in Scripture that, on the surface, appear to be in conflict. For example, certain Scriptures describe God as immutable or unchanging, as one who does not repent or change his mind (e.g., Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17). Other Scriptures, however, describe God as repenting and changing his mind (e.g., Exod 32:14; Jer 26:19; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:10). These seemingly conflicting texts can be harmonized, if it is recognized that pronouncements where God appears to change his mind all involve divinely ordained contingencies. For example, God on occasion pronounces judgment with the contingency that were the hearers of the pronouncement to repent, he would withhold judgment (cf. Jer 18:7–10; 26:3, 13, 19). When those hearing his threat repent, he withholds the judgment he threatened, giving the appearance that he has changed his mind. In effect, God is using his threat of judgment to provoke a response that is in full accord with his eternal plan and purposes.[50]

The problem with using this approach to explain texts that place regeneration after faith is that there are no opposing texts that incontrovertibly place regeneration before faith. In other words, God’s immutability can be defended because there are express statements in Scripture that unequivocally declare such is the case. The same cannot be said of placing regeneration before faith, as has been shown in the examination of the key texts. In effect, such an ordering of the events in initial salvation represents a theological construct that is without sufficient textual evidence. It forces a grid on these texts that the texts themselves simply do not support. Theological constructs are necessary for a full and accurate systemizing of biblical truth. But only those constructs should be maintained that are solidly built on the biblical evidence and not simply on the logic of a particular system.

Conclusion

In the debate between Calvinists on this issue both sides agree that at salvation the lost are spiritually dead and unable to respond savingly to the gospel. Both agree that an effectual work of God’s Spirit at conversion must overcome the effects of depravity and bring the lost to repentant faith. Furthermore, both sides agree that the life-giving work of the Spirit accomplishes this for the elect at salvation. In addition, both agree that salvation is monergistic, a work of God alone. The Spirit makes alive the spiritually dead so that they respond to the gospel in repentant faith. True, the elect must exercise repentant faith to be saved, but the faith the elect exercise is itself a gift from God. Thus, salvation is a work of God alone. Finally, both sides have a life-giving work of the Spirit that logically precedes as well as a life-giving work of the Spirit that logically follows conversion.

So what is at stake in this debate? Simply stated, what is at stake is a proper interpretation of the relevant texts in the analogy of faith. The question is “Which approach can best explain the pertinent texts?” What has been argued is that the evidence from the key texts places initial illumination logically prior to saving faith and places regeneration logically following saving faith. Whatever tensions remain must not be resolved at the expense of these texts.

Notes

1. See, for example, Anthony A. Hoekema, Saved by Grace (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 59, 82, 95, 99, 101–2. Discussing the nature of regeneration, Hoekema states, “We must affirm strongly that regeneration in the sense in which we have been discussing it (as the implanting of new spiritual life) is not an act in which human beings cooperate with God, but an act of which God is the sole author. Regeneration, in other words, is ‘monergistic,’ the work of God alone, not ‘synergistic,’ something which is accomplished by God and man working together” (101). His statement implies that if faith were to precede regeneration, then regeneration would be synergistic, not monergistic. Commenting on Ephesians 2:5, Hoekema adds, “How, now, could dead people make themselves alive? How could dead people cooperate with God in making themselves alive? Regeneration, the Bible teaches, is a work of God in which human beings are passive” (ibid.).
2. The expression “made alive” (συνεζωοποίησεν) is found only here and in Colossians 2:13. In both cases it refers to regeneration. See the discussion in Rudolf Bultmann, “ζάω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 2:874–75. The construction “you have been saved” (ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι) is a periphrastic perfect, with the emphasis either on the completed act or on the ongoing results. See Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 647–49.
3. F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 286. Bruce writes, “The statement is parenthetical here: it anticipates the fuller assertion of v. 8. But that people who were dead in sin should be granted a share in Christ’s resurrection life is such a demonstration of divine grace that it calls for an immediate tribute to that grace.” See also Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990), 102; Ernest Best, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 216–17; Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 168–69.
4. The expressions “raised up” and “seated” in 2:6 can be used figuratively to refer to the readers’ present spiritual status, parallel with their being “made alive” in 2:5 (cf. Col 2:12; 3:1), or literally to refer to the readers’ future physical resurrection and exaltation at the return of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:23; 1 Thess 4:16). The former is preferred as more consistent with the immediate context and with Paul’s use of these expressions elsewhere. See the discussion in Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 333–34; William J. Larkin, Ephesians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009), 31–32.
5. See, among others, Lincoln, Ephesians, 109; Hoehner, Ephesians, 336–37; Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 137–38.
6. Lincoln, Ephesians, 111. Lincoln states, “God’s act of grace is the ground of salvation and faith is the means by which it becomes effective in a person’s life.” The phrase “through faith” (διὰπίστεως) has the noun in the genitive and functions as a genitive of means (ibid.). See James A. Brooks and Carlton L. Winbery, Syntax of New TestamentGreek (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1979), 26–27. On the force of the genitive of means, Wallace notes, “The genitive substantive indicates the means or instrumentality by which the verbal action . . . is accomplished” (Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 125).
7. Commenting on the parenthetical expression in 2:5, O’Brien states, “This joyful acclamation, in effect, provides a summary of what God has already done in making them alive together with Christ, raising them up with him, and making them sit with him in the heavenly places” (The Letter to the Ephesians, 168). See also Frank Thielman, Ephesians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 142–43.
8. Hoehner, Ephesians, 340–41. As Hoehner notes, “Some scholars believe that regeneration precedes faith, but that goes against the present context. There is nothing in this context to indicate that regeneration is the means of salvation and in some way faith follows” (341).
9. Contra, among others, Matthew Barrett, Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2013), 308‒13.
10. See the discussion in Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 333–35. On the antecedent of the neuter demonstrative, he states, “The neuter . . . is routinely used to refer to a phrase or clause. In such cases, the thing referred to is not a specific noun or substantive” (333). On the use of the demonstrative in 2:8, see Lincoln, Ephesians, 111–12; O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 175‒78; Arnold, Ephesians, 139. Having surveyed the options, Lincoln concludes that the demonstrative “is probably best taken, therefore, as referring to the preceding clause as a whole and thus to the whole process of salvation it describes, which of course includes faith as its means” (112).
11. Cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18; Phil 1:29–30; 2:13; 2 Tim 2:24–26. Those placing regeneration before faith argue similarly; for example, C. Samuel Storms, Chosen for Life: A Case for Divine Election, rev. ed. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007), 151–52; Barrett, Salvation by Grace, 71‒72, 195‒204. Storms writes, “From beginning to end, from its inception to its consummation, salvation is a gift of God to his elect. Consequently, that faith by which we come into experiential possession of what God in grace has provided is as much a gift as any and every other aspect of salvation. . . . All is of God! Salvation is of the Lord” (71).
12. See Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 702–4; James R. White, The Potter’s Freedom (Amityville, NY: Calvary, 2000), 100–5. Following his citation of Colossians 2:13, Grudem states, “This new birth is viewed by Scripture as something that God does within us in order to enable us to believe” (703).
13. Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 197–98; Michael F. Bird, Colossians, Philemon, New Covenant Commentary (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2009), 78; Murray J. Harris, Colossians & Philemon, rev. ed., Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Nashville: B&H, 2010), 90–92. On the metaphorical use of circumcision as a reference to the circumcision of the heart, see Rudolf Meyer, “περιτέμνω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), 6:82–83; H. C. Hahn, “Circumcision,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 1:311.
14. The genitive “of Christ” in the expression “in the circumcision of Christ” (ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ) can be taken as either a subjective genitive, i.e., the circumcision that Christ performs in regenerating the individual, or objective genitive, i.e., the circumcision that Christ underwent, a reference to his sacrificial death as the basis for regeneration. See Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 112–19. In either case, the debate on the ordo salutis is not materially affected. See, for example, John Callow, A Semantic and Structural Analysis of Colossians, 2nd ed. (Dallas: SIL International, 2001), 93–94, subjective genitive, indicating source, origin, or agent; Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 198–200, possessive genitive, giving virtually the same sense as an objective genitive; David W. Pao, Colossians & Philemon, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 165–66, objective genitive.
15. Richard R. Melick Jr., Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1991), 259; Callow, A Semantic and Structural Analysis of Colossians, 94–95; Bird, Colossians, Philemon, 79; Nijay K. Gupta, Colossians, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2013), 93; Barrett, Salvation by Grace, 179. Barrett recognizes Paul’s transition in 2:12 from the metaphor of circumcision to the metaphor of resurrection, and he describes the two metaphors as referring to regeneration or the giving of new spiritual life, but he fails to discuss the phrase “by faith” in 2:12 (179).
16. A number of interpreters take the baptism in 2:12 as a reference to water baptism and see Paul using water baptism as a metonymy of association for conversion. See, for example, the discussion in James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 158–64; Paul E. Deterding, Colossians, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis: Concordia, 2003), 103–7; Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 200–5. However, Paul’s associating this baptism in 2:12 with a circumcision of the heart accomplished by the Spirit in 2:11 argues for identifying the baptism in 2:12 as Spirit baptism and/or union with Christ. See Homer A. Kent Jr., Treasures of Wisdom: Studies in Colossians and Philemon, rev. ed. (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2006), 86–87; J. P. T. Hunt, “Colossians 2:11–12, the Circumcision/Baptism Analogy, and Infant Baptism,” Tyndale Bulletin 41 (November 1990): 243; Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, 259–62; John Woodhouse, Colossians & Philemon: So Walk in Him, Focus on the Bible (Ross-shire, UK: Christian Focus, 2001), 135–37; Callow, A Semantic and Structural Analysis of Colossians, 94–95; Pao, Colossians & Philemon, 167. Those taking water baptism as a metonymy for conversion lean heavily on the linking of water baptism with forgiveness in Acts 2:38 to support their position. For a response, with an emphasis on Acts 2:38, see R. Bruce Compton, “Water Baptism and the Forgiveness of Sins in Acts 2:38, ” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 4 (Fall 1999): 27–29. For a discussion on the textual variant involving the spelling of “baptism,” see Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1982), 118.
17. See Kent, Treasures of Wisdom, 86–87; Callow, A Semantic and Structural Analysis of Colossians, 94–95; Pao, Colossians & Philemon, 166–70. As noted in the discussion of Ephesians 2:5, the expression “raised up” (συνηγέρθητε) can be used in a literal sense of the resurrection of the body or in a metaphorical sense of regeneration (see note 4 above). In that Paul uses the expression in Colossians 2:12 as the counterpart to the readers’ being “buried” with Christ, a clear metaphor for the readers’ spiritual union with Christ and his death, the metaphorical sense is intended. This is further supported in the following verse, where Paul employs the parallel figures of the readers as having been “dead” and then having been “made alive,” the latter expression likewise a metaphor for regeneration. On the metaphorical use of “raised up” and linking it with “made alive,” see Walter Grundmann, “σύν-,” in TDNT, 7:792–93.
18. This takes the prepositional phrase “through faith” (διὰ τῆς πίστεως) as a genitive of means and as having the same force as the similar phrase discussed earlier in Ephesians 2:8. The two genitives that follow, “in the working of God” (τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦθεοῦ), are objective and subjective respectively. See, among others, Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 105; Callow, A Semantic and Structural Analysis of Colossians, 95–96; Pao, Colossians & Philemon, 168. Sumney takes the prepositional phrase as a subjective genitive, referring to the faithfulness of Christ, but acknowledges that nearly all translations and commentaries take it as an objective genitive, referring to the faith of the readers. See Jerry L. Sumney, Colossians: A Commentary, New Testament Library (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2008), 140.
19. Kent, Treasures of Wisdom, 86–87. Commenting on 2:12, Kent concludes, “Only those who put their faith in the operation of God who raised Christ from the dead are identified with God’s Son, and are made participants in the redeeming effects of His death and the regenerating life of His resurrection” (ibid.).
20. The adverbial participle has been identified as either temporal or concessive. See Harris, Colossians and Philemon, 94. To say that the readers were made alive “when they were dead” or “although they were dead” is saying, in effect, that the readers were spiritually dead at a point in time when God made them alive. See Hoehner, who discusses the parallel passages in Ephesians 2:1, 5 (Ephesians, 307).
21. See the comments on the ordo salutis in the first article in this series and Constantine R. Campbell, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 414, 430, 433, 442. Describing the ordering of the various works of the Spirit in initial salvation under the rubric “union with Christ,” Campbell states, “such a logical sequence does not imply temporal sequence. . . . Rather, in a kind of ‘union-with-Christ ordo salutis’, this ordering is (theo)logical only, and most likely ‘occurs’ all at the ‘same time.’ A believer is united to Christ at the moment of coming to faith. . . . The person united to Christ therefore enters into participation with Christ in Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification” (ibid.).
22. Although he places regeneration before faith, Robert L. Reymond makes a similar point. Discussing the events in initial salvation, he states that they “do not reflect chronological occurrences, since the moment the sinner is regenerated, in that moment he repents and places his confidence in Christ’s saving work, and in that same moment God justifies.” A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1998), 711.
23. For the Old Testament, see Hans-Jürgen Zobel, “גָּלָה,” in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David E. Green and Douglas W. Stott (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 2:482; Martin J. Selman, “אור,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 1:325; Terence E. Fretheim, “ידע,” NIDOTTE, 2:412; E. H. Merrill, “ירה,” NIDOTTE, 2:538; idem, “למד,” in NIDOTTE, 2:801–2; Allan M. Harman, “עין,” in NIDOTTE, 3:387. For the New Testament, see C. H. Peisker and C. Brown, “ἀνοίγω,” in NIDNTT, 2:728–29; K. Wegenast, “διδάσκω,” in NIDNTT, 3:764; J. Goetzmann, “σοφία,” in NIDNTT, 3:1031–32; H.–C. Hahn, “φῶς,” in NIDNTT, 2:494–95.
24. Commenting on Psalm 119:64, Calvin states, “It is certain that he does not here treat of external teaching, but of the inward illumination of the mind, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The law was exhibited to all without distinction; but the prophet, well aware that unless he were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, it would be of little advantage to him, prays that he may be taught effectually by supernatural influence” (John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, 5 vols., trans. James Anderson [reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949], 4:449). See also H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969), 826–27, 835–38; Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in vol. 6 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, rev. ed., ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 863‒64, 870–72, 882‒83; Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, 3 vols., Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011‒16), 3:481‒84, 566‒68.
25. There is debate on whether πνεῦμα in 1:17 should be translated “spirit” (NASB) or “Spirit” (NIV), and whether the perfect participle “be enlightened” (πεφωτισ-μένους) in 1:18 should be taken as a request, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (NASB, NIV), or as a statement of fact, “that the eyes of your heart having been enlightened” (NRSV). In any case, the consensus among interpreters is that Paul is asking God to illumine the readers’ minds by his Spirit. See the discussion in Lincoln, Ephesians, 58–59; O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 133–34; Hoehner, Ephesians, 260–63.
26. For a defense that Paul is speaking of the proper evaluation or assessment of his message, not the meaning of his message, see Daniel P. Fuller, “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Biblical Interpretation,” in Scripture, Tradition, and Interpretation, ed. W. Ward Gasque and William Sanford LaSor (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 190–93. See also the discussion in Graham A. Cole, He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007), 263‒66. Paul did not specify what ministry of the Spirit he meant. He simply stated that he and the readers had “received . . . the Spirit who is from God” (2:12). Fee notes, “This is ordinary NT language for the gift of the Spirit. . . . In Paul it refers primarily to Christian conversion” (Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987], 113, n. 64). See also Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “Some Epistemological Reflections on 1 Cor 2:6–16, ” Westminster Theological Journal 57 (Spring 1995): 114. Gaffin describes the one with the Spirit in 2:15 as “indwelt, renewed, enlightened, directed by the Holy Spirit” (ibid.). However, since Paul linked having the Spirit with a proper understanding of God’s word and contrasted this with those without the Spirit who were not able to understand God’s word, it is best to identify illumination as the specific ministry of the Spirit in view. See George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, rev. and ed. Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 533.
27. Margaret E. Thrall, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 2 vols., International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994, 2000), 1:306–8.
28. See, for example, Robert E. Picirilli, Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism and Arminianism (Nashville: Randall House, 2002), 153–59; Roger E. Olson, Against Calvinism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 169‒74. For a critique of prevenient grace in the Arminian sense, see Thomas R. Schreiner, “Does Scripture Teach Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan Sense?,” in The Grace of God and the Bondage of the Will: Historical and Theological Perspectives on Calvinism, 2 vols., ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 2:365–82.
29. See, for example, Robert A. Pyne, “The Role of the Holy Spirit in Conversion,” Bibliotheca Sacra 150 (April–June 1993): 203–18; R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987–94), 3:17–64; Bruce A. Demarest, The Cross and Salvation (Wheaton: Crossway, 1997), 203–29; Bruce A. Ware, “The Place of Effectual Calling and Grace in a Calvinist Soteriology,” in The Grace of God and the Bondage of the Will: Historical and Theological Perspectives on Calvinism, 2 vols., ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 2:339–63. Bruce A. Ware, “Effectual Calling and Grace,” in Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), 203‒27; Bruce A. Ware, “Divine Election to Salvation: Unconditional, Individual, and Infralapsarian,” in Perspectives on Election: Five Views, ed. Chad Owen Brand (Nashville: B&H, 2006), 15‒18; Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013), 942–44; and John Aloisi, “The Paraclete’s Ministry of Conviction: Another Look at John 16:8–11, ” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47 (March 2004): 55–69.
30. The expression “a worshiper of God” (σεβομένητὸνθεόν) is used in Acts as a technical term to denote Gentile proselytes who worship the God of Israel without embracing the observances of the Law that would make them full-fledged members of the Jewish community. See Karl Georg Kuhn, “προσήλυτος,” in TDNT (1969), 6:743–44; W. Günther, “σέβομαι,” in NIDNTT, 2:93–94; Moisés Silva, σέβομαι,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 4:275‒76.
31. See, for example, L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1941), 473, 475; Hoekema, Saved by Grace, 102; Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 721, 731; White, The Potter’s Freedom, 288–89, 323–24.
32. On the meaning of “to enlighten the eyes of the heart” in Ephesians, see the support listed in note 23 above. For the meaning of “to open the heart” in Acts 16:14, see, for example, Simon Kistemaker, Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 591. Although a proponent of regeneration preceding faith, Kistemaker nevertheless concurs with the above interpretation of Acts 16:14. He states, “Salvation originates with God. Thus, the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to have her pay close attention to the words Paul was speaking. God granted Lydia a receptive heart to understand spiritual things. He gave her the gift of faith and the illumination of the Holy Spirit” (ibid.).
33. See, for example, C. K. Barrett, The Acts of the Apostles, 2 vols., International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994–98), 2:783.
34. The expression “to respond” (προσέχειν) represents an infinitive of result that modifies the clause “the Lord opened her heart” and identifies the outcome of his activity. On the infinitive of result, see Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 592–93.
35. See note 31 above.
36. For a representative of those arguing that regeneration precedes faith, see Hoekema, Saved by Grace, 95–112; for a representative of those arguing that regeneration follows faith, see Erickson, Christian Theology, 955–59.
37. Interpreters agree that the tenses used with metaphors for regeneration depict regeneration as an event either in summary fashion or as completed with ongoing effects, never as an event that continues or is ongoing. For a representative of those placing regeneration before faith, see Hoekema, Saved by Grace, 97–107; for those placing regeneration after faith, see Erickson, Christian Theology, 955–58.
38. Similarly Leupold, Exposition of Psalms, 826–27, 835–38; VanGemeren, Psalms, 741, 747–49.
39. Donald W. Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle: An In-Depth Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 214–15.
40. On the customary present, see Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, 521–22.
41. Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle, 206, 215.
42. See Lincoln, Ephesians, 55–59; O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, 129–34; Hoehner, Ephesians, 254–63.
43. Erickson, Christian Theology, 942–45; Lewis and Demarest, Integrative Theology, 3:54–58. Stating the relationship in this way does not conflict with the definition of illumination as an ongoing or repeated activity. True, the temporary provision of life in initial illumination that overcomes intellectual blindness and volitional enslavement is made permanent in regeneration. Yet the need for the ongoing renewing of the mind continues (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10). The ongoing work of the Spirit in illumination meets the need for the ongoing renewing of the believer’s mind in sanctification.
44. The relationship between “foreknew” and “predestined,” in 8:29 is logical, not chronological. Predestination is subsequent to foreknowledge in the sense that foreknowledge is the causal antecedent to predestination. See John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 2 vols. in 1, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 1:318.
45. Rudolf Bultmann, “γινώσκω,” in TDNT, 1:715; P. Jacobs and H. Krienke, “προγινώσκω,” in NIDNTT, 1:693; Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 866. See also S. M. Baugh, “The Meaning of Foreknowledge,” in The Grace of God and the Bondage of the Will: Biblical and Practical Perspectives on Calvinism, 2 vols., ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 1:190‒95; S. M. Baugh, “The Meaning of Foreknowledge,” in Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), 190‒95; contra Jack W. Cottrell, “The Classic Arminian View of Election,” in Perspectives on Election: Five Views, ed. Chad Owen Brand (Nashville: B&H, 2006), 84‒93, 106‒12.
46. Karl Ludwig Schmidt, “ὁρίζω,” in TDNT, 5:456. Commenting on “foreknew” and “predestined” in 8:29, Thomas R. Schreiner observes, “The words . . . are therefore almost synonyms. Many scholars . . . observe that the only difference in this text is that Paul specifies the goal of God’s preordained work in reference to predestination, that is, that we be conformed to the image of His Son. But this is to overlook the distinction between the terms. . . . The latter term stresses the preordained plan of God that will certainly come to pass . . . in accordance with his will. The former has a different nuance in that it highlights his covenantal love and affection for those whom he has chosen” (Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998], 452–53). See also Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 1:315–21; Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 332–34; Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 531–36.
47. See, for example, Hoekema, Saved by Grace, vii, 93–112. He organizes his chapters according to his understanding of the ordo salutis. After his chapter on regeneration—which he defines as the new spiritual life implanted by the Spirit logically preceding and enabling repentance and faith—he has chapters on conversion, repentance, faith, justification, sanctification, and perseverance, in that order. However, in his chapter on justification, he has a section that discusses the reception of eternal life. He defines this as “God’s gift to all who believe,” that is, as something that God gives that logically follows faith. Furthermore, he states that this eternal life is not simply a future hope but a present possession of the believer and that it “differs from merely physical life not only in duration but also in quality” (ibid., 187–88). Thus, according to Hoekema, God gives spiritual life in regeneration prior to faith, and he gives eternal life following faith. What the precise relationship is between these two provisions of life at salvation, Hoekema does not say. See also Mark A. Snoeberger, “The Logical Priority of Regeneration to Saving Faith in a Theological Ordo Salutis,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 7 (Fall 2002): 62–66; Barrett, Salvation by Grace, 297‒308. Commenting on the life that precedes and the life that follows faith, Snoeberger says, “This is not to say that the ‘abundant life’ enjoyed now and anticipated in the future is totally unrelated to regeneration: regeneration is the prerequisite of the ‘abundant life.’ However, ‘abundant life’ and ‘regeneration’ are not synonyms” (64, n. 60).
48. Proponents of regeneration preceding faith argue that having a life-giving work of the Spirit logically preceding faith that is distinct and separate from the life-giving work of the Spirit in regeneration following faith makes regeneration somewhat deficient and, in effect, unnecessary. See, for example, Barrett, Salvation by Grace, 295‒97. Yet, as has been shown above, proponents of regeneration preceding faith likewise have two provisions of life at conversion— the regenerating work of the Spirit prior to conversion and a distinct life-giving work of the Spirit granting eternal life following conversion. As such, this ordering of the events also means that regeneration is, in some sense, deficient and, at the same time, makes the life-giving work of the Spirit following conversion seemingly unnecessary.
49. E.g., D. A. Carson, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension, New Foundations Theological Library (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981), 181–82. Commenting on John 1:12, Carson states, “Even though no causal relationship is made explicit, to read 1.12 without 1.13 is to obtain the impression that sonship is the result of faith. But it is possible to take 1.13 as a careful rejection of that view, and this for four reasons” (ibid., 182). His four reasons principally involve going to other passages to counter what John 1:12 appears to teach when taken by itself.
50. See the discussion in Erickson, Christian Theology, 304–8; Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 177–84.