The Scriptures themselves speak of the "great salvation," which has reached us through the Gospel. We, who have experienced the saving grace of God, know something of its greatness, but it is only as we search the Scriptures and investigate its details that the magnitude of what God has brought to pass begins to dawn upon us.
In these pages the main details are taken up one by one. If all be put together, the great salvation of God is before us; and it is important to remember that each is but one part of a great whole. They are considered separately in order that we may gain a fuller understanding of each part, and thereby more fully understand the whole.
We can no more apprehend the whole Divine plan at one moment than we can see all four sides of a building from one viewpoint. We have to content ourselves with one thing at a time. If this book helps any Christians to a deeper appreciation of the wonders wrought of God through the Gospel, not only will they be spiritually helped but God will be glorified.
When the first stirrings of the Spirit of God took place within us, the effect was that we became conscious of our sins and their guilt, leading consequently to seek forgiveness. We wanted to be forgiven, and know it. The reader has, presuming knowledge of forgiveness for sure blessing on this Gospel subject as understood. Yet it's beneficial if survey Scripture teaching orderly herewith understanding great fundamental grace blessings received in Jesus Christ fully now more clearly with every reading through inspired Word our Lord's holy Scriptures revealed unto us by way the Holy Spirit working within and revealing unto you all truth concerning Him (John 16:13). First of All then let's observe that when sin entered into world by Adam's transgression, thus humanity becoming utterly fallen sinful. Adam became a guilty man. Effects multifold; one can't lose sins without being born again through Jesus Christ our Lord received Holy Spirit now dwelling within us teach grace all truth revealed unto you holy Scriptures (John 16:13). In His parable of two debtors in Luke 7, teachings clearly as at conversion believer receive forgiveness and cleansed. Yet Father God's forgive not eternal; this Father's forgiving restoring communion pre-Christian believers sins show forth already propitiatory work accomplished Christ's first advent. Sins those be past referring to Old Testament believing now fully understood our Lord Jesus blessings received through Holy Spirit working within revealing unto you all truth concerning Him (John 16:13). Forgiveness indeed wonderful fact preached the gospel today world wide message forgiveness we stand before God as worshippers on ground of His sacrifice one offered once lost sins send away dismissed by gracious showing forth Christ risen again vindicate righteousness our Lord Jesus. Grace shown even sinner humble self come unto Saviour receives thus not everybody forgiven yet all sinned believer's pre-Christian already remitted through Holy Spirit working within revealing to you truth concerning Him (John 16:13). God revealed work accomplished propitiation show righteous God justified believers in Gospel age too vindicate His righteousness justification received. Grace shown even sinners humble self come unto Saviour receives thus not everybody forgiven yet all sinned believer's pre-Christian already remitted through Holy Spirit working within revealing to you truth concerning Him (John 16:13).
To be justified is to be cleared from every charge that could be brought against us. That this is the meaning is very apparent in the Apostle's words, recorded in Acts 13:39, "By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." The law itself cannot justify anyone; it can only convict (Romans 3:19). However, God provides a way for justification through faith alone. In Romans chapter five and subsequent verses, we learn about Christ's sacrifice as offering ultimate salvation. He demonstrated God's mercy post-conversion to believers in various ways outlined by Paul—this is the grace revealed fully after conversion but involves forgiveness of sin committed before belief (Hebrews 10:9-14). The Holy Spirit working within us reveals truth concerning Jesus' salvific work, showing His righteousness toward all who believe. The passage explains that while everyone sinned prior to Christ's death and thus deserved condemnation under the law—Christ offered salvation by dying for our sins; now believers are justified as they stand before God in Him through faith. The Apostle Paul asserts repeatedly throughout Romans 5:12-21, among other verses: "All have sinned." Humanity stands condemned to God's righteousness because of sin. Christ's death and resurrection justifies the believer—His work is imputed for our justification before God by virtue alone ("without works"). This faith-based forgiveness applies universally—it absolves us from all charges, aligning with Romans 5:9-11. Justification here means not only being cleared of sin but standing righteous in God's eyes through Christ's sacrifice (Romans 3:21; Hebrews 10:15). The passages emphasize that justification and redemption are gifts received solely by faith—thus imputed righteousness is granted to believers, ensuring they stand forgiven before God. Therefore: Justification means a comprehensive release from sin. It happens entirely because of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf (Romans 4). We believe in Jesus for salvation; this belief activates the forgiveness that was promised through His death and resurrection. So when you read Romans or Hebrews, understanding justification as imputed righteousness helps to grasp fully why faith alone brings peace with God—a key message Paul consistently preached. This concept is also clearly outlined: God's justice (righteousness) demands our obedience but offers grace freely; Christ's work fulfills this demand entirely for those who believe. In conclusion: Justification means being declared righteous by God. It was through Jesus' sacrifice that humanity finds redemption and justification—this transformative act imputed righteousness to believers. This aligns perfectly with Romans 5:1, which states we are justified "by faith," underscoring the essential role of belief in Christ for receiving God's grace as described throughout Paul's epistles. Therefore: Justification is not earned by works but received through believing Jesus' sacrificial act. The righteousness that comes from this acceptance (imputed to us) stands against condemnation—providing peace and complete clearance before God. It clarifies why Romans 5:1 emphasizes "by faith" as believers must have trust in Christ's finished work on the cross for justification. This comprehensive view highlights how Paul's teachings consistently underscore grace through belief, fulfilling God's promise of redemption to those who place their confidence solely upon Jesus' completed salvific act (Romans). Therefore understanding that righteousness is imputed by God alone helps us appreciate why faith itself justifies and grants peace with Him.
Redemption Not only has sin plunged us into guilt, and brought us face to face with condemnation, but it has entangled us in bondage of a very fearful sort; a bondage from which we are utterly unable to extricate ourselves. Then, as regards the Gospel, not only does it proclaim forgiveness in relation to our guilt, and justification instead of condemnation, but it reveals to us God, acting as a Redeemer, delivering His people from bondage, and thereby freeing His inheritance from all the encumbrances under which formerly it lay. Redemption in the Old Testament There is a good deal about redemption in the Old Testament, and one of the words used for it has the meaning, it is said, of, "freeing, whether by avenging or repaying." In Exodus, we find the great type of redemption. To the children of Israel, who were just downtrodden slaves, Jehovah said, "I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6). So this was clearly a case of redemption by avenging their wrongs upon Egypt; though we also see the repayment of what they owed to God as sinners in the shed blood of the lamb. When all was effectively accomplished we find Israel on the further banks of the Red Sea, singing, "Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth Thy people which Thou hast redeemed" (Ex. 15:13). The Illustration of Ruth A striking illustration of redemption is given to us in the book of Ruth. Boaz redeemed Elimelech's inheritance by payment, and this involved the raising up of the name of the dead by the taking of Ruth. Boaz took both to himself — the wife and the inheritance — by right of redemption. Both in the type and in the illustration bondage of one sort or another was in question. Redemption in the New Testament Turning to the New Testament, we find that redemption as well as justification is mentioned in Romans 3: "We are said to be justified … through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This serves to emphasize an important point — that these different aspects of the work of Christ and its effects are most intimately connected, so that we cannot have one without the other. To be "under sin" is to be under the power of it — in bondage to it. Christ has done the great work which avails to pay off all the liabilities under which we lay, and thus redemption is in Him for us. Freedom from Bondage In Romans 6–8, we learn how we are actually set free from the tyranny of sin and the yoke of the law; all of which had proved us to be in "the bondage of corruption" (Romans 8:21). This phrase shows that the whole earthly creation lies under its thrall, but that all shall be delivered and brought into "the liberty of the glory of the children of God." The Redemption of Our Body "For that moment we wait," "the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23). Here redemption appears again as deliverance from bondage. "I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction" (Hosea 13:14). This is applied to the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:55. Christ’s Redemptive Work in Galatians We read, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13), by paying the price on our behalf, "being made a curse for us." Both Jews and Gentiles were under bondage to the principles of the world — the law included. The law’s principle was human effort; grace is not. From these weak and beggarly elements, Christ has redeemed us that we might receive the adoption of sons. Redemption in Ephesians Redemption extends even to the resurrection of the body. "Redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Eph. 1:7). "Until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Eph. 1:14). "Sealed to the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). The first is present; the latter two are future. All that Christ bought will be redeemed by His power. Prophecy of Redemption in Isaiah Redemption by power is a great theme of Old Testament prophecy, especially in Isaiah. "Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. 41:14). "The day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come" (Isa. 63:4). Yet amid these prophecies we find the deeper message of redemption through the death of Christ: "Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money" (Isa. 52:3). Fulfilled in "The precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18–19). Questions and Clarifications Is it correct to say “the finished work of redemption”? Not quite. The redemption by blood is finished, but redemption by power is still future. Should we say “we have been redeemed” or “we are being redeemed”? "We have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1; Col. 1). Redemption is never described as ongoing. It is past (by blood) and future (of the body). Is it uncomfortable that part of redemption lies in the future? If redemption were human, yes — but it’s divine. Just as God completed Israel’s redemption from Egypt, He will complete ours entirely. Is redemption God’s ultimate goal? No — it’s the means, not the end. The goal is that we should be sons before Him in love (Eph. 1:5–7). Redemption makes this possible. Does the kinsman-redeemer in Ruth hold significance? Yes. Only a kinsman could redeem. Christ became man — our Kinsman-Redeemer — to qualify for redemption (Hebrews 2). What’s the distinction between purchase and redemption? Redemption involves purchase, but purchase doesn’t always involve redemption. "Bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20). "Denying the Lord that bought them" (2 Peter 2:1). Ephesians 1:14 shows that what He purchased by His death He will redeem by His power. This is the distinction between redemption by blood and redemption by power.
F. B. Hole explores the concept of reconciliation in the New Testament, emphasizing its distinct and far-reaching significance in the work of Christ. While terms like justification and redemption address guilt and bondage caused by sin, reconciliation focuses on the alienation between humanity and God. Sin not only incurs guilt but also estranges humans from God, severing the life and fellowship intended for them. Hole traces alienation from Genesis, highlighting humanity’s rebellion, separation, and the resulting divine grief. Although humans became estranged from God, God’s heart remained loving. Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God enacted reconciliation, identifying Himself with humanity’s sinful state and rendering believers fully accepted before Him. This work transforms human hearts, replacing enmity with love and joy, and inaugurates a new creation order. The essay also distinguishes reconciliation from propitiation and atonement, noting that Christ’s sacrificial death addresses the judgment of sin, satisfying God’s righteousness while restoring humanity. While believers already experience reconciliation individually, there is a future and universal reconciliation, encompassing all creation, which will culminate when all evil is judged and purged. Hole concludes that reconciliation represents the highest blessing of the Gospel, granting believers full access to God’s favor, love, and joy, and surpassing forgiveness, justification, and redemption in its scope and depth.
Salvation encompasses justification, redemption, and reconciliation, expressing God’s complete deliverance through Christ. It signifies rescue from guilt, sin’s power, wrath, and the corruption of the world. In Scripture, the Old Testament emphasizes temporal and national deliverance, while the New Testament reveals salvation as eternal and individual. Salvation is described in three tenses: Past – believers are already delivered from sin’s penalty and wrath. Present – Christ’s intercession preserves believers daily, sustaining them through the Spirit and the Word. Future – full salvation will be realized at Christ’s return, when believers are transformed and glorified. Believers are called to work out their salvation, cooperating with God’s transforming work, and to separate from the world’s corruption, as expressed in baptism and holy living. Salvation is not an advanced stage of faith but a comprehensive rescue—from sin, wrath, and the world—and entrance into God’s eternal calling and glory in Christ.
Sanctification in Scripture signifies separation or setting apart for God. In the Old Testament, it applied to both people and objects; in the New Testament, it chiefly concerns believers. The concept holds two meanings: Positional (absolute) sanctification — a divine act in which believers are set apart for God through Christ’s offering and the Holy Spirit’s work. Practical (progressive) sanctification — the believer’s ongoing growth in holiness, flowing from the positional reality. The primary meaning concerns God’s act of setting apart, while the secondary involves moral and spiritual transformation. Confusing the two leads to theological misunderstanding. Examples throughout Scripture affirm the primary sense: the sanctification of inanimate objects under the Law, Christ’s own sanctification for His redemptive mission, and the command to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” Believers, therefore, are first set apart absolutely, and this foundational truth gives rise to practical sanctification—daily living consistent with divine ownership. Biblical history illustrates this pattern. Israel’s sanctification followed redemption from Egypt; having been claimed by God, the nation was required to live accordingly. Similarly, Christians, already sanctified in Christ, are called to exhibit holy conduct. The Corinthian church demonstrates that sanctification is not achieved by moral progress but received through faith in Christ, who “is made unto us sanctification.” Scripture presents sanctification as a twofold work: by Christ’s offering (Heb. 10:10; 13:12) and by the Holy Spirit (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2). The Spirit regenerates, indwells, and seals believers, marking them as belonging to God. Upon this absolute sanctification rests the command to “be holy,” as God’s Word and Spirit progressively purify the believer’s life. Sanctification is both God’s will and His work (1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23), touching every aspect of the believer—spirit, soul, and body. Yet believers are responsible to cooperate through obedience: departing from iniquity, shunning impurity, and purging themselves for honorable use (2 Tim. 2:21). This dual aspect expresses both divine initiative and human response. Holiness and sanctification share the same root and meaning—positional and practical. Believers are called “holy brethren” because they are already set apart, yet commanded to “be holy” in conduct. The term saint therefore denotes any true believer, not a canonized figure, emphasizing universal responsibility to pursue holiness. Sanctification and justification are inseparably linked; both derive from the same saving act and divine agency. While Scripture explicitly speaks of justification by faith, sanctification is known and received through faith as a divine declaration rather than a feeling. Practical sanctification, however, develops progressively through faith, obedience, and divine means. The means of sanctification include: The Spirit of God, who liberates from sin’s dominion. The Word of truth, which cleanses and renews. Love, which establishes hearts in holiness. Separation and cleansing, which preserve purity in life and doctrine. Complete sanctification (“wholly”) refers not to sinless perfection in the present but to the comprehensive sanctification of spirit, soul, and body, perfected only at Christ’s return. While sin’s presence remains, believers possess divine power for victory over it. Genuine holiness manifests in a Christ-centered life, where self fades and Christ becomes the focus and theme of all living and speech.
The doctrine of new birth (or being “born again”) is foundational to Christian faith, introduced by Jesus in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3). It signifies a spiritual rebirth “from above”, not a physical or ethnic renewal. Natural descent, even from Abraham, cannot qualify anyone for God’s kingdom; all humanity, as descendants of Adam, share a corrupted nature that blinds them to divine truth. Jesus explains that one must be born of water and the Spirit to both see and enter the kingdom of God. This “water” alludes to Ezekiel 36:25–27, where God promises to cleanse His people with clean water, giving them a new heart and a new spirit. The cleansing is not superficial moral reform but a radical transformation of nature, achieved through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The Spirit acts as the divine agent, and the Word of God conveys the cleansing power of Christ’s death. Thus, new birth is not through external rituals such as baptism but through the inner work of the Spirit using the Word as the means of renewal. Scripture presents a unified view across John 3, 1 Peter 1, and 1 John 3: It is God’s work, producing a new, incorruptible nature within believers. Those born of God possess a sinless, righteous, and loving nature, in contrast to the corrupt nature inherited from Adam. This new life is eternal and incorruptible, springing from divine seed and characterized by moral purity and faith. New birth differs from regeneration (Titus 3:5), which refers to the future renewal of all things in the millennial age, though believers now experience its cleansing power. Ultimately, new birth marks the beginning of divine life within, freeing believers from corruption and enabling obedience, righteousness, and love.
F. B. Hole examines the doctrine of quickening as God’s divine act of giving life to those spiritually dead in sin. Humanity’s fallen condition, described as “dead in trespasses and sins,” reveals complete incapacity toward God, necessitating divine initiative. Hole contrasts being dead toward God with being alive to the world and Satan, showing that spiritual life begins only when God acts in sovereign mercy. Drawing from Ezekiel 36–37 and John 3 and 5, he shows the continuity between the new birth and quickening—the Spirit’s and the Word’s united work in imparting life. Quickening is presented as the most fundamental aspect of God’s work in believers, involving all three Persons of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—acting in unity. The believer is quickened together with Christ, receiving life of His order, fitting them to be raised and seated “in heavenly places.” This life is not merely revived moral effort but divine life itself, flowing from union with the risen Christ. Hole distinguishes quickening from resurrection: the former is spiritual and present; the latter, physical and future. The future quickening of mortal bodies (Romans 8:11) completes God’s life-giving work, culminating in the believer’s immortality and eternal reign with Christ. Throughout, Hole rejects views that limit quickening to later spiritual stages or physical healing, affirming it as the beginning of all true divine life and the foundation for sanctification, resurrection, and eternal glory.
This chapter explores the doctrine of spiritual power through the indwelling Holy Spirit, as taught by F. B. Hole. Humanity, weakened and enslaved by sin, lacks all ability to please or serve God. The believer’s empowerment comes only through the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit, first bestowed at Pentecost. Hole distinguishes between the Spirit’s regenerating work in new birth and His indwelling presence that imparts power for holy living and witness. The Spirit delivers believers from inward paralysis (Romans 7–8) and enables effective service, as seen in Acts 1:8. The filling of the Spirit is presented as a repeated experience—unlike His permanent indwelling—resulting in irresistible power, joy, and faith. He warns that the Spirit’s power is diminished when believers grieve or quench Him through sin, bitterness, worldliness, or self-reliance. The examples of Peter, Stephen, and Paul illustrate how power flows only when the flesh is subdued and the Spirit is unresisted. The essay also contrasts miraculous power with the greater, enduring spiritual power displayed in conversion and transformation. True divine power is not in external wonders but in the Gospel’s lasting fruit—changed lives and steadfast faith. Finally, Hole teaches that believers experience the Spirit’s power by walking in the Spirit, sowing to the Spirit rather than the flesh (Galatians 5–6). Spiritual weakness often results from distraction, laziness, or inattention to the things of God. Genuine power arises from daily submission to the Spirit, continual dependence, and single-hearted devotion to Christ’s glory.
F. B. Hole presents new creation as the culmination of the Gospel, the final and divine purpose that satisfies God’s own nature rather than merely meeting human need. While forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, redemption, sanctification, and regeneration address the ruin caused by sin, new creation reveals God’s ultimate design—to establish what is suitable to Himself in holiness and permanence. From Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah 65:17 to their fulfillment in Revelation 21, Hole traces the progression from temporal renewal to the eternal state, where death and corruption cease entirely. He distinguishes between the old creation—corrupted and subject to decay—and the new creation—formed in Christ Jesus and therefore incorruptible, stable, and divine in origin. The New Testament reveals that all who are “in Christ” already participate in this new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), becoming God’s workmanship and expressing His nature in righteousness, holiness, and truth (Ephesians 2:10; 4:24). New creation transforms both perception and conduct: believers no longer “know any man after the flesh” but live and act according to their renewed nature, producing good works reflective of God’s goodness. Hole extends the concept corporately to the church, “one new man” created in Christ from both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:15). Ultimately, this new creation will be manifest in the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21, where the church the dwelling place of God abides eternally. The chapter concludes that new creation stands as the unshakable expression of God’s life and character in Christ. It fulfills divine purpose, secures stability equal to Christ’s own, and ensures that all things tainted by sin will pass away, replaced entirely by what is “of God.”
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