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Isn't the one work of God ad intra and ad extra God's unbounded love of self and all others? By God's unbounded love of Godself there arises the threefold distinction between among (1) God as the primordial unity of both loving and being loved by Godself (= Father); (2) God as loved by Godself (= Son); and (3) God as loving Godself (= Holy Spirit). By God's unbounded love of all others there occurs the two divine works of creation-emancipation and consummation-redemption.

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The relevant point, however, is that salvation is the whole process whereby the sinner who has been disobedient to God's demand by rejecting God's gift is restored by God's redeeming love to authentic participation in both of God's works ad extra -- creation-emancipation as well as consummation-redemption. Accordingly, not to participate in God's work of creation-emancipation in an authentic way is not really to be saved, not really to participate in God's work of consummation-redemption in an authentic way, either. This is the point of the insistence that "faith by itselfl itself, if its has no works, is dead" (James 2:17,26). At the same time, it remains as true as ever that "a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law" (Rom 3:28),.

Fall 1983; rev. 10 September 2003