How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us1, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling2.
Scripture proofs
The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.
1 Rom. 10:17; ICor. 2:12-16; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
1 Cor. 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1 Cor. 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Cor. 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1 Cor. 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
2 John 15:5; ICor. 1:9; Eph. 3:17
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
This doctrine across the Standards
Where the Confession and the Westminster Larger Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.
In the Westminster Confession
VIII.8 To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption he doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the …
To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption he doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same; making intercession for them, and revealing unto them, in and by the Word, the mysteries of salvation; effectually persuading them by his Spirit to believe and obey; and governing their hearts by his Word and Spirit; overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, in such manner and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and unsearchable dispensation.
→ VIII.8 · Of Christ the MediatorIX.4 When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him from his …
When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that, by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.
→ IX.4 · Of Free WillX.1 All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and …
All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by his Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds, spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.
→ X.1 · Of Effectual CallingX.2 This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in …
This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man; who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.
→ X.2 · Of Effectual CallingX.3 Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and …
Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.
→ X.3 · Of Effectual CallingX.4 Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some …
Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come unto Christ, and therefore cannot be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the law of that religion they do profess; and to assert and maintain that they may is very pernicious, and to be detested.
→ X.4 · Of Effectual CallingIn the Westminster Larger Catechism
Q.57 What benefits hath Christ procured by his mediation?
Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption, with all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
→ Open Q.57Q.58 How do we come to be made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured?
We are made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured, by the application of them unto us, which is the work especially of God the Holy Ghost.
→ Open Q.58Q.59 Who are made partakers of redemption through Christ?
Redemption is certainly applied, and effectually communicated, to all those for whom Christ hath purchased it; who are in time by the Holy Ghost enabled to believe in Christ according to the gospel.
→ Open Q.59Q.60 Can they who have never heard the gospel, and so know not Jesus Christ, nor believe in him, be saved by their living according to the light of nature?
They who, having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, or the laws of that religion which they profess; neither is there salvation in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the Savior only of his body the church.
→ Open Q.60Q.66 What is that union which the elect have with Christ?
The union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God's grace, whereby they are spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably, joined to Christ as their head and husband; which is done in their effectual calling.
→ Open Q.66Q.67 What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the work of God's almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto ) he doth, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.
→ Open Q.67Q.68 Are the elect only effectually called?
All the elect, and they only, are effectually called; although others may be, and often are, outwardly called by the ministry of the word, and have some common operations of the Spirit; who, for their wilful neglect and contempt of the grace offered to them, being justly left in their unbelief, do never truly come to Jesus Christ.
→ Open Q.68Q.69 What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ?
The communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is their partaking of the virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whatever else, in this life, manifests their union with him.
→ Open Q.69