So it is a one way street? I am supposed to make a rebuttal of your argument (which I did) but you don't have to respond to any rebuttal I make (which you did not)? Here again is my rebuttal:
1. The phrase "saved by grace through faith" is defined AS A PHRASE to be "not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God, not of works" and thus this whole phrase is placed within the act of God "created in Christ Jesus" in verse 10 and in direct contrast to "good works" in.
2. The perfect tense "saved" demands a completed action at a specific point in time - the time of quickening (vv. 1, 5, 10) and it is AT that point in time this action occurred "THROUGH FAITH" not without faith. Think! He says "saved THROUGH faith" NOT "saved WITHOUT faith." "through faith" is an INSEPARABLE part of that completed action that stands completed right up to the point of speaking.
3. Quickening has direct and immediate consequence upon the person being quickened. There is no such thing as an unregenerated believer any more than there is such a thing as a regenerated unbeliever. The same can be said of repentance and faith. There is no such thing as an unrepentant believer in Christ any more than there is such a thing as a repentant unbeliever in Christ. You cannot turn from something without turning the opposite direction from that something. Neither does God give "new" unbelieving hearts.
YOU MADE AN IRRATIONAL AND UNREASONABLE RESPONSE AND I AGAIN REPLIED AS FOLLOWS:
I NEVER condenmned you for denying the new creature is a time issue!
I simply pointed out three undenial facts that you cannot provide any substantive response for.
1. "SAVED THROUGH FAITH" is a phrase that Paul says that it is "NOT OF YOURSELVES" but rather "IT IS A GIFT OF GOD."
2. "SAVED THROUGH FAITH" as a whole phrase occurs at one point in time as a completed action - perfect tense. They were not saved at that point in time APART FROM faith but they were saved IN THAT POINT OF TIME "through faith." Simple Greek and simple English.
Go back and read what I said until you undertand it correctly
Eph. 4:18
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Ephesians 4:18 is descriptive of the Spiritual dead condition as one "
alienated form the life of God" and what is inclusive of that condition.
To "
quicken" is to make alive something that is dead. In regard to physically alive human beings to be "
quickened" (Eph. 2:1) refers to their SPIRITUAL STATUS as "
dead in tresspasses and sins."
What does that mean - "
dead in tresspasses and sins"? It cannot mean they are PHYSICALLY dead in tresspasses and sins or that they are ANIHILATED in tresspasses and sins.
The key here is the proper understanding of the term "dead" in relationship to "tresspasses and sins." The term "dead" in this context simply means "separated" or "alienated."
Tresspasses and sins SEPARATE a physically alive person from God:
Isa. 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
However, it is more than that! It is a CONDITION of the heart:
Eph. 4:18
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
It is a condition of "
blindness of...heart" and "
understanding darkened" and "
ignorance that is in them." This is the NATURAL condition by NATURAL birth as that is where the NATURAL condition of man originates with, their NATURAL birth. That is precisely why the new birth/quickening or SUPERnatural birth is placed in direct contrast to natural birth (Jn. 3:3, 6). Paul contrasts only TWO possible conditions (1)
in the flesh - Rom. 8:7-8 versus (2)
in the Spirit - vv. 9-10
Thus quickening is the reversal of this NATURAL state of "
understanding darkened....ignorance...blindness of heart" and is also described as a "REVELATION" and ENLIGHTENMENT that removes this DARKNESS
"
flesh and blood hath not REVEALED this unto thee but my Father in heaven" - Mt. 16:17
"
When it pleased God who separated me from my mothers womb...to REVEAL His son in me" - Gal. 1:16
This divine REVELATION reverses the "
understanding darkened....ignorance in them.......blindness of heart" and thus reverses "alienation of the life of God" as Paul explicitly states it is this "
darkened....ignorance....blindness" that "alienates them from the life of God."
Therefore, "
in tresspasses and sins" is EQUAL to being "
darkened...ignorance....blindness" and therefore being "dead" equals "
being alienated from the life of God." Do you get this defintion?
Thus quickening is reversal of the "
darkened.....ignorance....blindness heart" as it is that condition that "alienates them from the life of God.
Hence, divine quickening IS Divine revelation or enlightenment as opposed to "
darkness" and "
ignorance" and "
blindness."
Quickening removes "
darkness" and thus quickening is inclusive of ENLIGTENMENT.
Quickening removes "
ignorance" and thus quickening is REVELATION
Quickening removes "
blindness" and thus quickening is INTERNAL SIGHT or REVELATION
2 Cor. 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 1:3 God by THE WORD OF COMMAND spoke light into existence. Likewise, divine quickening is God by the WORD OF COMMAND speaking the "
light of knowledge" which removes "
darkened.....ignorance.......blindness" within man.
This is why Paul uses the Greek term
rhema rather than
logos in Romans 10:17
"
For faith cometh by hearing and hearing by RHEMA [the word of command] of God."
This is why Jesus says that faith is "
the work of God" (Jn. 6:29) and that Christ is both the "
author and the finisher of faith" (Heb. 12:2). This is why the ability to move from unbelief (Jn. 6:64) to belief must be "
given" by the Father (Jn. 6:65). This is why EVERYONE whom the Father "
draws" does "
come" to Christ (Jn. 6:44-45) because divine quickening is being "
CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS" which is impossible apart from faith.
This is why the phrase in Ephesians 2:8 "
for by grace are ye saved through faith" is the same thing as "
For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus" and is a gift of God and not of works.
The perfect tense "
saved" in Ephesians 2:8 refers to a completed point of action in the past which continues as a completed state. That completed point of action in the past occurred "
THROUGH FAITH" not APART FROM faith and thus "
faith" is inseparable from the act of quickening or being "
created in Christ Jesus."
The Hardshell superlapsarian is wrong because there is no such thing as a quickened unbeliever and the Arminian is wrong as there is no such thing as a unquickened believer as quickening is INCLUSIVE of faith.
Yes, faith is LOGICALLY subsequent as the hole is subequent to the bullet but there is no chronological order as both are simeltaneous in real time. Bottom line, the new birth is not of the will of man (Jn. 1:13) but of God and the new birth is INCLUSIVE of and the CREATION of a new BELIEVING HEART by God (Ezek. 36:26; Jer. 31:34) not another heart of unbelief. The new heart IS KNOWING GOD (Jer. 31:34) and thus being "created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:10) does not refer to eternity past but to divine quickening (Eph. 2:1,5,8,10) which is the refersal of the alienated from the life of God condition described in Ephesian 4:18 where "ignorance" is replaced by knowledge, and darkness is replaced by light and blindness is replaced by sight. Hence, to be born of God is inclusive of being "given" (Jn. 6:65) a BELEIVING NEW HEART. SBM's position is that God gives another heart of unbelief as he denies