At the moment a human being places faith in Jesus Christ, the justice of God — satisfied by the work of Christ on the cross — is freed to act. What it does in that instant is not a single transaction but a comprehensive transformation: thirty-nine permanent, irrevocable realities are simultaneously established, and one conditional reality is granted. None of the thirty-nine can be lost, revoked, interrupted, or diminished by any subsequent sin, failure, or circumstance. They are absolutes — established in eternity past in the divine decrees and executed at the moment of faith.
This inventory was compiled by Lewis Sperry Chafer and revised by R.B. Thieme Jr. over decades of systematic doctrinal study. It represents the most complete answer available to the question: what actually happens at salvation? The answer is not simply that sins are forgiven. The answer is forty things — simultaneously, instantaneously, permanently.
The Doctrinal Significance
The forty things establish the objective basis for the believer's identity, security, and function. They are not experiential — they do not depend on feeling, performance, or continued faithfulness. They are judicial and positional: established by the verdict of divine justice and maintained by the character of God. The believer who understands this inventory has a frame of reference that makes spiritual advance possible. The believer who does not understand it is building on a foundation he cannot see.
Thirty-Nine Irrevocable Absolutes
Not to be revoked, recalled, interrupted, repealed, or lost under any condition — including sin or failure in the spiritual life.
1
Inclusion in the Eternal Plan of God
The believer resides in the eternal plan of God and shares the destiny of Christ. He is foreknown, elected, predestined, chosen, and called.
Acts 2:23 · Rom. 8:29 · 1 Pet. 1:2 · Rom. 8:33 · Col. 3:12 · 1 Thess. 1:4 · Titus 1:1 · Rom. 8:29–30 · Eph. 1:5, 11 · Matt. 22:14 · 1 Pet. 2:4 · 1 Thess. 5:24
2
Reconciliation
The believer is reconciled by God and to God, because the barrier between man and God has been removed by the cross.
2 Cor. 5:18–19 · Col. 1:20 · Rom. 5:10 · 2 Cor. 5:20 · Eph. 2:14–17
3
Redemption
The believer is redeemed — purchased from the slave market of sin by the blood of Christ.
Rom. 3:24 · Col. 1:14 · 1 Pet. 1:18
4
Removal of Condemnation
The believer's condemnation — eternal judgment — is permanently removed.
John 3:18 · 5:24 · Rom. 8:1
5
Forgiveness of Sins
The penalty for the believer's sins has been paid and canceled by the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross.
Rom. 4:25 · Eph. 1:7 · Col. 2:14 · 1 Pet. 2:24
6
Propitiation
The believer receives propitiation — God is satisfied with the work of His Son on behalf of sinful humanity. The justice of God is appeased.
Rom. 3:25–26 · 1 John 2:2 · 4:10
7
Identification with Christ in Death and Resurrection
The believer is dead to the old life and alive to God. Positionally, he is crucified with Christ, dead with Christ, and buried and raised with Christ.
Rom. 6:6 · Gal. 2:20 · Rom. 6:8 · Col. 3:3 · 1 Pet. 2:24 · Rom. 6:4 · 7:4 · Col. 2:12 · 3:1
8
Freedom from the Mosaic Law
The believer is dead to the Law and delivered from it. The Law as a system of justification and sanctification no longer applies.
Rom. 7:4 · 6:14 · 7:6 · 2 Cor. 3:6–11 · Gal. 3:25
9
Regeneration
The believer is regenerated — born again, made a child of God, a new creation. The human spirit is restored, reversing the spiritual death of the fall.
John 13:10 · 1 Cor. 6:11 · Titus 3:5 · John 3:7 · 1 Pet. 1:23 · John 1:12 · Rom. 8:16 · 2 Cor. 6:18 · Gal. 3:26 · 1 John 3:2 · 2 Cor. 5:17 · Gal. 6:15 · Eph. 2:10
10
Adoption
The believer is adopted by God — placed into His family as an adult son with full legal standing and inheritance rights.
Rom. 8:15, 23 · Eph. 1:5
11
Acceptability to God
The believer is made acceptable to God — made righteous by imputation, sanctified positionally, perfected forever, and qualified for inheritance.
Eph. 1:6 · 1 Pet. 2:5 · Rom. 3:22 · 1 Cor. 1:30 · 2 Cor. 5:21 · Phil. 3:9 · 1 Cor. 1:30 · 6:11 · Heb. 10:14 · Col. 1:12
12
Justification
The believer is justified — declared righteous before the bar of divine justice. The verdict of the divine court is permanent and irrevocable.
Rom. 3:24 · 5:1, 9 · 8:30 · 1 Cor. 6:11 · Titus 3:7
13
Unique Availability of Divine Power
The believer receives unique access to divine power — everything necessary for life and godliness has been granted.
2 Pet. 1:3
14
Heavenly Citizenship
The believer is guaranteed a heavenly citizenship based on reconciliation with God.
Luke 10:20 · Eph. 2:14–19 · Phil. 3:20
15
Deliverance from the Kingdom of Satan
The believer is delivered from the domain of darkness — removed from Satan's legal jurisdiction at salvation.
Col. 1:13a · 2:15
16
Transfer into the Kingdom of God
The believer is transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son — a present operational reality, not a future aspiration.
Col. 1:13b
17
A Secure Foundation
The believer is placed on a secure foundation — built on Christ, the only foundation that cannot be removed.
1 Cor. 3:11 · 10:4 · Eph. 2:20
18
Gift of God the Father to Christ
The believer is a gift from God the Father to Christ — entrusted to the Son and kept by Him.
John 10:29 · 17:2, 6, 9, 11–12, 24
19
Positional Deliverance from the Sin Nature
The believer is delivered positionally from the power of the sin nature — not experientially, but judicially and permanently in terms of standing.
Rom. 8:2 · Phil. 3:3 · Col. 2:11
20
Appointment as Priest
The believer is appointed a priest unto God — entering a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood. Every Church Age believer is a priest with direct access to God.
1 Pet. 2:5, 9 · Rev. 1:6
21
Eternal Security
The believer receives eternal security — nothing and no one can separate him from God or remove him from the hand of Christ.
John 10:28–29 · Rom. 8:32, 38–39 · Gal. 3:26 · 2 Tim. 2:13
22
Access to God
The believer is given direct access to God — through Christ, by the Spirit, at any time, under any circumstance.
Rom. 5:2 · Eph. 2:18 · Heb. 4:16 · 10:19–20
23
Object of God's "Much More" Grace
The believer is within the "much more" grace care of God — an object of His love, His grace (for salvation, keeping, service, and instruction), His power, His faithfulness, His peace, His consolation, and His intercession.
Rom. 5:9–10 · Eph. 2:4 · 5:2 · 2:8–9 · 5:2 · 1 Pet. 1:5 · John 17:18 · Eph. 4:7 · Titus 2:12 · Eph. 1:19 · Phil. 2:13 · 1:6 · Heb. 13:5 · John 14:27 · 2 Thess. 2:16 · Rom. 8:34 · Heb. 7:25 · 9:24
24
Inheritance
The believer is the beneficiary of an inheritance — an heir of God and joint heir with Christ, with an incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven.
Rom. 8:17 · Eph. 1:14, 18 · Col. 3:24 · Heb. 9:15 · 1 Pet. 1:4
25
New Position in Christ
The believer has a new position in Christ — seated with Him in the heavenly places, a partner with Christ in life and service: worker together with God, servant of the New Covenant, ambassador, living epistle, and servant of God.
Eph. 2:6 · Col. 3:4 · 1 Cor. 1:9 · 3:9 · 2 Cor. 6:1 · 3:6 · 5:20 · 3:3 · 6:4
26
Eternal Life
The believer is the recipient of eternal life — not merely everlasting existence but the quality of divine life communicated at the moment of faith.
John 3:15 · 10:28 · 20:31 · 1 John 5:11–12
27
New Spiritual Species
The believer is created a new spiritual species — a category of being that did not exist before the Church Age. Neither Jew nor Gentile nor angel but something entirely new in the plan of God.
2 Cor. 5:17
28
Light in the Lord — Participant in the Angelic Conflict
The believer is a light in the Lord and is positioned on God's side in the angelic conflict — the cosmic court case in which the Church Age believer serves as evidence.
Eph. 5:8 · 1 Thess. 5:4–5
29
Union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
The believer is united with the triune God — in God, in Christ (as a member of His Body, a branch in the Vine, a stone in the Building, a sheep in the Flock, a portion of His Bride, a priest of the kingdom), and in the Holy Spirit.
1 Thess. 1:1 · Eph. 4:6 · John 14:20 · Col. 1:27 · 1 Cor. 12:13 · John 15:5 · Eph. 2:21–22 · 1 Pet. 2:5 · John 10:27–29 · Eph. 5:25–27 · Rev. 19:6–8 · 1 Pet. 2:9 · Rom. 8:9
30
Ministries of the Holy Spirit
The believer is the recipient of the permanent ministries of the Holy Spirit — born of the Spirit, baptized with the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, sealed by the Spirit, and given spiritual gifts.
John 3:5–8 · Acts 1:5 · 1 Cor. 12:13 · John 7:39 · Rom. 5:5 · 8:9 · 1 Cor. 3:16 · 6:19 · Gal. 4:6 · 1 John 3:24 · 2 Cor. 1:22 · Eph. 4:30 · 1 Cor. 12:11, 27–31 · 13:1–2
31
Glorification
The believer is glorified — the final step in the divine decree is treated as already accomplished, so certain is the outcome.
Rom. 8:30
32
Completeness in Christ
The believer is complete in Christ — nothing can be added to what Christ has accomplished on his behalf. The work is finished.
Col. 2:10
33
Every Spiritual Blessing
The believer is a possessor of every spiritual blessing granted in eternity past — the full inheritance of the plan of God is his in Christ.
Eph. 1:3
34
A Human Spirit
The believer receives a human spirit along with the Holy Spirit — the spiritual capacity lost at the fall is restored at regeneration, making genuine perception of divine truth possible.
Rom. 8:16 · 1 Cor. 2:12 · 2 Cor. 7:13 · 1 Thess. 5:23
35
All Sins Blotted Out
The believer has all sins and transgressions blotted out — the entire record of personal sin is removed from the divine accounting.
Isa. 43:25 · 44:22
36
Efficacious Grace
The believer is the recipient of efficacious grace — the enabling work of the Holy Spirit that made it possible for the spiritually dead soul to hear and respond to the gospel.
Eph. 1:13
37
Guaranteed Resurrection Body
The believer is guaranteed a resurrection body forever — the ultimate expression of the justice of God's commitment to the believer's complete glorification.
1 Cor. 15:40–54
38
Unlimited Atonement
The believer is the beneficiary of unlimited atonement — Christ died for the sins of every human being who has ever lived. The availability of salvation is universal; the application is individual and requires faith.
2 Cor. 5:14–15, 19 · 1 Tim. 2:6 · 4:10 · Titus 2:11 · Heb. 2:9 · 2 Pet. 2:1 · 1 John 2:2
39
Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity
The believer has equal privilege and equal opportunity under election and predestination — no believer begins the Christian life at a disadvantage relative to any other.
Rom. 12:3 · Eph. 3:16–19
One Revocable Absolute
Withdrawn when the believer commits sin — and restored when the believer names known sins to God the Father.
40
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
The believer is filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. This is the only one of the forty absolutes that is conditional — it is revoked when the believer commits sin and recovered when the believer names known sins to God the Father (1 John 1:9). The rebound adjustment restores the filling of the Spirit instantly and completely.
The distinction between the permanent indwelling of the Spirit (blessing 30, irrevocable) and the filling of the Spirit (blessing 40, revocable) is one of the most important in the Christian life. The indwelling cannot be lost. The filling can be lost with every sin and recovered with every act of naming sin to God. Spiritual advance depends entirely on the filling — but the foundation on which the Spirit operates never changes.
Gal. 3:3 · 1 John 1:9
A Note on the Inventory
This list was compiled by Lewis Sperry Chafer and revised by R.B. Thieme Jr. over decades of systematic doctrinal study. Chafer's original treatment appears in his eight-volume Systematic Theology (Dallas Seminary Press, 1947). The revision and expansion by Thieme reflects his decades of verse-by-verse exegesis and his development of the doctrinal framework within which these blessings are understood. The Scripture references for each blessing are provided for independent verification — the inventory stands or falls on what the text actually says.