Economy of Salvation

Holy Trinity, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, 16th century

The Economy of Salvation, also called the Divine Economy, is that part of divine revelation in the Christian tradition that deals with God’s creation and management of the world, particularly his plan for salvation accomplished through the Church. From the Greek oikonomia (economy), literally, "management of a household" or "stewardship".[1]

It is the elements and resources revealed by God as necessary for salvation through special revelation, scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testaments. The ultimate expression of this in Christian theology according to Catholic Church teachings would be the work of salvation achieved by Jesus Christ on the cross. His sacrifice paid for our debts and therefore has made payment for our sins - and therefore we are seen as not guilty before God for our sins committed.[2]

This economy is related to a transaction:

God saved Noah by commanding that Noah build the Ark for Noah's salvation. Certainly God could have spoken the Ark into existence more easily than commanding Noah to complete the task. Thus an illustration of God's Economy in Salvation. He does not do for man that which man himself can accomplish. Noah could not have foreseen the need for an ark, known the dimensions required of such a vessel, or the appropriate materials; thus God provided those. However, Noah could provide the labor and was required to do so.

Paragraph 1103 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church also refers to the "Economy of Salvation" as the "economy of Revelation."[3]

References

  1. ↑ Mcgrath, Alister Christian Theology: An Introduction Blackwell Publishing, 2006 p. 267 ISBN 978-1-4051-5360-7
  2. ↑ Confirmation in the Economy of Salvation Catechism of the Catholic Church
  3. ↑ The Holy See (1995). Catechism of the Catholic Church (Updated and Revised with modifications from the Editio Typica ed.). Doubleday. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-385-47967-7.

Further reading


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