All of God's saving works of God in Christ are eschatological (ie future) gifts. The declaration that people are righteous during the present time indicates that God's end-time verdict has now been pronounced ahead of the last day, and it will be declared to the whole world on the day of judgement (cf. Rom. 5:1; 8:33-34; Gal 5:5). Salvation is fundamentally eschatological because it represents deliverance from God's wrath on the final day (Tom 5:9; 1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9). And yet that salvation belongs now to those who believe in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9), so that the gift of the end time belongs to believers during the present evil age. Now is the time of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2), so that God's eschatological promises have penetrated a world that has not been transformed. So too redemption will be the portion of believers when their bodies are redeemed and made whole (Rom 8:23; Eph. 1:14). And yet are now redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). - Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology, p. 30-31.
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