ordo salutis

Ordo salutis, (Latin: "order of salvation") refers to a series of conceptual steps within the Christian doctrine of salvation. It has been defined as "a technical term of Protestant dogmatics to designate the consecutive steps in the work of the Holy Spirit in the appropriation of salvation." Although there is within Christian theology a certain sense in which the phases of salvation are sequential, some elements, are understood to occur progressively and others instantaneously. Furthermore, some steps within the "order of salvation" are regarded as objective (or monergistic), performed solely by God, while others are considered subjective (or synergistic), involving humanity. Christians prior to the Protestant Reformation, while not using the exact phrase, sought to order the elements of salvation. The term "Ordo salutis" was first used by Lutheran theologians in the mid-1720s.