E.W. Bullinger — Soteriology
b1 — Number in Scripture
Salvation as a divine initiative
Bullinger explicitly states that redemption and salvation originate with God alone:
“Redemption and salvation began with God. His was the word which first revealed it (Gen. 3:15). His was the will which first purposed it (Heb. 10:7). His was the power that alone accomplished it. Hence ‘Salvation is of the LORD’ (see Ex. 14:13; 2 Chron. 20:17; Jonah 2:9; etc.). His is the will from which it all proceeds. ‘Lo, I come to do Thy will,’ said the Redeemer (Ps. 40:7,8; Heb. 10:7) when He came to do that ‘will.‘”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part II, chapter I (§ Spiritual Significance)
Interpretation: Bullinger articulates a strict monergism: salvation originates exclusively in God’s will, word, and power — not in any human co-operation.
God as the sole Saviour
Bullinger cites three Isaiah texts to establish God’s absolute uniqueness as Saviour, closing with the Revelation text that confirms God’s alpha-omega position:
“Thus saith the LORD, the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God.” (Isa. 44:6)
“Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even, I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no Saviour.” (Isa. 43:10-11)
“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” (Rev. 1:11,17; 2:8; 22:13)
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part II, chapter I
Interpretation: The combination of Isa. 43:10-11 (“beside Me there is no Saviour”) and Rev. 1:11 underscores God’s absolute sovereignty in the work of redemption — a theological foundation for the soteriology of Part II.
The gospel of God versus the gospel of man
Bullinger contrasts the biblical message of salvation with the ‘social gospel’:
“Hence ‘the gospel of God’ (Rom. 1:16) is being rapidly and almost universally superseded by the gospel of man, which is a gospel of sanitation, and indeed is now openly called ‘Christian Socialism.’ But it is a socialism without Christ. It does not begin with the glory of God, and it will not and cannot end in any real good to man. It begins with man; its object is to improve the old nature apart from God, and to reform the flesh.”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part II, chapter I
Interpretation: Bullinger sets salvation against human striving: any redemption that does not begin with God’s glory is insufficient. The ‘old nature’ is not capable of improvement.
Number 14 and the covenant with Abraham
Bullinger links the number 14 to covenant-making, with soteriological relevance through the Abrahamic promise:
“In God’s covenant with Noah (Gen. 9) the word ברית (Berith), ‘covenant,’ is used seven times; with Abraham (Gen. 15 and 17) 14 times.”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Word of God
Interpretation: Number 14 (2×7) appears at the Abrahamic covenant, the foundation for Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith (cf. Rom. 4). Bullinger views this pattern as supernatural design.
Number 14 and the once-for-all redemptive work of Christ — ἅπαξ
Bullinger observes that the word for Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice occurs exactly 14 times in the New Testament:
“ἅπαξ (hapax), once, or once for all: 14 times [in the NT]” — a word used “especially of Christ’s sufferings and death.”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, New Testament word-frequency tables
Interpretation: Number 14 (2×7) is for Bullinger the number of ‘deliverance/redemption.’ That the word ἅπαξ — expressing Christ’s definitive, once-for-all atoning work (cf. Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 3:18) — occurs exactly 14 times, he regards as intentional divine design.
Number 5² and the word σωτηρία (salvation)
In the statistics for the Pauline epistles plus Hebrews, Bullinger records:
“σωτηρία (sooteria), salvation: 18 (Paul) + 7 (Hebrews) = 25 (5²).”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Pauline Epistles
Interpretation: Number 5 stands for grace in Bullinger’s system. That the word ‘salvation’ occurs 25 times — a number equal to 5² — he sees as confirmation that salvation is the product of grace squared. This is an implicit argument for the sola gratia structure of Paul’s soteriology.
Number 7 and the redemptive ritual of Israel
“When He ordained the ritual for Israel which should show forth His work of Redemption, seven is again stamped upon it in all its times and seasons. The seventh day was the holy day; the seventh month was specially hallowed by its number of sacred festivals; the seventh year was the Sabbatic year of rest for the land: while 7×7 years marked the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:4,8).”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Chronology
Interpretation: Bullinger sees number 7 as divinely imprinted on Israel’s entire redemptive ritual, with the Jubilee — release from debt and slavery — as its culmination.
Nature and grace — the distinction
“The natural ear does not hear spiritual sounds; it cannot discern them (Isa. 64:4 and 1 Cor. 2:9). Thus nature and grace illustrate each other, and reveal the great fact that there is a secret ear, more delicate than any ‘organs of Corti,’ that can detect sounds invisible as well as inaudible to the senses.”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Sound/Music section
Interpretation: Bullinger employs the nature-grace distinction: the spiritual is inaccessible to the unregenerate person. This presupposes a doctrine of spiritual inability prior to regeneration.
The Word as the means of salvation
“We will come to God’s Word as those who are foolish in the eyes of the world, because we desire to be made wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15); and because we remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures’ (Matt. 22:29).”
— E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, closing page before Part II
Interpretation: Bullinger connects knowledge of Scripture directly to salvation — the Word is the appointed means.
Note: missing chapters
The chapters on number 5 (grace), 8 (new beginning/regeneration), 14 (deliverance as an explicit category), and 17 (victory) — which contain the core definitions for these numbers — are absent from the available PDF extraction. The extraction covers Part I in full and Part II through the chapter on the number One. A second source (b2) is needed to fully document Bullinger’s numerical soteriology.