Claim. Because the Principle of Creation requires perfection through three ordered stages (formation, growth, completion — see dp-formation-growth-completion-as-universal-three-stages), the providence of resurrection is also instantiated through three historical ages — formation-stage (Old Testament), growth-stage (New Testament), and completion-stage (Completed Testament from the Second Advent) — each raising humanity to the corresponding spirit-level.
Elaboration. Per 2.1. How Does God Carry Out His Work of Resurrection?: four principles govern God’s resurrection work — (1) it builds on the merit of the age; (2) it requires the human portion of responsibility (belief and practice); (3) spirits can grow only while in the flesh (see dp-spirit-grows-only-in-the-flesh-on-earth); (4) it must pass through three ordered stages, “manifested as three ages in the providence of restoration.”
Per §2.2 the four-age structure unfolds: an initial foundation-laying period (Adam to Abraham, 2000 years — see dp-foundation-age-adam-to-abraham-laid-resurrection-precondition), then three providential ages corresponding to the three spirit-stages of divine spirit:
- Formation-stage age — OT Law — form spirit
- Growth-stage age — NT faith — life spirit
- Completion-stage age — Completed Testament — divine spirit
The age you live in caps your achievable spirit-level: an OT saint living before Christ could not reach life-spirit no matter how devout, because the merit-of-the-age had not yet opened that ceiling. Two consequences: (a) historical justice — God’s grace is age-relative; (b) returning resurrection logic — saints capped at lower levels must descend in later ages (see dp-returning-resurrection-mechanism-spirits-descend-to-earthly-people) to receive elevation alongside earthly believers.
This atomic is the historical-providence application of the universal three-stage principle-of-creation, not a redundant restatement.
See also. dp-jesus-as-last-adam-and-tree-of-life-second-coming, dp-second-advent-required-to-complete-physical-salvation