THEOLOGY LESSON 28

LESSON 28 – DISPENSATIONS

NO	STUDY	TEXTS	TOPIC BOOK
28	Dispensations	Ephesians 3:1-5	Dispensations

Definition

A dispensation is a period of world history from God's viewpoint. It is a period of time within human history during which God's dealings with man has significant differences compared with other times.

This is a subject which generates a lot of heat from reformed theological areas. Because it generates heat a lot of believers avoid it, but that is not the biblical way; we are to study honestly the whole counsel of God's word and avoid nothing. The subject is a biblical subject as shown in Ephesians. What we need to do is to see what God reveals about the subject.

The word dispensation is used because it is the English translation of the Greek word "oikonomonia", which means a period of administration, or stewardship. It is firstly a time when a group or a person is put in charge of things in God's economy so that the portfolio is passed from one person to another from time to time.

A concept of a dispensation is never to be forced on history. The Scriptures show where the divisions come, we should not make our own divisions. God makes the distinctions, man recognizes them.

It is secondly a spiritual category not a racial, political or social one. There are spiritual dispensations and political ages. In the middle of the Jewish dispensation, half way between David and the Cross we have the so called Age of the Gentiles beginning a new political phenomenon; but the dispensation remains the same. The age of the Gentiles is the period of Gentile nation dominance and we still live in that period of history, but now spiritually we are in the Church Age.

Stewardship  

In every part of history there are a group of people who are responsible to God for his Word. These are those who are carrying the torch of doctrine. This torch comes from Israel to the Church and eventually back to Israel again.

There are a number of things that do not change however, salvation being one - by grace through faith, this was the same for Adam and is still the same today. The way we express our faith has changed, as we no longer cut lamb's throats on the altar in our churches. There is a different way as we see that Christ was the lamb that died once and for all for our sins.

In Israel the believers grew through the law, sacrifices and the celebrating of the holy days whereas we grow by the taking in of Bible doctrine and growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ given under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Major changes have occurred from the Patriarchs to the Law at Sinai, then with the Law giving way to the Church at Pentecost. The family altar was changed to the national altar at Sinai with its specialized priesthood, a specialized tabernacle and law that complemented it. These are important milestones in human history and can mark changes in dispensations.

If you ignore this you are robbing yourself of a major tool in Bible study. Unless you see the changes that have occurred you are not going to be able to rightly divide the Word of Truth. In the reformed camp they deny dispensations as a theology but they practice it in their services; for they no longer kill a lamb on the table at the front.

God's plan has unfolded in stages. Dispensationalists who are Biblical do not cut out passages from the Bible and throw them away. It is a matter of ascertaining where we are in relation to this unfolding plan.  Not all practices are legitimate today.  For instance if you applied Leviticus 2 rigidly to our day you would build an altar and start cutting lamb's throats and burning them on an altar. The reason we do not do that nowadays is because we are living in the age after the Cross/Empty Tomb and Pentecost. A new age has dawned with new methods to express the same saving faith.  

Each epoch or dispensation has a different test and expression of faith. In every period of history man is found wanting whether it is perfect environment or not. In all the areas there are tests that men fail. In the garden it was the tree, in the Age of Israel it was the law, during the Church Age it is the Cross.

It is essential that we orientate ourselves to our age in history. It is important to understand that history has a termination point and is going to end in due course. Everything is part of God's plan which is going somewhere. You cannot read Genesis through Revelation without the idea that God has a plan which is going to work out.

By knowing your area in history you know where you stand and where others in the past stand. You can also be aware of the spiritual climate in which you live.  Since the Cross there has been an increase in satanic activity and unless you understand the assets that you have and the promises that have been given to you in your age/dispensation of the church, you are going to be a casualty in the angelic conflict.

When you realise where you are and then go back into previous dispensations and see how it was for people in those times you will start to become a theologian. In the Roman Catholic Church at the time of Galileo when he said that the earth was not the center of the universe they rejected it because they thought of themselves as more important than they really were.  There are some theological systems that magnify themselves. With dispensations however the understanding of them will put you in your place.

We are royal priests and members of the royal family of God. We are not the “be all and the end all” but we are the climax of history. There needs to be right orientation towards believers in past history and to those in the future. True theology should make you humble and thankful. This is the difference between theology in Spirit and in truth and the theology from books and manuscripts. Biblical theology will tend towards worship and not divisive arguments.

Some Christians claim promises which they have no right to claim. For example the Afrikaner claim to South Africa was the misapplication of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua. As they crossed the Orange River they believed that they were crossing the Jordan and they claimed the land and killed the Canaanites who were in the form of the black inhabitants. This was the theological premise which created the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

This was a false application of a passage of Scripture which was for Israelites and not for members of the Church. As another example there were things that Noah was told to apply which are still applicable today whilst there are some that are not. The altar and sacrifice are not but meat eating is. Learning to make the right distinctions and applications in accord with your place in God's unfolding drama of redemption is what theology is all about.

Both the hyper dispensationalist and the non dispensationalist wrongly divide the word of truth and Satan tries to get people of this narrow road to the truth. If the enemy can get us applying the wrong passages into our life, then he has won, for we are distracted and off the path of God.

The Three principles of Biblical Dispensational application,

[a] The Principle of literal interpretation - where the Lord chose to speak to us using language which should be interpreted using the normal standards of grammar.

[b] A belief in progressive revelation over the ages unfolding more and more details and completing his written revelation when John laid down his pen on Patmos in AD 96.

[c] Supersession where the later revelation in many ways supersedes those things that was before.

There is a trilogy in Galatians, Romans and Hebrews, that explains the shift from the Mosaic Law to the new dispensation. The Mosaic Law was superseded by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Previous instructions may not necessarily apply in the following period.   As a believer in the Church Age If you are living at a level lower than what is required you are legalistic and living out of step with the time in which you should be living.

The estimate of the number of dispensations into which the Bible is divided varies from 5 to 8. Dispensations are particularly important with your prophetic view.  If you know what has happened in the past it gives you a much better appreciation of what is going to happen in the future. If you know what God has done in the past you can be confident of what he will do in the future.

Once you have, from scripture, seen what dispensations mean, you will tend to find that you have a different view of prophecy.  From this study you will get a pre Millennial, pre Tribulation viewpoint.

DOCTRINES

DISPENSATIONS

1. General Scripture (Ephesians 3:1-5) Key words -

Verse 2 - dispensation - stewardship or administration.

Verse 3 - mystery - Church Age.

Verse 5 - other ages (Gentile and Jewish Ages).

2. Definition:  A dispensation is a period of time expressing the viewpoint of God in relation to the history of man. During each dispensation God entrusts the spreading of the Gospel to specific people. Failure to fulfil their responsibility causes God to end a Dispensation and usher in a new one.

3. Human history is divided biblically into 4 Dispensations.

(a) Gentile or Family.

(b) Jews.

(c) Church or Grace.

(d) Christ or the Millennium.

4. In all cases salvation is the same - faith in Jesus Christ but due to the position of the cross varies in its viewpoint of the sacrifice from prophetic to historic.

(a) The Gentile and Jewish ages looked forward to the cross by means of animal sacrifices, the Tabernacle and Old Testament scriptures.

(b) The Church age looks back at the cross as an accomplished fact in history.

(c) The Millennial Age looks at the present person of Christ on earth.

5. Greek words related to time.

(a) Chronos - a succession of events - chronology - a history of Israel. For example; reign of Saul, reign of David, reign of Solomon.

(b) Kairos - an epoch or period of time which is used for categories of times - dispensations.

(c) Oikonomia - translated dispensation - means to administer an estate, be a responsible steward of an important item.

(d) Aion - age - very similar to Kairos but allows for a break in an epoch such as occurs in the Jewish age with the Tribulation occurring after the Church age.

6. Diagrammatic layout of Dispensations.

Gentiles               True Jews            Church            Jews                      Millennium

Adam                  Abraham             Pentecost         Rapture                 2nd Advent

7. Responsible Agents for the Gospel.

(a) Gentiles - the head of the family responsible for the gospel.

(b) Jews - a special race based on regeneration responsible for the gospel. The Jews are often called the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all 'born again' believers.

(c) Church - a spiritual race based on regeneration responsible for the gospel.

(d) Christ - the God/Man himself responsible for the gospel.

8. Civilisations

As a parallel system; to dispensations are civilisations of which there are three. In all cases the civilisation starts with believers only and finishes with judgment.

(a)      Civilisation

          Pre Flood                         Post Flood                       Millennial

          Adam                              Noah                               2nd Advent

(b)     Dispensation

          Gentile                            Jews & Church                  Millennium

          Adam                             Abraham                          2nd Advent

We are thus in the Church Age dispensation and Post Flood Civilisation.

DISPENSATION OF THE GENTILES OR FAMILY

1. Scripture:  Genesis 1-11

2. Limits:  Adam to Abraham.

3. Divided into Three Sections

a) The Age of Innocence (Genesis 1:28-3:22)

b) The Age of Rebellion (Genesis 3:23-8:20)

c) The Age of Nations (Genesis 8:21-11:32)

4. Characteristics

a) One Language. (Genesis 11:6)

b) One race - the Gentiles (Genesis 11:6)

c) No written scripture

d) No missionary agency; every believer responsible for the gospel - particularly the father.

e) Means of salvation - belief in Christ. (Romans 4:3)

f) Time span - approximately 2,000 years

g) Major judgments - Noah (flood) (Genesis 7)

h) At death believers went to Paradise.

i) At death unbelievers went to Torments.

j) Priesthood - specialised - particularly the father.

k) The Law - no Mosaic Law.

l) Holy Spirit - assisted a selected few believers

m) Environment - perfect in the garden, progressively worse after sin (Genesis 1:31, 3:17-18).

n) Satan - In heaven and on earth.

o) Rebellion. Began in Eden with Adam and Eve’s sin; then continued later with the building of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9)

5.  During this Age, God established four institutions for mankind to live by:-

a) Free Will (Genesis 2:16, 17)

b) Marriage (Genesis 2:22-24)

c) Family (Genesis 4:1)

d) Human Families of Nations (Genesis 9-11)

6. During this Age, Satan attacked these frameworks.

a) Free Will (Genesis 3) - the fall of Adam and Eve.

b) Marriage and Family (Genesis 6) - the angelic infiltration.

c) Nationalism (Genesis 11:1-9) - Internationalism in the tower of Babel.

DISPENSATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL

1. Scripture:  Genesis 12 -Acts.

2. Limits:  Abraham to Second Advent.

3. Divided into Three Sections

a) The Patriarchs - Abraham - Moses.

b) The Law. Moses - Pentecost.

c) The Tribulation - Rapture - 2nd Advent.

4. Characteristics

a) Length of Age - approximately 2,000 years.

b) Means of salvation - faith in Christ (James 2:23)

c) Written Scripture - Old Testament completed 425 BC

d) Evangelists - The Jews

e) Four Unconditional Covenants:-

i)   Abrahamic (Genesis 12:1-3)

ii)  Davidic (2 Samuel 7:8-16)

iii) Palestinian (Genesis 15:18-21)

iv) New. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

These are fulfilled at the Second Advent, when Jesus, the Messiah returns to earth to reign as King.

f) Specific discipline for failure to comply with Divine Direction include:-

i) Where a foreign country rules the Jews (e.g. Rome from 60 BC. to 70 AD.)

ii) Where the Jews are removed from the land (e.g. Babylonian captivity 586 to 516 BC)

g) Major judgments - Babylonian captivity.

h) At death believers - Paradise (Abraham's Bosom) (Luke 16:19-31

i) At death unbelievers - Torments (Luke 16:19-31)

j) Priesthood - Levitical (Exodus 28-29)

k) The Law - given to Moses (Exodus 19-24)

l) Holy Spirit - assisted a selected few believers - eg Gideon, David, Samson.

m) Environment - sinful.

n) Satan - in heaven and on earth.

o) Rebellion - Idolatry, rejection of the Law of God.

p) Many languages -(Genesis 11:9)

q) Many races of people (Genesis 11:9)

r) Spirituality - resting in the promise of God. (Hebrews 11:8-40)

5. The Jewish Age is interrupted at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Daniel 9:26a).  Instead of accepting their Messiah, the Jewish Religious Leaders rejected him and crucified Him.

God therefore grafted the Gentiles into the Jewish rootstock and empowered the Church by means of the Holy Spirit as His ambassadors on earth from then onwards, Romans 11:17-25. These also include ALL Jews who did accept Yeshua as their saviour down the Centuries.  Paul used the illustration of the Olive Tree being the Jewish System God used to bring about Yeshua the Messiah and later the Lord grafted in the Gentile believers.  The Church was established by the 12 Apostles who were ALL Jews...so this shows what a lie 'replacement theology' really is.   

When the Church (All Born Again Spirit Begotten Believers) are removed from the earth (known as the Rapture); God will re-institute the True Jews as His ambassadors.  This will last for a period of seven years (Daniel 9:26b-27), known as the Tribulation (see below), during which time many Jews will repent and call upon their Messiah.  The Lord Jesus Christ will then come back to earth at the Second Advent to re-gather Israel and establish His kingdom on earth.

6. See "The Tribulation" below.

DISPENSATION OF THE CHURCH

1. Limits:  Pentecost to Rapture

2. Characteristics

a) Length of Age - Unknown - but possibly about 2,000 years.

b) Means of Salvation - Faith in Christ. (Acts 16:31)

c) Written Scripture - Old Testament - Pre Canon; Whole Bible - Post Canon.

d) Evangelists - all believers (Matthew 28:18-20  2 Corinthians 5:20)

e) Major Judgment -- Nil

f) At death (believers) - Heaven, face to face with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8)

g) At death (unbelievers) - Torments, Hades.

h) Priesthood - all believers as priests (1 Peter 2:9)

i) The Law - grace, the law having been fulfilled by Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17)

j) Holy Spirit - indwells all believers (John 7:39, 1 Corinthians 6:19)

k) Environment - sinful.

l) Satan - in Heaven or on earth

m) Rebellion - Apostasy (2 Timothy 3:1-6)

n) Many languages - (Genesis 11:9)

o) Many races of people - (Genesis 11:9)

p) Spirituality - filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)

q) Every believer in union with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

r) Every believer indwelt by Christ. (John 14:20)

3. The Church Age is not mentioned in the Old Testament.

a) The Church was a mystery to Old Testament writers.(Colossians 1:25-26)

b) The Old Testament Scriptures include everything such as the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection, Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures then skip over the Church Age to the Tribulation, Second Advent and Millennium.

c) Examples of scriptures in the Old Testament where the great parenthesis occurs are Daniel 2:40,41,  7:23,24,  9:26a,26b,  11:35,36, Hosea 3:4,5 , Isaiah 61:2a,2b

DISPENSATION – CHURCH AGE – INTERCALATION OR INSERTION

1. The CHURCH AGE is not mentioned in the Old Testament.  It has been inserted later by God.

2. Since the Church is a mystery it was not revealed to Old Testament writers. (Colossians 1:25, 26)

The Old Testament Scriptures include everything such as the Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection, Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ.  The Old Testament Scriptures then skip over the Church Age to the Tribulation, Second Advent and Millennium.

3. Therefore all doctrine pertinent to the Church Age is intercalated or inserted.

4. Scriptures in the Old Testament where the Great Parenthesis occurs are:

Daniel 2:40 and 41

Daniel 7:23 and 24

Daniel 9:26a and 26b,

Daniel 11:35 and 36

Isaiah 61:2a and 2b

The period of the great parenthesis is a period of the intensified state of the angelic conflict.  It was not included in the Old Testament Scriptures because it would have confused believers of that age.  They would have been quite probably envious of church age benefits such as the universal indwelling of the Holy Spirit, universal priesthood, indwelling of Christ, etc.

5. All believers in the period of intercalation are called into full time Christian service.

DISPENSATIONS – THE TRIBULATION OR THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE

1. The Tribulation is actually the last seven years of the Age of Israel (see above)

2. General Scripture (Revelation 4-19)

3. Limits:  Rapture to Second Advent

4. Characteristics:

a) Length of Age - 7 years. (Daniel 9:27)

b) Means of Salvation - faith in Christ.

c) Scripture - completed Canon.

d) Evangelists - 144,000 Jewish evangelists (Revelation 7). Also angelic evangelists (Revelation 14:6-7)

e) Major judgments - a succession of judgments upon the unbelieving world  (Matthew 24:21)

f) At death believers - Heaven (Revelation 15:12)

g) At death unbelievers - Torments, Hades.

h) Priesthood - specialised priesthood - Jews.

i) The Law - no Law (Matthew 5:17)

j) Holy Spirit - assists believers but does not indwell.

k) Environment - sinful - Antichrist and Satan rule the whole world.

l) Satan - in Heaven or on earth for first 3 1/2 years; cast down to earth for second 3 1/2 years (Revelation 12:9)

m) Rebellion - Armageddon, one world political and religious system

n) Spirituality- resting in the promises of God.

o) Three sets of Judgments - seals (Revelation 6), trumpets (Revelation 8), judgments (Revelation 15,16)

DISPENSATION OF THE MILLENNIUM

1. General Scripture:  Many Old Testament passages, Revelation 20

2. Limits:  Second Advent to Great White Throne Judgment

3. Characteristics:

a) Length of Age - 1,000 years.

b) Means of Salvation - Faith in Christ.

c) Scripture - the person of Christ.

d) Evangelists - the person of Christ.

e) Major Judgments

i) Baptism of Fire (Matthew 3:12, 24:36-41)

ii) Last Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)

iii) Destruction of Universe (2 Peter 3:7-13)

f) Death extremely rare in the Millennium. There will be extended life spans.

(Isaiah 65:20)

g) At death, unbelievers - Torments.

h) Priesthood - Christ.

i) The Law - no Law, Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law. (Matthew 5:17)

j) Holy Spirit - universal indwelling of the believer. (Joel 2:28-29)

k) Environment - perfect (Isaiah 11:1-9)

l) Satan - chained in the abyss until the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:2-3)

m) Rebellion - unbelievers at the end of the Age. (Revelation 20:7-9)

n) Spirituality - filling of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28, 29)

o) No human religion - Satan bound - no influence on the earth. (Isaiah 2:3, John 8:44  Rev 20:1-3)

p) Israel -restored (Isaiah 35:3-10)

q) Universal peace (Psalm 46:9, Hosea 2:18, Micah 4:3)

r) Perfect government with Christ as King (Isaiah 11:1-5, Zechariah 14:9)

s) Universal prosperity (Psalm 72:7)

t) Universal knowledge of God. (Isaiah 11:9)

u) Radical changes in nature - restored to perfection as in the Garden of Eden

i) Mankind loosened from the bondage of sin. (Romans 8:19-22)

ii) Sin has no adverse effect on nature (Genesis 3:17-18 cf Isaiah 35:1-2,7)

iii) Animals will lose their ferocity (Isaiah 11:6-8, 65:25)

v) Millennium - begins with believers only.

THEOLOGY LESSON 27

LESSON 27 – HOLY SPIRIT – OTHER MINISTRIES

1 John 2:26-28

Romans 8:9-18

Psalm 119:105

Romans 8:26-28

1 Corinthians 12:7-13

The other ministries of the Holy Spirit comprise; giving of Spiritual Gifts, Teaching, Guidance, Assurance, and Prayer. When choosing friends and church Servants we have to look for these things evident in their lives. Not all Christians can be trusted. Many are out of fellowship and carnal much of the time, and such believers are often less trustworthy than an honest Unbeliever. Matthew 7:13-23 is an important passage on this subject.

1 Corinthians 3:11‑15 shows that the only things worth doing are those done under the power of the Holy Spirit which produces what is called gold, silver and precious stones.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

This happens at salvation. Most believers are unaware of the gift that the Holy Spirit has given them at the point of salvation as it needs maturity to discern it.

Many believers never know what gift the Holy Spirit has given them because they never reach maturity and use it properly under the filling of the Spirit.

The Greek word for spiritual gifts is “charisma” or grace gifts. It is a God given ability for service. A natural talent that one has as an unbeliever such as the ability to sing may be used but is not the spiritual gift which is bestowed at salvation. If you are a successful businessman it does not mean that you will be a great deacon, if you are a public speaker it does not mean that you will be a great pastor or should be a pastor at all. If you have not been given the gift of pastor or teacher at salvation, you are not a pastor or teacher.

If a person has a gift they need to be checked against the Scriptures to see if they conform to the requirements such as in the Pastorals. The Lord can use people irrespective of their natural talents. A good example is Moses who had a stutter. He was not a gifted public speaker but he became the pastor of Israel. There is danger in the ministry to have a person with great natural ability in the wrong position in the church and not walking in the spirit. Many of the liberals come from this background.

In 1 Corinthians 12 it is clear from verses 11‑13 that no one should ask for gifts from the Holy Spirit as the Spirit gives as He wills. The Spirit decides what gifts are needed. He did it at the point of salvation so it is too late to ask. You do not ask for a gift, if you do it is no longer a gift. The Holy Spirit looking down the corridors of time knew precisely what your gift would be and how you would use it.

A true Spirit filled Church will ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and usually the gift of tongues will manifest itself for their edification. Every believer receives at least one gift. Every gift is necessary for the church to function. The Holy Spirit decides what gifts are needed, in what mix so that a church can function. We have no need to second guess the Holy Spirit; he knows what the church needs and what our part in his plan is!

If you have ten people in your church you have all the gifts that are needed. You just need to have the people in the church filled with the Spirit to function. Those who use their spiritual gifts under the power of the Holy Spirit are satisfied.

In a number of areas all believers are told to function. For instance we are all told to witness but there is a gift of evangelism which will allow a special ability in this area. We are all told to give and pray but there are gifts to give a person a special ministry in that area.

1 Corinthians 14 says that the congregation should desire the gifts with communication benefits because it is those which allow people to know more about the Lord and grow.

The word desire is in the third person plural so that it is the whole congregation should desire this and not an individual. In this chapter Paul made it clear that he was trying to curb the use of tongues in the Corinthian church and promote the gift of preaching and teaching as having more importance.  However the gift of tongues if used correctly and at the proper time can be of great benefit to individual Christians and to the Church in general.

TEACHING MINISTRY

1 John 2:26‑28 is a commentary on John 16 which refers to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is important to note that the Apostle John ends this passage with the importance of abiding in Christ. We have to use 1 John 1:9.

You do not need to be taught as you have a teacher inside you who is going to lead you into all truth. There is no lie in the Spirit's work. However there are seducers about. This is the point that John is bringing into focus. If you are not being taught by the Holy Spirit you are being taught by the other side and receiving worldliness or human viewpoint. They are fooled about what is happening and are led away from the truth.

John is not deprecating human teachers but saying that the Holy Spirit is in you and needs to be in control if you are going to understand spiritual things. John, for instance, was communicating the truth to them as he was given the truth by the Holy Spirit. Man is the means of communication, the Holy Spirit is the dynamic force involved in the teaching. When you go out to teach God's Word in your own strength you will fail because it is you rather than the Holy Spirit.

GUIDANCE

This is one of the more difficult ministries. You will have people coming to you in the ministry seeking guidance as to what God wants them to do from day to day, seeking Divine guidance.

Guidance does not come out of a vacuum; guidance comes out of a context. Guidance depends on the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ and your own spiritual growth. In Romans 8:9‑18 we are told that we are led by the Spirit of God and are the sons of God. If you do not deal with sin in your life you cannot receive guidance from the Holy Spirit. Guidance therefore depends on fellowship.

Being led by the Holy Spirit is one of the signs of being a child of God. You can be led in two ways, by the Holy Spirit being quite firm with you as per Hebrews 12, or you can be led by the hand and listen to the voice of the Lord like a good student with a mature attitude. You have to know the Lord Jesus Christ so well that you know in your spirit that he wants the best for you.

When your mind is saturated with correct scriptural understanding you are looking into the eyes of the Lord. Every decision you make is therefore made in the light of eternity.  It is the closeness of your fellowship as to how well you are going to be guided. We have to ask the Lord about this matter and what is important. We need to ask ‘how does it affect me personally? Then seek the Lords guidance and make a decision on that basis.

In Psalm 119:105 we have the Hebrew word for light which is the word for little light like a torch rather than the sun. We therefore have sufficient light to see the next step but not a clear view, miles ahead. You only see what you need to see but need to be aware that He who provides the light knows the complete picture. Do not expect there to be a fantastic vision of the future. While Paul knew that the Lord wanted him to go west there is nothing to say that he knew well in advance what the Lord wanted him to do. Paul did not know what was going to happen to him in five years time, neither do we.

It did not worry Paul and it should not worry you. The Lord will show you what you need to know when you need to know it. Your life is in the Lord's plan and it is His timing that counts. If you are walking with Him you will be not stumble. You must be willing to be guided if you are to progress in the Christian life.

In Acts 11 guidance to Peter was through prayer in v 5, by thought, the Word of God and providential circumstances v 10‑11, the filling of the Spirit v 12, fellowship with others v 13‑14.

ASSURANCE

This is not something that can be separated from the other ministries of the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:16. When the Holy Spirit guides you, you will have assurance and comfort within.  This confidence grows as you mature in the Christian life.

The normal worry of the young believer is whether you are saved or not.  As a mature Christian however this is not a problem as you can look back on the performance of God in your life and His proven faithfulness.  All the ministries of the Holy Spirit are real in the life of the believer who walks with the Lord.

When you have been a Christian for a long time and have experienced not only the effect of the Holy Spirit but the convicting ministry when you have been out of fellowship you know you are saved and saved on a permanent basis.

You can be sick, depressed or in pain but you know you are in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ because he is real and active in your life. Assurance can also be seen in 2 Timothy 1:12 where Paul, just before his death, says that he is absolutely persuaded that God is able to keep him. This is the assurance that people should have facing death. You only have it if you are fellowshipping with the Lord and walking with him.

Dying grace is also a feature of this. The Lord provides assurance as you go through the valley of the shadow of death. One day we will all walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need to walk through it in fellowship and you need to have walked in fellowship for as long as possible.

Walking with the Holy Spirit is not just about emotion, but rather an intimate relationship with him in every aspect of your life.  When you are under pressure you cannot rely on a past ‘emotional action or reaction’ and hope that it will sustain you.  You need to be in a close loving relationship with the Holy Spirit all the time in order to withstand the low times in your life.

PRAYER

We see the Holy Spirit assisting us in our prayer life in Romans 8:26‑7. This is obviously not the gift of tongues as it cannot be uttered. When you are going through things too deep for words the Spirit is praying for you. Sometimes you get to a situation where you cannot pray and you have to leave it to the Lord, the Spirit will pray for you. The Spirit never ceases to make intercession for us. We also have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 1 John 2:1‑2

DOCTRINES

GUIDANCE: THE WILL OF GOD

1. Three categories of will in history

a) Divine Will (sovereignty)

b) Angelic will.

c) Human will.

2.  Main areas of the will of God (1 John 3:23)

a)  For the unbeliever - salvation (2 Peter 3:9)

b)  For the believer - spirituality (Ephesians 5:18)

3.  Christ has free will (Matthew 26:42, Hebrews 10:7, 9)

a)  No free will in mankind; would imply no free will in Christ.

b) The basic principles of divine guidance however is based on the fact that man possesses free will to choose for or against God.

4. Type of will of God as related to the human race (e.g. Balaam)

a) Directive (Numbers 22:12) -what God directs.

b) Permissive (Numbers 22:20) - What God allows

c) Overruling (Numbers 23) - When God overrules

5. Principles of Guidance

a) Knowledge of biblical principles in the believer (Psalm 32:8, Proverbs 3:1-6, Isaiah 58:11, Romans 12:2)

b) Surrender and filling of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 5:17-18, 1 John 1:9)

c) Growth - to eat meat and not rely on milk (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

6. Categories of the will of God

a) Viewpoint will of God - What does He want me to think?

b) Operational will of God - What does He want me to do?

c) Geographical will of God - Where does He want me to be?

7. An example of the will of God (Acts 11) - the Guidance of Peter

a) Guidance through prayer (vs 5)

b) Guidance through the mind (vs 6)

c) Guidance through the word (vs 7-10)

d) Guidance through providential circumstances (vs 11)

e) Guidance through the filling of the Spirit (vs 12)

f) Guidance through fellowship and comparison of data (vs 13-15)

g) Guidance through remembering Scripture (vs 16)

HOLY SPIRIT: COMFORTER

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (paraclete = one called alongside to help)

1. He abides forever with the saints. (John 14:16)

2. He dwells in the saints and is known by them. (John 14:17)

3. He teaches the saints. (John 14:26)

4. He imparts hope. (Romans 15:13, Galatians 5:5)

5. He gives us the love of God. (Romans 5:3-5)

6. He testifies of Christ. (John 15:26)

7. He communicates joy to the saints. (Romans 14:17, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 1:6)

8. He edifies the church. (Acts 9:31)

HOLY SPIRIT: TEACHER 

GIFTS: SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1. Three general passages which list spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, Romans 12:3-8).

2. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to serve and build up the church (Ephesians 4:8-13)

3. The gifts are given by the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation (1 Corinthians 12)

4. Some gifts were temporary (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) and others permanent (1 Corinthians 12:28. 1 Corinthians 13:8)

5. The operation of a spiritual gift depends entirely on the filling of the Holy Spirit to be effective (Acts 2:4)

THEOLOGY LESSON 26

LESSON 26 – HOLY SPIRIT – FILLING

Holy Spirit – Filling

1 Thessalonians 5:19
Ephesians 4:30
Galatians 5:16
Hebrews 4:1-4, Romans 12:1-2
2 Timothy 1:6
Hebrews 12:5-13
1 John 1:9
Galatians 5:16, 22-23
Ephesians 5:19-21 Holy Spirit – Filling
Spirituality

INTRODUCTION

In Ephesians 5:18 we are told "Be filled with the Spirit". This is in the present tense which means continuous action.

DEFINITION It is the spiritual state where the Holy Spirit is fulfilling all that He came to do in the hearts and lives of the individual believer.

The filling of the Spirit did occur prior to Pentecost but it was limited and was observed only in a small number of individuals prior to the start of the Church

Since Pentecost however the Holy Spirit indwells all believers in New Testament times. Everybody therefore has the opportunity to be filled with the Spirit and can now conform to Ephesians 5:18.

EFFECT OF THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

There is an observable difference in the daily life and character of Christians who are filled with the Spirit. Unfortunately there are few who can be characterized in this way. This is based on the failure of man rather than the lack of provision by God.

With Satan so active in the world we are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is very important on a moment by moment basis. You need to be spiritually led by God. If you can get your congregation to live under the control of the Holy Spirit you are going to have a wonderful church, active, blessed and very productive. If you are going to achieve this everything else will happen, you will never need to seek funds, there will be evangelism and spiritual growth, blessing and impact.

If you do not stress the Holy Spirit you will have a hymn singing social club. You will be counseling and have a mess on your hands which you will call a church. Without the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit in your church you will have to have all the gimmicks to get people to give.

It is important that people come to church to know the Lord without coercion. If you teach systematically, verse by verse, stressing the filling of the Holy Spirit, they will come freely. If they are not interested it is a sign that they are not filled with the Spirit. If the people do not come the pastor should look at himself as to whether he is teaching or not.

In the church you should refer to the filling of the Holy Spirit every week. The Holy Spirit is the dynamic of the Christian life. If you have not got the Spirit you are not a Christian. This topic and your attitude to it, is going to determine how you are going to run your church.

The secret of church growth is for the individual to pray the prayer, "let there be a revival and let it start with me." You should walk with the Lord in the Spirit, study and teach the Word systematically. As you see people come alive you ask them to pray. Two or three people can change a church or a nation.

Filling of the Holy Spirit Contrasted with Spiritual Maturity.

The filling of the Holy Spirit can occur if you are mature or not. Maturity occurs as one spends a lot of time in the filling of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit should be the normal Christian life. It is only in that state that you are going to grow spiritually. The longer and more often you are under the control of the Holy Spirit the quicker you will mature. The baby believer does not spend a lot of time working under the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirituality is therefore not the same as maturity. You are only spiritual if God rules in your life as He intended it to be. You are spiritual if there is no sin in your life.

Three Conditions for the Filling of the Spirit,

[a] Quench not the Spirit 1 Thessalonians 5:19,

[b] Grieve not the Spirit Ephesians 4:30,

[c] Walk in the Spirit Galatians 5:16 and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Quench not the Spirit.

Do not put out the fire, is the literal meaning from the Greek. Do not smother the Holy Spirit's work. There are three components to a fire, fuel, air and heat.

If you want to put the fire out you eliminate one of the three items, remove the fuel, air or heat and the fire will go out. A great example of a Christian getting cold is given by the ember that is taken from a glowing fire. As the ember is removed from the fire and laid aside it ceases to glow and becomes cold. It does not matter how strong a Christian you are, if you lose your ardor you will grow cold. Stay with the fire and do not quench the Spirit. Sometimes it gets tough in the Christian life but we must keep the heat on.

This can also happen if you have no fuel or the wrong fuel. In John 14 16 the Lord says that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. It is important to feed upon the Word of God and not people's experiences however moving they may be they are not fuel for the Holy Spirit they are fuel for your emotions. Only God's Word will strengthen you as a believer.

The third way to put a fire out is to rob it of air; also if you do not breathe you do not live. Inhale taking in the Word exhale letting God's Word work through you into every detail of daily life. After breathing in by means of a good message you breathe it out with a great worship songs or hymns at the end of the service.

Paul says to Timothy, “stir up the gift that is in you”, 2 Timothy 1:6 – literally he is saying, keep the fires burning. Throw more fuel on the fire. You can be smothered by the cares of the world, concerns of family and friend or work pressure, especially if you are surrounded by non believers all the time. Do not let yourself get smothered by the evil of the world.

Romans 12:1 2 shows that you have to commit yourself to your spiritual life. Present yourself a living sacrifice. Throw yourself into this life because it is important.

Grieve not the Spirit:

Ephesians 4:30, shows that you do this when you have sin in your life. You can deal with it quickly using 1 John 1:9. If you do not use that verse you will be subject to Hebrews 12:5 13, which gives divine discipline. You are either going to be living under the power of the Holy Spirit or under Divine discipline. You will be miserable because the Spirit is quenched, miserable because the Spirit is grieved, miserable because of divine discipline. This is why disobedient believers are the most miserable and obnoxious of people on the planet!

Walk in the Spirit:

The word walk means to advance in ranks, making use of the assets you have. Believe the Word, feed on it and apply it. The Christian life is difficult as we are in Satan's world and are surrounded by evil, the world, the flesh and the devil. If you do not walk in the Spirit you will be walking with the enemy. You are either strong in the Spirit or you are being beaten about by the enemy. You have to have the intestinal fortitude to fight, you have the equipment, use it or you will become a casualty. There is a battle being fought out here and the Lord wants winners. The Lord won on Calvary. If you are in Him, you are a winner.

Characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit:

What are going to be the characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit?

[a] Christ likeness, the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 23. Do not be overly impressed by miracles, signs and wonders; because some people are going to be told to depart from the Lord on judgment day because they are unbelievers, even though they have done miracles in the Lord's name. Matthew 7. A lot of people claim miracles, but even when the miracles seemed to be legitimate it only shows that the ‘Healing Ministry’ had power. The question is whether the power is from God or not. It is the fruit and not the signs that are important; as Jesus said by their fruit you will know them.

[b] You will have an evangelistic involvement, if they have no desire for souls, if they are not involved in teaching God's Word there is something wrong.

[c] Praise, worship, thanksgiving and submissiveness Ephesians 5:18 this shows the basis of submissiveness that Christians should be mutually submissive. The basis of submissiveness is the filling of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18. Once you are submissive one to another you can be submissive husbands and wives as you are in submission to the Spirit. We as ministers need to lead as examples.

Characteristics of the Filling of the Spirit:

[a] The Power of the Spirit

[b] Holiness of Life

[c] Ministries of the Spirit

[d] Teaching you wonderful things

[e] Guide into all things

[f] Assurance of Salvation

[g] True worship of the Lord.

[h] Good prayer fellowship.

The major problem in the church is Christians who have grown cold. Obedience is the answer to spiritual coldness; we warm our spirit and soul by obeying the revealed Word of God and letting the Spirit loose again through confession of our sins. Do not be distracted by strange and weird things, for God is straight forward. The devil does not need to go after most believers for they trip themselves up easily by their sin and laziness. If you get someone spouting “words of wisdom” in a convoluted manner you know it is not of the Lord because the Lord is clear and succinct. The Lord is not into dramatic things, he is into transformed and holy lives, living to praise his name.

Many of the healings that take place in special "healing" services are found over time to have been psychological and ‘hyped up’. Many that have been followed up medically have been shown not to be healings at all. Paul towards the end of his ministry was not able to heal his close friend who he had to leave behind in Troy. Miracles are rare, but they do occur; it is important however to be cautious over ‘hyped up’ healing events. We must always be aware that the Lord is the healer and not some ‘anointed’ healing evangelist. The Lord’s name and the faith will be held in derision by the unbeliever who will see through false miracles easily! Paul also used the healing ministry to present the gospel. He did not heal for healings sake, but worked miracles whenever the Lord opened the door. He also saw a vision of heaven which he was told not to speak about and he kept silent on what he saw. Paul was not into drama, he was into obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Word; so must we be!

The Word of God is all important, not the signs and miracles; where they are bone fide they will always lead to evangelism and to people studying the Word and growing through obedience to it. The filling of the Holy Spirit is all important, and the evidence of that is the fruit of holiness in their life.

DOCTRINES

HOLY SPIRIT: FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. We are commanded to allow Him to fill (or fully control) our lives (Ephesians 5:18).

2. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be broken by:
a) Grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) - sin, doing something you shouldn't.
b) Quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) - not doing something you should (like quenching a fire, allowing the flame to go out).

3. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be restored by confession of sin and full surrender to do the will of God (1John 1:9)

4. The Spirit produces the very character of the Christ in the believer: (Galatians 4:19, 5:22, 23, Ephesians 3:16, 17, Philippians 1:20, 21, 2 Corinthians 3:3)

a) The fruit of the Spirit:
i) Galatians 5:22-23 - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.
ii) Romans 14:17 - Righteousness, Peace, Joy.
iii) Colossians 3:12-15 - Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, Love, Peace, Thankfulness.
iv) 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - Faith, Love, Endurance, Hope.

b) Rejoicing in Christ (Philippians 3:1, 4:4).
c) Loving one another (John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 5:2).
d) Striving for the faith (Philippians 1:27, Jude 3).
e) Putting away all sin (1 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 12:1).
f) Abstaining from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
g) Submitting to injuries (1 Corinthians 6:7).
h) Subduing the temper (Ephesians 4:26, James 1:19).
i) Shunning the wicked (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
j) Abounding in the works of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
k) Showing a good example (1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Peter 2:12).
l) Following after that which is good (Philippians 4:8, 1 Timothy 6:11).
m) Perfecting holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Timothy 3:17).
n) Hating defilement (Jude 23).
o) Overcoming the world. (1 John 5:4-5)
p) Adorning the gospel. (Philippians 1:27, Titus 2:10)
q) Forgiving injuries. (Romans 12:20)
r) Living peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18, Hebrews 12:14)
s) Visiting the afflicted. (James 1:27)
t) Sympathising with others. (Romans 12:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:14)
u) Honouring others. (Romans 12:10)
v) Submitting to authorities. (Romans 13:1-7)
w) Being content. (Philippians 4:11, Hebrews 13:5)
x) Walking worthy of the Lord. (Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:12)
y) Walking in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
z) Walking as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)
aa) Glorifies Christ in his body. (Philippians 1:20, 21)
bb) Christ is at home in his body. (Ephesians 3:16,17)
cc) A lifestyle which honours God in the presence of men. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

5. The filling of the Holy Spirit in every believer only occurs in two dispensations:
a) Church age Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:22, 23
b) Millennium - Joel 2:28, 29 (characterized by ecstatics)

THEOLOGY LESSON 25

LESSON 25 – BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT


Holy Spirit - Baptism

Ephesians 4:5
1 Corinthian 12:12-13
Ephesians 5:18
Acts 1:5
Galatians 3:26-28

Baptism of Holy Spirit In Christ

INTRODUCTION

In Ephesians 4:5 we are told of One Lord, One Faith One Baptism. This is a very controversial verse and theologians do not all agree as to the meaning of ‘one baptism’.

Many believe that this verse is not talking about water baptism at all; but a totally different baptism all together. They teach that the ‘one baptism’ we all share in; is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which marks the beginning of the believer's association with Christ. Yet other theologians claim that baptism in water is ‘that which saves us’ and go as far as to teach that unless we are baptized in water we are not saved

The verses in 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13 seems to contradict this argument, as they show all Christians are baptized by one Spirit into one body and drink the one Spirit. This event is common to all believers in the Church age. If you have not been baptized by the Holy Spirit you are not a believer. This is clearly seen in the Greek and it is therefore important to analyze it. We believe that water and Holy Spirit baptisms are important and should be a part of our Christian walk with our heavenly Father.

Baptism - What is it?

Baptizo, the Greek verb, means to baptize. It is in the aorist passive indicative, aorist means a point of time in the past or passive, we can receive it at the point of salvation, but not always. You as a believer should have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at some time in the past; you did not earn it or deserve it, as it was freely given to you. Nothing was done to receive it. It was grace all the way. There are no exceptions. Even the poorest believer should receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The meanings of "Baptizo" is to totally dip or immerse, to wash. However the primary meaning is to identify one object with another so that the first object is changed. A historical example was the baptizing of the hunting spears of the Greek soldiers.

In the day of Alexander the Great, before the army headed off towards modern Turkey, many of the Greek troops had not been in a battle. In order to enhance their performance the hunting spears which they took with them were dipped in a bucket of pig’s blood in the belief that it changed the nature of the hunting spear into a warrior's spear. By analogy once we were part of the world but the Holy Spirit so identified us with Christ that we were changed into part of His body. This shows how critical the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is.

Definition

The baptism of the Holy Spirit should enable the believer to come into union with Christ and the ‘Body of Christ’. This gives the believer their identity as a Christian. I am a member of the Christian Body; I am a member of the Body of Christ. This is done so that a love relationship may grow with Him and in Him. This opens the channel of blessing for us because it relates us to His church, His Body on earth.

Your attitude to the Holy Spirit will determine your attitude to the local church. The local church should be based on the reality of the Work of the Holy Spirit, but many are not. The Biblical teaching is that we have been Born Again once and for all by the Holy Spirit into the church. Some groups do not realise this important fact and do not even recognise the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an important event to accepting Jesus as their saviour.

We also need to recognise that this is also different from asking for the Holy Spirit to fall on the believers and fill them up with dunimas power, but many leaders get confused over this issue.

Origin of the Church

One of the main reasons for confusion in this area is because some people believe that the church began in Abraham's tent or with the ministry of John the Baptist. This makes it much more difficult to understand rather than believing that it started at Pentecost where the first Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place. Baptism is often taken as a synonym to the filling of the Holy Spirit but this is associated with the ministry of regeneration in the church age. As a result we are special. Many of the problems that occur are because Christians do not understand just how special they are.

It is important not to study Acts by itself. At Pentecost everything happens at once and is therefore unique. They are sealed, indwelt, regenerated, baptized and given spiritual gifts as mature believers. The following day Peter was preaching the Gospel with boldness, which was unusual as he had denied the Lord out of fear only a few weeks before this occurrence.

In Ephesians 5:18 we are told that Christian’s should not get drunk, but be filled with the Spirit. This is a command, present passive imperative; you are commanded not to get drunk habitually. A literal translation would be to keep on letting the Spirit fill you.

In 1 Corinthians 12:13, if you think that the Baptism and filling of the Spirit is the same, you have a problem as there is a contradiction in the passages reviewed. You only need to be baptized once and for all; but you need to be habitually filled. We need to deal with sin in our lives and let the Holy Spirit control us.

In Acts 1:5 when did it occur in the person's life? This is ten days before the time when they are going to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not baptized anyone before that and everyone was looking forward to the feast of Pentecost.

Results of the Baptism of the Spirit

Two results of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit it joins us to the body of Christ with all of our individuality (1 Corinthians 12:13) there being many varieties in the body. The unity is the baptism of the Spirit. It is only a relationship with the Lord that allows you to have a relationship with other believers. You are part of Him and therefore joined to other believers. This is our co crucifixion with Christ. It also identifies us with the death, resurrection and glorification of the Lord. We are left on earth to learn more about what it means to be in union with Christ. If you are in an intimate relationship with the Lord you also have a great responsibility along with it.

Every relationship has responsibilities, husband and wife, parent and child. The responsibility for us in Christ is to be obedient. The Lord's responsibility is to keep us safe. We should also get to know and love Him more. This is going to modify how you think about the Lord the result is that you should walk worthy according to your calling.

The filling of the Holy Spirit allows you to do the work of the Lord and is evidence of baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians have wasted a lot of time trying to ‘work up’ the baptism of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Many believe they can chase after some kind of ‘special impartation or anointing by an anointed celebrity’ but this hinders them. In the Hyper Charismatic movement there is a lot of emphasis on praise and worship but it is often shallow. That is why many who have heading up ‘Praise the Lord’ Television show’s and been regarded as ‘special’ prophets or ‘healers’; have been living a life totally contrary to Bible teaching. Quite a number of them have been committing serious sins in their own personal lives. So if you are going to be involved with just ‘experiences and emotions’ you are not going to have the Holy Spirit control your life. Living with the Holy Spirit is a daily walk with him.

DOCTRINES

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in (1 Corinthians 12:13) "By means of one spirit are we all baptised into one body". Once we obtain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it allows us to achieve being a part of the Body of Christ and confirms our salvation as part of the body.

2. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is different to His other ministries: Indwelling, filling, sealing, regeneration, distributing spiritual gifts.

3. The basis of unity and union of believers is achieved by Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:5) "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - we have one faith in one Lord and receive one baptism, which unites us in the Body of Christ.

4. The implication of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is given in (Galatians 3:26-28) - all believers are united and "equal" in standing before God.

5. The Baptism of the Spirit provides identification with Christ - as the Body of Christ, we share everything that He has (his righteousness, heir-ship, priesthood, kingship, etc) (Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 2:12)

6. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus Christ. (John 14:19-20, Acts 1:5)

7. The Baptism of the Spirit did not occur in Old Testament times. It is unique to the Church Age. Only Church Age believers are "in Christ" - that is, part of the Body (and the Bride) of Christ. (Colossians 1:25-26)

8. The Baptism of the Spirit begins the Church Age. In (Acts 1:5) Jesus said "Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many (10) days hence". In (Acts 2:3) no mention of the Baptism of the Spirit is made but the experiential side of these happenings are described. In (Acts 11:15-17) Peter says that they received the Baptism of the Spirit just as it was in the beginning and quotes (Acts 1:5).

9. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with water baptism, nor with speaking in tongues, but tongues often come out of a person who has just been baptised by the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of the Spirit is not just an experience; it is not always manifest or seen, felt, or experienced. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

10. The incidence of tongues at Pentecost was because many nations were present in Jerusalem at that time. Tongues fulfilled two requirements initially evangelisation and later within the congregations, tongues could be spoken but required interpretation and there were also tongues for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:2-4)

IN CHRIST

1. At the point of salvation (being infilled by the Holy Spirit), every believer in the Church Age is entered into the Body of Christ, and is therefore united with Christ. Our position is now, "in Christ".

2. The baptism of the Spirit is how we are united with Christ. (Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5) The Holy Spirit places the believer in union with Christ.

3. Positional truth belongs to the carnal as well as the spiritual believer, to the apostate believer as well as to the mature believer. (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30)

4. Positional truth protects the believer from divine judgment in eternity, as long as they remain in Christ. (Romans 8:1)

5. Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever:

a) Eternal life (1 John 5:11,12)
b) Imputation of God's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

6. Positional truth is the key to both election and predestination (Ephesians 1:3-6).

7. Positional truth creates a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10) based on who and what Christ is, therefore what grace accomplishes - not what changes we make - at salvation or thereafter.

8. Positional truth guarantees the eternal security of the believer, unless he/she renounces the Lord and never repents for their actions. (Romans 8:38, 39, Hebrews 6:4).

9. Positional truth has two aspects:

a) Past - identification with Christ in His death (Romans 6; Colossians 2:12; 3:3)
b) Present (and Future) - identification with Christ in His "new resurrection life".

10. Current positional truth implies that the believer shares certain things in union with Christ:

a) Eternal life (1 John 5:11,12)
b) Righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)
c) Election (Ephesians 1:4)
d) Destiny (Ephesians 1:5)
e) Son ship (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1,2)
f) Heir ship (Romans 8:16,17)
g) Sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:2,30)
h) Kingdom (2 Peter 1:11)
i) Priesthood (Hebrews 10:10-14; 1 Peter 2:5, 9).

11. Our new position in Christ means we are and must be separated from the world (Ephesians 2:6).

12. As new creatures in Christ, we have a new ministry as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, 1Corinthians 3:6, 6:4).

13. In Christ, we are never alone, (Colossians 3:4, John 17) we have communion with Him, and with His body (other Christians).

14. We are united with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever- we are in the Father, He is in us - Ephesians 4:6, we are in Christ, He is in us - John 14:20, Colossians 1:26, we are in the Spirit, He is in us - Romans 8:9.

15. We are members of His body, branches of His vine, living stones of His building, sheep of His fold, part of his Bride, priests in his kingdom, saints set apart for his glory.

16. The characteristics of positional truth are six-fold:

a) It is not an experience - neither emotional nor ecstatic.
b) It is not progressive - cannot be improved in time or eternity.
c) It is not related to human merit, ability, or human good. Here are the implications of retroactive positional truth. There is no place in the plan of God for human good.
d) It is eternal in nature; it cannot be changed by God, angels or mankind.
e) It is known only through the Word of God.
f) It can be obtained totally at the point of salvation, but often a believer gets baptised by the Holy Spirit at a later time.

THEOLOGY LESSON 24

LESSON 24 – HOLY SPIRIT – INDWELLING AND SEALING


HOLY SPIRIT

Indwelling and Sealing

Romans 8:9-11
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
2 Corinthians 5:5
Ephesians 1:13, 14
Ephesians 4:30 Indwelling of Christ
Seal

INTRODUCTION

There are a number of ministries of the Holy Spirit which occur at the point of salvation. Two are the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit. The first time this occurred was at Pentecost. John 14:16, 17, 20. At Pentecost uniquely the ministries of the Holy Spirit were set up, sealing, baptizing, the giving of gifts, indwelling and regenerating. This occurred within people who had been believers for sometime; but were now taken over by a totally new phenomena and the effect was dramatic and revolutionary.

The power in these people was so great, that they acted as if they were drunk and had no inhibitions, which is unlike most Churches in our day. In fact when most ‘religionists and church people’ see this same phenomena happening in these later days, they will often claim this cannot possibly be from God and so must be from the enemy.

When a believer seeks to be filled by the Holy Spirit, they must also be compelled to obey the Word of God, and walk in the Spirit on a daily basis.

The effects of this are recorded in Romans 8:9 11 which shows the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is the proof of the person being a believer. If you are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit you are not a believer. The Spirit allows you to deal with sin and produces the certainty of the resurrection.

Ministry of the Holy Spirit

In 2 Corinthians 5:5 the Spirit is called the earnest of our inheritance. Earnest money was a deposit on an item in the ancient world but unlike us nowadays when you put down earnest money you owned the item. It was a covenant and the item could never be lost.

1 Corinthians 6:19 20 relates to dealing with sin in your life. Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Notice it is the temple which is a permanent structure and not the temporary tabernacle that is in view here.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

The indwelling Spirit is a gift of God to all believers, a gift that is not earned or deserved. In Christ Jesus we are all recipients of the gift. This is pure grace as in sin none of us deserve anything.

1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:9, Jude 19 show that if you do not have the Holy Spirit you are unsaved. It should be noted that sinning believers are still indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but are in a dangerous position if they do not repent. The Holy Spirit will be grieved and will keep trying to convict the Sinner to repent. However if the grieving and resisting of the Holy Spirit continues, so that the person eventually surrenders to Satan and denies Christ and the Holy Spirit, they will be lost. We can only lose our Salvation if we throw it away by sinning against the Holy Spirit to which there is no more forgiveness of sins possible.
Hebrews 6:4-6

Is it Permanent?

Reviewing the sins of the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians it is hard to imagine a sin which they did not commit especially when you think of the believer who was committing incest with his mother in chapter 5. Many Christians believe you are lost if you sin, this is not true; providing the believer repents and turns away from the sin. The two commands to believers are to neither grieve, nor quench the Holy Spirit. Therefore you cannot grieve or quench the Spirit unless you are involved in a relationship with the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit also ties in with the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

Some times during your Christian walk you are going to be aware of a lack of vigor in your life. It maybe because you have walked away from the Lord or something has come between you and an active living fellowship with him. This would be quenching, and is remedied by confession of sin and obedience to the Word. But in some cases, it could also be caused by a ‘bitter root’ that has been allowed to fester in your mind and heart. Bitterness can be caused by many things from our past or our forebears past. If there is; unforgiveness, ungodly beliefs, witchcraft, or any involvement with the Occult, Freemasonry or religious cults, then these sins need confessing, renouncing and breaking off our lives; so that we can be set free. Even if you personally did not practice any of these things, but a relative did, it can affect you, by means of the ‘soul tie’ with that person. So you must deal with your sin in order to re establish yourself with the Lord. If you do not know these doctrines however you are going to be easy prey to false teachers who will tell you that Jesus loves you whatever you do.

If you are practicing sin in your life the Lord will not hear you; this is recorded for us in the book of Psalms. Lack of this knowledge will facilitate some well-meaning Christians coming along and telling you that you have not got the Spirit and convince you that you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to move forward. Although it is very important that you get baptized into the Holy Spirit it is imperative that you display the fruits of the Spirit first. We cannot display the fruits of the Spirit if we are practicing the ‘works of the flesh’. Galatians 5:16-24, Matthew 7:13-23, John 16:8 11, Ephesians 5:18. So firstly we should examine ourselves and see what has come between us and the Lord.

Acts 5:32 Note this verse and ask, isn't obedience part of indwelling? If you take the verse out of context it may seem that way. Who are being spoken to, it is the unbelievers, the Pharisees?

The Bible is full of the temporary empowerment of the Holy Spirit and that was mostly before Pentecost. However in John 14:16 the Lord promised that he would send the Counselor and Helper and that is what he did at Pentecost. Therefore we are to let the Spirit do his work in our lives. We can only do this through obedience to the Word and rejection of sin! Therefore we always call upon the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to empower us afresh, or in other words ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up with his power.

The Samaritans

An area of confusion occurs for some concerning the giving of the Spirit to the Samaritans, which appears to be both selective and subsequent to salvation. It has caused some people to go off on a tangent and seek a so called second blessing. The Samaritans were a special case where the Lord wanted to prove to them that their new Christian faith was not a rival to the church in Jerusalem, and prove to the Jewish believers that the Samaritans were in no way inferior to them. This reflected that the Jews and Samaritans were one in Christ and was thus delayed until the Jewish apostles were with them and did away with the possibility of the developing of two churches rather than one.

When one was a young believer one was not aware of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life but as you grow you become aware of the power of the Spirit. This is not however a second blessing. It is maturity and should be every believer’s experience.

You need good Bible teaching and proceed with your Christian life. As you mature you will be able to do more and more in your life. The laying on of hands was a picture of the delegation of authority. This was to show that they were to follow the apostles from Jerusalem from where the policy came.

What about the situation in Acts 19 - What does this passage show? As soon as they heard of the Lord Jesus Christ they were saved, baptized and received the Holy Spirit. The Apostles would spend hours with the new believers telling them about the Scriptures and soon after that they were baptized. In the early church there was no evidence for waiting a long time after salvation to be baptized.

The permanence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is seen in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enters the believer into union with Christ. That person is then God's and ‘only sinning against the Holy Spirit’ can separate that person from Him. The New Covenant is Gods agreement with a Christian that he is saved by confessing Jesus and sinning no more. Romans 8:1; says that there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ…but we must remain in him.

Sealing of the Holy Spirit

All believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13, 14, 4:30 the sealing on Gods part is permanent until the day of redemption, or until the Lord brings you home to glory.

Seals were a sign of nobility in the ancient world and showed ownership with security. A father and a son would have the same signet rings which would indicate ownership of an article which was sealed. God sets His seal on you. Once the mark of ownership is on you, you are His, and no one can change it Romans 8:38 39. Your life is hid with Christ in God as you are sealed at the point of salvation Acts 2:38.

The seal is unto the day of redemption Romans 8:23, Ephesians 4:30. We are God's responsibility. Ramifications of the seal are security and purity; a seal meant you were secure in the ownership of the one who held the seal, and the purity aspect was seen in the sealing of wine. We should be stable as a believer, secure in our position, and holy. There are many unstable people who are trapped by ‘extremist’ Christian groups. You will also strive for purity; you will desire it. The world needs to see stable Christians. Pray that you remain a steady and clear witness to others and remain steadfast in the truth of Gods word.

However in the book of Revelation the Lord reveals that some who were chosen as sealed ones and written in the book of life, could have their name erased if they did not repent, here is the verse:

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” Revelation 3: 5. The parable of the Prodigal Son highlights this situation, the Father did not go running after the Son, he only run to him when he repented and turned away from his sinful ways.

DOCTRINES

INDWELLING OF CHRIST

1. The prophecy of the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:18-20)

2. There is a distinction between the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ indwells for fellowship (Galatians 2:20), and a sign of the believer's position. (Romans 8:10)

4. In contrast the Holy Spirit indwells to teach, guide, direct, empower and correct. (John 14:26, 16:8-15, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

5. The purpose of the indwelling is that the believer may grow in fellowship with the Lord, learning to know and love him more. (Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 3:17-19)

6. We fellowship with the Lord within as we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us through the Word. (John 6:63, 8:31-32, Colossians 3:16)

7. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is meant to be permanent even though He may be quenched or grieved, but the Lord Jesus Christ can be locked out of the soul by the presence of sin or a negative attitude towards the Word. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

8. When the Lord is locked out, the Holy Spirit convicts the believer, the believer is miserable, with the Lord knocking at the door for admission. (1 John 1:9, Revelation 3:19-20)

SEAL

A seal has a number of different implications:-

1. Sanctification. Exodus 28:36-38 - Example: Seals on official documents set them apart from normal documents.

2. Identification. Ezekiel 9:4 - Use of the signet ring in 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 8:8-10

3. Possession. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Example: A "sea!" on one's book

4. Utilisation. Ephesians 1:12-14 - Example: Bank account number.

5. Glorification. Ephesians 4:30 - Example: Letters are stamped and sealed so as to arrive at their destination.

6. Preservation. Revelation 7:3 - Example: Locks on doors or the seal on the tomb of Christ.

7. Destination. Revelation 22:4

THEOLOGY LESSON 23

LESSON 23 – HOLY SPIRIT – REGENERATION

John 3:3-8
Titus 3:5
Ephesians 5:25-26
John 6:63, 3:13-36
John 6:40-48
Ephesians 4:20-24
Colossians 3:10

INTRODUCTION

This is the work of the Holy Spirit which changes us from unbelievers to believers and therefore sons of God. This creates a mockery among those who do not believe that they need a Saviour. The unbeliever has to realise that only God can provide the power and the will to come to newness of life.

Regeneration

In John 3:3 9 we see that regeneration means to be born again. The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration. We note that there are two ministries of the Holy Spirit, the convicting ministry and the enabling ministry. This is why the man who rejects the gospel is without hope at the Day of Judgment. That person has also rejected and spurned the work of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore he has three things against him, he has ignored the Word of God, he has ignored the testimony of creation, the plan of God which is clearly working out, he has also ignored the command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. He has been actively rejecting God in all three persons.

Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Romans 1:16 32 having cast aside the ministry of Christ in their life the rejection shows that there is no hope. Another passage which reflects this ministry is 2 Corinthians 3:6. "The letter kills but the Spirit gives life."

Ensure you take the evaluation in context. He does not mean that an evaluation of the Scriptures kills and the Spirit gives life. The contrast is between the written word in ink and the word written on the heart. It is the Spirit which brings the letter to life.

The Word of God justly brings death but the Spirit gives life. No amount of preaching irrespective of how orthodox it is will regenerate unless the Holy Spirit works. It is He and He alone that convicts a man so that he becomes a new creature.

Regeneration is the giving of a new nature, the nature of God. 2 Peter 1:4. It is the Holy Spirit who imparts this to us, makes us partakers of the divine nature. It is done through the Word. To put it in a word: The human heart is the soil, the preacher or teacher is the sower, the word of God is the seed; the Spirit of God quickens the seed, and the Divine nature is the result.

Not by works done in righteousness by ourselves but by his mercy we are saved. We can do no work of righteousness ourselves; ‘nothing’ an unbeliever does can satisfy God. Their righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight.

Analogy of Washing

Both Paul and John used the same analogy of washing. The picture of cleansing and water comes through. Beware of people who try to twist this into Baptismal regeneration; that you are saved by total immersion. Baptismal regeneration is not taught here. There are no sins washed away when you are baptised. It is a sign of something that has already happened to you. It is a picture or memorial. Paul continues with this concept in Titus 3:5-7, Ephesians 5:25 27, John 6:63.

These passages need to be tied together in your mind. The connection of water and regeneration is given in 1 John 5:5 6. Here the water is linked to the Word of God and the spirit is the Holy Spirit. The work of regeneration involves the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The two come together in a unique way in the life of the believer if they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Regeneration takes place when the Holy Spirit takes the Word and enlivens it in their life by grace into a relationship of son or daughter of God.

We are in error if we equate the filling with the baptism of the Spirit. It is clear from Scripture however that the baptism of the Holy Spirit often occurs at the point of salvation, but not always, as many BA Christians do not even realise that they are can be baptized by the Holy Spirit enabling them to do things beyond what is normal. The filling of the Holy Spirit can occur when we ask the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to give us extra power to enable us to carry out his will in us. In order to get filled with the Holy Spirit the following section will elaborate.

Confession

The Scripture commands you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Whether you are filled with the Holy Spirit is up to you. If people believe that the Holy Spirit is in them He needs to be let loose in their lives. This is accomplished by confession of sins as per 1 John 1:9.

Most of the questions you will be asked in the ministry are to do with the people not knowing the meaning of the words they use such as regeneration, expiation, propitiation and the like.

We should ask them what they mean by a term to ensure that they are aware of its true doctrinal meaning. It depends whether you believe in a body soul and spirit or just body and soul and that you get a spirit at the point of salvation.

Irrespective of the concept it is clear that at the point of salvation the believer's life is changed to such an extent that they can now understand spiritual phenomena. It is also clear that relationship with God is spiritual and can only be attained through rebirth. We receive a new nature, we have been reborn, we are re created, we are resurrected; there are many implications to the act of regeneration.

We can have relationship with God; we are born again and will live eternally with the Lord. Our body however will fall apart but we have a resurrection body. We are regenerated for eternity. We should always give praise for the work of the Holy Spirit for it lasts forever.

Our New Birth

Although we are still the same nature (sinful humanity) we now have the New Spirit Birth which gives us the ability to obey Gods commands. We now have the ability to produce righteousness and true holiness. We have taken off the old and put on the new. We are new creatures in Christ. We are challenged every day to live worthy of the gift that we have been given, the gift of eternal life.

If we recognize that everything we have as a believer is something we have received from God, we can pray that the Lord will help us to live worthy of the great salvation. If a person gave us everything we ever needed but we were never in a position to repay him, we would be eternally grateful to that person. This is exactly what Christ has done for all those who willingly and truly accept him as their Lord. We have been given everything in Christ Jesus. Do we see our position in Christ in the way the Scriptures say it will be? This is the gospel played out in a daily form in the believer’s life.

DOCTRINES

REGENERATION: BORN AGAIN

1. General Scripture - (John 3:5-8) 'Ye must be born again [born from above] (v7). You are born of the Spirit. (v8) We then become new creatures in Christ.

2. Natural man cannot understand spiritual phenomenon (1 Corinthians 2:14). He lacks the ability to enter the Kingdom of God. (John 3:5). They are unable to please God. (Romans 8:7, 8)

3. New birth is a creation of the Holy Spirit. (John 1:12, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, 4:24). Through the Holy Spirit we become aware that we are joint heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:16, 17)

4. The requirement for the new birth is belief on Christ, that He is crucified and risen. (John 1:12, 3:16-18, 36). New birth occurs at the instant of belief in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and confession of our sins.

5. Through new birth (Regeneration) the believer lives in Christ and Christ in the believer. (Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:10, 4:24, 1 Peter 1:23-25, 1 John 5:10-12).

6. Once you are born you cannot be unborn. However we can throw it back in Gods face and that would entail sinning against the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6: 4-6

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame”.