MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Faith-rest Drill
Written by: Max Klein
Living by Faith, a Drill producing Tranquility:
Walking by faith is a drill which must be practiced. This drill of applying God’s word to one’s difficulties and pressures produces tranquility in the soul. When the believer lives by faith, he applies biblical promises, principles and doctrines by faith to his experience. Living by faith is trusting in God’s thinking, not one’s own false thinking. If the believer is able to trust God regarding all matters in his life, his soul will be in a state of tranquility, namely a soul free of mental agitation caused by emotional sins.
For example, God is perfect justice and as such he can only be perfectly fair to all of his creatures. Moreover, he is perfectly fair to them all the time. If this is true and it is, then God is perfectly fair to you every second of every day. If that is the case, then why do you say, in your self-pity, "People and life are unfair to me?" Don't you realize that if a person treats you unfairly, God can discipline that person and provide extra blessing for you?
When the believer applies God's word to his problems and pressures, he will possess tranquility in his soul. Tranquility means two things: complete confidence in God and freedom from mental agitation caused by emotional sins. When the believer is controlled by such emotional sins as fear, worry, anger, hatred, jealousy, bitterness, self-pity etc., he will have stress in his soul. For example, if he worries about his family problems, stress will occur (problems + emotional sins = stress). Stress produces an agitation in the soul, whereas living one’s life by faith produces a phenomenal tranquility in the soul (problems + walking by faith = tranquility).
Living by Faith has always been a part of the believer's spiritual life. Abraham was promised a great progeny by God through his wife, Sarah who was at the time barren. At first, Abraham did not have the spiritual strength to believe this promise and in discouragement assumed that his progeny would come through Eliezer (Gen. 15:2, 3). Even when Abraham was 86 years old, he still did not believe that God could manufacture a progeny through his wife, Sarah (Genesis 16:1-3, 16). The Lord certainly would not have encouraged Abraham to produce his progeny through adultery (Gen. 12:2; 13:16).
This promise was initially given to Abraham when he was still residing in his hometown, the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Ur of the Chaldees) for Genesis 12:1-2 states, “Now, the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country [the 3rd Dynasty of Ur], and from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you, and I will make you a great nation [obviously through his wife since God does not condone adultery], and I will bless you.” Then, though he was commanded to go to a new land in Canaan he went instead to Haran, a city to the east of Carchemish on the Euphrates. After his father died [a forced separation], he at age 75 departed Haran (a city his father Terah had named after his son, Haran who had died in the 3rd Dynasty of Ur) for the new land which God had promised him. (Genesis 12:4). After arriving in the new land, it still took Abraham more than 24 years in the Levant, in Canaan to accumulate enough Bible doctrine in his soul to believe that he would have a son through Sarah.
“And so not becoming weak in that faith, he completely understood his own body which had become [sexually] dead when he was approximately one hundred years old likewise, he completely understood the deadness of Sarah's womb [passed the menopause]. He [Abraham] staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what God had promised [a son through Sarah], God is able also to perform.” (Romans 4:19-21)
You see, as Abraham learned more and more about God, his confidence in God increased. Romans 10:17 states, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." The believer listens to the Word of God today, and a little faith is developed. Then he listens tomorrow, and a little more faith is developed, and then the following day, and he continues to do so for his entire life. In this way his faith becomes stronger and stronger.
This stage-by-stage development of faith is illustrated by one of the Hebrew words for faith, “Qawah.” Qawah is a strong rope that does not break even under great pressure and is used to illustrate the strong faith of the mature believer waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31). In order to make this strong unbreakable rope, one begins with a single strand of rope which would easily breaks under pressure. However, when this single strand is twisted around a second strand and then around another and another until it becomes thick, a strong rope is developed. The principle is as follows: as more and more strands are twisted together, the stronger the rope becomes. This process involved in making a strong rope depicts how faith is developed in stages. The first strand of faith is extremely weak. However, as the believer twists more and more strands of faith together, he will eventually have a strong faith. As baby believers, our faith is like a single fine thread. It has no strength at all. However, as the believer learns more and more doctrine, he develops a strong ropelike faith. At that point he can walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Before the Church Age, the spiritual life of the believer emphasized living by faith. For example, the Jews of the Exodus generation were taught how to walk by faith while they were still in Egypt. They were all taught about the promise which God had made to Abraham namely that God would give the Jewish people a country of their own, a prosperous land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Before Joseph died, He made the Jews promise to take his bones out of Egypt and bury them in the promise land. So, when Joseph died, he was embalmed and placed in a vault above ground. So, every time a Jewish family living in Egypt would pass by the vault of Joseph, the Jewish Father would relate this story to his children. The story of how God had promised the Jews a promised land. In this way they learned to trust in the Lord. They were taught that their spiritual life was to trust in the promises and doctrines of God just as Joseph believed the promises and doctrines of God.
When God gives a spiritual life to the believer, he is going to test him regarding that life. Therefore, the Jews were tested regarding their spiritual lives as they were leaving Egypt at the Red Sea. As the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, God the Son, the only manifest person of the Trinity, led them deliberately into a trap. He led them into a cul-de-sac at the Red Sea. There were mountains to the north and south and the Sea was to their front. Suddenly, behind this great multitude of Jews, arose a great cloud of dust. Pharaoh Amenhotep II was leading the greatest military force in the world at that time. Facing this great military force were over a million untrained Jewish slaves. The only Jewish people with any military training were Moses and possibly Joshua and Caleb. This was a hopeless situation from the human viewpoint. However, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). All the Jews had to do was to believe what God had promised them.
God’s promise of a land of their own:’ Exodus 3:7-10, “Then the Lord said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, (8) and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (9) And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. (10) Come, I will send you [Moses] to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."
God also promised the Jews of the Exodus that they would worship him at Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb).
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Exodus 3:1)
And he said, certainly I [God] will be with you [Moses], and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain [Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai]. (Exodus 3:12)
How did the Jews of the Exodus respond to these promises stated above? Exodus14:9-12, “The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army and overtook them [the Jews] encamped at the sea, by Pi-ha-hi'roth, in front of Ba'al-ze'phon. (10) When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after [pursuing] them; and they were in great fear. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord [help, help]; (11) and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt [apparently they were cremated] that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? (12) Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert."
Although there were more than one million Jewish adults, only Moses and possibly Joshua and Celeb had the spiritual strength to apply the promises of God to this hopeless situation. While the majority of Jews were immersed in fear and screaming about dying [no faith application of the promises of God], Moses said, "Do not fear. Stand still and watch the deliverance of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you today" (Exodus 14:13). The Jews should have passed this test, but they kept concentrating on the problem namely the advancing Egyptian military, rather than the solution, trusting in God’s promises. Initially, Moses concentrated on the advancing Egyptians in order to understand the situation, but when he realized that their situation was militarily hopeless, he concentrated on a divine solution, a solution based on his confidence in God and the promises which God had given him. So, he walked by faith and remained very calm in this tense situation.
Now, after God had delivered the Jews from the Pharaoh, they sang beautifully praising him for their deliverance (Exodus 15:1-18) but singing does not imply spiritual strength. These believers were not praising and singing because they respected and loved God. They were expressing their appreciation to God for having delivered them. Their appreciation was based on their emotional relief from being delivered, not on their appreciation for the Lord. To these Jews the most important priority in their life was their safety, not a harmonious relationship with God. Praising God and singing hymns has meaning if one has a close relationship with God based on knowledge. However, if the believer is ignorant of God and God’s plan, his relationship with God will be related to emotion. An emotional relationship has no strength!
One can relate to a hymn cognitively or emotionally or both since a hymn contains both lyrics and melody. The purpose of the lyrics is to stimulate thought whereas the purpose of the melody is to stimulate one’s emotions pleasurably. If the believer understands and appreciates the lyrics of a hymn only then can he benefit from his singing and at the same time enjoy the melody. However, if the believer does not understand and appreciate the lyrics of a good hymn, his singing becomes a meaningless emotional activity related only to the melody as the following few verses will illustrate.
The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my deliverance. This is my God, and I will praise him. My father's God; I will extol him. (Exodus 15:2)
The chiefs of Edom were dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. (Exodus 15:15)
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’ (Exodus 15:22-24)
Three days after the Jews sang “the Lord is my strength,” they demonstrated that they had no spiritual strength at all for they immediately began complaining under this simple pressure. Then, one year later after singing how brave they would be in combat, and how fearful the Edomites, Moabites and the inhabitants of Canaan would be of them, the Jewish army refused to enter the land and wept all night in their fear of the Canaanites. So, the Edomites, Moabites and the inhabitants of Canaan didn't need to worry about that generation of Jews for those men were too cowardly to fight their way into the land (Num. 14:1-11). You see, a believer can sing and praise God until he passes out from exhaustion, but all of this is meaningless unless that believer has strength in his soul from knowledge of God and rapport with God through his understanding and appreciation of God’s plan.
These Jews produced sinful emotion on one side of the Red Sea and non-sinful emotion on the other side of the Sea. They swung from one end of the emotional spectrum (fear) to the other end (relief from being delivered). Only Moses and possibly Joshua and Caleb had divine thought in their souls and true capacity for life. So, when they sang, it had meaning.
During their first year in the Sinai Peninsula, every time they had a pressure situation, they would worry and fear about their safety and never even once considered God’s provision and plan for their lives. So, they continued to complain and complain until they died in the desert for the majority of these Jews never learned to apply the Word of God by faith to their experience.
For we also have been evangelized as they had been [evangelized: the Jews of the Exodus generation were believers.), but the word they heard [after salvation] did not profit them, because those who heard it [God’s word taught by Moses and others] did not mix it [knowledge of the Word] with faith [no faith perception]. For we who have believed (in the promises, principles and doctrines of God’s word) enter into the rest (of contentment and tranquility from trusting in God). (Hebrews 4:2, 3)
The Jews used faith in salvation; now they needed to apply God’s promises by faith to this pressure situation at the Red Sea. If one does not use faith for salvation, it is hopeless, so also if one does not use faith in the spiritual life, it is hopeless. Colossians 2:6 states, "Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus your Lord [a metaphor for believing in Jesus Christ as one’s savior], so be walking in him [the spiritual life after salvation].” We used faith for salvation, now we must use faith for the spiritual life. The only difference is the object of faith. In salvation, the object of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the spiritual life, the object of faith is the thinking of Jesus Christ.
To the Exodus generation security was more important than applying Bible doctrine. As a result of their false priority, they became involved in the emotional sin of fear. Fear is not only an irrational state of emotion, but it is also a destructive sin. God does not answer prayer when the believer is out of fellowship and controlled by his sin nature. The Jews should not have prayed the prayer of “help, help.” Rather, they should have prayed to the Father thanking him for this opportunity to watch the Lord’s power in delivering them at the Red Sea. Fear however destroyed their perspective of the situation.
Principles related to fear:
1. It is possible to learn a lot of doctrine and yet fall apart in a sudden pressure situation.
2. Sudden disaster often places the believer in a panic situation resulting in a failure to apply doctrine to that situation.
3. The difference between fear and courage is important in a crisis situation. The courageous person is able to think under great pressure, whereas the person with fear is not able to think rationally under pressure. The difference is the ability to concentrate under pressure. Now, if you have a problem concentrating in normal situations, you will surely have a problem concentrating under pressure in an abnormal situation.
4. A coward is a person who cannot think under pressure, whereas a courageous person can think under pressure.
5. Concentration is not only required in learning Bible doctrine, but even to a much greater extent in applying Bible doctrine. This is especially true when historical disaster occurs, because in historical disaster one has two categories of pressure namely personal and national and sometimes even international.
6. Adversity and great pressure can easily cause stress when the believer fails to apply to that situation. When a believer is under stress, he is not able to think objectively.
7. Many disasters come suddenly and with great intensity. So, these disasters can easily hinder the believer from concentrating on the promises and doctrines of the Word of God.
Now back to Exodus and quoting again Exodus 14:11a, “They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” Now keep in mind that these Jews did not have to leave Egypt. Moses did not force them to leave. Arrogant people never take responsibility for their decisions. Furthermore, Moses was only God's agent. It wasn't his idea to bring the Jews out of Egypt; it was the command of God. God was going to remove the Jews from Egyptian slavery in order to make them a special nation (client nation) in history. (Exodus 3:6-8)
A coward dies many times, but a brave man dies only once. Under fear emotion controls the soul. When emotion is in control, the believer becomes irrational. In a state of irrationality, he assumes that he is already dead. This was true of the Exodus generation. In a state of irrationality, they possessed a false view of their situation. Their false viewpoint was that they were already dead. The true view was that God would deliver them.
Is this not the word which we spoke to you in Egypt? Let us alone that we may be slaves to the Egyptians because it is better for us to be slaves to the Egyptians than to die in the desert. (Exodus 14:12)
Initially, when the Jews heard that God was going to remove them from slavery, they welcomed the idea.
And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. (Exodus 4:31)
However, once the Egyptians started to give them a hard time, they changed their minds about going.
And they said, may the Lord look upon you and judge you [Moses and Aaron]! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials [through the Plagues] and have put a sword in their hand to kill us. (Exodus 5:21)
And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord. Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. (Exodus 6:8, 9)
PRINCIPLES OF STRESS:
1. Adversity is outside pressure of life; stress is inside pressure of the soul.
2. Stress is caused by oneself; adversity is caused by self, by others or circumstances.
3. Adversity is inevitable; stress is optional.
4. Stress destroys the spiritual life of the believer. Therefore, the believer must name his sins to God the Father as soon as possible.
5. There is a definite relationship between stress and cognition, namely stress lowers cognition.
6. Stress makes a person forgetful and impairs the memory. Therefore, stress impairs the ability to learn.
7. Stress affects a person's perception of reality. At the Red Sea, the Jews with stress in their souls considered themselves already dead.
8. If a person remains in a stress-situation too long, all of his cognitive ability will be destroyed, and he will enter into a psychotic state.
People controlled by emotion and possessing false priorities easily succumb to fear when pressure occurs. Only the stable Christian with doctrine in his soul is able to handle the pressures of life. If the Faith-rest Drill or some other problem-solving device is not used when the believer faces a difficult problem or pressure, he will easily enter into a state of fear. In a state of fear and stress, he cannot solve his problems rationally.