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
Fourty Things Received at Salvation
Written by: Max Klein
Salvation grace: In this dispensation only, God has provided forty things for the believer at the moment of faith in Christ. You receive these forty things before you have had a chance to do anything! Therefore, you obviously receive these things by grace; they were freely given and undeserved.
1. Efficacious Grace. When we believe in Jesus Christ, the ministry of God the Holy Spirit makes our faith effective for salvation.
Ephesians 1:13, "In whom also, when you heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation [common grace]; in whom also, when you believed [efficacious grace], you were sealed by means of the Holy Spirit."
So, the first thing given to you at the moment of salvation was the fact that the Holy Spirit made your faith in Jesus Christ valid.
2. The Sealing Ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave a signature guarantee at the very moment you believed in Jesus Christ to the point of your receiving a resurrection body.
Ephesians 4:30. And stop grieving the Holy Spirit, the God [appositional genitive] by whom you have been sealed unto the day of redemption [of the body].
It is also documented in Ephesians 1:13b, "you were sealed by means of the Holy Spirit."
3. An Eternal Inheritance. At the moment, we believe in Christ, we receive an inheritance which is eternal.
1 Peter 1:4. We have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
Romans 8:17. And if children, then heirs; On the one hand, heirs of God [the Father], on the other hand joint heirs of Christ if we share in his suffering [receive undeserved suffering] so that we also may be glorified together with Him.
4. Regeneration. Regeneration is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit at salvation whereby He creates a human spirit to which God the Father imputes soul-life. Once we receive a human spirit, we become trichotomous having a body, a soul, and a human spirit.
Titus 3:5. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the cleansing [pre-salvation sins forgiven] which brings about regeneration even the renewal of the Holy Spirit [the Holy Spirit providing a human spirit].
John 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh [human birth]; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit at our spiritual birth].
John 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him, `Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
John 3:7. Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.'
Born again through faith: John 3:16. For God loved the world so much, that He gave His Son, the uniquely born one, that anyone who believes in Him shall never perish, but have eternal life [from the Father].
5. Recipients of Eternal Life. If you're going to live with God forever, you must have the life of God, which is eternal life.
1 Timothy 6:12. Fight the good fight of doctrine. Take an interest in eternal life to which you were called and you made a good witness in the presence of many witnesses.
When you believe in Jesus Christ in the state of mortality, you are called into the state of immortality, a calling which will take place at the resurrection. Fighting the good fight of faith is that fantastic witness we have by the execution of our unique spiritual life of the Church Age.
Jude 21. Guard yourselves by means of love for God, as you wait for the lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ with reference to eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13. And this is the deposition that the God [the Father] has given us eternal life [imputed into our human spirit], and this life is in His Son [as well: a reference to our position in Christ]. (12) He who has [a relationship with] the Son has [eternal] life; he who does not have [a relationship with] the Son of God does not have [eternal] life.(13) I have written these things to you [believers], to those who have believed in the person of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
6. The Imputed Righteousness of God. This explains why the Christian is loved by God, blessed by God and why he will spend all eternity with God. Understanding the ramifications of imputed righteousness prevents a lot of arrogance.
Romans 3:22. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.
2 Corinthians 5:21. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
7. Resultant Justification. With the righteousness of God imputed, we are justified.
Romans 3:22, 24. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe (. . .) (24) being justified [declared righteous and qualified to go to heaven] as a gift of his grace through the Redemption which is by Christ Jesus.
Galatians 2:16. Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus [and have received imputed righteousness] that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no person will be justified.
8. Reconciliation. Reconciliation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that removes the barrier between God and man. The two main barriers are human life and relative righteousness. The barrier of human life is removed by eternal life and the barrier of relative righteousness is removed by imputation of divine righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:19. Namely that God, by means of Christ, reconciled the world to Himself by not imputing their sins to them.
Romans 5:10. For if, while we were enemies [under spiritual death], we were reconciled to God by the substitutionary spiritual death of His Son, much more now being reconciled, we shall be delivered by His life [eternal security].
9. Beneficiaries of Propitiation. While reconciliation is directed toward mankind, propitiation is directed toward God. Propitiation means that God the Father is satisfied with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God the Father is only satisfied with one person in history: Jesus Christ, because He remained impeccable throughout the thirty-three years of his life and while bearing our sins on the cross. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are the beneficiaries of that propitiation. Since God the Father is satisfied with the work of Christ our high priest having offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross, we are beneficiaries of this work.
1 John 2:2. And He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 4:10. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us [impersonally as unbelievers] and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Romans 3:24-25. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is by Christ Jesus (25) whom the God [the Father] publicly displayed as a mercy seat [propitiation] by his blood through faith [in Christ] to demonstrate His [the Father's] righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins by the delay in judgment from God. [The sins of the Old Testament people were not judged until Christ went to the cross.]
10. Beneficiaries of Unlimited Atonement. Unlimited atonement means that Jesus Christ was judged on the cross for all personal sins in the history of the human race, from the first sin of Adam to the last sin committed in the Millennium. Unlimited atonement means that salvation is open to anyone who will believe in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 19. For the love for Christ keeps on motivating us. Having reached this conclusion namely that one died [Christ was punished for our sins] as a substitute for [genitive of advantage] everyone. Therefore, all died [spiritual death at birth]. (15) In fact, he died as a substitute for everyone that they who live [believers] should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died as their substitute for them and rose again. (19) Namely that God was by Christ reconciling the world to himself [the principle of unlimited atonement] not counting their trespasses against them. And he committed to us the doctrine of reconciliation.
11. Beneficiaries of Redemption. Redemption views salvation from the standpoint of our being in a slave market of sin in which we were born. Jesus Christ paid the ransom price for our freedom by His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross. Therefore, redemption means that at the moment of our salvation, we are freed from the slave market of sin.
Galatians 3:13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law [the Law reveals that we are sinners], having become a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.
1 Peter 1:18-19. knowing [those possessing metabolized doctrine] that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold out from your futile [worthless] way of life inherited [sin nature inherited: the legalism along with its associated sins and lusts] from your forefathers, (19) but by means of the precious [most valuable, costly] blood, as of a lamb [analogy to the Levitical offerings] unblemished [skin: blameless: no sin nature; no Adam’s Original Sin] and spotless [a reference to wool: analogy to having committed no personal sins], the Christ [genitive of apposition].
12. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. At the moment of personal faith in Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit takes every new believer and enters him into union with Christ which union is forever.
1 Corinthians 12:13. By means of one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks [Gentiles], slaves or free, and we were all made to drink into one Spirit [the work of the Spirit].
Galatians 3:26-28. You are the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Gentile [no racial distinctions in Christ]; there is neither slave nor free [no social or economic distinctions in Christ]; there is neither male nor female [no sexual discrimination], and we are all one in Christ.
13. Created a New Spiritual Species. There are two new species in human history namely the new racial species of the Jew begun by Abraham when he was circumcised at age 99, and the Church Age believer, at the moment of faith in Christ, becomes a new spiritual species.
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come [ten unique factors of the Church Age].
Galatians 6:15. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision; but a new spiritual species.
14. Entered into the Royal Family of God Forever. There has never been a royal family of God before the Church Age. However, because of the victory of Jesus Christ who strategically defeated Satan by the Work of the Cross, the Father bestowed on Jesus Christ a royal patent, "King over kings and Lord over lords."
Revelation 17:14. These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.
Matthew 22:44. Sit down at My right hand, and I will make Your enemies Your footstool.
He was speaking to the humanity of Christ, and at that point gave Him His third royal patent namely ‘King over kings and Lord over lords’. However, our Lord had no royal family. Therefore, the Church Age was inserted into history for the purpose of calling out a royal family of God.
The moment you believe in Christ, you became royal family of God. Royalty should conduct itself in a certain way, i.e., according to the protocol plan of God. The sooner you learn to function as royalty, the better. We must learn grace and how to function graciously; we do not come by it naturally.
Ephesians 1:5. By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ on the basis of the grace purpose of His will.
In the Roman custom, adoption was the means by which a Roman aristocrat would select someone, often someone other than his own son, to become his heir. Likewise, we are royal family by adoption, not by birth. Since adoption took place at the new birth, we're royal family by new birth.
15. Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity of Election and Predestination (our computer assets). There is only one thing in life that makes all people equal, and that is what God does for each believer at the moment he believes in Christ. At the moment of our salvation, we are given equal privilege and equal opportunity. The computer asset of election is the expression of the sovereign will of God for the Church Age believer. Equal privilege is provided in the royal priesthood; equal opportunity is provided in logistical grace. The computer asset of predestination is the provision of the sovereign will of God for the Church Age believer. Equal privilege is provided in positional sanctification; equal opportunity is provided by the Ten Problem Solving Devices/Spiritual Life.
16. Positional Sanctification. There are three categories of sanctification in the Christian way of life. Positional sanctification is union with the person of Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. Experiential sanctification refers to the spiritual life after salvation. Ultimate sanctification refers to when we receive our resurrection bodies at the Rapture. Positional sanctification makes every believer in union with Christ positionally higher than angels, Hebrews 1-2. Positional sanctification removes all the barriers related to arrogance, prejudice, antagonism, and discrimination. It removes racial prejudice, cultural differences, social distinctions, personal antagonisms, economic barriers, ideological differences, sexual discrimination, environmental subjectivity, pre- salvation religious prejudice.
17. The Computer Asset of Election. Even though the Christian was elected in eternity past, his election becomes operational at salvation.
Ephesians1:3-4. Worthy of praise and glorification, the God even Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who [the Father] has blessed [Escrow Blessings] us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He [God the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world, that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [God the Father].
We have the privilege of historical impact by advancing to maturity.
2 Peter 1:3, 4. Even as His divine power has been given to us all things pertaining to life and the spiritual life through the knowledge of Him [God the Father: objective genitive] who has called us [elected us in eternity past] to his own glory and virtue, (4). through whom [plural: all members of the Godhead] the exceedingly great and precious favors [blessings and promises] have been given to us for our benefit in order that through these you might be partners with [partakers of] the divine nature [the two powers options], having escaped from the [ultimate source of] corruption [of the sin nature] which is in the sphere of the world through lust.
The Church Age believer must not only understand his relationship to God, but his relationship to history as well.
1 Thessalonians 1:4. Knowing, brethren, beloved of God, His election for you.
Colossians 3:12. As elected ones of God, holy [set apart] and beloved, put on the affections of grace compassion.
Understanding election is orientation to the plan of God for your life.
2 Timothy 1:9, “He has elected us into a holy station in life, not according to our works.”
Romans 8:33. Who will bring any accusation against the elect of God?
Heaven itself cannot stop our historical impact because of the fulfillment of our election. Blessing by association is the fulfillment of our responsibility to man. Historical impact is the fulfillment of our responsibility to history. Election means we are responsible to preserve the client nation by becoming a member of the pivot. Since the believer has been elected to privilege, he must function under the royal family honor code.
Ephesians 4:1. I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of your station in life, for which station in life you have been called [elected].
18. The Computer Asset of Predestination. Predestination is a part of God’s decree providing everything the Church age believer needs to execute His plan, purpose and will. He provided logistical grace, solutions to all of the believer’s problems, deserved and undeserved suffering, and great blessing for the believer who advances in the spiritual life. For some he predestined that they would die the ‘sin unto death’ (1 John 5:16) since he knew that they would never fulfill his plan in time. For others he predestined that they would die with the greatest possible blessing and happiness since he knew that they would become mature believers.
Predestination coordinates with omniscience so that the free will of man is never violated. God never turns your yes into no and your no into yes. God’s omniscience typed into the computer of divine decree the thoughts, motivations, decisions and acts of every Christian. Based on this information God was able to design a predestined plan for each believer. For some it means great blessings in time and in eternity; for others it means great misery in time and loss of the greater blessings in the eternal state.
God’s sovereignty predestined certain blessings for all Christians even though many believers would fail to carry out their spiritual responsibilities. God’s sovereignty predestined that every Church age believer would receive 40 spiritual assets at salvation and a resurrection body at the rapture of the Church.
God predestined for all Christians to be ‘conformed to the image of His son’ through positional, experiential and ultimate sanctification. Through positional sanctification, we are ‘conformed to His image’ by being clothed with his characteristics (Galatians 3:27). Through experiential sanctification some Christians will choose to make use of God’s provision for advancement in the spiritual life. These are the believers who follow God’s plan and advance to spiritual maturity, in doing so becoming conformed to the characteristics that the humanity of Jesus Christ acquired through the spiritual life given to him. Through ultimate sanctification, all believers will be freed of their sin nature as they are given a resurrection body like that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
19. The Universal Priesthood of the Believer. A priest or high priest must partake of the nature of the persons for whom he acts or represents.
Hebrews 5:1-6. For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; (2) he is able to moderate his feelings with regard to the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is subject to weakness [since he is human], (3) and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins as a substitute for the people, and so also for himself. (4) And no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is appointed by God, even as Aaron was. (5) So also, Christ did not glorify Himself to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, [Psalm 2:7] ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’; (6) just as He also says in another Scripture [Psalm 110:4], ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’
Since our priesthood is related to Christ, our priesthood is also forever. As the High Priest, Jesus Christ offered himself as a propitiatory offering on the cross which offering satisfied God the Father. As a result of this propitiatory work, Jesus Christ is now at the right hand of God the Father, a position of the highest honor. As a result of the Holy Spirit identifying (baptizing) us with Christ at this position, we share many wonderful assets such as his priesthood.
Romans 6:3. Do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Jesus Christ?
As such, you share the royal priesthood of Christ.
1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen people [for a special purpose], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [set apart nation of priests], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called you [in eternity past] out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic System] into His amazing light [his plan].
20. The Royal Ambassadorship of the Believer. At the moment of salvation, each one of us is appointed a royal ambassador to represent Christ since He is not on the earth.
2 Corinthians 5:20. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We invite you, on behalf of Christ, become reconciled to God [by believing in Christ].
Since we are ambassadors, it is our responsibility to make the issue of salvation clear to the unbeliever. After which, God the Holy Spirit “. . . will convince the unbeliever regarding sin [sin of not believing in Christ], righteousness [the need for imputed righteousness] and judgment [If Satan has been judged and condemned to the Lake of Fire, and he has, then how will you who reject God’s plan escape?]” (John 16:8-11).
21. The Indwelling of God the Father. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, God the Father indwells every Church Age believer which indwelling is a guarantee of our portfolio of invisible assets.
Ephesians 4:6. One God even the Father of all, who is over all [Church Age believers], and who is the source of all [Logistical and Escrow Blessings], and in all [the indwelling of Church Age believers].
22. The Indwelling of God the Son. At the moment of salvation, God the Son comes to indwell the body of every believer in the Church Age.
John 14:19-20. Before long the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me; because I live, you also will live. (20) In that day [the Church Age], you shall come to know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Colossians 1:27. To whom God has decreed to make known what is the riches of his glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you [the indwelling of Christ], the confidence of glory.
The purpose of the indwelling of Jesus Christ is to serve as a crest or an escutcheon for the royal family of God. Also, as the Shekinah Glory was a sign that God the Son intended to bring great blessing to the citizens of Israel, so the indwelling of the Church Age believer is the Lord’s desire to bring even greater blessing to his royal family. For example, as the depositary and escrow officer, Jesus Christ's indwelling is the guarantee of the irrevocability of our escrow blessings for time and eternity. Though the escrow blessings are irrevocable, does not imply the Christian will receive them. To receive them, the believer must assign number one priority to Bible doctrine and the execution of the spiritual life.
23. The Indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to provide a temple in the body of every Church Age believer for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory and the indwelling of God the Father. No believer in the Old Testament was ever indwelt by the Spirit nor will any believer in the Tribulation or in the Millennium be indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Both the Sin Nature and the Holy Spirit reside in the body of the believer and wage battle against one another for control of the soul.
Galatians 5:17. For the Flesh [the sin nature] desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit is against [totally opposed to] the sin nature for these [two] are constantly battling against each other [for control of the soul] [and you have subordinated yourselves to the sin nature] so that you are not doing the things which you might wish to do [Even though most wished to execute God’s will, they were failing. This is expressed through a 3rd Class Conditional Clause].
24. The Unique Availability of Divine Power. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, we have three categories of divine power available. This is an unprecedented extension to every believer. Available to us is the omnipotence of the three members of the Godhead. The omnipotence of God the Father is related to our portfolio of invisible assets. The omnipotence of God the Son is related to the preservation of the universe and the perpetuation of human history. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit provides the enabling power for the perception of Bible doctrine. Though this divine power is available to every believer, it does not imply that believers ever utilize this power. In fact, most believers are powerless and useless through ignorance of Bible doctrine.
25. The Unique Protocol Plan of God. We enter this protocol plan at the moment of faith in Christ. God has a plan for your life. The name of that plan is protocol. The policy of that plan is grace. The precedence for the grace policy of God comes from the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union.
Protocol: A rigid, long-established code, prescribing complete deference to superior rank and authority, followed by strict adherence to due order of precedence, coupled with precisely correct procedure. Below is Pastor Joe Griffin’s explanation of this Protocol Plan:
The long-established code goes back to eternity past and the divine decree. It is termed rigid because righteousness is the principle of all God does and immutability means that His standards do not change. Complete deference to superior rank and authority refers to the believer’s orientation and adjustment to God’s system of authority: Jesus as Head of the Church has superior rank; He delegated authority to the apostles and those closely related to them to write Scripture. Once the canon was complete, He then assigned communication gifts to evangelists and pastors to preach the gospel and teach doctrine respectively. Believers must therefore pay deference to divine areas of authority: Christ, Scripture, and pastors. Strict adherence to due order of precedence makes reference to our Lord’s demonstration of the divine power during the Incarnation. He utilized this system of divine power to execute His spiritual life, deal with adversities, get to the cross, and undergo substitutionary spiritual death for the human race. The plan He followed and carried out is to be utilized by believers in their journey through the days of their lives. We should seek to learn about the Lord’s decision-making process and consider it the precedence to which we must orient and adjust. Precisely correct procedure refers to the fact that God has a policy for doing things, i.e., a right thing must be done in a right way. Therefore, precisely correct procedure means that a right thing done in a wrong way is wrong; a wrong thing done in a right way is wrong; and a wrong thing done in a wrong way is wrong. For the believer to fulfill the requirements of the protocol plan of God, Bible doctrine must be priority one.
26. The Filling of the Holy Spirit. This occurs for the first time at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ. When we believe in Christ, immediately after forgiving us of our pre-salvation sins, God puts us into fellowship with the Spirit at which time we have the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit available to us. The Filling of the Spirit also means that we are under His authority. This is lost through sin but regained through the use of the Recovery Procedure. We are commanded to remain under the authority of the Spirit in order to execute the Father’s plan.
Galatians 5:16. And I communicate, keep on walking by agency of the Spirit and you will never ever fulfill the lust of the sin nature.
27. The Distribution of Spiritual Gifts. The initial distribution of spiritual gifts in the first generation of the Church Age was made by God the Son.
Ephesians 4:7-8. Moreover, to each one this grace has been given according to the measure of the spiritual gift from Christ. (8) Therefore, it says [in Psalm 68:18] when He ascended into heaven up on high, He [as the ultimate Imperator] led a host of captives [to exhibit prisoners in a triumphal procession: a transfer to heaven from those in Abraham’s Bosom] in triumphal procession [a metaphorical analogy] from a state of captivity [in Hades] and He [Christ] gave spiritual gifts to men [to glorify His triumph as the Imperator he gave-out spiritual gifts].
Subsequently, God the Holy Spirit provides the spiritual gifts, based on His sovereign decision. So, at the moment when you believed in Christ, God the Holy Spirit provided for you at least one spiritual gift.
1 Corinthians 12:4. There are a variety of spiritual gifts, but the same Holy Spirit.
28. All Judgment Removed. At the moment of your salvation, all judgment is removed. You are never again subject to the Last Judgment or the lake of fire. The believer is no longer subject to the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of Fire, due to one simple act of faith in Jesus Christ.
John 3:18. He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is judged already because he has not believed in the unique born Son of God.
Romans 8:1. There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
29. Deliverance from the Kingdom of Satan. When you believe in Christ, you are delivered from the authority of darkness (cosmic system and demon possession where applicable).
Colossians 1:13a. For He delivered us from the authority of darkness.
At the moment we believe in Christ, our pre-salvation sins are forgiven; we are removed from the cosmic system and entered into fellowship with the Holy Spirit until we commit our first post-salvation sin. (All unbelievers are in the cosmic system to some extent.) For some unbelievers who are demon possessed, salvation through faith in Christ removes that possession. God will not permit a demon to possess the body of a believer especially for the Christian who is indwelt by all members of the Trinity. For other unbelievers who are demon influenced, salvation through faith in Christ and the learning of Biblical truth removes that influence.
30. Transferred into the Kingdom of God. At the moment of our salvation, we are transferred into the kingdom of God.
Colossians 1:13. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Therefore, anything that happened to us before salvation that could be a handicap in our lives, God has provided a solution either at or after salvation. Therefore, the only way that anything that happened to you before salvation can remain as a handicap is if you make it so by ignorance of Bible doctrine and ignorance of God's policy of grace.
31. We are a gift from God the Father to God the Son. All Church age believers are a gift from God the Father to God the Son to form the royal family of God.
John 10:29. My Father, who has given them [as a gift] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. [This is also taught in the Lord’s prayer as per John 17:2, 6, 9, 11].
32. We are delivered from the power of the old sin nature. In principle this was accomplished via Retroactive Positional Truth. When Jesus was being punished for the penalty of every sin of human history, he used divine power namely the Filling of the Spirit and the power of metabolized truth in his human soul to handle this immeasurable suffering. By applying Retroactive Positional Truth, we also are to function under the two power options. In this way, we break the power of the sin nature for the power of the sin nature is based on good, sin and evil produced when the Christian does not use the two power options (the omnipotent power of the Spirit and the power of metabolized doctrine in the soul). Also, by applying Retroactive Positional Truth we are identified with the judgment of the cross. As a result of this judgment, there is another deterrent to the sin nature namely the grace Recovery Procedure. In other words, if the believer does sin and subsequently comes under the power of the sin nature, he can use this recovery procedure and again function under the two power options. Also, as the Christian advances spiritually, the sin nature loses a portion of his power over the believer. For example, one great area of power is the sin nature promising the believer happiness through the function of some lust. However, when the believer shares the happiness of God, this appeal diminishes dramatically. Another example is found in the power of love. Love for the members of the Trinity also diminishes the power of the sin nature by getting one’s eyes off self, things, and disturbing situations and unto God and His plan. Confidence in God and not in the cosmic system and Satan’s agent the sin nature diminishes the power of Satan’s system and the sin nature.
Philippians 3:3. For we and only we [mature Church Age believers] keep on being the circumcision [of the soul in the renunciation of Cosmic Good from the sin nature] who worship by means of the Spirit of God, and boast in a good sense in Christ Jesus; and having no confidence in the flesh [anything related to the sin nature and the Cosmic System].
Colossians 2:1. In whom also we have been circumcised by a circumcision not made with hands by the renunciation of the body of the flesh [the essence of the sin nature] by means of the circumcision of Christ [refers to His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross; Christ used only divine power. He died for our sins and rejected human good and so broke the power of the sin nature.].
33. We are given access to God. At the moment we believe in Christ, we start having access to God’s grace plan.
Romans 5:2. Through whom [the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have obtained that access by means of faith into this grace [plan] in which we stand [live by grace]; and so, let us have esprit de corps [in relationship to doctrine] in confidence of the glory for God [in glorifying God].
Ephesians 2:18-19. Because through Him we both have access by means of one Spirit face to face with the Father. (19) Consequently, therefore, you [Gentiles] are no longer aliens and foreigners, but keep on being fellow citizens of the saints, and members of the family of God.
Hebrews 4:14, 16. Having, therefore, a great High Priest, who having traveled through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us take possession of the acknowledgement [of our priesthood to advance to maturity]. (16) Therefore, let us be approaching the throne of grace [in prayer] with confidence that we may receive grace in action, and discover grace with reference to seasonable help.
34. Pre-Salvation sins forgiven.
Isaiah 43:25. I, even I am the one who wipes out your transgressions [pre-salvation sins forgiven at salvation] for my sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Though sins are forgiven at salvation, scar tissue and garbage in the subconscious are removed by advancing in the spiritual life. The damaged soul can be healed, but it takes a lot of good decisions. A young woman who has been raped by a father or a woman’s boyfriend for a period of ten to fifteen years will have scar tissue and garbage in her soul. Though not her fault, there is a lot of damage in her soul. If she should become a believer, she will have to be very persistent in learning doctrine to recover. If she should persist in developing her spiritual life, she will completely recover. This is the provision of God for these abused individuals.
35. Escrow Blessings. Billions of years ago, God the Father as the Grantor deposited into escrow, greater blessings for all Church Age believers, the grantees both in time and in eternity.
Ephesians 1:3. Worthy of praise and glorification, the God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who [God the Father] has blessed us with every spiritual blessing [Escrow Blessings] in the heavenly places in Christ [the depositary, the Escrow Officer].
Though these blessings are irrevocable, the Christian will not receive them until he fulfills the conditions of the Escrow. By growing in grace after salvation to spiritual maturity, the Christian will receive his escrow blessings for time. Then, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, he will receive his escrow blessings for the eternal state. If the Christian obtains his escrow blessings for time, he will also receive his escrow blessing for eternity. Though all Church Age believers have equal privilege and equal opportunity to advance to spiritual maturity and receive these greater blessings, many will not advance to spiritual maturity, and so will not receive their Escrow Blessings.
36. We are on a secure foundation. We are on a secure foundation at the moment of our salvation since Christ is that foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:11. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid which is Jesus Christ.
37. We are related to God the Son by Biblical analogy. At the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the Church Age believer becomes related to God the Son through eight special Biblical analogies or relationships.
1. The Last Adam and the new spiritual species.
2. The Head and the body. As body of Christ, we are in union with the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The Great Shepherd and the sheep.
4. The True Vine and the branches.
5. The Chief Cornerstone and the stones in the building.
6. The Great High Priest and members of the royal priesthood.
7. The Groom and the bride. Our wedding occurs at the Second Advent.
8. The King over Kings and the royal family of God.
38. Recipients of Eternal Security. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, we have eternal security. There are many approaches to teaching eternal security. There is the logical approach.
Romans 8:32. If God [the Father] spared not His own Son on the cross, but delivered Him over to judgment, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?
All things include a security that neither we nor God can break. The positional approach argues that since we cannot sin in union with Christ, we cannot break that union.
2 Timothy 2:13. Though we deny Him, He cannot deny us [since we are in union with Him denying us would be tantamount to denying Himself; also, because of his perfect integrity].
There is the family approach as per Galatians 3:26. We are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus [We cannot be unborn. So, once a child; always a child].
The inheritance approach is found in Romans 8:17. Now if children, then heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed, we suffer with Him [pass all the undeserved suffering tests], that also we might be glorified together [with Him].
There is nothing God the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit can do to cancel our salvation after we believe in Jesus Christ, and there is nothing we can do either. There is no renunciation, no system of sin, no evil, no failure nor blasphemy on our part that can ever cancel our salvation.
39. Guaranteed a Resurrection Body Forever. At the moment anyone believes in Jesus Christ, he is guaranteed a resurrection body, a perfect body forever.
John 11:25. Jesus said to her [Martha], `I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall live [in eternity with a resurrection body], even if he dies.'
40. Beneficiaries of Problem-Solving Devices. At the moment we believe in Christ, whatever problems we have had in the past, and whatever our inadequacies, God makes available to us problem solving devices. Like the other thirty-nine things, we are not aware of these Problem-Solving Devices at the point of our salvation. Awareness comes through consistent day by day, year by year advancement in the spiritual life.
Conclusion. The believer should be made aware of these forty things as soon as possible after salvation, so that he can express his options for spiritual growth and glorification of God. These forty things which we receive at salvation are the basis for grace orientation, experiential sanctification, execution of the protocol plan of God, and glorification of God in the great power experiment of the Church Age.
