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
Galatians: Chapter Five
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Experientially, the believer advances toward his objective via a two column advance namely the doctrine and love columns. As we apply doctrine to our lives and toward the members of the Trinity, the greater becomes our love for the members of the Trinity, and the greater our love becomes, the more we want to increase our knowledge of God. In this way, the columns support each other. 2 Peter 3:18a, “But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Matthew 22:37, “And He said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all of your thinking.”
1 John 4:19, “We ourselves [the mature believers] love [God] because he himself [God] first loved us.
ἡµεῖς ἀγαπῶµεν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡµᾶς.”
James 1:12, “Happy is the believer who endures testing [undeserved suffering] because having become approved [at the Bema Evaluation], he will receive the wreath of Life which He promised to those who love Him.”
Μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς ὑποµένει πειρασµόν, ὅτι δόκιµος γενόµενος λήµψεται τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς, ὃν ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν
αὐτόν.
Galatians 5:7
You [believers] were running well [commendably]. Who hindered you [who cut in front of you and caused you to lose your stride] resulting in your not obeying [in your resisting] the truth [of the spiritual life]?
Ἐτρέχετε καλῶς· τίς ὑµᾶς ἐνέκοψεν [τῇ] ἀληθείᾳ µὴ πείθεσθαι;
Running a race is being used by Paul as a metaphor for the spiritual life. The Galatian believers were running the race towards their spiritual objectives, but suddenly certain persons caused them to fail. Those persons were the Judaizers who came in and broke their stride by teaching legalism. Though legalism is causing the Galatians to lose the race, Paul will make every effort to get them back up to speed.
Regarding the Judaizers, Paul had this to say to the Philippians:
Philippians 3:2: Beware of those dogs [Judaizers: false Jewish teachers; legalistic apostates], beware of those evil workers [the same Judaizers who were always in opposition to Paul’s ministry], beware of the mutilation [a reference to circumcision as a means of getting to heaven].
The Judaizers took something which was legitimate, circumcision and distorted it into a system of legalism. They mutilated rather than circumcised. They made it a prerequisite both for salvation and the spiritual life.
The dog in the ancient world was semi-wild and had a bad reputation. These dogs often traveled in packs and were usually hungry and vicious. Also, they were carriers of all the animal diseases including hydrophobia. Not only were they carriers of diseases, but also of insects such as fleas which themselves carried diseases. The wild dog was also a scavenger eating carrion and garbage. So, to call someone a dog was very derogatory. Just as these dogs of the ancient world fed on garbage and carrion so the Judaizers fed on the principles and doctrines of evil. Therefore, Paul called them “dogs” scavengers of theology. Just as dogs infected others, so the Judaizers traveling in packs infected Paul’s worldwide congregation with all kinds of false doctrines.
Philippians 3:3: For we and only we [mature Church Age believers] keep on being [customary present] the circumcision [of the soul] who worship by means of the Spirit of God, and glorying [to boast in a good sense: esprit de corps] in Christ Jesus; and having no confidence in the flesh [in human viewpoint, ability, talent or anything related to legalism].
Galatians 5:8
That persuasion [circumcision as necessary for salvation] is not out from the one [the Father] who calls [the invitation of God the Father at the point of salvation] you.
ἡ πεισµονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑµᾶς.
In 1 Corinthians 1:9, it states, “The God [the Father] is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with his son Jesus Christ our Lord.” During Common Grace, God the Holy Spirit makes the gospel information understandable to the unbeliever. At that same time, God the Father invites the unbeliever to enter into fellowship with his Son via the gospel information that he now understands. If the unbeliever accepts this invitation and believes in Jesus Christ as his savior, the Holy Spirit converts his faith into salvation (Efficacious Grace). Observe that the call of God the Father did not involve circumcision, but merely faith alone in Christ alone. Believers are commanded to make their calling and election a reality in 2 Peter 1:10-11, "Therefore, rather brethren, be more motivated [perception of doctrine regarding your portfolio of invisible assets] to make your calling and election a spiritual reality; for by doing these things [fulfillment of the protocol plan of God], you will never stumble at any time [become a loser]. For in this manner [execution of the protocol plan], your entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ [ultimate sanctification in the resurrection body] will be richly supplied [conveyance of eternal Escrow Blessings to winners]."
Galatians 5:9
A little leaven [legalism] leavens the entire lump. [The Galatians ate a lot of bread, and so understood this].
µικρὰ ζύµη ὅλον τὸ φύραµα ζυµοῖ.
When you put a little leaven in a lump of dough, the leaven takes over the dough and the entire mass of dough becomes leavened. If a little legalism enters your soul, you will become entirely legalistic.
Leaven always represents something evil in Scripture (Exodus 12:8, 19; 13:7; 34:25). There are five different kinds of leaven in Scripture. In Mark 8:15 there is the leaven of Herod: worldliness. In Matthew 16:6 there is the leaven of the Sadducees: rationalism or human viewpoint. In Mark 8:15 and in Luke 12:1 there is the leaven of the Pharisees: religion. In 1 Corinthians 5:6, 7 there is the leaven of licentiousness. In Galatians 5:9 there is the leaven of legalism. The legalism of circumcision for salvation and the legalism of distorting the Mosaic Law into a system of spirituality turned their entire lifestyle into a lifestyle of legalism.
Galatians 5:10
I myself have confidence [in God’s word] with reference to you [that you will respond to this teaching] by the Lord [the Holy Spirit will communicate the doctrine that Paul writes] that you will hold a different conviction than the one you hold presently [that you Galatians will respond to the Word and discard legalism.] The one who is troubling you [throwing you into confusion] will bear his judgment [must be ostracized and removed from the assembly] whoever he may be [the protasis of a 3rd Class conditional sentence: it is more probable that the Galatians upon listening to this message will remove these troublemakers from their congregations].
ἐγὼ πέποιθα εἰς ὑµᾶς ἐν κυρίῳ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε· ὁ δὲ ταράσσων ὑµᾶς βαστάσει τὸ κρίµα, ὅστις ἐὰν ᾖ.
The Koine Greek phrase ‘nothing other’ (οὐδὲν ἄλλο) is an incomplete sentence. It comes from a similar expression in the Classical Greek, ‘outhen allo e’ which means ‘nothing other than’. In Classical Greek, the sentence is also incomplete. This idiom or hanging expression demands that the reader complete the sentence from the information found in the context. So, we complete this sentence with the words, ‘the correct view.’ Thus, this sentence has the literal translation, “that you should hold nothing other than the correct view”. However, in order to make it a bit smoother, it could be translated, ‘that you will hold a different conviction than the one you hold presently.’
Galatians 5:11
And I, brethren, if I am still preaching circumcision [let’s assume that it is true, then my teaching would not be offensive to the legalist], then why am I still being persecuted [because Paul’s teaching if offensive to the legalist]? In that case [if salvation were by circumcision] the offence of the cross [viewpoint of the legalist] would have been rendered null and void [circumcision would render the work on the cross null and void].
ἐγὼ δέ, ἀδελφοί, εἰ περιτοµὴν ἔτι κηρύσσω, τί ἔτι διώκοµαι; ἄρα κατήργηται τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ σταυροῦ.
Paul did teach salvation by circumcision when he was a Pharisee, but after becoming a believer he taught salvation and the spiritual life by grace. The Judaizers when talking with the Galatians implied that Paul was still teaching a salvation by circumcision and a spiritual life via the Mosaic Law. So, Paul reasons with the Galatians in the following way: if I were still teaching salvation by circumcision etc., the Judaizers would not be opposing me. However, since I am no longer teaching their brand of legalism, they are attacking both my ministry and my person.
Galatians 5:12
I wish that [would that: a fixed form introducing an unattainable wish] those who are troubling you [inciting a revolt: the Judaizers] would go the whole way and emasculate themselves.
ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑµᾶς.
The Druid priests would often practice emasculation to gain their pseudo salvation. So, Paul asks the Galatians, why don’t you and those Judaizers go all the way namely if circumcision is beneficial how much more if you cut it all off. Then, when you have finished take a good look at yourselves and see where legalism has taken you. You would have accomplished no more than what your own heathenistic Druid priests had accomplished and what did it get them?
Galatians 5:13
For you yourselves were called [at the point of salvation] into liberty [freedom to serve the Lord, not to serve the sin nature], brethren. Only [limits the action designated by the verb ‘called’] do not [use] your freedom as an opportunity for the purpose of the flesh [to serve the sin nature with emphasis on legalism in this passage], but through impersonal love [which eliminates sinful competition] be subordinate to one another [treat each other in impersonal (unconditional) love and respect the rights, privileges and privacy of each other].
Ὑµεῖς γὰρ ἐπ’ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐκλήθητε, ἀδελφοί· µόνον µὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορµὴν τῇ σαρκί, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις.
All royal family members have the right of privacy. It is not the believer’s responsibility to straighten out other believers. The command to be subordinate to one another has nothing to do with this monstrosity called discipleship. God ordained certain men to become spiritual professors via the spiritual gift of communication. When a pastor teaches his congregation, he is teaching to a group. The individual believer when listening to his pastor from within a group is able to maintain his privacy and his objectivity. However, when some spiritual bully interrogates and attempts to teach another believer face to face, it not only is a violation of the pastor’s authority since it is the pastor’s responsibility to teach the believers in a group, but also destroys the privacy and the objectivity of the individual believer to live his life to please the Lord.
Those Christians who attempt to correct and teach others on a personal level are nothing more than arrogant believers. Not only have these Christians usurped the pastor’s responsibility, but also, they are attempting to take over the Lord’s authority for it is the Lord who evaluates, approves or disproves of the believer’s lifestyle. If the believer is failing, it is the Lord who attempts to correct the believer through discipline and through Bible teaching. If the believer executes the spiritual life, it is the Lord who blesses. In short, Christians who practice discipleship have seized both the pastor’s authority and that of the Lord’s.
Galatians 5:14
For the entire Law [the Mosaic Law] is fulfilled by one instruction, by this statement, "You will love your neighbor as [you love] yourself [a reference to spiritual self-esteem].”
ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόµος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
Impersonal or unconditional love requires strong motivation for its execution. “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons (citizens) of your people, but you shall love [unconditional love (impersonal love)] your neighbor [anyone you know or come in contact with] as yourself [spiritual self-esteem]; I am the Lord”, Leviticus 19:18. Keep in mind that the believer will only have the power to execute impersonal love if he first has personal love for the Father, the motivation for impersonal love.
Galatians 5:15
But if you bite and devour each other [a reference to judging, criticizing, maligning, gossiping, lying, taking revenge based on jealousy, bitterness etc.] and you are, beware so that you are not consumed [destroyed] by one another.
εἰ δὲ ἀλλήλους δάκνετε καὶ κατεσθίετε, βλέπετε µὴ ὑπ’ ἀλλήλων ἀναλωθῆτε.
The destruction of legalism is immense. In legalism, believers become immersed in mental attitude sins resulting in the function of the sins of the tongue. Legalism therefore, has no constructive power, but only destructive power when dealing with the problems which occur when interacting with people. Biting and devouring one another as a result of legalism produces such sins as jealousy, inordinate ambition and competition, gossip, maligning, judging etc. This is how Christians destroy themselves, others and their churches.
The Arrogance Skills explained: How do Christians justify the viciousness of attacking one another? They do this via the arrogance skills namely self-justification, self-deception and self-absorption. In self-justification, the believer rationalizes away his sins one way or another. Simultaneously, this believer is deceiving or lying to himself, and consequently does not confess his sins, and so remains out of fellowship. This results in the believer being immersed in mental attitude sins and other sins as well. This viciousness will continue until the believer uses the Recovery Procedure followed by inculcation in the knowledge of the spiritual life.
Relationship with God must precede relationship with people. Only spiritual advance and relationship with God provides the believer with the capacity to interact successfully with people. If a Christian has not obtained personal love for the Father, he will not have the motivation or the power to deploy Unconditional Love and so, none of his relationships in life will work out.
Galatians 5:16
But I say, keep walking by means of the Spirit, and you will never ever fulfill [carry out, gratify] the lusts of the flesh [sin nature].
Λέγω δέ, πνεύµατι περιπατεῖτε καὶ ἐπιθυµίαν σαρκὸς οὐ µὴ τελέσητε.
Walking is a metaphor for the spiritual life. Walking is system of advancing with the body in balance with the person shifting his weight from the hind foot to the foot going forward. Also, a person walks with one step at a time, not two or three. So, it is with the Christian way of life; we live one day at a time, not a week nor a year at a time. When we learn and apply the Word of God under the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, we advance in harmony with God’s will for our lives.
The believer is fulfilling the desire of God as opposed to the lusts of the sin nature when he remains under God’s system of power. The strongest negation in Greek is the ‘subjunctive of emphatic negation.’ This grammatical expression “you will never ever” contains two Greek negatives ‘ou’ and ‘me’ with a verb in the subjunctive mood. So, this expression could be translated as either, ‘you will not ever fulfill’ or ‘you will never fulfill.’ So, the Christian is either in fellowship with God fulfilling the desires of God, or he is out of fellowship fulfilling the lusts of the sin nature. Each is mutually exclusive of the other. The Galatians at this point are out of fellowship with God and so were fulfilling the lusts (the false desires) of the sin nature as deduced from some of the sins they were committing (Galatians 5:19-21).
Why did Paul use the word ‘flesh’ for the sin nature? Lusts namely erroneous desires come from the sin nature, and since the sin nature is located in the cell structure of the body, Paul coined the Greek word ‘sarks’ (flesh) as a synonym for the sin-nature.
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].
ἡ γὰρ σὰρξ ἐπιθυµεῖ κατὰ τοῦ πνεύµατος, τὸ δὲ πνεῦµα κατὰ τῆς σαρκός· ταῦτα γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται, ἵνα µὴ ἃ ἐὰν θέλητε ταῦτα ποιῆτε.
The Holy Spirit indwells the body of each believer (1 Corinthian 6:19; Romans 8:11). The sin nature also resides in the body of each person. Romans 6:6, “Be knowing this that our old man [the sin nature] has been crucified together [with Him] [the power of the sin nature is doctrinally broken], in order that the human body with reference to its sin nature [this Greek word in the singular many times refers to the sin nature] might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.” The indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the sin nature located in the body war against each other for the control of the soul.
Galatians 5:18
But, if [assumed to be true] you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law [Mosaic Law].
εἰ δὲ πνεύµατι ἄγεσθε, οὐκ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ νόµον.
Romans 8:2-4, “For the law [principle] of the spirit of life [our spirituality] through the agency of Christ Jesus [tested and proved the prototype spiritual system in his humanity] has set you free from the law of sin [carnal state of the believer: 1 Corinthians 3:1] and death [perpetual carnality resulting in the sin unto death as per I John 5:16]. (3) For the Law [is not a system of power, but can only be implemented by the determination of one’s volition] was powerless in that it was weak through the flesh [sin nature], God having sent His own Son [deity] in the likeness of the flesh of sin [true humanity of Jesus without a sin nature] and as a substitute for sin [He who knew no sin became sin for us] he [God the Father] condemned sin [personal sins] in the flesh [God the Father judged the humanity of Christ]. (4) In order that the righteousness [legal requirement] required by the Law might be fulfilled in us [church age believers using the two powers of the spiritual life], who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
The Mosaic Law was never designed to provide the Church Age believer with a spiritual life. Even the Old Testament believers did not derive their spiritual lives from the Mosaic Law. Adam, Enoch, Noah and Abraham all lived before the existence of the Mosaic Law. Moses was a mature believer at 40 years old (Hebrews 11:24-27) and saw the burning bush at 80 (Exodus 3:2); all before he received the Mosaic Law. Their spiritual lives were primarily related to applying God’s Word by faith to their lives and situations. (Read Hebrews chapter eleven). The above verse clearly states that the Church age believer cannot be both under the authority of the Holy Spirit called the Filling of the Spirit and under the Mosaic Law.
There are two powers in the spiritual life of Church Age believer namely the Filling of the Holy Spirit, and Bible doctrine (primarily learned from the New Testament Epistles) circulating in his stream of consciousness. The Mosaic Law has no power; it contains the Ten Commandments: you will not; you will not etc. It contains some Christology and Soteriology and many laws related to how the believer and unbeliever should live under the Laws of Divine Establishment, but no power. Although the Mosaic Law is for our instruction, we do not learn about the spiritual life from it. Where do you think we learn about the Filling of the Spirit, the Indwelling of the Spirit, the Baptism of the Spirit, our spiritual gifts, ambassadorship, the royal priesthood, our rewards and loss of rewards, the Church Age standards regarding marriage et cetera? This information is all found in the New Testament Epistles. There are two powers in the spiritual life, and the Mosaic Law is not one of them!
Galatians 5:19
Now, the works [actions] of the flesh [sin nature] are plainly seen such as [a representative list] fornication [pornea: including adultery], mental and moral defilement from wrongdoing [akatharsia:1stThessalonians 2:3; Matthew 23:27] and sexual sins related to abnormality and criminality [the Greek word aselgeia: extreme indulgence in sensual pleasure related to alcohol, drugs and sexual perversions including sexual sins related to idolatry and human sacrifice].
φανερὰ δέ ἐστιν τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός, ἅτινά ἐστιν πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, ἀσέλγεια,
Galatians 5:20
Idolatry, sorcery [witchcraft; drug users], antagonisms [hostile feelings and actions toward others related to pettiness], strife [discord, contention for superiority], jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition [rivalry, competition], dissensions [trouble makers such as the Judaizers], religious factions [self-seeking, contentious groups; heresies].
εἰδωλολατρία, φαρµακεία, ἔχθραι, ἔρις, ζῆλος, θυµοί, ἐριθείαι, διχοστασίαι, αἱρέσεις,
Galatians 5:21
Envies, drunkenness, carousing [orgies], and similar things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you, that those who keep practicing [throughout their lives] similar things as these shall not inherit [the rewards in] the kingdom of God [the eternal state].
φθόνοι, µέθαι, κῶµοι, καὶ τὰ ὅµοια τούτοις, ἃ προλέγω ὑµῖν καθὼς προεῖπον ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρονοµήσουσιν.
Paul is warning the Galatians about losing their inheritance since they had returned to their former lifestyle and had lost the battle to their sin natures committing mental sins, overt sins including sexual sins and consequently were continually out of fellowship and failing to advance in the spiritual life. Christians who fail to execute the spiritual life, will lose their inheritance.
Some Christians read this passage and exclaim, “Woe unto me, I have lost my salvation.” All Christians commit some of these sins. If we could lose our salvation through one or more of these sins listed above, none of us would be going to heaven. You have never been angry or jealous! Even sexual sins cannot remove one’s salvation. If they could many of the greats listed in the Hall of Fame found in Hebrews 11 would not be going to heaven. Noah got drunk and was involved in sexual sins (masturbation and homosexuality: Genesis 9:20-27), Abraham committed adultery with Hagar, the Egyptian girl, David committed adultery with (or raped) Bathsheba and then murdered her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Even though Moses did not commit a sexual sin, he did divorce his first wife and remarry. How can Christians be so completely stupid and think that this passage is talking about losing one’s salvation?
Let’s document Noah’s failure:
Genesis 9:20-27: “Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; (21) and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered [Hithpael stem in Hebrew: he caused to uncover himself: appears to be masturbation] in his tent. (22) And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father [idiom for committing a homosexual act], and told his two brothers outside [Ham bragged about his sexual act]. (23) Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness [the results of the sexual activity]. (24) When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him [committed a homosexual act], (25) he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." (26) He also said, "Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave [the line of Canaan would be subservient to the other two lines]." (27) God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave."
First of all, no Christian can inherit the Kingdom of God. So, obviously, it is not talking about inheriting a kingdom. The interpretive word in this passage is the verb ‘inherit’ (kleronomeo). It is simply talking about inheriting honors, rewards and decorations in the eternal state.
Heirship is based on sonship. You must be a son before you can become an heir. The Galatian Christians were Sons of God (Galatians 3:26-28), and since God is very wealthy, the potential for tremendous inheritance is there. All Christians will inherit certain blessings (such as a resurrection body and certain amount of blessing in the eternal state], but the greatest blessings of one’s inheritance are dependent upon whether the Christian completes the spiritual life, or not.
Another important word in this passage is the present active participle of ‘prasso’. The present tense is progressive; it refers to those believers who keep on committing certain sins their entire spiritual lives. They are never able to gain control over their sin natures since they are not “growing in grace and knowledge” and so are failing to execute the spiritual life. In the context, we are talking about Galatian believers who are out of fellowship. They have completely abandoned the spiritual life. So, Paul warns them that if they fail to advance to spiritual maturity, the place where the believer loves God and shares in God’s happiness, then that believer will die the Sin unto Death (1 John 5:16) and lose his eternal rewards in the form of Escrow Blessings.
Galatians 5:22
But the gain [profit, production, fruit] of the Spirit is love [love for God and unconditional love for people; since virtue (the Greek dikaiosune) is a part of His love, it is not mentioned as a production of the Spirit], happiness [sharing God’s happiness], tranquility [capacity for prosperity], not moved by emotion [very good control over one’s emotions], integrity [doing what is right, kindness], generosity, faith [advanced faith-rest drill],
Ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύµατός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, µακροθυµία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις,
The Greek word “makrothumia” means patience, not influenced or controlled by emotion”. The mature believer has control over his emotions. Even when he is under great pressure, he doesn’t react with worry, anger, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, fear etc. During his advance to spiritual maturity, he has learned to think under pressure and to apply Biblical principles and truths to his pressures and problems. His love for the Lord and his great happiness gives him the motivation necessary to handle any problem in life with divine thinking and by so doing, he keeps his emotions under control.
Galatians 5:23
Humility [is developed through obedience to bona fide (legitimate) authority], self-discipline, over such things, there is no law.
πραΰτης, ἐγκράτεια· κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόµος.
One cannot mandate the above characteristics without providing a system of power by which they can be accomplished. If law had the power to do so, we would just pass a law that would mandate love, happiness, integrity, humility etc. The Mosaic Law is a law and as such never had the power to produce these wonderful characteristics listed in verses 22 and 23. Only the 2 power options namely the Filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine circulating in the soul of the believer are able to produce these mature characteristics as stated in verses 22-23.
On Paul’s first missionary journey, he went through southern Galatia explaining the gospel. To the thousands of Galatian converts he then explained the spiritual life. They were growing in grace and knowledge while Paul was there, but after Paul had departed, the Judaizers came into those cities and had convinced the Galatians that salvation came by circumcision, and the spiritual life came through keeping the Mosaic Law. In their impulsiveness, they quickly switched sides and threw out all what Paul had taught about the spiritual life. In effect they had accepted verses 20 and 21 as a substitute for verses 22, 23.
Galatians 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus [all Church Age believers] have crucified the flesh [a synonym for the sin nature] together with its passions [over powering, compelling emotion] and lusts [strong desires which are opposed to the plan of God].
οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ [Ἰησοῦ] τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν σὺν τοῖς παθήµασιν καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυµίαις.
All Church Age believers take part in Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth. In Retroactive Positional Truth, the Christian is identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death, his physical death, and burial. In Current Positional Truth we are identified with Christ in his resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of the Father.
On the cross, Jesus rejected human good while being punished for all the sins of mankind. Since Jesus applied divine thinking from his soul under the omnipotence of the Spirit, no human power was used on the cross. When the believer is out of fellowship, human dynamics producing good and sin are two powers related to the sin nature. Since human good was rejected on the cross and the payment for all sins was handled on the cross, we say that the sin nature has been crucified that is its power has been broken. So, when we are in fellowship with the Spirit and executing the spiritual life, we are manufacturing divine good from divine power. When we sin however, the sin nature has again gained power over us temporarily until we name our sins and are restored to fellowship. Thus, even though the power of the sin nature has been broken by the work of the cross, it is meaningless unless the Christian executes the spiritual life.
Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit and we do [a principle assumed to be true], let us advance [in our spiritual life] by means of the Spirit.
εἰ ζῶµεν πνεύµατι, πνεύµατι καὶ στοιχῶµεν.
The Christian must have spiritual values and have a desire to live by the Spirit. The command “let us advance” is a hortatory subjunctive in the Greek. Paul is saying, join me in my advance. The Christian will only join Paul if he shares Paul’s priorities and values.
Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited [arrogant] challenging [provoking] one another, being jealous of each other.
µὴ γινώµεθα κενόδοξοι, ἀλλήλους προκαλούµενοι, ἀλλήλοις φθονοῦντες.
The believer cannot advance out of fellowship with God. The Christian cannot advance in the spiritual life when he is full of arrogance which produces mental sins, and competition etc. The only long-term solution is to execute the Father’s plan via the Filling of the Spirit and in so doing, the believer will eventually develop soul strength and integrity which will provide for him the ability to avoid these sins related to arrogance and competition.
Regaining fellowship with God through the Naming of our Sin:
1 John 1:9, "If we name our sins, he is faithful and righteous with the result that he forgives us our sins for our benefit and purifies us from all wrong doing."
ἐὰν ὁµολογῶµεν τὰς ἁµαρτίας ἡµῶν, πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡµῖν τὰς ἁµαρτίας καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡµᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας.
Staying in fellowship is very important in the Christian way of life. Therefore, we must learn how to recover fellowship after committing sin. For restoration to fellowship, God has designed a simple procedure. Although it is simple, it must be followed exactly.
Naming our sins to God the Father is a conditional procedure and not a promise to be applied by faith. A promise is a divine declaration or assurance that something specified will or will not happen, whereas a procedure is a course of action (naming our sins) by which a result is obtained (forgiveness of our sins). A promise requires faith; a procedure requires action.
This verse does not say, “If we believe and cite our sins”. The believer cannot walk by faith when he is out of fellowship. So, God has given the believer a simple procedure for restoration to fellowship. Simply name your sins to God the Father, and He will restore you to fellowship.
Walking by faith is a part of the spiritual life. Therefore, the Faith-rest Drill, namely walking by faith cannot be accomplished when we are out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Faith-rest drill is applying Bible doctrine to our experience and requires divine power for execution. This divine power is provided by the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit, only when we are in fellowship. When the believer is out of fellowship, his spiritual life comes to a halt until he gets back in fellowship.
In the function of the Faith-rest drill, the soul must be controlled by God the Holy Spirit. When the believer is out of fellowship, his soul is controlled by his sin nature. When the believer is controlled by his sinful nature, he is in a totally helpless and hopeless situation. This explains why God had to provide a grace solution to this dilemma of having lost fellowship. This grace solution is a simple procedure which allows God the Holy Spirit to regain control and provide the power necessary for the Faith-rest Drill and other Problem-Solving Devices.
The Christian must realize that he is either in fellowship or out of fellowship. He is not partly in fellowship and partly out of fellowship. The believer cannot straddle the fence of the spiritual life! When the believer is obedient to Bible doctrine under the Filling of the Holy Spirit, he is in fellowship and walking in the light. On the other hand, when the Christian is operating under legalism or emotionalism as a substitute for the spiritual life, he is out of fellowship with God and walking in the darkness of Satan’s Cosmic System.
Being in fellowship is related to the soul, and not to the body or its emotions. Therefore, fellowship is not something we ‘feel’. No believer should say, ‘I feel close to God’ or, ‘I feel like I’m out of fellowship with God’. Rather, the believer must understand cognitively that when he sins, he loses fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and enters into the darkness of the cosmic system no matter how he feels. When in darkness, he must enter the light again through confession of sins. Having named his sins to God the Father, the believer regains fellowship no matter how he feels.
Fellowship always follows forgiveness! When a person first believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior, his pre-salvation sins are forgiven, and he is placed immediately into fellowship with God the Holy Spirit as found in Isaiah 43:25. The Greek word used for forgiveness of sins committed before faith in Christ is charizomai and the Greek word used for forgiveness of sins committed after salvation in Christ is aphiemi. After salvation, when a believer decides to sin, fellowship with the Holy Spirit is broken and he enters into darkness. At this point the believer is helpless and needs a grace solution that he may again walk in the light. (When the Christian is out of fellowship and walking in darkness, he is in a totally hopeless situation. It is hopeless because the believer out of fellowship is under the control of his sin nature and so can do nothing to please God.) Therefore, the solution to this problem of loss of fellowship comes from God’s gracious forgiveness, the only solution.
This passage (1 John 1:9) starts out with the following clause, “If we name our sins [known sins].” The Greek particle εαν (ean - if) and the Greek verb ὁµολογῶµεν (homologomen - to acknowledge, name, or cite) in the subjunctive mood form a 3rd class conditional sentence in the Greek. The 3rd class conditional sentence emphasizes the free will of the individual and has the connotation of ‘maybe’. The believer may name his sins correctly to God the Father or he may not. When John wrote this passage under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, he recognized that many Christians would fail to properly cite their personal sins to God the Father.
Not only does the subjunctive mood recognize free will, but also does the imperative mood. A father may say to his daughter, “If you get married (subjunctive mood: potential, possibility, probability), I will give you an expensive wedding present.” Since she has free will, she may never receive that gift. A city mayor may command drivers to drive within a certain speed limit within the city. However, this does not mean that all drivers will comply. Scripture recognizes free will through its use of the subjunctive and imperative moods.
The Christian has a responsibility to remain in fellowship with God and so must use what God has provided to accomplish that fellowship. God provided 1 John 1:9 as the only way to recover our fellowship with Him after sinning. Since God gave it to us, it is our responsibility to use it. So, every time the believer gets out of fellowship, he should immediately name his sins to his heavenly Father. This is his responsibility.
The believer must not rationalize away his sins, justify his sinning. Therefore, when you sin, don't blame others. Don't ever say, “He or she made me angry”. This is failure to take responsibility for your own sins. No person can make you angry. You made a decision to become angry, or to worry, to become jealous, to gossip, to fornicate. That was your decision, not the decision of someone else.
So, state the sinful facts to God the Father. Homologeo (to cite, to state) is a classical Greek word originally used in the Athenian courts of the 5th century B.C. (The apostle John used this word that we might understand how forgiveness relates to the judgment of the cross, the greatest courtroom scene in history.) In the Athenian Court, this verb was used of a criminal stating his crimes before a judge in a courtroom. After the criminal was found guilty, the judge would demand that the criminal acknowledge his guilt by stating his crimes (homologei tas harmatias sou). In stating his crimes, the criminal was not permitted to get emotional. He was not permitted to state his remorse, apologize or weep. The judge demanded that the criminal only state the facts regarding his crime, after which the judge would assign the appropriate punishment prescribed by law. Law, not emotion, was the criterion in the Athenian Court.
Judgment is followed by forgiveness. The cross was a courtroom trial presided over by the Judge, God the Father by whom Jesus, a substitute for the guilty human race, was sentenced and punished for all the sins of humanity. During the trial there was only judgment, not forgiveness for forgiveness is a result of the judgment of the cross. Colossians 1:14 states, “By whom [Jesus Christ] we have redemption [a primary accusative of object] resulting in the forgiveness [a secondary accusative of result] of sins”.
The key word in the first clause of recovery is homologeo. This word homologeo contains no emotion, not even 1%. No tears, no regret, no begging, no promise to do better, and no ritual. Just acknowledge your guilt and state your sins to God the Father. How you feel about the sins during your confession is totally inconsequential. Just follow the procedure and name your sins; don’t try to impress God with your emotion.
Now, it is true that sometimes when you sin, you may experience some regret which in turn may motivate you to name your sins to God the Father. This is okay, but not necessary. The truly honest Christian admits to himself that he wanted to commit that sin and just names it without going through the emotion of regret. Desiring to get back into fellowship is sufficient motivation; emotion is not necessary. However, if a Christian remains out of fellowship for a prolonged period of time, he will become very emotional and may even be entering into the early stages of neurosis. So, when he finally decides to get back into fellowship, he may not be able to refrain from weeping as he confesses his sins to God the Father. This is okay as long as he is not trying to impress or bribe God the Father with his tears.
The clause “If we name our sins” refers to known and remembered sins. Now, please realize that certain sins are very subtle. So, in some cases you may not even realize that you have sinned. Obviously, if you don't know what you have thought or done was a sin, or if you have forgotten your sin due to an elapse of time, you cannot name it. For example, if you do not realize that worry is a sin or you have forgotten that you had lied about something, then you will not be cognizant of your responsibility to name it to God the Father. So, the word “sins” refers to known sins that you remember, not unknown or forgotten sins. These known sins must be named to the proper person of the Trinity. The citing or acknowledgment of sins in the Church Age is addressed to God the Father (Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:2).
God the Father is immutable, and so He is always faithful. Therefore, every time you name your sins to Him, He forgives you and restores you to fellowship. He is never wearied by your confessions nor becomes irritated by your failures, but in his unwavering faithfulness, he is always forgiving.
God the Father’s righteousness must be propitiated. He is not only faithful, but also perfectly righteous. So, God cannot forgive us in grace until his righteousness is completely satisfied. This takes us back to the cross, the scene of the greatest courtroom case in all of history. God the Father was the judge. As a righteous judge, he demanded a perfect sacrifice be punished for all the sins of the world. The only perfect sacrifice was the humanity of Christ. So, the justice of God punished the humanity of Jesus Christ (He bore our sins on his body) for every sin of every human being in history. When it was finished, the righteousness of God the Father was completely satisfied.
Don’t add your work to the propitiatory work of our high priest, Jesus Christ on the cross. All sacrifices have to be offered by a priest. Since Jesus Christ was a high priest, he was able to offer himself as a sacrifice which propitiated completely God the Father. So, since there is nothing which needs to be added to the work of the cross, just name your sins. Don't make an issue out of yourself. Make an issue out of the cross by just stating your sins. When a Christian adds the human work of tears, promises, regret, begging, liturgy etc. while naming his sins, his confession becomes unacceptable to God. God cannot accept any work that competes with the perfect work of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
The Greek word ἵνα (hina) with the subjunctive mood introduces a result clause and should be translated “with the result that”. Since the righteousness of the Father was completely satisfied by the work on the cross, he is free to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all wrong doing (grieving, quenching and lying to the Spirit and all the human good, sin and evil related to it.).
The Greek word αϕιηµι (aphiemi) means to forgive and the Greek word καθαριζω (katharizo) means “to cleanse” or “to purify”. The father forgives us of the sins which we state, but also the ones we do not state. When the Christian uses the recovery procedure he is saying in effect, Father, I know that you have punished Jesus for all of my sins, so on that basis forgive me of my sins (the sins I mention and the ones I have forgotten or am not cognizant of). Now, the next word is ‘katharizo’ and relates to the soul, and so should be translated “purify”. God not only forgives us of our sins, but he purifies us from all wrong-doing and restores us to fellowship. Wrong-doing incorporates everything that the Christian does when he is out of fellowship; it includes Grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), Quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and Lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and everything related to these such as sin, human good and evil. (By the way it is usually prolonged wrong-doing that leads to the Sin unto Death (1 John 5:16, 17)).
Many times, when we sin and get out of fellowship, God administers discipline. We are not punished for the penalty of sin itself since Jesus Christ already paid in toto the penalty for every sin. We are being punished by the love of God namely the component of justice so that we will avoid guilt and learn to obey and respect Him (Hebrews 12:6). Forgiveness and purification do not imply that this suffering will stop. However, whatever suffering still exist after getting back into fellowship, becomes suffering for blessing.
In summary the opportunity to name one's sins to God the Father and get back in fellowship is a gift of grace. This gift was not intended to encourage sinning, but to provide the believer with the opportunity to continue in the spiritual life and to complete the objective of the spiritual life - to grow in grace and knowledge.
2 Chronicles 7:14, “And if my people [a client nation] who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven; will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
A few points regarding the human soul:
1. And God created [bara] man in His own image [a reference to the soul], in the image of God He created [bara] him [mankind]; male and female He created [bara] them [the souls are either male or female]. (Gen. 1:27) Since God creates the soul, it cannot be eternal, but everlasting namely it has a beginning but no ending.
2. The essence of the soul: mentality, conscience, self-consciousness, and volition; The following definition is taken from the booklet “The Origin of Human Life, page 6. “Every individual has an identical essence of soul, but each person has a different personality reflecting the combination of the facets in the soul. Let me explain. When negative volition toward the truth impacts mentality and conscience, an unstable, maladjusted personality emerges. When positive volition toward the truth impacts mentality and conscience, a balanced, stable, and well-adjusted personality develops. Heredity [genes] and environment also influence the various aspects of personality, but volition ultimately determines the interaction of the facets of the soul.”
3. In other words, God does not create souls with different personalities. The essence of every soul is the same at creation. For example, genes are not a part of the soul, but a part of biological life. Some people are naturally talkative; others are genetically quiet. Of course, by the use of one’s volition a quiet person can learn to be more talkative etc.
Galatians 5:1
In the sphere of freedom, Christ has freed us; therefore, stand firm [by functioning under the two power options] and stop being enmeshed again by the yoke of slavery.
τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡµᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν· στήκετε οὖν καὶ µὴ πάλιν ζυγῷ δουλείας ἐνέχεσθε.
In the sphere of freedom: The sphere of freedom is God’s power system. This power system is composed of two powers namely the power of the Filling of the Spirit, and the power of God’s word circulating in our stream of consciousness. We are to stand firm in this freedom namely to utilize these powers to advance spiritually to the point of maximum love for the members of the Trinity. ‘Stand firm’ was a military command given by the commanding officer to a military unit under great pressure. In this context, God is the commanding officer commanding us to keep learning and applying doctrine under all kinds of pressures.
Christ has freed us from the power of the sin-nature. He did this by providing a power system which has much greater power than the power of the sin-nature. The power of the sin-nature consists of the area of weakness from which comes sins, the area of strength from which comes human good (the good manufactured by the Christian when he is out of fellowship with God, and the lust pattern consisting of such lusts as power, approbation, crusader (related to self-righteousness), pleasure, sexual, chemical, social, material, criminal lust and avarice. The spiritual life with its power system must be put into operation if we are to bring the sin nature under control.
Stop being enmeshed again [the Greek negative ‘me’ along with the present imperative means to stop doing something which you are doing] by the yoke of slavery. Before salvation, the Galatians were involved in terrible asceticism and hedonism; after salvation they were becoming enmeshed by the legalism of Judaism. Asceticism, hedonism, and legalism enslave the individual to the sin-nature.
Galatians 5:18 clearly states that if a Christian puts himself under the authority of the powerless Mosaic Law for his spiritual life (legalism) rather than operating under the two power options, he will be out of fellowship with the Spirit and in bondage to the sin nature. In legalism, the Christian will find himself ‘in the yoke of slavery’ to the sin nature as the Galatians demonstrated (Galatians 5:19-20).
Jesus Christ destroyed the power of the sin-nature namely by being judged for our sins so that the Father can offer a recovery procedure when we fail, and by providing a spiritual life with much greater power than does the sin nature possess. Thus, the believer can only defeat the sin nature if he chooses to use the recovery procedure when necessary and to use the two powers of the spiritual life.
The epistle to the Romans states, 6:1-10:
Romans 6:1: Therefore, what are we to conclude? Are we to continue in [the power of] the sin nature in order that the grace might increase?
Τί οὖν ἐροῦµεν; ἐπιµένωµεν τῇ ἁµαρτίᾳ, ἵνα ἡ χάρις πλεονάσῃ;
Paul just stated in 5:20b, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” There is a type of arrogant Christians who would conclude, if that is true, then I will sin all the more that the grace of God may abound even more. This type of Christian will receive severe discipline from the Lord for his distortion of grace. Grace is designed to enable the Christian to serve God, not the devil.
Romans 6:2: Emphatically not [Paul’s abhorrence to a falsely drawn conclusion]! We who have died to the sin nature [Retroactive Positional Truth], how shall we still live in it [the power of Sin Nature]?
µὴ γένοιτο· οἵτινες ἀπεθάνοµεν τῇ ἁµαρτίᾳ, πῶς ἔτι ζήσοµεν ἐν αὐτῇ;
The sin nature acquires power when the believer yields to one of the lusts of the sin nature. When the believer yields to one of these lusts, he simultaneously breaks fellowship with God the Holy Spirit. The desire to please the Lord is all but forgotten for these lusts monopolize the believer’s motivation and employ both sin and good, a good produced via human dynamics and power. This destructive power can only be broken via the Recovery Procedure.
The Recovery Procedure must be used by the Christian in order to break the tight grip the Sin Nature has on him when he is out of fellowship. It is called, ‘The Recovery Procedure’ since it is a procedure and the only way the believer can recover fellowship with God.
Naming our sins to God the Father is a conditional procedure and not a promise to be applied by faith. A promise is a divine declaration or assurance that something specified will or will not happen, whereas a procedure is a course of action (naming our sins) by which a result is obtained (forgiveness of our sins). A promise requires faith; a procedure requires action.
This confession or citing one’s sins places the Christian back under the authority of God the Spirit and allows him to use the two powers of the spiritual life. In this sphere of divine power whatever good the Christian produces would be classified as divine good since it would be produced by the power of God the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word metabolized in the soul.
A few more points to bring greater clarification:
1. The old sin nature, the sovereign of human life, is no longer the controlling factor in the life of the believer. Positionally the old sin nature is dead; its power has been broken.
2. However, after salvation the old sin nature still resides in those contaminated cells of the body, but through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation the power, the sovereignty, the rulership of the old sin nature has been broken.
3. Though still present in our body of corruption, the old sin nature has been robbed of its power to rule our lives. The only reason it still rules is because we exercise our options in favour of it.
4. A new power, the power of the Holy Spirit and metabolized doctrine, has replaced the power of the old sin nature, so that we have an option to go with the old sin nature or to go with the two divine powers.
Romans 6:3: Or do you know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι ὅσοι ἐβαπτίσθηµεν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθηµεν;
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share his righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. 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 death. Thus, the sin nature should have no power over our lives if we apply our identification with His substitutionary death. Furthermore, we should be motivated as members of the Royal Family of God to reflect those characteristics which we share in union with Christ.
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 will be raised from the dead through the power of the Father or of the Holy Spirit at the Rapture] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential Sanctification should reflect our future Ultimate Sanctification.].
συνετάφηµεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσµατος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ἡµεῖς ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς περιπατήσωµεν.
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly (the Greek word phoneo means to speak loudly with meaning) 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 physical death. His soul and spirit had to depart from his mortal body) in order to receive his resurrection body. 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).
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary 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].
εἰ γὰρ σύµφυτοι γεγόναµεν τῷ ὁµοιώµατι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐσόµεθα·
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [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 the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
τοῦτο γινώσκοντες, ὅτι ὁ παλαιὸς ἡµῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη, ἵνα καταργηθῇ τὸ σῶµα τῆς ἁµαρτίας, τοῦ µηκέτι δουλεύειν ἡµᾶς τῇ ἁµαρτίᾳ·
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature was 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 that the sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
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 [set free: positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
ὁ γὰρ ἀποθανὼν δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ τῆς ἁµαρτίας.
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 [Current Positional Truth].
εἰ δὲ ἀπεθάνοµεν σὺν Χριστῷ, πιστεύοµεν ὅτι καὶ συζήσοµεν αὐτῷ·
Retroactive Positional Truth implies logically Positional Truth.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], he can no longer die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
εἰδότες ὅτι Χριστὸς ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὐκέτι ἀποθνῄσκει, θάνατος αὐτοῦ οὐκέτι κυριεύει.
Romans 6:10: For the death [substitutionary spiritual death] which He has died, He has died once for all with reference to the sin nature; but the resurrection-life which He lives, He lives with reference to the God [the Father].
ὃ γὰρ ἀπέθανεν, τῇ ἁµαρτίᾳ ἀπέθανεν ἐφάπαξ· ὃ δὲ ζῇ, ζῇ τῷ θεῷ.
Galatians 5:2
Mark my words [behold]! I Paul, communicate to you for your benefit [dative of advantage] that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all.
Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑµῖν ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέµνησθε Χριστὸς ὑµᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει.
The 3rd class conditional sentence in this verse means the following:
1. Some Galatian unbelievers believed that circumcision was necessary for salvation. In which case, they were not saved.
2. Some Galatian believers who were saved by grace in hindsight now thought that circumcision was necessary for salvation. They had entered into legalism.
3. Some Galatian believers thought that circumcision was necessary to execute the spiritual life, and so were circumcised. They had entered legalism.
4. Some Galatian believers not only thought that circumcision was necessary for the execution of the spiritual life, but that keeping the Mosaic Law in general was the spiritual life, and so were living under the Mosaic Law. Since the Mosaic Law could be executed with human power, the Filling of the Spirit was not necessary and if the Filling of the Spirit is not necessary nor is the Recovery Procedure. (Galatians 5:18).
Galatians 5:3
Now, I testify [to give evidence in a courtroom case] again [he has done it before] to every man receiving circumcision that he is under obligation to execute the entire Law [James 2:10: you break it at one point, you break the entire Mosaic Law].
µαρτύροµαι δὲ πάλιν παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ περιτεµνοµένῳ ὅτι ὀφειλέτης ἐστὶν ὅλον τὸν νόµον ποιῆσαι.
Paul is testifying not only against the Galatians but against all generations of Christians involved in legalism [the static present]. In Paul’s day it was circumcision; today it is water baptism. No one is saved or spiritual by being circumcised; no one is saved or spiritual by undergoing water baptism. God’s program operates on grace, not works.
Only a perfect person namely a person without an old sin nature, without Adam’s imputed sin and without personal sin could keep the Mosaic Law perfectly. So, if you were perfect, but you are not, you could keep the Mosaic Law perfectly, but you can’t. So, no human being apart from the humanity of Christ is able to keep the Mosaic Law perfectly.
Galatians 5:4
From the source of Christ [Christ is the source of our salvation and spiritual life], you have become ineffective [because of their legalism related to the Mosaic Law]; such a category as you who are seeking to be righteous by the Law [being made righteous by the Mosaic Law]. You have drifted off course from grace [a nautical term].
κατηργήθητε ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ οἵτινες ἐν νόµῳ δικαιοῦσθε, τῆς χάριτος ἐξεπέσατε.
The Galatian believers in retrospection have accepted circumcision as a means of salvation and the Mosaic Law (including circumcision) as a system of spirituality- they have drifted off course from grace. Salvation and the spiritual life come “from the source of Christ.” So, since they have rejected the spiritual life (Galatians 5:16), they have no fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Law is to show us that we are sinners and need help. The mixed-up and legalistic individual uses the Law for a system of commendation rather than for a system of condemnation.
Paul then redefined circumcision in terms of our spiritual life. Philippians 3:3, “For we are the true circumcision who worship by means of the Spirit of God and boast in the sphere of Christ Jesus [to obtain a personal sense of destiny and then to parlay that into occupation with Christ], and put no confidence in the flesh [operating outside of God’s power system; operating under legalism].”
Abraham’s destiny was to start a new race through his wife Sarah and their son Isaac. Circumcision was the ritual-sign of this fulfillment. This new race would become a great people and God would give them four unconditional covenants: Abrahamic, Davidic, Land (Palestinian), and the New Covenant. Thus, for the Jewish believers of the Old Testament, the Covenants were the focus for their personal sense of destiny and the ritual sign was circumcision.
However, for Church Age believer the focus is not on circumcision, but on his position in Christ. The Jews in the Age of Israel were a new physical race, we in the Church Age are a new spiritual species in Christ. Thus, our destiny focuses on the Baptism of the Spirit, “For there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, but a new [spiritual] species.” (Galatians 6:15). We fulfill our destiny by executing the spiritual life as found in the mandates of the New Testament epistles. “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is keeping the mandates of God,” (1 Corinthians 7:19).
Galatians 5:5
For we ourselves [the mature believer] by means of the Spirit and from the source of doctrine eagerly anticipate with confidence [adverbial accusative], a confidence related to [completing experiential] righteousness [Paul and those advancing with him have confidence that they will be able to complete God’s plan of experiential righteousness].
ἡµεῖς γὰρ πνεύµατι ἐκ πίστεως ἐλπίδα δικαιοσύνης ἀπεκδεχόµεθα.
Imputed righteousness, positional righteousness, experiential righteousness and ultimate righteousness are all based on grace. Therefore, none of these are accomplished through any form of works including the Mosaic Law. While the unbeliever is hustling around for salvation, and the legalistic Christian is hustling around performing dead works from his own ability, we the growing believers are eagerly waiting for what God is going to do for us. Thus, by application this verse can be applied to imputed righteousness, positional righteousness, experiential righteousness and ultimate righteousness. However, by interpretation it applies to experiential righteousness. For this entire chapter is dealing with the Galatian Christians who are trying to execute God’s plan without the two powers of the spiritual life for they have put themselves under the Mosaic Law rather than the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus [position in Christ is the sign of a personal sense of destiny] neither circumcision [today the issue is water baptism] nor uncircumcision [no water baptism] means anything [ritual in itself doesn’t mean anything], but doctrine [the first column of advance] through [reciprocal] love [the second column of advance] accomplishes [the spiritual life].
ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ οὔτε περιτοµή τι ἰσχύει οὔτε ἀκροβυστία, ἀλλὰ πίστις δι’ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουµένη.
One’s position in Christ is not affected by any portion of the Mosaic Law including circumcision. Furthermore, since we live in the Church Age and are not a part of the new racial species of Israel, circumcision has no meaning at all except for hygienic purposes.
