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
Jacob, Sons of
Written by: Max Klein
The Twelve Sons of Jacob producing 13 Tribes:
1. From Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. (What if Jacob had not been tricked into marrying Leah? There would be no Moses, no Levitical priesthood, no David and no Joshua the High Priest.)
2. From Zilpa, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher
3. From Rachel: Joseph (from whom came Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin
4. From Bilha, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali
Reuben: He had great potential but was as unstable as water. Even being the oldest, he lost his rulership to Judah, his priesthood to Levi, and his double portion to Joseph. From his line, came Dathan and Abiram two conspirators against Moses.
Genesis 49:3-4. Reuben, you are my firstborn; my might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. (4) Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed [an impulsive act]; Then, you defiled it; he went up to my couch.
Simeon and Levi: Simeon was a cruel and mean person; furthermore, he was sneaky and arrogant and could not be trusted. Levi was similar to Simeon in temperament, but was blessed by his association with Moses and ultimately was formed into the Levitical priesthood. However, there are always exception to the norm for Moses, a Levite was undoubtedly the greatest believer of the Old Testament, and Jeremiah, a priest from Anathoth and a great prophet.
Genesis 49:5-7. Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. (6) ‘Let my soul not enter into their plotting [against people]; Let not my glory be united with their assembly [Jacob would have nothing to do with these two sons] because in their anger, they slew men [murdered innocent people], and in their self-will [egotistical arrogance], they lamed oxen [cut the tendons of the oxen; a reference to Genesis 34:28]. (7) ‘Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
The story of Simeon and Levi’s cruelty and violence is recorded.
Genesis 34:1-31. Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. (3) He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her [apparently, she responded to his tenderness and would have consented to marriage]. (4) So, Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this young girl for a wife [He wants to take responsibility for her]. (5) Now, Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. (6) Then, Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob [the one in authority] to speak with him. (7) Now, the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it and the men were grieved, and they were very angry [out of fellowship since they have no spiritual life] because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done [true, but this was an expression of their self-righteousness]. (8) But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. (9) ‘Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. (10) ‘Thus, you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.’ (11) Shechem also said to her father [to Jacob] and to her brothers, ‘If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me [in dowry]. (12) ‘Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.’ (13) But Jacob's sons answered [Since Jacob has the authority over the family, he should have answered. However, in weakness, he allowed his sons to usurp his authority. If a man has relationship with four women, he will be a poor husband; if he has sons from four women, he will be a bad father.] Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister [Keep in mind that they never asked Dinah what she would like to do. My guess is that she would have consented to marry Shechem.] (14) They said to them [in deceit], ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. (15) ‘Only on this condition will we consent to you [at this point, they had usurped their father’s authority]: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, (16) then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people [a horrendous lie]. (17) ‘But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we [Simeon and Levi] will take our daughter [It is not their daughter] and go.’ (18) Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. (19) The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father [an honorable young man]. (20) So, Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, (21) ‘These men are friendly with us; therefore, let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. (22) ‘Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. (23) ‘Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours [We will benefit by this relationship]? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.’ (24) All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. (25) Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and murdered every male. (26) They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house [She was already living with Shechem], and went forth [Is this what Dinah wanted? No, this is what her two implacable and mean brothers wanted]. (27) Jacob's sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister [self-justification for looting]. (28) They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; (29) and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses [total evil]. (30) Then, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious [deserving or causing hatred] among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household. [What a weak response to all the evil which these two sons had committed; Jacob should have had them executed.]’ (31) But they said, ‘should he [Shechem] treat our sister as a harlot [First of all, he did not treat her as a harlot for he wanted to marry her. This was their justification for murdering all the men of an entire city, destroying the homes of all these families and looting and stealing all their possessions etc.]?
Judah: From his line, came Caleb, one of the greatest believers during the time of Moses, Othniel, the maker of the priestly garments, David the greatest king of Israel, and all the other kings except Saul who was from the line of Benjamin. Ruth and Daniel are also from this line as well as Zerubbabel who led a remnant back to the Land in 536 B.C. Jacob’s prophecy regarding Judah is recorded in Scripture as well.
Genesis 49:8-10a. Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. (9) ‘Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? (10a) ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet.
Issachar and Zebulun: These are the last two sons from the line of Jacob and Leah. Issachar is a picture of a person who had great potential power but didn’t use it.
Genesis 49:14-15, "Issachar is a strong ass, reclining down between the sheepfolds [He wouldn’t carry his burdens]. (15) When he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant [good and pleasant is a place of prosperity], he bowed his shoulder to bear [his burdens for he was strong], and became a slave at forced labor.”
Issachar was a person who had no sense of responsibility. So, when a believer does not have a sense of responsibility, it leads to great instability. The tribe of Issachar, by the way, became a very prosperous tribe for the descendants put materialistic things first, success first, Bible doctrine last.
Issachar lived in one of the most fertile areas in the land of Palestine. Under an agricultural economy they were very successful, and prosperous. However, when the time came to resist the infiltration of the enemy, they refused to do so. They didn’t want to fight or resist. Since they did not have the right scale of values, freedom wasn’t important to them. Prosperity was more important than freedom and consequently the tribe of Issachar bowed the neck to slavery. They made a deal with the invaders, whoever came in, and simply paid them off and became their slaves. This continued during the entire history of the tribe of Issachar. In other words, they loved prosperity more than they loved freedom.
Zebulun means dwelling or protective habitation, a haven. He represents the type of person that you like to have around, a steady type of person, a person who is comforting, who can be helpful in time of stress and difficulty. During the first advent of Jesus Christ, Satan sought to destroy Jesus Christ as a baby. Joseph had to flee to Egypt where he stayed until Jesus was twelve years old. Then, when Joseph came back to the land, he went to Galilee which was in the territory of Zebulun in which place he was protected. Soldiers from Zebulun always stood in the ranks and did not give way. This means they were stable under pressure.
Judges 5:18a. Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death [they weren’t afraid of death and would fight to the death].
1 Chronicles 12:33. Of Zebulun, there were 50,000 who went out in the army, who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped [David at Hebron] with an undivided heart [complete loyalty].
Gad and Asher are the sons of Zilpa.
Genesis 49:19. As for Gad, a company of raiders shall defeat him, but he shall reorganize and counterattack at their heels.
That is the prophecy of Gad. Gad would be defeated in an attack by a company of raiders. Even so the warriors of Gad would not give up. Ultimately, Gad defeated the enemy in a counterattack. Gad illustrates the importance of flexibility, the importance of never giving-up. Gad is the 7th son of Jacob, the first son by Zilpah who was Leah’s maid and one of his concubines. Gad never allowed his defeats to get him down, but always turned his defeats into a victory. The great believers in the Old Testament as well as the great believers today are believers who do not allow failure to discourage them. The attitude of Gad is analogous to the Christian who never gives up on his spiritual advance. When an advancing believer fails, he counter attacks through the use of the Recovery Procedure and continues his advance.
Genesis 49:20. As for Asher his bread [his life] shall be fat [rich, prosperous], and he shall yield royal dainties.
It means everything he touched turned to gold. It means that Asher couldn’t lose on a business deal. So, by way of application, Asher speaks of believers who produce. A believer who is habitually productive “yields royal dainties.” If your life is right with the Lord, your life in relationship to other people will be a blessing to them. A royal dainty is a pastry which you have for dessert. In other words, there are some lives that can be classified as desert-lives. You run through life and you bump into a lot of ordinary people and a lot of horrible people that you would like to omit, like some foods you do not like, but there are certain believers who have such a wonderful walk with the lord that it just overflows into the lives of others. That is what Asher stands for.
Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh): From the line of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. She died during giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Joseph received Reuben’s double portion and so from his loins comes two tribes namely Ephraim and Manasseh. From Ephraim came the following three greats: Joshua, Deborah, and Samuel. Also, from Ephraim came Jeroboam, the person who led the breakaway from Judah which break brought about the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Genesis 48:19. But his [Joseph’s] father [Israel] refused [to give Manasseh the greater blessing though the first born] and said, "I know, my son, I know; he [Manasseh] also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.
From the tribe of Manasseh, the eldest son of Joseph, came the one and only Gideon. Born weak and cowardly, but doctrine in his soul would make him a great hero.
Judges 6:12, 15. The angel of the Lord appeared to him [to Gideon] and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior [humorous: he wasn’t at all but would be]. (15) He said to Him, O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh [and Manasseh is possibly the least valiant of all the tribes], and I am the youngest in my father's house.
Benjamin: He was the brother of Joseph and the second and last son of Rachel. From his line, came King Saul. Though King Saul started out okay, he eventually died the Sin unto Death. (It is interesting to note that his appointment was in violation of Judah’s right to rule.) From Benjamin’s line also came Mordecai who gave great advice to Esther, and then the greatest of all from the tribe of Benjamin, the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian ever and possibly the greatest genius of history.
Dan and Naphtali: From the line of Bilha, Rachel’s maid came these two tribes namely Dan and Naphtali. Dan produced that loser, Sampson and will produce the antichrist of Israel in the Tribulation. Furthermore, Dan will be the only tribe that will not contribute to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation.
Revelation 13:11. Then, I saw another [of the same kind] beast-dictator [Jewish] who rises to power from the land [of Israel]; and he had two horns [representing his civil and religious power] like a lamb [a false messiah], but he kept speaking [eloquently] like the dragon [like Satan since he is demon possessed].
He is a political and religious genius (the two horns) who communicates the ideas of Satan.
Genesis 49:16-18. Dan shall rule his people [in the Tribulation] as one of the tribes of Israel. (17) Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels [Israel in the Tribulation] so that his rider falls backward [the persecution of the Jewish believers in the 2nd half of the Tribulation]. (18) I [Jacob speaking for Jewish believers] wait for your deliverance [at the 2nd Advent], O Lord.
From the line of Naphtali, came Barak, one of the less impressive judges.
Genesis 49:21. Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
He was the sixth son of Jacob and he was the second son of Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine. The word hind is a young deer, a deer that can move very fast. This word for hind is used as a synonym for swiftness in the Song of Solomon. To be let loose means to be sprung from a trap. So, Naphtali is pictured as a deer caught in a trap and able to break loose and to move with great rapidity out of danger. In Judges 4:2-3, Israel was trapped in bondage to King Jabin, a Canaanite king. Barak from the tribe of Naphtali was summoned by the prophetess, Deborah to take the offensive against the King Jabin whose army was commanded by Sisera as per Judges 4:4. However, Barak being weak, consented to this command from the Lord only if Deborah would go along and as it were to hold his hand. Though he was able to spring Israel from the entrapment of the Canaanites, he lost the privilege and honor of killing Sisera who eventually was killed by a woman who drove a spike through Sisera’s head while sound asleep.
Judges 4:17-22. Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. (18) Jael [who was obviously on the side of the Jews and understood that a battle had taken place] went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, ‘Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.’ And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. (19) He said to her, ‘Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.’ So, she opened a bottle of milk [to make him sleepy] and gave him a drink; then she covered him. (20) He said to her, ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.' ‘(21) But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So, he died. (22) And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, ‘Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking [She knew of the Jewish pursuit].’ And he entered with her and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple [Deborah had to ride with and encourage Barak before he would enter into battle and another lady had to kill the opposing general for him].
