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
Second Corinthians Chapter Five
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Let us bow our heads; If we need to use the Recovery Procedure as found in 1 John 1:9, let us do so at this time that we might be in fellowship. (pause) Father, we thank you for the privilege and opportunity to study your word and for the freedom that you have provided for us here in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.A.; furthermore, we express our appreciation to God the Holy Spirit who will enlighten us regarding the message this morning. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
2 Corinthians 3:1
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again [Do Paul and his team need to commend themselves again through their teaching after all the teaching they have done]? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you [in order to enter your congregation] or from you? [sarcasm: The legalists who have taken over the Corinthian Church consider themselves to be much superior to Paul and to the other pastors who have ministered to them. In their alleged superiority, it would be logical that Paul should seek a letter of recommendation from them before he should continue his ministry in the church at Corinth].
Ἀρχόµεθα πάλιν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστάνειν; ἢ µὴ χρῄζοµεν ὥς τινες συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ὑµᾶς ἢ ἐξ ὑµῶν;
Paul led them to the Lord and was their greatest teacher of the spiritual life. When Paul first came to Corinth, he came with a letter of recommendation so that he would be accepted in the city. Now, he is using that as a background. Do we need a new letter of recommendation since you have now accepted the false teaching of legalism from the Judaizers who entered without letters of recommendation.
Corinthian arrogant accusations against Paul:
1. Paul did not maintain his dignity, but lost his dignity when he worked by making tents as per 2 Corinthians 11:7, “Or did I commit sin in humbling myself [by making tents to support himself] that you might be exalted [advance spiritually], because I preached the good news [evangelization and Bible teaching] of God to you without charge? His critics implied that Paul should have allowed the Corinthian Church to provide for his needs. In their inconsistency, they also accused him of embezzling funds from the other churches. In fact, Paul had to work in Corinth since the Corinthians were too arrogant and too self-centered to understand spiritual giving.
2. Paul was boastful as per 2 Corinthians 10:8, 12, 13, 15, “For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. (12) We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves [in the Corinthian Church]. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. (13) We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field, God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you [The Lord made Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles which field is the entire Gentile world]. (15) Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others [These legalists are attempting to take credit for the spiritual growth brought about by Paul and his team]. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand,”
3. Paul was not qualified to teach since he was not one of the original apostles as per 2 Corinthians 3:1, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? [They were obviously attacking his apostleship: Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles, came to Corinth with a letter of recommendation from the Jerusalem Council. Others, false teachers, the Judaizers have come in without letters of recommendation.]; 2 Corinthians 11:5, “For I evaluate myself not to be inferior to the highest apostles in anything.” 2 Corinthians 12:11-12, “I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you [not attacked], for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing. (12) The things that mark an apostle: signs, wonders and miracles were done among you with great perseverance.”
4. Paul’s bodily presence was not impressive nor his speech (not a strong emotional speaker) as per 2 Corinthians 10:10, “For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." 2 Corinthians 11:6, “But even if I am unskilled in speech [let’s assume this to be true for the sake of argument], yet not in knowledge; but in every way we have made this perfectly clear to you [through Paul and his team’s knowledge of the spiritual life].”
5. Paul was a coward and afraid to face them in person, 2 Corinthians 1:23, “Moreover, I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you [Paul would have confronted them and possibly caused an even greater reaction; rather God had Paul write 2 Corinthians that they might be more objective as Titus would teach it to them] that I did not return to Corinth [A large group of legalists in Corinth were calling Paul a coward because he didn’t come, and since he didn’t come, they alleged that he was afraid to face them].”
6. Paul embezzled funds entrusted to him, 2 Corinthians 8:20-21, “Taking precaution so that no one will find fault with us in handling large sums of money being administered under our authority; (21) For we have regard for what is honorable [providing forethought for valuable things], not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men [Paul was very careful to handle the movement of large sums of money in an honorable and professional manner].”
7. Paul was vacillating, 2 Corinthians 1:17, “When I planned this, did I do it lightly [when he didn’t arrive]? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner [no I don’t] so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no" [instability and great vacillation]?”
8. Paul was deceitful, 2 Corinthians 12:16, 17, “Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! (17) Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent you?”
9. Paul was carnal, 2 Corinthians 10:2, “I beg you that when I come, I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people [a large group of believers who have become antagonistic toward Paul and his ministry] who think that we live [spiritually] by the standards of this world [They were saying that Paul was out of fellowship and therefore not functioning under the Two Power Options].
10. Paul was like a kitten when in their presence, but like a lion when on the other side of the Aegean Sea, 2 Corinthians 10:1, “By the humbleness and graciousness of Christ, I appeal to you: I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away!” 2 Corinthians 10:11, “Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present [Paul was tough fearless Benjamite].”
2 Corinthians 3:2
You yourselves are our letter [so Paul does not need a letter of recommendation to or from the Corinthians], written [in their souls] by our right lobes [Paul and his team-pastors taught the Corinthians the spiritual life from knowledge stored in their souls. Thus, they through their teaching transferred this knowledge to the souls of the Corinthians.], known [through observation] and read by all men [In other words, anyone who would come into contact with the Corithian Christians could read this letter written in the souls of these Corinthians].
ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἡµῶν ὑµεῖς ἐστε, ἐγγεγραµµένη ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡµῶν, γινωσκοµένη καὶ ἀναγινωσκοµένη ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων·
Just as the Corinthians, so we are being observed by others around us and being in their observation they come to know something about us. Thus, our lives can be a good testimony or a bad one.
2 Corinthians 3:3
Being revealed that you are a letter of [related to] Christ [This letter has written on it, an explanation about Christ and the Proto-type spiritual life], the result of our ministry [they learned the spiritual life from Paul and his team], written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God [the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit through Paul and his team], not on tablets of stone [the Ten Commandments describe freedom and establishment, but they do not explain the spiritual life for Christians or anyone else] but on the fleshly [a reference to the human body which houses the soul] tablets [in contrast to the tablets of stone] of your hearts [The souls of the Corinthians are the location of the spiritual life as explained by Paul and his team].
φανερούµενοι ὅτι ἐστὲ ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφí ἡµῶν, ἐγγεγραµµένη οὐ µέλανι ἀλλὰ πνεύµατι θεοῦ ζῶντος, οὐκ ἐν πλαξὶν λιθίναις ἀλλí ἐν πλαξὶν καρδίαις σαρκίναις.
When Paul arrived, they were a blank piece of paper. Their souls had no understanding of the spiritual life. So, not only are the souls of the Corinthians a letter of recommendation regarding Paul’s teaching which taught soteriology, Christology, the spiritual life etc.
2 Corinthians 3:4
And such confidence [in God and in his plan based upon knowledge], we keep having through Christ [through the Prototype Spiritual Life and His work on the Cross] before [toward, face to face with] God [the Father, great confidence in God the Father’s plan].
Πεποίθησιν δὲ τοιαύτην ἔχοµεν διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
Confidence in the love of God and in one’s love for God:
Confidence is always related to knowledge. No one has confidence when he is in a state of ignorance. No one has confidence in a person unless he knows that person very well. First comes knowledge, second comes confidence.
Romans 5:5, "And confidence [in God] does not disappoint, because the love for God [a love for God produces confidence in God] has been poured out [the Greek word ekcheo] in our hearts [our streams of consciousness] by the personal agency of the Holy Spirit who was given to us for our benefit [as a result of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, there is confidence]."
In this verse, confidence is based on our understanding of God’s eternal love for us. As the believer learns about God’s love and responds, he develops a love for God. In this way, he gradually gains a confidence in God and in God’s plan.
As the believer advances in the spiritual life, he must advance with two columns. The first column is formed from his understanding of the principles and categories of doctrine found in Scripture. The second column is formed from his love (appreciation, respect, obedience, devotion) for God. There must be the simultaneously advance of two columns namely the doctrinal and love-columns for they support and protect each other. The doctrinal column is the basis for love and the love column is the motivation to learn more doctrine.
The Christian must advance in his spiritual warfare with a two-column advance. One column is the doctrinal column formed and maintained via the daily perception of God’s Word. The other column is formed through our knowledge, appreciation and love for the members of the Trinity and for the humanity of Christ.
In the final phase of one’s personal sense of destiny, there remains two strategic objectives namely occupation with Christ and having passed Evidence Testing Maximum Glorification of God. At that point, the Christian will receive the fullness (the Greek word being pleroma) of blessing from God. So, when one glorifies God to the maximum, he receives the Fullness of Blessing from God.
Some Christians learn many doctrines of Scripture and may even learn of
God’s love, but they never develop a love for God; they never walk by faith, appreciate God’s grace, develop divine standards and values, or try to please God in their motivation, thinking, decisions and actions. These Christians will eventually give-up under the pressures of punishment or testing. Only love for God with emphasis on the primary components namely knowledge, integrity and the appreciation of grace and the functioning under it provides the necessary motivation to carry one through the difficult times of punishment or testing.
Other Christians appreciate their salvation and eternal security, the seeds of love, but they do not learn consistently from a prepared pastor. Thus, eventually their desire to love dissipates and is replaced by emotion or legalism. It takes two columns to advance spiritually. If the Christian attempts to advance with only one column, he will fail.
2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are sufficient [qualified, competent] from ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our sufficiency [qualification] comes from God.
οὐχ ὅτι ἀφí ἑαυτῶν ἱκανοί ἐσµεν λογίσασθαί τι ὡς ἐξ ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλí ἡ ἱκανότης ἡµῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ,
The Grace Plan of God:
God’s plan is based on grace, not some philosophical system of human works. Grace means freely given and undeserved. God does all the giving; we undeservedly reap all this giving. For example, in grace God provides for all believers the same spiritual I.Q. Human I.Q. plus the Filling of the Spirit equals spiritual I.Q. Any Christian who implies or states that he, the one with a high human I.Q. alone is able to learn the deep matters of God is in a state of arrogance and does not understand God’s system of grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10a, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” When we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we became the recipients of the greatest possible endowment of grace, and grace pursues the advancing believer his entire life.
2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the greatest acts of grace took at the incarnation and on the cross] and the love of God [the Father the author of reciprocal love] and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit [the enabling power of the Spirit].”
2 Corinthians 3:6
He has made us able [competent] ministers of a New Covenant, not of the letter [Mosaic Law] but of the Spirit; for the letter kills [the Law proves that we are spiritual dead and need a Savior], but the Spirit gives life [reveals the glory of God in us].
ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡµᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράµµατος ἀλλὰ πνεύµατος· τὸ γὰρ γράµµα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦµα ζῳοποιεῖ.
The New Covenant to the Church:
Introducing the New Covenant of the Church
1. There is a contract from God to believers of the Church Age during the time the Jews are out under the fifth cycle of discipline.
2. God as party of the first part makes a gracious disposition in favor of party of the second part namely the Church, the Royal Family of God composed of Jewish and Gentile believers.
3. The New Covenant to the Church (the new contract) supersedes the Jewish contract namely the Mosaic Law without destroying the continuity of that spiritual heritage.
4. The New Contract [covenant] to the Church authorizes a new universal priesthood.
5. The New Covenant to the Church defines both its spiritual heritage and the client nation policy of the Pivot (a large group of mature believers of a Client-Nation) during the times of the Gentiles.
6. Every Jew and every Gentile who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ during the Church Age is in the royal family of God and subsequently shares the priesthood of the humanity of Christ, and as a priest is commanded to execute the spiritual life of the Church Age.
7. The New Covenant authorizes the election of the royal family of God during the Times of the Gentiles to replace the Mosaic Law given only to the Jews. God’s people in the Church Age are all Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ.
8. Distinction therefore must be made between the New Covenant to the Church which pertains to the dispensation of the Church and the New Covenant to Israel which pertains to the Millennial reign of Christ.
9. The New Covenant to the Church has a universal priesthood of believers while the New Covenant to Israel in the Millennium has a specialized priesthood in client nation Israel during the reign of Christ.
10. This distinction becomes one of the fundamental differences between Israel and the Church, and between the Age of Israel and the Dispensation of the Church. Client nation function of Israel was discontinued as of A.D. 70 but will be revived at the 2nd Advent; only Gentile Client nations will function from A.D. 70 to the Rapture. These Gentile Client Nations are to perpetuate through the advanced believers (the Pivot) the spiritual heritage which once belonged to Israel. (Of course, from the Rapture to the Tribulation, there will be no client nations).
The Scripture for the new contract begins in the following verse:
Matthew 26:28, “For this [cup: Jesus bearing the sins of the world] represents [the present tense: the perpetuation of the ritual] My blood [connecting the animal sacrifices to the saving work of Christ on the cross via propitiation, reconciliation and redemption] of the new covenant, which is shed [carrying out the analogy] on behalf of the many [those who appropriate the work of the cross by believing in Christ] because of the forgiveness of sins [the judgment of all the sins of mankind is the basis for the forgiveness of sins].”
The book of Hebrews was addressed to Jewish believers of the Church Age. It teaches about the future of their ancestors and progeny after the Church Age, but it also teaches that God has something far better for Jews who believe in Christ during the Church Age. This is why two covenants are mentioned in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 7:22, “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant [the spiritual life as found in the New Testament epistles supersedes the Mosaic Law].” We know that the better covenant refers to the New Covenant to the Church as per Luke 22:19-20, “And when He [Jesus now instituting the Eucharist for the Church Age believers] had taken some bread and had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them saying, this represents my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. (20) And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten [the Passover Meal] saying, this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant [to the Church] by My blood [by his substitutionary spiritual death].”
Hebrews 8:6-7, “But now He [Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union] has obtained a more excellent ministry by so much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on the basis of better promises [than in the Mosaic Law]. (7) For if [introducing a contrary to fact clause] the First Covenant [the Mosaic Law] had been faultless, but it wasn’t, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.”
Hebrews 8:13, “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He made the first [the Mosaic Law] obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. [To be superseded by The New Covenant to the Church which is based on the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross during the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union.]”
Hebrews 9:14-16, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit [the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit sustained Jesus on the cross] offered Himself without blemish [The humanity of Christ remained impeccable] to God [the Father], cleanse your conscience from dead works [false norms and standards of legalism removed as the believer advances spiritually] to serve the living God. (15) And for this reason, He is the mediator of a new covenant [to the Church superseding, setting aside as inferior, the Mosaic Law], in order that since a death [substitutionary spiritual death] has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant [the Mosaic Law], those who have been called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (16) For where a covenant is there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it [the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus followed by his physical death].”
1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same manner, [He took] the cup also after supper saying, “This cup is the new covenant [a new spiritual life for Church Age believers explained in the epistles] signed in my blood [a verbal symbol representing redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation]; keep on doing this as often as you drink in remembrance of me."
Hebrews 9:15-20, "And for this reason, he is Mediator of a new covenant [the New Covenant to the Church] in order that since a death [the substitutionary spiritual death] has taken place resulting in redemption from the transgressions which were under the first covenant [the ritual system and priesthood found in the Mosaic Law to Israel] so that those having been called [those who understand via Common Grace and respond to the gospel message] might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (16) For where a covenant exists, of necessity, death must be brought in of the one having made the covenant (spiritual death of Christ). (17) For a covenant is valid upon deaths; because it is not ever valid as long as the one having made the covenant lives. (18) From which fact (ratifying by blood) not even the first covenant has been inaugurated without blood. (19) For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, after he had taken the blood of young bulls and goats, and with water, and scarlet wool cloth, and hyssop; he sprinkled both the written scroll and all the people. (20) Saying, this is the blood of the covenant which the God has commanded pertaining to you."
Hebrews 10:29, "By how much [instrumental of measure: argument from the lesser (the punishment for rejecting the Mosaic law) to the greater (the punishment for rejecting the reality of the cross)] severer punishment [objective punishment based upon all the facts] do you think he [the unbeliever] shall be deserving, [gnomic future] the one who has trampled underfoot [treated with distain: the constative aorist gathers together all the rejections of the unbeliever] the Son of God, and has considered unclean [common, ordinary] the blood of the covenant [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the Cross] by which he [the unbeliever] has been set apart [all members of the human race have been earmarked or set apart by the doctrine of unlimited atonement], and has insulted the Spirit of Grace [culminative aorist tense. They have constantly rejected Common Grace and by so doing have insulted God the Holy Spirit.]"
Hebrews 12:24, "And to Jesus, the Mediator of the new contract [the new covenant to the Church], and to the blood of sprinkling [to the Christian who is now in the Holy of Holies where this sprinkling took place] which [the efficacious blood of Christ produces the action] communicates better things than Abel's sacrifice."
2 Corinthians 3:6, "He has made us able [competent] ministers of a New Covenant--not of the letter [Mosaic Law] but of the Spirit; for the letter kills [the Law proves that we are spiritually dead and need a Savior], but the Spirit gives life."
Definition of the New Covenant to the Church
1. In the study of the priesthood as found in the epistle of Hebrews, there are two new covenants: the New Covenant to Israel and the New Covenant to the Church. A covenant is a contract between two parties. Party of the first part is God. Party of the second part are certain categories of mankind.
2. In Biblical covenants (contracts), party of the first part (God) makes a favorable disposition to party of the second part (mankind). In the book of Hebrews, there is a New Covenant to the Jewish believers in the Millennium and a New Covenant to the Royal Family of the Church.
3. The New Covenant to the Church is for all Church Age believers. The New Covenant to Israel is made to all Jewish believers of the Millennium. In order to make a covenant to all believers, there must be a priesthood and a spiritual life related to that priesthood. The Jewish believers in the Millennium will take their priests from the line of Aaron and we have our royal priesthood based on the High Priesthood of Christ.
4. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant to the Church. The Greek word mesites has both a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning refers to anyone such as an arbiter or umpire who arbitrates, one who gives advice. The technical meaning refers to Jesus Christ in hypostatic union as a mediator between God and fallen mankind.
1 Timothy 2:3-6, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of our savior, God who [God the Son] desires all mankind to be saved and come to a metabolized knowledge of the truth [after salvation to master the spiritual life]. For God is one [in essence], and one [person of the Godhead] is a mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a redeemer [paid the ransom to free us from the slave market of sin] a substitute for all mankind, [resulting in] a statement brought out in testimony at the proper time [the unbeliever receives the gospel at the right time in his life].”
A mediator is an intermediator between two parties to effect reconciliation and to provide special benefits to the ones (believers) being reconciled. Our Lord Jesus accomplished this by having reconciled us to God the Father by removing the barrier between God and man. The special benefits are found in the New Covenant to the Church which covenant includes our priesthood and the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.
The mediator must be equal with both parties in the mediation. To be equal with mankind, our Lord had to be equal with Adam before he sinned and coequal with the other members of the Trinity. Jesus Christ in hypostatic union and living the Prototype-spiritual Life has equivalency with both God and perfect man which equivalency qualified Him as the mediator between God and man. While our Lord was bearing our sins on the Cross, He was providing the work of reconciliation.
Jesus Christ had to be a mediator before He could be a savior. Our Lord became a mediator at the point of His incarnation at which point he was impeccable and remained so for thirty-three years. Though he was a mediator (qualified to mediate between God and mankind), he did not mediate until the cross at which time he as a qualified mediator provided the work of reconciliation.
Our Lord as mediator and high priest: Our Lord as God the Son had the desire to provide the work of salvation for all mankind and in order to do this, he had to become a mediator and a high priest. So, our Lord made a decision to become true humanity that his deity might unite with it and in doing so become a mediator. Only as a mediator would Jesus Christ be qualified to reconcile mankind to God. To be an efficacious mediator in the reconciliation of man to God, Jesus Christ had to become true humanity and undiminished deity united in one person forever. He also was made a high priest by God the Father in eternity past so that the humanity of Christ might offer Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for all mankind. As a priest our Lord could offer Himself as a sacrifice. As a mediator He provided the work of reconciliation.
5. Summary.
a. We have better things than have ever existed in human history as per Hebrews 8:6, “But now He [Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union] has obtained a more excellent ministry by so much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on the basis of better promises [than in the Mosaic Law].”
b. The New Covenant is defined as God’s gracious promises and provision for a new spiritual species, the Church Age believer. Remember that a mediator is an intermediator between two parties to effect reconciliation and to provide special benefits to the ones (believers) being reconciled.
c. The Mosaic Law was a covenant of shadows (building, priesthood, sacrifices) because the Mediator had not come in the flesh. Therefore, the function of the Mosaic Law in the Age of Israel was legitimate but not efficacious. The old covenant to Israel was rescinded when Jesus Christ sat down in heaven as the High Priest of a New Covenant. Thus, Moses, not Jesus was the arbiter of the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus Christ could not function as mediator of this Covenant since He was not yet in hypostatic union. Jesus Christ first became a mediator at his birth but did not function in that capacity until the cross at which time He provided the work of reconciliation. Since the Mosaic Law was given to Israel in 1441 B.C., Moses functioned as the umpire, the arbiter of the Mosaic Covenant between God and the people of Israel.
d. A new covenant must exist based on historic reality, the historical reality of the Cross. The Mosaic Law didn’t authorize any efficacious sacrifices, they simply pointed to the efficacious sacrifice. So, the efficacious sacrifice on the cross demands a new covenant. In fact, it demands two new covenants: one to the Church and one to Israel. The Mosaic Law was set aside. So, there must be a new covenant to Israel as well.
e. This new covenant to the Church is a spiritual legacy which authorizes the royal priesthood and its accompanying spiritual life. The new covenant applies only to those who are born again. Hence, the New Covenant is God’s grace disposition to the royal family in time and eternity.
f. The New Covenant is the reality in contrast to the shadows of the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law with its Levitical priesthood, sacrifices, rituals etc.
The Lord will initiate a New Covenant with Israel starting at the 2nd Advent.
Jeremiah 31:31-34, "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, (32) not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant [the Mosaic Covenant] which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. (33) “But this is the covenant [contract] which I will make with the house of Israel after those days [after the elapse of the Church Age and the termination of the Tribulation], declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law within them [in their souls], and on their stream of consciousness [describing the spiritual life of the New Covenant to Israel], I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And they shall not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord; furthermore, I will forgive them their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more [The removal of the stigma on the Jew which is related to the 5th Cycle of Discipline].”
The Old Covenant namely the Mosaic Law was given to the nation, Israel and was not given to the Gentiles and not given to the Church. When the Church Age came along, the Mosaic Law was rescinded and superseded by the New Covenant to the Church. A New Covenant had to be established because of the limitations of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant to the Church authorizes the royal family of God during the Church Age, sets up the modus operandi of the royal family, and sets up a universal priesthood among believers. The New Covenant to the Church rescinds and supersedes the Old Covenant to Israel. So, the Old Covenant to Israel, the Mosaic Law, has been rescinded and replaced with a better covenant namely The New Covenant to the Church. As a result of this, there also must be a New Covenant to Israel at the 2nd Advent.
Hebrews 7:18-19, “For on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former covenant because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand there is the bringing in of a better hope [the New Covenant to the Church] through which we draw near to God.”
The new covenant to Israel is eschatological and is not operational until the Second Advent of Christ. The New Covenant to Israel recognizes the fulfillment of the unconditional covenants to Israel namely the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic Covenants, and sets up a modus operandi for Israel in the Millennium. The New Covenant to Israel is a legacy for restored Israel during the millennial reign of Christ. The New Covenant to Israel emphasized the rulership of Jesus Christ on the one hand, but it also has a revival of the Levitical priesthood on the other hand.
Note: Unconditional covenants do not require an arbiter. On the other hand, conditional covenants require an arbiter (a mediator in the general sense), and since the Mosaic Law was conditional, Moses was made the umpire. Whereas the unconditional covenants such as the Abrahamic, Land and Davidic required neither an arbiter nor a mediator.
2 Corinthians 3:7
Now, if the ministry that brought death [the Ten Commandments which shows that we have an old sin nature and are spiritually dead] which was engraved in letters on stone came with glory, and it did [completing the translation of the First-Class Conditional Sentence] so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory [the glory of the Mosaic Law], fading [transitory] though it was,
Εἰ δὲ ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου ἐν γράµµασιν ἐντετυπωµένη λίθοις ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ, ὥστε µὴ δύνασθαι ἀτενίσαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον Μωϋσέως διὰ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τὴν καταργουµένην,
The fading glory of the Mosaic Law: Moses came down from the mountain after getting the Mosaic Law. At that time, he had a glory of glamour on his face that was so animated and so great that no Jew in the audience could look at him intently. He could only glimpse at that glory. As Moses would finish teaching the Mosaic Law, he would put a veil on his face so that the Jews would not see the fading glory. It was a glory that was real, a glory that was there, but a glory that faded.
Today, we have the unfading glory of the Operational Type Spiritual Life. It is an unfading glory, a glory that belongs only to this dispensation. It belongs to every believer in Jesus Christ. The life of the believer in this dispensation is designed for unveiled glory. The believer in Christ learning Bible doctrine under the Filling of the Spirit can have an unveiled glory. As long as we live on this earth as a Church Age believer, there should be more glory than the day before, but that ‘more glory’ depends upon spiritual intake, upon how much Bible doctrine is learned today and tomorrow and the next day and the next. Bible doctrine is the key, the Filling of the Spirit is the key; both of them together are the unveiled glory.
2 Corinthians 3:8
How [going from the lesser to the greater] will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? [than the Mosaic Law: the increasing glory in the Church Age that is the more you grow spiritually, the more is your glory]
πῶς οὐχὶ µᾶλλον ἡ διακονία τοῦ πνεύµατος ἔσται ἐν δόξῃ;
2 Corinthians 3:9
If the ministry [of the Mosaic Law] that brought condemnation was glorious, and it was, how much more glorious is the ministry [of the Holy Spirit teaching the New Testament epistles] that brings righteousness [experiential righteousness which fulfills the Law]!
εἰ γὰρ ἡ διακονία τῆς κατακρίσεως δόξα, πολλῷ µᾶλλον περισσεύει ἡ διακονία τῆς δικαιοσύνης δόξῃ.
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 life as per Isaiah 11:2] has set you free from the law of sin [the carnal state of the believer] and death [perpetual carnality resulting in the sin unto death 1 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 functioning under human dynamics] was powerless in that it was weak through the flesh [which is the location for the sin nature], God having sent His own Son [deity unites with humanity] in the likeness [but not exactly since he did not possess a sin nature] of the flesh of sin [the ‘flesh of sin’ is a reference to the sin nature residing in the body] and as a substitute for sin [He who knew no sin became a sin offering for us] he [God the Father] condemned sin [personal sins] in the flesh [of the impeccable Jesus, the only flesh without a sin nature: the work of unlimited atonement]. (4) In order that the righteousness [legal requirements] required by the Law [about 2/3 of the Law; the other dealt with Christology and soteriology] might be fulfilled in us [church age believers using the two powers of the spiritual life], who do not walk according to the flesh [The believer who does not walk according to the Mosaic Law as his spiritual life using human power and in this case, under the authority of the sin nature: Galatians 5:18], but according to the Spirit [the Filling of the Spirit]."
The legal requirements of the Mosaic Law demanding righteousness can only be fulfilled through the Filling of the Spirit and the perception of Bible doctrine. In other words, by taking advantage of the Logistical Grace Provision to advance to the point maxing-out the spiritual life, one fulfills the righteousness demanded by the Mosaic Law
to be continued...
2 Corinthians 2:13
I had no rest in my [human] spirit, not finding Titus my brother [Titus was to come to Troy, but he was too busy dealing with the Corinthians], but forsaking [taking leave of] them [Paul abandoned his strong ministry in Troy], I went to Macedonia.
οὐκ ἔσχηκα ἄνεσιν τῷ πνεύµατί µου τῷ µὴ εὑρεῖν µε Τίτον τὸν ἀδελφόν µου, ἀλλὰ ἀποταξάµενος αὐτοῖς ἐξῆλθον εἰς Μακεδονίαν.
The Scripture records four failures on the part of Paul. His first failure occurred when he had refused to forgive John Mark and therefore, would not take him along on his 2nd Missionary Journey. Secondly, Paul failed when he reacted to the failure and consequent attack of the Corinthians. Thirdly, Paul failed when he deserted a phenomenal ministry at Troy. Finally, Paul will have his greatest failure when at the end of his 3rd Missionary Journey, he will to go Jerusalem when he should have gone to Rome.
Why Paul had sent Titus, the trouble shooter to Corinth. For you see, the Corinthians had reacted to Paul’s strong reprimand, his third letter to them which letter he wrote between 1 and 2 Corinthians. So, Titus was sent to Corinth to put down the revolt and to get the Corinthians moving again in the spiritual life. After having accomplished this task, he was to meet Paul initially in Troy, but if delayed to meet in Macedonia. During the meantime, Paul had reacted to the Corinthian reaction and so was out of fellowship himself. In this state, and having not heard from Titus, Paul panicked and abandoned his great ministry in Troy.
More details are given in the following passage:
2 Corinthians 7:5-7, "For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest at all [could not sleep], but we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside [outside pressure because of the Corinthian reaction], fears within [sinful stress from reacting to the pressures], (6) but God, who comforts the humble ones [Paul and his companions recovered fellowship with God and resumed their spiritual lives at some point after they had arrived in Macedonia; this they did before Titus arrived], comforted us [they were able to be comforted since they were in fellowship] by the coming of Titus [the report from Titus was encouraging], (7) and not only by his coming but also by the comfort by which he was comforted over you [over your change of attitude and acceptance of authority]. He [Titus] told us about your longing for me [their love for Paul], your emotional reaction concerning me [their tremendous regret regarding their vilification of Paul], your zeal toward me [toward the ministry of Paul], so that I rejoice the more [This report added to Paul’s happiness]."
Paul realized that the change wrought by the communicative effort of Titus would be permanent. Being back in fellowship, they had realized how raunchy they had treated Paul (all of their vilification). This emotional reaction was accompanied by a lot of wailing and tears, but eventually they settled down and returned to learning and applying doctrine on the basis of thinking.
A lover’s quarrel and its subsequent recovery have a lot of emotion connected with it. It is romantic, beautiful and even enjoyable, but has no real strength. Just as the only thing that gives marriage lasting power is capacity from virtue accompanied by correct values, so the only true power in the spiritual life comes from consistent perception and application of doctrine. The Corinthians realized this and so now had a zeal, a strong desire toward Paul’s ministry which will eventually make them great believers.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks [based on our understanding of grace] be to God who always provides us with a victory celebration [the Greek verb triumbeuo, a word related to the Roman Triumphal Procession analogous to the believer’s triumph after getting back into fellowship; in this passage Paul got back into fellowship between verses 13 and 14] in the Christ [in union with Christ, a stabilizing factor] and makes manifest [brings to light through the canon of Scripture] the sweet fragrance [involved in the Triumphal Procession of victory] of his knowledge [of the gospel and the spiritual life] through us [the agents of communicating the gospel and the spiritual life] in every place [Paul’s ministry to the gentiles].
Τῷ δὲ θεῷ χάρις τῷ πάντοτε θριαµβεύοντι ἡµᾶς ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ τὴν ὀσµὴν τῆς γνώσεως αὐτοῦ φανεροῦντι δι’ ἡµῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ·
In experiential sanctification, we are in and out of fellowship, but in Christ we cannot sin and so we cannot lose that position. This becomes a stabilizing factor in the spiritual life and that is why Paul mentions it here. We zig and zag in experiential sanctification, but never in Positional Sanctification.
The sweet fragrance of the Triumphal Procession had one meaning for the victors and another meaning for the captives. Every time a Christian is restored to fellowship, he should celebrate God’s victory, a victory analogous to the victory of the Roman Triumphal Procession.
A Triumphal Procession was the greatest of all honors that could be given to a Roman general, a consul or an emperor. This award was given by the Roman Senate to such a person who had a great accomplishment on the battle field. For example, such a military leader would have had to have killed a minimum of five thousand of the enemy in a single day on the battlefield. Thus, there were not many who qualified for such a triumph. In Roman history, there were only 350 Triumphal Processions in the 1000 years of that history. So, during this period only 350 persons ever received this honor though millions of officers and soldiers participated in this procession as being part of the victorious army of the one receiving the Triumph.
In a Triumphal Procession, the one celebrating the victory would begin by riding a white horse through an arch. Then, he and his army would proceed down a path lined with cheering Romans sprinkling perfume and flowers on them, the sweet fragrance of victory. For the captives, this sweet smell was the fragrance of death. In this long parade of the Triumphal Procession, the victorious general etc. would be standing erect in his chariot, pulled by four horses. He would be wearing a wreath of laurel on his head. He would be holding in his left hand a very beautiful scepter made of gold, topped with an eagle, called a baton while in his right hand he carried a laurel branch. He wore a purple toga embroidered with gold. Suspended from his neck was a golden ball. Standing behind the imperator in the chariot was a slave. The slave held an Etruscan crown, encrusted with jewels. The slave would continually repeat the following phrase into his ear as millions of people cheered him, “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” translated, “so the glory of the world passes away.”
It was a phenomenal honor for both those receiving the Triumph and for his victorious army. The decorations, honors and wealth distributed were immense. By analogy, every believer is a member of this victorious army, whereas the unbeliever would be analogous to the captives on display during the Triumph. The general, consul or emperor receiving this greatest of honors would be comparable to the believer passing Evidence Testing and as a consequence of that, receive his Escrow Blessings for time and eternity.
Paul in the next two verses relates the believer and the unbeliever to the fragrance experienced at a Roman Triumphal Procession.
2 Corinthians 2:15
For we [the believer giving out the gospel] are a fragrance [specifically in this verse to the gospel] of Christ to God among those who are being saved [those who respond to the fragrance of the gospel will by analogy reap the rewards of being on the victorious side] and among those who are perishing [the unbeliever who rejects the fragrance of the gospel will face the Great White Throne Judgment and by analogy will perish just as the captives of the Roman Triumphal Procession].
ὅτι Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσµὲν τῷ θεῷ ἐν τοῖς σῳζοµένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυµένοις,
In a brief summary, there are two categories of people who smell the fragrance namely those who respond and those who reject just like in the Roman Triumphal Procession where both the victors and the captives smelled the fragrance of the perfume and flowers.
2 Corinthians 2:16
To the one a fragrance [all have the opportunity to smell this aroma of the gospel] out from death [spiritual death followed by physical death] to death [to the 2nd death, the judgment to the Lake of Fire], to the other a fragrance from life [human life followed by the spiritual birth] to life [eternal life with God]. And who is qualified for these things [the fragrance was poured-out on everyone, but only those who believe in Jesus Christ are qualified for eternal life]?
οἷς µὲν ὀσµὴ ἐκ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον, οἷς δὲ ὀσµὴ ἐκ ζωῆς εἰς ζωήν. καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανός;
2 Corinthians 2:17
For we [the ones who believe in Christ] are not like the many [the ones who reject Christ and in so doing accept an alternative to the grace plan of God] who huckster [dilute: originally in the Greek, a bartender who cheated by diluting his beverages; the unbeliever dilutes the gospel which is tantamount to rejecting it] the word of God [believing in or teaching a salvation by works], but from discernment [by holding the gospel up to the light of the Word to determine if it is true or not], out from the source of God in the site of God, we [believers] keep on communicating [without dilution] in Christ [we being in Christ, our stabilizing factor, must communicate the pure gospel without dilution].
οὐ γάρ ἐσµεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας, ἀλλí ὡς ἐκ θεοῦ κατέναντι θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ λαλοῦµεν.