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 Thessalonians Chapter Three
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Outline
1-5: The tying up of some loose ends:
6-11: The attitude toward the reversionistic believer
12-16: The epilogue
2 Thessalonians 3:1
Finally [now that you have some doctrine], my brethren, pray [a command] for us, that the Word [doctrine] of the Lord [it belongs to the Lord as “the thinking of Christ”] may have free course [run freely namely that Paul would have the freedom to teach and that the content of his teaching not be distorted as he communicates or after he communicates] and may be glorified [the Word of God receives glorification when it is metabolized and used for the believer’s advance in the spiritual life], even as it also is with you [The Thessalonians were advancing quite well in the spiritual life.].
Τὸ λοιπὸν προσεύχεσθε, ἀδελφοί, περὶ ἡµῶν, ἵνα ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου τρέχῃ καὶ δοξάζηται καθὼς καὶ πρὸς ὑµᾶς,
Paul is complimenting these Thessalonians when he commands them to pray for him and his team etc.
The clergy does not have a monopoly on prayer, though most Christians think so. This is why many Christians keep asking the clergy to pray for them. Paul reverses this thinking by asking them to pray for him and his team.
Sequence for Private Prayer:
1. Rebound: The use of the Recovery Procedure is the first and most important consideration. If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18) This procedure is taught in 1 John 1:9, “If we name [acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us [cancel] our sins for our benefit and to purify us from all wrongdoing.”
2. Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is appreciation and gratitude for all that God has done in grace (freely given and undeserved). The more you love God and the more you appreciate Him, the greater is your “attitude of thanksgiving.” In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
3. Intercession: Intercessory prayer is praying for others. This aspect of prayer is a ministry of Christian service in which you provide a barrage of support for those in need. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the [power of the] Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the good news.” (Ephesians 6:18–19)
4. Petition: Petition is praying for your own needs. This is listed last, though it is not necessarily the least important. We all have personal needs or problems of one kind or another. In such cases, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16a). Petitions address those particular circumstances for which there is no direct statement or solution from Scripture. (If provision for your own needs or solutions to your problems are found in the Word of God, do not petition for those things. For example, we are Filled with the Spirit automatically when we use the Recovery Procedure. Therefore, do not pray a meaningless prayer by saying, “Fill me with the Spirit.”
As you learn Bible doctrine and advance to maturity in the spiritual life, you will understand both the constraints and the fantastic opportunities of your prayer life. In spiritual maturity, you will reduce the number of your personal petitions while expanding your capacity for intercessory prayer.
Ten reasons why prayer is not answered:
1. Lack of faith: Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive [logical future].”
2. Lack of prayer: James 4:2c, “You quarrel and fight, and you do not have because you do not ask [failure to pray].”
3. Selfishness: James 4:3, “You ask but you do not receive because you ask for yourself that you may squander it on your lusts [in your frantic search for happiness].”
4. Carnality in general: Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart [in the stream of consciousness], the Lord will not hear [my prayers]”
5. Lack of compassion: Proverbs 21:13, “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor, will also cry [to the Father] himself and not be answered.”
6. Lack of domestic tranquility: 1 Peter 3:7, “You husbands in a similar manner, live with them according to knowledge [a husband has to understand women in general and specifically his own wife for every woman is different], as the weaker vessel [dependent upon her husband for fulfillment as a responder], since she is a woman; and show her honor as a joint-heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”
7. Pride or self-righteousness: Job 35:12, 13, “There they cry out [in prayer], but He does not answer because of the pride of the evil men. (13) Surely, God will not listen to an empty cry [prayer] nor will the almighty regard it.”
8. Lack of the Filling of the Spirit: Ephesians 6:18, “By means of every prayer and petition, be praying on every occasion of prayer in the [Filling of] Spirit, also with reference to this prayer, be on the alert with all persistent determination and petition on behalf of all saints.”
9. Lack of obedience: 1 John 3:22, “Furthermore, whatever we have asked, we receive from him because we keep his mandates and keep on doing the things that are pleasing in his sight.”
10. Lack of compliance with the divine will: 1 John 5:14, “In fact, this is the confidence which we have toward him [God] that if [3rd class conditional sentence] we ask anything according to his will, he [God the Father] hears us.”
A few statements regarding prayer:
1. We do not use prayer to hire God to do what we want done.
2. Too many believers use prayer to get their own way, not God’s way.
3. Prayer must be compatible with God’s will and God’s way, not our will and our way.
4. Prayer must recognize who and what God is, not who and what we are.
5. Prayer is not designed to get us out of trouble, but to express our helplessness, our humility, our total dependence on God rather than on human ability and power. Prayer is our recognition and orientation to His grace and His mercy toward us.
6. Prayer is not designed to manipulate God, but to perform and conform to the will of God.
7. Prayer is not what we want, but what God wants for us.
8. Prayer is our recognition and orientation to the grace of God.
9. Prayer is an expression and extension of Bible doctrine resident in the stream of consciousness of the soul. We fail in prayer because we fail to understand and utilize Bible doctrine.
10. Prayer was never designed to fulfill our lusts and desires, but prayer was designed to fulfill the will, plan, and purpose of God for our lives and to give us access to heaven while still living on earth.
Five Mistakes in Prayer:
1. The Christian assumes that God has emotion which He doesn’t and so prays with an emotional appeal. Many Christians believe that God has emotion because they have never been taught anthropopathisms and anthropomorphisms. So, not understanding anthropopathisms, these believers actually thinks that God has regrets, angry outbursts, loathings, sympathetic compassions etc.
2. The Christian thinks that prayer is a problem-solving device when it isn’t. This type of Christian usually prays for miracles. Paul’s prayer in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 was not only asking for a miracle, but it was also contradicted the integrity of God which demanded that Paul receive undeserved suffering.
3. The Christian prays for things that are resolved in other ways for example the Christian who prays for protection or food when he is already being provided with these via God’s Logistical Grace Pipeline.
4. The Christian whose prayers are in conflict with the integrity of God for example a Christian may pray to make America great and powerful again when the righteousness of God maybe demanding severe punishment for the U.S.A. A Christian may pray for rain in a drought-stricken area when the Lord may have already instructed the Weather Angels to bring about that drought. Of course, if these prayers are in agreement with the will of God, then they will be answered.
5. Generally, don’t ask for personal blessings since God wants to give you much more than you could ever pray for. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him [to God the Father] who is able to do infinitely more [Escrow Blessings for time and for eternity] than all we could ask [in prayer] or think on the basis of the power [the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine] that keeps working in us for our benefit.” Now obviously, if a Christian either doesn’t understand or rejects this verse, he will pray for all of his personal needs.
Applications:
1. If you desire your prayers to be private, then don’t pray them during a public prayer time.
2. If you pray a prayer in public that is contrary to the teaching from this pulpit, then I will have to challenge it because in effect you are challenging this ministry and furthermore you are possibly having some influence on this congregation.
3. If you claim that God is answering your prayers, then you should be more specific in your prayers. For example, if you desire to pray for rain then state the amount, the time and the location (10 inches within the next 3 weeks, covering a particular area). If the Lord should direct the weather angels as such, and so exactly 10 inches falls within the 3 weeks specified over that area, then I will assume that you are another Elijah.
4. f a Texan should pray for rain, and rain should cover Texas entirely within a week or so of that prayer, is the Lord answering this person’s prayer or is the Lord providing rain for the ten million Christians within this area under the concept of Logistical Grace Provision?
5. When Paul was being transported to Rome to face trial under Nero, he didn’t pray for good weather, but rather advised not to sail since it was the time when terrible storms usually occurred in the Med. If Paul had prayed for good weather during that time of the year when terrible storms normally occurred in the Mediterranean, it would have been asking for a miracle.
6. After leaving Egypt and having crossed the Red Sea, they traveled for three days into the Desert of Shur, but found no water. Then, they traveled further to Marah where they found only bitter water. At that point, the Jewish assembly grumbled against Moses. Though Moses knew that the Lord had to provide water for these Jewish people and their livestock. Furthermore, he understood that this was the water that God had provided under Logistical Grace Support, but he didn’t know how to convert this bitter water into drinkable water. So, he prayed for the details as per Exodus 15:25, “Then he [Moses] shouted out to the Lord [for instructions], and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.”
2 Thessalonians 3:2
And pray that we may be delivered from the unreasonable [a reference to harmful believers in apostasy] and wicked men [unbelievers in opposition to Christianity]; for all do not have the faith [Literally, the faith is not of all: Some are believers and some are unbelievers].
καὶ ἵνα ῥυσθῶµεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀτόπων καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων· οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις.
2 Thessalonians 3:3. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil.
πιστὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ κύριος, ὃς στηρίξει ὑµᾶς καὶ φυλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
The Faithfulness of God:
1. God is faithful in His provision of the Recovery Procedure. 1 John 1:9, “If we name our sins, he is faithful and righteous with the result that he forgives us our sins for our benefit and purifies us from all wrongdoing.”
2. He is faithful to us under the conditions of testing. 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No testing has caught up with (over taken) you except such as is common to man, but God [the Father] is faithful who will not permit you to be tested beyond your capability [what you are able to handle at your level of spiritual growth], but with the testing, He will provide also the way of escape [a solution via one of the Problem-Solving Devices] so that you may be able to endure it [a reference to the staying power of the spiritual life and so to be able to remain under the pressure with happiness]”
3. God is faithful in His Call and provision for the person after he accepts the Call (invitation) of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is He [God the Father] who called you, who also will do it [provide the Portfolio of Invisible Assets].” After the Holy Spirit makes the gospel lucid to the unbeliever under the concept of Common Grace, the Father invites or calls the unbeliever through the gospel message as per 1 Corinthians 1:9, “The God [the Father] is faithful through whom you have been called [invited] into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord.” Since God the Father has perfect righteousness, justice and omnipotence, He will do all that He has said that He would do. Perfect integrity (righteousness and justice) plus immutability equals faithfulness. The Portfolio of Invisible Assets namely the primary, secondary, personal, and unique assets are guaranteed by the perfection of God.
4. God is also faithful in establishing us and in protecting us. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 as per our passage.
5. God is faithful to the believer whether he is faithful or unfaithful. 2 Timothy 2:11-13, “Faithful is the Word. If we died with Him [and we have in retroactive positional truth], we will live with him [in the Eternal State]. (12) If we endure [advance and pass the three undeserved suffering tests], we will rule with him [in the Millennium]. If we reject [him by rejecting the spiritual life which He has given us], he will deny us [rewards at the Evaluation Platform of Christ. (13) If we are unfaithful [to the Lord], he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself [since we are a part of His body by being in union with Him].”
6. God is faithful in keeping His promises. Hebrews 10:23, “Let us keep holding fast the acknowledgment [the whole body of doctrine] of our expectation [of fulfilling our spiritual objectives] unbending [consistent with the principle of remaining positive to doctrine] because the one [the God] having promised [blessings] is faithful.”
“Who will establish you” ὃς στηρίξει ὑµᾶς
The future active indicative of the verb sterizo means to set in a certain position or direction. It also means to be mentally stabilized, to be firmly established, to be firmly supported by something. The progressive future tense means that the action of the verb will be fulfilled progressively in future time through their intake of Bible Doctrine.
“And guard you from the evil” καὶ φυλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
The verb is fulasso which means to guard or to preserve. The future tense in this clause, however, is not progressive, but gnomic, expressing an axiom. As you continue to learn and apply the Word of God, you come to the place of being preserved from evil. The more metabolized doctrine you have in your soul, the more you are guarded from evil in life. This is an axiomatic principle.
Evil is the Policy of Satan, the Great Deceiver:
He is the greatest deceiver in history. To be such a deceiver the devil must be the greatest and most effective liar in history, John 8:44, “You [scribes and Pharisees] are from your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; because he is a liar, and the father of lies.”
Truth in the soul protects a person from the lies of Satan who is totally devoid of truth. When there is no doctrine or establishment truth circulating in the stream of consciousness of either believers or unbelievers, they will automatically lie since they are like Satan, their mentor. The power of truth in the soul of an unbeliever or believer is the greatest factor in insulating him from the power of Satan.
Satan works through human beings who are liars, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, “[The dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] whose presence [in history] shall be according to the modus operandi of Satan with all power and by means of supernatural signs [extra natural phenomena in the spiritual realm like healing] even lying wonders [propaganda]. (10) and by means of all deception of unrighteousness [This dictator is a pathological liar who has a ministry of disinformation and will deceive both unbelievers and some believers] to those who are being destroyed [ruined: If you do not possess truth, you will be deceived, ruined and destroyed.] because they did not receive the love for the truth [These unbelievers reject God at God Consciousness or at Gospel hearing or both; believers reject truth as related to their spiritual lives], in order that they might be delivered [from delusion, from destruction, from catastrophe].”
Believers are deceived as easily as unbelievers by the satanic strategy.
Both socialism and Christian activism are a part of Satanic evil. Socialism is Satan’s lie to replace nationalism and free market function. The basis for socialism in modern history goes back to Sir Thomas Moore in his book Utopia where there was political and social perfection. Utopia, therefore, became a synonym for any visionary system of political or social perfection or perfect environment. The theory of utopian socialism is a lie, an economic tinkering with the Laws of Divine Establishment, whereby a false premise is inculcated—that if capitalism voluntarily surrendered its ownership of the means of production to the State or to workers, unemployment and poverty would be abolished. This is a lie which many people believe because they do not understand that capital and investment create jobs, not government. This theory of utopian socialism establishes slavery to the State rather than freedom of self-determination with the government protecting that freedom.
Christ should be our role model. Christian activism is designed by Satan to distract the Christian from fulfilling his responsibility. Christian activism combines the arrogance-skills with self-righteous arrogance plus crusader arrogance. Christians involved in activism think they are serving God when they are serving Satan. This is self-deception. Paul’s warning against the arrogance skills is found in Romans 12:2-3, “Stop being conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your thought, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For I say through the grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you, stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think; but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion, as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine.” Our Lord did not become involved in activism as in delivering the Jews from the Romans and we take our precedence for the Church Age from the dispensation of the Hypostatic union.
Satan has numerous strategies against Christians and the Church such as discrediting the intake of God’s word and especially the mystery doctrines of the Church Age, discrediting believers through involving them in the cosmic system so that they should shock other believers etc.
2 Thessalonians 3:4
And we have confidence in the Lord regarding you, that you are doing and will do [in the future] the things which we command you.
πεποίθαµεν δὲ ἐν κυρίῳ ἐφí ὑµᾶς, ὅτι ἃ παραγγέλλοµεν [καὶ] ποιεῖτε καὶ ποιήσετε.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
And may the Lord direct your hearts [your stream of consciousnesses] into the love for God [objective genitive; a love for God the Father provides motivation], and into the endurance of Christ [the staying power of the humanity of Christ during his life and his work on the cross].
Ὁ δὲ κύριος κατευθύναι ὑµῶν τὰς καρδίας εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑποµονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Hebrew 12:2, “Be concentrating on Jesus, the pioneer [the one who established the precedence in the use of this new spiritual life] the perfector [He perfected the use of the Proto-type spiritual life] of our doctrine who because of his exhibited happiness [Sharing the happiness of God which provided the strongest possible motivation], he endured the cross [being judged for all the sins of mankind] disregarding the shame [He did not react to the sins for which he was being punished] and sat down [his humanity] at the right hand of the throne of God [the Father].”
Jesus was able to handle the greatest possible suffering on the cross; He had the staying power, the power to remain under the greatest possible pressure via the Proto-type spiritual life. Now, since we have this same spiritual life given to us, we have no excuse for not being able to handle the pressures of this life no matter how great.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
Now, we command you, brothers, by the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw [separate] yourselves from every brother who walks disorderly, and not after the teaching which he received from us [these Christians have rejected Paul’s authority].
Παραγγέλλοµεν δὲ ὑµῖν, ἀδελφοί, ἐν ὀνόµατι τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, στέλλεσθαι ὑµᾶς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος καὶ µὴ κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ἣν παρελάβοσαν παρí ἡµῶν.
These are Christians who are not interested in executing the spiritual life. If they should attend a church, they do so for false reasons. They may attend an assembly to con others out of their money etc., that they might live a life of indulgence without any hard work. In any case, the growing believer is not to associate with these believers in a social way.
Separation:
1. Separation is the technique of switching from personal love to impersonal love when dealing with friends or loved ones in the cosmic system. You love them from afar!
2. One must establish correct priorities in life and one of those priorities is to separate from distractions that might hinder one’s momentum. Until one establishes priorities, he cannot make a correct decision about separation.
3. 2 Timothy 3:5, "They [believers in the cosmic system] hold to external forms of the spiritual life, but have renounced the power [the two power options] of that same spiritual life; you also be turning yourself away from these persons."
4. 2 Thessalonians 3:14, "If anyone does not obey our doctrinal teaching in this epistle, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame."
5. Romans 16:17-18, “Now I urge you, brethren, look out [have discernment through doctrine resident in the soul] for those who are causing dissensions and apostasies contrary to doctrine, which you have learned from a teacher; in fact, be separating from them. (18) For such believers do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own emotions serving themselves; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the stream of consciousnesses of the unsuspecting [naïve believers with little doctrine].
6. Separation from unbelievers inside the cosmic system is taught in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers [in marriage]. For what do righteousness [believers with imputed righteousness] and lawlessness [those who will not obey the mandate to believe in Christ] have in common or what fellowship has light with darkness? (15) What harmony is there between Christ and Belial [a personal name for Satan as the quintessence of evil] or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever [in marriage, in friendship, in social life]?”
7. The believer is to separate from the "fast crowd.” 1 Peter 4:3-4, “For the time already past is enough [sufficient for you] to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles [associating with the fast crowd], having pursued a course of sensuality [unrestrained sexual activity], lusts [the motivation], excess of wine, carousing, drinking parties [related to Bacchus] and abominable [criminal] idolatries [human sacrifice]. (4) In which manner of life [the fast crowd of the previous verse], they are astonished [mental sins related to pride] that you do not run with them into the same excesses [the fast crowd repeats itself] of dissipation and they keep on maligning you [the vicious side of the fast crowd];”
The fast crowd always feeds on attractive and beautiful girls. The girls are attracted to these men with celebrity status or wealth. After the fun and excitement wears off and illusion becomes disillusion, these girls either become lushes or tramps. Once the girls have become lushes or tramps, the fast crowd will drop them and pick up new recruits.
8. The believer is to separate from violence and criminal activity, Proverbs 1:10-19, “My son [Solomon was a teenager], if sinners [technical for the wrong crowd] entice you, do not consent. (11) If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; Let us ambush the innocent without cause; [murder] (12) Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; [enjoy killing people] (13) We will find all kinds of precious wealth; We will fill our houses with spoil; [enjoy robbery] (14) Throw in your lot with us; We shall all have one purse," [we will split the spoils of our robbery; in government this is called socialism] (15) My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, [stay away from these hoodlums] (16) For their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood. (17) Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net in the sight of any bird; [Just as these birds cannot be fooled, so certain believers cannot be fooled because they have doctrine; In the next verse, we find that violent individuals are so stupid that they set the baited net for themselves; as it were, and then walk right into the baited net.] (18) But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. [violent people will be punished with violence] (19) So, are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.”
2 Thessalonians 3:7
For you yourselves know that it is necessary for you to imitate us: [follow our example] We did not behave disorderly among you,
αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε πῶς δεῖ µιµεῖσθαι ἡµᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἠτακτήσαµεν ἐν ὑµῖν
Paul and his team functioned under authority and lived orderly and responsible lives. One cannot execute authority correctly until he has successfully been under authority.
2 Thessalonians 3:8
Neither did we eat any man's bread freely, but we worked with labor and worked hard night and day, so that we might not be a financial burden on any of you,
οὐδὲ δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγοµεν παρά τινος, ἀλλí ἐν κόπῳ καὶ µόχθῳ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡµέρας ἐργαζόµενοι πρὸς τὸ µὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑµῶν·
There is no place for moochers in the ministry. Furthermore, there is no place for moochers in Christianity.
2 Thessalonians 3:9
(Not because we do not have authority [ In other words, Paul had the authority to come in and take an offering from them.], but [he didn’t in order] to make ourselves an example to you, to imitate us).
οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχοµεν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλí ἵνα ἑαυτοὺς τύπον δῶµεν ὑµῖν εἰς τὸ µιµεῖσθαι ἡµᾶς.
Paul wanted to teach the Thessalonians that able bodied men should be working.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, that if anyone should not desire to work and there were some, neither should he eat [It is amazing how hunger will motivate one to work].
καὶ γὰρ ὅτε ἦµεν πρὸς ὑµᾶς, τοῦτο παρηγγέλλοµεν ὑµῖν, ὅτι εἴ τις οὐ θέλει ἐργάζεσθαι µηδὲ ἐσθιέτω.
Since these believers were convinced that the Rapture was going to take place shortly, they decided to quit their jobs and become loafers. They had the attitude that there was no reason to work and why bother with the routines of life. They used the Rapture as an excuse to quit working.
2 Thessalonians 3:11
For we hear that there are some who walk disorderly among you, not working at all, but being busybodies.
ἀκούοµεν γάρ τινας περιπατοῦντας ἐν ὑµῖν ἀτάκτως, µηδὲν ἐργαζοµένους ἀλλὰ περιεργαζοµένους·
When people should be working but are not working, they get into trouble. Because they have so much free time on their hands, they have a tendency to begin sticking their noses into everyone else’s business to keep themselves from becoming bored.
2 Thessalonians 3:12
Now, we command and exhort those who are such, by our Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness [be under authority] and eat their own bread [They should make their own living.].
τοῖς δὲ τοιούτοις παραγγέλλοµεν καὶ παρακαλοῦµεν ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ ἵνα µετὰ ἡσυχίας ἐργαζόµενοι τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν.
This command and exhortation are directed to these who have quit their jobs, who are loafing, who are meddlers, and have become troublemakers.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
But you, brothers, do not be weary in well doing.
Ὑµεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, µὴ ἐγκακήσητε καλοποιοῦντες.
This means that you should not be discouraged or despondent by the routine of life. Routine in life is good for it provides stability. When a person begins to loaf, he easily becomes despondent. The mental attitude of despondency leads to other mental attitude-sins. Understand that God regards what you do for a living as a noble function. So, stop becoming wearied in your noble function.
One of the occupational hazards on the way to maturity is weariness. Weariness equals routine plus pressure. If you are going to dedicate yourself to reaching spiritual maturity, then you will have to deal with a lot of routine, a lot of things that you will not want to do, but you must do. Many times, you will be discouraged with the idea of going on, life becomes wearisome. This seems to happen just before reaching spiritual maturity. You have to get through this pressure in order to make it, and this pressure can be any one of the reactor factors such as disillusion, boredom, discouragement, overcome with self-pity, loneliness, the problem of frustration, or special pressure of some kind. This is a test that comes maybe once, maybe twice or three times on the road to spiritual maturity.
2 Thessalonians 3:14
And if anyone does not obey our word by this letter, mark that one and have no company [do not have a close relationship with him] with him [break off your social life with that person even when they may still be attending Bible class], that he may be ashamed.
εἰ δέ τις οὐχ ὑπακούει τῷ λόγῳ ἡµῶν διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, τοῦτον σηµειοῦσθε, µὴ συναναµίγνυσθαι αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐντραπῇ·
Certain Christians must be avoided. These are the people who are on the road to reversionism and who are on a frantic search for happiness. These believers always break-away from the authority of their pastor-teacher. In doing so they get into emotional revolt. This is followed by a vacuum being establish which sucks-in false ideas and doctrines into the soul. Troublemakers must always be noted in your mind and avoided especially when you should become a bit wearied and tempted to be a bit bored. You cannot have a social life with born-again believers on the road to reversionism without getting on the same road.
The frantic search for happiness starts to produce shame when this person finds himself cut off from someone whom he admires, whom he loves, and who is not going along for the ride in the frantic search for happiness but instead is going in the direction of doctrine. In other words, you subordinate yourself to the Word of God and leave him in the Lord’s hands, and this is the way the Lord deals with that individual. Guilt or shame is one of the knocking factors. When the Lord stands at the door and knocks, knocking is through shame. The passive voice: the reversionistic believer receives the shame. The subjunctive mood: the reality of this is a potential.
2 Thessalonians 3:15
Yet, do not count him as an enemy [for he is not your enemy, but a fellow Christian spiraling out of control; if for some reason you should consider him as your enemy, you will get out of fellowship as well], but instruct him as a brother [if he should come to you for spiritual advice; you are not to rebuke or admonish, but only provide information].
καὶ µὴ ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἡγεῖσθε, ἀλλὰ νουθετεῖτε ὡς ἀδελφόν.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
And may the Lord of prosperity Himself give [aorist tense, optative mood] to you for your benefit [dative of advantage], prosperity [tranquility leading to sharing the happiness of God] through all [doctrine] in every way. The Lord be with you all.
Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης δῴη ὑµῖν τὴν εἰρήνην διὰ παντὸς ἐν παντὶ τρόπῳ. ὁ κύριος µετὰ πάντων ὑµῶν.
The Greek word didomi, meaning to give is in the culminative aorist tense and the optative mood. The culminative aorist emphasizes the results of the action of the verb. As a result of taking in the Word and going through a test or two now and then, you come to the point of tranquility. The optative is also important, it expresses a personal desire for every believer. It is God’s personal desire for you to have the capacity for blessing so that He can pour the greater blessings.
2 Thessalonians 3:17
The greeting of Paul by my own hand which is the sign [Paul’s signature, the evidence of his authority] in every letter, so I write.
Ὁ ἀσπασµὸς τῇ ἐµῇ χειρὶ Παύλου, ὅ ἐστιν σηµεῖον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ· οὕτως γράφω.
Since he mentions that he signed this epistle by his own hand, it would imply that Paul dictated this epistle itself through an amanuensis.
2 Thessalonians 3:18
The grace which belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ be associated with you all [the grace which will take them to spiritual maturity]. Amen [I believe it].
ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ µετὰ πάντων ὑµῶν.
