Featured Baptism and Regeneration of the Spirit

Unger is simply wrong on this subject. His view denies that pre-Pentecost saints needed regeneration or even could be regenerated by the Spirit. Both Unger and you do not grasp the fundamental meaning of regeneration, because if you did this kind of nonsense would not even be presented. He admits that "by regeneration He gives us His own life" but fails to understand what he is even saying. Man is spiritually dead BEFORE and AFTER Pentecost and without regeneration man remains without the life of God. Regeneration is spiritual union with God and without this spiritual union there is only spiritual separation = spiritual death.

You and Unger totally and completely ignore the fact that the book of Romans draws all of its teaching on the spiritual condition of man from the OLD TESTAMENT scriptures where it is applied to OLD TESTAMENT human beings. Man prior to Pentecost is no different than man after Pentecost - both are equally spiritually dead or without spiritual union with God.

Both you and Unger are teaching and preaching ANOTHER GOSPEL prior to Pentecost than after Pentecost, another kind of human being whose spiritual death is resolved OUTSIDE OF CHRIST apart from SPIRITUAL UNION with God and that is another gospel.

There is no salvation OUTSIDE OF CHRIST before or after Pentecost for any human being. There is no salvation "in Christ" apart from being "created in Christ" (Eph. 2:10) and that is being brought into spiritual union with God through the Spirit of Christ by regeneration.

The baptism in the Spirit is not only DATED but LOCATED geographicallly ("not many days hence" "from Jerusalem") and it has NOTHING to do with individual salvation or individual sanctification but is the common ordinary institutional immersion in the shekinah glory that occurs with each PUBLIC qualified "house" of worship with a PUBLIC qualified ministry, and PUBLIC qualified ordinances beginning in Exodus 40:35-37 and then repeated once again with the new house of God in 2 Chron. 7:1-3 and then again with the rebuilt house of God in Zechariah 4 and will be again repeated with the Ezekiel temple and then again repeated with the New Testament public house of worship in Acts 2:1-3.

Just study the phrase "the house of God" as used in the Bible and it is simple to see it refers ONLY to a PUBLIC and QUALIFED house of worship, (1 Tim. 3:15) where PUBLIC and QUALIFIED ministry (1 Tim. 3:1-13) administers PUBLIC and QUALIFIED ordinances teaching and preach a PUBLIC and QUALIFIED system of faith and practice (1 Tim. 3:16-4:6).

You and Unger confuse the "church" with the family and kingdom of God when they are not one and the same. The church is given "the keys of the kingdom" but is not the kingdom. The church contains professing members of God's family but is not the family. It is the visible public covenant administrator of the keys of the kingdom.

 

Except that the true Church of Christ is ONLY made up of the saved/redeemed from time of jesus forward, and while the OT believers were pardoned and had sins remitted by god based upon the coming Cross of the messiah, none of them were included in the church proper, so they did not experience the blessings of the Holy spirit as we now do under the new covenant!

 

I think Biblicist's reply was the tiresome "rebuke" of pointing out what you just posted here. "The true church of God," which he does not believe. As he said:

We may all be part of the family of God or even the kingdom, but the word translated "church" in the Bible is ekklesia and always refers to an assembly, which by definition must refer to a local assembly and never universal assembly which doesn't make sense except when we all gather together in heaven. There is no "universal church."
Even in the use of the Bride (all NT believers). John the Baptist called himself a friend of the bride but never included himself as a part of the bride itself. So the Bride then is inclusive of all NT believers. There is an obligation upon us to use terminology correctly.

 

I believe were are on the same page generally speaking. I would prefer calling "The Church" the family of God or the Kingdom or even the Bride, simply (likely Biblicist) I don't believe in a Universal Church). But that really is a minor difference.
It is good to converse with someone who has the same general outlook on eschatology that I do, rather than some of the Amillennialists that are in the theology forum, some of whom are Preterists and believe that the Second Coming has already happened.

 

Regeneration is not "joining the family of God"

It is not justification

It is not forgiveness, nor any thing that was available before Jesus died

Regeneration is a WASHING. Titus 3:5 ....by the washing of regeneration. It's the washing of "born again". Paul said "You WERE dead in trespasses...but you were WASHED (Eph 2:1-3)

Cleansed by the blood of Christ. Sins removed. FOREVER perfected (Heb 10:14)


Read Hebrews 9-10, which shows the types used on the Day of Atonement, and how they are LITERALLY fulfilled in Christ.

And this is the thrust of the New Covenant, that our righteousness exceed the credited righteousness previously given, and rise to a literal, actual righteousness by having our sins truly washed away


No longer are men merely justified, and left looking toward the day their sins would be washed away. It was fulfilled in Christ at Calvary.

 

The Kingdom of God is not people, or a place. Read Romans 14:17
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit

How did Jesus say the Kingdom of God is among you? Because righteousness was among them. Christ was among them. Was the "church" among tbem?

He told Nicodemus that unless a man is born again, he cannot "perceive" the Kingdom of God. Perceive the church, or perceive righteousness?

Not credited righteousness, but literal, actual, sinless righteousness - in the Holy Spirit.


The Spirit gives life.

 

The word "kingdom" is used in different senses.
There is a coming Kingdom, in which Jesus will rule on this earth for a thousand years--the Millennial Kingdom. It is yet to come; yet to be fulfilled.

[FONT=&quot]1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:[/FONT]

Paul received this commission from the Lord:
[FONT=&quot]Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.[/FONT]
--There is a kingdom of darkness vs a kingdom of light.
The same is shown in 1Pet.2:9

[FONT=&quot]Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:[/FONT]
--Satan is the god of this world (2Cor.4:4), the prince of the power of the air, in whose kingdom we were in bondage to. But now we have been delivered from his kingdom, a kingdom of darkness, and have been granted entrance into a kingdom of light--a spiritual kingdom--God's kingdom.

We are a kingdom of priests, a royal priesthood.

There is no "Church" only "churches." The word is ekklesia, meaning assembly. There is no such thing as an unassembled assembly. The early church would have never recognized such a definition. The Greek doesn't either.

 

The very character of true love is that it does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoiceth in truth. Heresies are listed among the works of the flesh not the fruit of the Spirit. What you are teaching is simply false and perverts the gospel of Jesus Christ. When it comes to perverting the gospel of Christ, I call a spade a spade. What you are teaching is a popular error but an error that is drawn from reading uninspired commentaries rather than reading God's Word. Put the commentaries down and pick up the Scriptures and allow the scriptures to freely interpret the scriptures. That is what you commentators have failed to do because of hyperdispensational influences upon their thinking.

This is simply false! How in the world could Jesus rebuke Nicodemus for not understanding something if it were not taught in the Old Testament???

Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? - Jn. 3:10

According to you, Nicodemus should have responded, "Lord, how can I know these things since you are the first to introduce them, as they cannot be found in the Old Testament scriptures???? How Can I know them since this won't happen until Pentecost, so why rebuke me???""" That is the nonsense of your suggestions.

The New birth is taught throughout the Old Testament Scriptures in both precept (Deut. 5:29; 29:4; Ezek. 36:26-27; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:10-13; 10:15-17) and in type just as the gospel is taught in the Old Testament in precept (Isa. 53; Acts 10:43; 26:22-23; Heb. 4:2) and in type. It is called the circumcision of the heart. It is called giving of a new heart. It is fundamental to having any kind of spiritual relationship between fallen man and God. It is the reversal of what happened in violation of Genesis 2:17. It is unexcusable for any New Testament believer, especially a Bible teacher to be this ignorant of the Scriptures and that was precisely the point Jesus made with Nicodemus a "master of Israel."

"technical side"????? You are confusing procreation by natural generation with regeneration of the "dead" spirit due to violation of Genesis 2:17 - spiritually dead! Adam died spiritually, separated from God spiritually in the very day/moment/second he disobeyed God. This is not a human condition unique to a post-Pentecost state, but the COMMON condition of man since Genesis 3 and there is no excuse for any student of Scriptures to be ignorant of it.

Have you not read Romans 7:14-25 or 8:7-9 or Galatians 5:16-25? It is the regenerated "spirit" of the human nature that is in opposition to indwellling sin NOT MERELY THE INDWELLING SPIRIT OF GOD! Don't you realize that the entire teaching of salvation in the book of Romans is drawn directly out of the Old Testament Scriptures, especially the book of Psalms. Paul is not inventing new doctrine but simply expounding what the Old testament scriptures clearly taught about the fallen nature of man. Paul classifies mankind into only two categories "in the flesh" and "in the Spirit" (Rom. 8:8-9) whereas you invent a third category.

Don't you realize that Abraham was created "in Christ" (Gal. 3:17)! Indeed, all the elect, those who are of faith, the promised seed (Rom. 4:16) were chosen "in him" BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN (Rom. 8:28-32; Eph. 1:4). You are teaching there is some kind of salvation OUTSIDE of Christ when there is not! Not before Christ came, not when Christ came (Jn. 14:6) not after Christ came. You are perverting the gospel of Christ, perverting the only salvation the Bible ever speaks about, perverting Biblical doctrine of man because you don't understand the nature of the baptism in the Spirit.

I believe that is your problem! You need to put down the comments of uninspired men and read the scriptures more, and let the scriptures interpret the scriptures. Let traditions of the elders stay with the Jews and Rome but not with Bible believing children of God.

 

You keep spouting off this nonsense, and yet have no proof of what you are spouting off. You are teaching one gospel before Pentecost and another gospel after Pentecost which is simply false as there is no other gospel but one (Gal. 1:8-9; Heb. 4:2).

Read my lips - THERE IS NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF CHRIST at any time in the history of humanity! Abraham was "in Christ" (Gal. 3:17). All of the elect were "in him" BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN according to the PURPOSE of salvation (Eph. 1:4; Rom. 8:28-33 "elect" - v. 33)

The church has NOTHING to do with salvation before or after Pentecost. Jesus "set first" the apostles in the church (1 Cor. 12:28) and he did that BEFORE Pentecost or don't you know your scriptures (Mt. 3:12-15; Lk. 6:12-15) and the absolute proof is that the office was emptied by Judas BEFORE Pentecost and was filled BEFORE Pentecost (Acts 1:13-21). So the church did not begin on Pentecost with the baptism in the Spirit but in the ministry of Christ or have you not read Matthew 18:15-17?????? Have you not read Acts 2:40 and 2:47?? You can't "add" to something that does not already exist and the 3,000 on Pentecost were ADDED to the Church. Try adding money to a bank account if the bank does not exist???? It was the church which had been habitually assembling with Christ from John 1 when Jesus first assembled baptized believers around him from that day forward or have you not read Acts 1:21-22??????? You can't set in the church apostles if the church did not exist and yet they were all set in the church PRIOR to Pentecost.

Do you know the difference between the kingdom, family and church of God???? I don't think so!

If I have given you too much to deal with, then deal with this one thing - There is no salvation for anyone at anytime OUTSIDE of Christ. Jesus told you this BEFORE Pentecost (Jn. 14:6). Luke told you this AFTER Pentecost (Acts 4:12). There is no different gospel salvation BEFORE Pentecost. Paul told you this in Hebrews 4:2. Peter told you this in Acts 10:43.

The Baptism in the Spirit is for a PLURAL BODY of WATER baptized persons. John told you this in Matthew 3:11. Jesus told you this in Acts 1:4-5. Peter told you this in Acts 2:38. The Baptism in the Spirit is NEVER ONCE said to be given to INDIVIDUAL believers as Peter could not point to any nearer reference for what happened in the house of Cornelious than "AT the beginning" on Pentecost even though THOUSANDS had been saved SINCE Pentecost. You obviously do not understand the baptism in the Spirit or what it is.

 

Again you can't be serious? "through the law"???? Don't you understand why God gave the Law??? He did not give it to save, regenerate, or justify anyone but to reveal the knowledge of sin and lead them to faith in Christ which was preached to them since Genesis 3:15 or have you not read Acts 10:43 or Hebrews 4:2????????? Read Galatians 3:19-22 or Romans 3:20.

Every aspect of salvation was given to Adam as much as given to Paul based upon God's promise (Rom. 3:25-26) including, and especially regeneration of their spirits as there could be NO FELLOWSHIP between God and any spiritually dead fallen man.

Regeneration is quickening or making alive what is dead. The spirit of fallen Adam died instantly when he sinned. His spirit was SEPARATED from God - that is spiritual death. God preached the gospel to him (Gen. 3:15) and upon faith in that gospel his human spirit was brought back into UNION with God. His spirit existed INSIDE of Adam, and thus for spiritual UNION with God to exist requires the indwelling Spirit of God to exist INSIDE of Adam or there is no UNION between his spirit and God's Spirit and where there is no spiritual UNION between the spirit of man and God's Spirit there is SPIRITUAL SEPARATION or SPIRITUAL DEATH.

The "washing" and "renewing" is the restorative of that union by removing from the conscience the guilt of sin through faith in the gospel. It is restorative of the union of the Spirit with the human spirit. It is the creation "in Christ" that is explicitly applied to Abraham upon justification in Galatians 3:17:

And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

430 years "BEFORE" the law was given by Moses, Abraham was born again and created "in Christ" at the point of justification through faith in the gospel of the everlasting covenant or as Paul says "the blood of the everlasting covenant." The same everlasting covenant was made with David and with every saint prior to Pentecost. It is called "the sure mercies of David" because it is based upon "the blood of the everlasting covenant" which is inclusive of justification and remission of sins through faith in the gospel/blood of the everlasting covenant as spelled out by Paul in Romans 4:6-8.

Your problem is that you don't understand the Baptism in the Spirit or the church of God as you make them part and parcel with salvation when they have NOTHING to do with salvation but only with service. However, in making them part and parcel with salvation you are guilty of teaching one way of gospel salvation BEFORE Pentecost and another way of gospel salvation AFTER Pentecost.

Ponder this simple truth - "THERE IS NO SALVATION FOR ANYONE AT ANYTIME OUTSIDE OF CHRIST" whether it is before Pentecost (Jn. 14:6) or after Pentecost (Acts 4:12). Your WHOLE SYSTEM of salvation is based upon the presumption there is salvation OUTSIDE of Christ for those living before the cross as the ONLY WAY to be saved "in Christ" is to be "CREATED IN CHRIST" by new birth, as there IS NTHER WAY to be "in Christ" for salvation as it does not come through NATURAL BIRTH! Think about it! Put down your hyperdispensational commentaries and read the Scriptures.

 

This Reformed Roman Catholic universal invisible church salvation nonsense is nothing but the extension of the Roman Catholic Church salvation nonsense. There is no salvation in any kind of church - period! Never was and never will be.

The metaphor of "head" with the metaphor of "body of Christ" is NEVER found in a salvation context but ALWAYS in a progressive sanctification context. The metaphorical term "head" means AUTHORITY when used with the metaphorical "body of Christ" and NEVER means spiritual union.

I dare anyone to find a text where the headship of Christ is found in a salvational context with the metaphorical "body of Christ." Or where the idea of "spiritual union" is ever used of these metaphors. The metaphorical "body of Christ" in 1 Corinthians 12 has members in that body who function as its "head" and so this is not a headless body:

And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

This same metaphorical body has "eyes" and "ears" all located in the head. The husband is the "head" over the wife, but the wife is not a literal "headless" body but she has a physical literal head on her body so there is no SPIRITUAL UNION of the husbands head transplanted upon her body. He is simply saying that the husband is the AUTHORITY over her, likewise, Christ with the church body! Very simple to understand. Only the Roman Catholic Church doctrine of church salvation confuses this metaphor with actual salvation when the church has NOTHING to do with being "in Christ" spiritually or salvation "in Christ"! It is this false Reformed Roman Catholic church salvation doctrine that has perverted the gospel of Jesus Christ and forced upon the scriptures TWO DIFFERENT gospel salvations, one before Pentecost and another after pentecost. That is simply false. There are no saved OUTSIDE of Christ and there is no way to become "in Christ" other than to be "CREATED IN CHRIST" and this is true of all the elect from Adam to the last one born into this world.

 

Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.- 2 Sam. 23:5

This is the passage that Isaiah (Isa. 55:4)and Paul (Acts 13:34) refer to as "the sure mercies of David."

1. He admitted he was not sinless - "Although my house be not so with God"

2. Unconditional covenant of salvation - "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant.

3. Eternal security - "ordered in all things, and sure"

4. Faith in the sufficiency of the gospel of salvation - "for this is all my salvation and all my desire" (Isa. 55;1-6)

5. Faith in the hope of resurrection - "although he make it not to grow" - in other words it is yet the seed planted under the soil without any above ground evidence yet - referring to its final appearance in the resurrection (Acts 13;34)

Isaiah expounds it more fully - Isa. 55:1-6

1 ¶ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
6 ¶ Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Redemption is a purchase without price to the hungry and thirsty (v. 1)
Redemption satisfies all your needs (v. 2)
Redemption comes by "inclining your ears" to the covenant gospel (v. 3)
Redemption is about faith in Christ (vv. 4-5)
Redemption is through faith and repentance - vv. 6-7

Paul more fully explains the "sure mercies of David"


Acts 13:32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

The "sure mercies of David" are based upon faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ about victory over sin and death by the resurrection of Jesus Christ received in connection with repentance and faith in the gospel.