The Universal invisible church theory, and that is precisely what Icon and others are attempting to defend simply will not harmonize with the very fundamentals of Biblical Salvation.
Spiritual union is only necessary because of spiritual separation from God and spiritual separation from God did not begin on Pentecost and neither did spiritual union with God through Christ.
Spiritual separation began "in the day" Adam ate of the forbidden fruit as spiritual separation IS the state of spiritiual death.
All who have been BORN OF THE FLESH dwell "in the flesh" and all who dwell in the flesh "cannot please God" because they exist in a STATE OF SPIRITUAL SEPARATION from God.
So every human being between Adam and Christ came into this world SPIRITUALLY SEPARATED from God, thus without the life of God, without the love of God, without the holiness of God, without the light of God and in that state NONE CAN PLEASE GOD.
The only possible solution to this spiritual state of separation/death is spiritual union/life/light/holiness/love or else they exist in enmity against God and in willful rebelling against God.
However, that is not the case of OT saints, they do love God, they are righteous, they do have light of understanding, and therefore they must have been in SPIRITUAL UNION with God as there is no other possible remedy for SPIRITUAL SEPARATION from God but SPIRITUAL UNION with God.
Moreover, there is no possible salvation OUTSIDE of Christ for any man at any time anywhere in heaven or on earth (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12).
The baptism in the Spirit is 4000 years too late to be spiritual union for anyone. The church is 4000 years too late as it cannot exist previous to its own "foundation" of apostles and then prophets, and the prophets of the Old Testament cannot part of that foundation as God FIRST "set in" the church apostles, and then SECONDARILY prophets which could only be NT. prophets because of the order.
Icon is wrong when he says OT prophets were "SET IN" the church as that would require God setting them in FIRST and apostles SECOND.
Therefore, the church salvation doctrine of the UIC is false and not only false but it perverts the very essence of Biblical salvation and demands all before Pentecost were in their entire lifetime spiritually dead, spiritually separated from God, existing only "in the flesh" as well as in their death they were spiritually dead spirits.
One cannot argue on the basis of the time of the cross that all before were without spiritual union, or regeneration as these are all aspects legally secured by the cross and if the time of the cross was necessary to have them, then NO BENEFITS OF THE CROSS could be had prior to that time. However, the bible clearly teaches such benefits were applied and Abraham is presented not only as proof of this but he is put forth as the gold standard for "all who are of faith" proving this theory that none of the benefits of the cross could be applied before the time of the cross is FALSE!!!!
The Bible clearly teaches that all who are "in the Spirit" and in the Spirit the very same way that all who are in the flesh are in the flesh - BY BIRTH. The natural birth are those BORN OF THE FLESH thus in the flesh, the second SUPERNATURAL BIRTH are those BORN OF THE SPIRIT thus "in the Spirit."
Spiritual union is by BIRTH not by any kind of baptism and Ephesians 2:1-10 explicitly teaches that (Eph. 2:1,5,10). Spiritual union "in Christ" is not by any kind of baptism at any time.
The Baptism in the Spirit is the Old Testament one time act by God of authenticating a new public house of worship, along with its qualified ministry and qualified ordinances. On the day of Pentecost and it is done in one geographical location once for all. It was done once for all time upon the new Jewish ekklesia in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and it was done once for all time upon the Gentiles authenticating them as acceptable members of the house of God.
the baptism in the Spirit is one aspect of a greater establishment of a new covenant administration that involves the establishment of a visible administrator in the professing kingdom and a new redemptive field of work by the Holy Spirit (gentiles) and the production of new scriptures and revelatory and sign gifts to authenticate those gifts of revelation and new scriptures.
Not only are individuals indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) but the institutional congregation of Christ is indwelt corporately by the Holy Spirit as a temple of the Holy Spirit in a geograpical location (1 Cor. 3:5-16). This institutional body of Christ is comprise of PHYSICAL HUMAN bodies that assemble together (1 Cor. 6:15) in one place (Acts 2:1; 1 Cor. 11:17,19, etc.).
