Featured The “Rebaptisms” of Acts 19

No, your position does not have them "savED" at all but only THE PROMISE of FUTURE salvation. You have no PRESENT SALVATION from sin and spiritual separation for them in THEIR LIFETIME! You have them SPIRITUALLY SEPARATED FROM GOD and thus WITHOUT GOD and all who are WITHOUT God are without any kind of salvation because you can't have any kind of salvation present in your life if you are SPIRITUAL SEPARATED and thus WITHOUT GOD.

You claim none went to heaven when David clearly claims otherwise. David claimed he experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit when he said "taken not thy Spirit from me" - meaning "the JOY of my salvation." However, your position denies that anyone could have the fruit of the Spirit dwelling in them an "joy" is the fruit of the indwelling Spirit with the inward regenerated man.

Your position is a contradiction. It claims that basic salvation, remission of sins, imputed righteousness, reversal of spiritual separation from God could not occur prior to the cross and yet they were "saved" by grace but your "saved" is EMPTY of any real salvation. Furthermore, if the cross was necessary FIRST before any redemptive application then they could be not be justified before God or exercise saving faith or exhibit the fruit of the Spirit which are all CROSS based provisions also!

Don't you realize that YOUR problem is THEIR problem? It is INDWELLING SIN and its inseparable consequence SPIRITUAL SEPARATION. Don't you understand that salvation at its most basic level deals with these two issues and if these two issues are not being dealt with it is because THERE IS NO SALVATION at all.

 

Let me approach this issue from a completely different angle. The baptism in the Spirit is the CULMINATIVE act of God in the establishment of a new covenant administration on earth.

Hebrews 9:1 and Hebrews 12:17-25 contrast two covenant administrations upon earth and both have their central focus on "the house of God." The establishment of the former covenant ("old") began with a miracle working prophet ("Moses") who was the first in a series of prophets to provide the first body of inspired written Scripture ("old Testament"). These series of prophets would lead up to another prophet greater than Moses who also would be a miracle worker ("Christ") who would through another series of prophets would provide a second body of inspired written scriptures("New Testament"). Each of these primary prophets was used to establish a visible kingdom administration on earth that had its public visible administration of God's ministry and ordinances in what was called "the house of God." The building of this house, the qualifications for its public ministry, the qualifications for its public administration of its ordinances, the character of its public worship were all in keeping with a divine pattern revealed unto Moses. Whenever, the professing people of God deviated from this divine pattern of public worship (as David did in 2 Chron. 13) God sent a prophet to rebuke and correct that deviation.

Likewise, Christ established what the New Testament also calls "the house of God" (1 Tim. 3:15) just as God did under the former covenant administration (Heb. 9:1) with a publicly qualified ministry (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-13) to administer publicly qualified ordinances (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) all in keeping with a divinely revealed pattern (Mt. 16:18; 18:15-18; 28:18-20; Acts 2:40-41) making it "the pillar and ground of truth." Today, true New Testament churches are identified by how they conform to the divine pattern revealed in the New Testament body of scriptures (how their public ministry conforms to the pattern of Biblical qualifications - 1 Tim. 3:1-13; how their ordinances conform to the pattern of Biblical qualifications (Mt. 26:12-30; Lk. 7:29-30; etc.). How their mission conforms to the Biblical revealed pattern (Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). How their structure conforms to the Biblical revealed pattern (ekklesia - democratic administrative body as opposed to a heirachical, etc.).

The culminative act of God in both cases with regard to the house of God AFTER it had been completely finished according to the divine pattern which was to immerse it in a public display of God's glory or presence, which was designed by God to publicly authenticate it as His public house of worship. Two divine signs of authentication occurred. Fire came down from heaven and consumed the wood upon the alter and the glory of the Lord came down upon and inside this new house completely immersing it in the manifestation of His glory, thus authenticating it had been built, thus finished, and it was finished in keeping with a divine pattern, thus suitable for public worship. On Pentecost, both signs, fire from heaven "as tongues of fire" on each member and complete immersion in the Holy Spirit as the Spirit filled the entire house they were sitting in, thus completely immersing them - Acts 2:1.

Upon this completed new public house of worship, the Spirit came as "another comforter." The first comforter actually built this house of public worship and PHYSICALLY dwelt in it (Acts 1:21-22). The second comforter continued this indwelling of the public house of worship after the first comforter left it and ascended into heaven by SPIRITUALLY indwelling it. The evidence of this SPIRITUAL indwelling presence is manifested in three specific ways. The second comforter was sent from heaven to secure the following new covenant kingdom administrative goals; (1) Authenticate through sign and revelatory gifts a new body of Scriptures - the New Testament in accordance with Isaiah 8:16-20 as confirmed by Hebrews 1:1; 2:4-12), thus leading the church into "all truth" and completeing the Biblical canon of Scripture; (2) Bring the same salvation preached from Genesis 3:15 unto a new people - Gentiles - Acts 26:23; (3) Perpetuate the new "house of God" in keeping with the divine pattern for public worship as an institution until Jesus returns, thus preserving it as "the pillar and ground of the truth" in all generations. The first goal and sign of his indwelling presence was completed in the first century, thus ceasing prophetic revelation with its authenticating signs and revelatory gifts. The second and third continue as sings of his presence unto this day.

John 13-17 has these three goals in view with the promise of the Spirit. Present partaking of these benefits of the Spirit indwelt "house of God" is obtained by only believers through water baptism (Acts 2:38-42; 1 Cor. 3:5-16; 12:13; Mt. 28:19) into membership of such a "house of God" (Acts 2:40-41).

The "new" is better than the "old" covenant public administration because the former anticipates the latter and therefore the latter invalidates any covenant of anticipation. The whole Mosaic covenant anticipated a greater prophet than Moses, anticipated the fulfillment of all its ceremonial ordinances by the coming of Christ. The gospel is essentially the same (Heb. 4:2) as it declares the good news of "the blood of the EVERLASTING covenant (Heb. 13:20) embracing it by faith yet to come or embracing it by faith accomplished. The gospel prior to the cross looks forward by faith to the actual provision while the gospel after the cross looks backward by faith to its accomplished provision. However, both before and after the cross the application of the provision is the same by faith based upon God's faithfulness to keep his promise declared in that gospel. The "new" invalidates the former just as the fulfillment of a type invalidates all ceremonial ordinances that anticipate the fulfillment. The "mystery" of the gospel was not with regard to its actual saving application but with regard to the actual means that provision would be obtained "the cross" and with regard to Gentiles being brought into the kingdom and house of God on an EQUAL basis - Eph. 3:1-5.

Sin and spiritual separation is dealt with the same before and after the cross as sin and separation is the problem that salvation is designed to deal with from the fall of Adam. This solution is called "justification" (remission of sins and imputed righteousness) and "regeneration" (life) which without "none are his" (Rom. 8:8-9) and both have their basis in the cross, but both are obtained PRESENTLY in any generation "by faith" looking forward or faith looking back as God honors the faith and applies it on the basis of his own faithfulness to keep the promise declared in the gospel of redemption (Rom. 3:24-26). There is no salvation existent where there is no justification or regeneration as the problem is sin and spiritual separation and the solution must equal the problem or there is no solution (salvation) at all.

Neither they or we have been made "perfect" in keeping with the gospel promise, as they are made "perfect" along with us at the return of Christ (Heb. 11:39-40).

Finally, there is but one covenant that actually applies salvation and it is "the blood of the EVERLASTING COVENANT" (Heb. 13:20) or the covenant between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit confirmed before the world began (Eph. 1:4-13; Rom. 8:28-32; etc.) and it is applied in connection with the "EVERLASTING GOSPEL" signified by the words "THE BLOOD of the everlasting covenant." This covenant is illustrated and applied BEFORE the mosaic covenant with Abraham. This covenant is TYPIFIED or revealed in EXTERNAL ceremonial types in the "old" Covenant and it is DECLARED clearly in the "new" covenant administration. However, personal salvation application has always been under the "everlasting covenant" and all other "covenants" are either illustrative, typical or declarative of this eternal covenant.