The cornerstone of the church was laid at the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The foundation was laid when Jesus breathed the Spirt into the 10 apostles on resurrection day in John 20. The building began to be framed when the Spirit was poured out from heaven on Israel in Acts 2 and was received by believers to dwell in their bodies, making them new creatures in Christ.. The purpose of the building was for a temple for the Holy Ghost in which he would abide. All members would be included in this building and collectively would be considered as one temple. Conversely, each individual member in this corporate temple would likewise have the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
You will need to see this in divine print so I will produce minimum proof here.
19 Then the same day at evening (resurrection day), being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
This is history. It is something that happened.
31 He (David) seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
The operative command in this instruction to Israel is, "every one of you" because this is a national call to repentance and faith in Christ for salvation. The instruction for the nation to receive the promised gift of salvation is to be water baptized in Jesus name, having repented of killing Jesus. There could be and were individual Israelites saved but there could be no national salvation until every living one of them was saved. Why is that? Because God had always viewed Israel nationally as his firstborn son after the flesh. He is a corporate entity but he must be saved as one man. He must be born again and some day in the future he will be but it will be after the church is complete.
Ex 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.
This national call to repentance with water baptism as the token would remain in effect until the kingdom call to this family of Jacob was taken off the table because of their refusal to believe in Jesus as the Christ and God opened the door of faith to gentiles in Acts 10, in AD 40. Since there is no longer hope of a national salvation there is no longer a call for a national baptism in water and from this point going forward would receive the promise of the Spirit the same way as gentiles, by simply believing in Jesus Christ as he who died for them and was buried, and rose again from the dead. never to die again. God had formed a family from Jacob that he would save corporately but now he is forming a family, the church, that he is saving individually both of Jews and gentiles with a spiritual baptism into the body making them one family a corporate entity.
Here is proof:
The issue is after the Galatians and other gentiles were being saved, no national token involved;
Acts 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Consider the language carefully.
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we (Jews) shall be saved, even as they (gentiles).
How?
Without being baptized in water because there was no national entity for the Jews at this time since the gentiles were accepted in the Beloved.
Know this: the church of Jesus Christ was not an after thought of God. It was an eternal purpose. See here:
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
The first 12 verses of Ephesians 1 must be considered in the context of the chosen people, Israel. It outlines the original intent for these chosen people at this time in history. They were the strangers and foreigners who had been the object of God's election in eternity past, he having driven them out of their land as a nation in 722 BC and calling them "not my people" because of their continual unrepentant sin, yet promising that they would eventually be called the "sons of the living God." See Hosea 1. Since they are cut off from the Covenants of Israel they are considered to be gentiles and God will bring salvation to them as gentiles in this age. In Ephesians 3 Paul would say this is the wisdom of God, he having separated these 10 tribes and calling them gentiles for the purpose of keeping his promise to them in spite of many of them who will not believe.
Very few Jews from Jerusalem and Judaea have ever been saved but both are mentioned in Ephesians. Beginning in V 13 Paul includes these gentiles. People from this region were among the first in the church.
Here is the 13th verse: a transition.
13 In whom ye also (gentiles) trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
James and Peter and Jude and whoever wrote Hebrews and the epistles of John and Revelation were all addressed to these people. Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians and Galatians and 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon to them.
It seems like the Church of Jesus Christ is not understood by most people on this forum. Do you agree? Would anyone like to discuss it.
One other thing quickly. Peter said the beginning of the church of Jesus Christ was in Acts 2 when they were given the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Ac 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
You will need to see this in divine print so I will produce minimum proof here.
19 Then the same day at evening (resurrection day), being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
This is history. It is something that happened.
31 He (David) seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
The operative command in this instruction to Israel is, "every one of you" because this is a national call to repentance and faith in Christ for salvation. The instruction for the nation to receive the promised gift of salvation is to be water baptized in Jesus name, having repented of killing Jesus. There could be and were individual Israelites saved but there could be no national salvation until every living one of them was saved. Why is that? Because God had always viewed Israel nationally as his firstborn son after the flesh. He is a corporate entity but he must be saved as one man. He must be born again and some day in the future he will be but it will be after the church is complete.
Ex 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.
This national call to repentance with water baptism as the token would remain in effect until the kingdom call to this family of Jacob was taken off the table because of their refusal to believe in Jesus as the Christ and God opened the door of faith to gentiles in Acts 10, in AD 40. Since there is no longer hope of a national salvation there is no longer a call for a national baptism in water and from this point going forward would receive the promise of the Spirit the same way as gentiles, by simply believing in Jesus Christ as he who died for them and was buried, and rose again from the dead. never to die again. God had formed a family from Jacob that he would save corporately but now he is forming a family, the church, that he is saving individually both of Jews and gentiles with a spiritual baptism into the body making them one family a corporate entity.
Here is proof:
The issue is after the Galatians and other gentiles were being saved, no national token involved;
Acts 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Consider the language carefully.
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we (Jews) shall be saved, even as they (gentiles).
How?
Without being baptized in water because there was no national entity for the Jews at this time since the gentiles were accepted in the Beloved.
Know this: the church of Jesus Christ was not an after thought of God. It was an eternal purpose. See here:
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
The first 12 verses of Ephesians 1 must be considered in the context of the chosen people, Israel. It outlines the original intent for these chosen people at this time in history. They were the strangers and foreigners who had been the object of God's election in eternity past, he having driven them out of their land as a nation in 722 BC and calling them "not my people" because of their continual unrepentant sin, yet promising that they would eventually be called the "sons of the living God." See Hosea 1. Since they are cut off from the Covenants of Israel they are considered to be gentiles and God will bring salvation to them as gentiles in this age. In Ephesians 3 Paul would say this is the wisdom of God, he having separated these 10 tribes and calling them gentiles for the purpose of keeping his promise to them in spite of many of them who will not believe.
Very few Jews from Jerusalem and Judaea have ever been saved but both are mentioned in Ephesians. Beginning in V 13 Paul includes these gentiles. People from this region were among the first in the church.
Here is the 13th verse: a transition.
13 In whom ye also (gentiles) trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
James and Peter and Jude and whoever wrote Hebrews and the epistles of John and Revelation were all addressed to these people. Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians and Galatians and 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon to them.
It seems like the Church of Jesus Christ is not understood by most people on this forum. Do you agree? Would anyone like to discuss it.
One other thing quickly. Peter said the beginning of the church of Jesus Christ was in Acts 2 when they were given the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Ac 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
