Gospel of John [Joh 16:12-15]. The Doctrine of the HS, part 21. 1Co 12:13; Eph 4:4-6; Rom 6:1-4.

Title: Gospel of John [JOH 16:12-15]. The Doctrine of the HS, part 21. 1CO 12:13; EPH 4:4-6; ROM 6:1-4.

 

Announcements/opening prayer:  Conference and cancelled classes

 

 

There is one baptism as there is one faith and one Lord.

 

EPH 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

 

EPH 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 

EPH 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

 

All believers have the same Lord, are in the same body, have the same Spirit, the same call to election, the same doctrine of faith, the same Father, and we share in the one baptism of the Spirit.

 

ROM 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?

 

ROM 6:2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

 

ROM 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

 

ROM 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

 

The B/HS is a unity with Christ's death and resurrection. The believer goes into the grave with Christ making certain of his death and completion of sacrifice/judgment.

 

Companion to this is:

 

COL 2:12

having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

 

1CO 15:3-4

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

 

Its significance is its finality. The burial of Christ makes clear the certainty of His death and completion of His sacrifice. The believer goes with Christ to the grave and there becomes dead to sin and in resurrection becomes alive to God.

 

Baptism into Christ is not identification alone; it is also a union of life.

 

Through regeneration the believer partakes of eternal life. He is united to Christ not alone by divine reckoning, but also in the reality of common life. It is a living unity of Head and body, sharing one vital eternal life. It is the foundation of fellowship, fruit-bearing, strength, and direction in life and eternity. Both aspects, union with the body of Christ and union with Christ as the Head are inseparable.

 

When Christ comes to receive the Church unto Himself then this ministry will cease. Only the CA believer enjoys this ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

 

At Pentecost in Act 2 and with Cornelius' family in Act 11 they spoke in tongues when they were baptized by the HS. Cornelius speaking in tongues was a confirmation to Peter that the Spirit of God baptized the Gentiles as well as the Jews. However, this does not mean that this had continued. Speaking in tongues is properly numbered with the temporary spiritual gifts bestowed in the apostolic period. This temporary spiritual gift no longer exists.

 

As with every other aspect of the Spirit's work in salvation, the baptism of the Spirit is not an experience.

 

It is universal to all believers.

 

It is a part of something forever static because it is of positional truth. Experience is a process and it varies. The baptism of the Spirit, just like efficacious grace, regeneration, the indwelling and sealing of the Spirit, is instantaneous and unalterable. Experience is dynamic (changing) but these are static (unchanging).

 

The great realities of union with Christ and our position in Him are known only as they are taught by the Spirit in a heart that has yielded to Him. Therefore it is after the fact, though understanding from doctrine that we come to appreciate what the Spirit did and then it becomes a wonderful experience. The work of the Spirit itself is not an experience.

 

1CO 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

"drink of one Spirit" - all participate in the ministry of God the Holy Spirit and He slakes all thirst.

 

JOH 6:35

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

 

[John Walvoord, The Holy Spirit]

Instead of being a child of the world, and instrument in the hands of Satan for his own purposes, the Christian is in a new position in the body of Christ, and instrument which may be used by the Lord to carry out His purposes. The Christian is given every needed gift and provided with every needed enablement to accomplish the purpose of God for his place in the body of Christ. In contrast to his former position in Adam, the Christian is placed in Christ, involving all the standing which this entails, the right to a new inheritance, a new nearness and access to God, and making possible a fullness of ministry of the HS in this age which had never been possible before. The new position of the Christian is a challenge and incentive to godly living and the ground of victory over sin.

 

Because of the new union and new position of the Christian, through the B/HS, he is brought into many new associations. His association with the Trinity is infinitely wonderful, to be realized in full in future ages, but forming an important aspect of his present experience if filled with the Spirit. The Christians former association with the world is altered, and by grace the Christian may be delivered from the power of the world system, though remaining in the world and being subject to its government. In this new association, the Christian is the object of attack by Satan in the special sense in which Satan is attacking God Himself and all that belongs to God. The Christian needs the delivering power of God as he faces this new enemy. The Scriptures trace many other aspects of the believer's association. His relation to the organized church is stated. The relation of parents and children, husbands and wives, masters and servants, and other similar relationships are noted in Scripture. The particular duties of a Christian as living with other Christians are often mentioned, including the Christian's relation to his sinning brother, to brothers weak in faith or practice, and to brothers who give rebuke or correction. Because of the new association of the Christian baptized by the Spirit, a new standard of conduct based on his position in grace is called for, in keeping with the rich provision of God. In brief, every aspect of the Christian's life is changed because of the baptism of the Spirit. The importance of this doctrine, then, to the Christian and the theologian are apparent. [end quote]