Salvation Bible Studies

 Revised 1.15.24

This series begins very basically, introducing the need for man’s salvation. It then moves rather swiftly toward showing the great salvation Jesus provided for us, even giving biblical examples of Christian salvation.

A person might ask, “How can I benefit from the Bible?”  One can benefit from the Bible in both this world and the next.

Regarding the present life, the Bible contains the greatest encouragement to be found anywhere.  It offers hope in trying situations.  It reveals a God who is “not far from everyone of us” (Acts 17:27) and who is a “very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1).  It gives principles for good, productive living— principles that can be applied to individuals, family, work, society, monetary situations— indeed every aspect of practical life. And, of course, most importantly, it affects us spiritually.  It offers us salvation through the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ. 

God put into our nature, not only a certain awareness of our mortality relating to our life on earth, but also a sense of a world, or, life, beyond our existence here.  We, as rational beings, sense that we are eternal creatures who will spend eternity somewhere, somehow.  The Bible addresses those realities and gives us certainty regarding future, eternal things.  And, more importantly, it gives us the necessary knowledge to prepare for eternity.  That is by far the greatest benefit of this great Book.  That is the thing we will be focusing on in this short Bible series.  If you can see, or can be encouraged to see, that salvation is the most important thing for a human being to attain, this lesson series is for you because it sets out to clearly show God’s plan of salvation for the human race.

As will be shown in Lesson 3, the need for salvation arises from our arch-enemy’s (the devil’s) evil interference with our race.  He deceived our original parents so that they disobeyed God and caused our race to fall into sin and condemnation.  He was hoping by this act that all of our race would be eternally lost in hell, a place of everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46).  But Jesus died on the cross to save us.  And there is now a plan of salvation for us to obey, involving His name, so that we can be raised from the Fall and be eternally saved.  This salvation is the sole remedy of the devil’s sinister act.  For this reason, we need to be extremely careful in matters of salvation. This Bible study will vigorously present the truth and help you understand it.

If you come to this study with a differing belief regarding salvation than that which is presented, our prayer is that you will consider the challenge of cross-examination (Proverbs 18:17).  Such examination can only strengthen a correct view of Scripture and expose a false one.  Many, including myself, have come to the knowledge of the truth only after being willing to hear a view different from what they originally embraced.  The Bible does give its readers this all-important admonition (2Corinthians 13:5).  

As one can readily assent, the stakes are too high in the matter of eternal salvation to be in the least bit of error.  And that’s the case looking at the matter from a negative or positive standpoint.  Negatively, eternity is too long to be wrong.  Positively, the gain of being in right relationship with God and the joy of personally knowing Him and being with Him motivates us to want to follow Him with all our hearts.  In fact, it’s a Christian’s supreme joy. 

God bless you as you study God’s Word. 

Lesson 1                            

The Uniqueness of the Bible   (Revised 12.20.23) 

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.   

The Bible Is The Word Of God To Us

The Bible is a very special book because it is the Word of God to the human race.  It is the only inspired written expression of God that we have.  The Bible is the primary means by which God has chosen to reveal Himself to us and to let us know how to live and to be in right standing with Him.  Additionally, the Bible is so replete with knowledge that it touches upon virtually every aspect of life, providing a reliable source of help for navigating this uncertain and, sometimes, difficult world.    

That is really an awesome thing.  To be able to know God is man’s highest privilege (Jeremiah 9:23-24).  There are other ways in which God can reveal Himself— for example, through nature (Psalms 19:1).  But nothing is as clear as the black and white of His Word.  It is very good on God’s part to give us such a reliable and abundant source of truth, which relates to so much in life that intimately pertains to us.  Trust the Bible and you will never be disappointed (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Take it upon yourself to learn it, even if it seems a little difficult at first, and it will thrill you as it comes together before your eyes and brings a wonderful perspective to your life and the world in which you live.  At first, it may seem like looking into an opened box of puzzle pieces but you’ll be surprised how quickly the pieces go together and present its beautiful picture of the grace of God toward mankind– and specifically to you and your loved ones.

Regarding Authorship

Anyone who would take the time to learn how the Bible came to us would know that it is not the result of man but is the work of God Himself.  In fact, that will also become obvious as you become familiar with its profound content.  Therefore, to study the Bible is to know that God inspired it.  2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.  That means God authored it.  He directed the men He used to write it with what to say.  2Peter 1:21 says that those who penned the Bible were led by the Holy Spirit.  So the Bible is the Word of God given through human instruments.  Jesus corroborated the fact that the Scriptures are God’s Word to us when He quoted an Old Testament verse saying, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). 

The Relevance Of Scripture

It is only reasonable that God, after making intelligent creatures, should communicate with them.  He does this by the Bible.  It is not an out-dated book that doesn’t relate to people today.  But, instead, it has meaning for people in every place and in every age.  It is phenomenal how universally relevant it is.  It is the only book that can relate to every person on earth because it is literally God’s timeless letter to the human race, not only collectively, but personally.  Those who choose to believe it and live by it will have a certain soundness and fruitfulness about their lives.  The Bible actually guarantees this (Psalms 1).  It has changed the lives of many millions of people, not only in history but also in the present day.

Human beings are a unique creation of God.  We are the only creatures on earth that have self-consciousness.  We can examine things around us and even our own selves.  This special quality of rationality leads us to consider the obvious philosophical questions that arise relating to our being.  

Why does the Universe exist?

Why do I exist?

What will happen to me after this life?

The Bible answers these profound questions, not with speculation, but with affirmation from the very One that brought everything into existence.  It is kind of God to give us such bearing regarding our being.  Life for us would be an enigma apart from this certainty.

Power of Scripture

Nothing will affect your life so much as the Scriptures.  There is literally divine energy in God’s Word.  This is evident from the Creation account itself.  By His Word alone, God created the entire universe out of nothing (Psalms 33:6,9; Hebrews 11:3).  That demonstrates the power that is in the Word of God.  Similarly, when we obey His Word, its energy builds our lives (Acts 20:32).  Consider the following scenario:  It was disobedience to God’s Word by Adam and Eve that brought all the trouble and brokenness into our world and into our individual lives.  When God’s Word was disobeyed, the energy in it that was intended to build up the human race brought disintegration instead.  In other words, the power that God had invested in His Word to Adam to bless and build up the human race (Genesis 2:17) turned into a power to destroy us when the command was disobeyed.  This fact was made clear to Adam before his disobedience.  God had told him that the command contained the consequence of life and death. 

That should help us realize how important it is now to learn and obey the precious Word of God.  It was Adam’s and Eve’s link to life and blessedness; it is ours also.  Obedience to it will lift us from the Fall and give our lives a vitality that is like a tree planted by rivers of water (Psalms 1).  

Appreciation For Scripture

Notice how precious the Word of God was to David in Psalms 19:7-9.  And, in verse 10, he said that the words and laws of God are more precious than gold and sweeter than honey.  In verse 11, he said that they are the means by which people are warned and, in keeping them, there is great reward!  Many have found this to be true.  David said many other great things about the Word of God in Psalms 119.  It is the largest chapter in the Bible and emphasizes the greatness of God’s Word.

I hope you avail yourself of this treasure chest of promise, hope, joy, and salvation that is available through the Word of God.  Nothing will aid you in life as much as the Bible.  It has literally changed history.  It can change you! 

Lesson 2  (Revised 12.20.23)

The Creation

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Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

The Significance Of Creation

A very important aspect about the Bible is the record of the Creation in Genesis 1.  This serves at least three purposes.  The main purpose is to inform us of our origin.  Man is an intelligent being and, therefore, would want to know his origin and the meaning of life.  The Bible answers this most basic question.  It lets us know that our existence is rooted in God.  He created all things, including us.  We’re not left to wonder how it all came about, or why we are here.  This, by the way, gives our lives the highest significance.  We are not an accident, but are personally created by a personal God.  That means He made us because He wanted us.  That fact dignifies us all very highly.  The Bible even lets us know that He made us in His Own image, another high dignity (Genesis 1:26-27).  Thus, we should be happy and grateful for the goodness of God that gave us such noble being.  No one should ever feel insignificant or unimportant, because each one of us was created uniquely by God.  

We are all special to Him.  No person is better than another.  Each of us is as important to God as anyone can get.  Always remember that it is a very important thing to make a human being.  And God made you!  There is no one He cares about more than you!  There is no one He wants to save more than you! 

The second purpose for the Bible letting us know about Creation was to assure us that God, having made all things, is, therefore, over all things.  That means all things are under His authority and are subject to Him.  Thus, we should be obedient to Him Who made us.  We owe Him that.  As someone wisely said, “He who creates owns the right to govern”.

 But Creation also has this wonderful aspect about it,too.  Since God assures us that He created all things, and therefore, is over all things, we also know by this that He can do all things.  And, so, any time we are in need, we know that He is able to meet that need.  Nothing will be too hard for Him since He made everything in the first place.  A good example of this is in Genesis 18.  God promised Abraham and Sarah a child.  When they received that promise, they were old— 75 and 65 respectively.  Many years went by without its fulfillment– in fact, 25 years.  Then, a year in advance of the appointed time, God told them they would have a son in the next year.  But Abraham and Sarah were now extremely old.  Abraham would be 100 years old at the child’s birth and Sarah, 90 (Genesis 17:17).  When Sarah heard God’s words, she laughed, thinking it to be impossible.  And when Sarah laughed (see chapter 18:11-14), God said,  Is any thing too hard for the Lord?  He asked that question to let them know that His promise was not hindered by their age.  Because He made everything, He is over all things and can do anything.  He brought the worlds into existence- out of nothing!  He can control them any way He pleases.  So any time we need something that looks impossible, we don’t have to think it’s impossible to God.  It’s NOT!  He can do all things, even things outside the normal range of nature.   That is what we have come to know as miracles.  God can work outside the laws of nature, if that’s what it takes, to meet our needs.  Ephesians 3:20 even says that He is able to do more than we can even ask or think.  You will never be in a situation that God cannot handle easily.  

The Creation Account (Genesis 1)

Let’s look at Genesis 1 and notice what is taking place there.  As you will see, the various days of creation, beginning with, Let there be light, on day one were all in preparation for man’s appearance on Earth.  There was a kind of human centricity about the creation process.  Each day of creation accomplished something necessary or helpful to our existence here–  for example, the plants and animals, which have been the source of food for us (Genesis 1:29-30).  So, in the six-day creative process, God was making the Earth suitable for mankind.  Man was God’s last act of creation and was the reason for all the other things being made.  In fact, God has given mankind dominion over all those things, which is a grant to use them as we will (Genesis 1:28).  Man has freely exercised his God-given dominion ever since by building bridges and roads, for example, and using the resources of the Earth in ways that serve mankind.  From this order of creation, we see that man was the crowning act of God, indicating the special place we have in God’s eyes. 

The Creation Of Man (Genesis 2)

When we come to the creation of man, recorded in Genesis 2, it is highly noticeable that God’s mode of creation was dramatically different from His previous acts.  When God created things in Genesis 1, He simply spoke them into existence.  You will notice the repeated, And God said,…, and it was so, in that chapter referring to what He did on any given creative day.  But, when God made man, He did not just speak him into existence by His power, though He could have.  He did something much more personal and tender.  Genesis 2:7 says, The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.  This is much more intimate.  It’s as though, after forming man of the dust of the Earth, God caressed him, and kissed him with life.  He literally imparted life to man with His Own breath.  Thus, the love that God has for mankind is evident in this very special way He created him.  Man is special to God.  That truth is also evident in the fact that God made us in His image, as previously stated.  And all this that can be said about man in general, as we have done here, can be said about us as individuals, too.  Each of us has been created by God in His image and for His glory.  And He deeply loves every single one of us.  That fact should never fail to cheer us.

The Creation of Woman

The way God made Adam’s wife, Eve, is also very special (Genesis 2:21-23).  He caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam and then took a rib from his side.  From that rib, God made Eve and brought her to Adam, thus, instituting marriage and family.  The rib that was taken from Adam’s body was originally close to his heart, suggesting the love God wanted him to have for Eve.

God put Adam and Eve in the midst of a lovely garden, known as the Garden of Eden.  Eden actually means, “pleasantness”, which indicates the Creator’s loving prospect regarding mankind.  There they could partake of the beauty and abundance of God’s providence in total bliss.  This was life for the human race as God intended it to be.

Being Made In The Image Of God

One may wonder what it means to be made in the image of God.  First of all, it means that the human form we have is in the image of God, in that we have the same kind of body that Jesus Christ Himself possessed.  God, foreseeing His incarnation, made Adam according to the pattern that was in His mind relative to Christ.  That theological point is derived from Colossians 1:15.  Thus, as descendents of Adam,  we’re all made in the image of God.

But there are at least five other ways we’re made in the image of God as well.  These are:

• Capacity for rational thought
• Moral capacity
• Creative capacity
• Capacity to love
• Transcendent capacity evidenced by our capacity to worship.  We thus recognize reality beyond our sphere of existence.  This is like God because God, of course, knows all reality.

Conclusion

Creation is a powerful expression of divine love and will.  We can each draw comfort and significance from the fact that God personally wanted us and made us.  In fact, the Bible lets us know that this purpose of God existed from eternity past (Ephesians 1:4; 3:11).  That literally means that there was never a time when we were not in the heart and mind of God.  It was always His plan to make us!  That tremendous fact alone should impact us all greatly.  Nothing on earth can change that.  And now, in Him, we have our being (Acts 17:28).  Can you think of anything about you that is more profound?  There should never be cause for despair when God is so demonstratively for us.  As the Apostle Paul said, If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).

Lesson 3 

The Fall Of Man 

JV Maurer Sr 

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

This lesson is based on Genesis, chapter three.

As we have seen in the previous lesson, Creation was a beautiful and delightful drama.  Adam and Eve were the crowning act of it all and God placed them in a lovely environment called the Garden of Eden.  Within that paradise, there existed a very important command concerning one of the trees in the garden (Genesis 2:16-17).  In verse 16, God told Adam that he could eat of all the various trees of the Garden, and surely there were many.  God is abundant in His giving.  He gives us much more than He withholds.  Adam had more than he needed in this great provision of God.  But in verse 17, God prohibited the taking of the fruit of one certain tree, saying that, if he would eat of it, he would surely die.  Had Adam only obeyed God’s command, he never would have died.  And neither would we who have been born of him. 

Free Will

Someone might ask, “Why was anything forbidden to Adam and Eve at all?  Why did God put a tree in the Garden from which they were forbidden to eat?”  The answer is simple. The command regarding the tree was necessary for man to be a true free moral agent.  Free will can only be real in a realm of choice.  God would not be content with the race of mankind being robots who would only serve Him because there was no alternative, so He created our race with the free exercise of human will.  By that freedom, man would be responsible for his personal standing with God.  By his obedience, he would remain right with God and, by his disobedience, he would fall from God and be separated from Him.  It’s very important to realize that God will accept our choices.  He gave us free will for its exercise.  And He will never violate our freedom to choose, even if it results in great personal or societal loss.  Free will is the greatest and most serious endowment we possess.  To use it responsibly is our chief obligation.

Original Right Relation To God

Relative to free will, there is a very positive thing to be said about God’s intention for mankind to be in communion with Himself.  He created Adam in a right relationship with Himself.  Adam didn’t have to get saved to be in right standing with God.  He was created that way.   All he had to do to remain in right standing with God was to keep the one, simple commandment that God had given him.  That should have been very easy to do since he had abundant choices among the other trees.  There was no need to disobey.  Had he been wise, Adam would have exercised his free will in obedience instead of in disobedience.  

Adam And Eve Chose To Disobey

But, of course, with Adam being given free will, there lies in the potential of his choice the possibility that he would disobey.  Sadly, as you read in Genesis 3, he did disobey.  This is called the Fall.  There was a tempter, the devil, who deceived our first parents, claiming that death would not result from eating the forbidden fruit but rather that eating of it would improve the human condition, making them as gods (some translations read, as God).  They believed the devil’s lie instead of God’s word. That was the worst thing Adam and Eve could possibly have done, both for themselves and for all of us.  That one sin brought all the evil, and misery, and sickness, and death, and war, and famine, etc. that has come upon the human race since then.   Worse than that, that one disobedience condemned the entire human race.  The Apostle Paul described it this way.  Therefore as by the offense [sin] of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation… (Romans 5:18).  That basically means that, since Adam’s sin, every person is in a naturally condemned state and needs to be reconciled to God. 

Now We Need To Be Saved

Because the sin of Adam and Eve condemned the human race, as Paul explained, it literally put us in a reversed relationship with God.  That means that, unlike Adam, who was created in right standing with God and had to disobey God to lose that standing, we are born sinful and condemned and now must obey God’s plan of salvation in order to be restored to right standing with Him.  Salvation in Christ is God’s remedy to save us from the awful effects of the Fall.  It is our only hope.  It’s only logical that, if Adam and Eve lost out with God because of disobeying God’s Word, then we must keep what God prescribes for our salvation in order to be saved and, thus, recover from the Fall.  Those who obey God’s plan of salvation will live with Him forever.  That’s an awesome thought and an awesome hope!  Without being saved, man will be lost and doomed to hell forever.  Therefore, salvation is the most important thing that a person will ever do.  This is what the Bible is all about— saving those who believe its message.  It faithfully shows us the way to be saved.

Conclusion

Without the account of the Fall of man in Genesis 3, the human race would be at a tremendous loss to understand why evil is so pervasive in our world and in our nature.  All the suffering, sickness, misery, and death that has come upon us is due to Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience.  All of their children to this present time have inherited a sinful nature.  But the next lesson focuses on the intervention of God which introduces the hope of salvation. 

Lesson 4

 The Promise To Save Us: Genesis 3:15

JV Maurer Sr

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

We saw in Lesson 2 where God made all things.  And we made several conclusions from that.  For example, we understand the meaning of our existence.  The worlds were made by Him and so were we.  He is over all things and, therefore, He can help us when we’re in need.  And also we are subject to Him and accountable to Him.  We saw where God made Adam and Eve, our first parents (Genesis 2).   He then gave them a simple command to obey (v.17) so that man could truly possess and exercise free will.  Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience is what we call the Fall.  It was the beginning point of man’s corruption.  And because we are biological descendants of theirs, we have inherited their corrupt nature.  That explains all the evil in mankind. 

The Fall of man was a terrible point in our history.  Did Adam and Eve wonder what would happen next?  God could have disposed of them and scrapped the entire human project.  Do you know what that would have meant?  You and I would never have been.  All the joys of life that we have known and all the hope we have of the future, both in this life and the next, would not have been possible.  Another possibility could have been that God would have allowed human existence to continue but in a dreadful state of doomed hopelessness.  But, thank God, He did not choose these options for us.  He chose the third— redemption.  This is seen in Genesis 3:15, where redemption was first declared.  Let’s look at it.

Genesis 3:15

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

In this important verse, God was promising to send a Redeemer to rescue the human race.  This is a great Scripture and a pivotal point in history to understand and remember.  This is how the Bible makes sense because the rest of the Bible is the fulfillment of this great promise.  All the redemption that you see in the New Testament is the result of it.  All that we have in God, or ever will have, is due to it.  The Fall was bad news for mankind.  But Genesis 3:15 was the beginning of the Good News of the Gospel.  It is sometimes called the proto-evangelion, that is, the “first good news”.  Here God promised to send the “seed (offspring) of the woman”.  That reference to Eve’s offspring is the first indication of Christ’s coming to destroy the works of the devil (bruise his head).  From this point, the history of redemption began.  God’s future dealings with mankind would be to save us and bring us back to Himself.  This is a very important point, which makes Genesis 3:15 one of the most important verses in the Bible. 

As time went on, the prophecies of the promised Savior became more numerous and specific.  For example, the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 is very prominently remembered at Christmas time.  It speaks of the Child that would be born.  Micah 5:2 was a prophecy that foretold the place of Christ’s birth to be the little town of Bethlehem.  Other prophecies also foretold Christ’s mission.  For example, Isaiah 53 foretold Christ’s rejection and death on the cross.  The Old Testament has many prophecies concerning Christ which is the reason you read of the New Testament writers, especially Matthew, so frequently referring to the things that were written being fulfilled.  The New Testament writers were assuring us that Old Testament prophecy concerning the Promised Messiah (anointed One of God) was indeed fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.  He is the offspring of Eve Who came to redeem us. 

Lesson 5

Between The Promise And Fulfillment Of Christ

JV Maurer  Sr 

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

The Jews

An important part of the fulfillment of the promise of the Redeemer in Genesis 3:15 is the call of Abraham, which eventually resulted in the Jewish nation coming into being. The reason the Jews are so important is because they were the people through whom Christ would come.  In other words, the seed of the woman spoken of in Genesis 3:15, was going to come through one of Abraham’s descendants in history.  This, as we know, took place in Bethlehem about 2,000 years ago through a virgin named, Mary.

 Abraham’s call from God to leave his familiar surroundings and go to a land that God would show him is recorded in Genesis 12.  The Bible continues to focus on him in this specific context through Genesis 23.  He thus became the father of the Jews.  It was a tremendous act of faith on Abraham’s part to leave what was familiar to him and follow a rather indistinct call.  He wasn’t even certain where God was leading him.  That’s faith.  You may not be sure where all of this is going as you embark on a journey to know Jesus.  I’m sure you don’t; none of us did when starting out.  That’s faith!  And we continue to walk by faith, not by sight (2Corinthians 5:7).  That’s what makes us people of faith.  So, congratulations!  You each have faith!  We who have such faith are following the Word of God as Abraham did.  Once again, he was the first one to follow a call from God to leave what’s familiar to go into a new realm.  Many since have done the same.  It’s part of the reason Abraham is sometimes called the father of the faithful, referring to that throng of people who have followed his example to answer the call of God.

In this sense, Abraham became the first of the “called out” ones.  We in the Gospel era are in a very real sense called out.  We are called by God to know Him and to serve Him.  The whole salvation process is by the call of God to us individually.  Referring to this, the Apostle Peter said we’re called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1Peter 2:9).  The word for, “church”, in the original Greek that the New Testament was written in, is “ekklesia”.  It means, “the called out ones”.  The Gospel is, thus, a call on one’s life to come to Christ for salvation and continue to walk in His great light.  One then becomes a part of His Church of called out ones.   The final destination of us who respond to the call of Christ is Heaven, sometimes called in the Bible, the Holy City (Revelation 21:2).  We will go there one day as a reward to following the call that is presented to us now.  It is going to be a glorious event when we will see Jesus Christ face to face and will live with Him forever (John 14:1-3; 1Thessalonians 4:16-18).

God eventually did show Abraham the part of the world that his descendants would inherit.  God also told him that they would first be strangers in a foreign land (Genesis 15:13).

The Intriguing Story Of Joseph

The Joseph we’re referring to here is not the Joseph we think of so readily in the Christmas story.  At this point in the history of redemption, that Joseph is still 2,000 years into the future.  The Joseph of our present story was a great grandson of Abraham.  He believed in Abraham’s God wholeheartedly and apparently learned from Abraham’s faith because he was a person of steadfast faith in God.  The main narrative of Joseph’s life is covered in Genesis chapters 37 and 39-46.  It would be good to read this portion of Scripture.

Joseph is one of the most illustrious characters in the Bible.  He is covered quite extensively, especially from age 17 to 39.  He is a fine specimen of faith in God and a person of great integrity.  The Bible does not varnish its characters; it presents them very objectively.  When covering personalities, the Bible will include both the good and the flaws of their nature, should it pertain to the narrative involved.  Joseph, of course, wasn’t perfect, but he is seen in Scripture as one of the best of its characters.

Joseph had a tremendous role to play in the redemptive plan of God.  It was not the will of God that Abraham’s descendants multiply in the land they would eventually inherit, known as the land of Canaan.  Instead the plan of God involved the Jews, only about 70 in number at this time, going down into the land of Egypt and there multiplying into several million before God would bring them out to go into the land promised to Abraham.  Joseph’s role was to lead the band of descendants of Abraham into Egypt.  This, however, was not so expressed to him by God.  Joseph only vaguely perceived a special assignment from God by a couple of dreams regarding his brothers bowing down to him (Genesis 37).  They had previously been jealous of him because of his father’s favoritism toward him (verses 3,4), so they weren’t fond of Joseph’s dreams either.

Joseph is another example of how God calls us to walk by faith, not by sight (2Corinthians 5:7).  Just as He didn’t tell Abraham all of the features of the call to follow, so God didn’t tell Joseph everything that would take place.  That would amount to sight, not faith.  He gave Joseph just enough information concerning a special role to play for him to grasp and cling to by faith.  There were misunderstandings and discouragements and what seemed like setbacks along the way, but in every troubling situation, the Bible says, the LORD was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2,21).  As we walk by faith, God is with us as well.  That is a great assurance.

Why does God choose to do things the way He does, that is, by not revealing everything along the way?  Imagine how much easier that would have been on Joseph!  I think the answer is because He has called us to a realm of faith in which we believe Him and depend on Him.  Even when we can’t see how things are going to turn out, we still trust God.  That’s faith!  Remember in lesson two that we pointed out that God has shown us He can do all things by creating the universe.  Therefore, He is totally trustworthy.  His power is omnipotent.  His knowledge is infinite.  And He is good and cares about us.  Remember He wanted us and planned for us even from eternity past.  So, in the realm of faith, He gives us a chance to vastly improve ourselves by trusting Him.  Had God previously told Joseph everything that was going to happen, there would have been no faith.  It would have brought no honor to Joseph for believing God in a hard situation nor to God for being trusted by one who holds Him to be faithful in a hard situation.  Faith is very important to God because faith honors Him.  It reckons Him to be true and faithful.  Faith is so important that the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).  God loves, and is honored by, our faith in Him.

Look what Joseph rose to become— prime minister of Egypt!! (Genesis 41)   And he rose to that point from being in prison!  That’s because he trusted God and waited for God to fulfill His promise.  God is in control of our lives if we submit to Him!!  And Joseph is respected by all of us today, not because God pampered him as his father, Jacob, did, but because, when Joseph couldn’t understand what was going on in his life, he was faithful, did his best, and believed God for the outcome.  A good lesson from Joseph’s life is to do your best and believe God in whatever situation you are in.  When he was a slave, he was the best slave he could possibly be.  When he was a prisoner, he was the best prisoner he could be.  In God’s eyes those were qualifications for him being the best prime minister, too. 

Solomon, who was the wisest mortal man of all time (1Kings 3:12), gave us the following very valuable words of wisdom.   Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Descent Of The Jews Into Egypt

Because of Joseph, the small Jewish tribe, or we could say, the infant Jewish nation, was saved from the famine by going down into Egypt, where they occupied the best of the land, known as Goshen.  The Jews continued to grow in number and over the next 400 plus years they became a mighty nation.  Exodus chapter one records this expansion of their population.   

Moses (Exodus 3,4)

After the children of Israel became a nation while in Egypt, the time came for another significant step of progress in the redemptive plan of God.  And, as you may have noticed, when God does something, He uses people.  This time Moses had a great role to play.  Moses was one of the most important men of all time.  I personally think he was the greatest figure of the Old Testament.  God used him to change the history of the Jews and the world.  What’s amazing, too, is that this didn’t begin to happen until he was eighty years old.  God delights in using weak instruments.  It tends to show that the work is really due to Him.  

The Exodus (Exodus 5-14)

The Egyptians became oppressive to the Jews, so God sent Moses to deliver them by leading them out of Egypt.  Of course, Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, was unwilling to release them.  The Jews were his brick makers.  God had to deal harshly with Pharaoh by sending the ten plagues.  Finally, Pharaoh relented and the Jews left Egypt.  The departure of the Jews was attended by much drama and is known in the Bible as the Exodus.  It was the greatest miracle of the Old Testament.  

The Wilderness

After the Exodus, the Jews traveled into the wilderness toward the promised land of Canaan. Their experience there should only have lasted two years but, instead, ended up lasting forty. They lacked faith to trust God for victory when they heard the report of the men who spied out the land of Canaan (see Numbers 12-14).  Their lack of faith was especially unreasonable after seeing the many miracles of God in delivering them from the Egyptians and after two years of being sustained miraculously in the wilderness by bread (manna) from heaven (Exodus 16).  As a punishment for not believing God to bring them into the Promised Land, that generation was forbidden to enter. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for the next 38 years until they were all dead.  An exception was with Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who came back with a positive report, who lived to enter Canaan.  At the end of the forty year wilderness experience, the children of Israel were near the Jordan River which bordered the Promised Land and were poised to enter.  

Blood Sacrifice

While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God gave them a religious system whereby they could be in right standing with Him.  If you recall from a previous lesson, Genesis 3:15 was the point of God’s commitment to save mankind.  And, of course, man would remain a creature of free will that could obey God’s plan of redemption or reject it.  From this early point also, animal sacrifice began as a temporary part of the redemptive plan.  We notice in Genesis 4 where Adam and Eve’s sons, Cain and Abel, offered their sacrifices to God.  The sacrificial system continued throughout the Old Testament period and was enlarged upon by Moses here in the wilderness.  This sacrificial system was God’s way of teaching mankind the meaning of redemption.  An innocent creature would be sacrificed for the sins of the one offering the sacrifice.  Think of it.  When a person sinned, he brought an innocent animal to die at an altar of sacrifice to atone for his sin.  Again, it was the means whereby God would teach mankind the meaning of redemption, namely, an innocent party dying for the guilty sinner.  

The Apostle Paul referred to this sacrificial era as our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ (Galatians 3:24).  It taught the world about the nature of Christ’s mission to save us, that is, that He, the sinless One, had to die for our sins and in our place.  Appropriately, John the Baptist pointed out at the end of the tutorial era of animal sacrifice that Jesus was what those sacrifices were teaching about, and that to which they were pointing.  This he made clear when he said of Jesus, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  He described Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God.  Jesus, then, is the true and ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  He is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.  He is the promised Savior.  He is the One to Whom we look for salvation through His blood.

Reaching The Promised Land

About forty years after the Exodus, the Jews settled in their promised land of Canaan, which came to be known later as their homeland of Israel.  The conquest of the Promised Land is recorded in the book of Joshua.  It was attended by great miracles of God.  One such was the fall of the walls of the city of Jericho (chapter 6).  Another was the standing still of the sun in chapter 10 when the Israelites needed more time to conquer their enemy before nightfall.  Eventually, they dispossessed the Canaanites and dwelt in the land promised to Abraham by God.  That continued for nearly a millennium and a half, which brought their history up to the time of Christ.

The Kingdom

Another important development leading up to the coming of the promised Redeemer, or, Messiah, as the Jews themselves referred to Him, was the Kingdom of Israel.  The first King was Saul.  He was a failure.  See Saul’s tenure as king of Israel, beginning with 1Samuel 8 and continuing throughout that book until his tragic end.

With Saul’s continued failure to act as God’s servant over Israel, God set out to replace him.  He called David to be the next king (1Samuel 16).  While David was not immediately placed over the people due to the continuing reign of Saul, yet he grew in prominence and respect, beginning with his victory over the Philistine giant, Goliath.  The familiar story is recorded in 1Samuel 17.  Because of David’s commitment to serve God, the Lord promised to bring the Messiah into the world through his descendants, thus narrowing the potential Messianic line.  That is why Jesus was often called the son of David, an expression that designated Him as the promised Messiah/Redeemer (e.g., Matthew 1:1).  Jesus was said to inherit the throne of David (Luke 1:32).  He was sometimes called, the King of Israel (John 1:49; 12:13), though the Jews of His day largely denied Him as their King.  He rightfully became King through David.  Actually, the “crime” for which He was eventually condemned and crucified was being The King of the Jews.  You can see this in all of the Gospel accounts of His crucifixion (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18,19).  In fact, on the occasion of crucifixion, the Romans, who were the only ones who could crucify someone, would place the crime of the offender on the cross above his head.  The crime for which Jesus died and which was written over His head was, Jesus Of Nazareth The King Of The Jews (John 19:19).  Later, in the book of Revelation, Jesus, returning to earth in His glorified state, is called the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).  He received this earthly kingdom through David.  Incidentally, we who are called by Him are called into His Kingdom (2Peter 1:11).

400 Years Of Silence

The Old Testament books of the Bible close with the book of the prophet, Malachi.  The time of Malachi was about 400 BC.  The Old Testament period, though, continued until the New Testament period began but there was not the voice of a prophet for 400 years.  The ministry of prophets was previously common in the Old Testament history, so it was a very strange thing indeed that silence from God persisted for such a long period of time.  This 400 year period of silence is sometimes called the Intertestamental Period, although, as pointed out a moment ago, the Old Testament time period and practice continued throughout it.  

Preview Of The New Testament Era: Silence Broken

When John the Baptist came on the Jewish scene, he broke the silence of the Intertestamental Period and ushered in the New Testament.  Read about him in Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, and John 1.  He was an austere man, dressed in camel’s hair, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4).  He baptized in water unto repentance (v.11).  He was the forerunner of Christ and announced to the Jews that Jesus was their Messiah.  He styled this as Jesus being The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  

 Lesson 6  

Jesus Christ, the Promised One

JV Maurer Sr 

For more info, please write: [email protected]                      

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

We now come to the New Testament.  The New Testament opens with the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ.  Concerning Christ, it demonstrates that He is the One promised in the Old Testament to come to save us.  We read of His birth in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1 and 2, and also in the Gospel of Luke, chapters 1 and 2.  Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 and the numerous other Old Testament prophecies that foretold His coming, such as Isaiah 7:14 (quoted in Matthew 1:23) and Isaiah 9:6.  He was born of the virgin Mary and lived a perfect, sinless life.  That’s what qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the innocent Lamb of God which would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).  He grew up in Joseph’s carpenter shop in Nazareth of Galilee, where He worked until He was 30, at which time, He began His public ministry.

Luke’s gospel gives us one brief account of Jesus’ childhood (Luke 2:42-52).  He was only 12 years old.  But even at this early age, Jesus showed His exceptional character.  He was already very knowledgeable in the Scriptures and was devoted to the things of God.  Verse 46 says He was sitting in the midst of the doctors of the Law, both hearing them and asking them questions.  And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers (verse 47).  Also, it is remarkable that, even at this young age, He was aware of His identity as the Son of God and had some sense of His mission.  This is evident in His answer to His parents when they inquired about His staying behind in Jerusalem.  Know ye not that I must be about My Father’s business? (verse 49).

Jesus’ mission was unique, the most unique ever.  He was born to die in our place so that the rest of us could live in Him.  He was the only Person Who could do this for us because He was God manifested in the flesh.  He was the God-man.

What Jesus Taught About Salvation 

1/ Jesus taught that the human race was condemned apart from Him.  Matthew 23:33;  John 8:24; 14:6

2/ Jesus taught that repentance is necessary for salvation.  Luke 13:3,5  (Repentance is turning from sin to God.) 

3/ Jesus taught that water baptism is necessary for salvation.  This is clear in what is called His Great Commission.  Mark 16:15-16 

4/ Jesus taught that receiving the Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation.  John 3:5; 4:10,14 (living water resulting in everlasting life); John 7:37-39

5/ Jesus taught that we must be born again and that this new birth would involve water and Spirit.  John 3:5.  These correspond to water baptism and Spirit baptism that He said was required.  This description of water and Spirit corresponds exactly with what we see in the book of Acts where converts to Christianity got saved.  They were baptized in water in Jesus’ name and were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2,8,10,19).  With this understanding, we can see that Jesus taught that water baptism and Spirit baptism combine to make the essential new birth experience.  

Summarizing this, we can see that Jesus taught that repentance, water baptism, and Spirit baptism are necessary to be saved.  This is exactly what Peter, who was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19), preached on the birthday of the Church – the day of Pentecost.  Acts 2:38. 

Christ’s Work On Calvary 

After living a sinless life, Jesus gave Himself for us on Calvary.  As He expired on the Cross, He said, It is finished (John 19:30).  The price for redemption had been paid.  He was laid in a tomb and three days later He arose.  After His resurrection, He appeared to His disciples during a forty-day period, giving them further teaching.  Then on the fortieth day, He ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9).  At that time, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit to come to them.  They waited and prayed in the upper room for ten days.  Then on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on them and they began to speak with other tongues.  This is recorded in Acts 2:1-4.

What had happened on the Day of Pentecost was God’s remedy to what had taken place at the Fall.  This is very important to recognize.  Men and women were born again to eternal life.  The promise of redemption implied in Genesis 3:15 was finally accomplished.  The Kingdom of heaven was opened!  The Christian Church was born!  

Peter then preached the first message of salvation since it was purchased at Calvary.  When he was asked by those who were convicted of their sins, What shall we do?, he answered stating the plan of salvation for the Church age:  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. 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. (Acts 2:37-38).  Three thousand received his message and were saved that very day.  This experience of salvation continued to be received throughout the thirty-year history of the Church recorded in the book of Acts. It was taken all over the world by Christ’s Apostles and ministers.  

God has purchased this salvation for every soul, including us.  Millions around the world today have received the same experience.

This lesson can be summarized in this way:  Christ came at the first Christmas to give His life at Calvary so that we could have the Pentecostal experience of being born again to eternal life.

We will study this in more detail in future lessons. 

Lesson 7

Important Facts To Know About The Book Of Acts               

JV Maurer  Sr 

For more info, please write: [email protected]                                                                                                      

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks. 

The special importance of Acts

In my opinion, Acts is the most important book in the Bible as relating to salvation doctrine.  While all the Bible is necessary to have a complete picture of redemption, no book adds such an important segment to the whole as does Acts.  Without its remarkable content, salvation doctrine would be vague.  Acts is especially helpful due to its practical nature.  It uniquely shows us how to be saved.  In its pages, thousands of persons from every class of humanity were saved— Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.  No other book of the New Testament shows the Church in action as it was spreading into the world and souls were being saved.  

Consider the purpose of the various books of the New Testament. 

The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John give us a biography of the sinless life of Jesus.  They record His death, burial, and resurrection, which is the basis of our faith and the price He paid for our salvation (Acts 20:28).   It’s important to realize there was no Christian Church during the time of Christ.  The Church came into being fifty-three days after the crucifixion, on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). 

The biblical writings categorized as the Epistles (Romans to Revelation) were letters written to saved people and Churches.  They were written chiefly for the purpose of giving instruction in holiness.  

But the book of Acts serves a different purpose in the plan of God.  It is meant to showcase Christian salvation.  When Christ was on earth, He spoke of His Church in futuristic terms.  He said, …I will build My Church (Matthew 16:18).  In the book of Acts, He does it. 

Acts is the inspired, narrative history of the Church. 

Christian salvation is best understood in its historical context.  The book of Acts contains about thirty years of the early history of the Church, beginning with its inception.  It records the ministries and sermons of the Apostles and early ministers, thus, enabling us to clearly see what they taught for salvation.   

 The book of Acts widely covers the ministries Peter and Paul.  About half of the book is devoted to each.  Chapters 1-12 predominantly cover Peter; chapters 13-28, Paul.  This makes it very easy to know what each experienced for salvation and, likewise, taught.  A careful read of the book of Acts will reveal that Peter and Paul received and taught the very same thing regarding salvation. 

Acts displays the Church from the very beginning. 

The Day of Pentecost was the birthday of the Church (Acts 2).  This is when Christian salvation was received for the first time.  It began when God poured out His Spirit on the close followers of Christ who had been gathering in an upper room in Jerusalem since His ascension into heaven (Acts 1).   

When the spectators of this curious event heard the Apostles and others speaking in other tongues, they inquired about its meaning (Acts 2:12).  Peter responded, and in doing so, accused them of crucifying their Messiah.  Conviction drove them to ask what to do.  Their question is recorded in Acts 2:37. Men and brethren, what must we do?  Peter replied, stating the plan of salvation for the Church age.  He said, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  In the next verse, He stated the universal nature of it, meaning that it would apply to all who would ever ask the same question.  For the promise is unto you, and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38-39).  In other words, this is the salvation to which, and the means by which, God will call all souls.  

The Day of Pentecost is theologically important because the precedent for salvation doctrine was set that day.  And three thousand souls were saved by it (Acts 2:41).  Acts 2:38 is, therefore, irrefutably the Christian plan of salvation until the Lord comes to take His Church away.  It became, as recorded in Acts 2:42, the Apostles’ doctrine.

Acts contains all the examples of Christian salvation in the New Testament.  

Acts reveals truth that is available nowhere else in the New Testament.  While that can be said of every book of the New Testament, it’s an especially important consideration regarding Acts because it is the book that highlights Christian salvation.  It is the only book in the Bible where there are actual recorded conversions to the Christian Church.  Common people like you and I came to the faith under the Apostles. 

These examples provided in Acts are an expression of the love of God to us.  He included them in the inspired history so that we can know with absolute certainty how to be saved.  And we can walk onward toward our heavenly goal with perfect confidence because we have followed the original salvation model.  God knew many false ideas about salvation would arise.  That’s why He gave us the book of Acts.  The many examples of conversion it contains provide a foolproof template for salvation doctrine.  We can align our experience exactly to theirs and know we’re saved. 

Five unanimous examples 

There are five examples of conversion in Acts where there is detail provided regarding their conversion experience.  It is important to know them.  They will become very instructive as you acquaint yourself with them.  We will only touch upon them now.  We will look at them again in Lesson 10.  As we mentioned earlier, they serve as the model for all who are serious about salvation. 

1/ Acts 2 records the Jews being saved on the Day of Pentecost.  

2/ Acts 8 records the first Samaritans (mix of Jew and Gentile) being saved. 

3/ Acts 9 records the conversion of the Apostle Paul.  (He also referred to his own conversion experience in Acts 22 and 26.) 

4/ Acts 10 records the conversion of the first Gentiles (non- Jews). 

The examples in Acts 2,8, and 10 (Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles) represent every class of humanity, indicating all peoples of the world would receive the same salvation experience.   (That’s the fulfillment of Acts 2:39). 

5/ Acts 19 is interesting because it involves people Paul met in his missionary journey who already believed in Jesus Christ (for 20 years or more) but who had not yet heard of the full plan of salvation.  But upon learning of it from Paul, they embraced it and were re-baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost, completing Acts 2:38.  

This example is important because it is the experience of many of us before coming to the full truth of the Gospel.  It was my own experience.  I believed in Christ and had a religious experience for over twenty years.  I believed that my previous faith was authentic and sufficient.  I prayed every day and received answers to my prayers.  But I had not heard of Acts 2:38.  I wasn’t baptized in Jesus’ name and didn’t know about receiving Christ’s Spirit with the biblical evidence of speaking in other tongues (languages).  I was like the Ephesians.  You may be in the same category.  Acts 19 is very helpful to us.  It was the love of God that provided this example to guide all sincere “believers” into the fullness of truth.

Summing up these five examples of salvation, we see that the same Gospel salvation is for Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, and even those who already have faith in Christ.  That’s everybody, which is exactly what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38-39.  

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.

Paul said likewise, there is One Lord, one faith, one baptism. (Ephesians 4:5).  So did Jude (verse 3).  He spoke of the common salvation, that is, the universal salvation which is to be experienced by all throughout the Christian Church era.

Summary

Lastly, nowhere in the Bible is the plan of salvation clearer than in Acts.  In fact, Paul said the Gospel is so evident that it “shines” (2Corinthians 4:4).  And in Acts, it certainly does, as we have pointed out in these examples involving thousands of people, including, and involving, the Apostle Paul himself.  And there are no examples to the contrary.   

Acts is the anchor of salvation doctrine because it illustrates by actual, undeniable examples under the ministry of Christ-chosen, Christ-taught Apostles, what it takes to be saved.  Simply put, Acts is the simplest, correct way to understand salvation.  Because of the examples provided and the recorded ministries of the Apostles, Acts simplifies all salvation doctrine issues.

Lesson 8

The Plan Of Salvation

       © 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

The plan of salvation for the Church age was publicly revealed on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).  That was very appropriate because the Day of Pentecost was literally the Birthday of the Church.  It is only logical that, on the day the Church began, the means to enter it would be made clear to all present and to all of us that would come after seeking to enter God’s Kingdom.  The Day of Pentecost was fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is the day when the anticipated Holy Spirit was poured out in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28).  It is the first occasion when souls could be born again of water and of the Spirit, as foretold by Jesus (John 3:5; 7:37-39).  This pouring out of the Spirit, sometimes called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was accompanied by the recipients, about 120 of them, speaking in other tongues (languages), as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability (Acts 2:1-4).

Those who witnessed this strange event were confused as to what was taking place.  So they asked, “What does this mean?” (verse 12).  The Apostle Peter stood up to address their question.  He is significant here.  It had previously been determined by Jesus that Peter would be the spokesman on the Day of Pentecost.  A main reason for that is a practical one, God not being the author of confusion.  All the Apostles would be fully instructed by Christ for this occasion and for subsequent preaching, and all would be Spirit-filled (Luke 24:45-49).  But for effective organization on this all important Day of Pentecost, only one of them was singled out to be the spokesman.  Peter was granted this privilege after his prompt recognition and confession of Christ as the Messiah (Matthew 16:15-19).   Therefore, when the question came from the crowd of witnesses as to the meaning of this phenomenon of speaking in tongues, Peter perceived his cue to answer with the authority previously given him by Christ.  This authority to declare the Christian Gospel for the first time was designated by Christ in Matthew 16:19 as the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  That simply means that Peter would declare the plan of salvation, the means for souls to be saved and enter into the Kingdom of God.  Notice also that Jesus said what Peter would declare would be “binding” on earth and in heaven.

In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, Peter explained to the perplexed witnesses that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in Scripture that God would pour out of His Spirit.  Then, beginning in verse 22, he took his liberty to preach to them of the Christ they had crucified, Who made the outpouring of the Spirit possible by His death.  He concluded his preaching to them by saying that God raised Christ from the dead according to Old Testament prophecy (Psalms 16), and that that same Jesus, Whom they rejected and crucified, is their own Lord and Messiah (verse 36).  This realization brought heavy conviction to them and they cried out, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (v.37).   At this point, Peter used his authority to state the means of salvation (what we commonly call the plan of salvation) to them.  He said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (v.38).  This is exactly what Jesus taught regarding salvation as we saw in our last lesson.  And in the next verse, as he was preaching, Peter declared that this is the plan of salvation for the entire Church age.  Notice verse 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.  That statement includes us all.  As verse 42 indicates, this plan of salvation became the Apostles’ doctrine.  Nothing contrary to it was ever introduced by the Lord’s ministers.  It was universally taught and preached as the means for people to be saved.  Jude, the Lord’s brother, referred to this universally received salvation as the common salvation and the faith that was once for all time delivered to the saints (Jude 3).  The plan of salvation stated by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:38 was never altered or edited by anyone in the New Testament.  It was upheld by all the Apostles and ministers.  This is clear from the 30 year history provided in the book of Acts and also from the Epistles that follow. 

The examples of salvation provided in Acts are the model for those afterward who would be saved.   Let’s look at those examples.  They provide the template for all who are serious about their salvation.  There are four of them where detail is given to show how the early Christians got saved.

First, we have those we have just been considering in Acts 2.  We see clearly there the elements of water and Spirit that Jesus said would be required for new birth (John 3:5). There was water baptism in Jesus’ name and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  On this occasion, all those that got saved were Jews (Acts 2:5).  They were in the city of Jerusalem keeping the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  God strategically used that occasion when Jews were gathering in Jerusalem to pour out His Spirit and begin His Church.

Next we have the conversion of the Samaritans.  This occurs in Acts 8:1-17.  The Samaritans, of course, were those who were a mixture of Jew and Gentile (non-Jew).  They, likewise, were water-baptized in Jesus’ name and received the Holy Spirit (vv.12,16,17).

Thirdly, we have the conversion of the Gentiles in Acts 10.  They also were baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Spirit (vv.44-48).

From these three examples thus far, we can see that all three classes of people received the same Gospel message, for everyone is either a Jew, or a Samaritan, or a Gentile.  This indicates the fulfillment of Acts 2:39 where Peter stated that the same Gospel message would be to the whole race of mankind.

And fourthly, there is the example in Acts 19:1-6 of some who were already “believers” in Christ (actually, for about 20 years or more) but had not yet fulfilled the Acts 2:38 message of salvation.  It is a powerful example to all of those who already have some faith in Christ that except ye be born again of water and of the Spirit, ye cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5).  These, being further enlightened by the Apostle Paul regarding water baptism and receiving the Spirit, were then baptized (actually, re-baptized) in Jesus’ name, and filled with the Holy Spirit.   Many millions of people since then, who have originally believed an incomplete message concerning Christ, have, upon hearing the full message of Acts 2:38, been re-baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues.  I personally was in that category, having been raised Catholic.  Here is Scriptural authority for those who already believe in Christ but have not yet fulfilled the full plan of salvation, as stated on the Day of Pentecost, to proceed with water baptism in Jesus’ name, even if it means re-baptism, and to be filled with the Holy Ghost.

And so, in summary, we see in these first three examples in Acts that every class of mankind has been given the same Gospel and received the same Pentecostal experience.  And we see in the fourth example that even those who already believe in Christ, even for a long period of time, are to go on to the fullness of that same Pentecostal experience.  It is, as Jude said, the common salvation and the faith that was once for all time delivered to God’s people (Jude 3).  Notice once again in light of these four examples the fulfillment of Peter’s words on the Day of Pentecost that the Gospel message of water and Spirit would be to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:39).

These four examples, along with Paul’s conversion experience in Acts 9, we will continue to study.  As you become more familiar with them, their vital message will become increasingly apparent to you and will impart to you the faith that you, likewise, can receive the same experience they did, for the Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).  These chapters in Acts, the only inspired history we have of the Church, are of great importance.  As mentioned in a previous lesson, the book of Acts is the most important book in the Bible because it is the only book in the Bible showing examples of Christian salvation.  It is the only book in the Bible that provides a model for us to know how to be saved.  The book of Acts contains the direct teaching and ministry of the Apostles regarding people being saved.  In other words, we see people in the book of Acts – common people just like us – who got saved under the ministry of the Apostles.  It is the surest way for us to know how to be saved.  For this reason, the book of Acts is invaluable.  It is the model for us today if we want true New Testament salvation.

Lesson 9

Water Baptism In Jesus’ Name                                                                                                                                      © 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

Application of the Blood of Jesus

Water baptism in the name of Jesus is necessary to be saved.  It is the means whereby the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to our lives to wash away our sins.  Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 5:7, For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.  The allusion to the Jewish Passover is very clear and instructive.  Every Jew knew the significance of the blood of the Passover lamb being applied to the doorposts and lintels of the homes of the Jews in Egypt on the night of the Passover when God would destroy the firstborn son of every home in Egypt.  The Jews were protected from the ensuing deaths by the blood of the Passover lamb.  But the point was very much emphasized in the Exodus 12 narrative that the shed blood of the lamb had to be applied to the doors.  It wasn’t enough to just kill the lamb.  Its blood had to be applied (verse 22).  Obedience to this command is what the death angel would be looking for when approaching each home (verse 23).  When he saw the blood applied exactly as Moses had commanded, he would pass over the house instead of taking a life.  The Passover is also the event that ushered in the Exodus, the emancipation of the Jews from Egypt to go toward the Promised Land.  This event of the Exodus was the greatest event of the Old Testament.  Its history was etched into the minds of every Jew ever born.  For the Apostle Paul to use this example of the Exodus and the Passover lamb was a very potent way to describe the importance of the blood of Jesus.  As the lamb’s blood had to be applied to the doorposts and lintels for there to be deliverance from death for the Jews and escape to the Promised Land, so the applied blood of Jesus washes away our sins, to which we were in bondage, and sets us on course to our promised land, Heaven.

Similar to this Old Testament type, Christ’s blood must be applied to each believing soul.  The Apostle John stated that His blood was shed for all (1John 2:2).  That means He died for the sins of the whole world.  Every person’s sins have been atoned for by Christ on the Cross.  Anyone and everyone could be saved due to Christ’s atoning work.  But the Bible is clear that everyone, sadly, will not be saved.  Though His blood was shed to wash away everyone’s sins, and though His blood could wash away everyone’s sins, it doesn’t wash away everyone’s sins because many people do not avail themselves of its benefit by not applying it to their lives.  This omission may be by neglect (Hebrews 2:3), or misunderstanding, or refusal, but the result is the same.  Comparing that omission with the Passover type again, it would be like having the Passover lamb’s blood shed but not applying it as required.  It would be blood capable to save a life in the Jewish homestead, but unused, by not being applied, and, therefore, ineffective to save.  The result in the home would still be death.  Application of the blood was just as necessary as the sacrifice itself.  That was part of the requirement along with shedding the lamb’s blood in the first place.  The blood was to be shed that it might be applied.  The actual saving was in the application, which was the demonstrative step of obedience and faith.

The Bible is clear that it is because of the shed blood of Jesus that our sins can be washed away (Hebrews 9:22).  Without His shed blood, there could be no remission.  But the Bible is also clear that personal remission of sins takes place by one’s obedience to the scriptural command to be baptized, making it clear that baptism is the means whereby one can have the blood of Jesus applied to his life to wash away his sins.  This is clear from what the Apostle Peter declared on the Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, when the Apostles were asked by men who wanted to be saved, Men and brothers, what shall we do?  Peter, using the authority given him by Christ in Matthew 16:19, answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-38).  This occasion was the direct fulfillment of the directive Jesus gave His Apostles about ten days earlier when He gave them His final commission to go into the world and preach the Gospel.  He said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).  The occasion in Acts 2 is that very beginning point.  And how did Peter say that remission of sins would take place?  Answer: by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.  This is also seen very plainly in Acts 22:16 when the Apostle Paul was recounting his own conversion experience.  He refers to Ananias, the one sent by God to baptize him, as saying to Paul, And now why tarriest thou [delay any longer]?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord”.  The language here could not be plainer.  Baptism washes away sins.

One might ask, “How can water baptism wash away sins?”   It does so simply because it is the means God chose to bring us into contact with His death and, thus, His blood.  Baptism is burial with Christ into His death.  Paul states this very emphatically in Romans 6:3-4. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death.  This baptismal encounter into the death of Christ is when His blood is applied.  That’s how water baptism is said to remit, or, wash away, sin.  Baptism is what Jesus was referring to when He said to His apostles, Whose ever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose ever sins you retain, they are retained (John 20:23).   Sins are remitted by baptism.  Baptism is the only possible way for sins to be remitted involving one man remitting the sins of another.  Man has no other prerogative to remit the sins of others but by the means of baptism at one’s conversion.  Again, baptism is that “burial” with Christ “into His death” by which the believing convert comes into contact with Christ’s atoning blood.  The Apostles and other New Testament ministers were never seen remitting sins but by the means of baptism, such as what we have cited earlier when Ananias baptized Paul, saying, …wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16).

From everything we have cited so far, it is plain to see that baptism is necessary to be saved for it involves remission of sins, a vital necessity.  Because of this necessity, one would expect, then, that baptism would be stated in the New Testament as a salvation requirement.  And it is so declared.  Jesus said, He that believes and is baptized shall be saved…(Mark 16:16).   He added that the person that does not believe–  and of course, then, he would not be baptized– would be damned.  Notice Jesus only gave two categories of people after hearing the Gospel – those who believe, demonstrating their belief by baptism, and those who do not believe.  The significance of faith and the consequent role of baptism here is also apparent in Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees and lawyers who did not accept John the Baptist’s baptism (Luke 7:28-30).  Notice, the clear result of rejecting John’s baptism was rejecting the counsel [will, plan] of God against themselves.  But those who were baptized of John were, accordingly, in right standing with God.  The requirement and significance of baptism is all too apparent.

We already cited earlier in this lesson that baptism was required since the very beginning of the Church on the Day of Pentecost.  When men asked what to do to be saved, Peter answered, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins… (Acts 2:37-38).  The command to be baptized here is universal.  In Acts 10:48, Peter commanded Cornelius and his household to be baptized.  Remember again that Peter had the keys to the Kingdom of heaven given him by Jesus and knew what was required for salvation.  In fact, in his epistle, Peter likened baptism to the saving of Noah from the destruction of the Flood and said, Even so does baptism now save us (1Peter 3:21).  That is a very strong statement and cannot be dismissed.  Peter said baptism saves.  And remember that his Teacher was the one that said, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:16).

We see in Acts 9 the account of the conversion experience of the Apostle Paul.  In a one on one encounter with Jesus Christ, Paul was told to go into the city and it would be told him what he must do (verse 6).  Those are strong words coming from Jesus.  The thing that he was told to do was baptism (Acts 9:18; 22:16).

Paul’s example of re-baptism in Acts 19:1-6 profoundly emphasizes the absolute necessity of water baptism in Jesus’ name.  If baptism in Jesus name could be by-passed, this would have been the perfect place to overlook it.  These folks in Ephesus had been believers in Jesus Christ for about twenty years or more.  In his Ephesian letter, the Apostle Paul profoundly indicates baptism to be in the top three of Bible content.  He summarized Christianity by saying, One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).  By associating baptism here with the Lord Himself and with faith, without which it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), Paul shows baptism to be vital to salvation.  The only true biblical assurance a person can have that Christ’s atoning blood has been applied to his life and that his sins are washed away is by fulfilling the baptismal command to be baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins.  The Scriptures expressly state baptism to be for this purpose (Acts 2:38; 22:16).

What the understanding of this lesson should do in us:

This lesson should give us a desire to “examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5).  It should give us a strong desire to be sure, on biblical grounds, that the atoning blood of Christ has been applied to our lives.  And it should make us thankful that God has revealed this wonderful truth to us in His precious Word.

Lesson 10

Biblical Accounts Of Baptism In Jesus Name

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

In our last lesson, we talked about the necessity of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.  It is our faith response to the Gospel of Jesus (Mark 16:15-16).  Obedience by faith to this command to be baptized means that we are buried with Jesus into His death (Romans 6:3-4).  By this simple act on our part, we’re brought into contact with His blood, which cleanses us of all sin.  In this way, baptism  is stated in Scripture to be for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16) because it is the divinely appointed means of appropriating to ourselves the blood of Jesus Christ.  And, naturally, because it serves this function, it is necessary for salvation (Mark 16:16; 1Peter 3:21).

We want to show now where it was obeyed in Scripture.  This lesson will overlap somewhat with a previous lesson.  It will be very helpful to be familiar with these biblical accounts of actual baptisms.  The Holy Spirit inspired the inclusion of these examples in the book of Acts for a very particular reason– as a pattern for all who would be serious about their salvation and follow the examples provided.

Jerusalem: Acts 2

The first incidence of baptism in the Christian Church is in Acts 2:38-41.  This is a very important occasion.  This is the birthday of the Church.  It is the first occasion of souls being saved since Jesus died on the cross fifty-three days earlier.  It is the occasion of the first preaching since Calvary.  It is the first point in the Christian Church era where souls asked what to do to be saved (v.37).  It is the beginning point of evangelism for the Church for it is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Great Commission in which Christ gave His Apostles charge to preach the Gospel to every creature.  Here, on this special occasion, that very Gospel would be apparent.  And, of course, it must be apparent here because this is where it all begins.  And this is where Peter fulfills his special role given him by Jesus (Matthew 16:19) to enunciate the Gospel for the first time.

On this first day of the Church, called the Day of Pentecost, those to whom Peter was speaking were Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  They were surprised by the spectacular event that had just taken place when God poured out His Spirit on the Apostles and close followers of the Lord (about 120 in all).  When they inquired of it (v.12), Peter began to preach to them that what they had just witnessed was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (vv.14-21).  Then Peter began to preach to them that, though they had crucified their own Messiah, God raised Him from the dead and He is now Lord and Christ (v.36).  When they heard this, they became convicted in their hearts and cried out, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  In answer to this question, Peter responded stating the plan of salvation for the Church age.  Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (v.38).  Verse 41 states that about 3,000 people believed Peter’s word and were baptized that day.

It is also important here to point out that this response of Peter to their question was referred to in verse 42 as the Apostles’ doctrine.  This is the last occasion in Acts where the Apostles were all together.  The Holy Spirit no doubt inspired this detail about the Apostles’ doctrine to indicate to us the unanimity of the Apostolic message.  They were all in agreement doctrinally and would go to their various places of ministry preaching the same message of salvation.  Indeed, full agreement to what was preached by Peter on the first day of the Church is seen in the ministries of all those covered in the book of Acts.  They all followed suit and preached baptism in Jesus’ name.  We will see an example of this in the very next case of baptism in Acts 8.  We will also see it in two other examples to follow, in Acts 9 and Acts 19.

Samaria: Acts 8

The next occasion of baptism that occurs in Acts is in chapter 8.  Here we have a Christian minister, named Philip, who went down to the city of Samaria (v.5 and following).  He preached the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (v.12).  Those who believed were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (v.16).

The Apostle Paul: Acts 9

Next we see that Saul of Tarsus, who became the great Apostle Paul, was likewise baptized in Jesus’ name.  We see this in Acts 9:18 in the account of his conversion and in his recounting of his conversion experience to the Jews in Acts 22:16.  Here he quotes the Christian minister, Ananias, who attended his baptism, as saying, And now why tarriest thou [delay any longer]?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.  The name of the Lord, of course, is Jesus.  It is clear that he was baptized in Jesus’ name because he himself insisted on baptism in the name of Jesus on the part of his converts in Acts 19:1-6, which we will look at in a moment.  And, besides, the Bible is clear that there is only one name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).  That statement of Peter’s in Acts 4:12 is absolute.  So here in the case of Paul’s conversion, we have yet another New Testament minister, Ananias, following the Apostles’ doctrine of baptizing in Jesus’ name. 

The Gentiles (non Jews): Acts 10

In Acts 10, we have the case of the Gentiles at Caesarea being baptized in Jesus’ name.  You will notice when you read the chapter that Cornelius was told by an angel of God to send for Peter.  That’s interesting.  That must mean that Peter knows what is necessary for someone to be saved.  You will also notice that Peter was sent by God to Cornelius’ household.  Upon arriving, Peter began to declare unto Cornelius and his household the crucified and resurrected Christ.  Then the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles and Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord (vv.44-48).  The word, commanded, especially stands out here.  It is a forceful word.  Most translations say, “commanded” or “ordered”.  That’s strong language and shows the necessity of baptism in Jesus’ name.  It is an imperative.  It’s an order.  It cannot be neglected by anyone intending to be saved.

What also stands out here is that they had received the Holy Spirit prior to being baptized.  One might conclude that, having received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, Cornelius and his household had all that was necessary to be saved.  But this was not so.  This passage reveals that baptism in Jesus’ name is commanded even to those who already have the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  Of course, the reason for that is simple.  The blood of Jesus, which takes away sins, is only applied by water baptism in His name.  Baptism, therefore, is essential.

Believers In Christ At Ephesus: Acts 19

The next example of baptism where detail is provided to see how baptism was administered is in Acts 19:1-6.  Here, we have the Apostle Paul on one of his missionary journeys, the sole purpose of which was to spread the Gospel and save souls.  He came to the city of Ephesus.  There he found believers in Christ who only knew of the baptism of John the Baptist.  They had apparently believed in Christ for about twenty years but had not yet learned of what had been available to believers since the Day of Pentecost.  Since that time, baptism is in the saving name of Jesus and believers are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  To this they were open and received both.  Concerning our subject of baptism, verse 5 says, When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

As we can see, the Apostle Paul himself baptized in Jesus’ name, even re-baptizing souls who were previously baptized according to John’s baptism, which did not involve the name of Jesus.  Paul knew the Gospel and was on board with the other New Testament ministers regarding baptism in Jesus’ name.  In fact, he signified its importance in his succinct summary statement of Christianity in Ephesians 4:5, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is no way he would associate baptism in this statement with “the Lord”, without Whom salvation is impossible, and with “faith”, without which no man can please God (Hebrews 11:6), unless baptism is absolutely a requirement for salvation, as indeed the other two are.  But his teaching is clear.  It is clear in the Acts 19:1-6 passage.  It is clear in the Ephesians 4:5 declaration.  And it is clear in his Romans 6:3-4 passage that we have referred to earlier where he taught that we are buried with Christ by baptism into His death.  That encounter with His death through baptism is the moment Christ’s blood is applied to take away our sins.  And there is more in his writings that deals with the importance of baptism.  The Apostles’ doctrine of Acts 2:42 was certainly maintained by the Apostle Paul.

In the next lesson, we will look at Matthew 28:19 and show how it is fulfilled in the name of Jesus Christ.

What should the understanding of Lesson 10 do in us?

Understanding Lesson 10 should make us desire to be Apostolic, that is, to be of the teaching of the Apostles.  They had it right.  Their Teacher was Jesus!  In fact, Jesus emphasized their rightness in His prayer to the Father in John 17:6-20.  Take the time to read it.  It’s remarkable.  He literally certified them in that prayer.  In verse 20, He said, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe in Me through their word. The Apostles’ doctrine is correct.  Many ideas about how to be saved have come along since Apostolic times.  Jesus predicted that it would be so in His parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13).  But the book of Acts records the history of the Apostles themselves and their teaching regarding salvation.  God gave us this important book so we would know how to be saved.  He provided examples of salvation under the ministry of the Apostles themselves.  We do right in following their example rather than what has come along in church history.

Revelation 21:14 says that the names of the Apostles garnish the foundation walls of the Holy City to which we aspire.  That implies that the Apostles are right and that, if we desire to go there, we should follow them.  In fact, Jesus even said that they would sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).  Their correctness is assured to us in these scriptural references.  We could not be safer than following their inspired example.

Lesson 10 should give us a desire for correct, definite Apostolic salvation.  Much heresy has come into “Christianity” since Apostolic times from both Catholic and Protestant sources.  But Acts is the only inspired history of the Church.  It is where Christ reveals His Church.  In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said He would build His Church.  In Acts, He does.  We must identify with what is in Acts to be in His authentic Church.  All of the examples of Christian baptism are located in the book of Acts.  All of them are in Jesus’ name.  Surely you want no less for yourself and those you may influence.  There is no greater privilege than to be baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins.

Lesson 11

Matthew 28:19

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

We have seen in previous lessons that water baptism was administered in the Christian era by the Apostles and other ministers in the name of Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).  But some will ask, “What about Matthew 28:19, where Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost?”  Indeed, many churches perform their baptisms by simply repeating these words.  In this lesson, we will give the short answer to this question.  For a more comprehensive study of this verse, see the author’s, Water Baptism And The Great Commission.  It deals in detail with the whole of the Great Commission of which Matthew 28:19 is a part.

Those who simply repeat the words at baptism, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, believing to fulfill Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19, actually do not.  There is no biblical support in Apostolic practice to simply say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”.  The Apostles, to whom Matthew 28:19 was directly spoken, did not obey it by the simple repetition of the words.  They obeyed it by the actual use of the divine name for which Jesus called.  Very simply, the Apostles, to whom this command was given, obeyed it by baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ.  That is verifiable in Acts, beginning on the first day of the Church (Acts 2:38) and continuing throughout the thirty-year history of Acts.  That’s the only name they used.  That is the simple explanation of Matthew 28:19.  They fulfilled Matthew 28:19 by baptizing in Jesus’ name.  And we must follow their Apostolic example for we are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20).

If Matthew 28:19 was not fulfilled by the Apostles baptizing in Jesus’ name, then we would have to conclude that they never fulfilled this command of Christ.  And that would be an impossibility.  They were abundantly taught by Jesus and certified by Him to be correct in their doctrine.  We can see this in Jesus’ prayer to the Father in John 17 (vv.6-20).  What’s more, Jesus made it clear in His High Priestly prayer that we are to receive salvation “through their word” (v.20).  This would begin in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, which we stated earlier was day one of the Church.

Peter’s Authority To Introduce The Gospel

Peter had special authority to speak on this first day of the Church.  He had previously been given the keys to the Kingdom of heaven and was given authority to bind and loose (Matthew 16:18-19).  When those who were convicted on the Day of Pentecost asked, What shall we do?, Peter answered with the plan of salvation for the Church age.  The answer included the command to be baptized.  Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-38).  This is what Peter made binding and nothing in Acts or anywhere else in the New Testament contradicts it or replaces it.  It is still binding today.

Jesus Said Baptism Was To Be In His Name

The words of Jesus in Luke 24:45-47, regarding the formula for water baptism, are nearly always overlooked.  This was a later event and involved additional revelation pertaining to baptism.  Notice the significant words in verse 45.  Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.  Higher illumination was provided at this later commissioning of the Apostles.  Please notice verses 46 and 47.  And [He] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins [i.e.baptism] should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  This commissioning in Luke 24, just before Christ’s ascension, completed what we call the Great Commission, which is the specific command of Jesus to His followers to go into all the world.  It includes what they were to teach regarding salvation.  Be careful to notice here in Luke 24 that they were to baptize (that’s what remission of sins refers to) in Christ’s name.  They were to do this among all nations and it was to begin in Jerusalem.  And, not surprisingly, that is exactly what the inspired history of Acts, which was also written by Luke, records.  Just days after Jesus spoke those words in Luke 24, we see their fulfillment in Acts 2 on the birthday of the Church.  It began there in Jerusalem as Jesus told them.  They baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins as they were told and from there this same message of Jesus’ name baptism went into all the world.  Just one reference to the missionary aspect of this original message going into all the world is Acts 19:1-6.  It took place in Ephesus (in Asia Minor) when Paul was on one of his missionary ventures.

Preeminence Of The Name Of Jesus

The name of Jesus is preeminent in the New Testament.  The Apostle Peter said that it is the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).  The Apostle Paul said that whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17).  In Philippians 2:9-10, Paul said it is the name that is above every name and the name to which every knee shall someday bow.  Both of these great men are prominently covered in the book of Acts.  The first half of Acts covers Peter; the second half, Paul.  It shows that both of these great Apostles baptized in Jesus’ name (Acts 2:38; 19:5).  It would put us at odds with them to do otherwise.  In fact, the name of Jesus is the only divine name in the New Testament.  It occurs nearly a thousand times.  It is the New Covenant name of God.  There is no safer or truer position to take regarding baptism than baptism in Jesus’ name.

Lesson 12

Points About Water Baptism

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19 was one of the occasions in the Gospels when Jesus instructed His Apostles on how to baptize converts in the Christian era.  Here, His instruction called for a singular name- “…in the name of…”.  Not surprisingly, Matthew 28:19 has a biblical fulfillment. A verse this important must have.

Q. How did the Apostles fulfill this command, for certainly they did, or otherwise they would have been disobedient to it?

Answer: They fulfilled it by baptizing “in the name of Jesus”.  That is the only way they ever baptized.  See the book of Acts.

Q. Is there anywhere in Acts, which is the only inspired history of the Apostles carrying out their commission, where we see that the Apostles baptized converts by saying, “…in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”?

Answer: No

Q. Was anyone in the Bible ever baptized by these words being spoken over them, “…in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”?

Answer: No

Q. Then how were these words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 fulfilled by the Apostles?

Answer: By using the actual saving name of Jesus. 

★ The Scriptures inform us that “Jesus” is the only name by which people can be saved. 

• Acts 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

In fact, the name of Jesus is the only proper divine name in the New Testament.  It is the New Covenant name, as Jehovah was the Old Covenant name.  The name of Jesus is used nearly a thousand times in the New Testament with no rival.

Q. Did Jesus address the name to be used in baptism on any occasion other than that recorded in Matthew 28:19?

Answer: Yes.  He further instructed the Apostles on baptism at a later date than Matthew 28:19.  It occurred just prior to His Ascension and is recorded by Luke.  It is also the occasion when He “opened their understanding” (See Luke 24:45-47).  This is the last instruction He gave them regarding baptism before they would put His teaching into practice on the Day of Pentecost.  This occasion in Luke actually concludes the teaching and charge He gave His Apostles, which we call the Great Commission.  There He instructed them that baptism (remission of sins) was to be preached in His Own name.  You will see His Apostles fulfilling this command about ten days later in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost.  They had combined the instruction given them in Matthew 28:19 with that given later in Luke, when they were further enlightened (Luke 24:45), and baptized about three thousand souls in Jesus’ name.

★ It must be understood that the Apostles were in no doubt as to what to preach regarding baptism.  People may confuse the matter today by misunderstanding the Scriptures but the Apostles were not confused.  They were taught well by their Master.  Before Christ left this earth, the Apostles knew exactly His prescription for the baptismal formula.  When considering the proper formula today, we must understand that no one can know clearer than the Apostles what Jesus intended when He spoke the words of Matthew 28:19.  They were the ones to whom He was speaking.  And they were the ones who fulfilled it and would provide the example for us to follow.  What they came to understand as to its meaning is evident by how they carried it out.  No one since them has the right to carry it out differently than they did.  Jesus certified in His High Priestly prayer that His Apostles were correct in their doctrine (John 17:6-20).  And, what’s more, the Bible cannot contradict itself.  If Matthew 28:19 was not fulfilled by the Apostles baptizing in Jesus’ name, then we must conclude that the command Jesus gave them to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost was never carried out.  That conclusion is impossible.

Q. How were ALL the converts to Christianity in the Bible baptized?

Answer: In Jesus’ name

• Acts 2:38,41
• Acts 8:16
• Acts 10:48
• Acts 19:5
• Acts 22:16

★ Since all the converts to Christianity in the Bible were baptized in Jesus’ name, would you feel confident doing it any other way?  Wouldn’t being baptized other than the way we see it being done in Acts by the Apostles be disobedient and arrogant?  The Bible says, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).  That would require there is only one right way to baptize.  Is it even imaginable that they didn’t have it?  Certainly not!  Truthfully, as regards us, there is no greater evidence for the baptismal formula to be used in baptism than that which was actually practiced by the Apostles.  That is why these examples were given to us by God.  They were intended to be followed as the model for Christian salvation practice.  To be baptized other than by the biblical examples is to reject the one baptism of the Bible.  From a biblical perspective, the baptism carried out in those inspired examples is the baptism to be carried out and received by all.

Q. Is the act of baptism necessary for salvation?

Answer: Yes.

• According to Jesus in Mark 16:15,16
• According to Peter in 1Peter 3:21
• It is also necessary for salvation because it is the means whereby we receive remission of sins, which is the next point of this lesson.

Q. Is baptism functional or merely symbolic?

Answer:

• Through baptism, we are mystically, but actually, buried with Christ into His death (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12), a necessity if we’re going to be raised in the likeness of His resurrection.
• Baptism remits, or, washes away, our sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  This makes it the most important aspect of salvation.
• Baptism is the means whereby we are “in Christ” (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27).

Q. Is baptism a command of Scripture?

Answer: Yes.

• Acts 2:38 is an imperative to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
• The Apostle Peter, likewise, commanded baptism in Acts 10:48.
• Jesus required baptism in the sense that He is the One Who taught those, such as Peter, what to teach in the Christian era and made their word authoritative to us (John 17:20).

★ Baptism is a seminal command.  The promise of receiving God’s Spirit is linked to obedience to the command. 

• Acts 2:38-39

Lesson 13

Receiving The Holy Ghost

         © 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

Preface

The greatest thing that can happen to a person this side of heaven is to have one’s sins washed away by baptism in Jesus’ name and to receive the Spirit of God.  We have looked at water baptism in previous lessons.  In this lesson, we want to focus on being filled with the Spirit.  The Spirit of God is perhaps most often referred to as the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit.  Both mean the same thing. The Bible refers to the event of receiving God’s Spirit as another baptism– a spiritual baptism.  It doesn’t involve water, as we normally think when referring to baptism, but instead it involves the Spirit of God.  One becomes filled with, and immersed in, God’s Spirit.  That’s the reason for the word, “baptism”, in association with the Spirit.  As one can understand the inundation that occurs at water baptism, so it is when one is baptized with the Holy Ghost.  He is similarly inundated by God’s Spirit.  When Jesus spoke of this experience, He described it as, ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20), indicating an immersion into Christ and He into us.  John the Baptist, the forerunner and herald of Jesus Christ, first used the word baptism in reference to the Spirit of God when he said, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But He that is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire (Matthew 3:11). 

Receiving the Holy Ghost is a dramatic experience.

Notice, in the following verses, how the Bible refers to the giving of this experience involving God’s Spirit and you will see why the word, baptism, is sometimes used to describe the Spirit’s coming to man.  The word, baptism, generally describes a dramatic, engulfing event.  The following verses describe an inundation of the Spirit, not a sprinkling of it or a portion granted sparingly.  God’s Spirit is generously and overwhelmingly given, as the word baptism indicates.  See this expressed in the following verses.

• Joel 2:28  And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh… 

            This is the prophecy of the Spirit’s coming to us about 800 years before it  occurred.

• John 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

            This is when Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well and described the experience of receiving the Holy Ghost.

• John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

• Acts 2:33  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. 

        This is the first fulfillment of the promised “pouring out” of the Spirit.  This took place on the Day of Pentecost.

• Acts 10:44  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

• Acts 19:6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

• Titus 3:5,6  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

All these references to the Holy Spirit baptism indicate that the experience of receiving the Holy Ghost is a dramatic one.  And it will be a memorable experience in your life.  In fact, it is a birth that involves new life– a life full of God.  Jesus, in His emphatic statement to Nicodemus, referred to receiving the Holy Ghost as being born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  Birth is dramatic and birth commences the dramatic experience of life that follows.  What is more dramatic than birth and life?  That is what receiving the Holy Ghost is all about.  Appropriately, receiving the Holy Spirit is referred to in the Bible as the baptism of the Holy Spirit, an inundation of God’s Spirit, imparting to us new, and eternal, life.  And when we receive that experience of new life in and by God’s Spirit, we will speak in other tongues (languages) just as they did in Bible times.  The experience has not changed because the God Who gives the experience has not changed.  In this lesson, we will show biblical examples of people receiving the Holy Ghost and speaking in other tongues.  But first, let’s consider just how eager God is to give you His Spirit.

God will freely give His Spirit to anyone.

As mentioned earlier, Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28) of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost was given about 800 years before its fulfillment.  That alone signifies that it is a special and dramatic event.  To speak of an event 800 years in advance is to indicate its importance.  And, in this case, it also suggests how much God is wanting to give it.  God has been certainly looking forward to pouring it out upon mankind for a long time.  That fact should encourage anyone who has not yet received it to believe God for it.  He wants to give it to you.  This is especially evident when the universal aspect of the prophecy is considered.  Notice the inclusion of everyone partaking of this in the words, “all flesh”.  Here again is the quote: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh….  That leaves no one out.  If anyone was not included in the promise, the verse would have to read, “some flesh…”.  Two expressions stand out here that indicate the willingness and forwardness of God to give you His Spirit.  One is seen in what we have already stated– His desire to give it to all people (I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh).  The other is in the expression, I will pour out.  Those words express an eager anticipation to carry out the promise and indicate a full determination to give the Spirit without the remotest reluctance.  Receiving the Holy Ghost from God requires no coaxing.  He said He will pour it out.

Jesus is the Spirit Baptizer.

Another reason I know God wants to give you, and will give you, His Spirit is because the Holy Ghost is given in consequence of Calvary.  Jesus had to go to the cross in order for Him to give us His Spirit.  Jesus said this in John 16:7.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter [that is, the Holy Ghost] will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.  Anyone who can claim that Jesus died for him on the cross can also lay claim to the promised Spirit.  Because Jesus died for you, the Holy Ghost is yours to receive.  It’s that simple.  Jesus will give the Spirit to all those for whom He died.  Do you believe He died for you?  Then you should also believe He will give you the Holy Ghost.  In fact, that was the promise given in John the Baptist’s prophecy of it we pointed out a moment ago.  John said, I indeed baptize you with water, but He that cometh after me… shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost….  John basically said, “I am a water-baptizer, but He is the Spirit-baptizer”.  As John faithfully baptized those who sincerely came to him, so Jesus will baptize with the Holy Ghost all who come to Him.  It is His ministry, even as water baptism was John’s.  He will perform His ministry which necessitated His death.  He died for you, so He will give you the Holy Ghost.

You will receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost because that’s why Jesus came.

Remember that God had promised 800 years in advance to give the Holy Ghost (Joel 2:28).   Actually, it was His plan since the promise of a redeemer in Genesis 3:15.  This was to be the result of His coming to earth.  There are three main events in the New Testament. 

1. Bethlehem– Jesus came. 

2. Calvary– He gave His life for us (to take away our sins) and was resurrected. 

3. Pentecost–  He poured out His Spirit on man and from that moment the Church began. 

So we see from these three facts God’s purpose for coming to earth.  He came ultimately that our sins could be washed away and that we could be filled with His Spirit.  So then Christ’s coming to earth can be summarized by these three great New Testament events: Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.  Christmas and Easter are duly recognized and celebrated.  Pentecost should be equally so since it is what Christmas and Easter produced.  Christmas and Easter would have been unsuccessful without Pentecost.  The crystal clear point of the New Testament is that Jesus came to give us His Spirit.  The Apostle Paul succinctly referred to the Christian era as the ministration of the Spirit, indicating that the essence of the era would involve Christ’s Spirit being poured out, resulting in righteousness (2Corinthians 3:8-9).

Again, the reason Jesus came was to usher in the Spirit.  Jesus accomplished His goal.  Since the Day of Pentecost, He has been pouring out His Spirit.  He will pour it out on you, too, because that’s what He came to do. 

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a “gift” to you.

In addition to the facts stated above for God giving you the Holy Ghost is the fact that it is prominently declared in the Bible to be a gift for you.  Hear how Peter said it on the Day of Pentecost: 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. 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 (Acts 2:38-39).  Did you see the word, gift, in verse 38?  And did you see the word, promise, in verse 39?  And did you see the word, you, in verse 39?  The gift of the Holy Ghost is promised by God to you.  And it’s also promised to your children (also in verse 39).  Claim your gift from God.  It will affect your life like nothing else can.  And cost associated with a gift is usually indicative of its value.  The gift of His Spirit is made available by the ultimate price He paid on Calvary.  Be assured it will make a valuable difference in your life.

God wants you to have His Spirit.

There’s hardly a stronger reason to put forth than the one presented here.  It may be supplied as the single most persuasive reason to be assured that God will give you the Holy Ghost.  He wants you to have it.  Jesus spoke of this free granting of the Spirit specifically in Luke 11:9-13.  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? 

God wants you to have His Spirit just like earthly parents, so far inferior in goodness to Him, want their children to have good things.

Christ responding to Nicodemus’ vague faith illustrates His desire to give the Spirit.

Another indication in the Bible that God is eager to give His Spirit can be seen in John 3:1-5 when Christ was talking to Nicodemus. This encounter with Nicodemus on a starlit night occurred early in Christ’s ministry.  Nicodemus had barely expressed faith in Jesus.  Notice this in verse 2:  Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  The first thing we learn that Jesus said in response to Nicodemus’ faith is that one must be born of water (water baptism) and the Spirit.  The eager anticipation of fulfilling the prophetic promise regarding the Spirit is striking.  And if Christ was so anxious to speak of the Spirit in response to Nicodemus’ somewhat hazy faith, how anxious is He to give you His Spirit when you ask Him for it?  Certainly not less.  Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?  Then He would say the same thing to you.  He wants you to have His Spirit.

Christ leaps to the subject of Holy Spirit baptism when speaking with the woman at the well.

It appears that Christ was really anxious to get the word out to Nicodemus about receiving the Spirit.  And that early occurrence in Christ’s ministry is not the only place we observe this.  Notice also in the next chapter the same readiness of Christ to leap to the subject of one being filled with the Spirit.  In John 4, Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well in Samaria.  Notice with what swiftness Jesus brought up the subject of the Holy Ghost baptism into the conversation.  This clearly indicates that His mission is to fill souls with His Spirit.  Here’s how this particular incident at the well took place.  I’m going to relate it in the present tense to give a better sense of how it might have seemed at the time.  Jesus is sitting on the well prior to her coming.  The Samaritan woman approaches the well.  She recognizes that this stranger sitting on the well is a Jew.  Therefore, she doesn’t expect that any conversation will follow, not even a, “hello”, since the Samaritans and Jews are enemies and have no dealings with each other.  So, expecting nothing but silence from this Jewish stranger, she is very surprised when Jesus asks for a drink of water.  She expresses her shock at this request by the following remark: How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans (v.9).  Immediately Jesus dives into the subject of the Holy Ghost baptism, actually referring to it by the same word, gift, which was later used by Peter in reference to it on the Day of Pentecost.  He said in verse 10, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  It was literally mentioned in Jesus’ second sentence with her.  His desire in this area is unmistakable.

He referred to the Holy Ghost baptism as receiving living water.  He went on to describe it in verse 14 as, a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  Here’s the quote: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  It is.  And it was part of the reason she forgot her waterpot and went into the city to tell others of Jesus (verse 28).  All the subsequent comments Jesus directed to her in their short conversation were related to the spiritual subject He brought up about receiving the Holy Ghost, which He indicated would result in true spiritual worship.  It is that true worship in spirit and in truth that God is seeking and requiring.  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

Jesus’ public cry illustrates His passion to have souls receive the Holy Ghost.

We’ve seen in the two prior examples Jesus’ passion to inform people of an experience that would be available to them from God soon.  It would first be poured out on the Day of Pentecost soon after His ascension.  As mentioned earlier, He would have to give His life on Calvary first and be buried, resurrect, and ascend to make this gift available.  Once again, His readiness to give the Holy Spirit is seen in John 7:37-39.  Here Jesus was attending a Jewish feast along with many others.  Suddenly, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.). Then, standing out in the crowd, Jesus immediately spoke of the Holy Ghost baptism that would be available after His glorification.  Again, it was His focus.  It was His mission.  It was the purpose for which He came.  His birth at Bethlehem would result in Calvary and His resurrection, which would result in Pentecost.  Beginning on the Day of Pentecost, He would pour out of His Spirit upon souls.  His giving the Spirit would be the culmination of His work.  It is His will for everyone.  We saw in the examples of Nicodemus and the woman at the well where Jesus spoke of this promise to individuals, indicating that each individual is important, and that He gives the Spirit to individuals specifically and on an individual level.  And, likewise, we see here in John 7 where He indiscriminately spoke of it to the crowd, offering it to any and to all freely.  It is for each.  It is for all. 

On the day of His resurrection Jesus spoke of the Spirit to come.

There is one more occasion we should look at where Jesus shows again His tremendous forwardness to pour out His Spirit.  It is recorded in John 20.  It is the day of the Resurrection– the first Easter morning.  He had just accomplished the most wonderful thing for the human race.  He had died for our sins and had victoriously risen from the dead.  All that stood in the way for man to have his sins remitted and be filled with God’s Spirit was removed.  It was a victorious moment.  It was a transcendently glorious occasion.  A smile must have been on Jesus’ face.  Upon seeing His Apostles for the first time since His betrayal, what do you think Jesus will say to them?  How will this first meeting go?  Surely there would be so many things to talk about.   What is primarily on the Savior’s mind on the first Easter Sunday?  The last thing they heard Him say was, It is finished, as He died (John 19:30).  What will He say now?  Here He is right up from the tomb on the first meeting with His Apostles after accomplishing the means to freely pour out His long-promised Spirit.  And what takes place?  Verse 23 says, …He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost….  It’s as though He couldn’t wait to talk about it.  It was the prevailing thought on His mind, and understandably so.  It was the reason He died.  And the Spirit would soon be given to them.

I think this is especially punctuated by the fact that He referred to the Pentecostal event that was still fifty days away.   John 20:23 was only anticipatory.  They were not actually filled with the Holy Ghost until the Day of Pentecost according to the divine plan.  But His constant desire to pour it out was again evident here.  What’s more, by His breathing on them and saying what He did, He was making it clear that no impediment to their receiving it remained when the appointed time would come.  It added importance to what He had just accomplished and to what was soon to come.

9 a.m. Pentecost morning

And that appointed time for the Spirit to be poured out came on the Day of Pentecost.  Acts 2:1 says it this way, And when the day of Pentecost was fully come….  Yes, it came, And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).  And it’s interesting, too, that the Holy Ghost was poured out early in the morning– not too early that people would miss it, but at 9 a.m.  It seems to suggest that the desire that God had long awaited to fulfill, the desire that Jesus so readily spoke of so often, could not wait till noon or evening.  It was time and God was going to pour it out!  He feels the same way about pouring it out on you!  I can say that with biblical confidence, too, because of what I see following in Acts.

The Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit.

We saw in John 4 where Jesus told the woman at the well in the area of Samaria about the Spirit, which He referred to as the gift of God (John 4:10).  She went and told others in the city about Him and they came out to hear Jesus.  He remained in the city for two days.  He certainly sowed the seeds of revival that we read about in Acts 8.

We learn in Acts 8 that Philip went down to Samaria to preach the Gospel.  He experienced great revival, including miracles and reception of his message concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.  Those who believed were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  But what is significant in this narrative is the stress laid on the necessity of receiving the Holy Spirit and the positive certainty that it is for everyone.  This can be easily seen by the fact that the Spirit was not yet received, inducing Peter and John to travel there, who prayed for them that they might receive it (Acts 8:14-17).  That alone implies its necessity.  But the wording is especially indicative of the fact that the Apostles and early Christians deemed the Holy Ghost experience as a part of conversion and not to be left absent.  This is evident from the word, only, in verse 16.  They had not yet, prior to the coming of Peter and John, received the Spirit.  Their experience was described as being only baptized in water.  It is plain from that wording that their conversion was deemed incomplete without receiving the Spirit.  And then we read that they received it and the matter was resolved. 

But the wording referred to also assures us that, though they had not yet received the Spirit, it was not assumed that they wouldn’t.  Peter and John came that they would.  From this chain of events, it’s plain to see that receiving the Holy Ghost was considered to be universal.  It is for everyone.  Anyone who has not yet received it is not to assume that he will not.  It is to be assumed that he will. 

Notice the context of Acts 8:14-17:

14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

The Jews of that day thought that the Samaritans were the worst people of all.  But God didn’t share their prejudice.  He died for everyone and He wants everyone to receive His Spirit.  We saw the Spirit poured out on the Jews in Acts 2.  We see it here being given to the Samaritans.  That only leaves one more people-group, the Gentiles.  We witness them receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 10.

The Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles before Peter was through preaching.

In Acts 10 Peter was sent to the house of a Gentile.  The Jews were not yet aware that these non-Jews were included in the promise of salvation so it took a little persuasion by a thrice-repeated vision from God to convince Peter to go.  Once there, Peter preached a message of the resurrected Christ similar to what he preached on the Day of Pentecost, showing that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.  While the Apostles may not have previously realized God’s desire to fill the Gentiles with His Spirit, it became very evident a few minutes after Peter began to speak.  He wasn’t even finished with his message.  And God, with what biblically looks like typical divine longing to pour out His Spirit, did just that, even while Peter was yet speaking.  Notice verse 44.  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.  God wants to fill souls with His Spirit.  He has the same desire to fill you as He did Cornelius or anyone else.  He wants you to have it.

The Jewish men that accompanied Peter to Cornelius’ house were astonished when they saw the Gentiles receive the Holy Ghost (v.45) but they couldn’t deny it because they heard the Gentiles speak with tongues (v.46), the universal sign that one has been filled.  We wonder, of course with the advantage of hindsight, how they could be so surprised.  God loves all the peoples of the world and wills for everyone to be filled with His Spirit.  This fact apparently dawned on Peter when, to his amazement, the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles.  According to Acts 11:15-16, it was at this time of surprise that he recalled the Word of the Lord when He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.  Here Peter realized that the, ye, in the, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, means every single person in the world.  That same ye means it’s for you, too!

Believers Who Could Have Had The Holy Ghost A Lot Sooner Had They Known

The Bible records an incident involving some people who were devout believers in Christ, actually for about 20 years or more, but were missing out on the experience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost simply because they were not aware of it.  Could this be your situation?  It was mine at one time.  We see this case in Acts 19:1-6.  Notice how easily it was remedied.  It’s not hard to receive a gift!–once you know about it!

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

As you can see here and have seen elsewhere in this brief lesson, you can easily receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  God is still pouring it out every single day.  Remember how easy Jesus said it would be to receive in Luke 11:13?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?  It’s yours for the asking.  He gives and does so willingly and freely.  All we have to do is ask and receive.

Other Spirit-filled Christians will help you receive the Holy Ghost.

Lastly, you’ll notice that in all the occasions in the book of Acts of the Spirit being poured out, except the initial time on the Day of Pentecost, other Spirit-filled people were present when someone received the Holy Ghost.  That doesn’t mean that it only happens that way but it certainly indicates a helpfulness when someone who is Spirit-filled is present– a helpfulness in teaching, or encouraging, or praying, or directing.  If you are desiring to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, I encourage you to obtain this same kind of help.  You will find it in someone who has himself received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  Or, you will find it in a Church that believes in it and teaches it.  They will gladly pray for you and pray with you.  To be sure, you can receive it with no one else around.  But most people receive it in an atmosphere of faith that is enhanced by others who have the Spirit.

What this lesson should do in us:

What should this lesson do in us?  If one has not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost as it is demonstrated in the book of Acts, this lesson should impel him to desire it and ask God for it.  It should also help one to believe that God wants to give him His Spirit and will give it to him in response to faith. 

Lesson 14

Receiving The Holy Spirit Is Essential To Salvation

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Revised 5.13.20

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

We have focused on the necessity of water baptism in past lessons.  This lesson has to do with the twin necessity of receiving the Holy Ghost, or in equivalent terminology, Holy Spirit.  While we speak of having the Spirit of God in terms of necessity, it is, even more than that, a privilege.  To receive the Holy Ghost is to have God residing in us.  And that’s the greatest thing that can happen to an individual.  But it is a necessity also because we each need the baptism of the Spirit to be saved.  It’s part and parcel of being born again.  The aim of this lesson is to show this fact.  To start with, let’s look at two concise, absolute statements in the New Testament about the necessity of having the Holy Ghost.  Afterward, we’ll look at other teaching that is just as absolute, but perhaps not with the same astonishing force and brevity of words.

The Concise, Absolute Teaching Of Jesus In John 3:5

John 3:5

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God

Receiving the Holy Ghost is essential to salvation.  Jesus stated this concisely and absolutely in John 3:5.  His saying, verily, verily ( “amen, amen” in Greek), before His statement regarding new birth was a special emphasis, unique to Him, that stressed the unalterable character of the teaching that was to follow.  The necessity of receiving the Spirit was also strengthened by other strong words in the verse, which I have underlined in the following quotation.  Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.  The result of this triple emphasis in word construction is that the requirement to be born of water and the Spirit is absolute.  That means it would be true always and in all cases without exception.   Plainer teaching is hardly possible.  Jesus was profoundly emphatic in expressing this need.  No one can enter the Kingdom of God without the born again experience, which involves receiving the Holy Ghost.

To anyone who thinks that sounds exclusive, I somewhat agree.  But the exclusivity does not prevent sincere persons from entrance but, rather, in limiting the means of entrance to that of water and Spirit.  In other words, entrance is available to any and to all.  That makes it totally inclusive in the sense of who can be born again.  For it is clear in the New Testament that the promise to receive the Spirit is to all persons (Acts 2:38-39; Luke 11:13).  The Apostles said that God indeed gives it to all who “obey Him” (Acts 5:32).  There is no exclusivity, then, as to who can receive it but rather a universal inclusivity for anyone to receive it by a singular means.  It is kind of like the single means of entry into Noah’s ark.  It was inclusive to all the animals brought to enter but exclusive as to the point of that entry.  There was only one door.  Similarly, Jesus said there is one way into the Kingdom of God, namely, by new birth of water and Spirit.  But all who will come that one way may enter.  This corresponds to His teaching in another place where Jesus said the way to life would be narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).  But that narrowness would not prevent a sincere soul who wants to be saved from actual entry.  It simply meant that the point of entry was specific, and, therefore, limited.  Anyone really wanting eternal life would be pleased to enter, regardless of the width of the entry.

The Concise, Absolute Teaching Of The Apostle Paul

Paul also expressed the necessity of having the Holy Spirit concisely and absolutely.  He said in Romans 8:9, Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.  Again, a plainer statement is hardly possible.  The emphasis Paul places on having the Spirit would be hard to duplicate.  The sheer force of his words leave no obscurity as to their meaning.  He is making a patent declaration that having the Spirit is necessary to be Christ’s and that, without it, a person does not belong to Him.  Further commentary is superfluous.  One must have the Spirit of Christ or he is not recognized as a Christian.  (And this writing of Paul’s squares perfectly with what we observe of him in Acts 19:1-6.  There at Ephesus, the first thing we see when he encounters believers in Christ concerns their having the Holy Ghost.  His theology expressed in Romans 8:9 was apparently operating when he met the disciples at Ephesus.)

John 3:5 and Romans 8:9 are enough to settle the matter.  What more needs to be said?  Either authority cited, Jesus or Paul, is sufficient.  The statements of both are absolute and cannot be weakened by any other considerations.  A person must be born of the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God and, without the Spirit, he is not Christ’s.  But still there is much more in God’s Word to show the essentiality of receiving the Holy Ghost besides these.  Let’s consider other Scriptures on the matter.

What John The Baptist’s Words Convey

Matthew 3:11

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that  cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. 

John referred to two baptisms and two baptizers— him, involving water, and Jesus, involving the Spirit.  We have come to refer to John as, “the Baptist”.  We could, with equal accuracy, call Jesus, “the Spirit Baptist”.  That is what John implied.  Baptizing with the Spirit is as much Christ’s ministry as water baptism was John’s.  And, as hearers of John were expected, upon believing, to be water-baptized, so those who believe in Christ are expected to receive Spirit baptism.  Notice the certainty of this in John’s prophecy, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.  Spirit baptism is to result from becoming a believer in Jesus.  It’s the nature of Christ’s ministry.  On the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared to the witnesses of the poured-out Spirit that Christ Himself was its source.  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 (Acts 2:33).  This is what Christ, as the Spirit Baptizer, came to do. 

Because John was a man sent from God (John 1:6), his ministry was to be universally received.  Spiritual peril resulted for the individual who refused his baptism (Luke 7:28-30).  Christ’s baptism of the Spirit, likewise, is to be personally received by everyone.  That’s why the three main events of Christianity are Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.  The culmination of the mission of Christ was Pentecost.  (And the greatest event of all, the Rapture, awaits those who have fulfilled the plan of salvation.)

What Jesus’ Words In John 7:37-39 Convey

John 7:37-39

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. 

38 He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 

39 (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.).

Jesus’ statement here also indicates the necessity of receiving the Holy Ghost.  Notice what Jesus said would happen to anyone who believes in Him— out of his belly (innermost being) shall flow rivers of living water.  And, in verse 39, Jesus made it clear that this means receiving the Holy Ghost.  Christ’s point is sharp and direct— all believers are to receive the Spirit.  Jesus’ remark is equally as direct as John’s when John said, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. 

At the time Jesus made this remark, the Holy Ghost was not yet available but would be so after His glorification. But verse 39 expressly indicates that those believing in Him are to receive the Spirit when it is made available.  In other words, it is the certain experience of true believers.  This is, perhaps, more evident in the NIV translation: 39 By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.  Here, Jesus said the Spirit would not be available until after Calvary and the ascension of Jesus.  It came on the Day of Pentecost.  Anticipation of Pentecost is what drove Christ to Calvary, for He could not pour out His Spirit apart from giving His life (John 16:7).  Therefore, every person for whom Christ died is eligible to receive His Holy Spirit.  It’s the reason He went to the cross.  Spirit baptism is integral to the ministry of Christ and is central to Christianity.  In fact, the Apostle Paul summarily designated the Christian era as the dispensation of the Spirit (2Corinthians 3:8).  Therefore, failure to receive Christ’s Spirit would be to miss the essence of Christ’s ministry.  It would equate to missing Christ Himself and to being outside of Christianity (Romans 8:9). 

When The Day Of Pentecost Had Fully Come

The time of the fulfillment of the promised Spirit did come.  The close followers of Christ who were gathered in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost were filled with the Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Beginning in verse 12, the spectators to this event inquired among themselves as to what was taking place.  In the verses that follow, Peter responded by saying they were witnessing the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy regarding the promised Spirit.  His answer involved preaching to them about the mission of Christ.  When they realized they had crucified their Messiah and that He was raised from the dead and risen to heaven, they asked what to do (verse 37).  At that point, Peter stated the plan of salvation by which they could be freed from their sin and filled, likewise, with God’s Spirit.    

Acts 2:38-39

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.

I have underlined portions of the passage here to point out the clear certainty and universality of receiving the Spirit.  It is just as evident in Peter’s words as it was in John’s and Jesus’. 

Summary

Summarizing what we have said so far, the expected experience of those who believe in Christ is receiving the Holy Ghost.  Simply put, it’s what He came to do.  But He first went to Calvary because He had to deal with our sins on the cross (John 16:7).  He came to earth to die on Calvary in order to give us the Holy Ghost. 

Other Pauline Scriptures That Reveal The Necessity Of Having The Spirit

Romans 8:1-2 

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

We have already looked at another verse in this chapter (8:9) where Paul concluded, Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.  His conclusion was preceded by these verses.  The, no condemnation, clause that is so often cited has to do with those persons who have, and are walking in, the Spirit.  The emphasis is on the freeing power of the Spirit, without which we are powerless and are mere subjects of the law of sin and death.  The necessity of the Spirit is thus seen as absolute.  It is according to a law necessary to nullify the law that would otherwise reign, and had previously reigned, in us.  The Spirit in this context is called the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  It is that by which we have new life— regeneration in Christ.  Being born of Christ, the “last Adam”, who is a quickening Spirit, to cite Paul again (1Corinthians 15:45), supersedes the death nature we received from Adam.  Reason dictates, then, that to be without that Spirit of Christ would leave a person without Christ and subject to the natural course we received from Adam— sin and death.

1Corinthians 12:13

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 

We previously saw the Apostle Paul in Romans 8.9 say that anyone without the Spirit is not Christ’s.  That is not a stand-alone verse on the subject of the essentiality of the Spirit as you survey his writings.  The verse we cite now in Corinthians essentially says the same thing but in a more positive way.  It is by the Spirit that we are baptized into the Body of Christ.  Thus, without the Spirit, we are not in Christ.  Our being baptized with the Holy Ghost, which Christ gives, thus effects our being baptized into Christ.  Without that experience with Christ, which all that come to Him are to receive (John 7:38-39), we are still outside of Him.  Receiving the Holy Ghost is how we’re in Him and it’s how we can know we’re in Him.  (This is similar to 1John 4:13, which we’ll look at in a moment.)

Galatians 3:3 

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 

Notice the Galatians are said to have begun in the Spirit.  That indicates that the beginning point of the Christian walk is receiving the Spirit.  What could be said of them if they had not received the Spirit except that they had not yet begun?

Galatians 5:5 

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 

It is assumed here that our hope in Christ is through the Spirit.

2Corinthians 3:7-8 

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

Paul is contrasting the Old and New Testaments, showing the superiority of the New.  While doing so, he refers to the Old Testament, in which offenders were often punished with death, as the ministration of death.  In contrast, he refers to the New Testament as the ministration of the spirit.  Whereas the Law of Moses was the basis for the Old Testament, new life in the Spirit is the experience of the New.  The very fact that Paul associated the New Testament with the Spirit, describing it as the “ministration of the Spirit”, testifies to the necessity of the Spirit.  It is the essence of the New Testament, which corresponds to the prophecies looking forward to it (e.g. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Joel 2:28) and to the fulfillment of those prophecies on the grand inauguration of the Church dispensation when the Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost.  To not receive the Holy Ghost would be to miss the purpose of the New Testament.

Much more along these lines could be pointed out in Scripture, but let it suffice us to use but one more.

The Apostle John’s Corroboration

1John 4:13 

Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.

The Apostle John places the certainty of knowing we’re in Christ in having His Spirit.  That is quite a telling statement.  Take special notice of what we have underlined in the verse for clarity and emphasis.  It is evident that, to be in Christ, we must have His Spirit.

But Doesn’t Everyone Automatically Receive The Spirit At The Moment He Believes?

In reference to the question at hand, the book of Acts clearly proves that a person is not automatically filled with the Spirit when he believes.  Many people today are taught that, at the moment a person believes in Christ, or, accepts Christ, etc., he automatically receives the Holy Spirit as a believer in Christ.  Or, he may be taught that he receives the Holy Ghost automatically when he is water baptized.  These teachings are just simply not true.  And few heresies are easier to refute. 

The book of Acts is especially helpful to highlight and correct this error.  Remember that Acts is the book of salvation in the New Testament.  It is where we see actual conversions to the Christian Church taking place.  God inspired it and gave it to us for the very purpose of knowing with certainty what Christian salvation really is.  The matter of salvation is of greatest importance, and God would not have us be in error (1Timothy 2:4).  Christ died to save us.  In Acts, God shows us how to be saved.  In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, I will build My Church.  In Acts, He builds it right before our eyes.  There, the Apostles are doing the work they were commissioned to do.  Souls are being saved.  And we can see just how they were saved.  Discovering salvation doctrine doesn’t get much simpler.  In Acts, salvation steps are, literally, etched in time— in actual conversion history.  We see converts at the point of belief in Christ.  We also see them baptized in water.  And, separately from these steps, we see them receiving the Holy Ghost.  That’s just too easy.  Simple chronology proves that the Spirit was not given when they believed or when they were baptized.  It is seen to be a separate experience altogether.  Numerous examples illustrate this point. 

1) In Acts 8, the Samaritans believed and were baptized but had not received the Holy Ghost until Peter and John came from Jerusalem and prayed for them (Acts 8:5-17). 

2) In Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus (Paul) did not receive the Spirit of God until three days after he came to faith in Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-17). 

3) In Acts 19, Paul encountered some people who had been believers in Christ for about twenty years who had not, previous to his meeting them, received the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:1-7). 

These examples prove that no one is filled with the Holy Ghost just because he believes in Christ or is baptized.  The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a separate experience. 

Nothing Surpasses Acts For Clarity Of Salvation Issues.

Nothing elsewhere in Scripture can be used to refute what is clearly taught about Christian salvation in the book of Acts.  Actually, it is the go-to book when confronted with salvation-related issues or questions because it shows the salvation tenets occur in the case of real Christian converts under real Apostolic ministry.  A serious person couldn’t ask for more.  If someone wants to see how Peter and Paul brought souls to conversion, Acts is the only place to go. 

Some people easily misinterpret the Epistles, especially Paul’s.

We have already looked at some important examples of salvation in Acts.  Now let’s show a popular example of false doctrine based on a misinterpretation of Paul’s Ephesian epistle that is easily rectified by the simple chronology of Acts.  It involves Ephesians 1:13. 

In whom ye also 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. 

Some people interpret this to mean that, upon believing in Christ, a person immediately receives the Holy Ghost.  On the surface, and without further study, it may appear to teach that.  However, it cannot mean that because of what we know to be true from the actual chronology of salvation apparent in Acts.  And, what’s even more emphatic in this case is the fact that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul, who actually founded this Church to whom it was written.  And we have the record of this Church’s founding in Acts 19:1-6, to which we referred a moment ago.  There, we see the conversion of their charter members.  If the Holy Ghost was granted at mere belief in Christ, then the question Paul asked them upon meeting them would never have needed to have been asked.  Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? (Acts 19:2).  And, indeed, those first members did believe— and for a long time— and yet had not received it.  In fact, they were not at all aware of it.  And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 

So Ephesians 1:13, written to a church whose salvation experience we know from Acts, which shows examples of people from that Church who did not receive the Holy Ghost at the point of believing in Christ, cannot be teaching something contrary.  What’s more, the fact of the consistency of the Apostle cannot be overlooked.  Paul was not going to flip-flop in his theology when later writing to them.  What he actually practiced in Acts 19, where he didn’t presume they had the Spirit just because they believed, he would not suddenly digress from in his epistle to them.  To think so is unreasonable.  He would have been either confused or dishonest. 

Paul wasn’t saying that mere belief was the instrumentality of receiving the Holy Ghost.  He simply meant that, subsequent to their faith in Christ, they received the Spirit.  And that is precisely the case with every person who receives the Holy Ghost.  It is, in fact, the promise that was preached on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-39). 

Universal Salvation

The Bible is clear that there is one plan of salvation.  It was evident on the Day of Pentecost and it is clear from such Scriptures as Ephesians 4:5, 1Corinthians 12:13, Jude 3, and others.  Even logically, it must be admitted that the Christian salvation experience has to be universal.  Salvation for one person is salvation for all.  There cannot be a difference between persons.  On that basis, if one person really receives the Holy Ghost when he believes, then all must at that point.  But we know in Acts 19 that none of them did.  And, as we pointed out, the same thing was true regarding the Samaritans in Acts 8 and Paul’s own experience in chapter 9.  Therefore, no one receives the Holy Ghost at the moment of belief in Christ. 

These examples in Acts prove that there is no way the superficial interpretation of Ephesians 1:13 can be sound, especially since one of the examples involves that very Church.   Ephesians 1:13 must agree with what is clearly true from Acts 19.  The same thing is true regarding another Scripture in Ephesians that is often misapplied and misinterpreted, namely Ephesians 2:8-9.  It does not teach a salvation experience different from what the original Ephesians received in Acts 19:1-6.  It is merely a summary statement of Paul that would be readily understood by those Christians to whom he was writing who had received the Acts 2:38 conversion experience— like everyone else since the Day of Pentecost.  Salvation for one is salvation for all.  There are no exceptions.  That would make the Gospel fluid and unreliable.

On salvation matters, Acts must always be consulted because it affords clear examples of salvation, denoting sequence of experience and Apostolic practice. 

The Next Important Point

All of this brings us to the next important point.  If the baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation, and if a person does not automatically receive it the moment he believes in Christ or is water baptized, how can a person know for certain when he has received it?  It follows upon the fact of the necessity of the Holy Ghost that there must also be a sure, objective, biblically verifiable means to know when one has received it.  Otherwise, we could not immediately, objectively, and certainly claim the salvation Jesus died to give us.  This is the subject of the next lesson.  We will answer the question, “What is the evidence that a person has received the Holy Ghost?”

Lesson 15

The Evidence Of Receiving The Holy Spirit Is Speaking In Tongues

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

For more info, please write: [email protected]

Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

In the last lesson, we learned that receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost is essential to salvation.  As you recall, Jesus said in John 3:5, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That statement of Jesus is profoundly absolute.  It is as serious a statement as can be made.  It determines one’s eternal state.  We saw, likewise, that Paul said in Romans 8:9 that, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.  He unequivocally says that, unless we have the Spirit of Christ, we do not belong to Him.  We pointed out that the Apostle John also added unanimity to the subject by saying, Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of his Spirit.  John said we know we are in Christ because we have His Spirit.  Anything that proves we’re in Him— the indwelling Spirit in this case— is of utmost importance.  Therefore, the Spirit’s presence in us has to be soundly and unquestionably verifiable.  The Spirit is invisible and immaterial, thereby evading our senses.  How can a person be certain he has it?  Surely one could not rely on mere subjective means, such as “believing” one has it or arbitrarily claiming to have it.  One must know he has it.  And that necessarily leads us to the question, “How does a person truly know if or when he has received the Holy Ghost?”  Since it is absolutely necessary to have the Spirit, there must also be an objectively verifiable proof of having it, based on a biblical standard.  What is that biblical standard by which we can know we have been filled with the Holy Ghost? 

God has provided biblical examples for our assurance.

In His Word, God has provided examples of people receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  Thank God for that.  What could give us a better understanding of what takes place when someone receives the Spirit of God than a divinely inspired record of people actually receiving it?!  We can then compare ourselves or align ourselves with the biblical record. 

In the cases of those who received the Holy Ghost in the Bible, there was objective, verifiable evidence that they had been filled, evidence that was universally accepted by Apostolic ministers.  It wasn’t based on subjective “faith” or presumptions of God’s grace because a person claims to believe in Jesus.  Notice Acts 2:4, And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  They literally spoke in other tongues (languages) as the Spirit enabled them.  We can know we have the Spirit of God by this same evidence.  Notice that the evidence is Spirit-driven.  Speaking in tongues is not subjective but is the operation of the Spirit itself and is, thus, the objective evidence that a person has received the Spirit.  It is objective for the recipient, who comes under the Spirit’s power, and it is objective for the person witnessing the event by his own senses (e.g., Acts 2:33; 10:46).  We’ll see more of this a little later.

Biblical Examples Of People Receiving The Holy Ghost

Let’s look at the biblical examples where people actually did receive God’s Spirit and see how it happened or how it was determined to have taken place.  There is only one book in the Bible where actual baptisms of the Holy Ghost occurred. That is the book of Acts.  That’s because Acts is the only narrative history of the Church that we have in the Bible.  It is the only book that covers Christian evangelism and salvation.  It was wise and gracious of God to give us this thirty-year history of His Church so that we could have a sure and accurate model for salvation, including evidence of the Spirit’s baptism, thus, eliminating any doubt on such an important matter.  Speaking in tongues universally accompanied those who received the Spirit.  By providing us these examples, God gave us the certainty to know when we receive it ourselves. 

Acts 2 The Day Of Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost, which occurred fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, was the day the Christian Church was born.  On that day, the Spirit that had been promised for 800 years was poured out for the first time.  Those who were in the Upper Room in Jerusalem awaiting the Holy Ghost included Jesus’ mother, His brothers, and His Apostles, along with others, numbering about 120 in all (Acts 1:13-15).  Acts 2:4 records their experience.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  We see from this record that they all spoke in tongues when they received the Holy Ghost.  And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, their speaking in tongues was an operation of the Spirit itself, providing an objective, observable, physical sign that they were filled. 

This fact was corroborated by Peter’s use of Joel’s prophecy in the interaction that followed with those who had witnessed this dramatic event.  The recipients of the Spirit created quite a spectacle in Jerusalem on that busy Jewish feast day.  They were speaking in languages foreign to themselves but which were well understood by those Jews who came to keep the feast of Pentecost from those foreign places where those languages were naturally spoken.  Acts 2:11-12 records that the witnesses were amazed at this phenomenal event, which provoked them to ask, “What does all this mean?”  They were clearly referring to the highly observable speaking in tongues.  Peter was the spokesman and took that question as his cue.  He answered in verses 16 and 17, But this [speaking in tongues] is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.  The speaking in tongues was declared to be the fulfillment of what would accompany the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, according to Joel’s prophecy. 

That word, prophesy, in Joel’s prophecy carries the meaning of praising God.   And that is exactly what the spectators were witnessing when the Apostles and others were speaking in tongues, according to their own testimony in verse 11.  We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. It is styled, prophecy, because it involves speaking (praise in this case) by divine enablement or inspiration.  Therefore, speaking in tongues should never be disparaged or feared because it is the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy concerning those filled with God’s Spirit and because it is praise to God. 

What’s more, the certainty that speaking in tongues is the evidence of Spirit baptism is further seen as Peter continued his discourse in Acts 2:33. 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 [the Holy Ghost], which ye now see and hear.   Peter described the Holy Ghost outpouring, which the onlookers witnessed, as something they could “see and hear”.  In other words, Peter claimed the shedding forth of the Spirit was evidenced by the witnesses seeing and hearing the recipients speaking in tongues!  Combined with Joel’s prophecy, this is powerful proof that speaking in tongues is the evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost. This is the objective, verifiable evidence of the Spirit that I referred to earlier.

So from the very beginning of the Spirit dispensation, based on fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Joel 2:28), speaking in tongues was shown to be what was to accompany the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  From this case alone, we can conclude that speaking in tongues is the evidence of Spirit baptism. 

The Intimation Of Jesus In John 3:8

What we’re about to consider next in John 3:8 is not as concrete as what we have just observed in Acts 2 but it deserves our notice.  At the close of the context of Jesus’ remarks to Nicodemus about being born again, Jesus compared the Spirit baptism to the wind, which invisibly goes where it wants.  Here, the Teacher described a sense that makes the wind’s presence detectable, namely, the sound that it makes.  He said, The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  The analogy that Jesus made with the wind and its accompanying sound to the Spirit’s coming on an individual is too close a description of what we see in Acts to be ignored.  Christ seems to imply that the Spirit, though invisible like the wind, has a recognizable sound.  Supporting that idea is what we see in Acts when the Spirit was poured out.  There was always a sound.  The recipients spoke in other tongues.

The Surprising Descent Of The Holy Ghost On The Gentiles

Acts 10 deals with the Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the Holy Ghost.  They were previously thought by the Jews to be out of the realm of God’s salvation.  So it was quite a shock to the Jews when the Holy Ghost was poured out on them also.  By miraculous dealings of God on both Peter and Cornelius, the Gentile Roman centurion, the two were brought together at the home of Cornelius.  Some Jews had accompanied Peter on the trip and some “kinsmen and near friends” of Cornelius were also present at his home.  When presented the opportunity, Peter began to speak to them of Christ.  He spoke of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, much like he did on the Day of Pentecost.  Suddenly while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles—  to the astonishment of the Jews.  See this much in verses 44 and 45:  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.  And they of the circumcision [Jews] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Jews were shocked that the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost.  That’s understandable considering their national bias and short-sightedness of the range of God’s grace.  But how did they know that the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost?  That’s the big question.  The definite answer is provided in verse 46. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.  The context could not be more plain.  Not expecting the Holy Ghost to be poured out on the Gentiles, the Jews knew they had received the Holy Ghost because they heard them speak with tongues.  It is evident from this context that speaking in tongues was known as the sign that a person had received the Holy Ghost.

The Disciples At Ephesus

In Acts 19, the Apostle Paul was on his third missionary journey.  When he came to Ephesus, he found people who had believed in Christ for about twenty years or more but had not yet heard about the baptism of the Holy Ghost (nor of water baptism in Jesus’ name).  They were apparently early disciples of John the Baptist and were not aware of the advanced revelation of salvation introduced on the Day of Pentecost.  Paul told them of baptism in Jesus’ name and of the infilling of the Holy Ghost.  Verses 5 and 6 say, When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.  What attended their receiving the Holy Ghost?  The answer is: speaking in tongues.  How else would they know that they received it?  Up until this time, they had been believers in Christ for twenty years or so and had not received it.  How would they know they had now?  They knew because they spoke in tongues.  That had been the known sign since the Day of Pentecost.  In fact, how can anyone know he has received it?  The only way one can know is by the same standard of evidence that those in biblical history came to know— by speaking in tongues.  That is the only biblical basis there is for claiming to have the Holy Ghost.

The Experience Of The Apostle Paul

It is evident what the Apostle Paul believed about receiving the Holy Ghost in the previous example involving him in ministry— first of all, that it is necessary, and, secondly, that the recipients will speak in tongues.  But what do we see in Scripture regarding his own conversion experience?  In Acts 9, we have the record that he received the Holy Ghost when Ananias was sent to him three days after meeting Christ on the Damascus Road.  While detail of his speaking in tongues is not provided in this account, we are given the biblical certainty that he spoke in tongues by his own testimony in 1Corinthians 14:18, I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.

Conclusion Based On Evidence Of Fact

We have seen three definite examples of Christian conversion where the baptism of the Holy Ghost was received, accompanied by the recipients speaking in tongues (Acts 2,10,19).  We have seen a fourth example in Paul where we know he received the Spirit (Acts 9:17) and that he also spoke in tongues (1Corinthians 14:18).  From this evidence, we can rightly draw the conclusion that speaking in tongues is associated with receiving the Holy Ghost.  This is especially so considering Peter’s reference to the prophecy of Joel in connection with speaking in tongues and his own dramatic statement about the evidence of the Spirit that the witnesses on the Day of Pentecost had “seen and heard” (Acts 2:17-18,33). 

There is nothing in the biblical history of Acts to the contrary.  Speaking in tongues is the one universal sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost.  As expressed previously, the necessity of the Holy Ghost demands the certainty of knowing one has received it by a sound biblical standard.  The only standard that is provided in Scripture is according to Joel’s prophecy, exemplified in the recipients of the Spirit we have considered in Acts.  God is not the author of confusion.  Speaking in tongues is seen to be the sure, verifiable, biblical means to know when a person has received God’s Spirit.

Lesson 16

Summary

© 2016 by James V. Maurer, Sr.

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Note: Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.  They are emboldened in a font different from the body of this text rather than being placed within quotation marks.

We have looked at the Bible from the Creation of all things to the establishment of the Church in the book of Acts.  In this lesson, let’s summarize what we have learned.

First, we saw that man was created by God in His Own image.  Then man disobeyed God, resulting in what we call the Fall.  From this disobedience, man was cut off from communion with God and received a sinful nature.  He was deserving only of death and hell.  But in Genesis 3:15, God promised a Redeemer Who came in the Person of Jesus Christ.  He died for our sins and was raised from the dead.  It is because of this divine act of mercy that we can have our sins washed away and receive His Holy Spirit.  This is what Jesus referred to by being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5).  We are thus born again when we are baptized by immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.  In this way we are born again of Jesus Christ.  Paul referred to Him in this role as the last Adam (1Corinthians 15:45).   When we were born naturally of Adam’s race, we were born to sin and die.  But when we are born again of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, we are born of a new divine nature.   We’re reborn to live forever.  This is how Christ has conquered death for us and has reversed the effects of the Fall.

We have strived to show in our lessons the necessity of complying with what Jesus said in John 3:5.  He made an absolute requirement of being born of water and of the Spirit.  This is shown in the book of Acts to be water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.  All of this began at the most natural time that it should— on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).  That was the birthday of the Church— the beginning of the Church age.  From there, the Pentecostal message went into the world.  And since we are in the same Church age as was initiated on the Day of Pentecost, the same salvation message that was given to them regarding remission of sins and receiving the Spirit is ours to receive.  The true message of salvation has not changed in 2,000 years.  They asked on that day, What shall we do? (Acts 2:37).  If we ask the same question, the reply will be the same.  Here’s the reply of Peter.  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. 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 (Acts 2:38-39).

What should this series of lessons have done for us?

This series of lessons should have sparked interest in us to be sure we are saved.  They should have helped give us a desire to have what God has made available for us.  If we have not yet turned to Christ in repentance, we should consider this important part of conversion and fully surrender our lives to Him.  If we have not yet been water baptized in Jesus’ name, we should make that a priority since that is how Christians were baptized in the Bible.  It washes away sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  If we have not yet received the Spirit of God with the Bible evidence of speaking in tongues, we should desire it and ask God for it (Luke 11:13).  Nothing greater can happen to a human being than to have his sins washed away and be filled with God’s Spirit.  That is being born again and it assures us of the hope of heaven.  That is Christian salvation which has been made available to us by the blood of Jesus Christ.

If we have already received this great salvation, our hearts should be filled with gratitude for the grace of God and a strong, unrelenting desire to reach the lost.