In part one we looked at the Gospel's information about the Holy Spirit. In part two we looked at Acts. Now we are going to take a look at Paul's letters. These are the letters written to particular churches/regions and the Pastoral epistles with specific admonitions and corrections for them. These letters are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Philemon says nothing about the HS.
Romans
1:4
Jesus is declared to be the Son of God by the proof of his resurrection which was through the working of the HS. This is a proof that Jesus is divine.
2:29
It is the HS that circumcises our hearts. I think this means that we are cleansed by the HS, given a new heart by the HS, and as we will see later on in Galatians, makes us partakers of God's covenant with Abraham and thus "a Jew" inwardly.
5:5
This could be a follow-up to 2:29. The HS is the deliverer of God's love that has transformed our hearts. This allows us grace to suffer, endure, gain character, and hope (v. 3-4) as we await his return.
7:6
Paul is here juxtaposing the law and the Spirit. The Spirit is the new way, the way of freedom. The law is what held us captive and that we are no longer a slave thanks to the HS's work in our lives.
8:2-17
Paul expounds the point he started on in 7:6. The HS has set us free from the law (v. 2) and when we walk in step with the HS the law is fulfilled (v. 4). This means our mind is set on the things of the Spirit (v.5) which gives us life and peace (v. 6). If you do not have the HS, you are not of God and do not have life (v. 9-10). The HS will give us life just as he did Jesus Christ (v. 11). Finally, the HS bears witness that we are God's (v. 15-16) and this means we are adopted Sons of God.
8:23
As Paul continues, he says that the Romans have the firstfruits of the Spirit which testifies about our adoption that will be complete when Christ returns. Like the rest of creation, we groan for it to be remade.
8:26-27
The HS helps us pray by interceding according to the will of God. This is not a proof of praying in heavenly language tongues. The text clearly says that the "groanings [are] too deep for words."
9:1
Paul says that his conscience bears him witness in the HS. In other words the HS is reassuring Paul he actually is telling the truth.
14:17
A blunt statement from Paul about the uselessness of the law for the Kingdom of God. The kingdom is about the righteousness, peace, and joy in the HS. I presume that Paul is talking about the earthly evidence of the kingdom that will come in full when Christ returns.
15:13
Only through the HS can we have hope.
15:16
The HS sanctifies believers. This context is the Gentiles.
15:18-19
Paul evangelized Gentiles by word and deed, power of signs and wonders, and power of the HS. I think all of these things were empowered by the HS.
15:30
Paul appeals to the Romans by the love of the HS.
1 Corinthians
2:4
Paul tells the Corinthians that his message was by the power of the HS, not just his own worldly wisdom.
2:9-16
This is an important passage. Paul says that God reveals the hope of glory by the HS (v. 9-10). He then says that only the spirit of a person knows that person's thoughts (v. 11a), so only the HS knows the thoughts of God (v. 11b). We have received this HS (v. 12a) so we can understand godly things (v. 12b) and impart them to others (v. 13). The natural person doesn't understand these godly things because he doesn't have the HS (v. 14). We can judge all things by the HS (v. 15) because the HS knows the "mind of the Lord" (v. 16a) which is the very same "mind of Christ" that we have (v. 16b). This is what gives us the ability to read and ponder the Bible with clarity and understanding and why the Bible seems so ridiculous and foolish to those not being led by the HS.
3:16
We are the temple of God because the HS dwells in us. This correlates to the presence of God dwelling in the tabernacle/temple in the OT. We don't have to go to a certain place to worship and serve God (John 4:21-24).
6:11
When a believer is save they are washed, sanctified, and justified in Jesus Christ. Because of the finished work of the cross, it does not require any work on our part. This all happens by the power of the HS.
6:19
We are the temple of the HS. This tells us once again that the HS is God when we compare this with 3:16.
7:40
Paul comments that he too has the Spirit of God. I think he is saying that he is writing under inspiration from God on the matter of unmarried and widows (v. 25-39).
12:3
No one can say "Jesus is Lord" without the HS. Does this mean that everyone who says this combination of words is a faithful servant of Jesus Christ teaching everything correctly? No, I don't think Paul has that kind of mechanical view here. I think he is saying that those who actually profess Jesus as Lord and mean it can only do so by the HS. The mere annunciation of the words "Jesus is Lord" don't serve to prove anything about a person.
12:4
The HS gives out a variety of gifts.
12:7
The gifts or manifestations as Paul now calls them, are for the common good of the body of Christ.
12:8-11
The gifts of the HS are listed. Paul continues his line of thought that these gifts are all from the same Spirit. They are for individuals and the HS gives as he wills. While we might have one of these gifts (there are other gifts listed elsewhere in Paul's writings: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 7:7; 1 Cor. 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:11 also), it is the HS who has the charge of operating through us with the gifts. A person is not empowered with healing for instance, and can go around healing people at will. It is very clearly up to the HS's will (i.e. God's will), not ours. This also doesn't mean that a believer only has one gift. They may have multiple. Finally, as we will see shortly, this list is not comprehensive by any means and some of these gifts are mingled with others which leads me to the conclusion that Paul was listing gifts off the top of his head as examples of spiritual gifts, not as an exhaustive list. I will talk about his more at 1 Cor. 12:14-30 (v. 28 in particular).
12:13
This verse is interpreted differently in various translations, but sometimes (NIV) it is translated as "For we were all baptized in one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." This is a similar phrase to the baptism in the HS from the Gospels and Acts that we have already discussed. Is this another example of the Pentecostal baptism in the HS? Pentecostals would say no, because the context is clearly talking about when the Corinthians were saved, not a subsequent experience of empowerment by the HS. I don't think this interpretation holds up however. The prima facie reading of this statement seems the same to me as John the Baptists' "baptism with the HS." Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology (pg. 766-773), makes a compelling case from the Greek text that it is essentially the same phrase. This makes baptism in the HS a salvation experience. But, as I said when writing about Acts, I think that there are several things that happen as a person is converted and walks with Christ that could happen in any order God chooses. Figuring out exactly what order isn't important, it is being aware of all that God has to offer when he decides to give it to us.
12:14-30
Paul finishes this section (12:1-30) by explaining that there are different gifts so the whole Church can be built up and operate as God intended. He compares this to a body and its parts, which must work together or they will fail. No one has all the gifts and all the answers for guiding the Church, except God, who is giving out all these gifts to be used in harmony. In verse 28 we find another list of gifts, the second of this chapter. What is interesting is that miracles, healing, and tongues are mixed in with other gifts that were not mentioned in v. 8-11. This makes me think that none of Paul's lists are exhaustive as I said above. We will look at another list in Eph. 4.
13
This whole chapter says that without love, these gifts mean nothing. What does this have to do with the HS? The first fruit listed in Gal. 5:22 is love, which is manifested in us when we walk by the Spirit. Of note here as well is verse 10: "...when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away." Cessationists will say that the gifts were for the apostles (or the apostolic age) only. They then died away after the church was built up and off the ground so to speak. The "perfect" is the canon of scripture that is our guide. We don't need the gifts anymore. Paul goes on to say that "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (v. 12). What is the now and then? It seems to me that Paul is talking about when Christ comes. Mirrors don't show images perfectly, just like the gifts don't show God perfectly. Earthly knowledge, even if led by the HS in discovery, isn't perfect, but when Christ comes we will see him perfectly and know him perfectly just as he knows us now.
14:2
Speaking in tongues is to God because no one understands the "mysteries in the Spirit." Paul is saying that there should be an interpretation if a tongue is given or else it is not useful to the body.
14:12
The Corinthians, who were eager for the HS to operate openly, need to operate in the gifts that build up the church. That means interpreted tongues and singing in the Spirit per verse13. This whole chapter is concerned with the appropriate use of the gifts which Paul says should be in order (v. 26-33).
2 Corinthians
1:22
The HS is a believers' guarantee or down payment of salvation that will be paid in full when we are glorified with Christ at his second coming.
3:3
Here Paul is using a metaphor. The Corinthians are a letter written with the HS on tablets of human hearts. This relates directly to the previous verse about the HS living with us. Paul also says "Spirit of the living God" indicating for us, once again, that the HS is God.
3:6
Paul says he is a minister of the new covenant that is of the Spirit, not the letter. The HS gives life while the letter kills. This hearkens back to Jesus saying that one must be born again to enter the kingdom (John 3:3-8) and to creation when the HS was instrumental in the universe's "birth" (Gen. 1:2) and mankind's "birth" (Gen. 2:7).
3:8
Paul again constrats the ministry of the Spirit and the letter. If the law (letters) had glory, how much more does the Spirit have?
3:17-18
Here we have an explicit statement of the HS being God. Paul uses the word Lord (kyrios) and says that "the Lord who is the Spirit." This Spirit, who is God, gives freedom. Freedom to behold God in his glory which then transforms us into his image.
6:6
Paul says that his ministry is marked by the HS in commendation.
Galatians
3:2-6
Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions of the Galatians as they struggle with a false gospel from the Judaizers who want to add works of the law to the finished work of Christ. In order, the answers are:
1. We received the HS by hearing with faith
2. Yes, we can all be that foolish.
3. We are not ever perfected by the flesh.
4. We don't have to suffer in vain.
5. By hearing with faith, just like Abraham.
This passage makes it very clear that we are saved by the work of Christ through the HS and not by works of any law (Paul just happens to be dealing with Mosaic law, but all laws are useless to earn eternal life).
4:6
This is an interesting verse. Note the order. We are sons, therefore the HS is in our hearts. This could go two ways (at least). This could be seen as adoption first, then the HS. Or it could be that adoption follows conversion as two separate events in which the HS is performing different actions at different times. It seems more natural to me to read this passage and related ones (Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:15-16) as a single event that encompass several things at once: justification, conversion, adoption, regeneration. All of this is accompanied by the HS doing all sorts of things.
4:29
During Paul's analogy concerning Ishmael (the flesh) and Isaac (the Spirit) he says that the former's persecution of the latter is happening now. The flesh torments the Spirit.
5:5-23
We wait in hope only by the HS, through faith. Paul then continues contrasting the flesh and the Spirit urging the Galatians to forsake the false gospel hindering them and live according to the Spirit. He tells them that the Spirit is against the flesh and vice-versa. In verse 22 he recounts the fruit of the HS: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Unlike the various HS gift lists, there is only one fruit list. Since Paul says that all the gifts are worthless without love and love is one of the fruits of the HS; it follows that the fruit is more important than the gifts. Something that many in the Christian world seem to get backwards.
6:8
As Paul concludes the flesh/Spirit comparison he says that the flesh reaps corruption and the Spirit reaps eternal life.
Ephesians
1:17
Paul is praying that the Ephesians receive the HS, which he describes as being of wisdom and revelation. This wisdom and revelation is related to Christ's finished work and the hope of glory that awaits us (v. 18-21).
2:18
In the HS we have access to the Father through Jesus.
2:22
Paul again says that we are a dwelling place for God like 1 Cor. 3:16 does (as individuals). The HS is building us. This is in the context of the whole Church this time.
3:5
The mystery of the Gospel is revealed to apostles and prophets of this age by the HS. If you know anything about Mormon doctrine, you know that they believe that the "fullness of the Gospel" was preached in every generation and lost. That includes Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. But, Paul nixes that idea in this verse. The Gospel, he says "was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed."
3:16-17
The power of the HS gives us faith so that Christ can dwell in us.
4:3-4
Paul urges the Ephesians to be unified which can only take place by the one HS.
4:30
The HS should not be grieved. The HS seals us for the day of redemption. This again shows that it is God's work to save and persevere us, not ours.
5:18
An oft-quoted verse. We should always be filled with the HS. The verb tense makes this something like "be being filled with the HS". It is a continuing action that we should always be doing. The HS will fill us if we don't grieve him (4:30).
6:17-18
The sword of the HS is the word of God. It is our offensive weapon against the enemy. We should also pray in the HS. This could mean tongues, like a heavenly prayer language (1 Cor. 14), or with the HS intercessing (Rom 8:26-27).
Philippians
1:19
The HS helps Paul's ministry. The HS is called the "Spirit of Jesus Christ" in this passage. This rounds out the names for the HS in the NT. He has been called the HS, comforter, teacher, Spirit of the Father, Spirit of God, and now Spirit of Christ. It should be clear now that there is some realtionship between the Father, Son, and HS that goes beyond master and servant. They are being equated by the use of these names.
2:1
Paul encourages the Philippians to have unity. If they have any participation in the HS, they will be unified.
3:3
Worship is by the HS. This hearkens back to John 4:24. It is only through the HS (and truth!) that we can properly worship God.
Colossians
1:8
Love is in the HS, per 1 Cor. 13.
1 Thessalonians
1:5-6
The Gospel came to the Thessalonians in the HS (Rom 15:18-19; 1 Cor 2:4) and they received it in the joy of the HS (Gal 5:22).
4:8
God gives the HS to you. The physics of this means that the Father, the Son, and the HS give the HS to you. This makes the HS a person because he is willingly giving himself to you. He can't have a will without being a person.
5:19
"Do not quench the Spirit." Enough said
2 Thessalonians
2:13
The HS sanctifies believers, which means he cleanses us in preparation for our final redemption.
1 Timothy
3:16
Speaking of Christ, Paul says that he was "vindicated [or justified] by the Spirit." I think this is talking about his resurrection which happened through the HS. The order would make sense as well with that interpretation.
4:1
The HS prophesied about the end times.
2 Timothy
1:14
Paul tells Timothy to guard the deposit (the Gosepl v. 8-13) by the HS. Presumably, he is telling him not to wander from the actual Gospel as that is the thrust of this whole section.
Titus
3:5
Another instance of the sanctifying work of the HS.
Paul's letters carry a few themes that recur.
1. We are both individually and collectively a temple(s) of the HS. This is God's presence inside of us just like he descended on the tabernacle and the temple in the OT.
2. The Gospel message is delivered in the power of the HS, not in fancy arguments.
3. The HS is God. We can deduce this from the various names the HS is called throughout Paul's letters as well as the Gospels and Acts.
4. The HS is preparing us for the 2nd coming of Christ. He circumcises our hearts, seals us, sanctifies us, washes us, and testifies to us that we are sons of God.
5. The HS's work is ongoing in both the gifts (less important) and the fruit (more important). Remember, without love nothing is worthwhile including the HS's gifts.
Next time we will finish this series by covering the general epistles including Revelation.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Monday, July 18, 2016
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament: Acts
This post is a continuation of the series about what the New Testament has to say about the Holy Spirit. In part one we saw what the Gospels had to say about the Holy Spirit. Today we are going to take a look inside the book of Acts which probably has the most extensive material about the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
Acts
1:2
At the beginning of the book, Jesus gives commands through the HS to the apostles. I think this could have one of two meanings. One is that this means Jesus was still operating with the power of the HS even though he was glorified. I think this could be the case because the promise of the HS has, at this point, yet to be delivered and therefore, the apostles were not operating by the guidance of the HS. The other meaning is just the opposite. That the apostles received the HS in the upper room per John 20:22 and thus, were operating with his guidance. Either way, God is directing their actions at this point, which is a major theme of the book of Acts and it certainly happens through the HS after Jesus ascends (10 days or so before Pentecost) and the HS descends on the day of Pentecost.
1:4-5
Here Jesus says that the apostles should wait in Jerusalem to be baptized with (or in) the HS. We saw this same phrase in Matthew 3:11 (and Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). Jesus is relating the very same thing that John the Baptist said and that is recorded in those passages. This makes it abundantly clear that this "baptism with the HS" is the same in both the Gospels and here in Acts. But what is it exactly? It can't have already happened to the apostles in the upper room (John 20:22) when they received the HS from Jesus' breath. It wouldn't make any sense for Jesus to baptize them in the HS in the upper room and then tell them to wait for what they already had been given. It also can't be a second act of grace available for all believers but not necessary for salvation because it is explicitly connected to John the Baptist's saying in the Gospels where those baptized in the HS are wheat who will be gathered into the barn while those not baptized in the HS are chaff who will be burned. As I said in the Gospels post, Luke and John are recording what happened to the apostles at that time. Both the upper room and the day of Pentecost are unique. In my view, the narratives are not to be taken as a strict theological model for what should happen to every believer. The Pentecostal/Charismatic who affirms the baptism in the HS is partly right in that all believers have more of the HS on offer, but they are wrong about the nomenclature (the name baptism in the HS has to do with salvation, not strictly empowerment) and number of possible "renewed infillings" (my own phrase) of the HS. The non-Pentecostal/Charismatic (or those that don't hold to the baptism in the HS but do hold to other fillings of the HS) is also partly right in that the birth of the Church on Pentecost is unique, but they are wrong (at least those who think the fullness of the HS comes at salvation and there is no other filling) in saying that no one can have an Acts-like Pentecostal experience anymore and the gifts of the HS are not in operation.
1:8
The HS gives power to be a witness to the ends of the earth. This is the non-controversial aspect of the baptism in the HS. Whatever that means, believers receive power to be witnesses for Christ.
1:16 (also 4:25)
Again (Matthew 22:43) we see that the HS spoke through David when writing his Psalms. This implants the idea for us that the scriptures are more than just a humanly authored book.
2:1-4
The day of Pentecost arrives. The apostles hear a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire rest on them, they are filled with the HS, and they all speak in tongues.This is the aforementioned baptism in the HS. Pentecostals and some Charismatics take this to be normative for all Christians after or concurrent with salvation. But only the speaking in tongues part. They do not expect a mighty rushing wind or tongues of fire. As I said before, I don't think this is either normative or exclusive. It could or could not happen to any Christian. I don't think God has a particular pattern, at least not the he has revealed to us, concerning fillings of the HS.
2:17-18
Peter declares Joel's prophecy fulfilled as the HS is poured out on all the believers. As in the OT, the HS is directly connected with prophecy, but now, everyone who believes has access to these gifts of God. It should be noted that "the last days" is to be distinguished from the end times. The last days began when Christ ascended while the end times are the specific events leading up to Christ's second coming.
2:33
Peter continues later on that what the people are seeing and hearing is the promise of the HS from the Father. This is as he is wrapping up his speech on the day of Pentecost.
2:38-39
Peter says "repent and be baptized" to the crowd and tells them that they too will receive the HS (what they are seeing and hearing (2:33)). He tells them the HS is for everyone God calls.
4:8
Peter is filled with the HS as he speaks to the Jewish officials who want him to stop sharing Christ. The Pentecostal baptism in the HS doctrine encounters another obstacle here. The scripture does not say anything about the baptism in the HS. It says "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit...". Does this mean that Peter was already filled or was he being filled in that moment? When looking at the Greek words, the verb filling is in the aorist tense. Other places in Luke's writings that use the same verb in the same tense indicate a new, on the spot filling of various things: fear (Luke 5:26), rage (Luke 4:28, 6:11), wonder and amazement (Acts 3:10), jealousy (Acts 5:17, 13:45), and confusion (Acts 19:29). It would seem that Luke is using filled the same way here since that is the way he uses it everywhere else. This means that there is yet another filling of the HS that Peter received in order to speak boldly. The baptism in the HS did not complete his reception of all the HS had to offer.
4:31
After Peter and John return from the council of Jews, the believers rejoice and give praise to God asking to be granted the continuation of witnessing with boldness (v. 29). God answers their prayer and they are filled with the HS (v. 31) yet again. This offers the same problem as I just talked about to the Pentecostal baptism in the HS.
5:1-11
This passage relates the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They lied to the HS and both fell dead. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First of all, Peter says Ananias lies to the HS (v. 3). When Sapphira comes in later and tells the same lie as Ananias, Peter asks her why she is testing the Spirit of the Lord (v. 9). This is another equating of the HS with God himself as we have seen earlier in the Gospels. The other interesting item is that Ananias and Sapphira are both judged on the spot for lying to the HS. After tragic events (think the Orlando homosexual night club shooting) some Christians are quick to say that this isn't God's judgment because his wrath was poured out on Jesus on the cross and the final judgment will come later. While this is true in part, it appears that some judgment will still happen in the age of grace before the final judgment. I am not proposing that the Orlando shooting is one of those judgments; I don't know if it is or not. Only God does. But, this is just something to ponder when everybody on all sides of issues like these start talking.
5:32
Preceding this verse, the high priest and the Sadducees arrested the apostles. God miraculously released them from jail. They were then brought before the high priest and, presumably because he is the only one mentioned by name, Peter speaks. He offers two ideas for our study of the HS. The first is that the HS is a witness of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This will comport with some other verses we encounter later on in Romans. The second is that those who obey God will receive the HS. This seems to indicate that Peter is saying the Sanhedrin, whom he is addressing, is not obedient to God.
6:3, 5
In these verses the apostles pick men to do menial tasks while the apostles preach the word of God (v. 2). One of the requirements is that they be full of the Spirit (v. 3) and when they are chosen, Stephen is mentioned as being full of the HS. This is really our first indication, aside from Christ on earth, that we are to be so obviously led by the HS that people can readily recognize his work in our lives. As we go through the epistles we will come across this theme a lot.
6:10
Stephen is so full of the Spirit that it comes through in his witness. As a result the Jewish proselytes who are opposing him (v. 9) cannot withstand him. In also says in verse 8 that Stephen was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Cessationists will argue that the signs and wonders were only for the apostles, but Stephen is not an apostle.
7:51
When Stephen is arrested and appears before the Sanhedrin he recounts the salvation history of the Israelites. In particular he highlights the fact that the messengers sent to Israel from God were rejected by Israel. In verse 51ff he ties that directly in to the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. His rebuke is that they resist and their fathers resisted the HS.
8:14-17
Peter and John go down to Samaria after hearing that they "received the word of God" (v. 14). After realizing that they had only been baptized in water, they laid on hands and the Samaritans received the HS. This gives credence to the Pentecostal baptism in the HS doctrine. We have the receiving of the HS apart from salvation. A separate experience. But, there is no mention of tongues being spoken in this account when the Samaritans received the HS or the name "baptism in the HS"; although this can't count for either argument (Pentecostal or not) because it would be an argument from silence. It is also possible that this is simply an extension of the day of Pentecost specifically for the Samaritans, as Samaria was mentioned by Christ (1:8), to ensure the understanding that they should be included as they were traditionally rejected by "pious" Jews.
8:18-20
On the heels of the Samaritans reception of the HS, Simon the magician asks Peter for the power to give the HS by offering him money for which he is rebuked. Peter says that HS is a gift from God (v. 20). This harkens back to Luke 11:13; the Father will generously give the HS to those who ask, and apparently, obey (Acts 5:32).
8:29
The HS speaks to Philip about the Ethiopian eunuch. Another example of being sensitive to the HS so that we may be guided daily by him.
8:39
Philip is carried away by the HS. This could be supernatural in that he was transported (think Star Trek) to Azotus (v. 40) or it could be natural in that the HS called him to Azotus when he was finished speaking to the eunuch.
9:17
Ananias (a different one than ch. 5) goes to Saul to lay hands on him and fill him with the HS. Saul did not speak in tongues when he received the HS, though again, this is from silence so it won't work for either side of the baptism in the HS argument.
9:31
After Saul returns to Jerusalem and is accepted by the disciples, it says that they were walking in the comfort of the HS as the Church multiplied.
10:19-20 (also 11:12)
While Peter is contemplating his vision of the great sheet with animals the HS speaks to him. This seems to be a word of knowledge per 1 Cor. 12.
10:38-48 (also 11:15-17)
When Peter visits Cornelius concerning the vision, he presents the Gospel and says that Jesus was anointed with the HS and power (v. 38). The HS and power seem to go together quite often and rightly so as it is the HS who empowers believers (1:8). While Peter is speaking the HS falls on the gentiles of Cornelius's household and they speak in tongues (v. 46). They are then baptized in water (v. 48). This does not fit the supposed Pentecostal pattern of salvation with the infilling of the HS, then the baptism of the HS later on. Everything is out of order so to speak. This is one of the reasons why I think we should not use the upper room (John 20:22) plus the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) as a strict model in which every believer experiences the exact same thing regarding salvation and the gift of the HS.
11:24
Barnabas is said to be full of the HS. This instance seems to be an ongoing thing for Barnabas. He is always full of the HS.
11:28
Agabus the prophet prophesied in the HS about a famine that would happen. As I have said before, the HS in the OT was primarily seen as the spirit of prophecy. This is another of the gifts of the HS and another non-apostle exercising the gift. This should come as no surprise however, because in Acts 2:38-39 Peter says the HS is for everyone which means so are the gifts.
13:4
Saul and Barnabas are sent out by the HS. Another example of daily guidance by the HS in a believers' life.
13:9
Here we have another instance of someone getting another filling of the HS. This time Paul when he rebukes Elymas blind.
13:52
Yet another instance of people, the disciples this time, being filled with the HS.
15:8
The Gentiles get the HS too as discussed at the Jerusalem council. This is perhaps, the first understanding among the apostles of the universality of the Church.
15:28
In the Jerusalem council's letter to the Gentile believers, there are certain requirements laid out. The apostles proclaim that this is both from them and the HS. This seems to me to be an indication of both the will of God in action through the free actions of those led by the HS.
16:6-7
The HS (v. 6) and the Spirit of Jesus (v. 7) forbid Paul and his companions from evangelizing in Asia (modern-day Turkey). I have no idea why!
18:25
This verse speaks of Apollos being "fervent of spirit" or "fervent in the Spirit" even though he knew only John's baptism. Fervent in the Greek is ζέω (zeō) which means to be hot. So Apollos was hot in the Spirit. Now that we are approaching the end of Acts, we can see this pattern of characters who are full of the HS doing the work of God. This is a major theme in Acts.
19:1-7
Paul questions the Ephesians concerning what baptism they received. They had John's only. Paul baptized them in Jesus' name and then laid hands on them. They received the HS, spoke in tongues and prophesied. This seems to fit the Pentecostal model. Salvation, then baptism in the HS. I don't agree that it works that way, but I will save my comments for the summary at the end.
19:21
Paul being led by the HS.
20:22-23
Paul being led by the HS that constrains him and testifies to him about affliction in every city.
20:28
Paul is speaking to the overseers at Ephesus. He reminds them that it is the HS and thus, God, who has charged them with the care of the "church of God". This is quite a statement. Paul finishes by reminding them that God himself obtained the Church with his own blood.
21:4
The Tyre disciples apparently are prophesying to Paul not to go to Jerusalem. It says that "through the Spirit" they were telling him these things. This of course concerns Paul's imminent arrest and imprisonment. I suppose this could also be a word of knowledge.
21:11
Agabus prophesies to Paul while in Caesarea about his arrest. He says "Thus says the HS."
28:25
Another instance of the HS inspiring the OT writings. This time Isaiah as Paul quotes 6:9-10 by saying that the HS spoke through Isaiah.
That is all the references to the HS in the book of Acts. I will summarize the main themes of the HS's work below.
1. The HS is a constant presence in the believers' life. Guiding him, speaking to him, and through the gifts that have been in action in Acts like prophecy, word of knowledge, miracles, and healings. The beginning of the book correlates receiving the HS with power. Power to witness, to perform signs and wonders, and operate in the gifts.
2. The baptism in the HS is directly related to John the Baptist's statement in the Gospels. The Pentecostal view can't be correct in light of this. Also, the instances of conversion and filling of the HS in Acts are all different:
(a) The apostles received the HS in the upper room (John 20:22) and then were baptized in the HS and spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4).
(b) The Samaritans received the word of God, were baptized in Jesus' name and then received the HS when Peter and John laid hands on them. No tongues are recorded. (Acts 8:14-20)
(c) Paul receives the HS from Ananias (Acts 9:17) laying on hands. He was baptized after Ananias' actions (v. 18). No tongues are recorded.
(d) Cornelius' household is overcome by the HS and they speak in tongues while Peter is sharing the Gospel with them. Then they are baptized. (Acts 10:38-48)
(e) The Ephesians were baptized, Paul laid hands on them, they received the HS, spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:1-7)
As can be seen, these are different. Different orders of events, different gifts or none displayed, different ways of receiving the HS. I don't think Acts is prescriptive, but descriptive. It tells us what happened, not what should happen every time. If it does tell us what should happen, it is that in any order someone can be baptized, receive the HS, and be saved. The HS also fills believers anew at different periods and for different tasks which is antithetical to the Pentecostal view that the baptism in the HS is a one-time, full empowerment subsequent to salvation.
3. The cessationist view that the gifts of the HS were only for the apostles (or the apostolic age) does not work with Acts. Men and women who were not apostles used the gifts. In particular, prophesy was given that was not recorded in scripture. This doesn't fit the cessationist model. I'll address this more in 1 Cor.
4. The HS is responsible for the OT writings. This has been indicated repeatedly both in Acts and in the Gospels. It will continue to be a theme throughout the NT.
That's it for Acts. Next time I will cover some of Paul's letters depending on how long the post gets.
Acts
1:2
At the beginning of the book, Jesus gives commands through the HS to the apostles. I think this could have one of two meanings. One is that this means Jesus was still operating with the power of the HS even though he was glorified. I think this could be the case because the promise of the HS has, at this point, yet to be delivered and therefore, the apostles were not operating by the guidance of the HS. The other meaning is just the opposite. That the apostles received the HS in the upper room per John 20:22 and thus, were operating with his guidance. Either way, God is directing their actions at this point, which is a major theme of the book of Acts and it certainly happens through the HS after Jesus ascends (10 days or so before Pentecost) and the HS descends on the day of Pentecost.
1:4-5
Here Jesus says that the apostles should wait in Jerusalem to be baptized with (or in) the HS. We saw this same phrase in Matthew 3:11 (and Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). Jesus is relating the very same thing that John the Baptist said and that is recorded in those passages. This makes it abundantly clear that this "baptism with the HS" is the same in both the Gospels and here in Acts. But what is it exactly? It can't have already happened to the apostles in the upper room (John 20:22) when they received the HS from Jesus' breath. It wouldn't make any sense for Jesus to baptize them in the HS in the upper room and then tell them to wait for what they already had been given. It also can't be a second act of grace available for all believers but not necessary for salvation because it is explicitly connected to John the Baptist's saying in the Gospels where those baptized in the HS are wheat who will be gathered into the barn while those not baptized in the HS are chaff who will be burned. As I said in the Gospels post, Luke and John are recording what happened to the apostles at that time. Both the upper room and the day of Pentecost are unique. In my view, the narratives are not to be taken as a strict theological model for what should happen to every believer. The Pentecostal/Charismatic who affirms the baptism in the HS is partly right in that all believers have more of the HS on offer, but they are wrong about the nomenclature (the name baptism in the HS has to do with salvation, not strictly empowerment) and number of possible "renewed infillings" (my own phrase) of the HS. The non-Pentecostal/Charismatic (or those that don't hold to the baptism in the HS but do hold to other fillings of the HS) is also partly right in that the birth of the Church on Pentecost is unique, but they are wrong (at least those who think the fullness of the HS comes at salvation and there is no other filling) in saying that no one can have an Acts-like Pentecostal experience anymore and the gifts of the HS are not in operation.
1:8
The HS gives power to be a witness to the ends of the earth. This is the non-controversial aspect of the baptism in the HS. Whatever that means, believers receive power to be witnesses for Christ.
1:16 (also 4:25)
Again (Matthew 22:43) we see that the HS spoke through David when writing his Psalms. This implants the idea for us that the scriptures are more than just a humanly authored book.
2:1-4
The day of Pentecost arrives. The apostles hear a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire rest on them, they are filled with the HS, and they all speak in tongues.This is the aforementioned baptism in the HS. Pentecostals and some Charismatics take this to be normative for all Christians after or concurrent with salvation. But only the speaking in tongues part. They do not expect a mighty rushing wind or tongues of fire. As I said before, I don't think this is either normative or exclusive. It could or could not happen to any Christian. I don't think God has a particular pattern, at least not the he has revealed to us, concerning fillings of the HS.
2:17-18
Peter declares Joel's prophecy fulfilled as the HS is poured out on all the believers. As in the OT, the HS is directly connected with prophecy, but now, everyone who believes has access to these gifts of God. It should be noted that "the last days" is to be distinguished from the end times. The last days began when Christ ascended while the end times are the specific events leading up to Christ's second coming.
2:33
Peter continues later on that what the people are seeing and hearing is the promise of the HS from the Father. This is as he is wrapping up his speech on the day of Pentecost.
2:38-39
Peter says "repent and be baptized" to the crowd and tells them that they too will receive the HS (what they are seeing and hearing (2:33)). He tells them the HS is for everyone God calls.
4:8
Peter is filled with the HS as he speaks to the Jewish officials who want him to stop sharing Christ. The Pentecostal baptism in the HS doctrine encounters another obstacle here. The scripture does not say anything about the baptism in the HS. It says "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit...". Does this mean that Peter was already filled or was he being filled in that moment? When looking at the Greek words, the verb filling is in the aorist tense. Other places in Luke's writings that use the same verb in the same tense indicate a new, on the spot filling of various things: fear (Luke 5:26), rage (Luke 4:28, 6:11), wonder and amazement (Acts 3:10), jealousy (Acts 5:17, 13:45), and confusion (Acts 19:29). It would seem that Luke is using filled the same way here since that is the way he uses it everywhere else. This means that there is yet another filling of the HS that Peter received in order to speak boldly. The baptism in the HS did not complete his reception of all the HS had to offer.
4:31
After Peter and John return from the council of Jews, the believers rejoice and give praise to God asking to be granted the continuation of witnessing with boldness (v. 29). God answers their prayer and they are filled with the HS (v. 31) yet again. This offers the same problem as I just talked about to the Pentecostal baptism in the HS.
5:1-11
This passage relates the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They lied to the HS and both fell dead. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First of all, Peter says Ananias lies to the HS (v. 3). When Sapphira comes in later and tells the same lie as Ananias, Peter asks her why she is testing the Spirit of the Lord (v. 9). This is another equating of the HS with God himself as we have seen earlier in the Gospels. The other interesting item is that Ananias and Sapphira are both judged on the spot for lying to the HS. After tragic events (think the Orlando homosexual night club shooting) some Christians are quick to say that this isn't God's judgment because his wrath was poured out on Jesus on the cross and the final judgment will come later. While this is true in part, it appears that some judgment will still happen in the age of grace before the final judgment. I am not proposing that the Orlando shooting is one of those judgments; I don't know if it is or not. Only God does. But, this is just something to ponder when everybody on all sides of issues like these start talking.
5:32
Preceding this verse, the high priest and the Sadducees arrested the apostles. God miraculously released them from jail. They were then brought before the high priest and, presumably because he is the only one mentioned by name, Peter speaks. He offers two ideas for our study of the HS. The first is that the HS is a witness of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This will comport with some other verses we encounter later on in Romans. The second is that those who obey God will receive the HS. This seems to indicate that Peter is saying the Sanhedrin, whom he is addressing, is not obedient to God.
6:3, 5
In these verses the apostles pick men to do menial tasks while the apostles preach the word of God (v. 2). One of the requirements is that they be full of the Spirit (v. 3) and when they are chosen, Stephen is mentioned as being full of the HS. This is really our first indication, aside from Christ on earth, that we are to be so obviously led by the HS that people can readily recognize his work in our lives. As we go through the epistles we will come across this theme a lot.
6:10
Stephen is so full of the Spirit that it comes through in his witness. As a result the Jewish proselytes who are opposing him (v. 9) cannot withstand him. In also says in verse 8 that Stephen was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Cessationists will argue that the signs and wonders were only for the apostles, but Stephen is not an apostle.
7:51
When Stephen is arrested and appears before the Sanhedrin he recounts the salvation history of the Israelites. In particular he highlights the fact that the messengers sent to Israel from God were rejected by Israel. In verse 51ff he ties that directly in to the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. His rebuke is that they resist and their fathers resisted the HS.
8:14-17
Peter and John go down to Samaria after hearing that they "received the word of God" (v. 14). After realizing that they had only been baptized in water, they laid on hands and the Samaritans received the HS. This gives credence to the Pentecostal baptism in the HS doctrine. We have the receiving of the HS apart from salvation. A separate experience. But, there is no mention of tongues being spoken in this account when the Samaritans received the HS or the name "baptism in the HS"; although this can't count for either argument (Pentecostal or not) because it would be an argument from silence. It is also possible that this is simply an extension of the day of Pentecost specifically for the Samaritans, as Samaria was mentioned by Christ (1:8), to ensure the understanding that they should be included as they were traditionally rejected by "pious" Jews.
8:18-20
On the heels of the Samaritans reception of the HS, Simon the magician asks Peter for the power to give the HS by offering him money for which he is rebuked. Peter says that HS is a gift from God (v. 20). This harkens back to Luke 11:13; the Father will generously give the HS to those who ask, and apparently, obey (Acts 5:32).
8:29
The HS speaks to Philip about the Ethiopian eunuch. Another example of being sensitive to the HS so that we may be guided daily by him.
8:39
Philip is carried away by the HS. This could be supernatural in that he was transported (think Star Trek) to Azotus (v. 40) or it could be natural in that the HS called him to Azotus when he was finished speaking to the eunuch.
9:17
Ananias (a different one than ch. 5) goes to Saul to lay hands on him and fill him with the HS. Saul did not speak in tongues when he received the HS, though again, this is from silence so it won't work for either side of the baptism in the HS argument.
9:31
After Saul returns to Jerusalem and is accepted by the disciples, it says that they were walking in the comfort of the HS as the Church multiplied.
10:19-20 (also 11:12)
While Peter is contemplating his vision of the great sheet with animals the HS speaks to him. This seems to be a word of knowledge per 1 Cor. 12.
10:38-48 (also 11:15-17)
When Peter visits Cornelius concerning the vision, he presents the Gospel and says that Jesus was anointed with the HS and power (v. 38). The HS and power seem to go together quite often and rightly so as it is the HS who empowers believers (1:8). While Peter is speaking the HS falls on the gentiles of Cornelius's household and they speak in tongues (v. 46). They are then baptized in water (v. 48). This does not fit the supposed Pentecostal pattern of salvation with the infilling of the HS, then the baptism of the HS later on. Everything is out of order so to speak. This is one of the reasons why I think we should not use the upper room (John 20:22) plus the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) as a strict model in which every believer experiences the exact same thing regarding salvation and the gift of the HS.
11:24
Barnabas is said to be full of the HS. This instance seems to be an ongoing thing for Barnabas. He is always full of the HS.
11:28
Agabus the prophet prophesied in the HS about a famine that would happen. As I have said before, the HS in the OT was primarily seen as the spirit of prophecy. This is another of the gifts of the HS and another non-apostle exercising the gift. This should come as no surprise however, because in Acts 2:38-39 Peter says the HS is for everyone which means so are the gifts.
13:4
Saul and Barnabas are sent out by the HS. Another example of daily guidance by the HS in a believers' life.
13:9
Here we have another instance of someone getting another filling of the HS. This time Paul when he rebukes Elymas blind.
13:52
Yet another instance of people, the disciples this time, being filled with the HS.
15:8
The Gentiles get the HS too as discussed at the Jerusalem council. This is perhaps, the first understanding among the apostles of the universality of the Church.
15:28
In the Jerusalem council's letter to the Gentile believers, there are certain requirements laid out. The apostles proclaim that this is both from them and the HS. This seems to me to be an indication of both the will of God in action through the free actions of those led by the HS.
16:6-7
The HS (v. 6) and the Spirit of Jesus (v. 7) forbid Paul and his companions from evangelizing in Asia (modern-day Turkey). I have no idea why!
18:25
This verse speaks of Apollos being "fervent of spirit" or "fervent in the Spirit" even though he knew only John's baptism. Fervent in the Greek is ζέω (zeō) which means to be hot. So Apollos was hot in the Spirit. Now that we are approaching the end of Acts, we can see this pattern of characters who are full of the HS doing the work of God. This is a major theme in Acts.
19:1-7
Paul questions the Ephesians concerning what baptism they received. They had John's only. Paul baptized them in Jesus' name and then laid hands on them. They received the HS, spoke in tongues and prophesied. This seems to fit the Pentecostal model. Salvation, then baptism in the HS. I don't agree that it works that way, but I will save my comments for the summary at the end.
19:21
Paul being led by the HS.
20:22-23
Paul being led by the HS that constrains him and testifies to him about affliction in every city.
20:28
Paul is speaking to the overseers at Ephesus. He reminds them that it is the HS and thus, God, who has charged them with the care of the "church of God". This is quite a statement. Paul finishes by reminding them that God himself obtained the Church with his own blood.
21:4
The Tyre disciples apparently are prophesying to Paul not to go to Jerusalem. It says that "through the Spirit" they were telling him these things. This of course concerns Paul's imminent arrest and imprisonment. I suppose this could also be a word of knowledge.
21:11
Agabus prophesies to Paul while in Caesarea about his arrest. He says "Thus says the HS."
28:25
Another instance of the HS inspiring the OT writings. This time Isaiah as Paul quotes 6:9-10 by saying that the HS spoke through Isaiah.
That is all the references to the HS in the book of Acts. I will summarize the main themes of the HS's work below.
1. The HS is a constant presence in the believers' life. Guiding him, speaking to him, and through the gifts that have been in action in Acts like prophecy, word of knowledge, miracles, and healings. The beginning of the book correlates receiving the HS with power. Power to witness, to perform signs and wonders, and operate in the gifts.
2. The baptism in the HS is directly related to John the Baptist's statement in the Gospels. The Pentecostal view can't be correct in light of this. Also, the instances of conversion and filling of the HS in Acts are all different:
(a) The apostles received the HS in the upper room (John 20:22) and then were baptized in the HS and spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4).
(b) The Samaritans received the word of God, were baptized in Jesus' name and then received the HS when Peter and John laid hands on them. No tongues are recorded. (Acts 8:14-20)
(c) Paul receives the HS from Ananias (Acts 9:17) laying on hands. He was baptized after Ananias' actions (v. 18). No tongues are recorded.
(d) Cornelius' household is overcome by the HS and they speak in tongues while Peter is sharing the Gospel with them. Then they are baptized. (Acts 10:38-48)
(e) The Ephesians were baptized, Paul laid hands on them, they received the HS, spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:1-7)
As can be seen, these are different. Different orders of events, different gifts or none displayed, different ways of receiving the HS. I don't think Acts is prescriptive, but descriptive. It tells us what happened, not what should happen every time. If it does tell us what should happen, it is that in any order someone can be baptized, receive the HS, and be saved. The HS also fills believers anew at different periods and for different tasks which is antithetical to the Pentecostal view that the baptism in the HS is a one-time, full empowerment subsequent to salvation.
3. The cessationist view that the gifts of the HS were only for the apostles (or the apostolic age) does not work with Acts. Men and women who were not apostles used the gifts. In particular, prophesy was given that was not recorded in scripture. This doesn't fit the cessationist model. I'll address this more in 1 Cor.
4. The HS is responsible for the OT writings. This has been indicated repeatedly both in Acts and in the Gospels. It will continue to be a theme throughout the NT.
That's it for Acts. Next time I will cover some of Paul's letters depending on how long the post gets.
Monday, July 11, 2016
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament: The Gospels
A while ago I spent some time reading through the entire New Testament looking for the Holy Spirit. Who is he? What did he do during Jesus' ministry? What did he do after Jesus' ministry? What is his role in the age of grace among believers? Non-believers? My interest in this study was relieving myself of any preconceived notions I may have had about who and what the Holy Spirit was all about. Except for looking up some Greek words occasionally, I tried not to use reference material of any sort. The ideas that follow are my own based almost exclusively on the New Testament text, mainly from the ESV translation. That also means I am open to being wrong. Trying to piece together a doctrine of the Holy Spirit from the wide array of books that make up the New Testament is difficult and certainly I have misconstrued some things. Respectful comments and reasoned arguments are always welcome. I am going to do this in parts, starting with what the Gospels have to say about the Holy Spirit.
The Gospels
Matthew 1:18 (also Luke 1:35)
The Holy Spirit (HS) conceived Jesus in Mary. Given that the HS is spirit, he is immaterial, with no body (Luke 24:39). That means this isn't and can't be physical sexual intercourse a la Mormonism (page 115, right column, 3rd paragraph). This immediately gives us a recognition of who the HS is when we compare these passages. The Matthew passage says that Mary was found with child from the HS while the Luke passage says that both the HS will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. This equating of the HS with the Most High indicates that the HS is God given some Old Testament (OT) references that clue us in to whom the Most High is (Gen. 14:18-22; Deut 32:8; Psalm 9:2).
Matthew 3:11-12 (also Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16-17; John 1:33)
In these passages we find John the Baptist's comments about Jesus baptizing with the HS. Only Matthew and Luke say that Jesus will baptize with fire as well. The context bears out what this means. In both Matthew and Luke, John the Baptist says Jesus will gather the wheat into the barn the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. So, if you are baptized with the HS, you are "wheat" that will be gathered into the barn, while if you are not baptized with the HS, you are "chaff" that will be burnt with unquenchable fire. This seems to comport with the OT (Isa 17:13; 66:24; Jer 13:24; 15:7, etc.).We'll come back to this point in a minute. Some other observations are in order first. This seems to indicate that water baptism is a lesser baptism than HS baptism. It also seems as though Jesus is directing the HS, which raises a few questions. Namely: Does this mean our equating the HS with God as we did above is incorrect? Is the HS not God, but subordinate in deity to the Father and the Son and thus, directed by their will? Is the HS God, but functionally subordinate in some way like the Son submits to the Father concerning the cross even though the Son is fully God? (I will answer these questions as we go through the NT, but I want to be open to hearing what the text says, not what I think it says.)
Let's go back to the Baptism in the HS. This raises some serious issues if you are a Pentecostal/Charismatic. Traditionally, Pentecostals (article 11 in the link) have seen the Baptism in the HS as a second act of grace subsequent to the initial infilling of the HS at the salvation moment (when people generally say the sinner's prayer in order to be saved). This means that Pentecostals believe that this baptism is not necessary for salvation. It is different than the salvation experience, but could be concurrent with it. Pentecostals believe that the initial evidence for the Baptism in the HS is speaking in tongues, which they differentiate from the gift of tongues from 1 Corinthians 12:10 that is only for some believers as the HS gifts them. This Baptism in the HS gives a believer the ability to operate in the HS's gifts as enumerated in 1 Cor. 12:8-11. Charismatics, though not holding to a single doctrine of the Baptism in the HS, generally believe all of this except that the initial evidence of this baptism could be a wide array of things, not only tongues. Again, there are questions that the Gospel passages bring to the forefront. If the individuals who are not baptized in the HS are chaff that will be burned with unquenchable fire (they will go to hell), how is it that the Pentecostal Baptism in the HS is a second act of grace that is not necessary for salvation? These don't seem to go together.
Defenders of this doctrine point to John 20:22 and Acts 1:5 and 2:1-4. The apostles received the HS from the breath of Jesus in the upper room at the end of John's Gospel, but then are told they will be baptized with (or in) the HS not many days from now in the beginning of Acts. They will say that the John passage is salvation, while the Acts passage is the Baptism in the HS. People who object to this doctrine say the same thing about the John passage, it was the salvation experience for the apostles, but they differ on the Acts passage pointing to Peter's speech in Acts 2:17-18 that says the falling of the HS is fulfilled prophecy from Joel and therefore, is a unique experience that inaugurated the church. The objectors will say that no one has this sort of experience today, only the filling of the HS when people are saved (like the apostles in the upper room, we are "breathed on", so to speak, by Jesus). I think both of these are wrong.
I think both of these events in the apostles lives were unique. In John 20:22 Jesus breathed on the apostles, but the apostles still didn't understand the full impact of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection until they were baptized in the HS at Pentecost. This makes the objectors to the Pentecostal doctrine incorrect in saying that the apostles received the fullness of the HS in the upper room. If they did have all of the HS, why did they not start evangelizing with a clear understanding until Pentecost? As far as the day of Pentecost experience, I think that was unique as well. It was the inauguration of the body of Christ, the Church, being sealed by the HS. It was the transition between covenants. Clearly this was a unique event. If we consider John the Baptist's words in the Gospels about Jesus' baptism with the HS, this was necessary for the salvation of the apostles. But then that begs the question of what exactly the upper room experience was. This leads me to the conclusion that these were both unique experiences. The danger lies in thinking that we can use the apostles experiences as a strict model for what should happen to us. Acts itself has a number of different ways that people are saved and filled with the HS, both with and without tongues. In the next installment of this series I will address Acts in more detail with a comprehensive look at all of the passages dealing with salvation and filling of the HS. In the meantime, let me just say that I think any number of things could happen to an individual concurrent with salvation or after salvation. I also don't think there is just one experience to be had, what Pentecostals and Charismatics would generally call the Baptism in the HS, by believers. There is always more of the HS to be filled and empowered with as Paul says in Ephesians 5:18: "but be filled with the Spirit". As we continue through the NT we will encounter some other passages that deal with being filled with the HS after conversion.
Matthew 3:16 (also Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
After Jesus is baptized, the Spirit of God descends on him like a dove. What spirit is this? Matthew says Spirit of God; Mark says Spirit; Luke says Holy Spirit; John says Spirit. Putting all these together we can see that this is the HS and that he is God. Jesus is unique, so I am not going to try to draw any conclusions about the Baptism in the HS debate above from his baptism by water and receiving the HS.
Matthew 4:1 (also Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1-2)
This is Jesus' temptation period. The text says he was led or drove by the HS into the desert. This is our first indication, of many more to come, that Jesus was dependent on the HS during his ministry on Earth. In some way this serves as an example for us. That we should be as reliant on the HS's guidance as Jesus was on Earth, though we can never obtain the perfection of submission that Christ did due to our imperfect lives.
Matthew 10:20 (also Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12)
In the context of persecution, Jesus tells the apostles not to worry about what to say (v. 19) because the Spirit of the Father will speak through them. Though this was said specifically to the apostles, I think this could be for all believers based on the fact that Jesus was sending them out (v. 5) and he has also sent us out (28:19). Also, in the Luke passage, Jesus is discussing "everyone who acknowledges me" (v. 8), not just the apostles.
Matthew 12:18-21
Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-3. This passage says that God will put his Spirit upon his servant to do three things: proclaim justice to the Gentiles, bring justice to victory, and bring hope to the Gentiles. This is another passage that points to Christ's reliance on the HS during his earthly ministry.
Matthew 12:28
Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit of God. Yet another passage about Jesus' empowerment by the HS.
Matthew 12:31-32 (also Mark 3:29-30; Luke 12:10)
The blasphemy of the HS is outlined. It will not be forgiven. It is unclear to me exactly what this blasphemy is. Blasphemy by definition is the speaking profanely of God. The Mark passage's context is that of the scribes accusing Jesus of casting out demons by Satan's power. So it would seem that the blasphemy of the HS is not recognizing the HS actions.
Matthew 22:43
Jesus hints at the inspiration of the scriptures by saying that David wrote a Psalm in the Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The Great Commission says that we should baptize people in the name of all three members of the Trinity including the HS. This may indicate their equality within the Godhead.
Luke 1:15
John the Baptist will be filled with the HS from the womb. This is an indication that he is a prophet.
Luke 1:41-43
Mary visits Elizabeth. John the Baptist jumps in the womb in the presence of Jesus (in Mary's womb). Elizabeth is then filled with the HS and acknowledges Jesus as Lord.
Luke 1:67
Zechariah filled with HS and prophesies.
Luke 2:25-27
Simeon filled with HS and knew that the baby Jesus was the Messiah. The OT saw the HS as the Spirit of prophecy in particular. These 4 examples show that idea in practice as all of these characters were prophets and/or prophesied when filled with the HS.
Luke 4:14, 18
Another indication that Jesus used the HS in his ministry. He began his ministry in the power of the Spirit.
Luke 10:21
Even in praise of God, Jesus was operating in the HS.
Luke 11:13
In the context of friends and fathers giving gifts, Jesus says that the Father will give the HS to those who ask him. Jesus is comparing us, who are evil, giving good gifts, with the Father, who is perfectly good giving the greatest gift of all, the HS. This would have been a radical idea to the Jews hearing this. In their view, only kings and prophets got the HS, but now Jesus is saying that anyone who asks can have the HS. While many Pentecostals will use this verse as a prooftext of the Baptism in the HS, there is no mention of this baptism in this passage.
Luke 24:49
Jesus says he is sending the promise of the Father so the disciples can be clothed with power. This is directly connected to the beginning of Acts (1:5, 8; 2:33) where the HS descends on the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus says this is so they can have power to witness (Acts 1:8).
John 3:34
Akin to the Luke 11:13 passage, Jesus will give the Spirit without measure. Here we have an equating of Jesus and the Father. Notice that they are both sending the Spirit apparently. At least in function it appears that the HS is subordinate to the Son and the Father.
John 6:63
After Jesus tells people that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life (v. 35-59), the disciples are confused. Jesus says it is the Spirit who gives life, not the flesh. I think he is correcting them in their thinking that they actually had to eat his flesh and drink his blood physically to have eternal life. He is not speaking literally here. This would discount the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
John 7:37-39
Jesus says if you thirst, come to me and drink. Those who do will have rivers of living water flowing from their heart. In v. 39 John says that is the Spirit. Those who believe will get it after Jesus is glorified. Based on this passage, Jesus isn't glorified fully until he ascends to the throne (Acts 1:9). Then the HS is poured out on believers (Acts 2ff). This means the John 20:22 passage where Jesus breathes on the apostles in the upper room was unique and not a model for every believer. This further strains the Pentecostal Baptism in the HS doctrine because the upper room experience is seen as salvation before the baptism. But it seems to me that this is clearly one-of-a-kind because the HS wasn't given until Christ's glorification.
John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15
The HS is called the Helper which the Father gives to believers when Jesus asks him to. The world cannot receive him. He will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all of Jesus' teachings. The Helper will also bear witness about Christ. When Jesus goes away the Helper will come and he will: convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, guide believers into truth, won't speak on his own authority, and will glorify Christ by declaring what is his. These passages together portray the HS as being directed by the Father and the Son, but also as continuing the Son's work that was started during his ministry (proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven). This further helps us to understand that the HS is God, but functionally he is acting in submission to the Father and the Son even though he is equal in nature.
This concludes the Gospel portion of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Next time I will cover Acts all by itself. The Book of Acts has quite a bit to say about the actions of the HS and we will continue to look at the Pentecostal Baptism in the Holy Spirit doctrine.
The Gospels
Matthew 1:18 (also Luke 1:35)
The Holy Spirit (HS) conceived Jesus in Mary. Given that the HS is spirit, he is immaterial, with no body (Luke 24:39). That means this isn't and can't be physical sexual intercourse a la Mormonism (page 115, right column, 3rd paragraph). This immediately gives us a recognition of who the HS is when we compare these passages. The Matthew passage says that Mary was found with child from the HS while the Luke passage says that both the HS will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. This equating of the HS with the Most High indicates that the HS is God given some Old Testament (OT) references that clue us in to whom the Most High is (Gen. 14:18-22; Deut 32:8; Psalm 9:2).
Matthew 3:11-12 (also Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16-17; John 1:33)
In these passages we find John the Baptist's comments about Jesus baptizing with the HS. Only Matthew and Luke say that Jesus will baptize with fire as well. The context bears out what this means. In both Matthew and Luke, John the Baptist says Jesus will gather the wheat into the barn the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. So, if you are baptized with the HS, you are "wheat" that will be gathered into the barn, while if you are not baptized with the HS, you are "chaff" that will be burnt with unquenchable fire. This seems to comport with the OT (Isa 17:13; 66:24; Jer 13:24; 15:7, etc.).We'll come back to this point in a minute. Some other observations are in order first. This seems to indicate that water baptism is a lesser baptism than HS baptism. It also seems as though Jesus is directing the HS, which raises a few questions. Namely: Does this mean our equating the HS with God as we did above is incorrect? Is the HS not God, but subordinate in deity to the Father and the Son and thus, directed by their will? Is the HS God, but functionally subordinate in some way like the Son submits to the Father concerning the cross even though the Son is fully God? (I will answer these questions as we go through the NT, but I want to be open to hearing what the text says, not what I think it says.)
Let's go back to the Baptism in the HS. This raises some serious issues if you are a Pentecostal/Charismatic. Traditionally, Pentecostals (article 11 in the link) have seen the Baptism in the HS as a second act of grace subsequent to the initial infilling of the HS at the salvation moment (when people generally say the sinner's prayer in order to be saved). This means that Pentecostals believe that this baptism is not necessary for salvation. It is different than the salvation experience, but could be concurrent with it. Pentecostals believe that the initial evidence for the Baptism in the HS is speaking in tongues, which they differentiate from the gift of tongues from 1 Corinthians 12:10 that is only for some believers as the HS gifts them. This Baptism in the HS gives a believer the ability to operate in the HS's gifts as enumerated in 1 Cor. 12:8-11. Charismatics, though not holding to a single doctrine of the Baptism in the HS, generally believe all of this except that the initial evidence of this baptism could be a wide array of things, not only tongues. Again, there are questions that the Gospel passages bring to the forefront. If the individuals who are not baptized in the HS are chaff that will be burned with unquenchable fire (they will go to hell), how is it that the Pentecostal Baptism in the HS is a second act of grace that is not necessary for salvation? These don't seem to go together.
Defenders of this doctrine point to John 20:22 and Acts 1:5 and 2:1-4. The apostles received the HS from the breath of Jesus in the upper room at the end of John's Gospel, but then are told they will be baptized with (or in) the HS not many days from now in the beginning of Acts. They will say that the John passage is salvation, while the Acts passage is the Baptism in the HS. People who object to this doctrine say the same thing about the John passage, it was the salvation experience for the apostles, but they differ on the Acts passage pointing to Peter's speech in Acts 2:17-18 that says the falling of the HS is fulfilled prophecy from Joel and therefore, is a unique experience that inaugurated the church. The objectors will say that no one has this sort of experience today, only the filling of the HS when people are saved (like the apostles in the upper room, we are "breathed on", so to speak, by Jesus). I think both of these are wrong.
I think both of these events in the apostles lives were unique. In John 20:22 Jesus breathed on the apostles, but the apostles still didn't understand the full impact of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection until they were baptized in the HS at Pentecost. This makes the objectors to the Pentecostal doctrine incorrect in saying that the apostles received the fullness of the HS in the upper room. If they did have all of the HS, why did they not start evangelizing with a clear understanding until Pentecost? As far as the day of Pentecost experience, I think that was unique as well. It was the inauguration of the body of Christ, the Church, being sealed by the HS. It was the transition between covenants. Clearly this was a unique event. If we consider John the Baptist's words in the Gospels about Jesus' baptism with the HS, this was necessary for the salvation of the apostles. But then that begs the question of what exactly the upper room experience was. This leads me to the conclusion that these were both unique experiences. The danger lies in thinking that we can use the apostles experiences as a strict model for what should happen to us. Acts itself has a number of different ways that people are saved and filled with the HS, both with and without tongues. In the next installment of this series I will address Acts in more detail with a comprehensive look at all of the passages dealing with salvation and filling of the HS. In the meantime, let me just say that I think any number of things could happen to an individual concurrent with salvation or after salvation. I also don't think there is just one experience to be had, what Pentecostals and Charismatics would generally call the Baptism in the HS, by believers. There is always more of the HS to be filled and empowered with as Paul says in Ephesians 5:18: "but be filled with the Spirit". As we continue through the NT we will encounter some other passages that deal with being filled with the HS after conversion.
Matthew 3:16 (also Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
After Jesus is baptized, the Spirit of God descends on him like a dove. What spirit is this? Matthew says Spirit of God; Mark says Spirit; Luke says Holy Spirit; John says Spirit. Putting all these together we can see that this is the HS and that he is God. Jesus is unique, so I am not going to try to draw any conclusions about the Baptism in the HS debate above from his baptism by water and receiving the HS.
Matthew 4:1 (also Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1-2)
This is Jesus' temptation period. The text says he was led or drove by the HS into the desert. This is our first indication, of many more to come, that Jesus was dependent on the HS during his ministry on Earth. In some way this serves as an example for us. That we should be as reliant on the HS's guidance as Jesus was on Earth, though we can never obtain the perfection of submission that Christ did due to our imperfect lives.
Matthew 10:20 (also Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12)
In the context of persecution, Jesus tells the apostles not to worry about what to say (v. 19) because the Spirit of the Father will speak through them. Though this was said specifically to the apostles, I think this could be for all believers based on the fact that Jesus was sending them out (v. 5) and he has also sent us out (28:19). Also, in the Luke passage, Jesus is discussing "everyone who acknowledges me" (v. 8), not just the apostles.
Matthew 12:18-21
Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-3. This passage says that God will put his Spirit upon his servant to do three things: proclaim justice to the Gentiles, bring justice to victory, and bring hope to the Gentiles. This is another passage that points to Christ's reliance on the HS during his earthly ministry.
Matthew 12:28
Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit of God. Yet another passage about Jesus' empowerment by the HS.
Matthew 12:31-32 (also Mark 3:29-30; Luke 12:10)
The blasphemy of the HS is outlined. It will not be forgiven. It is unclear to me exactly what this blasphemy is. Blasphemy by definition is the speaking profanely of God. The Mark passage's context is that of the scribes accusing Jesus of casting out demons by Satan's power. So it would seem that the blasphemy of the HS is not recognizing the HS actions.
Matthew 22:43
Jesus hints at the inspiration of the scriptures by saying that David wrote a Psalm in the Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The Great Commission says that we should baptize people in the name of all three members of the Trinity including the HS. This may indicate their equality within the Godhead.
Luke 1:15
John the Baptist will be filled with the HS from the womb. This is an indication that he is a prophet.
Luke 1:41-43
Mary visits Elizabeth. John the Baptist jumps in the womb in the presence of Jesus (in Mary's womb). Elizabeth is then filled with the HS and acknowledges Jesus as Lord.
Luke 1:67
Zechariah filled with HS and prophesies.
Luke 2:25-27
Simeon filled with HS and knew that the baby Jesus was the Messiah. The OT saw the HS as the Spirit of prophecy in particular. These 4 examples show that idea in practice as all of these characters were prophets and/or prophesied when filled with the HS.
Luke 4:14, 18
Another indication that Jesus used the HS in his ministry. He began his ministry in the power of the Spirit.
Luke 10:21
Even in praise of God, Jesus was operating in the HS.
Luke 11:13
In the context of friends and fathers giving gifts, Jesus says that the Father will give the HS to those who ask him. Jesus is comparing us, who are evil, giving good gifts, with the Father, who is perfectly good giving the greatest gift of all, the HS. This would have been a radical idea to the Jews hearing this. In their view, only kings and prophets got the HS, but now Jesus is saying that anyone who asks can have the HS. While many Pentecostals will use this verse as a prooftext of the Baptism in the HS, there is no mention of this baptism in this passage.
Luke 24:49
Jesus says he is sending the promise of the Father so the disciples can be clothed with power. This is directly connected to the beginning of Acts (1:5, 8; 2:33) where the HS descends on the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus says this is so they can have power to witness (Acts 1:8).
John 3:34
Akin to the Luke 11:13 passage, Jesus will give the Spirit without measure. Here we have an equating of Jesus and the Father. Notice that they are both sending the Spirit apparently. At least in function it appears that the HS is subordinate to the Son and the Father.
John 6:63
After Jesus tells people that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life (v. 35-59), the disciples are confused. Jesus says it is the Spirit who gives life, not the flesh. I think he is correcting them in their thinking that they actually had to eat his flesh and drink his blood physically to have eternal life. He is not speaking literally here. This would discount the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
John 7:37-39
Jesus says if you thirst, come to me and drink. Those who do will have rivers of living water flowing from their heart. In v. 39 John says that is the Spirit. Those who believe will get it after Jesus is glorified. Based on this passage, Jesus isn't glorified fully until he ascends to the throne (Acts 1:9). Then the HS is poured out on believers (Acts 2ff). This means the John 20:22 passage where Jesus breathes on the apostles in the upper room was unique and not a model for every believer. This further strains the Pentecostal Baptism in the HS doctrine because the upper room experience is seen as salvation before the baptism. But it seems to me that this is clearly one-of-a-kind because the HS wasn't given until Christ's glorification.
John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15
The HS is called the Helper which the Father gives to believers when Jesus asks him to. The world cannot receive him. He will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all of Jesus' teachings. The Helper will also bear witness about Christ. When Jesus goes away the Helper will come and he will: convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, guide believers into truth, won't speak on his own authority, and will glorify Christ by declaring what is his. These passages together portray the HS as being directed by the Father and the Son, but also as continuing the Son's work that was started during his ministry (proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven). This further helps us to understand that the HS is God, but functionally he is acting in submission to the Father and the Son even though he is equal in nature.
This concludes the Gospel portion of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Next time I will cover Acts all by itself. The Book of Acts has quite a bit to say about the actions of the HS and we will continue to look at the Pentecostal Baptism in the Holy Spirit doctrine.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Gospel Privilege
Something that I have heard and read a few times, mainly from proponents of social justice gospels, skeptics, and liberal Christians, is that we, as Americans, are privileged in a way that is unfair to less Christianized or non-Christian countries and their countrymen. We live in a predominantly Christian nation where the Gospel is readily available in a grand array of different formats. There are Christian television and radio stations, a church on every corner, and even Christian bookstores that sell books, DVDs, and CD's that, in one way or another, talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are saturated with the Gospel message in all aspects of our lives. Even our politicians pander to the "evangelical vote" because of the perceived impact of faith-informed voters.
Contrast that picture with the one in say, a village in the deep rain forest of Brazil or somewhere like that. No television, no radio, no Christian bookstores, no pandering politicians claiming they love Jesus. It might not be unthinkable that some of our hypothetical villagers hear the Gospel one time their entire lives from a lone missionary or missionary couple. The perceived implication is that we have a much greater opportunity to come to know the Lord here in America and that ultimately, people are lost (non-Americans) without having heard the Gospel. How is that fair? How could God have set-up such an unfair world system? Why would He allow that to happen?
I would like to offer three points that perhaps, won't answer these accusative questions directly, but will cause everyone on both sides of this issue to pause and think more deeply about their own worldview; particularly if you claim to have a Biblical worldview centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The first is that I converted to Christianity when I was 32 years old. I did not grow up in a Christian home and when I left home for the Marines I didn't go to any church or ascribe to any religion for the 13 years between my initial enlistment and my conversion. My wife grew up Christian and then wandered from the Lord until about 10 years ago. So for the first 5 (or so) years of our marriage, we lived a Godless life devoid of anything that anyone would call spiritual or religious. What's the point of this you ask? In all my years on Earth before I converted, I heard the Gospel twice. One of those was from my wife and one from my father-in-law and both of those were in the last 10 years. For 22 years, I knew exactly bupkis about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which Paul says is "as of first importance" (1 Cor. 15:3). I was never saturated with the Gospel even though I lived in America.
The next point deals with an implicit assumption in this line of reasoning. The assumption is that people go to hell because they haven't heard of Jesus. This assumption also has its own assumption as well; that everybody is generally good and would go to heaven if they just hear of Jesus. Both of these are wrong. No one goes to hell because they haven't heard of Jesus. We all are or were deservedly on the road to hell because we sin and God's justice must be satiated. The other part of this is found in Romans 1-3. Specifically, 1:18-32 and 3:10-23 that says everyone is guilty and even though we know God exists, we ignore that reality and don't follow or seek Him. Without the "bad news" of our inherent and guilty sinfulness, the good news doesn't make any sense. Jesus just becomes some arbitrary marker that must be reached for no apparent reason for entry to heaven instead of the understanding that we all are dying of a disease of which Jesus is the only cure. Why is Jesus the only cure? Because God poured His wrath out on Him on the cross (Isa. 52:13-53:12; especially 53:10-12) in order to "make many to be accounted righteous" (53:11). Now we can ask: Is it fair that God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ came and lived among men in order to live a sinless life and sacrifice Himself willingly that we might have eternal life even though we were, for instance, trying to live a good life to get to heaven or suppressing the truth of God's existence so we could remain the lord of our own lives? The reality of this line of thought is that it is incredibly shallow and human-centered when the very foundational message of the Bible is absolutely God-centered.
The final point I have is just a thought exercise that I conjured up when discussing this topic with both my wife and a friend of mine at separate times. We had been discussing these very questions in an attempt to parse out some serious Christian answers that deal with the mechanics of how God accomplishes all his saving purposes with people who may only hear the Gospel once in their lifetime. For the sake of argument, I will grant that Americans are saturated with the Gospel message contrary to my first point above. Paul says in Acts 17:26-27 that God has "determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him." God has personally put every one of us in both the time and place where He knew that we had the best chance to find him. That is a comforting thought. Since God has done this, we can presume that He knows our personality and sensitiveness to Him better than we do. If you have been around followers of Christ for any length of time you know that some people are just naturally more sensitive to God's presence and moving than others. Even non-believers can be incredibly sensitive to God though they do not really know Him (Albert Camus in his book The Fall for instance). With this in mind, maybe we as Americans are not the privileged ones. Maybe we needed to hear the Gospel from every possible medium, repeatedly, in order to find our way to God. Maybe we are weak and totally insensitive to God. Since God knows everything, He knew that fact about all of us and knew that our weakness needed a profoundly Gospel swamped "allotted period" and "dwelling place" so we might succumb to His grace. And on the other hand, maybe it is the distant villager who really has the privilege. Maybe he is the one who is sensitive to God and thus, the stronger one compared with an average American. He only needed to hear the Gospel once in his life in order for it pierce him to the soul and change his life forever. Maybe he only needed to hear the only name that can save, the name above all names, Jesus Christ, once, before the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual barriers in his being came crashing down and he embraced what he knew had been missing from his life for as long as he could remember. I hope that this will give you something to think about when you consider the (apparent) problem that deals with: What about those who have never heard?
Contrast that picture with the one in say, a village in the deep rain forest of Brazil or somewhere like that. No television, no radio, no Christian bookstores, no pandering politicians claiming they love Jesus. It might not be unthinkable that some of our hypothetical villagers hear the Gospel one time their entire lives from a lone missionary or missionary couple. The perceived implication is that we have a much greater opportunity to come to know the Lord here in America and that ultimately, people are lost (non-Americans) without having heard the Gospel. How is that fair? How could God have set-up such an unfair world system? Why would He allow that to happen?
I would like to offer three points that perhaps, won't answer these accusative questions directly, but will cause everyone on both sides of this issue to pause and think more deeply about their own worldview; particularly if you claim to have a Biblical worldview centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The first is that I converted to Christianity when I was 32 years old. I did not grow up in a Christian home and when I left home for the Marines I didn't go to any church or ascribe to any religion for the 13 years between my initial enlistment and my conversion. My wife grew up Christian and then wandered from the Lord until about 10 years ago. So for the first 5 (or so) years of our marriage, we lived a Godless life devoid of anything that anyone would call spiritual or religious. What's the point of this you ask? In all my years on Earth before I converted, I heard the Gospel twice. One of those was from my wife and one from my father-in-law and both of those were in the last 10 years. For 22 years, I knew exactly bupkis about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which Paul says is "as of first importance" (1 Cor. 15:3). I was never saturated with the Gospel even though I lived in America.
The next point deals with an implicit assumption in this line of reasoning. The assumption is that people go to hell because they haven't heard of Jesus. This assumption also has its own assumption as well; that everybody is generally good and would go to heaven if they just hear of Jesus. Both of these are wrong. No one goes to hell because they haven't heard of Jesus. We all are or were deservedly on the road to hell because we sin and God's justice must be satiated. The other part of this is found in Romans 1-3. Specifically, 1:18-32 and 3:10-23 that says everyone is guilty and even though we know God exists, we ignore that reality and don't follow or seek Him. Without the "bad news" of our inherent and guilty sinfulness, the good news doesn't make any sense. Jesus just becomes some arbitrary marker that must be reached for no apparent reason for entry to heaven instead of the understanding that we all are dying of a disease of which Jesus is the only cure. Why is Jesus the only cure? Because God poured His wrath out on Him on the cross (Isa. 52:13-53:12; especially 53:10-12) in order to "make many to be accounted righteous" (53:11). Now we can ask: Is it fair that God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ came and lived among men in order to live a sinless life and sacrifice Himself willingly that we might have eternal life even though we were, for instance, trying to live a good life to get to heaven or suppressing the truth of God's existence so we could remain the lord of our own lives? The reality of this line of thought is that it is incredibly shallow and human-centered when the very foundational message of the Bible is absolutely God-centered.
The final point I have is just a thought exercise that I conjured up when discussing this topic with both my wife and a friend of mine at separate times. We had been discussing these very questions in an attempt to parse out some serious Christian answers that deal with the mechanics of how God accomplishes all his saving purposes with people who may only hear the Gospel once in their lifetime. For the sake of argument, I will grant that Americans are saturated with the Gospel message contrary to my first point above. Paul says in Acts 17:26-27 that God has "determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him." God has personally put every one of us in both the time and place where He knew that we had the best chance to find him. That is a comforting thought. Since God has done this, we can presume that He knows our personality and sensitiveness to Him better than we do. If you have been around followers of Christ for any length of time you know that some people are just naturally more sensitive to God's presence and moving than others. Even non-believers can be incredibly sensitive to God though they do not really know Him (Albert Camus in his book The Fall for instance). With this in mind, maybe we as Americans are not the privileged ones. Maybe we needed to hear the Gospel from every possible medium, repeatedly, in order to find our way to God. Maybe we are weak and totally insensitive to God. Since God knows everything, He knew that fact about all of us and knew that our weakness needed a profoundly Gospel swamped "allotted period" and "dwelling place" so we might succumb to His grace. And on the other hand, maybe it is the distant villager who really has the privilege. Maybe he is the one who is sensitive to God and thus, the stronger one compared with an average American. He only needed to hear the Gospel once in his life in order for it pierce him to the soul and change his life forever. Maybe he only needed to hear the only name that can save, the name above all names, Jesus Christ, once, before the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual barriers in his being came crashing down and he embraced what he knew had been missing from his life for as long as he could remember. I hope that this will give you something to think about when you consider the (apparent) problem that deals with: What about those who have never heard?
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