Simplicity_WhatDidThe3000Receive

2Cor 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from ‘The Simplicity And Purity That Is in Christ’”

Ephesians 5:25-29 (nkjv)

25 . . . just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. . . . 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

We have documented the command of Peter for repentance and baptism. And now, what was the promise to these upon their obedience. Peter says to them concerning baptism, for

the remission of sins,” and he says, “and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

I can well remember the first time I ever really listened to a lesson on receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Oh, I had “heard” it no doubt dozens of times, but never really grasped what it was teaching. Most lessons seemed to say that the gift was really the forgiveness of sin. The lesson I remember was at a lectureship at Abilene Christian College (now University status) in the early ‘60s. I even remember who the speaker was, and where I was sitting in the auditorium that day. Since that day I’ve heard perhaps a hundred sermons, lectures, etc., on this part of Acts 2:38. I mention my grasping of the truth of this promise because there are still many brethren, my superiors in academic Bible knowledge, who still resist the idea that anything other than the forgiveness of sins was received that day by the Jews, and by sincere penitent obedients today.

At this point it would be well, and I trust interesting, to study a little bit of what we refer to in our brotherhood as "restoration movement” history. Most of us are familiar with the early restoration work done by several men, one of whom was Walter Scott. When Scott began in 1824 there were few disciples in America, and he wanted to reach the masses. He developed an approach that seemed to work well, and as a consequence of this thousands were baptized. Scott became known as the "golden orator," and after a few decades the disciples did not number in a few thousands, but many. By 1832 over twelve thousand people had been baptized into Christ, largely through the influence and efforts of this one man, Walter Scott.

One thing that he did was to take Acts 2:38 and make it understandable. He came up with what has become known in our history as the "five finger exercise." Scott had a brilliant mind and also had a special way with people. He was very personable. He was the very essence of simplicity, even though he was a brilliant man and an extraordinary speaker. He had a unique way with children, and when he would go into a town to hold a Gospel meeting, he would often go to a school.

When school let out he might (as an example) gather the children around him and say,

Then he would hold up his hand, and numbering off with his fingers would say, "Believe, repent, and be baptized -- now that is what a man is to do. Then God gives him" -- and he would continue numbering off on his fingers -- "the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit."

Now can you say that back to me?" And the children would say it back to him: "Believe, repent, and be baptized -- and this is what man must do -- and God gives remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit."

"That's right," he would say, and then to the children he would say: "Now go home and teach this to your mother and father and bring them to our meeting tonight."

This was most successful and helped him get many a mother and father to come and hear him in the Gospel Meeting.

It is interesting that when the Campbells (father Thomas and son Alexander) heard of his great success they came to investigate and upon seeing first hand what he was doing they concluded that he was just making evangelizing plain and easy to understand, and workable, and they gave him their undivided approval and blessing.

But what has happened? It is interesting to note what has happened to this five finger exercise in modern times. I’ve heard and seen it hundreds of time; probably all of us have heard it occasionally. But have you learned it just as it has been described so far? Faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, and gift of the Holy Spirit? Now that is the way that Walter Scott lined it out. And this is what Acts 2:38 says. But how have most of us heard this? First, hear, then believe, then repent, then confess, then be baptized. This is the "Gospel plan of salvation," it is taught. (I recall a most impressive display on the platform, with five lights arranged in series. After a segment on hearing, the speaker tightened the first bulb. Nothing happened. After subsequent segments on faith, repentance and confession, still nothing happened. But when the segment on baptism was finished, and the bulb tightened, all the lights went on. Very impressive!)

One of the most interesting things about this is that these are all the things that man does. It is also interesting that we have made a step out of hearing, which would of course be obvious before one could believe, and we have made a step out of confessing, although it is not always mentioned in the Scriptures. Paul's conversion is an example. And without attempting to be tedious, technical, or argumentative, Acts 2:38 really does say :

"Repent and be baptized in His name, and you will receive the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit."

It is more remarkable that as we have changed this we have left out the Holy Spirit entirely. It is obvious that those who became disciples of Christ in the days of early America were taught that they would indeed receive the Holy Spirit. It is obvious that much of our preaching today does not so promise. And yet, to be honest in our preaching today we must either admit that the promise of God is still as it was once taught, or explain why it is not the same. Anything less would be dishonest, it would seem.

The fact that many teachers of the Scriptures who have chosen not to believe, and subsequently do not teach the fact of the gift of the Spirit, has not kept multiplied thousands of saints from claiming that they have been wonderfully blessed by it. They claim that beyond any doubt they do have resources of power that the non-believer simply does not possess.

Furthermore, it would seem a proven fact that when many fall away it is usually because they have lost sight of the tremendous power that was made available to them, the power that could have helped them overcome temptation.

Again, a personal example: I was baptized when I was a teen-ager. I had been raised by godly parents, and taught by godly teachers in one of the oldest congregations in Middle Tennessee. I knew I needed to be “born again,” and knew I needed to be baptized. And so it was. On this Wednesday night when I walked the 2 miles or so (none of us had cars in those days) home I remember standing as tall as I could and walking on my toes part of the way. Was this in any way the “gift of the Holy Spirit.” I think not! But I did have a joy in my young heart that my sins were forgiven, and, I was looking forward to a new life with a new way of thinking.

A dear friend of mine was baptized as a young married man. As he stood on the churchhouse steps he told me, “I didn’t feel anything!” Are we supposed to have carnal feelings when we repent of our sins, accept Jesus as Lord, and are immersed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for remission of those sins? I knew this man for over 40 years. He was a never tiring worker for the Lord until his death last year (2006), worked in the prison ministry in a large city, raised three children who became Christians, and gave tirelessly in money and physical activity to the Lord’s work. But, he did not “feel” anything immediately after baptism. May I ask, what was his motivation for a lifetime of faithful service to the Lord? (The eunuch did go on his way rejoicing, didn’t he? But was this the Spirit working in him or because he now knew that his sins were forgiven?)

A basic and unchanging feature of our relationship with the Almighty is that “the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1Sa 16:7). Paul states in clear language to the Romans,

“ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom 8:6-9).

Around 1878 Moses E. Lard, one of the greatest of the Restoration Preachers became greatly concerned about the terrible times of his day, and gave much thought to death and the hereafter. It is said that he entertained no doubts whatsoever concerning those who were truly God's children (by the judgment of their peers), and died in the faith (by the judgment of their peers), but he did have some problems when he considered that many of the redeemed (by the judgment of their peers) would be "scarcely saved" and many of the condemned (by the judgment of their peers) would be "scarcely lost." There would be a line of difference so fine between the two classes (by the judgment of their peers) of "scarcely lost" and "scarcely saved" that only the Son of God, as the Scripture says, could judge between them.

What is the evidence that one is a saved person; that he is truly a child of God and bound for the "promised land." That he "belongs" to God and Christ.

1CO 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2CO 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2CO 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Surely this manifestation -- this evidence -- that God is our father and we are his children, is the very possession of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Again, as Paul has said, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9).

Many of the objections to the doctrine of the giving and receiving of the Holy Spirit are based upon the fear that one would not distinguish between:

Possessing (having, etc.) the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9) and God (v.14; etc), which is not only promised but commanded for all believers (Eph. 5:18; etc.), and, having spiritual gifts that empower one to perform extraordinary feats (Heb. 2:4; etc).

The former is surely for all those of all ages who have surrendered to Lord Jesus;

the latter was provided by God for the Apostolic age and has not been promised or needed in these latter days.

Another fear is that one might too easily substitute carnal feelings (so often mistakingly called "leadings of the Holy Spirit"), for the revealed will of God of the Word.

We furthermore believe that those who follow so-called "leadings" of the Spirit, when these "leadings" are contrary to the Scriptures, are obviously deluded. Acts 5:32 clearly teaches that God gives the Holy Spirit to "those who obey him."

In a sense, knowing God experientially can be equated to possessing His Spirit, and John makes it clear that anyone who claims to know God and does not obey his commandments is a liar:

"And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says ‘I know him’ but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1Jo 2:3,4 rsv). (Study Phil. 2:13; Eph. 3:16; 3:17; 3:19; Col. 3:16; etc.)

Whether We Understand It Or Not, Possession Of The Spirit Is The Evidence Of Salvation

Let's go back in the Old Testament and restudy the purpose of circumcision. It will be apparent that circumcision was the "sign" of God's covenant with Abraham.

"And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generation, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant" (Gen. 17:11-14).

"And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised" (Rom. 4:11).

Stephen speaks of the "covenant of circumcision" (Acts 7:8). From religious historians we learn that some of the Jewish leaders of the first century spoke of circumcision as a "seal of election." They understood circumcision to be the sign of their being God's covenant people.

When Jews in the New Testament desired to boast of their religious standings as the people of God, it was always in terms of physical descent. Jews who object to John's baptism are quoted as saying, "We have Abraham as our father" (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8). Jesus assumes descent from Abraham as guaranteeing people a right to receive the benefits of his ministry. (Luk 13:16; 19:9.) The Jewish confidence as they debate the claims of Jesus is, "We are descendants of Abraham" (Joh 8:33; cf.v.39,53). Paul echoes the Jewish boast in Rom 11:1; 2Cor 11:22; Phi 3:5). This boast is back of Paul's argument concerning the true sons of Abraham and his contention that those who are Abraham's spiritual seed (those with the faith of Abraham), and not the fleshly descendants are the heirs of the promises to Abraham. (Rom 4:16 and Gal 3:7 in their contexts.)

Paul contrasts followers of Christ as "children of promise" with the Jews as "children of flesh." (Gal 4:23,28.) But it is especially John who draws the contrast between spiritual birth and fleshly birth. (Joh 2:12ff.) Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 takes on new meaning as a discussion of what it takes to make one a Jew ("born of the flesh," v.6) and what it takes to make one a child of God ("born of water and the Spirit," v.5). Let us discuss this in some detail.

From verse 10, we see that Jesus thought Nicodemus should have known about being "born of the water and the Spirit." After Jesus' explanation of being born again, Nicodemus asked in verse 9, "How can these things be?" And Jesus answered: "Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things?" This reply of the Savior implies a reflection upon Nicodemus for his ignorance.

Now was this rebuke of Nicodemus justified? Coming from the Lord himself it must have been. It is clear from the Old Testament (and Nicodemus should have been a student of the Old Testament), that salvation would require spiritual or heart circumcision in addition to the fleshly or outward rite. God in saving his people would:

These two things are repeatedly found in the writings of Moses and the prophets. They are set forth in types and promises. Circumcision was a type, or a representation, of a change of heart corresponding to the birth of the Spirit. Does not such passages as the following prove this:

"And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live" (Deut. 30:6). (See also 10:16; Jer. 4:4; 9:26; Lev. 26:41; Eze. 44:7, etc.).

DEU 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

JER 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

JER 9:26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

LEV 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

EZE 44:7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

In the New Covenant it is evident that the Apostle Paul understood this, for he extends the thought clearly that circumcision was indicative of a change of heart:

"For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart; spiritual and not literal" (Rom. 2:28-29).

In Christianity the spiritual birth has replaced the physical act. Hence, Paul tells his Philippian brethren that "we are the true circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). Paul tells the Ephesians that circumcision of the Jews under the Abrahamic covenant was made with hands (2:11),

EPH 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

and those who did not have this were formerly "strangers to the covenants of promise" (v. 12), but now have "access in one Spirit to the Father" (v.18). As the uncircumcised was to be "cut off from his people" (Gen 17:14), so "one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" now (Rom 8:9). He lacks the seal of the covenant relationship with God.

Not only is a change of heart set forth representatively in the Old Testament, but our cleansing from sin is also set forth. All ceremonial washings under the law were a type of our cleansing from the pollution of sin, particularly that connected with the ashes of the red heifer. (See Num 19:19) The writer of Hebrews says:

"For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge (or cleanse) your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (9:13,14).

Now this is why Jesus had the right to think that Nicodemus ought to have known that one had to be born again to enter the kingdom, to be "born of the water and of the Spirit." How could he have known? From an understanding of the Old Covenant Scriptures! The two ideas are plainly recognizable in such passages as the prayer of David in the fifty-first Psalm:

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (v.2). "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, and I shall be whiter than snow" (v.7).

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you" (Exe. 36:25).

Here is one idea, the birth of water for the forgiveness of sins. Now here is the second idea, the birth in the spirit.

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (vs.26,27).

Throughout the whole of the New Testament, a change of heart is always ascribed to the Holy Spirit, and never to the blood of Christ; while on the other hand, the cleansing of the soul from sin is always ascribed to the blood of Christ, and never to the Holy Spirit.

Now, as we are both cleansed from sin and renewed in the spirit of our minds, and as these are affected by two distinct causes, (1) the blood of Christ, and (2) the Holy Spirit, two expressions were needful to set them forth. They are comprehended or understood in "born again," and expressed in "born of the water and of the spirit."

It does seem that there can be no doubt of the correctness of this view, when all in connection with type, promise, prophecy, and the New Covenant is duly considered; and the occasion, the teacher Jesus, and the pupil Nicodemus, are taken into account. A man is born again when God washes him thoroughly from his sin and creates within him a clean heart, and renews a right spirit. A man is born again when God writes his law upon his heart, and forgives his sin (Heb. 10:16,17),and remembers iniquity against him no more. And when God does these things for a man, he is "born of water and of the Spirit."

Perhaps the setting of Jesus and Nicodemus is the reason why, in Titus 3:5, the order is first water, and then Spirit. The role of the Spirit in these passages is often assigned to producing faith and repentance through the word. However, a reference to the coming of the Spirit to the person who has been baptized (born of water) fits the order better. And so baptism answers to the fleshly birth of Judaism as the Christian counterpart, and the Spirit correspond to the circumcision that sealed the covenant.

It is apparent that the "covenant of promise" did indeed include the promise of the Holy Spirit. For the prophets of the Old Testament the great mark of the Messianic Age would be the coming of the Holy Spirit. (Joel 2:28ff; Isa 59:20ff; Eze 36:25ff.) Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant in the "heart" (Jer 31:31ff), quoted in Hebrews chapters 8 and 10 as fulfilled in the New Covenant of Christ. In the place of the "covenant of circumcision" there is now the "dispensation of the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:6ff), whose sphere of activity is the heart (Rom 5:5). Isaiah 59:20ff promises with the coming of the Redeemer a covenant in which God will give his Spirit. It is interesting that when Paul quotes this promise in Rom 11:26,27, instead of the phrase about the gift of the Spirit, Paul gives, "I take away their sins." This probably shows the close relationship that will exist between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit as is stated in Acts 2:38, where they are linked together as "the promise" of the new age.

Likewise, many Scriptures in the New Covenant demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that the possession of the Holy Spirit is the seal or sign or mark of the New Covenant of Christ. Among the better known are:

"Paul . . . to the saints which are at Ephesus. . . . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins . . . in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed: ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Study Eph. 1:1-14).

"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30).

The two statements of 2 Cor. 1:22 are parallel: "He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

We must conclude therefore, it is the gift of the Holy Spirit and not baptism which "comes in the room of circumcision." It was fleshly birth that made one a Jew, and circumcision was the seal or sign that one was in the covenant. In Christianity, by comparison, baptism represents the time of the new birth, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is the sign of participation in the covenant of Christ.