Lesson for January 23, 2022
The Uniqueness of the Church Age
Lesson 1
Because the Church Age is an intensified period of the Angelic Conflict where Satan and his demons are more aggressive than ever before, believers need much more help in fulfilling their responsibility as ambassadors for Christ. For this reason, God has provided certain things unique to this age for believers that were never provided in the past.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is neither seen nor felt. It is a fact stated in the Word of God for us to believe. Technically, it is when the believer is placed into union with Jesus Christ at salvation. There are seven baptisms in the Bible and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is but one of these. The word for baptism in Greek is “baptisma” and literally means, “to dip.” It was used to describe the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl. John the Baptist and Jesus used the word to describe water baptism as submersion, therefore, the accurate interpretation of the word is “to dip into or submerge.” (I Corinthians 12:13)
During the Church Age, when a person trusts Christ as Savior, they are “dipped into” or “submerged” into the “body of Christ.” This, of course, is speaking of positional truth, signifying our union with Christ. Water baptism for believers has always been a picture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Submersion into water illustrates how a believer becomes united with Christ. (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:4-5) Paul explained our union with Christ as the mystery doctrine. The mystery doctrine regarding the Church was not known to previous dispensations but was revealed to Paul and the other apostles. The mystery doctrine is the fact that all believers in the Church Age are in union with Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, according to Romans 16:27, Ephesians 3:1-12, Ephesians 5:25-32, Colossians 1:25-27, and Colossians 2:2.
All seven baptisms in the Scripture are for the purpose of identification. Of these seven, four are ritual identifications and three are actual identifications. In the apostate times in which we live, water baptism (ritual) and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (actual) have been distorted into a system of works. Water baptism, for example, is taught by some ministers as a necessity for salvation, which is false doctrine. No one has ever been saved by being submerged in water. The only purpose for water baptism is identification: Identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, which it pictures. It was a teaching aid for the early church before the Canon of Scripture was completed. As a matter of fact, water baptism is mentioned only once after the early history of the church in the book of Acts, and it is mentioned as a source of division in the church of Corinth. (I Corinthians 1:11-17)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is also being distorted today into a system of emotionalism and ecstatic behavior, leading to a pseudo-spiritual experience that is not found in the Word of God. The gift of tongues, for example, has been distorted into a requirement to prove salvation and/or to prove spirituality. Both are false doctrines. The gift of tongues was a supernatural gift from God whereby certain men were able to speak a language they had not previously learned. The purpose of this gift was to communicate the Gospel to unbelievers who had come to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost. (I Corinthians 13:8, 14:21)
There are two words for “tongues” in Greek. The first word is “glossa” and the second is “dialektos” and both refer to known, spoken languages. This is confirmed in the book of Corinthians when Paul insists that an interpreter be present when a person with the gift speaks in the local assembly. The gift was used (before the destruction of Jerusalem and the nation) to evangelize Jews from many nations who spoke many languages not necessarily known by the apostles.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is for the Church Age believers only. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the means of placing us into union with Christ and assures us of sharing Christ’s inheritance. This inheritance includes becoming a member of the Royal Family of God. We actually share Christ’s royalty, a royalty He received by defeating Satan in the Angelic Conflict. Christ won this victory by His spiritual death, physical death, resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God the Father. Because of our union with Christ, we are different from believers of other ages. (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:4; 11:15-17; Colossians 2:9-15)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit results in a union that never existed before for believers. This union with Christ is unique and sets up many potentials for us. Being placed in union with Christ is called Positional Sanctification. Positional Sanctification describes our new relationship with God through Christ. It is a permanent relationship based on our faith in Christ and never changes, regardless of our spiritual condition. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, therefore, sets up the potential for us to make our daily experience align with our position in Christ. This means that we are to exhibit the character of Jesus Christ on a daily basis by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:20; I Corinthians 12:12-27)
Romans 6 describes a battle that is going on in the life of every believer after salvation. This battle begins the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Though we are immediately delivered from the penalty of sin, we are not immediately delivered from the power of sin. Delivery from the power of sin is a process developed by learning and using accurate Bible doctrine. The battle is in our soul between our sin nature and our new spiritual nature. Control of the soul is the objective of both natures. Satan, his demons, and his world system attempt to influence our sin nature and God the Holy Spirit attempts to influence the spiritual nature. Our personal volition makes the difference. We make the choice of allowing either the sin nature or the spiritual nature to be in control.
One key to success as believers is understanding our position in Christ and how it can affect our spiritual lives. Our position in Christ is permanent and places us in a unique and powerful position. As believers in Christ, we possess the supernatural power of the indwelling Holy Spirit Who can empower us to break the power of sin in our lies as we learn, believe, and apply accurate Bible doctrine to our experience. Using this key means understanding that God wants us to live as the royalty we already are in Christ. This means making our daily experiences align with our position in Christ.
We are to allow the character of Jesus Christ to be produced in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. It means that we are to think the thoughts of Christ by saturating our souls with His Word and making appropriate application. It means that Jesus Christ is the standard to Whom we are to compare ourselves, not to others. It means that the execution of the Christian Way of Life is how we glorify God and become a blessing to others. It means that we are to fulfill our roles as royal priests and royal ambassadors.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit places all believers in this age into the body of Christ. All believers in the Church Age have equal privilege and equal opportunity to execute God’s plan for their lives. No one in the body of Christ is more privileged than the next. Under God’s system of equality, we all possess the same potential. Some believers choose to exploit this potential, and some do not. In any case, we are all in union with Jesus Christ and we are all important to the success or the failure of “the Body of Christ.” The analogy of the body is used throughout Scripture to illustrate the doctrine of unity. The hand is not more important than the foot and the eyes are not more important than the hand, etc. All parts of the body are important if the body is to function properly. We should never assume that our role in “the Body of Christ” is not essential to the success of the Body.”
The Indwelling of the Trinity
Al believers are indwelt permanently by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Each Person in the Trinity has specific reasons for indwelling us. (John 14:23; Ephesians 4:6; II John 9)
God the Father indwells us to assure us of His love and care. As a loving Father, He is concerned with our welfare and continually shows His love for us by guiding and directing our paths through life. Like a good father, He occasionally has to discipline His children in order to help them stay within His will. The Father’s correction is always for our good. (John 14:21; 15:8-10; 17:26; Hebrews 12:5-11)
Everything that we possess as believers is provided by the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. As a guarantee to us of the Father’s eternal provision, God the Father indwells us. The Father is with us constantly to grant blessings beyond compare and above our imaginations. He constantly gives divine blessings to His children and gifts of grace without measure. These blessings include such things as salvation, promises, doctrine, family, friends, and physical needs. The Father is indwelling us to watch over and protect us, as any good father would do. (James 1:17-18)
God the Father indwells us also to guard us from Satan’s world system and to glorify Jesus Christ in our lives. This was Christ’s prayer for us. Christ did not pray that we would be taken out of this world, but that the Father would safeguard us while we were in the world. (John 17) Jesus also prayed that He would be glorified through us and that we would share His joy. It is the Father Who provides all of this for us through experiential sanctification. Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified through the truth, which is Bible doctrine. And finally, Jesus prayed that believers would “be one” as the Father and the Son are one. Unity is accomplished in only one way – truth. It is the truth of the Word of God that brings us together as Christians.
God the Son, Jesus Christ indwells us to make evident His glory in us. At the moment of salvation, we were indwelt by Jesus Christ for a specific purpose. This is accomplished in the life of a spiritually maturing believer as he/she exhibits the character of Jesus Christ. Our objective as Christians should be to allow God the Father to glorify His Son by giving us fantastic blessings. As we move through the spiritual life on our way to spiritual maturity, our capacity to receive blessing from God increases. This increase in capacity sets up the potential for glorifying Christ. As the indwelling Christ, He provides encouragement, motivation, and confidence. (John 14:18-21; Ephesians 3:14-21; Colossians 1:27)
During the Church Age, the Shekinah Glory of God (Jesus Christ) indwells us, guaranteeing temporal and eternal blessings. It is no longer necessary for Christ to appear in a cloud or as a pillar of fire as He did to Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. The Shekinah Glory of God “became flesh and dwelt among us in the Person of Jesus.” (John 1:1-3; 14:18-21; II Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 3:17)
Jesus Christ indwells us to glorify Himself in our lives. However, we must allow Christ to glorify Himself through our lives. We do this as we abide in Him (fellowship) and His Word abides in us. The word for abide in Greek is “meno” and means to dwell, to remain, to continue in, or staying. Abide means “to be at home with.” When Bible doctrine is dwelling in you and you are in fellowship with Christ, the potential exists to glorify Him through your life. (John 15:1-14)
The indwelling of Christ also provides motivation for the execution of the Christian Way of Life. Our personal love for Jesus Christ should motivate us to do our best to bring glory to Him. The unmotivated life dishonors our Savior and brings shame to us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (II Corinthians 10:17) There is no greater motivation than love. It was love that motivated the humanity of Jesus Christ to die in our place, paying the penalty for our sin. It was love that motivated God the Father to send Christ. It is love for God that should be our motivation for wanting to please Him. (John 3:16, 15:13; II Corinthians 5:14-15)
The indwelling Christ “pours out” His love in our souls as we advance in our spiritual lives. Knowing and understanding the love of God, by means of study and application of Bible doctrine is our motivation for serving Him. Spiritual advance reflects the glory that dwells in us. (Romans 5:5; II Corinthians 3:16-17)
The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit begins immediately at salvation and is permanent, as is the indwelling of God the Father and God the Son. This ministry is unique to the Church Age. It is this ministry that assures our royal status, since all believers, regardless of their spiritual health, are equally indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This ministry also creates a temple in the body of each believer for the indwelling of Christ, the Shekinah Glory.
It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that sets up the potential for us to understand spiritual truth, to glorify Christ, to be comforted, to be guided through life and to witness for Christ. It is still up to us to use our volition to allow the Holy Spirit to empower our lives. (Galatians 3:2-3; 4:6; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 2:12; 3:16-17; 6:19-20; John 14:16-20; Colossians 1:27)
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit sets up a potential for us to understand spiritual truth. Since God does not force truth upon us, we must make the choice to learn, believe, and apply spiritual truth. Under the filling of the Holy Spirit, we are able to convert academic understanding of God’s Word into spiritual understanding. (I Corinthians 2:10-16: II Peter 1:20-21)
In the time in which we live, people often try to glorify the Holy Spirit by praying to Him, speaking in some so-called heavenly language supposedly inspired by Him, getting extremely emotional and attributing it to Him, etc. Anytime the Holy Spirit is glorified, a “red flag” should immediately go up. Jesus made it perfectly clear that when the Holy Spirit came to earth that He (the Holy Spirit) would not speak of Himself but would testify of Christ. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit, as God, is any less divine than Jesus Christ. He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. However, in function He never seeks to glorify Himself, only Christ. We must remember that it is Christ Who is the focal point of all that God is doing on behalf of mankind. Therefore, all glory has been given to Christ. (John 16:13-14, 17:1-5; II Peter 1:16-18)
It is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to bring comfort to a believer in time of distress. Originally a legal term for an advocate or defense attorney, the word for comforter/helper came to mean much more. Its meaning was expanded to include consolation, encouragement, alleviation of grief, a soothing solace or giving comfort; things perhaps an advocate would do for a client. It is this word that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture to use to describe His ministry. (John 14:16,26, 15:26; 16:7; Philippians 2:1-2; II Thessalonians 2:15-16; I John 2:1)
How does the Holy Spirit comfort us? Since God does not speak directly to human beings any longer, there must be a way in which He communicates this comfort. God the Holy Spirit uses Scriptures and Bible doctrine that we have learned and stored in our souls to bring comfort, encouragement, and alleviation of grief. Memorizing verses, which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, will enable us to handle situations in life. Knowing verses is a great help in time of trouble, heartache, or suffering. Galatians 6:9, “Don’t be weary in well doing, because in due season you will reap, if you don’t get discouraged, lose heart, give up and give in.”
The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth that we need at a particular moment to accomplish His ministry of comfort. The key, of course, is to have this information stored in our souls so that we have a frame of reference for the purpose of using the Faith-Rest Drill, which involves claiming a promise from God, reaching a doctrinal conclusion and by applying the promise. (John 14:26, 16:12-13; Galatians 4:6; Hebrews 1:1-2)
The Holy Spirit indwells us as our guide. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit guides us to truth, and it is this truth that becomes the source for all guidance. Without spiritual truth, we cannot be properly guided by the Holy Spirit. We must first learn and believe accurate Bible doctrine before we can apply it. The Holy Spirit may guide us to a person, a place, or a circumstance, but He will not force us to make the right decision. We must make that decision…hopefully it will be based on the accurate Bible doctrine we have stored in our souls. This process, of course, is always based on grace, since it is God Who is guiding us; first to truth and then to the proper application of truth. (I Corinthians 3:1-2)
We are told that the Holy Spirit is the Person Who not only teaches us truth, but also brings truth to our remembrance. It is this recall of truth that allows us the opportunity to make good decisions from a position of strength while we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The key to proper guidance is spiritual growth. Spiritually maturing believers have greater potential for making right decisions than spiritually immature believers. (John 14:26; Ephesians 4:13-16; Hebrews 5:11-14)
One of the many privileges that we have as believers is to share the good news of the Gospel with others. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to carry out our responsibility to be witnesses. Acts 1:8 tells us that when the Holy Spirit was permanently given to the early apostles, they also received the power to be effective witnesses for Christ. The same is true for us today.