The Message through Which You Will Be Saved

Saturday, January 29, 2011, 9:03 p.m. – I sat down on the sofa to spend some time with the Lord this evening. I inquired of the Lord as to what he would want to teach me at this time. Then, he placed the song in my mind, When His Kingdom Comes, by Dottie Rambo and Dony McGuire.

Jesus will set up His kingdom within you,
Filling the void with delight,
Taking dominion over selfish desires,
Transforming the darkness into light,
Transforming the darkness to wonderful light.

When His kingdom comes, what a difference
When things are in earth, as they are in heaven,
When all has been settled and my heart is His home,
Oh, what a difference, what a great transformation!
Oh, what a difference when His kingdom comes!

O that I would be His perfect dwelling place!
O that my King would fill up the empty space,
And flood every room and every part to sanctify this temple,
And build His throne in my heart.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 11:1-18:

Peter Explains His Actions
1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened… “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them… 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

My Understanding: I have quoted most of this section of scripture to keep it in context, yet I believe the main message the Lord would want me to focus on this evening can be found in verses 14-17, so it is there that I will mainly focus my attention. And, I believe, as he always does, that God coordinated this song to go with this passage of scripture and that the two together will provide the message the Lord would want me to receive and to share, i.e. the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe the Lord would have me take apart these four verses and look at the main thoughts contained within them. I see two main thoughts:

The message through which you and your household will be saved

John the Baptist and Jesus both said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” This was John’s main message, and it was the main thrust of Jesus’ message, as well. The kingdom of God was already with them in the person of Jesus Christ, yet Jesus also spoke of it being near. When he left the earth, he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within the hearts and lives of his followers, so now the kingdom was within them. The kingdom is also coming when Jesus returns, and when he comes back, he comes not only to receive his bride, but he comes to judge. So, when Jesus said that the kingdom of God is near, he was speaking not only of the present reality of the kingdom within him, but of a future reality of a time when the kingdom would dwell within his followers (believers) in the person of the Holy Spirit, and yet another future reality of when he would return as judge and would set up his kingdom on the earth and would reign over all things on the earth as their King and Lord. His kingdom brings with it his Lordship, his reign, his rule and his authority. So, in coming to Jesus Christ, we need to understand that we are not merely believing in him as our Savior but as our King, our Lord, our master and the one who holds all things together. Sin is no longer to reign, rule or have any authority over our lives. Jesus is to be our Lord.

The second part of this is to “Repent and believe the good news.” The “good news” was/is that Jesus came to earth as a human, not only to die on the cross for our sins, but so that he could suffer as we suffer, to be tempted as we are tempted yet without sin, and to take upon himself humanity so that he could feel our weaknesses, our sorrows, our joys, etc. Because he did that, we now have a high priest who can sympathize with us in our weaknesses and who understands what we are going through because he, too, went through many of the same things when he was in an earthly body. Then, he died on the cross for our sins, taking upon him all the sins of the entire world. They mocked him, betrayed him, denied him, deserted him, they spat upon him, they scourged him, they put a crown of thorns upon his head, they divided his clothing among themselves and they hung him on a cross to die because he claimed to be who He is – the Son of God and God.

Then he was buried, but he rose again. When he rose from the grave, he left our sins in the grave, conquering death, hell, Satan and sin, making the way for us to be free, not only from the penalty of sin (judgment and eternal separation from God in hell), but also free from bondage to and the control, power, rule and dominion of sin over our lives on a daily basis. That is why he says we must repent and believe the good news. Repentance and obedience = faith and belief. They cannot be separated. If Jesus died so that we could be free from the control of and the penalty of sin over our lives, then to say we believe in him and what he did for us on the cross means to accept and to appropriate what he did for us in our lives by reckoning ourselves dead to sin but alive to God; by leaving our lives of sin behind us and by walking in faith and obedience to the Lord. For his kingdom to dwell within us, he needs to be king and to have the Lordship over our lives. So, the message through which you will be saved is the message that teaches repentance as necessary to accompany and as evidence of true belief in what Jesus did for us on the cross. And, it is a message that proclaims the Kingship and the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our lives when we enter into that faith, so that we are now dead to sin but alive unto God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

As he began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on the others

When Jesus was on the earth, he was with people physically, but he was not with all people at all times because he was limited by a physical body. His followers believed in him as a man of God, as a prophet and teacher of God, and some even recognized that he was indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Then, he died and rose again. Before he left the earth, he promised his followers that he would send the Holy Spirit to indwell them, to be their counselor, their helper, to teach them all things of Jesus and to remind them of all things he had taught them when he was with them on the earth, etc. The Holy Spirit is also God. Our God, and the only true God, is a triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By sending the Holy Spirit, now God could live within the lives of his followers. He no longer dwells in temples made by human hands. His temple now is in the hearts of his true followers. We are his church; his Body; his temple, where the Spirit of God dwells.

Since Jesus had only been with his followers in a human body prior to his death, resurrection and his ascending into heaven, and since he was now gone from them, he sent them his Holy Spirit to indwell them, but they had to wait until the right timing when God would send his Spirit. That day came on the day of Pentecost for all those who were present and who believed in Jesus Christ. Then, Peter shared the gospel with the people who were present and had seen the believers receive the Holy Spirit, and he proclaimed that if they repented and believed (symbolized through identifying themselves with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection through baptism) that they, too, would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Later, the disciples would meet up with other followers who only had been baptized in the name of Jesus, but had not yet received the Holy Spirit within them, so they received the Holy Spirit, too. Then, in Acts 11, Peter recounted how, when he spoke the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, too, that the Holy Spirit came upon them just as it had on the disciples on the day of Pentecost, showing that they, too, had believed.

These historical accounts in Acts of the receiving (being baptized with the Holy Spirit) has caused much division within the Christian church as some have built a doctrine around some of these historical accounts. Yet, we cannot build doctrine off of historical accounts. We must get our doctrine from the teachings of scripture, yet those teachings can be supported by historical accounts as evidence of the truth of what is being taught. With that said, I think it is important that we understand that the reason for this baptism of the Holy Spirit was for the promised Holy Spirit to indwell the life of the believer as Jesus had promised. Many received the gift of the Holy Spirit (the baptism of the Holy Spirit) at the moment they believed in Jesus. Others received the Holy Spirit separately. I believe that historically the reason why some received the Holy Spirit separate from their baptism in the name of Jesus is that the knowledge and understanding that God could now indwell them via the promised Holy Spirit was something that had to be learned and taught by those who had already received the Holy Spirit. Yet, the New Testament teachings on the Holy Spirit teach us that when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior that we are then indwelt with the promised Holy Spirit. Baptism is a symbol of death, burial and resurrection, which is why it was used as an outward symbol of an inward faith and so closely was associated with the believers’ faith that it was often spoken of together. John baptized with water. Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. One was an outward baptism and the other was a baptism of the heart, i.e. the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the working of regeneration in the life of a believer in Jesus in crucifying his flesh and in transforming him (metamorphosis) from darkness to light.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Titus 3:3-7: At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

In conclusion, I believe the main thrust of this message is in us understanding first of all that the message through which you will be saved is a lesson that teaches repentance and obedience as equal to and as accompanying true faith in Jesus Christ. This is evidenced by us reckoning ourselves dead to sin but alive to God by appropriating in our own lives what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross when he died for our sins, i.e. by allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of regeneration and transformation in our hearts and to turn us from darkness to light. Secondly, I believe it is in understanding that the message through which you will be saved is one that teaches the Lordship and the Kingship of Jesus Christ in our lives, i.e. that for his kingdom to dwell within us, it means he reigns, rules, and has authority and dominion over our lives. He is to be not only our Savior but our Lord.

Then, lastly I believe the main thrust of this message is in understanding that when we truly believe in Jesus Christ and his kingdom comes to dwell within us, that it comes in the person of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and who is Christ in us the hope of glory. His work begins within us in the work of drawing us to Jesus, in conviction of sin, then in salvation by cleansing us from sin and in giving us new life in Jesus. Then, his work continues by him being our teacher, counselor, guide, conscience, friend, and companion, etc. He also empowers us and works miracles of his grace in and through us. He is God within us, so we are not left on our own to figure this whole Christian thing out, or for us to try to resist Satan and flee from sin in our own strength. He dwells within us so that we have the power of God working in and through us to accomplish all the things God wants to do both in our lives and through our lives for his purposes and for his glory. So, understanding all of this behooves us to then repent and believe the good news, for the kingdom of God is near.