New Birth
Timothy Smith II Preached on 3/11/2026
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65:53
Summary
Timothy Smith II, joined by his wife Destiny, explores the New Birth as the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, linking Old Testament prophecy to the Apostolic pattern of repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Key points
- •The 'New Birth' is not just a set of rules but a union with Christ through his death, burial, and resurrection, as seen in both Paul's and Peter's theology.
- •Acts 2:38 provides a pattern for covenant initiation: repentance and baptism (actions) followed by the gift of the Holy Spirit (the promise).
- •Baptism in the name of Jesus is significant because 'Jesus' (Yahweh is my salvation) is the covenantal name that carries all the authority of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- •The manifestation of speaking in tongues is the consistent, normative pattern for receiving the Holy Spirit throughout the book of Acts.
- •Salvation is a process that involves being saved (initial conversion), being saved (sanctification/walking in the Spirit), and the hope that we will be saved (glorification).
Scripture
Salvation
Holy Spirit
Covenant
Scripture
Restoration
Life application
This week, focus on the 'active' nature of your faith by yielding to the Holy Spirit's guidance in your daily decisions, trusting that God is faithful to complete the work of restoration He started in you.
Reflection questions
- How does viewing baptism as 'union with Christ' change your perspective on its importance compared to seeing it as just a symbolic act?
- In what ways have you experienced the 'Torah written on your heart' through the Holy Spirit's guidance in your life?
- Why is it important to understand Jesus as the fulfillment of God's 'eschatological plan' rather than just a historical figure?
- Timothy Smith mentioned that we shouldn't focus on 'forcing' the Spirit but on God's faithfulness; how can you practice surrendering to God's promises today?
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Full transcript
0:00I have found there's [music] no one else
0:00like [singing] you.
0:00[music]
0:01Praise the Lord, everyone. We're going
0:02to get started with our lesson for the
0:04night [music] hosted by Destiny and
0:06Timothy Smith.
0:09All
0:25right. Good evening everyone.
0:28So today I've been honored to speak on
0:32the new birth and um my wife and I we're
0:35going to both do some talking. I'm gonna
0:38let her give her testimony in a minute.
0:39Um, and also give a few comments. Um,
0:42but I'm not going to make her sit or
0:44stand here the whole time because she's
0:45like really pregnant. So, I'm gonna give
0:47her uh some grace there. So, I'm going
0:50to first let her give a a few comments
0:52and then let her sit down until her
0:53testimony and then from there we'll move
0:55on.
0:56>> Hi, church.
0:58Uh, I am so thankful to be here. Um,
1:01I've not spoken [laughter]
1:03I have not spoken to you all um from a
1:07pull pit perspective. I think the last
1:09time was actually at our wedding and
1:11that was obviously a a wedding themed
1:14talk, but um I'm just so thankful to be
1:17here to be home in Jacksonville. Um but
1:20we're excited and hope that you can
1:23glean something from what we speak
1:25tonight. So,
1:31So, as I uh just said, I had the honors
1:34to talk on the new birth, and it's a
1:36subject that I hold very dear to. Um,
1:39back in high school, I was in a
1:41homeschool group called classical
1:42conversations, and we had to do a senior
1:45thesis. So, I did mine on the new birth.
1:49um they did not all believe what I am
1:51about to present or what we believe but
1:54um I still think it was a success as far
1:57as uh the thesis and the defense and I
2:00learned a lot about writing papers as I
2:02went into college and about uh
2:04articulation of our beliefs.
2:08Another note um we're not going to
2:10follow to the letter on these uh on
2:14these handouts um although I will follow
2:16certain elements of it. Um, no pun
2:19intended but
2:23I I I want to kind of focus a little bit
2:25of a spin that uh not only I learned in
2:28college at but also kind of in my own
2:31research, my own reading uh based off
2:33commentaries and scholars and how they
2:34kind of take it even people who disagree
2:36with us how how they kind of understood
2:38these passages that we're going to go
2:39over.
2:41So I will cover the first passage there
2:43on Romans 6 3 um let's see here we'll
2:47move uh 6 3-8 and I'm also going to talk
2:50a little bit on Galatians 29-20 that's
2:53how we're going to start and I'll go by
2:55um reading these two passages
3:00it says
3:02and this is Romans 6 starting with or do
3:04you not know that as many of us as were
3:07baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
3:10into his death. Therefore, we are buried
3:12with him through baptism into death,
3:15that just as Christ was raised from the
3:17dead by the glory of the Father, even so
3:19we also should walk in newness of life.
3:22For if we have been united together in
3:25the likeness of his death, certainly we
3:28shall also be in the likeness of his
3:30resurrection.
3:33Knowing this, that our old man was
3:35crucified with him, that the body of sin
3:38might be done away with, that we should
3:40no longer be slaves of sin. For he who
3:43has died has been freed from sin. Now,
3:46if we died with Christ, we believe that
3:49we shall also live with him.
3:54Moving on to Galatians chapter 2:es
3:5719-20.
4:07It reads,
4:10"For I through the law died to the law
4:12that I might live to God. I have been
4:15crucified with Christ. It is no longer I
4:18who live, but Christ lives in me. In the
4:20life which I now live in the flesh, I
4:23live by faith in the son of God who
4:25loved me and gave himself for me." Now,
4:28some may wonder why would this elements
4:30class or why am I starting with these
4:32passages talking about the new birth? We
4:34should be going to Acts 2:38. We should
4:35be going starting with Acts 2.
4:38Well, the reason why we go here is some
4:40of the language, some of the assumptions
4:42that Paul is making here and and some
4:44questions we need to ask when reading
4:46Paul in his context here. Questions like
4:49what does it mean by dead to sin in the
4:51law? What what is Paul getting out here?
4:53What kind of what is he talking about?
4:55What what he's talking about when he
4:56says buried slashbaptized with Christ.
4:59Where is he going with this? What what
5:00is what is Paul talking about? What is
5:03Paul talking about that we may be alive
5:06or made resurrected with Christ? Again,
5:09what is Paul talking about?
5:12Well,
5:14it is my understanding of these passages
5:18and of the connection between Paul's
5:22theology and Luke's theology and how he
5:26depicts Peter's theology
5:28that they're they're both coming with
5:31the same type of theology but from
5:32different angles. So Luke and his stuff
5:36with Acts and and then also the Gospel
5:38of Luke is kind of giving you a theology
5:41of the start of the church. Kind of um
5:42the new aspect of understanding the
5:44boundary marks of what it means to be
5:47part of God's covenant community.
5:49Whereas Paul that is kind of assumed.
5:52It's assumed that you're baptized. It's
5:54it's assumed that this happened. Now
5:56he's talking from those who are already
5:58believing. So he's bringing them back to
5:59remembrance of what is already assumed.
6:01So, he doesn't always have to go through
6:03the the, you know, the doctrines of you
6:05have to be baptized, you have to do
6:06this, you have to do, you know, you have
6:07to um be do this in order to be a part
6:10of God's covenant community, but more so
6:14he's focusing on,
6:16and this is not going to be the main
6:18part of the lesson, but he's focusing on
6:19gentile inclusion. He's focusing on
6:21trying to convince uh uh Jewish
6:24Christians and other Jews that that
6:26Gentiles can be included into God's
6:28covenant community. So, this is all in
6:30retrospect. It's it's assumed what the
6:31covenant rights are and what covenant
6:33initiation is. Go. Paul is arguing more
6:36so for again gentile inclusion.
6:39So
6:42Paul is
6:44a Jew of all Jews, Pharisee of all
6:46Pharisees. He he knew the Old Testament
6:49like the back of his hand.
6:52Everything he said, both implicit and
6:55explicit, had the psychology of one who
6:59was deeply embedded into the the uh
7:02Israelite story, into the Old Testament
7:05story of how God dealt with the Jewish
7:08community.
7:10And with that understanding, we can kind
7:12of go into the back workings behind the
7:15importance of the new birth and why uh
7:17Paul's theology can assume it in chapter
7:196 of Romans and in Galatians chapter 2.
7:22We can have this language of dying with
7:24Christ, of being buried with him by
7:26baptism,
7:28resurrecting with Christ, and how it
7:31neatly fits together with Peter's sermon
7:34in Acts two. So, let's first start with
7:37the promise.
7:40So, starts Genesis 3:15. There's the
7:43fall of man. And we're not going to read
7:46out all these verses, but Genesis 3:15,
7:48you have the fall of man. Adam fell, Eve
7:51fell.
7:53And within God's judgment of their fall,
7:57he makes a promise. Very odd promise.
8:00talks about uh you know a serpent and
8:02and the uh the seed of Eve, how the seed
8:06is going to crush the serpent head even
8:08though the serpent bites the hill of the
8:10seed.
8:12What on earth is God talking about? What
8:13what is this promise that he's referring
8:15to? Well, fast forward to Genesis
8:19chapter 12. Uh sin is still breaking
8:22ever more rapid. Um in fact, the
8:24conclusion of with Genesis chapter 11 is
8:28the Tower of Babel.
8:30uh you know, humanity thought they could
8:32build this tower up to heaven. They were
8:34trying to do things out of step with the
8:36will of God, out of step with uh God's
8:38design for them. They were trying to be
8:40like God.
8:43So, it ends with the judgment there as
8:45it closes off the first 11 chapters. And
8:47then once again, just like in chapter 3,
8:49there seems to be at the start of
8:51chapter 12, another promise.
8:54God staying faithful to the promise he
8:56made in Genesis chapter 3. And this is
8:59when he talks to a man named Abraham.
9:02Now with Abraham,
9:05God, and this is an important step when
9:07you're talking about the order of
9:08salvation. What I mean by that is is how
9:11things are in order with salvation. You
9:13don't necessarily and Abraham didn't do
9:15this. You don't necessarily uh do all
9:17these works to get saved. God first
9:20reaches out. you respond and then that's
9:22kind of where the synergism happens. And
9:24but it's ultimately the source is God.
9:26You're not the source of your own
9:27salvation. There's nothing you can do on
9:28your own. There's no works, nothing that
9:30you can do to earn your salvation. And
9:32the same with Abraham. He wasn't earning
9:34his promises with God. God simply met
9:37him one day and gave him the promise.
9:41Most people would agree on all sex of
9:44Christianity with that. Well, here's
9:46where it gets a little bit different
9:48with uh certain sections, particularly
9:49those who try to take any kind of
9:51obedience out of it, which is pertinent
9:54to the study that we're talking about
9:56right now. And that is God told Abraham
9:58to go.
10:00God initiated the promise. God started
10:02everything. God is the source of all
10:04this that is to come about. But what if
10:06Abraham didn't go?
10:09What if he didn't respond to with faith,
10:14but respond nonetheless
10:16to the promise that God made to him?
10:22Fast forwarding to dut Deuteronomy
10:24chapter 30:6.
10:26In Deuteronomy, it's uh talking about
10:28it's called the second law. That's what
10:30it really means if you're, you know,
10:32putting it in English. And basically
10:35it's kind of
10:37giving out again the second giving of
10:39the law kind of like on Mount Si except
10:42right before they go into the land right
10:43before what you'll see start in the book
10:44of Joshua
10:47and there's this idea of telling Israel
10:49first to circumcise their hearts and you
10:51see that in Deuteronomy chapter 10.
10:54But then here in Deuteronomy 30:6
10:57there's an interesting thing where God
10:59said he himself would circumcise their
11:00hearts.
11:02He, you know, he himself, and we're
11:05going to get to that with Jeremiah, but
11:06put ultimately it's going to talk about
11:08putting the Torah on their hearts. It's
11:09this idea that that again, God's God is
11:11the source of salvation. Um, man has to
11:14respond, but ultimately God will
11:16complete the work in man.
11:19So, you kind of move on with
11:20Deuteronomy. They get into the land like
11:22in what you hear in Joshua.
11:25But then now it starts the kingdom of
11:26Israel and and they just keep falling,
11:29falling, falling. They enter into exile,
11:32you know, they get restored, then they
11:34fall again, they're in the right, you
11:35know, that's the whole point of the
11:36prophets is they're talking about in the
11:37times where Israel kept transgressing
11:40against their God, kept breaking
11:41covenant,
11:43where God had to send them to exile.
11:47This is where you get prophecies like
11:49Jeremiah 31 where he's he's hoping for
11:52them, you know, to turn back and he's
11:56calling them to repentance. But then he
11:58talks about this new covenant.
12:00This new covenant where he will
12:02circumcise their hearts.
12:05He will put the Torah on their hearts.
12:06There will be day a day where no man
12:09would have to say Lord like know the
12:11Lord
12:12for they just know him. And and doesn't
12:15that sound a lot like when one is
12:16following the spirit?
12:21There there's there's something
12:22interesting about this new covenant in
12:24Jeremiah that kind of
12:26I guess transcesed a lot of the other
12:29all the other restoration that happens
12:30in the Old Testament. There there's
12:31something deeper within God's plan for
12:34restoration that he had that goes beyond
12:38ancient Israel's history.
12:41Move forward to Joel chapter 28-32. Now,
12:44oh, now we're getting a little bit
12:45closer to Acts.
12:47Um what you have here is this again this
12:50concept of restoration. Some scholars
12:53say that term because Joel talks about
12:55again because as all prophets do the
12:57destruction talks about even the
12:59destruction of the enemies who he used
13:01to attack or to put Israel in exile but
13:04nonetheless it's it's a lot of this
13:05judgment conversation. Then he talks
13:08about this idea of restoration again.
13:10But then he furthers and this is what
13:12scholars get at. like the aftermore
13:14there right before these verses happen
13:16in verses 28 through32 sounds like it's
13:19talking about a later time what would
13:21some even call part of God's
13:23escalological plan and what that means
13:25is God's plans in the end time his his
13:27his overarching redemptive plan until
13:30the end time that goes even beyond where
13:32we're at today where we're seeing a new
13:34aspect of it with in light of Acts two
13:37but we still have a a plan of God's uh
13:40restoration still waiting before. That's
13:42the whole point of us having a hope is
13:44that the whole plan's not fully
13:45completed yet until uh you know Jesus
13:48comes back.
13:51So that kind of gets you an idea of this
13:55this concept of the promise
13:58the promise that God will transform
14:02their hearts. a promise that God will
14:07um bless them and give them uh the Torah
14:11written on their hearts.
14:14Kind of a promise of something that
14:15Israel has not yet seen, at least not
14:19yet in this point of history.
14:22So then we move on to this concept of
14:24the promise is here getting a little bit
14:26closer to this this idea of the new
14:28birth and why it's so important to
14:30understand the previous stuff. And what
14:32we have here in John 20 22 I I find this
14:36really interesting is that
14:40the author of John uses this concept
14:44when we're talking about Jesus breathed.
14:46He breathed on them and said, "Receive
14:48ye the Holy Spirit."
14:51It's an echo to Genesis 2:7 where the
14:54Lord God formed man of the dust of the
14:57ground and breathed into his nostrils
14:58the breath of life. So just as God
15:02through his great plan of creation
15:04breathed life into man, so also God in
15:09his overarching plan of redemption
15:12breathes the spirit, the life, new life
15:16into the apostles and ultimately into
15:19all that come to God through Christ.
15:24So
15:25interesting stuff there brewing.
15:28And then we have Acts chapter 1:es 4-5.
15:34And it talks about how Jesus tells them
15:35to wait for the promise of the father.
15:38Um,
15:40and he tells them to wait in in
15:42Jerusalem in particular. And this is
15:44kind of building up to Acts chapter 2 to
15:46the focus passage of the start of the
15:50New Testament church or you know the New
15:53Covenant people of God.
15:55And when you have this this buildup, it
15:59makes you wonder how does Jesus just
16:01breathe on the disciples in John 20
16:04before his ascension. But then yet you
16:07have here that he's telling them to wait
16:09for the promise in Acts and then he
16:11ascends and then the promise happens.
16:13Um some scholars are perplexed about
16:16this. But I I think the logical
16:18reasoning is is that each author is
16:21providing their own theological reason
16:23why they wrote a gospel or why they
16:25wrote certain uh uh parts of scripture
16:28in order to bring about the truth of
16:30God. It's God breathed. It's it's uh
16:32it's not meant to be uh perfect uh uh
16:37aligning accounts in every aspect
16:39because each one is trying to bring
16:41their own flavor and bring out a certain
16:43truth of the multifaceted plan of God
16:47with John.
16:49He's going to end here at John 20. So
16:51he's just showing you because he he
16:53plays back on his in John one in the
16:55prologue of his Genesis account of in
16:58the beginning was the word and then at
17:00the end of John he's kind of showing the
17:02same God that brought old life brings
17:04new life as I was just mentioning
17:06whereas Acts it kind of goes into a
17:08little bit more detail on what that
17:10actually looked like. See John doesn't
17:12tell you how everything looks like. He's
17:13just giving them a theology that the
17:15covenant is here that the new spirit is
17:17here.
17:22And obviously when I'm saying new
17:23spirit, it's not that it's the spirit
17:25never existed until then, but
17:28the new way is realized.
17:31So when we look here, we see in Acts
17:35chapter 2:es 1-4
17:38and we'll we'll start with reading that
17:39because this is this is our focus
17:40passage.
17:44says, "When the day of Pentecost was
17:46fully come, they were all in one accord
17:48in one place. And suddenly there came a
17:50sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
17:51wind, and it filled all the house where
17:53they were sitting. Then there appeared
17:55to them divided tongues like as a fire,
17:58and it sat upon each of them. And they
18:00were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
18:02and began to speak in tongues as the
18:04Spirit gave them utterance."
18:07What we see here in Acts chapter 2 is
18:09all this talk of Jeremiah, of a new uh
18:13heart that he's going to give them, of
18:14the Torah written on their hearts, all
18:17this talk of of this restoration that
18:19goes beyond
18:21Israel just merely inhabiting the
18:24promised land that he promised uh
18:26Abraham in Genesis 12.
18:30this
18:33further element that God always planned,
18:37that God always desired, that even
18:39Israel had to anticipate
18:41that it's finally here.
18:44That promise, that new realization of
18:47the spirit, that prophecy of Joel is
18:51finally being fulfilled in the book of
18:54Acts.
19:00And this is where I speak.
19:03Um, I just wanted to say, man, I'm just
19:06so thankful for God and his
19:09faithfulness.
19:11Um, I did not grow up in church. I was
19:1415 when I whenever I received the Holy
19:16Spirit. And it was such an experience
19:19for me. Um, so I am nervous to speak.
19:25>> [laughter]
19:26>> I've not spoken in a very very long time
19:28it feels like. Um so if I feel a little
19:31shaky in my voice that's why but this is
19:34family so I'm having to remind myself
19:36I'm speaking of family. But um yeah I
19:40was 15. I did not grow up in church. Um
19:44I had a friend who attended a one
19:48Pentecostal church and she was like you
19:50should come with me. So I did. Um, I
19:53went with her and it only took man a few
19:57months and I was in the back of the
20:00church and you know I remember growing
20:03up I just wanted to know the Lord
20:07and I might get emotional. Sorry,
20:10hormones. Um, [laughter]
20:13I cry a lot more now than I ever have.
20:15Um, anyway, but I just wanted to know
20:19the Lord. I remember being a kid and
20:23riding the school bus, being outside on
20:26the swing, whatever, and I would pray.
20:29And I firmly believe that was the Lord
20:32who placed that in me a very long time
20:35ago. And I'm so thankful for that
20:37because it has given me the life that
20:40I'm living now.
20:42and I was 15
20:45and
20:47had been going to my church for a little
20:49bit and I was sitting in the back and
20:53worship was going and they were I still
20:55remember the song. It was Tasha Cobb's
20:57Break Every Chain. And I was sitting
21:00there and I was praying and all these
21:04things that I was hearing over the
21:07pullpit and these testimonies and these
21:09experiences and these different things
21:10that were happening that I had been
21:12hearing over a few months. And I
21:15remember sitting in the back of the
21:16church and almost the last pew um and I
21:22just put my head down and I just started
21:24praying and I remember saying, "Lord,
21:28I just want you, God. Whatever that
21:31looks like, I don't have to understand
21:33everything. I just want you."
21:37And I just started repenting,
21:40Lord. I'm sorry, God, for for any way
21:42that I've failed you. And I mean deeply
21:45repenting over things that I felt like
21:47were, you know, really that I had
21:48disappointed him in my life and u at a
21:51ripe age of 15. And um so just praying
21:56and man, as I was sitting there,
21:59something I talked to my husband about,
22:01I remember
22:04feeling the overwhelming peace of God
22:07that came over me.
22:10And I knew a bunch of people were around
22:12me and they were praying for me and you
22:14know there was a lot [laughter] going on
22:16because they were so excited and but I
22:19was just I had these tears that were
22:21flowing and I knew you could not
22:25convince me otherwise. No one could. I
22:27knew that God had forgiven me and that
22:32he was mine and I was his. And there was
22:35nothing like that. And from that day,
22:39since I was 15 years old, he has kept
22:41me.
22:43So I just wanted to tell you
22:46God is a God of restoration.
22:49And from that point, he had to filled my
22:51family with the Holy Ghost. He changed
22:53my life completely. I think about the
22:57statistics.
22:58Um,
23:00you know, came from a broken family. a
23:03lot of things. You look at both sides,
23:05my mom and my dad's side. There's drugs,
23:06there's alcohol, there's death, there's
23:09a lot of stuff. It's pretty bad. But I
23:11think about, man, God
23:14God is so faithful
23:17and we get to participate with him.
23:21I think about the promises that he has
23:24put in us and over us is something that
23:27my husband was talking about. The
23:30promise is here and we don't just
23:33receive the pro the promise the day that
23:35we receive the Holy Ghost for the first
23:37time, but we get to walk in that promise
23:39on a daily basis.
23:41And something my husband says, and I
23:43hope I'm not going off topic, but um you
23:45have to reel me back in, but
23:48he has saved us. He is He is saving us
23:52and he will save us.
23:54>> It is is a process that we continue to
23:57move through.
23:59And the promise is here. And so I just
24:01want to encourage you. I don't know what
24:03you're going through. I don't know
24:05what's going on with your life. But I
24:08want you to know that God is faithful.
24:11God will restore things in your life.
24:15He is he is wonderful and he is there
24:18even though we don't always see him.
24:20There's times I can I mean I'm only 27
24:23and I think about man I can look back
24:26and see how God has kept his word. He's
24:30kept his promises.
24:32So that's what I wanted to to say
24:35tonight. Um I love you all. I'm so
24:38thankful to be here. Thankful to our
24:40leadership. Very thankful. Thankful to
24:43my family. Um to my wonderful husband.
24:46I'm so proud of him. Um but I'll let him
24:49take the mic back.
24:52>> [applause]
25:00>> I don't want to go too far ahead. That's
25:04reasons like that that testimony right
25:06there. It's kind of why Peter and even
25:09when he didn't fully recognize it yet,
25:12he said, "For the promise is to you, to
25:15your children, to all those that are far
25:18off, even as many as the Lord our God
25:20shall call." That's why we see that the
25:23promise is genuinely here. It wasn't
25:26just there for them. It's here for us
25:28today.
25:30Now going back into this narrative,
25:35the people who heard them, I mean there
25:37was this when they were speaking in
25:38tongues, it's kind of like they heard
25:40them in their own language. It's what it
25:43says in the the filler Acts chapter uh
25:462:es 5 through I think like a let's see
25:49like 12. And
25:53they were all amazed by this. Some were
25:55wondering like how can this be? What
25:57what is this? Others were thinking they
25:58were drunk.
26:00Um and
26:03Peter stood up among the apostles, among
26:06the 120 in the room, actually. So, more
26:08than just the apostles,
26:10and
26:12he told him, "These are not drunk as you
26:15suppose,
26:18but this is that which was spoken by the
26:21prophet Joel."
26:23And he begins to cite Joel. And and this
26:25way I kind of want to focus on this and
26:27kind of start reading some of this and
26:28breaking some of this down. So we're
26:30going to we're going to take this uh a
26:32little bit slower than the other
26:33passages.
26:35And he said, let's start with his
26:37citation of Joel. I think just go
26:38through verse 21.
26:41And it shall come to pass in the last
26:42days, says God, thou will pour out of my
26:45spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your
26:47daughters shall prophesy. Your young men
26:49shall see visions. Your old men shall
26:51dream dreams. and on my maid servants
26:54and on my men servants and on my maid
26:56servants I will pour out my spirit in
26:59those days and they shall prophesy.
27:02Here's the here's the part a lot of
27:03people don't often talk about. I will
27:05show wonders in heaven above and signs
27:08in the earth beneath, blood and fire and
27:10vapor of smoke. The sun will turn into
27:13darkness and the moon and the blood
27:15before the coming of the great and
27:16awesome day of the Lord.
27:19And it shall come to pass that whoever
27:21calls on the name of the Lord shall be
27:23saved.
27:27So we're already kind of seeing how
27:28Peter uses the Old Testament. He
27:31realizes that it actually
27:34points to Jesus.
27:37It's not completely anacronistic.
27:39Reason why is because the scriptures of
27:41God breathe. And when certain people,
27:44and we're going to get to that, he kind
27:46of puts it here in uh later in this
27:49sermon, but there's things that David
27:52will say in his psalm that you think
27:54he's sounding of him, but yet
27:58that promise wasn't fulfilled in him,
28:01but there was this idea that he knew
28:04that God was faithful to his word and
28:07that through that
28:09he will fulfill his promise through one
28:11of his descendants.
28:13So, we're gonna we're going to put a pin
28:15in that and get to the rest of this
28:17section right here. And that's where you
28:19see this this weird language of, you
28:21know blood fire vapor smoke uh you
28:24know, the m the moon turning the blood
28:25and all this stuff. And some have been
28:27trying to think it has this great, it
28:30does have great end time meaning, but
28:32like they're they're looking for that
28:33event to know when God's coming. That's
28:35actually not what this passage is about.
28:36It's part of the literature. Um, a lot
28:39of times with the prophets, they'll use
28:40this vivid language to speak of
28:44a great day of the Lord or the judgment
28:46of the Lord, the a divine ordinance of
28:48the Lord to kind of bring about the the
28:51nature of the power of the Lord and how
28:54he is powerful in his judgment. He's
28:55powerful in his plan here. He's powerful
28:58in what he's about to do when it's
28:59talking about this language
29:02in this regard. He's powerful in his
29:04restoration.
29:07So, as we continue on,
29:11he stops the citation of Joel and he
29:14moves on to his sermon.
29:17He says, "Men of Israel, hear these
29:21words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested
29:24by God to you by miracles, wonders, and
29:27signs which God did through him in your
29:29midst. as you yourselves also know um
29:33him being delivered by the determined
29:37purpose and fornowledge of God. You have
29:40taken by lawless hands have crucified
29:42and put to death whom God raised up
29:46having loosed the pains of death because
29:48it was not possible that he should uh be
29:52held by it. So what he's saying is that
29:55this man that you see, this this Jewish
29:57man that walked among you, whom you
30:00crucified, who whom you accused of
30:02blasphemy, that he was actually
30:05the escalological plan of God. He was
30:08actually a part of the purpose and
30:10intent of God
30:13to bring us the spirit.
30:16And of course the whom there he's
30:18referring to his Jewish Jewish audience.
30:22So what's also interesting about this is
30:25that he talks about this language of
30:28that he was actually through the
30:29crucifixion he was loosed of death. He
30:32was and talking about his resurrection
30:33he was freed from the pains of death.
30:36what the what the Jews in that time
30:39period. This is not against everyone who
30:41is Jew, but this is talking about the
30:44particular Jews in the audience or the
30:45particular Jews of that time who were a
30:48part of the crucifixion of Jesus. So
30:51this is not meant to glance over all
30:53Jews just to make that clear. Too many
30:56people do that to this day. That's not
30:58what he's getting at here. Peter himself
31:00is a Jew. Paul himself is a Jew. But
31:02that's a whole side note.
31:05Instead,
31:07what he's trying to get at here with the
31:08resurrection is that what they intended
31:10for evil, what they intended to end this
31:12man to prove that he's a false prophet,
31:14to prove that he's not of God,
31:19actually proved that he was the
31:21fulfillment of God's promises. actually
31:23proved through the resurrection that
31:25this man whom we now know as the
31:28fullness of God's character manifested
31:30as a genuine man
31:33was part of the plan or was the fullness
31:36of the plan per se to release the
31:39spirit.
31:43As we move on, he says, "For David says
31:47concerning him,
31:48I forsaw the Lord always before my
31:50face." This was the part I was talking
31:52about, at least part of it. For he is at
31:54my right hand that I may not be shaken.
31:58Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my
31:59tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also
32:02will rest in hope. For you will not
32:04leave my soul in Hades, nor will you
32:06allow your holy one to see corruption.
32:12You have made known to me the ways of
32:14life. You will make me full of joy in
32:17your presence.
32:19And this is where it gets interesting
32:20for Peter as he cites this. By the way,
32:22he's citing, if y'all want to know, he's
32:23citing, I think it was Psalms 16,
32:27if you'all want to go look that up. And
32:28the original context is David writing a
32:31psalm to God.
32:34But Peter's interpretation of this or
32:36Peter's what the reason why he cites
32:38this verse, he says, "Men and brethren,
32:40let me speak freely to you of the
32:42patriarch David that he is both dead and
32:44buried and his tomb is with us to this
32:47day. Therefore, being a prophet and
32:49knowing that God had sworn with an oath
32:52to him that of the fruit of his body
32:54according to the flesh, he would raise
32:56up the Christ to sit on his throne.
33:01He foreseeing this spoke concerning the
33:03resurrection of the Christ, that his
33:05soul was not left in Hades, nor did his
33:08flesh see corruption. This Jesus
33:12God has raised up of which we are all
33:16witnesses.
33:20So David is singing this psalm to God,
33:24but yet
33:27he is dead and he is buried and he's
33:29still his tomb still with them to this
33:31day. Is God unfaithful to his promises?
33:37Is God not worth a grain of salt when he
33:40says what he's going to do? Will he not
33:42complete his work?
33:46Well, Peter has an answer for that. And
33:48that is David was not speaking of
33:52himself, but he was speaking
33:53prophetically. He knew. And and this
33:55reminds me of the rings of Genesis 18
33:58when it talks about Abraham and how or
34:01sorry not Genesis 18 Genesis 22 when it
34:04speaks of Abraham and how he sacrificed
34:06his he was willing to sacrifice his son
34:07Isaac. Some think that this is talking
34:09about a morbid God. Why would he do
34:10that? Why would he call his servant to
34:13sacrifice his own son? But what people
34:16miss a key part of the narrative is that
34:17Isaac is the promised seed. God promised
34:20through Isaac. So, it's not dealing with
34:23this aspect of God being cruel, but more
34:25so dealing with the aspect that Abraham
34:27having faith knew the promises of God
34:30and knew that God he would not leave
34:32that basically he would not leave that
34:33mountain without his son because God is
34:36that faithful to his word.
34:38Likewise, David, he knew that God was
34:40faithful to his word. So, even with his
34:42language, he knew. And this is the thing
34:44with the Old Testament and some of these
34:46people, they don't when you're close
34:48with God, sometimes you don't always
34:50know and they didn't always know exactly
34:52what his plan would look like, exactly
34:54who it was. They're not going to be able
34:55to name the place, the date, the time,
34:57and and like I said, who it was. But
35:00being in tune with his spirit and
35:01understanding and being close to God,
35:03knowing when his presence around, they
35:05know when God is acting. That's a key
35:07distinction to make there. They know
35:09when God is acting.
35:12That was the big critique of the
35:14audience in John against Jesus or really
35:16all the gospels.
35:18It's not just because they followed the
35:20Torah. It's not just because, you know,
35:22they did this or that. It's because they
35:24claimed to know God. They claimed to
35:26follow after the righteousness and the
35:27character of God, but they didn't when
35:30God's presence and God's action was
35:31right in front of their face.
35:34Do they really know God? Then if if they
35:36can sit there and look at Jesus Christ
35:38and whom the full glory of God is
35:40visibly present through through his act
35:43of redemption is through and say no
35:45that's not God.
35:51So as we continue on,
35:57he says,
36:01see here, therefore, being exalted to
36:04the right hand of God, and having
36:06received from the Father, the promise of
36:07the Holy Spirit, he poured out this
36:11which you now see and hear. For David
36:13did not ascend into heaven, but he says
36:16himself, "The Lord said to my Lord, sit
36:20on my right hand till I make your
36:22enemies your foottool."
36:25What's interesting about this to some
36:26who would say that Peter is
36:28misrepresenting
36:30David, that they he is not understanding
36:33that David is talking about himself.
36:34He's not talking about a future seed.
36:37It's interesting because what do they
36:39make of Psalms 110?
36:44When David says, "The Lord said unto my
36:47Lord, sit down on my right hand."
36:51See, David wasn't exalted up, but Jesus
36:56was. And it's important this context,
36:58right? And we still we we Amen. We
37:01believe that Jesus is the fullness of
37:03God's character manifested in the flesh.
37:06This is a genuine human life, though. It
37:09has he has in a sense in as scripture
37:12says a god he he hungers he thirsts he
37:15prays to his god and the lordship here
37:18is talking about human messiahship the
37:21line of David
37:23that's why when you see rightly the lord
37:25said to my lord is properly putting
37:28Jesus within the as I mentioned before
37:31the escalological plan of god
37:34putting him within god's redemptive act
37:38to humanity
37:41As we continue on to the last few verses
37:43of this section or at least of the
37:45sermon,
37:47it says, "Therefore, let all the house
37:50of Israel know assuredly that God has
37:52made Jesus whom you crucified both Lord
37:55and Christ."
37:57And that is his ending statement to this
38:00crowd.
38:01that God has made this man Jesus whom
38:05you know both Lord and Christ. The one
38:08you thought was faking it. The one that
38:10you think was not really of God
38:12is more than just a prophet of God. He's
38:15the end all beall. He is the
38:18escalological plan of God to save all of
38:21humanity. He is the one who sends out
38:26the spirit.
38:28So now we kind of see why Peter is
38:30getting at this message and why it is so
38:33important to the new birth.
38:36Such an understanding
38:39of Jesus's mission of
38:42why he had to die. He had to uh be
38:46buried and resurrected or particularly
38:48die and be resurrected. Burial and death
38:51is kind of part of the same clan. But
38:54nonetheless,
38:56we kind of see the importance with that
38:59and that is so he can die to the law as
39:03Paul was talking about earlier or die to
39:06sin and can now have this newness of
39:08life can can be as Colossians talks the
39:11firstborn of all creation. And what that
39:14simply means is that God or Jesus is the
39:18first inheritance. We're going to be
39:19co-inheritors with him. But he's the
39:21first of the inheritance that he passes
39:23to all of us. That's the whole beauty of
39:25John chapter 17. When Jesus gives his
39:27high priestly prayer, he speaks of
39:31giving the glory to us. that that his
39:35whole point of the mission wasn't for
39:36him to hold the glory of life in the
39:39spirit to himself, but to pass it to us
39:46so that we may participate
39:49in Christ. We may align ourselves and be
39:53in union with Jesus Christ. And this
39:58obviously it caused them to kind of be
39:59pricked in their hearts. And the next
40:01question they ask, and this is kind of
40:02the focal point, men and brethren, what
40:05shall we do? Then Peter says, and we
40:08kind of go to the next slide. Repent and
40:10be baptized every one of you in the name
40:12of Jesus Christ for the remission of
40:13your sins, and you shall receive the
40:15gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, when we
40:18talk about these steps or process of
40:21salvation, it's really two actions, one
40:24promise. Repentance, baptism, actions.
40:28And and I I have dealt with um in my
40:30studies trying to understand is this a
40:32twofold action because technically
40:33baptism is a part of repentance but
40:35nonetheless repentance kind of goes
40:37beyond just baptism. Repentance is
40:39something uh that they turn their whole
40:41being towards and baptism is an aspect
40:43of that. So I kind of stuck with this
40:45idea of two actions, one promise and the
40:48promise is life in the spirit. And
40:49that's what sometimes people don't
40:50understand. You don't force yourself to
40:52receive the spirit. You don't just grab
40:55it. God gives it to you. It's a promise.
40:59It's a promise that we can trust that he
41:00is faithful to his word. Sometimes
41:02people, they struggle to just grasp the
41:04spirit because they're too focused, as
41:07ironically as that sounds, trying to
41:09actually grasp at it. They would
41:11understand the simplistic nature that
41:12you don't have to focus on exactly me
41:14forcing myself to get the spirit, but
41:16you just believe that God is tr faith
41:18faithful and just and he is faithful to
41:21his word and he will give the spirit.
41:25So the focus is not
41:30what do I have to do in the sense of of
41:34what does do do I have to kind of
41:36manufacture because this has been a
41:37thing issue as much as Pentecost we hold
41:39to a normative pattern of tongues which
41:41is absolutely essential it is it is very
41:45vital
41:47but we're not we shouldn't be focused so
41:48much on I have to speak in tong I have
41:49to speak in tongues I have to speak in
41:50tongues but instead we focus and this
41:52was I think this is why it wasn't known
41:54as a complete doctrinal statement in
41:55their time. It was just assumed is that
41:57they focused on the spirit, on God's
42:00promises, on who he is.
42:02And the manifestation of the spirit
42:04naturally comes.
42:07Again, it's not something you do. It's
42:08something that's done to you. And I
42:11think that is something core that we
42:13need to understand. And again, we get to
42:16this idea that the promise is unto you
42:17and to your children, to all those that
42:19are a far off. and we'll get into the
42:21next section. And that is faith is
42:23always active.
42:25And I I think this is kind of in the uh
42:27the pamphlet a little bit, but this idea
42:29that you there is an active obedience to
42:32it. Uh you don't it's not
42:36one doesn't just simply have mental sin.
42:38Oh, I believe in God's judgment. They
42:40have to align themselves.
42:43Some people focus too much on exactly
42:46when am I saved? What's the exact point
42:49I can pin date? I was saved that day
42:51instead of focusing on just simply
42:55uniting with Christ, being one with
42:58Christ. Because salvation is a process.
43:02It's not something you pinpoint on one
43:03day. When did you know that the person
43:06you were going to marry is going to be
43:07the person you marry? When did you when
43:08can you finally say that I'm married
43:10that specific time? Was it when you
43:11signed the document to say you're
43:13married? Was it when you got the
43:14official marriage license? was when you
43:17um when the official first said it was
43:20when you finally committed and and down
43:22the aisle. When's the exact point, the
43:25exact moment?
43:29The thing is, it's a whole process. You
43:32don't have to focus on the exact moment.
43:34You focus on God's faithful and just.
43:37He's faithful to his promises. He's
43:39going to keep them. Unite yourself with
43:42Christ.
43:45Faith is always active. You I I cannot
43:49I've seen people so many times tries to
43:51put this idea of oh well they were just
43:52justified by you know his faith with the
43:54initial you know when when Abraham first
43:57said he had or first said in scripture
43:58he had faith or I'm justified by my
44:00faith not of works. People don't
44:01understand the whole historical context
44:03of that though. See when it talks about
44:06works it's really talking about works of
44:07the Torah. It's talking about the Mosaic
44:09law. And what Paul's really doing
44:12overall is he's not arguing for whether
44:14one should act be active when they are
44:18or you know do or be active at all in
44:21their faith. He's he's asking for the
44:23source of one's works.
44:26Is it with the hearing of faith or is it
44:30just by doing the works of the Torah,
44:32the works of the Mosaic covenant found
44:34in the Old Testament? And obviously is
44:36the hearing of faith because again that
44:38goes back to Jeremiah's promise.
44:41the Torah written on your hearts. Where
44:43in that way,
44:45going on a little tangent here, but in
44:46that way with Romans 2,
44:51you have this concept of the Gentiles
44:54who did not have the written Torah
44:56naturally doing the things of the Torah.
44:58Whereas the Jews who had the written
44:59Torah were not. Why is that? Because the
45:02Torah was written on their hearts. So
45:04when one is filled with the spirit and
45:06they're living life in the spirit and
45:08they have they're walking in the spirit,
45:11the Torah is naturally teaching them the
45:12things of or not Torah but the spirit is
45:15naturally teaching the things of the law
45:17where they are following the principles
45:19the the the very character of God
45:22>> even if one has never even seen a Bible
45:24if one's never even seen a written
45:26manifestation of God's word because they
45:28have God's word written on their hearts
45:31through the spirit.
45:37Nonetheless,
45:40there were still an importance to
45:43studying these scriptures because we can
45:45see what how the apostles thought. We
45:46can see what they were thinking. And
45:48more importantly, if you get in any
45:50like, this is what's so funny about it.
45:51If you get in any like scholarly
45:52conversation, they're not usually asking
45:55whether uh one should be active in their
45:58faith or not. They're just more so
46:00saying what constitutes uh the kind of
46:02act of faith that's existing. So if
46:04anyone comes up and tells you I don't
46:05have to do anything um because they're
46:07so focused trying to focus on this idea
46:09of through faith alone. Yeah. They they
46:12haven't read much. But let's let's
46:16continue on.
46:19So what we have here is this power or
46:22not power pattern. It does have power to
46:24it though. Pattern of covenant
46:26community. This is where I get into the
46:28the Acts 238 response. That's the
46:31pattern of covenant initiation of of
46:33being a part of God God's covenant
46:34community.
46:36So, we're going to kind of break this
46:37down a little bit before we leave here
46:39tonight. What does this pattern look
46:42like? We already seen Peter state it
46:44out, but what what exactly does it mean
46:46repentance? Baptism in Jesus name. Why
46:48baptism? What about Matthew 2018?
46:49Baptism of the father, son, and holy
46:51spirit. What about these passages? How
46:53does one know they have the spirit? What
46:54what is this?
46:56So we're going to go through that.
47:02What is repentance? We're going to first
47:03cover repentance. So repentance is
47:05turning away um from something. That's
47:09part one. You're turning away. But the
47:12other aspect is repentance is a complete
47:14change of one lifestyle. So you're not
47:16just turning away from an old life.
47:18You're turning to something. Uh it's
47:20it's this idea of turning to God in this
47:24sense in the context of Peter. So you're
47:25turning away from sin, turning to Jesus,
47:29ultimately turning to uh the one true
47:31God in Jesus. Um so we we'll get a few
47:35verses talking about repentance. So Acts
47:37238, the obvious one we just covered. We
47:40also have Luke 5:32. Context of Luke
47:435:32. Um I think
47:47Jesus was calling one of the disciples.
47:49Some of the people had something to say
47:50about it. I think because of the tax
47:52colle
48:09that those who realize that they need
48:10his redemption, those are the ones he's
48:12calling.
48:14A beautiful example of this is Psalm 51.
48:18This is uh the psalmist David. I think
48:20this one's even worth reading. I love
48:21Psalms 51. Uh there's there's a lot of
48:25helps you have an understanding of how
48:28uh they understood the Torah. And so
48:30there there's a lot of beautiful nuggets
48:32that you can get from Psalms 51. But for
48:34the sake of tonight, we'll just do 10
48:35through 12.
48:38And it says, "Create in me a clean
48:40heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast
48:42spirit within me. Do not cast me away
48:45from your presence, and do not take your
48:47Holy Spirit from me.
48:50restore to me the joy of your salvation
48:54and uphold
48:56me by your generous spirit. So what you
48:58see here is this idea of of knowing that
49:00he needs salvation that he knows that
49:02like he's turning to God. He's repenting
49:06but he's asking God to do a work in him
49:09to change his heart where it doesn't
49:10just go to effect where I got to change
49:11my heart. Now you're realizing you're
49:13looking up to God and saying complete
49:15the work in me God change my heart. This
49:18this is the step repentance. One has to
49:21repent.
49:23One must repent. It is absolutely
49:24essential.
49:26Then we go to baptism. 1 Peter 3:21
49:29says, "Baptism does also now save us,
49:31not the putting away of the filth of the
49:33flesh, but the answer of a good
49:35conscience toward God by the
49:37resurrection of Jesus Christ."
49:40I think a couple things that's core here
49:43is when it's talking about baptism, this
49:44definitely talking about water. Because
49:46when he says not for the putting away of
49:47the filth of the flesh, what he's saying
49:48is the water itself
49:51is not what saves,
49:53but it's the act of faith
49:57of uniting with Christ. This is why it
49:58says um for a good conscience because
50:02you're acting in faith and upon what
50:04you're hearing, you have faith and you
50:05obey. That's why they asked in 237, "Men
50:09and brethren, what shall we do?" They
50:11believed. Now they're acting with faith.
50:14So it's not the physical putting away as
50:16if you're taking a bath and it just
50:18wipes all the dirt away, but it's the
50:20good conscience and the act of faith.
50:22This is by no way saying that is merely
50:24a symbolic symbol,
50:27but it's also not merely transactional.
50:31It's union with Christ in his death and
50:32burial.
50:34It is partaking in the mission of Jesus
50:38Christ.
50:42So when we look at baptism, how it's
50:44explained biblically, um you see this in
50:46John 3:23 and Acts 8:38-39, it's by full
50:49immersion. Also, if you look at the word
50:51baptism in Greek, Baptito, it's talking
50:53about again to be dipped, fully
50:55immersed. Um when we look at the next
50:58thing about the name that it should be
50:59done in, Acts 238 says the name of
51:00Jesus. But then some can say they'd be
51:02like hold the brakes. What about Matthew
51:0528:19?
51:06Doesn't Christ himself institute
51:09the father, son, holy spirit? Well, we
51:13need to take into account the context of
51:15Matthew, how it's being used and what is
51:18that name. So when we look at here, we
51:20have the internal context of Matthew
51:22within the Gospel of Matthew. What what
51:23I mean by there is that right before
51:25this verse, I think it's a very verse
51:2718, all authority has been given to me.
51:30That's the words of Jesus. All authority
51:32has been given to me.
51:34So when we look at the external context
51:36within the big picture here, the name of
51:38the father in in John 5:43,
51:41you see Jesus, I've come in my father's
51:43name. The name of the son, obviously
51:46Jesus. Um and the name of the holy
51:48spirit is the son will send in uh my
51:51name. But I think there's an important
51:52aspect. Sometimes as Pentecostals, we're
51:54so good at just saying that. But there's
51:56importance to why
51:59when God reveals himself, it's it's
52:01always in a relational sense. It's
52:03always in terms of his plan. So you have
52:05him revealing himself as God my provider
52:07or or uh God uh my strength, right? But
52:12God is revealing himself in a unique way
52:15here. The fullness of God is revealed as
52:19Jesus, which Jesus means Yahweh is my
52:21salvation. It's a covenantial name. It's
52:24a way in which Israel has never known
52:26God before. It's a way that we have
52:28never known God before.
52:30>> Very covenantial.
52:33So when one is declaring Jesus, it's not
52:35just the name of a person, but it's
52:37literally declaring over yourself,
52:39Yahweh is my salvation. So when Jesus
52:42says all authority has been given to me,
52:45the authority of the father, the
52:48authority of the son, the authority of
52:50the holy ghost,
52:52all that is in within the covenantal
52:55work of Jesus. Yahweh is my salvation.
53:00That's the importance of Jesus name
53:02baptism. That's the thing that people
53:03leave out all the time is that when you
53:06are saying Jesus, you're not just
53:07calling person over you. you were
53:10calling the act of redemption, the
53:12greatest act of redemption.
53:14Yahweh is my salvation.
53:18We look at a deeper look into the name.
53:21Again, we already went over Matthew
53:222018. Luke 24 once again teaching all
53:25things in my name. Acts 4:12, it talks
53:28about this concept of nor salvation any
53:31other for there's none other name under
53:32heaven given among men whereby we must
53:34be saved. It's is at the name of Jesus
53:36there.
53:38And finally with Philippians 2 9-11,
53:43it talks about the man Jesus
53:46humbling himself. Although he has the
53:51authority in which God has bestowed upon
53:53him, he still humbled himself as a
53:55servant. He came as a form of a servant
53:59and being in the likeness of men, he
54:01stayed in humble
54:04uh recognition towards his God.
54:07And when he died and was buried and when
54:10he resurrected, God has raised him up.
54:13God exalted him. You see this very
54:14clearly in verses in these verses 9
54:16through 11
54:18that at the name of Jesus every knee
54:19shall bow. God has given him a name that
54:22is above every name. And that name is
54:24the title Lord
54:27in which Jesus Yahweh is my salvation.
54:30It is showing that once again that God
54:33has put his escalological plan forth
54:35that God has put the plan of the end
54:36times, the giving of the spirit forth
54:39and has become our salvation. So again,
54:42Israel may have known him as his
54:44strength. Israel may have known him as
54:47the one who delivered him from or
54:50delivered them from exile and delivered
54:54them at points from the Egyptian
54:56bondage.
54:59But God but they have not known God in
55:01this way. They have not known God in the
55:03way where the spirit is outpoured to
55:06everyone where
55:09your sons and your daughters shall
55:10prophesy.
55:16It's it's this complete outpouring of
55:18his spirit which gives us insight into
55:21our daily walk with God and where we can
55:24have hope as it says in Philippians 3:21
55:27that he will transform our bodies, our
55:29lowly bodies into his glorious body that
55:32we will have a state of glorification.
55:33So this is where I say I am saved
55:36through Acts through the restoration of
55:39God's plan. I'm being saved through life
55:42in the spirit, through walking in the
55:43spirit, and I will be saved because not
55:45only that, I have hope that when I trust
55:48in his promises, when I walk in the
55:50spirit and believe
55:52that he will complete the work in me. I
55:56have hope that I will live in eternity
55:58with him.
56:01So, the need for baptism,
56:03we're coming towards the end. We're
56:04about to hit the last component. The
56:07need for baptism, I want to cover this.
56:08Some a lot of scholars have used this to
56:10show that Paul didn't he didn't really
56:12think that you know he didn't think it
56:13was actually essential for salvation. It
56:15wasn't an essential part. And the reason
56:17why he did that or they do that is
56:19because he says that he thanks God that
56:20he baptized none of them. Talking to the
56:22Corinthians
56:24and to give you some context of why he
56:27said that the Corinthians were going
56:28through an issue where they were saying
56:31I'm a Paul. I'm a Peter. I'm of this
56:33apostle. They were dividing themselves.
56:35And his point was is Christ divided? And
56:37he was glad that he didn't baptize them
56:40because they can't claim full rights to
56:41him because whereas he preached the
56:43gospel to them. Someone else baptized so
56:45they can't claim that they're uppaw
56:46fully.
56:49But the question that I always ask every
56:50time I hear some of these people make
56:52this arguments to try to I guess
56:54perpetuate their own preconceived ideas
56:58of what baptism is. Why does Paul assume
57:01that all the Corinthians were baptized?
57:04This kind of gets that thing where Luke
57:07lays out the new birth. Paul assumes it.
57:13Paul is giving pastoral advice to those
57:15who are already a part of God's covenant
57:16community.
57:20We'll move on. Receiving this the Holy
57:23Spirit. This is the last major thing.
57:25And I think there's four points here
57:27that you have in that is in Acts two.
57:28And and this is a pattern you see. This
57:30is how you see in Luke's theology. And
57:31they do this a lot when with narrative.
57:33People who tell you that you cannot grow
57:35a theology through narrative. They they
57:37missed this vital aspect that 60% of the
57:40Bible's narrative.
57:44Um Peter was drawing from a song. Paul
57:47draws from narrative. It's not always
57:50didactic statements. It's not always you
57:52shall be saved like this. This is what
57:54you must do. There's there's there's
57:57there's things that you see in
57:58narratives and the way that they they do
58:01their narratives in which we can draw
58:04good theology from.
58:06So what we see here is a pattern.
58:08Remember the verse for the promise unto
58:10you and to your children to all that far
58:11off even as many as the Lord our God
58:12shall call. Well, Acts two shows Jews
58:15received the Holy Ghost. What was
58:18evidence? Tongues. Normative pattern.
58:22Samaritans received it. You don't really
58:24hear anything and we're going to go back
58:25to it, but it's very implicit that
58:28tongues is present.
58:30The Gentiles received it explicit
58:32tongues. The disciples of John. So what
58:34you see here is that the Holy Spirit
58:37manifested in the northern pattern of
58:39tongues. It wasn't just for the Jews. It
58:41wasn't just for the Samaritans who are
58:42half Jews, half Gentiles. It was for the
58:45Gentiles as well. It was for even those
58:46who received John's words but have not
58:48yet heard of the Holy Spirit. Have not
58:50yet been filled with the Holy Spirit.
58:51Have not yet heard the fullness of the
58:53gospel where Christ died, buried, and
58:55was resurrected.
58:57Now back to Acts 8 though it doesn't
59:00explicitly say that. So what am I
59:02talking why can I say that with
59:03confidence?
59:04Well this is where I say you can grow
59:06good theology from the narrative. What
59:08you have here is you have a magician
59:10named Simon and what he saw and he saw
59:14something because he was very big in
59:16physical manifestations acts and people
59:18were thinking he was you know he was
59:20blessed by God to be able to do all this
59:22all this magic. Well, Philip comes in,
59:25preaches the gospel, and they all
59:26believe it, even him, and they get
59:28baptized, but they know they haven't
59:29received the spirit. Well, then Peter
59:32and John come and and they lay their
59:33hands on them. They receive the spirit,
59:35and the magician's like, he sees
59:38something. He's like, "What what on
59:40earth is this?" So what we can at least
59:42deduct is that there is a visible
59:45manifestation, something almost magical
59:48that happens that a a magician who does
59:52real magic is trying to buy the gift off
59:54of Peter and John.
59:56So he's doing that
59:59and of course, you know, Peter kind of,
60:01you know, slaps him down and tells him
60:02that, you know, that this is not us.
60:05This is God and you're
60:07basically you're stupid. Um that's you
60:10know that's what he's basically saying
60:12and Peter was quite the character. Um
60:15so what we see here though is that there
60:18there is this visible manifestation a
60:20very
60:22static manifestation something quite the
60:24phenomenon. So we have to wonder what is
60:28Luke getting at here? What what is this
60:30phenomenon? Now, could I I could say
60:32something random, some random magic
60:34trick, you know, some random miracle.
60:36And, you know, maybe it can be that, but
60:38it seems very unlikely. Pet uh, you
60:41know, uh, Luke never mentions it, but he
60:43does mention one crazy phenomenon that's
60:47been pattered throughout all these other
60:48examples,
60:50tongues.
60:55You know,
60:58I've seen so many scholars, uh, I'll
61:00name a few. Craig Kener sees it as
61:02likely tongues. Of course, he makes a
61:04whole paragraph about how, you know, you
61:07we don't, this is not normal to practice
61:08for the church, though.
61:11John MacArthur, a sensationalist, he has
61:14no uh weight in the game. He thinks that
61:17the Bible is what's completed. So, the
61:18the gifts don't even they cease. They
61:20don't even matter anymore.
61:22So he just has to say what he thinks is
61:24most likely in in Luke's narrative and
61:27tongues. He doesn't even have to justify
61:29it because in his theology, you know,
61:31again, wipes away miracles, wipes away
61:33all that uh or you know, the more static
61:37gifts.
61:38So why do you have all these scholars
61:40saying that?
61:41Because it's most likely what fits
61:43within the narrative of Luke here. So
61:45the real question isn't whether they're
61:47the Samaritans spoke in tongues or not.
61:50The real question is
61:52if this thing will work.
61:57Basically, Uncle Leo, I might need you
62:00to click it.
62:04It's gone dead on me.
62:08There we go.
62:10Narrative as blueprint. Is this a
62:12blueprint for the universal church?
62:17And I have believed that it is.
62:19um doing a little work on Galatians and
62:22I notice in Galatians 3 1-5
62:25uh the Galatians
62:28uh Paul calls back a certain experience
62:30that they have. So the word that we
62:33often see translated in the KJV as
62:35suffer. Have you suffered so many things
62:37in vain? You know the whole passage, are
62:38you foolish Galatians who have bewitch
62:39you? Have you suffered so many things in
62:41vain? It's actually more neutral than
62:43that. So it's more rightly rendered,
62:45have you experienced so many things in
62:47vain? Do do all these miracles that have
62:50and he's calling back when they first
62:52received the spirit? You have some
62:55scholars like James Dunn, David lol.
62:58They have a few ideas. the the Abba
63:00father cry, but they notice static
63:03tongues.
63:06Again, Paul, he assumes what Luke builds
63:10because Luke is giving you a blueprint
63:14for how the church received the spirit
63:15in the first century. Paul is merely
63:18giving or not merely, but like he's
63:19giving pastoral advice to those who are
63:21already in covenant community.
63:25So the real question isn't does Luke
63:27present a theology where all that
63:30received the spirit
63:33are speaking in tongues. Is it normative
63:37for the rest of the church? Now I have
63:39strong reason I mean maybe because we're
63:40restorationists
63:42and we want to just go back to
63:44scriptures in this case that when we see
63:46it in scripture and we see that it's
63:48normative we see that they just assumed
63:50it. We can assume it to be true.
63:53So that's that's kind of what I get at
63:56there. And I just to kind of wrap it up
63:58and kind of put Paul's language back in
64:01there,
64:05we are to die to Christ. We are to die
64:07to sin and die with Christ. And part of
64:10that is baptism, burial,
64:14and we are have hopes through the
64:17promise of the spirit and through God's
64:19later escalological plan to be
64:21resurrected with Christ.
64:24So quite literally when you look at Acts
64:26238, it's not a way to earn your
64:29entrance in.
64:31It's union with Christ.
64:34It's trusting in the faithfulness of
64:38God's promises through the mission of
64:40Jesus Christ.
64:42>> This is an act of faith where you're not
64:44leaning on your own works, but you are
64:47aligning yourself with the works of the
64:48one who saves.
64:51>> And that is the new birth. And that is
64:54the beauty of Paul's language of death,
64:58burial, and resurrection with Christ.
65:01and Peter's language of repent and be
65:04baptized in the gift the promise of the
65:06gift of the spirit.
65:08>> I've come to rescue us to send us home.
65:12Um you get him started on theology.
65:13He'll go for a good long while. Um I
65:16just want to pray over us to conclude
65:18the service. Thank you all for being
65:20here. Um let's pray. Thank you Lord for
65:24this evening God. Thank you for this
65:25community God. Thank you for your
65:27covenants. God thank you for your
65:28promises [music and singing]
65:29Lord. I pray that God, you continue to
65:31show us how you are a God of
65:33restoration. God, you're a faithful God.
65:36Lord, we [music] worship you. We thank
65:38you, Lord. We thank you for our
65:39leadership, God. We pray that you
65:41continue to touch Sister Olsen, God,
65:43that you continue to wrap your arms
65:44around her, [music] Lord. God, that you
65:46would wrap your arms around this church,
65:48God, this body, Lord. God, and I pray
65:50that you protect us as we go home, God,
65:52and as we fellowship, Lord, [music] we