In Acts 9:17, we have the story of Paul’s interaction with Ananias. That account agrees with 22:13. In both, Ananias comes in and says, “Saul, brother….” Baptism comes later. The only way Saul could be his brother is if he had already been regenerated. And he doesn’t say, “be baptized and wash away your sins,“ he says, “wash away your sins calling on His name.” This agrees with Peter, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21).” He saves us through the washing of REGENERATION and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). What shall I give unto the Lord for all His benefits for me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:12-13).
I don’t dispute baptism is necessary. However, baptism in water without baptism into the Holy Spirit is an empty ritual. The Spirit of the glorified Jesus is the reality of the water according to Jn. 7:37-39. The reality of baptism, is first into the name, or person, of the Triune God. The Father is in the Son, the Son became a life-giving Spirit, so whether you are baptized into the Name of the F, S, and S, or the name of Christ, or the Spirit, it is the same, because They are one. But that’s not all. No one baptizes himself: “In one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body…” Through baptism in the Spirit, we are placed into the Body of Christ. That’s why the accounts of those baptized were through a member of the Body. Baptism in water is a testimony to God, the angels, Satan, the demons, the world, our friends and family, and the members of the Body of Christ, that we have chosen by faith to be transferred out of Adam, who is under condemnation and the authority of Satan, and into Christ. We are transferred through faith, Baptism in water is a testimony of the reality that has taken place.
There are 2 parts of receiving the Holy Spirit. The first is seen on the day Jesus was resurrected and appeared to the disciples, in John 20:22. “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was the Spirit expected in John 4:14 and 7:39. This is the water that becomes a fountain IN us when we come to Him to drink [unrelated to baptism]. The second part was in Acts 2:1-4, which was the fulfillment of the Father’s promise in Luke 24:49. In Acts 2, the Spirit as a rushing, violent wind came as power UPON the disciples for their work [also unrelated to water baptism]. Remember, they had already received the Spirit inwardly on the day of resurrection. So, they were filled with the Spirit inwardly to be their life, and they were filled with the Spirit outwardly as their power to be Christ’s witnesses.
Ananias calling Paul brother: A brother is one who has the same father. When we are regenerated, the life of God (Gr. Zoe), the very eternal, uncreated life of God, comes into us. That IS eternal salvation. All those who have received this life from the Father are brothers. Jesus said, “go to My brothers and say to them, I go to My Father and to your Father (Jn. 20:17). Jesus did not use the term “brothers” until AFTER His resurrection.
What point are you trying to make with regard to Demas, Hymenaeus, and Philetus?
Re: washing away sin in baptism, I refer you back to the point I made previously. Btw, I cite the verses so you can look them up for yourself. The Bible is my authority. Anyway, to repeat, you are linking “be baptized” with “washing away your sins.” No so, “washing away your sins” is connected with “calling on the name of the Lord.” Ananias tells Paul, “Be baptized” AND “wash away your sins calling on His name (Acts 22:16).” (More fully discussed previously)
“He has not breathed into me…He has not come upon me.”
What most Christians don’t take account of is what came into existence at that time. What came into existence was the Body of Christ, the New Man consisting of all believers. They’re neither Jew nor Greek etc. They are a new creation. In Acts 2:41 it says that about 3K souls received the apostles’ words and were added. Added to what? Acts 5:14 and 11:24 say that they were “added to the Lord.” That is what produced the Body of Christ. We, who are many, are one Body in Christ (Rom. 12:5). The Lord breathed the Spirit into the apostles, and the apostles breathed Him into 3K, then 5k, and they breathed Him into others, and on, and on, down through the ages to you and me. In Jn. 17:20, the Lord prayed concerning those who would believe into Him through their word. That’s us.
Also, the Spirit wasn’t just poured upon the Apostles individually, it was poured upon the Body corporately, once for all. The Apostles stood for the whole Body of Christ. It’s the oil upon the head of the priest, in Ps. 133, that runs down upon the beard and reaches to the hem of his garment. My guess is that we are at the level of the hem.
Re: Acts 2:38, First, “saved” doesn’t imply just being saved from eternal perdition. There are other things to be saved from. For instance, Paul said, “for me, this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19). Surely, he was already saved from perdition. He wanted to be saved from being put to shame, and from not magnifying Christ. So, what did they need to be saved from here? Consider their situation. Jesus had said that because of their actions the wrath of God for all the righteous blood shed on the earth from Abel to Zechariah, was coming upon that generation (Matt. 23:35). Now Peter says, the righteous One they had murdered, was made Lord and Christ by God. They were horrified and begged to know how they could be saved from God’s wrath. Peter exhorted them saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation (v.40).” Verse 38 says, “Repent…” And v. 41 says,“those then who received his word….” Remember, the word of the gospel, that the “grass” receives abides forever, and this is the word that they received (1 Pet. 1:25). This is what regenerated them. THEN those who received the word were baptized (v. 41). Their baptism, a type of the cross, put a separation between them and those under the righteous judgement of God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for those who believe (Gal. 3:14) and they had believed. THAT’S WHY they were baptized.
I didn’t say that being called “brother” is a substitute for salvation. It is not a substitute, it is a recognition of the salvation/regeneration which has occurred.
Demas, Hymenaeus, and Philetus were still brothers even though they had backslidden. You cannot be “unregenerated.” We’re born of God (Jn. 1:13; 1 Jn. 5:1), and we cannot be unborn. Nothing can take us out of God’s hand (Rom. 8:38-39).
“Calling on the name of the Lord is not separate from being baptized.” Sure it is. There can be some time between calling and baptism. Also, hearing is not inextricably linked with believing. Some hear the gospel and reject it. Believing, repenting and confessing do go together. Baptism can be sometime later. When I was regenerated, I believed, repented, confessed, and “heaven came down and glory filled my soul. I dynamically received the Spirit. However, I wasn’t baptized until much later when I had the opportunity.
In Acts 9:17, we have the story of Paul’s interaction with Ananias. That account agrees with 22:13. In both, Ananias comes in and says, “Saul, brother….” Baptism comes later. The only way Saul could be his brother is if he had already been regenerated. And he doesn’t say, “be baptized and wash away your sins,“ he says, “wash away your sins calling on His name.” This agrees with Peter, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21).” He saves us through the washing of REGENERATION and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). What shall I give unto the Lord for all His benefits for me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:12-13).
I don’t dispute baptism is necessary. However, baptism in water without baptism into the Holy Spirit is an empty ritual. The Spirit of the glorified Jesus is the reality of the water according to Jn. 7:37-39. The reality of baptism, is first into the name, or person, of the Triune God. The Father is in the Son, the Son became a life-giving Spirit, so whether you are baptized into the Name of the F, S, and S, or the name of Christ, or the Spirit, it is the same, because They are one. But that’s not all. No one baptizes himself: “In one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body…” Through baptism in the Spirit, we are placed into the Body of Christ. That’s why the accounts of those baptized were through a member of the Body. Baptism in water is a testimony to God, the angels, Satan, the demons, the world, our friends and family, and the members of the Body of Christ, that we have chosen by faith to be transferred out of Adam, who is under condemnation and the authority of Satan, and into Christ. We are transferred through faith, Baptism in water is a testimony of the reality that has taken place.
There are 2 parts of receiving the Holy Spirit. The first is seen on the day Jesus was resurrected and appeared to the disciples, in John 20:22. “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was the Spirit expected in John 4:14 and 7:39. This is the water that becomes a fountain IN us when we come to Him to drink [unrelated to baptism]. The second part was in Acts 2:1-4, which was the fulfillment of the Father’s promise in Luke 24:49. In Acts 2, the Spirit as a rushing, violent wind came as power UPON the disciples for their work [also unrelated to water baptism]. Remember, they had already received the Spirit inwardly on the day of resurrection. So, they were filled with the Spirit inwardly to be their life, and they were filled with the Spirit outwardly as their power to be Christ’s witnesses.
Ananias calling Paul brother: A brother is one who has the same father. When we are regenerated, the life of God (Gr. Zoe), the very eternal, uncreated life of God, comes into us. That IS eternal salvation. All those who have received this life from the Father are brothers. Jesus said, “go to My brothers and say to them, I go to My Father and to your Father (Jn. 20:17). Jesus did not use the term “brothers” until AFTER His resurrection.
What point are you trying to make with regard to Demas, Hymenaeus, and Philetus?
Re: washing away sin in baptism, I refer you back to the point I made previously. Btw, I cite the verses so you can look them up for yourself. The Bible is my authority. Anyway, to repeat, you are linking “be baptized” with “washing away your sins.” No so, “washing away your sins” is connected with “calling on the name of the Lord.” Ananias tells Paul, “Be baptized” AND “wash away your sins calling on His name (Acts 22:16).” (More fully discussed previously)
“He has not breathed into me…He has not come upon me.” What most Christians don’t take account of is what came into existence at that time. What came into existence was the Body of Christ, the New Man consisting of all believers. They’re neither Jew nor Greek etc. They are a new creation. In Acts 2:41 it says that about 3K souls received the apostles’ words and were added. Added to what? Acts 5:14 and 11:24 say that they were “added to the Lord.” That is what produced the Body of Christ. We, who are many, are one Body in Christ (Rom. 12:5). The Lord breathed the Spirit into the apostles, and the apostles breathed Him into 3K, then 5k, and they breathed Him into others, and on, and on, down through the ages to you and me. In Jn. 17:20, the Lord prayed concerning those who would believe into Him through their word. That’s us.
Also, the Spirit wasn’t just poured upon the Apostles individually, it was poured upon the Body corporately, once for all. The Apostles stood for the whole Body of Christ. It’s the oil upon the head of the priest, in Ps. 133, that runs down upon the beard and reaches to the hem of his garment. My guess is that we are at the level of the hem.
Re: Acts 2:38, First, “saved” doesn’t imply just being saved from eternal perdition. There are other things to be saved from. For instance, Paul said, “for me, this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19). Surely, he was already saved from perdition. He wanted to be saved from being put to shame, and from not magnifying Christ. So, what did they need to be saved from here? Consider their situation. Jesus had said that because of their actions the wrath of God for all the righteous blood shed on the earth from Abel to Zechariah, was coming upon that generation (Matt. 23:35). Now Peter says, the righteous One they had murdered, was made Lord and Christ by God. They were horrified and begged to know how they could be saved from God’s wrath. Peter exhorted them saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation (v.40).” Verse 38 says, “Repent…” And v. 41 says,“those then who received his word….” Remember, the word of the gospel, that the “grass” receives abides forever, and this is the word that they received (1 Pet. 1:25). This is what regenerated them. THEN those who received the word were baptized (v. 41). Their baptism, a type of the cross, put a separation between them and those under the righteous judgement of God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for those who believe (Gal. 3:14) and they had believed. THAT’S WHY they were baptized.
I didn’t say that being called “brother” is a substitute for salvation. It is not a substitute, it is a recognition of the salvation/regeneration which has occurred.
Demas, Hymenaeus, and Philetus were still brothers even though they had backslidden. You cannot be “unregenerated.” We’re born of God (Jn. 1:13; 1 Jn. 5:1), and we cannot be unborn. Nothing can take us out of God’s hand (Rom. 8:38-39).
“Calling on the name of the Lord is not separate from being baptized.” Sure it is. There can be some time between calling and baptism. Also, hearing is not inextricably linked with believing. Some hear the gospel and reject it. Believing, repenting and confessing do go together. Baptism can be sometime later. When I was regenerated, I believed, repented, confessed, and “heaven came down and glory filled my soul. I dynamically received the Spirit. However, I wasn’t baptized until much later when I had the opportunity.