THE MISSING PERSON PART SEVEN

Continuing the series on the Holy Spirit, it is now time to consider the role of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, spiritual baptism, indwelling, filling, and sealing with respect to believers in the current era of God's dealings with His people.

REGENERATION

Jesus clearly stated that every person must be born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5-6).  “Regeneration” is the label for this remarkable, miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, which refers to the making alive of a person who is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-5).  Not only did Jesus teach this reality, Paul also taught that the Holy Spirit brought about regeneration (Titus 3:5).  Christians are new creations in Christ by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17).

There are many references to the need for and provision of regeneration by God, despite the fact that only on one occasion is the Greek word for regeneration, palingenesias, used in this sense (Titus 3:5).  The concept of being born again, or made spiritually alive, however, abounds in the New Testament (John 1:13; 5:21; Romans 6:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:5, 10; 4:24; James 1:18; 1 Peter 2:9).  This spiritual work is closely associated with the concept of resurrection as well as birth.

SPIRITUAL BAPTISM

Usually termed the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this refers to the placement of believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).  This spiritual experience was predicted by John the Baptist with reference to the Messiah (Matthew 3:11) and Jesus Himself stated that it would occur "not many days from now", referring to His ascension (Acts 1:5).  This did take place on the day of Pentecost.

Great confusion with respect to this matter is evident, especially among Pentecostals.  Their understanding that this is a post-conversion experience accompanied by the evidence of tongue speaking has misled many.  As seen in the book of Acts, the occurrence of tongue speaking was uniquely designed to demonstrate the reception of the Holy Spirit by different ethnic/spiritual groups in a transitional period. 

The difficulty is how to interpret the preposition "in," which can be translated "by" in 1 Corinthians 12:13.  The best understanding is to maintain the consistent understanding of Christ as the baptiser and the Spirit as the medium of the baptism, which is best expressed by "in".  By immersion in the Spirit, we are joined to the body of Christ and so placed in that body.  The realm of the Spirit in this era is identified as the body of Christ.  Christians are joined to one another in spiritual communion by the Holy Spirit.

This experience is contemporaneous with conversion/regeneration.  There is no delay in spiritual baptism, nor is there any command to be baptised in this manner, as against water baptism.  The day of Pentecost inaugurated this reality and every believer since has immediately been joined to the body of Christ through spiritual baptism.  It is also a singular event in the life of each believer and cannot be repeated.  Once joined to the body of Christ, there can be no separation and need to be rejoined.

INDWELLING

As mentioned earlier, the concept of indwelling is not restricted to the Church age, but it is certainly a major emphasis for this era.  The emphasis of the New Covenant is an inward spiritual reality, communicated in the concepts of a "heart to know me" (Jeremiah 24:7), "My law within them" (Jeremiah 31:33), "the fear of Me in their hearts" (Jeremiah 32:40), and "a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).  Associated with this is the promise of the indwelling presence of God's Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27 cf. 2 Corinthians 3:1-18).  These spiritual benefits are given to all New Covenant participants, which was not true of Israel, where many possible covenant members missed out due to unbelief.

It should be remembered that dwelling with man has been God's primary intention for man since the beginning (Gen 3:8) and will be the final reality (Rev 21:1-4).  The nation of Israel experienced God's presence in a more external way through the Shekinah glory whereas the Church, although without external attestation to the divine presence, has a consistent internal presence for all its members (John 7:37; Acts 11:16-17; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 5:5).  In fact, in this era Paul writes that to not have the Spirit's presence is to be without salvation (Romans 8:9).  Having the Holy Spirit characterises those who are truly born again.  This indwelling is permanent (John 14:16) and personal sin does not evict the Holy Spirit, even though it quenches or grieves Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).

FILLING

As noted in the survey of Old Testament data, this concept applied to the men responsible for supervising the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings.  In that context, the idea was one of divine enabling for an appointed task, empowering for ministry.  This seems consistent with the New Testament usage, but the concept broadens in application in the current era.  The active spirituality of believers is expressed by this idea of filling.

A distinction needs to be made between being spiritual and being mature as a believer.  The term spiritual refers to the believer's current spiritual condition that involves the control of the Holy Spirit.  Maturity refers to the proven spiritual character of the believer that is produced by a developing, practical, personal knowledge of God and the Scriptures.  A brand-new Christian can be spiritual but cannot be considered mature.  It is possible for a mature Christian to be unspiritual at a given point due to sin without forfeiting his maturity.  Time has no bearing on being spiritual but is essential for maturity.

At times, God fills believers with the Holy Spirit without any reference to their spiritual suitability or readiness.  John the Baptist in Luke 1:15, Elizabeth in Luke 1:47 and Zacharias in Luke 1:67 are early examples, followed by believers on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), Peter in Acts 4:8, and Paul in Acts 9:17 and 13:9.  One could call these sovereign fillings.

More commonly, the filling of the Holy Spirit is conditional.  Although not mentioned in each case, the nature of this filling implies the conditions that apply to normal Christian growth.  In the book of Acts, a number of instances use this term to describe the character of certain Christians (Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24; 13:52).  The only time Paul wrote concerning filling, he commanded it and so implied that the Christian had a part to play.  Ephesians 5:18 draws a contrast between the powerful influence of alcohol and that of the Spirit, which clearly communicates the idea of control.  The Holy Spirit is to control the Christian in all areas, thought, attitude, motivation, word and deed.

The characteristics of being Spirit-filled are a heart of praise, thanksgiving and submissiveness (Ephesians 5:19-21), the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and a willingness to serve (Acts 6:3).

SEALING

The Greek word translated "sealed" in Ephesians 1:13 means "to set a seal on one as a mark or stamp, sometimes the marks of ownership or of worship of deities like stigmata (Gal. 6:17)" (Robertson, Word Pictures, p. 519).  It can have the idea of securing (e.g., of a stone used to seal a tomb), or sealing up something to keep it secret, or mark something for identification of the owner, or to certify something as a seal does on a document.  Here, the emphasis is on the idea of authentication (cf. 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22).  Believers belong to God and are marked as such, giving them assurance of a secure future.

Our consideration of the Old Testament data did not reveal this aspect of the Spirit's ministry.  It cannot, however, be conclusively stated that it did not occur, and it certainly is true that Old Testament saints were equally authentic and secure in their salvation, which are the primary ideas of this concept.  The New Testament's clear teaching leaves no doubt as to the eternal security of true believers.

This sealing occurs simultaneously with regeneration, conversion, indwelling and spiritual baptism.  In Ephesians 1:13 there is logical priority to the act of believing, but it is not necessary to demand a chronological sequence.  Faith and its outworking are contemporaneous realities, as is regeneration and its outworking.  No gap exists in timing of the initial work of salvation.

This sealing will continue until the "day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30), at which time our salvation will be complete, including the resurrection of our bodies (Romans 8:23).  Thus, God's promises are guaranteed of fulfilment and we can be assured of a complete salvation.  Romans 8:31-39 teaches that nothing can separate us from God.  The Holy Spirit is God's down payment making certain His possession of us at a future time.

In the light of this truth, Christians ought to live authentic lives, lives that are characterised by purity, which do not grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells within and is our guarantee of ultimate salvation.  This is the context of Paul's statement in Ephesians 4:30. Our promised final redemption from sin should motivate and empower us to conquer sin now!