The Lord's promise was fulfilled,
beginning on the Day of Pentecost (i.e., fifty days after Christ
bodily resurrected from the dead). While preaching to the crowd at
Pentecost, the apostle Peter said:
Acts 2:32-33, “Jesus hath God raised
up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”
Now that Jesus Christ has risen from
the dead, His Spirit lives inside every born-again believer. John 14:17,
“but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be
in you.” The unsaved world does not have the Holy Spirit
indwelling (living inside) them. I love the Holy Spirit! He lives inside of
my body and soul. 1st Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple
of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
Notice again John 14:17... “AND HE SHALL BE IN YOU”!!! Isn't that
beautiful? 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth
in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that
he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
Romans 8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” What blessed
Scriptures to comfort the soul!
Jesus Has Been Exalted to the
Right Hand of the Father in Heaven
A clear distinction is made in the
Scriptures between God the Father in Heaven, the Son Who has been exalted to
sit on the Father's right-hand, and the Holy Ghost, Who has been shed abroad
in the Church:
Acts 2:32-33, “This Jesus hath God
raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear.”
Colossians 3:1-3, “If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God.”
We also read in Romans 8:34, “Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.”
The demonic Jehovah's witness' cult
errantly teach that Jesus only raised up in spirit, and not bodily. JW's do
not believe in the Godhead. They deny that Jesus is God's literal,
biological, child. Instead, they believe that Michael the Archangel became
Jesus incarnate, making Jesus and Lucifer archangel brothers. This is
satanic heresy! The holy Bible teaches that Jesus was not created, He always
existed as a member of the Godhead (Trinity). Although the word “Trinity” is
not found in the Bible, the word “godhead” certainly is (cf., Acts 17:29;
Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9 - King James Bible).
All of the modern Bible revisions
have been corrupted by the Devil, completely removing the word “godhead.”
Instead, they refer to God as “the divine nature,” which is New Age
doctrine. The coming Antichrist will worship “the God of forces,” New
Age (Daniel 11:38). Deuteronomy 6:4 declares that there is
only “one God,” but God exists in three person according to 1st
John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
The holy Scriptures teach that the
Godhead became incarnate, in the fleshly body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily.” What a beautiful Scripture!!! When you
met Jesus, you met the Godhead! Jesus didn't give up His Deity when He came
to earth. Jesus forgave sin as only God can do (Mark 2:7). Jesus received
worship from men as only God is entitled to (Matthew 8:2, Isaiah 42:8). All
of the modern revisions attack Christ's Deity by changing every mention of
someone “worshipping” Jesus, to a
mere “knelt” or “bowed.” Shame on any wicked pastor who uses, tolerates and
supports the Devil's modern Bible revisions, which are all garbage!
Jesus Physically Left Earth,
and Will Physically Return to the Earth, One Day
Carefully notice that Jesus bodily
(physically) ascended from the earth:
Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken
these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him
out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he
went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
When Christ returns at the Rapture (I
believe it will be pretribulation in timing), He is not coming to the earth.
We are going to be “CAUGHT UP” into the clouds, to meet Christ in the air
(1st Thessalonians 4:17). Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
In sharp contrast, when Christ
returns at the Second Advent (i.e., Second Coming), He will return to the
earth, bodily, seen by all the world as prophesied in Acts 1:11. This event
is foretold in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds;
and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even
so, Amen.” This event is not the Rapture.
Logic proves a pretribulation Rapture.
The Holy Bible Calls the
Godhead a “Mystery”
Colossians 2:2-3, “That their hearts
might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the
full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of
the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Notice in the preceding Scripture
passage that the Holy Spirit is referred to as “God.” The Bible makes a
distinction between God the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and God the Son.
Yet, they are all one in the same according to Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1st John
5:7. I don't like referring to Jesus as the “second person” of the Trinity,
or to the Holy Spirit as the “third person” of the Trinity (Godhead),
because that terminology is not Biblical. We must be careful not to
embellish the Scriptures by adding things that aren't there.
Beware of any Bible teacher who says
that Jesus is not equal with God the Father, for He is God almighty.
Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Beware of Jehovah's Witnesses, who
say that Jesus is “a god,” but not “The God.” Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which
was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
The Jews knew that Jesus claimed to be God. John 10:33, “The Jews
answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy;
and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”
Jesus came to earth as almighty God in the flesh! Jesus is seated on the
right-hand of the Father today in His glorified body, as almighty God, being
an equal member of the Godhead.
Revelation 19:13 calls Jesus' name
“the Word of God.” John 1:1-3 and Verse 14, teaches that Jesus is “the
Word,” and that Word became incarnate (in the flesh), and we beheld His
glory as of the only begotten Son of God. Amen! This is why I make such a
fuss over the tampering of God's Word. The holy Bible is the Written Word,
from which we study to learn about the Living Word. John 5:39, “Search
the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me.” Hence,
if Satan can corrupt the Written Word, then he can distort and corrupt the
Living Word in people's minds. A
horrible consequence of the
modern Bible revisions, is churchgoers trying to live like Jesus,
instead of resting completely in Jesus for salvation. God doesn't save
anyone who is trying to be saved, He only saves those who are trusting to be
saved.
Hearing Preaching About the Holy Spirit Led
to My Salvation
The evidence that a man is truly
saved is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When I was 13 years
old, I was lost. I had heard a “1-2-3 pray-after-me” type of presentation
multiple times while growing up. In first grade, I was led by my Sunday
school teacher to repeat such a religious prayer, and was told that I was
saved, but I was still lost, failing to understand the Gospel. It is
critically important that soul-winners
clarify the Gospel, keeping it simple the way God intended it to be. It
is tragic how the churches have embellished (added to) the Gospel over the
past century, hiding the Gospel behind a bunch of step-by-step methods,
asking Jesus into one's heart, inviting Christ into your life, surrendering
all to Christ, following Jesus and repeating a prayer. None of these are the
Gospel. What
Is The Gospel? (Dr. Harry Ironside).
I still remember what the preacher
said in church the Sunday morning I was saved in 1980. It was a Baptist
church. I was 13 years old. I don't remember the sermon topic, nor anything
else that the preacher said that day. But I do remember the preacher saying
that a person is not saved, if you don't have the presence of the Holy
Spirit convicting you about sin in your life. I knew right away when I heard
that Bible truth, that I was not saved. I did not have the indwelling Holy
Spirit convicting me about sin in my life. So I trusted Jesus as my personal
Savior that day, believing that He died on the cross and rose the third day.
The Holy Spirit has been with me as God's child ever since. Looking back in
hindsight, it is like a light-switch that went from “off” to “on” in my
life, on that day.
I like what one preacher said, “If
you can sin and win, you're not in!” In other words, if you can sin
without being convicted by God's Holy Spirit about it, and habitually defend
your sinful actions, you're not saved. The holy Bible confirms this truth in
Hebrews 12:6-8, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you
as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers,
then are ye bastards, and not sons.” The Bible teaches that
God scourges (whips) and chastises (disciplines) His children.
Albeit, you need to be careful with
this truth, because I've known some carnal believers, who accused other
backslidden believers of being unsaved because of sin in their life. Every
believer has some sin in their life (Romans 7:15-25). It is utter hypocrisy
to label anyone as being “unsaved” because of sin in their life, because
everyone has some sin in their life. As long as we are in the fleshly body,
we will struggle continually with sin (Romans 7:24). Only you, know if you
are truly saved. That's why God Authored the Epistle of 1st John to
believers... “that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1st
John 5:13). The emphasis of the Epistle of 1st John is to determine if
you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
If you have the Spirit of Christ in you (Romans 8:9), you have GOD IN
YOU! What a precious Savior!!!
God doesn't expect us to understand
everything to be saved, He just wants us to BELIEVE on the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We are saved by BELIEVING the Gospel. Mark 1:15b, “repent
ye, and believe the gospel.” Repentance is the acknowledgment that I am
as guilty a sinner as God has declared me to be in His Word. “Repentance”
is unto the Gospel itself. Obviously, to repent “toward God” (Acts 20:21)
by faith in the Gospel necessitates also turning “from” something. We are
not saved by repenting, we are saved by BELIEVING (John 6:28-29; Romans
10:13; 1st Corinthians 1:21). A man who refuses to repent (i.e., change his
mind) won't come to the light to be saved (John 3:20). It is
false repentance to require a person to forsake sinful bad habits to
receive the free gift of salvation. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are
free gifts, paid for by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is our sin
payment! Anyone who receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for
their sins, believing that He was buried, and raised up bodily three days
later, is saved.
In our text passage of Scripture above, we see a clear distinction between
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three form the “Godhead”
(aka, Trinity). 1st John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one.” We see Jesus, the Son of God, being
water baptized by John the Baptist. We also see God the Father, Who spoke to
Jesus from Heaven. And then we also see the blessed Holy Spirit, descending
upon the Son in the bodily shape of a dove. 
