The dispensation of the Spirit stands in logical order among the Divine dispensations. The Old Testament period was the dispensation of the Father. Christ’s public ministry was the dispensation of the Son. The dispensation of the Spirit began at Pentecost. Baptism in the Spirit was by Jesus Christ, the Baptizer, and prophesied in Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, and Acts 1:5. The only other references are Acts 11:16 and I Corinthians 12:13 and are historical accounts of what happened. They look back to the day of Pentecost. Until the day of the baptism in the Spirit, every dispensation was preparatory. The Old Testament prepared for the advent of Christ. Christ’s public ministry prepared for the advent of the Spirit. The present dispensation of the abiding Holy Spirit is preparing for the coming kingdom. Moses on the Mount could only tell the Israelites what to do, but the ascended Christ gives the power to do what Moses could only tell the Israelites to do.

What is dealt with here is not the ungodliness of man in the world, but a defiled condition of things in the chosen people of God. Solomon said, “I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country [field], Let us spend the night in the villages. Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded And its blossoms have opened, and whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; and over our doors are all choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have saved up for you, my beloved” (Song of Sol. 7:10-13 NASB). In the New Testament, Paul described God’s love for His own—“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church [assembly] and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church [assembly] in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27 NASB).

God in Christ is all the propitiation needed for the elect of God. Christ died to put away sins from the elect, and He lives to put away sins in the chosen ones. Christ’s death destroyed sin’s penalty for us, and His life at the right hand of the Father destroys sin’s power over us. Paul said, “For if [since] [Greek particle ei, a first class condition and understood by the context to have already taken place; should be translated “since”] while we were enemies, we were reconciled [aorist passive indicative] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [future passive indicative] by His life” (Rom. 5:10 NASB). The forgiveness of sin for sinners is in justification before God. For saints, the forgiveness is in sanctification—“…if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7 NASB).

Sin cannot make its way into the presence of God because of the advocacy of Christ. However, it can and does make its way into our presence. It affects our thoughts of God. It hides God from us, and it affects our fellowship with God. The balance of truth is seen in I John 2:1and 2—“My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (NASB). (Read II Cor. 5:18-21. This refers to the world of the justified.) Two important things are given: (1) We are kept safe by the advocacy of Christ, and (2) we are kept in fellowship only if we confess our sins. God spreads before us the animating truth of the perfection of grace that works in the regenerated; but at the same time, Scripture also speaks of the humbling imperfection of our condition while we are waiting for our bodies to be perfected (Rom. 8:23). Therefore, we must constantly “…cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1 NASB). This is a process that is continuous and not complete until the redemption of our bodies.

God deals with the sins of Christians on a cash basis (I John 1:7), but He deals with the sins of reprobates on a credit basis. The latter is explained by Paul: “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5 NASB). This is a warning for those that God never saves. It makes a difference how you live. There are going to be degrees of punishment in hell for the unregenerate, the apostates; and there will be degrees of rewards in heaven for the redeemed. Every person will get exactly what he or she deserves.

God in Christ is all the propitiation needed for the elect of God. He died for the elect, not the non-elect. Christ died to put away sins from the elect, and He lives to put away sins in the elect as they continue to live. His life destroys the power of sin over us. This does not mean that Christians are immune from the work of the Devil. The King James Bible makes a mistake in translating the Greek word daimon as devil. There is only one Devil but many demons. Demons never increase or decrease in number. In the last of the last days, there will be a great amount of demon activity; but every demon is limited as to what he can do.

Jesus Christ is not an advocate for sin, but He is the Advocate for sinners saved by grace. It is of no particular consequence that the Lawyer is in an earthly court. However, this is not true in heaven. In the first place, man has no case in God’s court; and no one can put anything over on God. There is no excuse for sinning. When we sin, we have already lost our case before God. Therefore, it depends not on who or what we are or what we have done, but everything depends on who our Advocate is and what He has done on our behalf. Since Christ is not an advocate for sin, He is the Advocate for sinners who have become clients by the grace of the sovereign God. Therefore, He is the Advocate for the non-imputation of sins to those for whom He pleads.

The advocacy of Christ manifests our failure and our security. It is a common remark about courts of law that “he who appears as his own advocate has a fool for a client.” If this is true in an earthly court of justice, it is no less true in the court of heaven. These are the essential qualifications of the Advocate: (1) He must be the uncompromising friend of God’s government. (2) He must be the uncompromising friend of the dishonored law of God. (3) He must be righteous; i.e., he must be clear of any complicity in the crime of the sinner. (4) He must be the compassionate friend of the sinner. (5) He must honor the law of God. (6) He must be willing to volunteer a gratuitous service. (7) He must have a good plea.

The Lord Jesus could not leave this world until He had offered Himself for all the elect, to whom He is Surety (Guarantor) (Heb. 7:22). The legal side of suretyship is stronger when the Surety becomes the substitute for the debtor by having the debt charged to the Surety and the debtor released. In the case of Onesimus, he was legally released before the debt was actually paid to the creditor. This was made possible by Paul answering the debt (Philemon 10, 18, 19). In this way only could the Old Testament saints be forgiven before the death of the Testator (Heb. 9:15-17). Types in the Old Testament were never meant to accomplish that which only the Antitype (Jesus Christ, the High Priest) could perform. The unchanging character of Christ’s Priesthood gives a permanent guarantee of a better covenant, the eternal covenant of grace (Heb. 13:20, 21).

Christ’s advocacy declares believers to be sorry creatures. However, God has provided well for us—(1) blood to wash us clean, (2) High Priest to pray for us, and (3) Advocate to plead our cause. When God comes in mercy to restore what has departed, the fruit of His work will be seen in love, truth, and holiness. Apart from these, there is no evidence of God’s presence. God does not set up certain abstract principles. He works that persons may be livingly characterized as having part in what He has wrought.

Advocates among men frequently deny the allegations brought against their clients. Christ admits the charge brought against His clients. Advocates among men, if they admit the charge, frequently seek to justify it. They set up such pleas as ignorance, accident, circumstances, self-defense, etc. Christ pleads no excuse. Advocates among men undertake their work, not from the love of justice or humanity, but from personal considerations. Christ is righteous and immutable. Advocates among men, because of unexpected secrets coming to light, have had to relinquish their beliefs in order to protect their self-respect and reputation. Christ’s advocacy knows no surprises.

The dispensation of the Spirit stands in logical order among the Divine dispensations. Pentecost was the coming of a Person, the third Person of the Godhead. The Spirit’s coming was neither regeneration nor the baptizer. Charismatic interpretation of baptism in the Spirit necessitates that the Holy Spirit is the baptizer. However, Scripture says, “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:33 NASB). On the day of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus Himself baptized the infant assembly that He is building. The Holy Spirit never baptizes because that is not His office. Baptism in the Spirit was the prerogative of the Son of God. That is what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11—“I am now baptizing you in [en, locative of sphere] water because of [eis, accusative of cause] your repentance, and the One coming after me is stronger than I, of whom I am not worthy to be carrying His sandals; He shall baptize [future active indicative of baptidzo] you in [en, locative of sphere] the Holy Spirit and fire” (translation).

Jesus Christ, not the Holy Spirit, is the Baptizer. The Holy Spirit never baptizes because that is not His office. Baptizing the infant assembly was the prerogative of the Son of God. Nothing is recorded in the Epistles about “a person” being baptized in the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit came upon the Samaritans and Gentiles (Acts 8 and 10), Scripture does not say they were baptized in the Spirit, but “the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15 NASB). Baptism in the Spirit cannot be one thing at Pentecost and something else today. The already instituted assembly was baptized in the Holy Spirit into one body.

Calvary and Pentecost are both historical. Jesus Christ will never die again. He came the first time to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Therefore, He is not crucified at the time each person is regenerated. The Lord Jesus will come the second time in power and glory to reign in His kingdom. As there are two advents of Christ, there are two advents of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came at Pentecost to abide in the assembly that Christ is continuing to build. Each regenerated person in the assembly has the Helper promised by Christ (John 14:26). When He comes the second time, He will be poured out on all flesh and complete His work which was begun at Pentecost and will be completed at Christ’s coming and kingdom (Acts 2:16-21; II Tim. 4:1).

Copyright ã   2003

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