My esteemed opposers in this matter of the ESSENTIAL Spirit and the ECONOMIC* Spirit have objected, yet offered the reader no reason or cohesive counter-argument. So, in favour of the interested reader, let us examine, briefly, four cases, and you decide. I build upon my posting # 10. The Christian is saved for TWO things, both given in Genesis 1:26-28. They are;
- To be in the image and likeness of God. To do this he must possess the nature of God. His ESSENCE must be BOTH humanity and divinity. 2nd Peter 1:4 assures us that we have been made partakers of the divine nature through the promises attached to "life and godliness".
- To subdue, and then rule the earth, its environs of sea and sky, and all their contents. Facing man was a formidable task. A set of Principalities made of angels and demons, both vastly superior to man, were arrayed against him. Our Lord Jesus Himself, must cast out demons, not with His power, but with "the finger of God". Added to this, man was given the task of building God's House. In 1st Corinthians and Ephesians we see that the power to do this is endowed by the Holy Spirit.
Case 1. Jesus Christ.
Born of the Holy Spirit (Matt.1:18; Lk.1:35), our Lord Jesus possessed the ESSENCE of God from conception. 30 years later, after he rose out of the waters of Baptism, the Holy Spirit came UPON Him and He went forth in POWER for God's ECONOMY* (Lk.4:14).
Case 2. Peter in Acts 2:38
Peter presents Israel's sin on Pentecost and some 3,000 were convicted. They ask what they shall do. Peter's answer is that they should "repent". "Repent" means to turn 180 degrees from a certain course. Their course was UNBELIEF in Jesus as the Christ. Thus, their first step was FAITH. According to both John 1:12-13 and 3:14-16 this faith issues in a man being BORN of God and HAVING the LIFE of God. But the instruction goes further. They are to be Baptised, which, is exactly what our Lord Jesus did in Case 1. The result of this IMMERSION in WATER would be that they RECEIVED the Holy Spirit, not as LIFE but as a GIFT.
Case 3. The House of Cornelius - Acts 10
Peter refuses to approach the Gentiles. God sends a vision that makes it clear that the Gentiles who He has chosen were CLEAN. We are made CLEAN by (i) the Word, and (ii) the blood of Jesus. These are to had only by faith. Added to this, in his defence before the Jews, in Chapter 11:14, Peter was to speak unto "salvation". But Peter cannot see faith nor salvation. He has proven reluctant to be sen with the Gentiles. So God pours the Spirit upon Cornelius and his house AS AT PENTECOST. Peter realises that the matter is of the Lord and hastens to Baptise the household. Cornelius and his house BELIEVED in God, BELIEVED Peter's gospel, which causes a man to HAVE the Spirit as LIFE (Jn.20:30-31), and then a second event takes place where Cornelius and his house show that which happened at Pentecost - the supernatural ability to speak in a foreign tongue.
Case 4. Ephesus in Acts 19
Apollos teaches in Ephesus. But he knows only the Baptism of John. Men "believe" (verse 1). They are called "disciples" (verse 2) by the Holy Spirit. According to John 1:12-13, 3:14-16 and 20:30-31 they are children of God, and possess eternal life - the LIFE and NATURE of God. But their Baptism is inadequate. It is John's name. Paul suspects the cause immediately. They are Baptised, as Peter commanded in Acts 2:38 and receive the Holy Spirit as it was given on Pentecost. BELIEVING guarantees receiving the LIFE, NATURE AND ESSENCE of God, and Baptism in Jesus' name grants them a GIFT for power for ministry. They are twelve. Twelve is the number of God's People. This sequence is valid for ALL of God's People.
In four distinct cases FAITH brings the Holy Spirit as God's ESSENCE, and in a second event, TIED TO BAPTISM in Jesus' Name, the Holy Spirit is given for POWER to fulfil God's ECONOMY*
* The Greek for God's plan is
"Oikonomia". It means
"household management". The sense is of a mother in the kitchen dispensing food to her family. We derive the word ECONOMY from it - the way the State dispenses of taxes for the profit of the people. It is strictly, the "ECONOMIC BUDGET". God's DISPENSATION is to DISPENSE the Holy Spirit INTO man (John 14) for LIFE, and DISPENSE the Holy Spirit UPON men for POWER.