Upon salvation, 1 Corinthians 12:13 declares that the believer becomes a member of the body of Christ. Anyone who has been united with Christ is qualified to join a local expression of His body. To join, the believer must commit themselves to the biblical purposes for which the local church has gathered. These include the receiving of instruction from God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2), serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; 1 ...

Throughout the Bible, the Gospel message of faith and repentance comes to the world through the special revelation revealed through the writings of God’s messengers who were empowered by God’s Spirit. Jesus Himself revealed God’s soteriological message in Scripture to the masses through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 17:6; 2 Tim 1:10). In order that the Gentile world might hear the Gospel, the Lord commissions and sends Paul to bear witness to them, once again, by the power of the Holy Spir...

Paul and Peter both declare that the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired every word written in Scripture (Eph 3:4-5; 2 Pet 1:20-21). God’s Spirit inspired the Scriptures to aid the believers in their spiritual understanding and growth (2 Tim 3:16-17). In John 16:13, Christ tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit, when he comes, will guide them into all truth (Rom 8:5, 14; Gal 5: 16-26). After Pentecost, one notices that Peter immediately understands Christ’s message and ministry and becomes em...

The sanctification process, which follows the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is also the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:11; 2 Th 2:13; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:2). In 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, Paul is contrasting the difference between the believer’s old life with all of its sinfulness with his or her new life whereby the body of the believer becomes “a temple of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5 demonstrates an unqualified exclusion of human effort in the sanctification process (cf. Rom 9:12; Eph 2:9).

Conviction of Sin. To understand the conversion work of the Holy Spirit, one may wish to separate His activities into three categories: pre-conversion, conversion, and post-conversion. In His pre-conversion work, the Holy Spirit goes before the Christian witness to prepare the hearts of non-believers so that they will turn to Christ when the gospel is delivered. In John 16:8, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit “convict[s] the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” The Hol...

In Romans 8:28-30, Paul declares, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Verse 28 makes it clear that Christians are “called” (saved) “according to...

Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, humanity has been living under the curse of death and trapped in a totally depraved state (Gen 3:16-19; Rom 3:10-18). The hearts and minds of humanity became fully defiled, utterly deceitful, full of evil, darkened in understanding, wicked in every intention, and completely without knowledge (Gen 6:5; 8:21; Eccl 9:3; Jer 17:9; Rom 1:28-31; Eph 4:17-18; Titus 1:15-16). As fallen sinners, we are all born slaves to sin (John 8:34; Rom 6; Titus 3:3). In our fleshly, ...

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper The Bible clearly declares that salvation is by grace through faith alone (Rom 3:22-30; 4:5; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 3:9). In other words, no act (ritualistic or otherwise) is necessary for salvation. In addition, no act aids salvation in any manner. In Peter’s sermon in Acts 3:12-26, never once does he mention the necessity of water baptism or the Lord’s Supper for salvation. In Paul’s concise summary of gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, he likewise fails to me...

This ordinance replaced the Passover. The Passover, the oldest of all Jewish festivals, commemorated God’s provision of a substitute for, His protection from His wrath against, and His deliverance of His people from their bondage to the Egyptians. From the Passover, Jews learned that judgment requires bloodshed that could come from a substitute. All of this foreshadowed God’s provision through Christ. Shortly before His death, Christ celebrated the Passover with His disciples, transformed it...