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REVISITING THE BELIEVER'S POSITIONAL RICHES IN CHRIST

Part XXXIII: Applying The Truth That Believers Possess Every Spiritual Blessing In Christ

I. Introduction

A. Some Christians claim that we who trust in Christ for salvation must seek a "Second Blessing" after salvation, one most Charismatics claim is accompanied by "speaking in tongues." (Joseph Dillow, Speaking in Tongues: Seven Crucial Questions, p. 9) The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. by Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, p. 40, claims the Bible supports this view by way of the King James Version, for Acts 1:5b and 11:16b KJV teach a baptism "with the Spirit" that allegedly involves tongues speaking in contrast to the 1 Corinthians 12:13 baptism "by one Spirit" where the Spirit positionally baptizes the believer into Christ at salvation. The baptism with the Spirit with tongues in Acts allegedly occurs after salvation where the 1 Corinthians 12:13 by the Spirit allegedly occurs at salvation. Thus, most Charismatics urge believers to seek God's full blessing by being baptized with the Spirit and thus to speak in tongues. (Charles Hunter, "Receiving the Baptism With The Spirit," Charisma & Christian Life, July 1989, p. 53-55.

B. However, besides the illumination that is supplied by the Greek New Testament itself, one of the 33 positional truths every believer possesses when he trusts in Christ as Savior corrects this view, that truth being that the believer possesses every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. III, "Soteriology," p. 265). We view this truth along with the Greek New Testament for insight (as follows):

II. Applying The Truth That Believers Possess Every Spiritual Blessing In Christ.

A. The Apostle Paul wrote to the entire Ephesian Church that God the Father had "blessed" them with "all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ" in Ephesians 1:3.

B. From the context of Ephesians chapter 1, we know that this truth is a positional truth that occurs at salvation:

1. The blessings in Ephesians 1:3 are connected to God's choosing each believer before time began to be holy and without blame one day in His heavenly presence, Ephesians 1:4-5:

a. The word "before" in Ephesians 1:4b KJV is katenopion, and throughout the New Testament, it is used in reference to God's literal presence. (Moulton & Milligan, Concordance to the Greek Testament, p. 539)

b. Thus, the blessings in Ephesians 1:3 are in accord with what the believer will possess in heaven, v. 4a.

2. Also, every believer is sealed at salvation so that he can be sure to be taken to heaven according to Ephesians 1:13-14, meaning the believer is unconditionally eternally secure in his salvation status.

3. Since what the believer possesses in his Ephesians 1:3 blessings coincides with what he will possess in his final destiny in heaven, and since he cannot lose his salvation starting at the moment he trusts in Christ, the spiritual blessings he possesses in Ephesians 1:3 are positional blessings, so he possesses every spiritual blessing in Christ that he can ever possess beginning the instant he first trusts in Christ!

C. Thus, there is no need for a believer to gain some "Second Blessing" in this life, for he is complete in Christ.

D. The Greek Testament at Acts 1:5b, 11:16b and 1 Corinthians 12:13 allows for this conclusion since it exposes a lack of proof from the autograph manuscripts for the Charismatic belief in a "Second Blessing" (as follows):

1. The United Bible Societies, the Nestle and the Kilpatrick editions of the Greek Testament present the word translated by the KJV as "with" or "by" in Acts 1:5b, 11:16b and 1 Corinthians 12:13 as being the same Greek word -- en. (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 416, 460, 606; Nestle-Aland, eds., Novum Test. Graece, 1973, p. 297, 333, 447 and Nestle-Kilpatrick, eds., He Kaine Diatheke, 1972, p. 356, 398, 534)

2. Also, the NIV and ESV footnotes show that en can be translated in Acts 1:5b, 11:16b and 1 Corinthians 12:13 in such a way as to conflict with the Charismatic position (as follows):

a. The NIV shows en may mean "in" in all three verses of Acts 1:5b, 11:16b and 1 Corinthians 12:13!

b. The ESV (as Acts 11:16b cites Acts 1:5b that footnotes it) shows en may mean "in" in all three verses.

E. Thus, one cannot use the KJV translations of "en" in Acts 1:5b, 11:16b and 1 Corinthians 12:13 to claim that the Holy Spirit's baptism in Acts 1 and 11 differs from the Holy Spirit's baptism in 1 Corinthians 12. The Charismatic claim for the need for a "Second Blessing" with tongues speaking is thus Biblically unproven.

Lesson: We believers unconditionally, permanently possess every spiritual blessing in Christ the instant we trust in Christ as Savior so that we do NOT need some "Second Blessing" accompanied by speaking in tongues.

Application: (1) May we heed God's Word on its teaching about spiritual blessings. (2) May we not build a belief based on what a translation says without checking what the original Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek texts say!