It Takes Three to Tango

Acts 20:21-23 – “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”

The above verses are Paul talking. He is telling the church leaders at Ephesus what he has been preaching, the essence of his message. The outline would be: (1) Repentance towards God, (2) Faith in Jesus Christ, and (3) The necessity of Walking after the Spirit of God.

Below we see Peter teaching the same basic pattern earlier in the Book of Acts: 

Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Now go back to the very beginning of creation – to the climax – God’s creation of man. In Genesis 1:26, we find, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

So what does all of this mean? In the creation account, all three Persons of the Trinity worked together to make man in their image. God was hereby setting a pattern for our new-creation…our new birth. Just as all three in the Godhead had a hand to play in the original creation, so do all three have to work together to recreate us in His Image when we are born again in Christ.

I believe this is also what Jesus meant in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Here His last instructions to the Saints are, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Today in churches we think we fulfill the Great Commission when we dunk somebody under water “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” But that is not it at all. Nowhere do we ever see anyone in Scripture being baptized like that. What I believe Jesus meant was that we are to immerse or flood (the meaning of baptize) people in the name, character, rank, position and nature of (the meaning of ‘in the name of’) God the Father, and then flood or immerse people in the name, character, rank, position and nature of Jesus Christ, and then flood or immerse people in the name, character, rank, position and nature of the Holy Spirit.

If we do that, we will make True Disciples and not False Converts. 

• Teaching others about the nature of God the Father and His Holiness, Righteousness, Sovereignty, and His Law as a standard will drive us to our knees crying mercy and repenting. 

• Teaching about the nature of Jesus Christ as fully Man and fully God. Teaching about His ministry as a perfect and acceptable sacrifice to God that was the propitiation for our sins, and His continual office as Intercessor. He is the Only Door to the Father, and He leads us by faith in His name and His blood's propitiation for our sin debt. 

• Teaching about the Holy nature of the Holy Spirit and His ministry as Convincer of Sin, Judgment and Righteousness, and His role to seal us unto the day of redemption. Telling of His role as Comforter, the Earnest of our Inheritance, and our responsibility to walk after Him. We should warn that we are not to Grieve or Quench the Holy Spirit, and this demands us to walk after Him in all love and humility. It is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit as evidence of our salvation or lack there of as our condemnation as an unfruitful branch.

Salvation is like a Three-Legged-Stool, if we try standing on two legs on Judgment Day, we may likely hear, “Depart from Me, I never knew you!”

 

Repentance toward God – Faith in the Lord Jesus – Walking After the Spirit (Romans 8:1 - "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." KJV)

 

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