Righteous Invasion of Truth

Dr. Abel Damina: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Abel Damina is my name. I want to welcome you to this broadcast, a time of learning, a time of unlearning, and a time of relearning. The essence of this broadcast is to bring to you the revelation of Jesus Christ. The mandate of God on our ministry is the revelation of Jesus; reintroducing Jesus to this generation, equipping the believer to know who you are in Christ, what you have in Christ, and what Christ can do through you.

So get ready, fasten your seatbelts today. We're going to adventure in the Scriptures. The Scriptures tell us in John 5:39, Jesus speaking to the Jews, he said, "You search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." The Bible is Christocentric. It is a message centered on the person of Jesus Christ. So get ready today as we traverse through the pages of the Scriptures, unveiling Christ so we can reveal your true identity in Christ.

Because once you know who you are in Christ, then you will know what you have in Christ, and then you can be able to know what Christ can do through you. It gives you a life of fulfillment, a life that is purpose-driven, so you can make the impact you were designed to make in this life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Call a friend, call a loved one, tell somebody to tell somebody to hook up right now as I take you into that service where the Spirit of our God is already moving. Happy listening.

We are still on our series on In Christ Realities. When we began, we started by answering questions like, what is the reason for Bible study? Or why were the things written in the Bible? What were they written for? And then we also took time to look at the book of 2 Timothy, and I want us to look at it quickly. 2 Timothy 3:16, why the Scriptures were written. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." They are profitable.

So the Scriptures were given to us for teaching; profitable for teaching. And teaching will involve reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Which means, therefore, that the profitability of the Scriptures can only be achieved when the Scriptures are taught or when the Scriptures are explained. Therefore, the Scriptures must be explained. Explanation of what? The Bible cannot be used to explain any other thing outside of the reason for which it was written. So the Bible has who it explains. The Bible is for teaching; teaching what?

That same 2 Timothy 3:15 gives us a further insight into what it is to be taught for. "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." So it is to teach the In Christ Realities, through faith which is in Christ. So primarily, fundamentally, the Scriptures are given to us to open the realities of in Christ. In Christ. Through faith which is in Christ.

Somebody saw me the other time and he said to me, "Dr. Damina, please can you help me with scriptures on the Antichrist?" I said, "Scriptures on the Antichrist? Maybe you should meet the devil. The devil should be the best person to give you the scriptures on the Antichrist." And he said to me, "I don't understand." I said, "I don't understand too." He said, "I said I want scriptures on the Antichrist." I said the devil would be in the best position to give you that. He thought I was joking. I was very serious, and I am still serious.

And then he said, "What about the book of Revelation?" I said, "Well, the book of Revelation is not a book on the Antichrist." And he said, "What is it about?" I said to him, "Revelation 1:1, put it up." Revelation 1:1 gives us the reason for the book of Revelation. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." So the entire body of the book of Revelation is to reveal Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ.

If you observe very carefully in the book of 2 Peter 1:20, Brother Peter was communicating in the same line. He says, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy," did you observe it is singular, "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. Next verse: For the prophecy," not prophecies, "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Meaning the Scriptures carry a single revelation. It carries a single revelation. The Scriptures do not have dual revelation. It is a singular revelation called the prophecy, the revelation of Jesus.

No wonder Jesus would say to them in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Look at Revelation 1:3. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy," singular. "This prophecy." So the Bible is called the words of this prophecy, a singular revelation. A singular revelation. All right? So it is the book of the prophecy of a person. "The scriptures testify of me."

So in other words, the teaching or explanation of the Scriptures is centered around two words: in Christ. In Christ. That is the essence of Bible study. What are we looking for when we study the Bible? "They testify of me. They testify of me." All right? They are they, singularly, which testify of me, collectively. So the entire embodiment of the Scriptures carry with it a singular revelation. It carries with it a single message, and that message is the message of Jesus.

Now yesterday, we began to examine the book of Acts as we began to look at doctrinal positions where the book of Acts is concerned. And we concluded yesterday's service by saying that the book of Acts does not recognize the new birth. You will never find the mention of the new birth in the book of Acts. You will also never find the new creation in the book of Acts, the entire 28 chapters. And in the book of Acts, you will never find our rights and privileges.

So we said that a lot of doctrinal confusion emanates from how people saw or how people still see the church in the book of Acts. Again, if you observe in the book of Acts, there are no references to us being the children of God. Even the children we saw there were children of Israel. The only terminology used in the book of Acts was believers, believe, which was not often used in the epistles.

Now let me show you from the book of Acts how they operated their understanding of tongues. Because that is where we stopped. Because if you read the book of Acts and you are not very careful, what you will observe is that people gathered and they were praying, and the Spirit fell, and they stood up and spoke languages, and everybody heard what they said. And so that is where many people have concluded that if your tongues are not a language that people can understand, it is not tongues from God.

That is where they got all of those assertions from; that if you are speaking in tongues and it is not a language that can be explained, maybe Spanish or French or English or Hausa or Yoruba or Igbo or Efik or Ibibio, then you should not speak in tongues at all. And then they call tongues gibberish. They say it is gibberish, it is not the real thing because in the book of Acts on the Day of Pentecost, people were hearing them speak languages. And that confusion is because these people are not detailed.

Remember yesterday we said that the secular people say that the devil is in the details. So we have got to do some detailed analysis of the book of Acts. Now please pay attention. What Brother Luke called tongues, he called it another tongue. Look at it in Acts 2:4. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." He called it other tongues. The Greek word *heteros*, different tongues, other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Look at other instances where there was an outpouring of the Spirit. Acts 10:46. "For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter." They heard them speak with tongues. Tongues. Why did Luke say other tongues? We will get there. Acts 19:6. Look at the way it was reported in Acts 19:6. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. They spake with tongues, and prophesied."

Observe, they called it tongues, which is plural. We have tongues mentioned three times. In one place, he calls it other tongues. Now let us go back to Brother Paul's language, which will help us on the same subject. Before we get to Brother Paul, it is clear that the book of Acts may not be reliable as touching who we are and what we have in Christ. Is that clear? Not just that alone, there are other things that the book of Acts is not reliable for. So let us begin to travel through this.

In the entire 1 Corinthians 14, Paul did not use a single adjective for tongues. Rather, the only adjective Brother Paul used referred to what the unbeliever would be saying; that the unbeliever would be saying you are mad. Now so look at 1 Corinthians 12:10, Brother Paul. "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues."

Paul just has one adjective for tongues: divers tongues. Again, some people think divers tongues means different tongues. So when you are speaking, *akata akata akata akata akata*, they say your own is not divers tongues. Because in their mind, divers tongues have to sound different, different, different, different, different. You are still thinking like a carnal man.

In 1 Corinthians 12:28. "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Diversities. Brother Paul uses diversities. Look at verse 10, 1 Corinthians 12:10. "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues." The divers is not in the original, so it would be to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Do you know that the word here is not the same as diversities of gifts? Divers is not the same as diversities of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4. The word here is *genos*, used for a language that belongs to a people, a tribe, or a country. Divers tongues is the word *genos*; a language that belongs to a people, a language that belongs to a tribe, a language that belongs to a country. That is what is common to these people. Diversity means it is a common language among them. It is a common language among them.

Now another time Brother Paul talks about it is in 1 Corinthians 13:1. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." And then you hear some people say, "Well, there are tongues of men and there are tongues of angels." No, that is a figure of speech; it is not literal. Brother Paul was just communicating to a church where he had to use parables to bring out a lot of things.

Remember in chapter three he already sets the tone of communication. He says, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." Hence the use of parables. And there are a lot of parables in the writings of Brother Paul to the church at Corinth. So when he says, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels," the angels there is to say no matter how serious your tongues are. It is just a figure of speech. If you do not have love, you are just a noisemaker.

And he was establishing the place of love in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit because in that church, they come behind in no gift, yet the love of God was not operating among them. So he gave them a figure of speech. The only other time Brother Paul will use an adjective for tongues is in 1 Corinthians 14:21. "In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord."

That is another place Brother Paul talked about tongues and here he was quoting Isaiah 28:11. "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." Stammering lips there is talking about tongues, stammering lips. Look at verse 12. I love the way he puts verse 12. "To whom he said, This is the rest." When you begin to speak in tongues, you are functioning in rest. "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest."

So when you are tired and you are feeling a lethargy spiritually, the way to rest is to speak in tongues. You just relax on your bed or on your chair. You do not have to think to speak in tongues. You do not have to calculate. If you stay there for a bit, before you know it, you are charged up, you are revived, you are refreshed, you are fired up. Are we together in the building? He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear."

You have been given refreshing. Instead of looking for sleeping tablets, refreshing in tongues. There is a way you blast in tongues. While you are blasting, you sleep off and you see the visions of God. Somebody is not shouting hallelujah. All right. Now so Brother Paul here was quoting from Isaiah, "with men of other tongues." And that is not an adjective for tongues but the men. So Paul does not use unknown or different for the word tongues.

It is the translators of the King James that added unknown. And if you check, it is in italics or in brackets. They put it there because they themselves, the best way they could explain it in translating was unknown. But notice it is in italics because Brother Paul never used unknown for tongues. The first thing is, Brother Paul's teaching on tongues does not say tongues are unknown. He does not say tongues are unknown, neither did he say tongues are different.

Rather, he says tongues belongs to a tribe, and that tribe is the tribe of those that are born again. We have a tribe for the new creation. New spirit, new man, new tongues. "These signs shall follow them that believe." At the point of believing, they have new tongue. They have a new language. They have a new language. So we have a tribe of the born-again.

See how he describes tongues and how that is explained. First of all, look at the way Brother Paul talks about tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:2. "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue," unknown was added, "speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." He that speaks in tongues speaks not unto men but unto God.

So in Acts chapter two, were they speaking to men? He that speaks in tongues speaks not to men but unto God. So we use doctrine to explain eyewitness. So if doctrine says you speak not to men but unto God, so in Acts chapter two, were they speaking to men or unto God? Speaking to God. All right? We speak unto God, not unto men. Observe, they were speaking the wonderful works of God. Is it God that requires different languages?

God does not require different languages. "Speaks not to men but unto God." Why? "No man understandeth tongues. No man understandeth tongues." So when they say the people heard them, that narration requires explanation because no man understandeth them. Why? "They speak not to men but unto God." So once we are speaking and you understand, something has happened that is not just the tongues.

No man understandeth tongues. So is it tongues they understood in Acts chapter two? No. Was it tongues they heard? Was it tongues they heard? When they said they heard the wonderful works of God, was it tongues they heard? No. Because if it was tongues, they would not explain what they were hearing. So for them to conclude that they heard them speak the wonderful works of God, what could they have heard?

He said they understood in their language. Is their language tongues? No. So it was the interpretation of tongues. They heard the interpretation. So there was tonguing and there was interpretation of the tongues on the Day of Pentecost. So when I speak in tongues, you are not supposed to understand me. But if at all you understand, it means another gift of the Spirit came into operation via the tongues.

That is why Brother Hagin calls tongues the doorway to the supernatural; that when you start speaking in tongues, every other thing flows. So that you know the difference between tongues and interpretation of tongues. We are not behaving like Luke because that book is not supposed to be doctrinal. And we are not blaming him because he was giving an eyewitness account. You are to be careful with the terms you use in the book of Acts. You have to be careful with the terms you borrow or apply in the book of Acts.

Notice another terminology in the book of Acts: baptism. Baptism. It is the same thing. The terminology baptism, you find out the writers of the epistles were careful with the usage of that word. But Acts just used it anyhow. A major question we want to examine today is: when did Peter and the 120, the apostles, when did they get saved? When did they get saved? So we will start examining that today.

Remember, I just told you that the book of Acts cannot provide sufficient information for you. When did they receive salvation, the apostles, the 120? When did they receive salvation? Well, let us go from the known to the unknown. A settled fact is that no one could have received salvation until Jesus rose from the dead. That is a settled fact. No one could have been saved until after his resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." All right. Now the gospel is that Christ died, he was buried, and he rose again. Romans 10:8. "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach."

Verse 9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." So salvation is predicated upon his resurrection. All right. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:17. "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." So the guarantee for freedom from sin is his resurrection.

Matthew 26:28. "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed." So until it is shed, there will be no remission of sins. It is the shedding of the blood that guarantees the remission of sin. And he only shed the blood when he ascended in heaven and offered that blood. So even on the cross he had not shed the blood. In the grave he had not shed the blood. When he rose he has not shed the blood. It is when he ascended to the right hand of Majesty on high that he appeared in the presence of God for us that he shed the blood. Is it clear here?

So the resurrection of Christ is the guarantee for salvation; faith in that message. Look at Luke 24:47. "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached." So the forgiveness of sin is not a prayer. The forgiveness of sin is a preaching; it should be preached. We preach the message of God's forgiveness. You hear and believe it; it is effected. The forgiveness of sin is not a function of prayer; it is a function of preaching.

After his resurrection, nobody is asked to pray for forgiveness. We are asked to preach the forgiveness of sins. And when people believe, they receive, and that forgiveness is eternal. So it is clear that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, no one would be saved. Now we have an issue. Jesus rose from the dead and saw his disciples. Look at John 20:17.

Jesus saith unto her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Mary Magdalene. He went and came back. At that point, did he satisfy the demands for justice? At the point where Mary was holding him, had he satisfied the demands? No. That is right.

Now that is why 1 Corinthians says how that Christ died, he was buried, he rose. In the resurrection is the ascension. The resurrection always is with the ascension. It is in the ascension that he was exalted and given a name that is above every name. So when specifically did Peter and the 120 receive salvation? Look at John 20:21. I am beginning to get into the quarters I have been waiting to get to since.

Then said Jesus to them again, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Next verse: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." Now we have explained that that is an instruction. It is the same thing in Acts 1:8.

"But ye shall receive power... and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." It is the same thing in Luke 24:49. "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" and then you shall be witnesses unto me. So now he went into heaven and shed his blood, he applied the blood on the mercy seat. He sat down on that mercy seat. Jesus sitting down on that mercy seat is the shedding of the blood.

He himself sitting down, not some liquid. Jesus himself is the blood. So when he sat down on the mercy seat, that was the blood shed. So that is why sinners are asked to come boldly to the throne of grace where he shed the blood, that they may obtain mercy and find grace to help, which is forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:23, so that we establish where the blood was shed.

"It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these." The pattern. It was necessary for animal blood to be used on the pattern. Put it up. "But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Verse 24: "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."

So Jesus' appearance in the presence of God for us is the shedding of blood. Yes, it is the shedding of blood. Now, John 20:19. "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." Remember, doors were shut, windows were shut, yet he appeared in there. And he says, "Peace be unto you."

Notice verse 20, this is the same day he went, the same day he came back. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Observe verse 20: they saw him, they saw the sides, they saw the hands, and they were glad when they saw the Lord. We found out that Jesus after that spent 40 days teaching them from the Scriptures.

Someone asked, "Did Jesus sleep during those 40 days?" Yes, he slept those 40 days. He has risen from the dead. He is wearing immortality. He appeared in heaven, he appeared on earth. He entered a room without a window, entered a room without a door, appeared in there, yet he slept. He slept. Somebody asks, "Was he eating during the 40 days?" Yes, he ate. And then somebody asks, "Did he go to toilet during the 40 days?" Yes, he went to toilet. Oh yes.

Keep it somewhere. So Jesus spent 40 days with them teaching. Look at Luke 24:27. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Look at the effect he had on those guys in Luke chapter 24 verse 30.

"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. Next verse: And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. Next verse: And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" He vanished.

You cannot vanish, but Jesus vanished because something has happened to his body. He could appear and disappear. Yet he was eating what they were eating. They said, "While he opened to us what? The scriptures." Our heart did not burn because we saw him. What was burning is not his appearance; it is the fact that he opened the Scriptures now and in explaining it, the Scriptures came alive.

The Scriptures became meaningful. And when Scriptures come alive, you produce burning heart. You will see men's hearts set on fire. You will see somebody that never looked at his Bible once in a year before always checking his Bible because his heart is burning. You will have people asking questions, asking questions. The moment you say "Ask the counselor," you see questions coming from everywhere. Why? Burning hearts. Why are people's hearts burning? The Scriptures has been opened.

The Scriptures have been opened. Verse 44 of Luke 24: "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Next verse: Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures."

Now, to what intent was he doing this? In John 21, he even performed a miracle for them. Now the question is: the 120, when did they become believers? The book of Acts does not tell us. But look at John 20. I am just dropping tips for you to help us arrive at the answer. John 20:30-31. "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

Now he did this in the presence of who? Of his disciples. These miracles in the presence of his disciples. So why was he showing himself to them? So that they would believe that he has risen. Because the basis for salvation would be faith in the resurrection. So when he rose he said, "Hey guys," they were panicking, "look at my side, look at my hands, it is me." He is taking time to prove because it is critical for it to be proven that he has risen from the dead.

Now look at Acts 1:1. "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen." What was Jesus doing? He was teaching till he left. He was teaching till he left. Look at verse 3. Acts 1:3.

"To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." How many days? Notice the word infallible proofs. Underline that. Notice the word showed himself alive. *Paristemi* in the Greek, used for living things. *Paristemi*, P-A-R-I-S-T-E-M-I. *Paristemi*, showed himself alive. Used for living things or to show I am alive.

So Jesus proved to them for 40 days that he was alive himself. It is used for personal testimony. He showed himself, himself. Used for personal testimony or a personal witness. He proved to them he was alive. So they actually examined Jesus like a living thing. They examined him. They saw him alive like every other being. I am even sure they might have asked him, "Breathe in, breathe out." In other words, he was alive as they were alive.

That word infallible proof is not in the original. Infallible is the only thing in the original. The word proof there is not in the original. The word infallible is the word *tekmerion*. Sorry, the word infallible is not in the original, it is the proof that is in the original. The word proof is the word *tekmerion*, T-E-K-M-E-R-I-O-N. Proof is used for an indisputable information.

Indisputable information. Something used to convince one that when the person sees this, he will be thoroughly convinced. So infallible proof, the intent there was to convince them. Notice, he did not do this to the world. All of this was to his disciples. He did not do it to the world, he did this exclusively to his disciples. He did not do it to Pilate or Caiaphas. He restricted this appearance to his disciples, the 120 of them.

The proof now is that he is alive. Nobody will tell them Jesus rose from the dead. For you and I, we were told. For them, they saw him, examined him, because our witness was going to be standing on their witness. So they touch, they check him. They had to be very sure. That is why the word proof, indisputable fact beyond every shadow of doubt. Even history has it recorded; 500 men saw him and they touched him after he rose. So the resurrection is not just a spiritual fact, it is a historical fact.

It is a historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Now pay attention, there is something I want to bring out for you. So the proof now is that he is alive. They had proof, they had a *tekmerion*. That is why they saw it clearly. They touched his skin. You understand, they examined him. They held his skin and pulled it to see if it would go like jelly, and it was not melting. They asked him to bend his knee and lift it up. They saw that he had structure. They examined him.

They even asked him to eat let them watch to see if the food would enter and disappear. But they saw that he was chewing and I am sure they looked inside the mouth to see that the food is still there because it had to confirm. They confirmed that he was alive. That word infallible there or that word proof there is critical. Now look at the Thomas example. People use Thomas to teach faith.

But Thomas was not there when he appeared. Why are you blaming Thomas? All of them were the same; they too asked him to prove. Jesus showed them his hands, isn't it? And he showed them his side in Thomas' absence. So why blame Thomas? Jesus appears to Thomas and says, "Thomas, put your hand, see it here." And then Thomas said, "My Lord and my God. My Lord and my God."

Now he said to Thomas, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed." But it is the same thing with the other ten now. All of them saw. Did they believe without seeing? No. They all saw and believed. Believe what? That God raised him from the dead. Remember our question: when did they receive salvation? They touched him to believe.

Notice, can we just say they believed? No. But we say when you believe, you receive the Holy Ghost. If they had believed after Jesus spent 40 days of teaching with them, then why Acts 1:4? "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me." Same thing in Luke 24:49. Tarry in Jerusalem after all the teaching until be endued. Acts 1:4, same instruction.

What was that promise in Acts 1:4? That word promise. How many of you realize that word promise was used by Peter in Acts 2:39? "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Do you think that promise in Acts 2:39 is the same with the promise in Acts 1:4? You said no. Why no? Okay. So salvation is not the receiving of the spirit. So there is a different spirit for enduement and different spirit for salvation.

What is the difference between promise and promise? That is what I am looking for because you said the promise in 1:4 is not the same promise in 2:39. Okay, so you are saying it is the same promise. Okay, so you are saying it is the same promise. Okay, write it and keep it somewhere. I just want to be sure that he has his answer kept somewhere because we are still studying.

What about Acts 13:32-33? Acts 13:33, put it up for me quickly. "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." Look at it again in Acts 1:4. Tarry, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he you have heard of me.

Now Peter use it again in Acts 11:14, put it up for me. Acts 11:14 and 16. "Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." 15: "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning." 16: "Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost."

So what happened in the house of Cornelius? They believed, they received the Holy Ghost, and what else? They spoke in tongues. Three things. They believed, and at the point of believing, they received the Holy Ghost, and at the point of receiving the Holy Ghost, they spoke with tongues. Now the Holy Ghost falling on them, what does it refer to? Utterance. Utterance. That is correct.

Now in verse 16 of Acts 11, please pay attention. "Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." Is he referring to the same thing he said in Acts 1:5? It seemed to be that the word baptized with the Holy Ghost in Acts 1:5 means utterance. It seemed to me. Okay, keep it somewhere. Who was the first person who used baptized with the Holy Ghost in the Gospels? John the Baptist.

Notice, John the Baptist used it in four places. You can write down for your personal study: Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16, Mark 1:8, John 1:33. And every time he mentioned baptized with the Holy Ghost, he was referring to Jesus' ministry. Look at Peter's sermon. If Peter had believed before the Day of Pentecost, yet Jesus said they should wait till they receive the promise of the Father. Does it mean that they did not have the Holy Ghost, but they had believed? Or they have the Holy Ghost but did not have the full Holy Ghost? Or they had the Holy Ghost but the Holy Ghost was not ready to manifest?

There must be an explanation. Look at Peter's sermon in Acts 2:16 again. "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." When the Holy Ghost was given in Acts chapter two, Peter's sermon gives us a little problem. Because now Peter goes to Joel. He goes to Joel.

The word promise of the Father looks to me like utterance. Acts 19:2. "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Look at Paul's next question. It is mind-numbing. Look at it, verse 3: "And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism."

Did Brother Paul use baptism here for utterance or salvation? Salvation. Paul used it differently from what Peter used it for. Because I want you to see how they were using baptism anyhow in the book of Acts. That is where I am heading to. Look at verse 4 and 5 of Acts 19, pay attention. "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

Verse 5: "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Is this water baptism? Now let us quickly run to Paul's epistles. How did Paul use the word baptism? What we are doing today is word study so you can explain them easily and understand how they were using it. Look at Romans 6:3. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Verse 4: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Is this water baptism? No.

He is talking about identification with Christ's finished work, which is what we call salvation. 1 Corinthians 1:13. "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" 14: "I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;" 15: "Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name." 16: "And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other."

Next verse: "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." So water baptism makes the cross of Christ of none effect. Ye shall be baptized. He did not say I will baptize you. Ye shall be baptized. Not I will baptize you. Water baptism. 1 Corinthians 10:2. "And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." That is strange. Baptized unto Moses. Is Moses a body of water?

They were all baptized into Moses. Again, this is talking about identification with the law of Moses, which is the same thing in Romans chapter six. Paul mentions spirit and baptism. Did he mention them in the same term, spirit baptism? No. 1 Corinthians 12:13, pay attention. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." Do you think he is referring to the same baptism in the book of Acts?

Notice, the book of Acts does not say the Holy Ghost baptized. You will not hear that in the book of Acts. You are baptized with the Holy Ghost. So, though the word baptized is in this verse we just read, it is a different shade of that word. So let us read further. Galatians 3:27. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Is Holy Ghost mentioned here? Ephesians 4:5. "One Lord, one faith," how many baptism? One. So when you are born again, what is that? One baptism. So if you now enter a river, what is that? That would be how many baptism?

And if you observe, when Paul talked about baptism, he did not mention Holy Ghost. Colossians 2:12. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Is that the same with Romans chapter six? Yes. Is it referring to salvation? Yes. So Paul's use of baptism, is it the same with the book of Acts' use of the word baptism? No. Does Paul use the term baptism of the Holy Ghost or baptism of the spirit?

Does he use baptism of the Holy Ghost? No. Does Paul talk about baptism of water? He did only once where he listed the few people he baptized because he met people doing it so he jumped in before light came. And thank God he did not do many, he could list them. Even though he said the rest I do not even know if there is any other person, but at least in my memory, that means it is a long time it happened. In my memory it is only these three, four people I can remember. All of this is to bring us to a place of exact knowledge where all of these realities are concerned. Are you blessed?

If you are blessed, can you give the Lord a shout and just celebrate the word we just received? Glory! Somebody shout glory! Amen! Oh my goodness, the word of God is life. The Bible tells us the entrance of God's word giveth light, and it giveth understanding to the simple. As you keep listening, the light of God's word rises out of the rightly divided word of truth, illuminates your mind, illuminates your heart, and brings you face-to-face with your realities in Christ Jesus.

In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 3, Brother Paul, speaking about the mystery, the Old Testament, he said, "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ." So there is a knowledge in the mystery of Christ. The word mystery is the word *musterion* in the Greek; it means that which is concealed. And then he says how that by revelation... the word revelation is the word *apokalypsis*; it means that which is revealed.

So the revelation of the Scriptures unveils the mystery. Revelation is the New Testament; mystery is the Old Testament. But it will take reading and learning to come to a place of full understanding, precise and accurate knowledge. Brother Daniel will say, "I understood by books." So there is a place of books in equipping you soundly with the message of Christ. Brother Paul would write to Timothy, he says to Timothy, "Till I come, give attendance to reading."

Jesus speaking to those Jews says, "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." Oftentimes Jesus would say to the Jews, "Have ye not read?" is the word *anaginosko* in the Greek. It means, are you reading and not paying attention? I want to quickly recommend for you a plethora of books I have written. They are written with an intent to bring you doctrinal clarity, answer your questions doctrinally, and bring you to a place of accurate understanding, a precise knowledge of Christ and you in Christ.

I want you to order for those books today. The number and the list of books available will be read to you right now. And if you call today, we will be glad to make sure you get a copy or more copies of the books so you can enrich your spiritual life and enrich your walk with God and build a quality relationship with Jesus Christ where you are also able to teach others the same truth you have learned to liberate them and bring them to the fullness of God. Glory to God.

Guest (Male): Dr. Abel Damina has authored several insightful books that bring clarity to the foundational truths of Christianity. These include Understanding the Spirit, Soul and Body; Winning the War; Money with a Mission; Understanding Relationships, Marriage and Family Life; Prayer That Works; Higher Life: Redeemed to Reign in Life; and The Priesthood of Jesus.

To order, please call 240-367-6201 or email pciusregion@gmail.com. We trust you've been blessed by today's message. And for prayers, counseling, or to obtain the complete teachings and books, please call 404-789-7207 or 404-670-2085 or 404-453-5562 or 240-367-6201. We look forward to having you with us again tomorrow. Remain in his grace and be blessed.