CHRISTIAN FREAKS

Photo taken by B Smith stepping out the front door

 

 

339 - CHRISTIAN FREAKS

April 29, 1973

Henry F. Kulp

 

I Corinthians 12: 12,13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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.

This chapter deals with the nine spiritual gifts. And in I Corinthians 12: 1 - 11 we have the believer’s relationship to Christ, and then in I Corinthians 12: 14 - 31 the relationship of a believer with other believers. (Please read these passages)

The Holy Spirit gave nine spiritual gifts to believers as He saw fit. 

1/  Here we have the believers relationship to Jesus Christ. And we are taught that he is baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. It would be well if we studied baptism for a few seconds. There is much confusion concerning this doctrine. Baptism falls into two catagories. 

(1) REAL BAPTISM 

(2) RITUAL BAPTISM

2/  The word Baptism, means identification with change. And that is all it means. 

3/  REAL BAPTISM We call it this because there is a real identification. 

A is identified with B.

A is a real item and B is a real item. And when A is identified with B—B changes A.

THERE ARE FIVE (5) SUCH BAPTISMS—REAL BAPTISMS

(1) BAPTISM OF MOSES 

I Corinthians 10: 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

Now it is important we see that this is a dry baptism. The only people immersed in water were the Egyptians, and they all died in the water. The Baptism of Moses is a dry baptism. Now let us apply our formula. A represents the children of Israel plus Moses, and B represents the cloud, Christ. So therefore, A, the children of Israel, plus Moses were identified with B Christ the cloud, and therefore they moved safely across the Red Sea, and none of them were wet, they were all safe. When the children of Israel plus Moses were identified with Christ, they were changed, delivered from the Egyptian army and Pharoah.

(2) BAPTISM OF THE CROSS 

Luke 12: 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Matthew 20: 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, we are able.

What is this baptism? Let us show you. 

A is our personal sins. All the personal sins that have been committed since the time of Adam until the last man. 

B is Christ on the cross. 

So A—Man’s personal sins are identified with B, Christ on the cross, and God judges our sins as He judges Christ. THIS AGAIN IS DRY BAPTISM. Our sins are identified with Christ. Therefore we will not be judged for our sins—this is the law of double jeopardy. So our sins are identified with Christ and we are changed.  

(3) BAPTISM OF FIRE 

Matthew 3: 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

What is Baptism with fire? Again it is a dry baptism and has nothing to do with water. It takes place at the end of the tribulation. It is the separation of the wheat and tares. It is when the unbeliever is cast into the lake of fire. So A is the unbeliever of the tribulation, and B is the literal lake of fire, and A is thrown in and he is changed because he suffers judgement forever.

 

(4) BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 

Matthew 3: 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

A is the sinner who makes a decision for Christ and B is the Holy Spirit. A is identified with B and we are changed by being made part of the Body of Christ. Again this is dry baptism. 

Galatians 3: 26 - 28 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6: 3, 4  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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.

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. 

Ephesians 4: 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

This again is a dry baptism – It entered you into union with Christ. How is the believer changed? 

II Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This is all positional, not experimental. 

(5) Then we have ritual water baptism, which we will not consider at this time.       

4/  I Corinthians 12: 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

This speaks of our relationship one with another as believers. The Body of Christ is one—not one member, but many members.

5/  There was a great problem in the church at Corinth. Those who had the gift of speaking in tongues caused a great disturbance in the local assembly. They did it in two ways. 

(1) They upset the services, because 20 to 30 of them would destroy the meeting by their speaking in tongues. Unsaved people came in and thought they were mad. 

(2) They were upsetting those who were not given the gift of speaking in tongues by telling them that they were not saved. They needed this experience.

6/  I Corinthians 12: 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

Here we have two men brought up. Brother Foot, and Brother Hand. They both have received the gift from the Holy Spirit, but not the same gift. Brother Foot received gift of knowledge, Brother Hand received the gift of speaking in tongues, and Brother Hand kept telling Brother Foot that he had to have the gifts of tongues to be saved. He wasn’t a member of the body, as a matter of fact. No one had come to Brother Foot and asked him to give a testimony concerning his gift. No Christian magazine had written him up. 99% of the time no one knew he was around. He was in the background. Mr. Hand meanwhile was in the limelight, and Brother Foot became very envious and jealous. 

7/  Brother Foot failed to see he was performing a very important function in the local church with the gift of knowledge, but his work was all behind the scenes. And he went without any fanfare.

8/  Brother Hand takes Brother Foot aside and tries to get him to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In an after meeting he takes him to the so-called altar, and tells him now, lean backward, pray with your eyes closed and just relax. Let yourself go, but Brother Foot just couldn’t make it. So they told him he had to go home and get in a closet and agonize in prayer and also fast for a week, but he still didn’t make it. And Foot finally becomes so discouraged believing I’m not part of the Body. I’m not saved. All of this is foolishness because Foot and Hand were both part of the Body. 

9/  Then they said, you have some sin in your life, and they did something they had no right to do—They went into his life and examined it, but still Brother Foot just never received the gift.

10/  Let us ask you a question. Have you ever looked at your foot, you are a sorry looking character? You are not very pretty, you are big and you are flat, and you certainly find it easy to have an odor about you. Why don’t you become like the Hand which is very graceful and attractive? Did you ever think what it would be like to have three hands and one foot? You wouldn’t get around very well. Or if you had four hands and no feet. It is to the body’s advantage to have two hands and two feet. They all have different work to do. In the local assembly it is well for each believer to recognize that God has given talents as He sees fit, and we are not to be jealous of what the other has or can do. We all have our part in the going forth of the Gospel.  

11/  I Corinthians 12: 16 And id the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

HERE THE PRINCIPLE IS  REPEATED.This time he uses the ear and eye.

12/  I Corinthians 12 :17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

It would be weird if I came from the choir room with the choir, and as I walked out unto the platform I would see in the congregation, nothing but Giant eyes, or great big ears, or large noses. It would be very frightening and it would be terrible if everyone who is a member of the local assembly was a great preacher, or they were all soloists, or they  were all administrators.

13/  We must all use what talents God has given us to work together to get the Word out.

14/ I Corinthians 12: 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 

It is necessary for us to see that the Holy Spirit in His sovereignty has decided what talent we have and what place we are to play in the local assembly. It would be well for us to see that the Holy Spirit is God. Let us compare verse18 with vs. 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.  

15/  The Holy Spirit has Omniscience, I Corinthians 2: 10, 11 But god hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of god. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in  him? even so the things of god knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

The Holy Spirit has Omniscience, Genesis 1: 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Psalms 139: 7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from they presence?

AMEN

Ref:  04/29/1973 / 339 - CHRISTIAN FREAKS / 08/23/2020