DELIVERED AS RECEIVED: CONTINUING STEADFASTLY IN THE APOSTLES’ DOCTRINE

Trevor Ferguson

December 31, 2023

 

1^st Corinthians 15:1-4

[1] Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; [2] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. [3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 

Acts 22:6-16 KJV

[6] And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. [7] And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [8] And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. [9] And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. [10] And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. [11] And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. [12] And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, [13] Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. [14] And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. [15] For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. [16] And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

 

Acts 9:17-18 NKJV

[17] And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." [18] Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

 

 INTRODUCTION

Pentecost Sunday commemorates the first outpouring of the Holy Ghost, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a very significant day in church history as it marks the formal beginning of the church age and established the basic doctrine taught in the New Testament church, the procedures observed by the apostles and the experiences received by new believers in the early church. The apostles on the day on Pentecost established the standard for New Testament salvation as consisting of repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. We note also that those who received the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. These standards set on the day of Pentecost continue to be relevant and applicable to all receiving salvation today. Sadly, a large proportion of Christians today, no longer adhere to these standards, and as such many are left in a precarious state, not having received the full experience of New Testament salvation. We give God thanks today for the Oneness Pentecostal churches which continue to teach and preach as the apostles did, thus ensuring that people everywhere have an opportunity to experience water baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

 

Some have argued that the experiences of Acts 2 were specific to the Apostles and necessary only to initiate the church age and therefore not required for believers in subsequent periods. We must however refer to Acts 2:39, which clearly teaches that the promised was not limited to that generation, but to all whom the Lord will call. Here is the direct quotation: “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." – Acts 2:39

 

Today’s message is premised upon the statement made by Paul in 1^st 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; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

 

The key clause here is: “I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received.” This statement refers to the oral tradition of the early church where the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles were carefully memorized and handed down from one generation to another to correctly preserve the essential doctrines and occurrences in the early church. In addition to the oral tradition, the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles was later written in manuscripts, which were also carefully copied and handed down through the generations. The gospel message therefore has been accurately preserved and handed down to us today, so that we too can hand it down to the next generation.

 

EXPOSITION

Let us look at the passages in a bit more detail. In these initial verses of 1^st Corinthians 15, Paul is establishing that the gospel he preached to the Corinthians is the same as the one he himself received when he became a part on the church. Paul takes time to outline the basic gospel message, but he does not give details of the new birth process, because the Corinthians would have already received salvation and the doctrinal dispute at the time was more about the resurrection of Jesus Christ rather than concerning baptism or the infilling of the Holy Ghost. We note also that Paul had already addressed the issues related to the operation of tongues in the church in chapters 12-14 and therefore it was not necessary to clarify this again in chapter 15. To get a clear documentation of the salvation that Paul received, we need therefore to visit the book of Acts and look at the accounts of Paul’s conversion, as given in his own words in Acts 22 and as reported by Luke in Acts 9.

 

Let us look first at Acts 22. Here Luke records Paul’s first defense as he spoke to the Jews and Roman soldiers. He had been taken by the Jews on an accusation that he brought a gentile into the temple and would have probably been killed by the Jews, had he not been rescued by the Roman soldiers. Paul used this opportunity to share his testimony with both the Jews and Romans gathered at this hearing. He recounted how he was a Jew, born in Tarsus and previously persecuted the church. He recounted how while on his way to Damascus to arrest the early Christians he had an encounter with Jesus which changed his life.

 

While on his journey he was struck by a bright light and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? Paul responded: Who art thou Lord? The response that Paul heard is critical to our understanding of the Godhead. Paul, a monotheistic Jew, recognizing that he had been struck by a light from heaven, asked who art thou Lord, and received the answer, I am Jesus! One can only imagine how shocked Paul was! This encounter provides strong evidence for the resurrection and deity of Jesus Christ, i.e., Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God in the flesh, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now has dominion in heaven and in the earth.

 

Going back to the text, we see in verse 10 that when Paul asked what he should do, he was instructed to make his way to Damascus and there he would be told what he should do. We note here the critical role of human messengers in bringing the gospel message. Paul could have been told then and there what he needed to do in order to be saved, but the Lord instead gave him instructions to go to Damascus and sent Ananias to instruct Paul on the message of salvation. It is important to note also that if the Lord Jesus was concerned that the disciples would give Paul the wrong message, He would not have entrusted Ananias to bring the message to Paul. Note also that when Cornelius prayed and needed instructions for salvation, He sent Peter to him. It is clear therefore that God had great confidence in the message of salvation preached by the disciples.

 

Now what was the message of salvation Paul received? Let us look at verses 12-16 of Acts 22:

 

“[12] And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, [13] Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. [14] And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. [15] For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. [16] And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

 

We can supplement this with details from the original account of this experience in Acts 9, reading verses 17 and 18:

 

“[17] And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. [18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.”

 

So, from these two passages we see clearly that the message of salvation Paul received was baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost! We acknowledge that neither of these accounts mentioned speaking in tongues, but that can be resolved by referring to 1^st Corinthians 14:17, where Paul indicated that he spoke with often. Further evidence is provided in Acts 19, where Paul asked the disciples of John at Ephesus if they had received the Holy Ghost when they believed. After learning that they had only received John’s baptism, he instructed them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and laid hands on them to receive the Holy Ghost. When Paul had laid his hands on them, they received the Holy Ghost, spoke with tongues, and prophesied. It is clear that Paul was in no way surprised that the disciples of John at Ephesus spoke with tongues when they received the Holy Ghost. No doubt he had the same experienced with he was baptized in Jesus’ name as instructed by Ananias.

We see then that Paul received the message of salvation which included baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, which was accompanied by speaking in tongues. He preached this same message to the disciples of John at Ephesus and given his statement in 1^st Corinthians 15 was careful to deliver the message carefully, just as he had received it. Today we continue that tradition, carefully delivering the message of salvation, just as we have received it.

 

Many today can know hundreds of people who can testify that they went to a Pentecostal altar, sought for and received the Holy Ghost. Across Jamaica, several thousands can testify of this experience! Across the globe, millions can testify to this experience! We can say like Peter, in 2^nd Peter 1:16 – we have not followed cunningly devised fables - but we are eyewitnesses of the power of God and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

 

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is not a made-up experience, baptism in the name of Jesus in not a new teaching! This is the standard message of New Testament salvation, established on the day of Pentecost, preached by all the Apostles, preached by Paul as he expanded the reach of the church and carefully handed down to the next generation of believers. We acknowledge that other baptismal formulas were introduced in subsequent centuries but claims to equivalence are at best on shaky grounds. The only message of salvation preached in the New Testament church was baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Most biblical scholars acknowledge that the proper interpretation on Matthew 28:19 requires a Christological formula and therefore the disciples correctly followed Jesus’ command by baptizing in the name of Jesus. We are therefore confident the message of salvation was correctly taught and carefully handed down by the Apostles and leaders of the early church. This same message has been canonized in the Bible and is available to all who will read and follow its instructions.

        

APPLICATION & CONCLUSION

So, we conclude that the message of salvation received and delivered by Paul and the apostles is the same message received and delivered in the Oneness Pentecostal church today – i.e., repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, accompanied by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. As Paul was careful to deliver the message exactly as received, let us carefully pass this on to all believers, and especially to the next generation. I implore all within the hearing of my voice to accept this message of salvation. If you have not yet had this wonderful experience, today is the best day to do so, repent of your sins, ask for baptism in the name of Jesus and God will fill you with his precious Holy Ghost.