HARMONY WITH GOD Part 3 of 3 by Zane C. Hodges - Chafer ...

Harmony with God 29
Only after the reply, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are
persecuting (Acts 22:8) could he have had the information needed
for repentance. So here, clearly, belief that the glorified Jesus was
the Christ necessarily preceded his repentance. This parallels the
faith implicitly expressed in Acts 2:37, which precedes the call to
repentance in Acts 2:38.
The parallelism between Paul’s experience and that of the
converts of Acts 2 is thus very precise.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, of course, is not
identical with being born again by the Spirit. New birth has
always been a condition for entrance into the kingdom of God
(John 3:3), but the gift of the Spirit, which creates our union
with the spiritual body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), has
only been given since Pentecost (John 7:39). Old Testament
saints did not have such a union with Christ, which exists only
by means of the permanent indwelling of God’s Spirit (see the
contrast between with you and in you in John 14:17).
The gift of the Spirit, of course, is not merited in any way
by any act or deed. What could earn us such a gift? But in Acts
this special gift was only bestowed on those who obtained
harmony with God through the forgiveness of sins. This is true
of Gentiles and Jews alike, though with Gentiles it is
simultaneous with everything else the believer gets at the
moment of faith.
Eternal life is a free gift given to all who believe. The gift
of the Spirit is God’s gift to that circle of people that is in
harmony with Himself. It is like the man who goes out at the
Christmas season to buy gifts for all his friends. The fact that
he does not also buy gifts for everyone in his neighborhood
does not make his presents for his friends anything less than
free gifts.