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

Harmony with God 31
them the gift of the Spirit. The same is true of the Samaritans in
Acts 8 (see 8:14–17). Baptism simply admitted them into the
closed circle upon whom God was willing to bestow His Spirit.
But this separation between baptism and the gift of the Spirit (in
that the former does not automatically confer the latter) is a good
reminder that this great gift, like eternal life, is completely
unmerited.
Conclusion
Like Cornelius, our experience of salvation is basically
simple and full. All of the spiritual benefits that every believer
needs are bestowed at once at the moment of faith. When a person
believes in Christ he receives: (1) eternal life by means of the new
birth, (2) forgiveness of sins (so that harmony with God may
begin), and (3) the gift of the Spirit.
We should mention as well that at the moment of faith we are
also justified, that is, we are cleared of every charge of sin and
granted a perfect righteousness before the bar of God’s justice (see
Romans 3:21–26: 5:1; 8:31–34). There is much that could be said
about this great theme (which lies at the heart of book of Romans),
but this is not the place to say it. Suffice it to observe that every
justified believer is born again, and every born again believer is
justified. This is made especially plain in Romans 5:12–21, where
we meet the phase justification of life (5:18).
But the experience of people who lived in Palestine, where
the great spiritual drama of salvation had its manifestation in
history, was a unique experience. It can never be repeated. Thus
too, as Acts discloses, those who lived in that land during these
momentous times had some very special directions to follow along
the pathway to membership in the Body of Christ, the Church.
This special status as members of Christ’s spiritual body,
which was unknown even to the most godly saint in Old Testament
times, could only be reached in the way specified by Acts 2:38.