[3] Good News, vol. 17, no. 12, December 1926.

The far reaching results

OF THE

BAPTISM in the HOLY SPIRIT.

AN ADDRESS GIVEN BY EVANGELIST F. B. VAN EYK.

At Good New's Hall, July, 1926.

Some people contend that the Baptism of the Holy means to be filled with power, others say that it is to give power for service, others, again, tell us it is a power to keep us. Although it includes all these blessed themes yet I maintain, as I will endeavor to show by this address to-night, that the Baptism of4the Holy Spirit, with its far-reaching results, embraces in its mighty grasp, the eternal destinies of man.

I believe that no mortal being can, in any way, form a conception of what God intended the baptism of the Holy Spirit to work out in the life of a human being, not only in this life, but right throughout the cycles of the endless ages. The more I examine the subject, the deeper and more unfathomable do its depths seem to me. Oh! it is a glorious theme, and I bless God that He ever allowed me to see and embrace this truth, and the grace of God thus, to plunge right into the depths of God, for that is what the baptism of the Holy Spirit stands for. Jesus takes the sanctified life and immerses it into God, the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah!

Let us read Romans 8: 19 to 23-—"For the earnest Expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves, also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit; even we, ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body." Now, beloved, those particular verses I have just read represent the whole creation now in sin and bondage, groaningly anticipating a release. Verse 21 says: "Because the creature itself shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." The creature itself shall be delivered. Now, the words "whole creation" in the mouth of God is a most stupendous term. All things are upheld by the power of the living God, and when God says "the whole creation," it seems to me that that embraces the infinite depths of His omnipotence. The natural mind cannot grasp one-millionth part of what those words convey; but, nevertheless, they are going to be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Blessed be the name of our Lord! Oh! if men could only understand God in man—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or the incarnation of the Holy Ghost—I can tell you we would be the proudest creatures that ever lived.

"But," says the apostle, "not only they, but ourselves, also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we, ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. Not only the creation, but even we," says the Apostle Paul, "who have the first fruit of the Spirit; we wait for our adoption, to wit, the redemption, of our bodies." For although, in an initial stage, we have been adopted into the family of God, yet we are waiting for a fuller redemption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies.

What does it mean? What kind of people were the Apostle Paul and his associates? "We who have the first fruits of the Spirit"—that is, the Pentecostal baptism in its fullest development and maturity—even we are waiting for something, and the creation, in turn, waits for us. And what is that something? Why, the adoption—to wit, the redemption of our bodies from corruption. Glory be to God! So we see, beloved, that the full glory and liberty of the sons of God await the resurrection of the body, and, of course, those that are alive when Jesus comes shall be changed, liberated from mortality, in the twinkling of an eye.

Our bodies, now subject to universal infirmity, death, and so forth, will be changed when Jesus comes; mortality will be swallowed up of life, and, what is more, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

To-night we are to consider the order of the First Resurrectionists, their nature, their requirements and qualifications. Now, in Heb. 11: 35, the Apostle Paul speaks about saints that have gone before. He tells us how they were tortured, how women received by faith their dead from the grave, how others were

[4] Good News, vol. 17, no. 12, December 1926.

hounded like wild animals, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. What does the apostle mean? Is there such a thing as a better resurrection? Is there such a thing at; some being raised in a greater state of glory than others who have not pushed into the privileges and the power of their dispensation, and who thus will fall short of the glory and power of its resurrection? Yes, bless God! there is such a thing as a better resurrection, and those people, knowing there is a better resurrection, refused deliverance that they might obtain that better resurrection. Hallelujah!

In Phil. 8: 10, 11, we see the Apostle Paul is counting. He says, "I count all things but dung, and as nothing." Why, Paul? What have you in view? "Ah!" says Paul, "that I might apprehend that for which I am apprehended." He goes on to enumerate his qualifications; He tells us that he was a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin, that he was circumcised according to the Jewish law, etc., etc., for it was a terrible thing for a Jew to be ignorant of the stock he came from. "But, Jew or no Jew," says Paul, "I throw it all overboard, that I might apprehend that for which, also, I am apprehended, and that I might know Jesus and the power of His. resurrection; that.I might know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death, if, by any means, I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead; or, as the literal Greek rendering has it, "ex-anastasis," meaning an "out-resurrection," or resurrection out from among the dead.

What does it all mean? Oh! it thrills my very being with joy, and I begin to see the glorious hope where-unto God has called me through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Beloved, my very muscles thrill, and my nerves throb with joyous anticipation when viewing this glorious hope. Do yours?

What, then, are the qualifications of those First Resurrectionists out from among the dead? Paul gives them. He says, "That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if, by any means, I might attain unto that 'out-resurrection' from among the dead." What is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Let us again turn to that wonderful chapter, Rom. 8: 11—-"But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." Jesus Christ had the Blessed Spirit in its fullness, and, consequently, God raised Him up from among the dead in the full glory and power of the first resurrection—Christ, the Head. We, the Church —the members—must be of the same substance and spirituality as the Head, to become members of the same body. Hallelujah! Now, here are the conditions: "If the Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you," then that Spirit is the power of His resurrection. Blessed be His name! And I say the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that glorious immersion in God the Holy Ghost in its full development and maturity. Hallelujah! The axiom of my life is—"Experiment is the test of truth;" and I tell you, brother, you can believe it or reject it; but, as I stand here, I feel the power of God surging through every cell in my brain, blood, hone, and marrow.

Then he goes on to tell us, "being made conformable to His death," I want you to remember that in 1 Cor. 15, from verse 6b, we read, "But some will say, How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain; but GOD giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body; All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” The Star Capella floods the heavens with lustre, Arcturus outshines him in brilliancy, but Alcyone fills the celestial spaces with a glory far eclipsing both." "As one star differeth from another star in glory, even so shall the resurrection be." As in the natural realm, so in the spiritual. It is life out of death. 'The 26th verse says "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die." It is a law of life out of death, not arbitrarily, but according to fixed law (verse 23): "every man in his own order; Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming; then cometh the end."

Some people have crowded the events of the resurrection into the space of a few years; but I believe there will be vast stretches of time in God's plan "every man in his own order," or, more literally translated, "in his own company"—and the best of all is we are going to participate in this business. Hallelujah! Now, then, in John 12: 24, Jesus likens His own to a grain of wheat. "Verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but, if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit!.” I know that wheat is the choicest of grain; there are other grains, such as rice, barley, rye and oats. If you sow into the death of wheat you are raised up into the resurrection glory of that body—the law is inexorable. And, as in the natural realm, so in grace; but every seed his own body, saith the Scripture. You cannot sow a grain of wheat and raise up a body of barley.

No, beloved. Every seed in his own body, even so shall the resurrection be.

Now, then, I understand that we are to be co-heirs with Jesus Christ—that is, standing on an equal footing with Jesus Christ, we are to inherit the same thing that He inherits. Is that correct? (Voices: "Yes.”) Now, then, if we are to be a member of the body Christ, it is imperative that we must be raised up in the likeness of His resurrection. Is that not so? Very well, then; we must be sown, or planted, in the likeness of His death to be raised in the likeness of His resurrection; we must be made conformable to His death to know Him in the power of His resurrection, otherwise how can we be a member of His body? Take a piece of a fowl, a piece of an ass, a piece of a fish, and a piece of a goat, and try to make a human body out of them. You cannot do it. Why? They are different creatures. Now, then, if you are going to be a part, a member, of the body of Jesus Christ the Son of God, can you not see the force of the Scriptural statement that you must be like unto Him, otherwise it is an impossibility—-you cannot participate as a member in the body of Christ.

Now, we, therefore, must be made conformable to His death. Rom. 6: 4—-"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." Glory be to God! Now, beloved, I want to show you a wonderful phase of this blessed subject. You remember John, when he had a revelation on the. Isle of Patmos (Rev. 19: 10), an angel came to him, and he says, "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Now just look at that, beloved. John, at the very commencement of the revelation, saw Jesus—he knew Jesus; he beheld His glory; he knew what manner of Man He was; and

[5] Good News, vol. 17, no. 12, December 1926.

God sends to John one of his brethren, who bore the testimony of Jesus. This heavenly visitor, […damaged text…] had the testimony that he was redeemed; the likeness was so striking that John thought it was his Master, and he was going to fall at His feet and worship him. The Scripture says, "We shall be like him for we shall see Him as He is," and be so like Him that it will be impossible to differentiate. Before, it is in baptism—yes, water baptism—-that we are planted together with Him in the likeness of death. (Rom. 6: 5.)

Let us now consider the term "first fruits" (1 Cor. 15: 20). To understand the force of that statement, we have to go right back to the Old Testament to get the type which makes plain the anti-type. In Lev. 23 we find enumerated "The Lord's Feasts." The 15th of Corinthians is based upon the 23rd of Leviticus, there the Apostle Paul, under the guidance of the Spirit, deals with the three Harvest Feasts, and sets forth in glowing terms the order of resurrection. He likens them to, and shows them to be a type of three resurrections. First of all, the tiny sheaf— the first fruits—for in 1 Cor. 15: 23, Paul says, “Every man in his own order; Christ, the first fruits." Note that "first fruits" is rendered in the plural number, therefore, it must embrace more than just merely Himself. At the Passover Feast they had to take a sheaf to the priest, and that sheaf had to be presented on the morrow after the Sabbath, which was the third day after the Passover. That was a type of Jesus Christ in resurrection; but don't you see He compares Himself to a bare grain of wheat, and here, in His resurrection glory, we see Him as a sheaf. Why, there you have an increase of more than a hundred-fold already! Bless the Lord! That tiny sheaf, therefore, represents Christ and the company of believers raised up at His resurrection. (Matt. 27: 52.) We read in Eph. 4 that, when He ascended on high, He led a multitude of captives with Him. Who could they have been but those who came out of their graves after He was resurrected?

The second is the Feast of Pentecost-—or those that are Christ's at His coming. The third is the Feast of Tabernacles—or the great general Harvest Feast—the great in-gathering. There are wide spaces between types, and still wider spaces between the fulfilment of their anti-types. You take, for instance, from the time of the waving of the little sheaf-—i.e., the resurrection of Jesus—the time quantity, of 50 days ("fifty" and “pente" are synonymous terms in the Greek) literally covered the period from the Ascension of Jesus Christ to the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, 50 days afterwards. But we find that, in the anti-type, it covers a period of just about 2000 years, for Jesus and those raised with Him at His resurrection were called "first fruits," and those who will be changed and raised at His coming, 2000 years later, will also be termed "first fruits." So you see the 50 days in type covers a literal period of approximately 2000 years. From the Feast of Pentecost to the general Harvest Feast, we have a corresponding time quantity of 5 ½ months in type, which will, therefore, give us a proportionate period of approximately three times 2000 years. Wonderful things are going to transpire within that time! Bless God! We are going to be raised at His coming, and those that are alive are going to be changed—we are going to meet the Lord in the air, and I believe those First Resurrectionists will be there, and we shall meet them, too. Hallelujah! What a meeting!

Then we have another period in type of 5 ½ months to deal with. Oh! The vast stretches of time—-what does it all mean? Glory be to God! It seems to be going back again to Romans, speaking of "the whole creation.” We can well afford to stop where God stops, and not be wise above what is written, and just leave it at that; but it seems to me that those who have been baptised in the Holy Spirit and who have been found competent to be raised up in the first resurrection— they will be, so to speak, the Cabinet officers of Jesus Christ, moving with the Lord whithersoever He goeth—-bless His name! it shall be so sweet—winging their way, in glorified bodies like our Lord, through celestial spaces, restoring chaos and confusion to beauty and order, out-speeding the foremost dreams of twentieth century science—no danger, no delays. Glory to God! No counter-currents, God Himself being the atmosphere. Oh! think of it—walking with Him, talking with Him, looking like Him in His very Majesty? Hallelujah! Is it not worth striving for? No wonder Paul said, "I count all things but dross, that I might win Christ, and be found in Him." I would to God that we would sink more deeply into the depths of His wonderful wisdom, and drop our miserable differences.

Now, if Pentecost is the type of the First Resurrectionists, then I ask what class of people are the First Resurrectionists to be? They are not going to be anything less than what the type is that they stand for— in other words, they will be people who have received the full Pentecostal baptism in its full development and maturity, like it was bestowed in the apostolic age. You do not understand its import and meaning. The baptism in the Holy Spirit has ever been underestimated—it is too stupendous for the human mind to understand—"God in man."

David said, "When I behold the works of Thy hands, then I wonder what is man that Thou are mindful of him." And yet it hath pleased God to make man the associate of His Son—ruling co-ordinately with His Son, restoring the wreckage sin has caused to its former beauty and perfection.

Now, beloved, we are going to talk a little bit about the Feast of Pentecost. What do we see in type? That those Resurrectionists were typified by two wave loaves—there is comparatively much grain in them, and we find that the requirements of both were searching— they had to be made of fine flour, and they had to be baked in the fire—that is the type. We know the process that wheat has to go through to obtain the fine flour—it is a crushing, grinding, humiliating, sifting process, until just the very purest and whitest of flour is attained. That flour is taken, and it is kneaded together, and bread made of it; then it is put in the fire and baked. So you see, beloved, it is a profound, searching process. But why two loaves? Don’t you see the significance? There will be two companies of people there—two Pentecostal periods. The first Pentecostal period are now in their graves; the second Pentecostal period are now living; and Jesus is about to come-—or, in other words, one company from among the dead, and one company from among the living. When He shall descend with the sound of a trumpet, they that are asleep shall be raised up, and we that are alive shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Hallelujah! Oh! united together in close and blessed fellowship— baked together with the fire of persecution. It is only them that avail themselves of the blessed promise in Matt. 3: 11—"He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire"—the fire of the Holy Ghost. Have you that, my brother? I have, bless God! And you can to-night, if you want to. I tell you, "Experiment is the test of truth"—no man can argue an experience away, and I know that, just as God baptised the Apostle Paul with the Holy Ghost, He has graciously and mercifully baptised me. Glory be to God! That means that I will be united with Him as His bride.

Now, I want to differentiate between two classes of believers—body believers and kingdom believers. Some people say, "Why, to be in the body of Christ, you must be born again." The Word of God doesn't say so. It distinctly says, "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." So it apears to me the Holy Spirit to-day is wooing men and women from

[7] Good News, vol. 17, no. 12, December 1926.

every denomination, your respectability […damaged text…] day. Here is the standard of evidence whereby you will be judged. (Holding up his Bible to the audience.) In that day it will said to the Lord, but I have wrought great wonders in your Name, and have cast our devils, healed the sick, and spoken in other tongues!” That would all be of no avail unless your life were blameless, without spot or wrinkle—identical with the life of Jesus Christ; and, unless this be the condition of your life, then you will …nly miss the rapture, and will have to seal your testimony with your blood as you go through the great and awful tribulation. Oh! to see that wondrous day! The First Resurrectionist was portrayed by the Feast of Pentecost. That prophecy or type was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, when God baptised one hundred and twenty in the Holy Spirit. I say, if the type was Pentecost, and Pentecost portrayed the First Resurrectionist, what qualification must the Second Resurrectionist possess other than the full Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit as the apostles received it on the Day of Pentecost? Glory be to God: we have to be like Jesus in every respect, and the baptised in the Holy Spirit, what else do we expect of the members than that they, every one of them, should be baptised in the Holy Spirit, with accompanying signs, even as the apostles in the early Church? May God help us to seek the truth. We are not speaking of something we have learned in college—of something we have heard of, or read about, but of something I have experienced at the foot of the cross. Let others think and say what they may as long as you get a place in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and participate in the rapture! Amen.

 

© Southern Cross College, 2004