Expert: Marilyn - 4/26/2010

Question
did the apostles recieve salvation in the book of john the 21st chapter and 22,23 verse along with the holy ghost or were they already saved from acts on out

Answer
Hello Karen;

Paul wrote in Romans 10:9 & 10, "...if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

Like the rest of us, the Apostles had to receive salvation in this very same way. So, the question then becomes, when did they believe Jesus had risen from the dead and confess with their mouths that He was Lord? Peter makes his bold declaration when Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" The story is told in Matthew 16:13-20 and Mark 8:27-30. Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

"Christ" is Greek for "Anointed One," in Hebrew the Name is "Mashiach," in English, "Messiah." By this declaration Peter revealed that he knew exactly who Jesus was, but his idea at that moment of what it meant for Jesus to be Lord and what he later came to understand it to mean were not the same things. The Apostles were looking for the Victorious Ruler who would cast out the physical oppressors, in their case, the Romans. Their utter devastation and desolation upon Jesus' death reveals they had no hope that He would rise from the dead, though He had told them that He would.

So, when were the two criteria Paul listed in the passage above met? Certainly, the Apostles finally understood Jesus had been raised from the dead when He appeared to them in the locked room. But was He Lord for them in that moment? Yes, I think so. Thus, it is my opinion they were saved when Jesus appeared to them in the locked room, John 20:19-23, Thomas was saved later, verses 24-29.

Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit," verse 22. This is often confused with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but is actually only the sealing by the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13. The seal of the Holy Spirit identifies us as belonging to Jesus. The baptism in the Holy Spirit happens when He becomes an engulfing flame that utterly encapsulates the one baptized. The difference is like the difference between a pot in which a few hot coals are kept and a blazing, engulfing fire--like the sun.

On the other hand, one could argue that salvation is an ongoing process that will not be complete until we receive our resurrection bodies. The Apostles began being saved when Jesus first called them--just as we begin being saved when the Holy Spirit begins to woo us. But, as Paul points out, there is a critical moment when we must choose Jesus as Lord and believe He rose from the dead. For the Apostles, that moment was in the locked room.

Sincerely,

Marilyn