When Were the Early Disciples Saved?

Redemptive History from 5 BC Including Gradual Covenantal Changes


I have a friend that I love a lot that is confused by the hyper-dispensationlist and United Pentecostal position that none of the disciples were saved until the day of Pentecost (Acts2). The following biblical historical events are highlighted that show this is not a correct view and creates many unnecessary contradictions in the New Testament. Both hermeneutics and historical theology show this view is wrong. It is also new. Moreover, the coming of the Spirit to baptize the three ethnic churches and bestow the New Covenant spiritual gifts is not the same as salvation for these early believers. The Spirit’s work of creation, anointing, miracles, inspiriting prophets, the virgin conception and opening the eyes of spiritually dead people happened prior to His coming on Pentecost. Consider these verses:

1. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit in Israel on earth 6-5 BC -Luke 1:41
2. Zacharias is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies -Luke 1:67
3: John the Baptist’s birth -Luke 1:57. John filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb -Luke 1:15
4. The Virgin conception caused by the Holy Spirit in Israel on earth -Matt 1:18, 20
5. Jesus the Messiah’s birth [Incarnation] (5 BC)
6. Simeon is filled by the Holy Spirit and identifies Jesus as the Messiah -Luke 2:25-29
7. John the Baptizer’s ministry. The last Mosaic Covenant Prophet in the spirit of Elijah
-Mat 3:11
8. The baptism of Jesus by John (25 AD). The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in a dove like form in Israel long before Pentecost -Matt 3:16; Luke 3:22
9. Beginning of the three year ministry of Jesus, the Holy Spirit leads Him to a barren place near Jericho -Matt 4:1
10. Jesus does miracles in Israel by the power of the Holy Spirit -Matt 12:28
11. Jesus forgives the paralytics sin. He did not have to wait for Pentecost. Anyone whose sins are forgiven is already saved from the penalty of sin. -Matt 9:22
TRANSITION PERIOD - The Mosaic Covenant administration is still functioning -John 4:23
12. The training of the 12 Apostles. They are sent out to heal -Matt10:5-8. The Holy Spirit gives the power to do miracles years before Pentecost. -Luke 10:1-18; 1 Cor 10:10-13; Gal 3:5
13. Nathaniel calls Jesus “Great Teacher, the Son of God and the King of Israel.” Jesus says that he is believing in him -John 1:49-50
14. Sinful woman, Jesus says “your faith has saved (past tense) you” -Luke 7:50
15. Peter call Jesus Lord by the Spirit. -Matt 17:4; 1 Cor 12:3; John 6:68-69, 1:49; Matt 16:15-19
16. Jesus declares all foods clean, but the Apostles do not change until later -Mark 7:19
17. Salvation of man born blind 1.5 years before Pentecost -John 9:38
18. Salvation of Martha and Mary revealed -John 11:27, 32
19. Last legitimate Passover feast of the Mosaic Covenant, First Lord’s Supper (prior to Messiah death) -Matt 26:26
20. Jesus declares the thief on the cross will be with him in the third heaven, (2 Cor 12:2-4) Paradise without waiting for Pentecost. No lost person enters heaven. But the Spirit open the thief’s eyes to call Jesus Lord, he is saved and enters heaven -Luke 23:43
21.  Death of the Messiah on a cross (28 AD) -John 19:30, Matt 27:54
22. CHANGE #1: The curtain of the Holly of Hollies is torn from top to bottom by God
Matt 27:51. The curtain was required in Mosaic covenant -Exd 26
23. Burial of the Messiah Jesus -Matt 27:57 -60
24. Resurrection of the Messiah (3 days later) -Matt 28:6
25. John believes in the resurrection of Jesus before others. Faith is a gift from the Spirit.-John 20:2-9; 1 Cor 12:9; Eph 2:8-9; Gal 3:4. He would not do this in human power alone. This was before Pentecost.
26. Forty days of the resurrected Jesus’ intermittent ministry. -Acts 1:3 Jesus gave orders by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles before Pentecost. -Acts 1:2
27. Willfully unbelieving Thomas declares Jesus as Lord and God. -John 20:28 Paul says no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Spirit. -1 Cor 12:3. This is before Pentecost.  
28. Jesus temporarily fills the Apostles with the Holy Spirit before the baptism at Pentecost. The Spirit has not been given the full sense yet, however, He is not absent either. -John 20:22
29. The ascension of Jesus the Messiah. -Acts 1:9-11 The return to heaven from earth.
30. Coronation of Jesus as God and Man in Heaven -Psa 24, Dan 7:13-14
31. The seating of Jesus on the throne to reign as the God/Man -Acts 2:30-36; Heb 12:2
32. CHANGE 2: First decree of the enthroned God/Man Jesus, ten days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit comes  from the Father and the Son to bring power to the Jewish Church and serve as another Comforter / Helper, to fulfill the Mosaic Covenant feast of Pentecost, to return the shekinah glory that left the Holy of Hollies in Ezekiel to the twelve Apostles of Christ by the Baptism of the Spirit of the Jewish Church. -Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-34; 1 Cor 5:7. But the Spirit is not yet fully given.
33. The first Christian Baptism of 3,000 disciples -Acts 2:41
34. CHANGE 3: The Baptism of the Samaritan Church by the Holy Spirit. -Acts 8:14-19. The Holy Spirit is not yet fully given.
35. CHANGE 4: Peter is told in a vision to stop keeping the ceremonial law because it is blocking the flow of the gospel. -Acts 9:11-20
36. CHANGE 5: The Baptism of the Gentile Church by the Holy Spirit -Acts 10 [Note the pattern: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth Acts 1:8,which is the outline and plan of the book of Acts] See Hebrews 7-10. Now the Holy Spirit has been fully given.
37. CHANGE 6: The Jewish Church acknowledges Gentile Christians were not under the worship and purity regulations of the Mosaic covenant, but should limit freedom for unity and follow the moral guidelines (idolatry, adultery) -Acts 15; Col 2:11-23; Gal 2-3
38. Baptism of the Spirit of John the Baptizer’s Jewish disciples in Turkey that trusted that the Messiah was about to come, but did not know about Jesus or the Holy Spirit, the rest of the gospel. -Acts 19
39. TRANSITION PERIOD IS ENDED: from this point forward, the baptism of the Spirit occurs for each individual believer(not often in groups) [1 Cor 12:13] after faith, repentance and conversion without a gap -1 Cor 12:3-28 and Eph 1:11-14. New believer’s receive their spiritual gifts at conversion from this point forward. -Rom 12; 1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10
40. CHANGE: 7: 70 AD the temple is destroyed by the Romans under Titus. The Jewish sacrifices are ended.
41. 692 AD The Dome of the Rock is completed, the Jewish temple restoration is blocked by Islam
42. Today 2021 AD
43. The future Tribulation Period
44. The return of Christ in the air with His church and the battle of Armageddon -Rev 19; 1 Thes 2
45. Jesus earthly reign for 1000 years -Rev 20
46. The Great White Throne judgment -Rev 20
47. The New earth and atmosphere, Heaven and earth joined together -Rev 21-22
 
That believers get the first parts of spiritual things now, but the full thing is ‘not yet’ is a minor theme repeated in the gospel of John -John 4:21-23, 5:28-29, 16:2, 25, 32. We are not yet glorified, so we too live with the contrast for the ‘now’ and ‘not yet.’

For Bible interpretation, always ask in what sense did the original author mean what he wrote to the original audience?

Without this, in the gospel of John Jesus would be a wooden door and his disciple’s cannibals. A wrong view of the Holy Spirit has totally depraved spiritually dead sinners getting saved and serving the Lord with their own power (Noah, Abraham, Joseph, see Heb 11), puts the Old Testament Scriptures inspiration in question (It is by the Spirit working in men before Pentecost) and introduces numerous contradictions into the New Testament. Nathaniel’s faith can only be explained by the internal work of the Holy Spirit regenerating him and giving the gifts of faith and repentance. The spiritual dead don’t believe in Jesus. Unbelief is an irrational commitment even in the presence of strong evidence.

John writes:

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you," Jesus answered. 49 "Rabbi," Nathanael replied, "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
 (Jn. 1:48-49 HCSB)

The ESV Study Bible note on John 7:39

    “As yet the Spirit had not been given does not mean that there was no work of the Holy Spirit in the world prior to Jesus’ resurrection, for already in Gen. 1:2 the Holy Spirit was present in the world, “hovering over the face of the waters”(see also Gen. 6:3; 41:38; Ex. 31:3; Num. 11:25). Some OT verses even speak of the Spirit of God at work within believer prior to the coming of Christ (Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9; Ezek. 2:2; 3:24; Dan. 4:8-9, 18; 5:11; Mic. 3:8; cf. Luke 1:15, 41, 67). This verse must therefore mean that “the Spirit had not been given” in the full and powerful sense that was promised for the new covenant age (see Ezek. 36:26, 27, 37:14; Joel 2:28-29; cf. John 20:22; Acts 2:1-13).”

Furthermore, Paul writes the following verse primarily talking about the OT and the role of the Holy Spirit in the Prophet, Priest and King authors’ of the Old Testament when he wrote:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim 3:16 ESV). The Holy Spirit is the Bible’s divine author and inspired all the books of the Bible.

Peter writes:
First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one's own interpretation,21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet. 1:20-21 HCSB)

If no one is saved until Pentecost or is filled or empowered by the Holy Spirit, how did Abraham and Moses get the gift of faith and a supernaturally circumcised heart? See Hebrews 11 for many more believers walking by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.

However, the Old Testament proclaims that there is a saved remnant under the Mosaic covenant. See Isa 45:17, 22, 63:9, 64:5; Jer 17:14; Joel 2:32 (applied again in Acts 2:21 and Rom 10:13). The term saved in the old covenant prophets is used in the same way by the Apostles and NT Prophets (see Mark 16:16; Luke 7:50, 8:12; John 10:9 and Acts 16:31).

Luke writes:
“You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David Your servant: Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers assembled together against the Lord and against His Messiah.” (Acts 4:25-26 HCSB)

David wrote Psalm 2, which Peter quotes in Acts 2, under the control of the Holy Spirit (2 Sam 23:2) around 1000 BC, many years before the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. He feared losing His spiritual anointing to rule as king like Saul did by the removal of his old covenant spiritual gift (1 Sam 10:6, 16:14; Psa 51:11-12). Only kings (elders/judges, leaders), priests, prophets and artisans under the priests had spiritual gifts under the Mosaic covenant -2 Cor 3:6-18. However, in the greater New Covenant, every believer has at least one gift (Rom 12; 1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10), and some have several gifts.

In what sense was the Holy Spirit not yet given during the transition period between the Mosaic covenant administration getting ready to end and the New Covenant administration under the Messiah already partially started in some ways, but not fully instituted until Acts 10? This giving of the Spirit to spiritually baptize (John 1:33) the three church groups has nothing to do with salvation, effectual calling, regeneration or even inspiration of believers prior to Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit was not given yet to bring the New Covenant spiritual gifts that are accompanied by the baptism (Matt 3:11) of the three sample corporate churches---the Jews, Samaritans and then the Gentiles. The death, burial, resurrection, ascension and ruling session of Jesus the God/Man had to occur first before the New Covenant three fold inauguration ceremonies occurred. The woman at the well in John 4 did not get her spiritual gift in Acts 2 with the Jewish Christians. She had to wait until Acts 8. Gentile converts (e.g. the Roman Centurion at the cross) had to wait even longer until Acts 10.

The Jewish church did not acknowledge that the “hour is coming” when the male worshipers no longer had to go to Jerusalem three times per year to worship (John 4:19-26) had already arrived until the council in Acts 15. The Gentile Antioch church becomes the new model church for the world Acts 15:35. The gradual change has been completed at this point. The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians to prove to them that the New Covenant was now fully in place and that being a godly Jew without Jesus as his Messiah and Lord was no longer possible. The period of time when that was possible had ended. The New Covenant has now replaced the Mosaic Covenant as the functioning administration. This was hard for those who lived through the gradual changes to accept the old ways as now complete so they needed the book of Hebrews with its seven strong warnings to bring them to understand this truth. Peter struggled with this change and was rebuked by Paul for trying the operate under the old order (Gal 1-2) of worship and purity regulations.

OT Saints with the Spirit In them
Leader, Joseph -Gen 41:38
Craftsman under Priests, Bezalel -Exd 28:3, 31:2-3
Leader, Joshua -Num 27:18
Future Jewish Remnant -Ezek 37:14
Prophet, Daniel -Dan 4:8-9, 18, 5:11, 14, 6:3
Elizabeth, prophets’s mother -Luke 1:41
Zacharias, priest and prophet’s father -Luke 1:67
John the Baptist -Luke 1:15

OT Saints with the Spirit on/ upon them
Prophet, Moses -Num 11:25
70 Elders of Israel -Num 11:17, 25-29
Prophet, Elisha -2 Kgs 2:9, 15
Judge, Othniel -Judg 3:10
Judge, Gideon -Judg 6:34
Judge, Samson -Judg 14:19
King, David -1 Sam 16:13, 2 Sam 23:2; Psa 139:7
Leader, Amasai -1 Chrn 12:18
Prophet, Azariah -2 Chrn 15:1
Levite, Jahaziel -2 Chrn 20:14
The earlier prophets in Israel -Neh 9:20, 30
Some of the returned remnant in Judah -Mal 2:15
Messiah, servant of Yahveh -Isa 11:2, 42:1, 48:6, 61:1
Future Jewish Remnant -Isa 59:21
Future Jewish Servants -Joel 2:28-29 (partially fulfilled in Acts 2)

OT Saints Filled with the Spirit
Leader, Joshua Deut 34:9
Prophet, Micah, -Micah 3:8
Some of the Jews in the dessert after Egypt -Hag 2:5
Early writing prophets in Israel (eg. Moses, Joshua, etc.) -Zech 7:12
OT believers who grieved the Holy Spirit in their midst -Isa 63:7-13

Lifted by the Spirit
Ezekiel -Ezk 3:12
Daniel -Dan 10:2-21
NT Apostle Paul -2 Cor 12:1-10
NT Apostle John -Rev 1:10, 4:1-2

There is a evangelical debate between classic dispensationalism and covenant theology over the issue of the permanence of the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Classic dispensationalism teaches that before Acts 2, the Holy Spirit did save, gift and dwell upon old covenant believers, but did not dwell inside them. Covenant theologians argue that because of the seven people listed above with the Holy Spirit in them and the continuity of the covenants and two covenant administrations, the Holy Spirit did not abandon elect believers in the older covenant or the new covenant. The definiton and understanding of what the eklesia actually means in bible is also a difference between the two views. However, neither group argued that the disciples remained unsaved until Acts 2. Modern dispensationalists often agree now with covenant theologians on this matter, allowing for no loss of salvation during the OT or the NT.

Albert Barnes wrote:
    “For the Holy Ghost was not yet given - Was not given in such full and large measures as should be after Jesus had ascended to heaven. Certain measures of the influences of the Spirit had been always given in the conversion and sanctification of the ancient saints and prophets; but that abundant and full effusion which the apostles were permitted afterward to behold had not yet been given. See Acts 2; Acts 10:44-45.
    Jesus was not yet glorified - Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven - to the glory and honor that awaited him there. It was a part of the arrangement in the work of redemption that the influences of the Holy Spirit should descend chiefly after the death of Jesus, as that death was the procuring cause of this great blessing. Hence, he said John 16:7, "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you." See also John 7:8-12; John 14:15-16, John 14:26. Compare Ephesians 4:8-11.”

See “The Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament,” Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., EQ 82.4 (2010), 308–315; “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” (1148) in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 2nd Ed, eds. James Orr and Grove Kyle, Grand Raids: Eerdmans, 1939; and commentaries by Matthew Henry, Lange, John Gill and John Calvin on John 7:39.