The Spirit Plan

The basic “formula” of God’s plan of salvation hasn’t changed since he first instituted the Temple plan. As you can read about in my studies, salvation comes through three main steps: repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

All three of these things happened – figuratively – to Jesus Christ. He went through a “death of the flesh” when He was tempted in the wilderness. He was also baptized by John (the Baptist) in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” At that same time, the Spirit descended upon him “like a dove.” Of course, He never needed to repent, as He knew no sin, which also applies to not needing to be baptized. And He didn’t need to be “lighted upon” by the Holy Spirit as He was already God. But all three were examples of what we should do.

And so I draw a corollary between repentance and the altar. This is the step where the flesh dies. That one turns away from his old life and makes a commitment to live differently. Is there any power in this? Only in the mind. The flesh, left to itself, would soon take control again. Thank goodness this isn’t the only step to salvation. Remember how I said that the fragrance of the burning sacrifice was pleasing to God? In the same manner, the prayers that one offers to God in repenting are the odors that please Him now. (Rev 8:4.)

Next comes the similarity between baptism and the laver. This is where we get cleansed of our sins. We made a mess of ourselves, and this is where it gets shed. The priest had to wash before entering the Holy of Holies, and we must too. Note here, at baptism, that are sins are not just forgiven, but remitted. When we repent, we get forgiven of sins on this Earth. However, when our sins get remitted (or removed), they are wiped off “the books” (Rev 20:12) in the afterlife.

Finally, one gets filled with the Holy Ghost; the very Spirit of God dwells inside you. This correlates with entering into the Holy of Holies. Since that was the dwelling place of God on this Earth, the only place in the world where one could directly commune with God, it becomes a perfect example of what it means to have God fill your “temple.” That’s why the Holy of Holies’ veil was “rent in twain” when Jesus died on the cross. It symbolized that access to the Holiest place was now open to any and every one, not just the High Priest of Israel. Now everyone can have a one-on-one relationship with the Most High God.

To summarize:

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