6. The true believer is safe and secure in Christ forever because he is a child of God forever.

John 1:12 declares that the moment you received the Lord Jesus Christ and believed on His Name you became a _________________ of God (Note: the word "sons" in John 1:12 means "children"). "Behold, what manner of love the _________________ hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the _________ (children) of _______" (see 1 John 3:1). "Beloved, ______ are we the _________ (children) of _______" (1 John 3:2). According to 1 John 3:10, what are the two groups of people in the world today?
1) _________________________________ 2) ______________________________________ If a person is truly saved, then to what group does he belong? ________________________________ Thus, in order for a saved person to become "UN-SAVED" God would have to say to him: "I now DISOWN you as My child. You are no longer My child and you are no longer a part of My family." Do you think that our Heavenly Father would ever say this to His child? ____

Let’s think about an earthly, human father. Suppose Mr. Smith has a 9 year old son named Joey. One day Joey disobeys his father by messing around with his father’s expensive computer and breaking it. He had been told to not even touch it without permission. How do you think Mr. Smith would respond to Joey’s act of disobedience (circle the sentences below that that best describe how you think this father might handle this situation)?

Let’s assume that Mr. Smith is a loving father and really cares about his son. How would Mr. Smith respond to Joey’s act of disobedience? (Circle the correct answers)

1. He would be very displeased.
2. He would stop loving his son.
3. He would be grieved and saddened that his son would do such a thing (compare Ephesians 4:30).
4. He would disown his son.
5. He would tell Joey to go and find another father.
6. He would expect Joey to come to him and admit that what he had done was wrong (compare 1 John 1:9).
7. He would throw Joey out of the house, telling him to never come back (compare John 6:37).
8. He would chasten, discipline, correct and/or spank his disobedient son (Proverbs 13:24; 22:15).

Read Matthew 7:9-11 carefully. Can we expect our Heavenly Father to be "much more" fair and loving towards His children than an "evil" earthly father? _______ Would an earthly father give his son a rattlesnake for lunch? ______ Would he feed his son rocks? _____ Would a human father disown his son? ______ Would God disown His child? ______

As God’s children (sons) we are not to despise the ____________________ (discipline, training, correction, "spanking") of the Lord (Hebrews 12:5). Whom does the Lord chasten (Hebrews 12:6)? ________________________________________ True or False: ___________ Every son is chastened by his father and the person who is not chastened is not really his son (Heb. 12:7-8). Thus, the fact that Mr. Smith chastens Joey proves that Joey is his _______. Would Mr. Smith dare spank or discipline his neighbor’s child? _______ The fact that he does not discipline his neighbor’s child proves that his neighbor’s child is not his ___________. Is it enjoyable to be chastened by the Lord (Hebrews 12:11)? ______ And yet we can endure (Hebrews 12:7) the chastening of the Lord because it produces the peaceable ____________ of _________________________ in our lives (Hebrews 12:11).

In 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 we find two important words (both beginning with the letter "C"): 1) Chastened 2) Condemned. Which of these words describes God’s way of dealing with His children? ________________________ Which of these words describes God’s way of dealing with the world? ________________________   Answer the following True or False:

________ God’s children are chastened by the Lord.
________ God’s children will be condemned by the Lord.
________ The unsaved world is chastened by the Lord.
________ The unsaved world shall be condemned by the Lord.
________ The believer is not under condemnation (Romans 8:1).
________ God is the Father of all men (John 8:44).

Please answer True or False:

7. The true believer is safe and secure in Christ forever because he is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30).

Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and answer these questions: Paul describes the believer’s body as ___________________________________________ Did Paul expect the Corinthian believers to know this truth? _______ Where is the Holy Spirit (verse 19)? ___________ Now that we are saved, are we our own? _____ Who do we now belong to? ______ Are we free to live for ourselves (2 Cor. 5:15)? _____ Why are we not our own (1 Cor. 6:20)? _______________________________________ Who paid this awful price (1 Peter 1:18-19)? ___________________ Salvation is free, but it is certainly not cheap! Circle the one sentence that is false:

1. God the Holy Spirit dwells and lives within every believer.
2. Every believer has been bought with a price and belongs totally and completely to the Lord.
3. Every person who has the Holy Spirit belongs totally and completely to the Lord.
4. There are some believers who belong totally and completely to the Lord, but they have not yet received the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9 teaches us that if any man does not have the _____________ of Christ he is ____________________________. This means that if a person does not have the Holy ____________ then he does not belong to ________________. Therefore, everyone who truly belongs to Christ has the _________      _______________ dwelling within.

True or False:

________ Every person who belongs to Christ has the Holy Spirit.

________ Every true believer has the Holy Spirit.

________ It is possible that a true Christian may not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within.

________ If a person does not have the Holy Spirit, then He is not a true Christian.

In Ephesians 1:13 we learn three things that have happened to every person who is truly saved: "In whom ye also trusted, (1) after ye heard the ____________ of ____________, the __________________ of your salvation; in whom also (2) after ye _____________________, (3) ye were _________________________ with that __________      _______________ of promise." We shall now study these three ingredients of salvation:

1. In order for a person to be saved, he must first hear the W________ of T__________ which is the G_________________ (Good News) of his S________________________ (Ephesians 1:13). Without faith, can a person be saved (Ephesians 2:8)? _____ Faith is properly and correctly responding to the Word of God. Is it possible to respond properly to God’s Word if you have never heard it? ______ Can a person believe on the Lord Jesus Christ if he has never heard of Him (Romans 10:14)? ______ "Faith comes by ______________ and ________________ by the ___________    ____    ________" (Romans 10:17). Therefore, for a person to be saved, he must first H___________ God’s W__________.
    
2. Many people hear God’s Word, but, sadly, they are never saved. Not only must a person H_________ God’s Word, but he must respond properly to God’s Word by B_________________ on the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:13; Acts 16:31). Men and women, boys and girls are saved in only one way – they are saved through F____________ (Ephesians 2:8) and not by ___________ (Ephesians 2:9).
    
3. When a person hears the gospel and responds by trusting Christ and Him alone as his personal Saviour, then God does something very wonderful to him! He is S______________ with the _______________  
   ___________ of promise (Ephesians 1:13). According to 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, who is the One who has sealed us? _______ According to Ephesians 1:13 what (or WHO) are we sealed with? __________________________________________ Therefore God the Father is the Sealer (the One who seals) and God the Holy Spirit is the Seal! Where is the seal (2 Cor. 1:22)? _________________________________ God has sealed us with His Holy Spirit and this seal is a mark of ownership!

Suppose Cowboy Sam were to brand his cattle with this mark:
Suppose Cowboy Hank were to brand his cattle with this mark:
If you were riding on your horse and you came across a stray steer with

branded on its hide, then you would know that the steer belongs to whom? ___________________________

A little further down the trail you come across another steer and as you examine this animal you discover that it is branded with , and therefore it must belong to Cowboy Hank. Every steer that is branded with must belong to _____________________. If you were a steer with branded on your hide, then you could proudly say, "I know that I belong to Cowboy Hank. He has branded me with his own personal mark of ownership!"

The believer in Christ has been "branded" or sealed with what (or WHO)–(Ephesians 1:13)? ______________________________________ Who has sealed the believer (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)? _______ Therefore the believer can say, "I know that I belong to _______ because He has S_________________ me with His Holy _______________." In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure (solid), having this _________, the ______________ knows them that are __________." He knows those who truly belong to Him! Does the Lord know who His true believers are? ________ Does the Lord know which people He has sealed with the Holy Spirit and which people He has not sealed? _______ As you watch and observe other people, is it possible for you to actually see the Holy Spirit in them? _____ Is the Holy Spirit visible or invisible? ______________ Therefore, is God’s seal visible or invisible? ____________________ The first time you looked in the mirror after you were saved, did you see any great difference in your appearance? _____ Did you see the Holy Spirit living in you? ______ Did you find God’s name written on your forehead as the people described in Revelation 14:1? _______

Answer TRUE or FALSE:

________ The believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, but no one can see this seal except the Lord.

________ When a sinner is saved his physical appearance changes drastically.

________ The Lord knows which people have the Holy Spirit in their hearts (compare 1 Samuel 16:7 with 2 Corinthians 1:22).

Certainly God knows that we belong to Him, but how can other people know that we belong to the Lord? The answer to this question is found in the last part of 2 Timothy 2:19: "Let every one who names the name of Christ depart from ________________________ (unrighteousness)." According to this verse, explain how other people can know that we are truly Christians: _________________________________________________________________________________

Although people cannot see the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, are they able to see the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9)? _______ How can the world know that we belong to Christ (John 13:35)? _________________________________________________

Answer TRUE or FALSE:

________ The world can actually see the Holy Spirit in the believer.

________ The world can see the way we live and conduct ourselves and they can see the evidence of the Spirit at work in our lives.

________ The person who truly has the Holy Spirit will want to depart from iniquity and unrighteousness. His desire is to please and obey the Lord.

________ If a person is consistently living in sin and unrighteousness then he is giving evidence that he does not belong to the Lord (compare 1 John 2:29; 3:10).

________ If a person claims to be a Christian then he must be a true believer. If you say you are saved then this means that you really are saved.

Ephesians 1:14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the "_______________ (down payment, pledge) of our inheritance until the _____________________ of the purchased possession." This verse is talking about the believer’s final redemption when the believer will be with the Lord forever and will never again sin. Christ has promised us that someday He will return for His believers (see John 14:2-3; Romans 8:23). As a guarantee that Christ’s promise is true, God the Father has given us His Holy Spirit as an earnest or pledge that someday our salvation will be completed (compare Phil. 1:6). "God has also ______________ us, and given the ________________ (pledge) of the ____________ in our hearts" (2 Cor. 1:22). "God also has _______________ unto us the __________________ (pledge) of the ________________" (2 Cor. 5:5). To understand the word "earnest" just think of an engagement ring. When a young man gives his sweetheart an engagement ring, the ring serves as a pledge or a guarantee that someday he will come to marry the girl who has the ring. He will receive his bride and enter into a wonderful relationship with her. Therefore, the fact that we have the H__________ S_____________ is a guarantee that someday Christ will come to receive His bride (John 14:1-3) and we will be with Him face to face (1 Thess. 4:16-18) in a far greater and closer relationship than we enjoy even now (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 John 3:1-3).

Please answer TRUE or FALSE:

________ The fact that we have the Holy Spirit now proves that someday our salvation will be complete and we will be with the Lord. All who are sealed will be saved forever!

________ We are sealed with the Holy Spirit until we sin (Eph. 4:30).

________ It is possible for the believer to grieve and sadden the Holy Spirit because of sin in his life (Eph. 4:30).

________ When the believer sins, it is then that the Holy Spirit leaves him and abandons him (Eph. 4:30; John 14:16-17).

________ God the Father has given us the Holy Spirit so that He might abide and live with us forever (John 14:16).

________ A saved person can lose the Holy Spirit and become UN-SEALED.

________ The Holy Spirit sometimes leaves a believer (John 14:16; Hebrews 13:5).

________ It is possible for a true believer to become un-sealed.

________ If a person claims to be a Christian, then he should show that he is really saved and really sealed by the way he lives (2 Timothy 2:19).

8. The true believer is safe and secure in Christ forever because he is a member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).

In Ephesians 1:22-23 the true church is said to be His (Christ’s) B__________. Paul said to the Corinthian believers: "Now ye are the __________     ____     _______________" (1 Corinthians 12:27). Those of us who are truly born-again (John 3:3-7, 14-16) can say, "We are ____________ of His (Christ’s) _______________, of His ______________, and of His _______________________" (Ephesians 5:30).

Who is the Head of this body (see Colossians 1:18 and compare Col. 1:13-14; see also Ephesians 1:22-23)? ______________________________ Think of your own body. Does your head tell your hands what to do or do your hands tell your head what to do? ____________________________________________________ Who then should be the One that gives orders to the church? _______________ Where do we find these orders (2 Timothy 3:16-17)? ________________________ Who should have the pre-eminence (first place) in all things in the church (Colossians 1:18)? ___________________________________

How many bodies does Christ have (Ephesians 4:4)? _________ [Note: We know that Christ is in heaven today in a literal, physical, resurrection body – Philippians 3:21; compare John 20:26-27; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 1:7. And yet, it is also true that Christ has a body of believers on the earth whose purpose is to manifest the resurrected life of the Lord Jesus who is now in heaven – Romans 6:4-10; Galatians 2:20. This is the "one body" spoken of in Ephesians 4:4].

How many LORDS do we have over the church (Eph. 4:5)? _______ What is His Name (Eph. 3:11)? __________________________________ Therefore, the church has how many Heads? ________ In Matthew 16:18 Christ said, "I will build _____ church." In Ephesians 1:23 we learn that the church is ______ body. Is the Pastor speaking the truth if he says: "This is my church!" ? ______ Should the elders or deacons say this? _____ Those who really understand God’s Word will say, "This is _____________ church!"

How does a person become a part of the true church? How does a person become a member of the body of Christ? The answer to these questions is found in the two words "one baptism" in Ephesians 4:5. This is not talking about water baptism. Ephesians 4:3-6 is speaking about things that are true of all believers. Thus the "one baptism" must be a baptism that is common to all believers. Have all believers been baptized in water? ______ Was there a time in your life when you were a believer in Christ but you were not yet baptized in water? _______ Were you baptized in water the moment you were saved or some time later? ________________________________ Suppose that you received Christ as your personal Saviour and then before you had a chance to be baptized (immersed) in water, you had a heart attack and died. Would you still go to heaven (see 1 John 5:11-12; John 3:16; Acts 16:31)? _________ Does water baptism save a person or does Christ save a person (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; and see also page 21)? ___________________________ Therefore, the baptism spoken of in Ephesians 4:5 cannot be water baptism, but it must be a baptism that has happened to every believer.

As we study the Scriptures we discover that the "one baptism" of Ephesians 4:5 must refer to "Spirit baptism." Spirit baptism is most clearly described and defined in 1 Corinthians 12:13 –"For by one _______________ were we all ____________________ into one __________." According to this verse, how many believers have been baptized into the body of Christ? ________ Therefore, this baptism must have taken place when (circle the correct answer)?

1. When I joined my local church.
2. When I was baptized (immersed) in water in obedience to Christ’s command.
3. When I trusted Christ and Christ alone as my personal Saviour and Lord.

The following diagram might be of help in understanding the truth of 1 Corinthians 12:13:

Please answer these TRUE-FALSE questions, looking up the verses that are given:

________ The church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).

________ Every believer is a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27).

________ Every believer is a member of Christ’s Church.

________ Water baptism is the same as Spirit baptism (see the previous two pages).

________ 1 Corinthians 12:13 describes water baptism.

________ Acts 8:38 describes Spirit Baptism.

________ Ephesians 4:5 is talking about Spirit Baptism.

________ Every believer has been baptized in water.

________ Every believer should be baptized in water (Acts 10:47-48; Matthew 28:19-20).

________ All believers have been Spirit-baptized (1 Cor. 12:13).

________ Spirit baptism is that experience that results in a person speaking in tongues.

________ Spirit baptism is that work of God whereby a person is immersed and placed into the body of Christ the moment he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).

________ Water baptism saves us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).

________ When a saved person becomes a member of Christ's church (a member of Christ's body), his membership is permanent. He can never stop being a member of the body of Christ.

________ If a believer were to lose his salvation (which is impossible), God would have to cast him out of the body of Christ (which is impossible).

________ We know that God has placed the true believer into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and we can be sure that Christ will never remove him from this body (compare John 6:37).

________ Sometimes Christ must say to His disobedient believers, "You are no longer members of My body! I hereby excommunicate you from My church!"

________ It is impossible for a person who has been baptized into the body of Christ to be baptized out of that body!!

________ The true believer is eternally safe in Christ because he is a member of the body of Christ!!

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