Whereas we could spend time discussing your questions they are not relevant to the point being made. The point is a simple one. Can someone in an unsaved state be filled with the Holy Spirit as the disciples were at pentecost and speak in tongues. I believe that is impossible, you do not.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph4:30
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Rom8:9-11
If the Spirit is in you, Christ is in you, Christ does not dwell in the unsaved
1)
again, Cornelius is an example of God using the miraculous by using a man as the medium to convey His will. In Jn 11:40-52 we have another example of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was not a saved individual yet God used him as a medium to speak His word to men for Caiaphas spoke "
not of himself". The Spirit prophetically spoke through him relaying God's word to men yet this did not make Caiaphas a saved child of God. In Numbers 22 we see God using a donkey to speak, by means of the Spirit, to rely His word to Baalam but that did not make the donkey a saved child of God.
Such was the case with Cornelius. He was being used as a medium for God to convey His will to the Jews, that HS baptism did not make Cornelius a saved child of God but God used the miraculous as a means to convey that the Gentiles were clean and salvation therefore was to not to be withheld from the Gentiles....'forbidding water' would have been going against God's will in salvation going to the Gentiles by means of water baptism.
2)
Per the 2 questions I asked earlier, being baptized with the HS had
nothing to do with Cornelius' personal salvation but baptism with the HS was God using Cornelius to relay His will to the Jews.
Cornelius would have been saved anyway when he was water baptized having his sins remitted even if God had not used him as a medium to the Jews by baptizing him with the HS. Therefore being baptized with the HS did not prove Cornelius was saved no more than the eunuch not being baptized with the HS proved he was not saved. Since baptism with the HS had
nothing to do with the personal salvation of Cornelius, this means that baptism with the HS
CANNOT be the one baptism of Eph 3:4 for that "one baptism"
does save (Acts 2:38; 1 Pet 3:21; etc).
Note also that after Cornelius was baptized with the HS, Peter did
NOT say "This baptism with the HS proves Cornelius is already saved therefore he does not need to be water baptized". Instead Peter
COMMANDED him to be water baptized
proving Cornelius was not yet saved, that his salvation was lacking. He could not be saved until he obeyed the command to be water baptized in the name of the Lord for remission of sin, cf Acts 2:38.
--the fact water baptism was commanded made it essential to Cornelius' salvation if for no other reason for disobeying God's commands is sin/ unrighteousness and the unrighteous are the ones lost.
--the fact Peter said who would "forbid water" was further proof salvation was to go to the Gentiles by means of water baptism.
So the context of Acts 10 makes water baptism essential to being saved while baptism with the HS is not essential to be saved again proving water baptism of the great commission is the one baptism of Eph 4:5.
3)
the context of Romans 8 has
nothing to do with the miraculous baptism with the HS or miraculously speaking in tongues. The context is about being led either by the flesh or by the Spirit which is a free will choice, not something that is miraculous or is irresistibly forced upon one by the Spirit. The two conditional "ifs" in Rom 8:13 shows that following the flesh or following the Spirit is a matter of free will choice, not miraculous indwelling of the Spirit and speaking in tongues. Those who choose to follow the Spirit do so by choosing to be obedient to the Spirit's written word, the Bible...... nothing miraculous about that.
Rom 8:14 "
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Cornelius being baptized with the HS had nothing to do with this verse. Cornelius being baptized with the HS had
NOTHING to do with Cornelius being led by the Spirit...Cornelius was
not miraculously led by the Spirit to understanding God's word, Cornelius was
not miraculously being led/taught by the Spirit on how to be saved
nor was he miraculously saved by being baptized with the HS. Cornelius would be saved by "
words" (Acts 11:14) Peter would preach to him by inspiration of the Spirit. Cornelius heard those saving words and chose to obey those words thus Cornelius was saved by
being led by the Spirit's words and not by some miraculous event. Again, the HS came upon Cornelius to prove to the Jews the Gentiles were clean therefore salvation was to go to the Gentiles also, salvation was not just for the Jews.
Therefore the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God (Rom 8:16) when we FIRST obey the Spirit's words, when we first choose to set our minds on the Spirit and be led by the Spirit's word on how to be saved. It was the Spirit's saving words that Cornelius heard that instructed him on how to be saved by obediently submitting to water baptism. Therefore after Cornelius obeyed those saving words the Spirit testified with Cornelius spirit he was a son of God.
"Remember, the Holy Spirit didn’t come upon the household of Cornelius to testify that they were Christians, rather, He came to testify that it was all right for these people to become Christians! The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, when we have obeyed His teachings concerning what one must do to be saved. Through the apostles the Spirit has plainly said, faith in Christ, repentance, confession, and water baptism are the conditions for salvation. When I obey those conditions, the Spirit’s testimony in Scripture and my spirit agree, i.e., I have believed, repented, confess and was baptized in water for the remission of my sins---therefore, I am a child of God!"
Holy Spirit Baptism - Sunday Sermons ‹ Fifth Street church of Christ.
(my emp)
One cannot be in agreement with the Spirit unless, until one first obeys what the Spirit says in his word. Cornelius could not be in agreement with the Spirit until he first obeyed what the Spirit commanded him. Cornelius would not be accepted with God until he first "worked righteousness" (Acts 10:35) by obeying God's/the Spirit's command to be water baptized.
=====Therefore, disobedience to God's command/to the Spirit's command to be water baptized is testimony one is not a child of God.======
Therefore in summary, baptism with the HS was NOT Cornelius being taught God's word, baptism with the HS was NOT Cornelius be led/instructed by the Spirit on how to be saved nor being led/instructed on how to live a Christian life therefore that baptism cannot be a testimony to Cornelius' salvation. One must first hear the Spirit's words, obey those words becoming a Christian THEN the Spirit can bear witness with our spirit we are a child of God.
Again, disobedience to the Spirit's saving words in believing, repenting, confessing and being water baptized is testimony one is not saved. The proof of Cornelius' salvation was his obedience to the Spirit's saving words in being water baptized.
