Hi Mike,

I’ve read before in your commentaries that you say the Holy Spirit did not come to mankind until Pentecost, and that David did not have the Holy Spirit and was an unconverted man.  Please explain then Psa 51:11, a Psalm after David had committed adultery and was pleading that God NOT remove the Holy Spirit from him.

Psa 51:11 “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

It would seem the Holy Spirit was indeed available to a select few BEFORE Pentecost.  I’m left to conclude that David will probably be in the first resurrection then.  What do you say??

Thanks,
D_____

Hi D____,

I hope you know that nothing I say is intended to offend, but to instruct, so allow me to remind you that we must always consider “the sum of thy word” if ever we want to know what is “The Truth.”

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

It does not say ‘some of your word is truth,’ but “The sum of Thy Word is Truth.” So if you are to take Psa 51:11 by itself and conclude that “the Holy Spirit was indeed available to a select few BEFORE Pentecost,” then you could just as easily take Joshua’s instructions to Israel as proof that mankind has a free will.

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [ were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

But then what would you do with this statement just four verses later?:

Jos 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

And this:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

And this:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [ have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.

The sum of God’s Word will tell those given eyes which can see and given ears which can hear, that God is indeed “working all things after the counsel of His own will.”

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:  

So it is with this verse you reference:

Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Taken alone you can easily conclude as you do:

It would seem you are in error in your doctrine, as the scriptures clearly state that David HAD the Holy Spirit and was begging God NOT to remove it from him after his grievous sin.

But what then will you do with these verses?:

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

King David was “born of a woman” and yet “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven in greater than” King David, because “grace and Truth were not even available to King David. “Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ.”
How do these verses fit into the sum of God’s Word?

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them [ All Israel, including King David] for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Had “the ends of the ages come upon” King David or anyone in the Old Testament? What does the sum of God’s Word teach us concerning all of the great men of faith in the Old Testament? Here is what we are told for those who are given eyes which can see and ears which can hear:

Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [ of] Barak, and [ of] Samson, and [ of] Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and [ of] the prophets:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of [ cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [ in] mountains, and [ in] dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Now you tell me who this “some better thing God had provided” is for? Is it for a carnal King David whose dying words consisted of a hit list for his son Solomon, or is this “better thing for us… upon whom the ends of the ages have come?”

1Ki 2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
1Ki 2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
1Ki 2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, [ and] what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that [ was] about his loins, and in his shoes that [ were] on his feet.
1Ki 2:6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
1Ki 2:7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
1Ki 2:8 And, behold, [ thou hast] with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
1Ki 2:9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou [ art] a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

Does that sound like Christ was in King David? Does that sound like the mind of the holy spirit, or does that not sound more like the “carnal commandments” of the law of Moses? No, “the better thing God has provided” it is not for King David or anyone else mentioned in this 11th chapter of Hebrews. The whole Christian world has been blinded to the fact that the “better thing [ is] for us,” and is not for them. It does not say ‘We without them,” what it does say is “They without us should not be made perfect.” Rom 11 makes it clear that all Israel, including King David and Samuel, “will receive mercy through our mercy.”

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Galatians three makes it abundantly clear that saving faith was not even available until after the death and resurrection of Christ:

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Was King David even ministering to himself when he made that statement in Psa 51:11 or was he actually speaking of us? What do the scriptures teach? Here is what the scriptures teach about what is expedient before the holy spirit can be made available to those for whom “some better thing is provided, that they, [“David also and Samuel”] without us should not be make perfect.”

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; 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.

If, as you say…,

It would seem the Holy Spirit was indeed available to a select few BEFORE Pentecost. I’m left to conclude that David will probably be in the first resurrection then. What do you say??

… then what Christ is telling His disciples here is a blatant lie, and it is not expedient at all that He die or “the Comforter will not come unto you…”
But of course Christ is not lying, and the Truth is that “If I depart I will send him unto you,” and Christ’s departure is expedient and essential for that to ever be true. It is manifestly not true of King David who, on his dying bed, instructed his son Solomon to “Bring thou down to the grave with blood… Shemei the son of Gera.”

1Ki 2:8 And, behold, [ thou hast] with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
1Ki 2:9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou [ art] a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

Here is what the scriptures teach about all that is taught in the Old Testament:

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [ that should come] unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom [“David also and Samuel”] it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
David and all Israel and all these things happened to them and they are written “not unto themselves but unto us… upon whom the ends of the ages are come.”

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [ Greek, aions – ages] are come.

I hope this all helps you to see and understand that the sum of God’s Word demonstrates that “David also and Samuel,” or anyone who ever lived before Christ, had “all died in faith, not having received the promises.”

Heb 11:39 And these all, [ David also and Samuel] having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

I hope this helps you to see that “the better thing is for us… upon whom the ends of the aions are come,” and I hope God will give you the eyes to see and the ears to hear that none of the Old Testament prophets, kings or patriarchs ever “ministered to themselves, but unto us,” and all that “happened to them and was written is for our admonition…”
I hope you can now see that it is through our mercy that they will all be show mercy.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

But God has revealed them to us by His spirit:

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Christ tells us that “His spirit is His words which He has spoken.”

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

But what is most essential for spiritual vision is to remember that it is not ‘some of His words,’ but rather “the sum of His words which is Truth.”

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike