The apostles
received the Holy Spirit (rebirth) in
John 20:22, then they were
filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost for special enabling of starting the church.
It is not possible that what is recorded in John 20:22 is the account of the disciples (not Apostles in this context) "receiving" the Comforter:
John 16:7-9
King James Version
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.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
It was necessary for Christ to first return to Heaven from whence He came before the Comforter was sent. This is reiterated here:
Acts 1:4-5
King James Version
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is when men and women receive the Holy Spirit:
Acts 11:13-18
King James Version
13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
The "words" whereby Cornelius and his house were saved was the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Acts 10. Cornelius was saved, not merely empowered when he was Baptized with the Holy Ghost. He received repentance unto life. He received eternal life. Because he believed the Gospel, and believed in Jesus Christ.
Not a single Old Testament Saint was born again, because the New Birth is the immersion of a believer into Christ, and it is simply not possible that men were immersed into God prior to Christ first coming, then dying, and then returning to Heaven that He might send the Comforter.
It is the Comforter that enlightens the natural mind to the spiritual things of God, and in order for natural men and women to be born again, the Comforter must enlighten their minds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
No Old Testament Saint was enlightened of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because—it remained a Mystery until the Comforter was sent.
John 20:22 is an instruction of Christ to His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit when He is sent, rather than an account of their receiving Him at that time.
The Holy Spirit does not act savingly for anyone outside the rebirth
by the Holy Spirit, for you must
have the Holy Spirit to accept anything
from him, you do not accept
anything from the Holy Spirit if you are
without him, and you
have him only by the rebirth (
1 Corinthians 2:14).
On the contrary, it is through His convicting ministry that men and women are born again.
We have an entire Old Testament filled with men and women of faith that received from the Holy Spirit, Who has always ministered in and through men and women. We call this the filling of the Holy Spirit and it does not require regeneration.
Today, Christians can be born again and eternally indwelt by God but this does not mean they are filled with the Spirit. Eternal Redemption did not begin until Pentecost (for those alive: it is very likely Old Testament Saints were eternally redeemed at the time of the Cross). This is the day the Comforter is sent in His convicting ministry and the day when He began to reveal the Mystery of the Gospel.
What puzzles me is that I thought a man had to have Faith First to be born again And First, to have Faith a man must be born again.
You are correct, faith is necessary in regeneration. However, we must always remember that we are saved by grace through faith, not by faith through grace.
Scripture shows a consistent pattern of God revealing His will to men and judging them based on their response to that revelation. It is no different today, for God is consistent in His dealings with man. What is different is that today general faith is not a means of relationship with God in an eternal context, because God has revealed His will as specific to faith in Christ:
Hebrews 6
King James Version
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
Grace is God "permitting" men to "go on unto perfection." Perfection speaks of "completion," rather than our modern usage of something that is without flaw. The contrast is between the revelation Jews received prior to the establishment of the New Covenant through Christ and the revelation now being revealed to men, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The "Gospel" was incomplete in regards to man's understanding prior to the Comforter's coming. They anticipated the Messiah but did not understand that He would die in their stead and that through this death remission of sins would be everlasting (as contrasted with the temporary remission provided by vicarious animal sacrifice).
This revelation is given to men by the Comforter and is the basis for the faith in Christ that leads to Regeneration. Only faith in Christ leads to regeneration. Regeneration was made possible only through the death of Jesus Christ in our stead, and that is one of the truths we embrace in faith in Christ.
Eternal Redemption must be distinguished from the "salvation" we see in the Old Testament in this sense: the Old Testament Saints were justified in a temporal sense due to their response to the revelation given them by God. Because of this, they were "saved" in an eternal perspective (God's) but still in need of Eternal Redemption. It is not that different from the fact that we (today) have been eternally redeemed and placed into Christ and He in us but we still await glorification.
The Old Testament Saints were "saved" but not eternally redeemed, This would not happen for them until Christ died in their stead:
Hebrews 9:11-12
King James Version
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Regeneration in the Old Testament is one of the flaws I see in Calvinism. This doesn't mean they are wrong about everything, but this particular teaching is one area I see as contrary to Scripture. It lessens the magnitude of what Christ accomplished, in my view.
God bless.