A PROPER BAPTISM

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

Acts 19:1-7

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke 3:15-16

Jesus was about to emerge on the scene to begin His adult ministry. John was born before Jesus to make the way for the coming of the Lord. Part of that making the way was letting people know the Messiah was coming. Another part was the calling of people to repent and be baptized.

In advance of Jesus, we know that John immersed many believers in the Jordan River after they decided to turn from their sins and toward the righteousness God expected of them. John was so passionate and dedicated to God that many people began to wonder if he was the Messiah but note from his words in Luke 3 how John wanted to dispel that misconception.

Yes, John was baptizing repentant believers but his baptism paled in comparison to the one that was to come, the true and proper baptism Jesus would bring by way of fire from the Holy Spirit.  

Fast forward ahead to our scripture passage from the opening verses of Acts, chapter 19. There we find a group of Ephesian believers needing a proper baptism and receiving it from Paul.

You’ll remember that Paul has just started his third missionary journey. He had visited Ephesus during his second missionary journey and he was so embraced by the church there that they begged Paul to stay but he knew it wasn’t the Lord’s time for that to happen so he promised he would be back if it would be the Lord’s will later.

Obviously, that time had come.

For we read that Paul went to Ephesus during the time that Apollos was ministering in Corinth and while there he came upon some disciples, posing a simple question:

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

To which they replied:

“No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

And so Paul followed up with a second question:

“Then what baptism did you receive?”

And they answered:

“John’s baptism.”

So with this, Paul knew immediately that the believers had been simply baptized by water after repenting of their sins but they weren’t ready to carry out the Gospel work Jesus called for because they lacked the Holy Spirit.

And so Paul took the time to break things down for the approximately twelve men he addressed. We get a sense that the Holy Spirit wasn’t the only one foreign to them. For we get a real sense that they didn’t know John or Jesus either, a gap in knowledge that Paul quickly filled in.

So how did the men respond to Paul’s teaching about how John, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit factored into their lives as Christians?

They immediately allowed Paul to give them a proper baptism, one by way of the Holy Spirit. The impact was sudden and incredible.

For the scriptures tell us that the men “spoke in tongues and prophesied” much like this event that happened right after Jesus ascended to sit at God’s right hand:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

The baptism by the Holy Spirit in Ephesus was Pentecost redux as the men with Paul found their lives changed forever through their profession and faith in Jesus as Savior. The same happens to anyone who follows their lead today, opting for a proper baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit and a future life of evangelism for the cause of Christ.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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