mini-Pentecost

Epistle for January 7, 2024 Baptism of the Lord

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 19:1-7
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is sometimes called the mini-Pentecost. This is a description of the coming of the Holy Spirit among Greek believers in Ephesus some years after the original Pentecost in Jerusalem.

This outpouring of the Spirit happens because of a doctrinal misunderstanding about baptism. Apollos, who is a Jew from Alexandria and a recent convert to Christianity, has been preaching in Ephesus. Although his doctrine of salvation by faith is fundamentally sound, his understanding of baptism is a bit off.

He has been preaching a baptism of repentance, as practiced by John the Baptist, not baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Consequently they had not received the full benefit of their faith, which included receiving the Holy Spirit.

When they were baptized in the name of Jesus, and the apostle laid hands on them and prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon them. They then received the manifestation of spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy.

The baptism of John into repentance was understood as a kind of preparation for the coming of Christ. However, now that Jesus has been made manifest as Savior and Lord through his life, teaching, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension, it has been made clear that he is the Christ.

At the beginning of each of the four Gospels John is introduced as a preparatory figure, who is “paving the way” for the Messiah. And in Luke 3:16, John had promised:

I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Through baptism into Jesus, these disciples receive the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and, metaphorically, the spiritual fire.

APPLY:

The doctrine of baptism can be very confusing in the church today, just as it was to the Ephesian converts. Is it a sign of repentance, or new birth, or the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, or a symbol of death and resurrection? And the answer is— Yes! — to all of those questions!

And what is the proper method of baptism? That question is usually a prelude to what can be a pretty divisive discussion.

What is really significant about this is that water baptism must be understood as a sign of the purifying and empowering work of God. What really matters is what God does through the Holy Spirit.

A person may be baptized as an infant or as an adult, and yet neither one of them may experience the fullness of the experience of the Holy Spirit until their hearts are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here is an analogy — Paul compares baptism to circumcision in Colossians 2:11-12. He says that baptism is comparable to:

a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ;having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

But Paul also points out that the only true circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit (Romans 2:29).

In other words, the power of baptism lies in what God does in our hearts, not merely that we have been dunked in a creek, or had some water put on our heads.

The baptism of the heart and the work of the Holy Spirit in us is what really matters.

The comfort we take from this passage is that the Holy Spirit continues to be poured out, just as he was at Pentecost, and later in Ephesus, throughout the book of Acts, and in the life of the church these last 2000 years.

RESPOND:

I live in a diverse Christian culture, with many interpretations of the act of baptism. I think it is possible that each of them have a part of the story. The Methodists are right in thinking that baptism is a sign of our acceptance by God and his work in our lives even when we are too immature to understand what it means. But the Baptists are also right in believing that we must appropriate this gift by faith. Baptism, whether it is administered to a child or to a more mature believer, is only as powerful as the receptivity of that individual to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives through faith.

Our Lord, cut through our confusion and our fussing about baptism, and pour out your Holy Spirit on all of your church, that we all may be the believers and the world changers you mean for us to be. Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Baptism” uses the following photo:
“Splash” by Earl Wilkerson is available at freeimages.com.

Epistle for January 10, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 19:1-7
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is sometimes called the mini-Pentecost. This is a description of the coming of the Holy Spirit among Greek believers in Ephesus some years after the original Pentecost in Jerusalem.

At the beginning of each of the four Gospels John is introduced as a preparatory figure, who is “paving the way” for the Messiah. And he had promised in Luke 3:16

I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Through baptism into Jesus, these disciples receive the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and, metaphorically, the spiritual fire.

APPLY:

And what is the proper method of baptism? That question is usually a prelude to what can be a pretty divisive discussion.

What is really significant about this is that water baptism must be understood as a sign of the purifying and empowering work of God. What really matters is what God does through the Holy Spirit.

Here is an analogy — Paul compares baptism to circumcision in Colossians 2:11-12. He says that baptism is comparable to:

a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

But Paul also points out that the only true circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit (Romans 2:29).

In other words, the power of baptism lies in what God does in our hearts, not merely that we have been dunked in a creek, or had some water put on our heads.

The baptism of the heart and the work of the Holy Spirit in us is what really matters.

RESPOND:

PHOTOS:
“Baptism” uses the following photo:
“Splash” by Earl Wilkerson is available at freeimages.com.

Epistle for January 7, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 19:1-7
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is sometimes called the mini-Pentecost. This is a description of the coming of the Holy Spirit among Greek believers in Ephesus some years after the original Pentecost in Jerusalem.

When they were baptized in the name of Jesus, and the apostle laid hands on them and prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon them. They then received the manifestation of the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy.

At the beginning of each of the four Gospels John is introduced as a preparatory figure, who is “paving the way” for the Messiah. And he had promised in Luke 3:16

I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Through baptism into Jesus, these disciples receive the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and, metaphorically, the spiritual fire.

APPLY:

The doctrine of baptism can be very confusing in the church today, just as it was to the Ephesian converts. Is it a sign of repentance, or new birth, or the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, or a symbol of death and resurrection — and the answer is, yes to all of those questions!

And what is the proper method of baptism? That question is usually a prelude to what can be a pretty divisive discussion.

What is really significant about this is that water baptism must be understood as a sign of the purifying and empowering work of God. What really matters is what God does through the Holy Spirit.

Here is an analogy — Paul compares baptism to circumcision in Colossians 2:11-12. He says that baptism is comparable to:

a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

But Paul also points out that the only true circumcision is the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit (Romans 2:29).

In other words, the power of baptism lies in what God does in our hearts, not merely that we have been dunked in a creek, or had some water put on our heads.

The baptism of the heart and the work of the Holy Spirit in us is what really matters.

RESPOND:

PHOTOS:
“Baptism” uses the following photo:
“Splash” by Earl Wilkerson is available at freeimages.com.

Epistle for Jan. 11, 2015

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Acts 19:1-7

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is sometimes called the “mini-Pentecost” that happens among the Greek believers in Ephesus some years after the original Pentecost in Jerusalem.

This outpouring of the Spirit happens because of a doctrinal misunderstanding about baptism. Apollos, who is a Jew from Alexandria and a recent convert to Christianity, has been preaching in Ephesus. Although his doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ is fundamentally sound, his understanding of baptism is a bit off.

With the baptism into Jesus, and the reception of the Holy Spirit, they also received the manifestation of spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy.

We will remember at the beginning of each of the four Gospels John is introduced as a preparatory figure, who is “paving the way” for the Messiah. And he had promised in Luke 3:16 “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.”

Through baptism into Jesus, these disciples receive the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and, metaphorically, the spiritual fire.

APPLY:

The doctrine of baptism can be very confusing in the church today, just as it was to the Ephesian converts. Is it a sign of repentance, new birth, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, a symbol of death and resurrection – and the answer is, yes!

And what is the proper method? That question is usually a prelude to what can be a pretty divisive discussion: sprinkling, immersion, pouring, infant, believer’s baptism?

What is really quite significant about this is that water baptism, though a powerful symbol, must be understood as a symbol. What really matters is what God does through the Holy Spirit.

A person may be baptized as an infant or as an adult, and neither one of them may experience the fullness of the experience of the Holy Spirit unless their hearts are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here is an analogy: Paul compares baptism to circumcision in Colossians 2:11-12 Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

But Paul also points out that the only true circumcision is the circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit (Romans 2:29).

In other words, the power of baptism lies in what God does in our hearts, not merely that we have been dunked in a creek, or had some water put on our heads.

The baptism of the heart and the work of the Holy Spirit in us is what really matters.

The comfort we take from this passage is that the Holy Spirit continues to be poured out, just as he was at Pentecost, and later in Ephesus, and throughout the book of Acts, and in the life of the church these last 2000 years.

RESPOND:

I live in a diverse Christian culture, with many interpretations of the act of baptism. I think it is possible that each of them have a part of the story: the Methodists are right in thinking that baptism is a sign of our acceptance by God and his work in our lives even while we are too immature to understand what it means. But the Baptists are also right in believing that we must appropriate this gift by faith. Baptism, whether it is administered to a child or to a believer, is only as powerful as the receptivity of that individual to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives through faith.