Acts 2:41, 42; 41 So then, those who had received his word were
baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Romans
6:3,4; 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into
Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have
been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ
was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might
walk in newness of life.
I. Presuppositions From Baptisms of the Bible I
- Baptism Administered By John; Baptism in Water The Greek
word for baptism is (βάπτισμα)
to dip in or under water; By definition, the proper mode for
Baptism is immersion in water!
- Baptisms Administered By Jesus
A. Baptism by the Holy Spirit; Matthew 3:11b Jesus
gathering His elect into the church and finally into heaven. It is a
metaphysical use of the term, baptism.
B. Baptism by Fire; Matthew 3:11b This
baptism is by fire and speaks of eternal judgment. See Revelation
20:14,15; 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s
name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.
C. Baptism Administered Unto Jesus; Matthew
3:13-17
“As for me, I baptize you with water for
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not
fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. 12 “And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will
thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into
the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him,
saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15
But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at
this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 And after being
baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and
coming upon Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens,
saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
To fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS;
1. Identification with the Sinner, Jesus, who was
without sin, identified with the sinner in John’s Baptism of
Repentance.
2. Identification with the Cross; According
to Paul, water baptism is a picture of death, burial and resurrection.
See Romans 6:3b,4; 3b “ . . . all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in
order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father,”
3. Identification with the Godhead; Notice we have the
Father’s voice, the Son coming out of the water and the Spirit’s
presence as the symbol of eternal peace with God! Jesus’ baptism was an
affirmation to comply with God’s will to die and rise up again in full
and total payment for our sin! AMEN!
II. The New Testament Pattern; Baptisms of the Bible II
The Holy Spirit directed the Apostles and set the pattern for the
churches. John 16:13 “But when He, the
Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will
not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and
He will disclose to you what is to come.
- Regenerate People were Baptized; Acts 2:41a
“. . . those who
had received his word were baptized; . . .” Here the baptizers were
men, not Christ; the mode was immersion in water.
The Baptized People were Added; Acts 2:41b “. . . and there were
added that day about three thousand souls.” As Jesus administered Holy
Spirit baptism placing the believer into the church which is His body
universally; the apostles administered water baptism placing the believers
into the church geographically or locally.
The Added People were in Fellowship; Acts 2:42 “And they were
continually devoting themselves to
- the apostles’ teaching
- and to fellowship,
- to the breaking of bread
- and to prayer.”
- The Fellowshipping People were Added to the Local Church
“And the Lord added *to the church daily such as should be
saved.”
Acts 2:47 KJV. *(Some manuscripts omit “to the church.”)
Nevertheless the evidence that these fellowship cells were identified as
local churches in the Epistles is incontestable and the absence or
presence of the phrase does not affect the New Testament Pattern.
II. The Constitution of Local Churches is Consistent with the Great
Commission and New Testament Practice
Matthew 28:18-20; 18 “. . .All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”
Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and
Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
What a blessing to be a part of one of God’s churches here at GFBC.
What about you, my friend?
God has provided the
means -- He gave His Son to intercede; all we have to do is confess our sin, ask for His forgiveness
and call upon Him to save us from the guilt and penalty of sin.
2nd Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
If you have never entrusted your life to Him, why not come to Him today
for Salvation. That's the first order of business.
"And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be
saved." Acts
4:12
Please contact
us if you sense your need to come to Him. We can help. (Just
click on "contact us.")
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