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Writer's pictureMichael E.B. Maher

Three accounts of water baptism

Acts 8:36-38 “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"  (37)  Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."  (38)  So, he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

 

 The bible teaches us that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses we are to let every word be established (Matthew 18:16). And so in this section we will look at three different accounts of water baptism that took place in the early church; in order that we may clearly establish the truth that water baptism is a doctrine of the church. In the first account quoted above, we see that Philip the evangelist had, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, preached Christ to the eunuch from Ethiopia. In response to what Philip had preached that man wanted to be baptized in water. Obviously Philip, in sharing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, had also taught him that those who believe in Christ and are saved must also then be baptised in water. But I want you to notice that Philip was adamant that before this man could be baptized in water, that he must first be born-again. The man then confessed Jesus as his Lord and was thus born-again. Only once he did that, did Philip then take him down into the water and baptized him. And so we see several truths from this account. Firstly, we see that one can only be baptised in water after one is born-again. This is another reason why it is unscriptural to “baptize” babies, for they cannot meet the conditions of believing in Christ’s resurrection and confessing Jesus as Lord and thus be born-again. We also see in this account that it was very important to the early church that one be baptised in water directly after being saved, for clearly Philip had taught that principle to the eunuch, otherwise he would never have insisted on being baptized. We will see later in this teaching the reason why the church baptized believers in water as soon as they were saved. And then finally we see in this account that water baptism involves full immersion into water, for both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water so that the eunuch could be baptized.

 

Acts 9:17-18 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."  (18) Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.”

 

 In the second account quoted above we see the apostle Paul being baptized in water by the disciple Ananias. Paul was saved i.e. baptized into Christ, on the road to Damascus when our Lord appeared to him in a vision. While Paul was fasting and praying after his encounter with the Lord, our Lord sent Ananias to pray for Paul to receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. But Ananias did not stop there, because he then immediately baptised Paul in water as well. And so we see that Paul was baptized in water, only after he was saved. And in Paul’s instance we see that he was baptized in the Holy Spirit before he was baptized in water. The scripture tells us that Paul had been fasting and praying for three days before Ananias got to him (Acts 9:9). And so we see that Paul was only baptised in water three days after he was born-again. The reason for the delay however, was because there was no one physically present who could baptise Paul when he was saved, for he had been saved through his encountering the Lord Jesus in a vision. And so we see that something else can be highlighted from this passage, which is that of the three baptisms, water baptism must be done by another disciple. In other words, one cannot baptize themselves in water. So why is that? As we will see later in this teaching, water baptism is a physical act symbolising our bodies being buried and our Lord raising our bodies up from the dead. And so just as one who has died is unable to bury themselves or raise themselves up from the dead, so it is that water baptism requires another believer to perform it for us. With regards to the other two baptisms however, it is entirely possible for them to take place without another disciple being present. For both the baptism into Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are spiritual encounters, not physical. For example, Paul was baptized into Christ directly from heaven and the disciples on the day of Pentecost were baptized with the Holy Spirit, also directly from heaven.  

 

Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.  (45)  And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.  (46)  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, (47) "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"  (48)  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.”

 

 In the third instance quoted above, the apostle Peter, due to the revelation that he had received from the Lord, was preaching the gospel to the gentiles for the first time. While he was preaching the salvation message, he got to the point where those who heard him believed in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. At that instant they were born-again and baptized into Christ. The moment that happened, God the Father then acknowledged them as His children and baptized them in the Holy Spirit. We know that this is the sequence of events, because Peter explained this incident in more detail later when he spoke about it to the Jews in Jerusalem. And then finally Peter and his fellow Jewish brethren baptised the newly converted gentiles in water.

 

Acts 15:7-8 “And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.  (8) So, God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us.”

 

The above quoted passage of scripture is the account of Peter explaining to the Jews what transpired when he preached the gospel to the gentiles in Caesarea. I want you to notice from this account the sequence of events as they unfolded. The Holy Spirit tells us that they first believed the message of the gospel. In other words they were born-again and baptized into Christ. When that happened, God then acknowledged them by baptizing them in the Holy Spirit. And so we see that on this occasion God Himself specifically baptized these gentile believers in the Holy Spirit after they believed. So why did God do that? He did that because He knew that the Jewish believers who were with Peter, would have to be convinced that these gentiles were genuinely saved, and only the baptism in the Holy Spirit could have done that. When the Jews saw what God had done, they had no choice but to allow the gentiles to be baptized in water as well. And so we see that the sequence of baptisms in this account is similar to that of Paul’s, for the gentiles were first baptised into Christ when they were born-again. They were then baptised with the Holy Spirit after God had acknowledged them as being His sons and daughters. And then finally they were all baptised in water. But I want to draw your attention to the fact that Peter and the other disciples baptised the new gentile believers in water immediately after they were saved. And so we can see from all three examples that we have looked at, that water baptism was clearly practiced by the early church, and that in all instances, the requirement to qualify to be baptized in water, was that the person had to be born-again. And we also see that in all instances, that the early church baptised new converts as soon as possible after salvation.

 

Michael E.B. Maher





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