And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed uthrough the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and dprophesying. There were about twelve men in all. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that kall the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:1-10 ESV)
Here we see a different take on baptism… Here they were baptized into John’s baptism and not the cleansing of Jesus. Reminds me of a question I was asked by the father of a friend after my baptism at the Baptist Church I was attending. He asked me, “if I believed Jesus died for me and had cleansed me of my sins?” Then he said if I didn’t believe this I just got wet…
Did you just get wet? You see it is not about what we do, it is all about what God does. These men did not know about the Holy Spirit, and the baptism they heard they needed was one of repentance, but that is not the baptism we partake in. We are claimed by God at our baptism, which is the baptism that Jesus also participated in. And since Jesus was without sin, it is not for cleaning. It is for acceptance. One that allows us to speak boldly about what we have been given and what we have. It is a time to speak boldly about what we have been accepted into. We are accepted by God and given His spirit.
So live into the gift you have been given.
aSacredRebel 