Weekly Devotional 5-22-17 Christian Baptism
From the Book of Acts (8:4-39), we learn that Phillip had gone down into Samaria preaching the word of God concerning Jesus Christ and that an angel (a messenger) of the Lord appeared to him commanding that he go to Gaza, a desert area south of Jerusalem. God had purposed the salvation of an Ethiopian Eunuch and Phillip was to be the conduit of the word that would convince him that even though he was a worshipper of God he needed to take the next step. He was to place his faith in the One God had sent as the only answer for sin. We join the record at verse 26 and read; “26Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, ‘Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is desert. 27So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’ 30So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ 31And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32The place in the Scripture which he read was this: ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.’ 34So the eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?’ 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36Now 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?’ 37Then 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.’ 38So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing” (NKJV). It is evident that the Eunuch knew of the practice of those who were becoming followers of Jesus Christ. They were identifying themselves with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He wanted to likewise identify himself in this way.
As we read through the Book of Acts, we find this same type of identification occurring again and again. In every situation we find that it is stated, or implied, that this identification was a natural desire of the person(s) who had come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We also notice that in every instance there was a qualification for one to be baptized. He must have come to faith in Jesus, trusting Him for salvation, and denying any other contrary claim. Revisiting the passage, we read from verses 36-38; “36Now 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?’ 37Then 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.’ 38So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”
Down through these many centuries of the church, the qualification of baptism has been the qualification of all those who sought and seek to identify with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. We note another truth of this identification. It is a complete submersion in water. Being placed under the water pictures Jesus’ burial and coming up out of the water pictures Jesus’ resurrection. Water baptism, what a testimony!
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