Sunday, October 21, 2012
IMMERSED
IN THE HOLY
SPIRIT
Two weeks
ago most of us saw Annie baptized. By
the way, wasn’t it a great experience?
If you were unmoved by what happened here that Sunday, you have reason
to be concerned about your spiritual condition.
Before the baptism, we heard the gospel proclaimed. Someone later made reference to that old
hymn, “I Love to Tell the Story.” One
verse says, “I love to tell the story, ‘Tis pleasant to repeat; What seems each
time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.”
And again, “I love to tell the story, For those who know it best seem
hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” The chorus goes: “I love to tell the story, ‘Twill be my theme
in glory -- to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.” We heard that old, old story. And then Annie shared that the gospel is more
than just an old story, but it has power to change lives today. She shared in her own words her deep
conviction that her sin separated her from God, but Jesus died to save her from
her sin, and she is trusting Him for salvation and life. Then the climax came when Annie was put down
into the water and raised up again, testifying that this is what happened to
Jesus and she has been made a part of His death and resurrection. May our mighty God continue to change lives
for His glory.
So we
baptized Annie. I want you to think for
a minute about that word “baptize.”
Consider this question, “Do you believe in baptism by immersion?” That is really a ridiculous question. It’s like asking, “Do you believe in
immersion by immersion?” “Baptize” is a
word that we brought directly over from the Greek language of the New
Testament. At first, you might think
that is a noble thing. Wow! We thought that word was so important that we
just brought it over and made an English word out of it. Yes, that’s what we did, but it isn’t such a
great thing. The problem is that by
doing that we didn’t give it any meaning.
What would
you think, if I opened my Bible and read these words from Jesus: “I am the artoV
thV zwhV”? Would it help, if I
followed it up with these words from Jesus:
“I am the fwV tou kosmou”? Now some of you might be able to figure it
out after a while, but most of you are thinking, “That is stupid. Why don’t you just give us the English
translation of the words?” Okay, Jesus
said, “I am the bread of life,” and He said, “I am the light of the
world.” Do you prefer that? Of course.
So now I read from Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received His word ebaptisqhsan.” Let me translate that Greek word into
English: “Then they that gladly received
His word were baptized.” Do you
see? We didn’t give an English meaning
to the Greek word. We say, “We know what
‘baptize’ means?” Do we? In our religious society, it can mean pouring
water on someone, sprinkling someone with water, or dipping someone into
water. We hold that definition because
of the various practices we have seen, but what does the Greek word actually
mean?
Even modern
translations retain the transliteration “baptize.” The practice began over 400 years ago and it
continues today. Perhaps we cannot be
sure, but it seems most likely that the early English translators were not free
to translate it “immersion,” as that would be offensive to the Anglican Church,
which was practicing sprinkling at that time.
In order not to mistranslate it, they simply left it untranslated. That is unfortunate, because the word itself
means “to immerse.” It speaks of dipping
something into a liquid. Even in secular
literature, it was used in that way. If
a piece of clothing needed to be dyed, it was baptized (immersed) into the
dye.
Immersion
does give us a beautiful picture of what happened to Jesus. As Annie was dipped down into the water, so
Jesus died and was buried in the ground.
Yes, He truly tasted death for every man and was buried. Annie, did you know when you got wet? Did we all realize that Annie was wet, that
she had been dipped into the water? We
certainly did, because her clothes were dripping and her hair was
drenched. Annie, along with everyone
here, was well aware that she had been dipped into the water.
This
morning I want to read you some passages from the New Testament, applying what
I have just talked about. Instead of
transliterating the Greek word baptizw,
I am going to render it with the word “dip” or “immerse.” As much as we can, let’s try to listen in a
fresh way, almost like reading it for the first time.
Matt. 13:1-17… In those days
John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he
who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying
in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'
" 4 And John
himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and
his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem,
all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were
immersed by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them,
"Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear
fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not
think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you
that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now
the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed
immerse you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is
mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will immerse you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing
fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and
gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire." 13 Then Jesus came
from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be immersed by him.14 And John tried
to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be immersed by You, and are You coming
to me?" 15 But Jesus
answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had
been immersed, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened to Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a
voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."
Mark 1:1-11… The beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is
written in the Prophets:"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who
will prepare Your way before You." 3 "The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths
straight.' " 4 John came
immersing in the wilderness and preaching an immersion of repentance for the
remission of sins. 5 Then all the
land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all immersed
by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was
clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey. 7 And he
preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose
sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8 I indeed immersed
you with water, but He will immerse you with the Holy Spirit." 9 It came to pass
in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was immersed by
John in the Jordan. 10 And
immediately, coming up from the water, He
saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice
came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."
Luke 3:1-17… Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor
of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of
Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and
Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God
came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went
into all the region around the Jordan, preaching an immersion of repentance for
the remission of sins, 4 as it is
written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths
straight. 5 Every valley
shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places
shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh
shall see the salvation of God.' " 7 Then he said to
the multitudes that came out to be immersed by him, "Brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear
fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have
Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children
to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now
the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." 10 So the people
asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" 11 He answered and
said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none;
and he who has food, let him do likewise." 12 Then tax
collectors also came to be immersed, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall
we do?" 13 And he said to
them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." 14 Likewise the
soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to
them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with
your wages." 15Now as the
people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John,
whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered,
saying to all, "I indeed immerse you with water; but One mightier than I
is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will immerse you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing
fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and
gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable
fire."
John 1:19-34… Now this is the
testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask
him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed,
and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."21 And they asked
him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 Then they said
to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said:
"I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the
way of the Lord," ' as the prophet
Isaiah said." 24 Now those who
were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked
him, saying, "Why then do you immerse if you are not the Christ, nor
Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered
them, saying, "I immerse with water, but there stands One among you whom
you do not know. 27 It is He who,
coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to
loose." 28 These things
were done in Bethabara beyond the
Jordan, where John was immersing. 29 The next day
John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of
whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was
before me.' 31 I did not know
Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came immersing with
water." 32 And John bore
witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and
He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know
Him, but He who sent me to immerse with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who immerses with the
Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen
and testified that this is the Son of God."
So why did
I read those four passages? Didn’t we
talk about baptism two weeks ago? I read
them to make one simple point -- to be baptized in the Holy Spirit means “to be
dipped in the Spirit,” “to be totally immersed in the Holy Spirit.” I realize that I said two weeks ago that we
were going to be looking today at being filled with the Spirit and walking in
the Spirit. However, there is a third
New Testament concept -- immersion in the Spirit. I am deliberately using that phrase
“immersion in the Spirit” instead of “baptism in the Spirit,” because the
latter terminology has so many connotations connected with it. When most of us hear the phrase “baptized in
the Spirit,” our minds run here and there because of so many past
associations. But when we read the more
accurate and more descriptive phrase “dipped (immersed) in the Holy Spirit,” we
are better able to come as a child and read it in a fresh way.
While you
are adjusting to that idea, let’s now read from the second part of Luke’s
two-part account. The Gospel of Luke is
his first part; what is the second part?
That’s right -- Acts is the continuation of Luke. Both are written by the same author. While the Gospel According to Luke tells us
what Jesus began to do and teach while He was on the earth, Acts gives us the
continuation by telling us what Jesus did through the Holy Spirit after He Himself
ascended back to heaven. So let’s read
from Acts
1:1-11…
The former
account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the
day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given
commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He
also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs,
being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not
to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,
"which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John
truly immersed with water, but you shall be immersed with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now." 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him,
saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said
to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has
put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 9 Now when He
had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud
received Him out of their sight. 10 And while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by
them in white apparel,11 who also
said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same
Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as
you saw Him go into heaven."
Now please
turn to Acts 10. We aren’t going to read
the whole story; you can go back and read it later. This is the account of how a Roman centurion
named Cornelius was wholeheartedly seeking God, when God sent him an angelic
messenger. That angel told him to send
for a man named Peter and told him where to find him. Cornelius obediently sent for Peter, and
after some heavenly persuasion, Peter agreed to travel back to the town where
Cornelius lived. When he arrived, he
found that Cornelius had gathered his family and friends, who were eagerly
waiting to see what Peter would have to say.
Now let’s pick it up and read 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
immersed who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 48 And he commanded them to be immersed in the name of the Lord.
Then they asked him to stay a few days.
When some
of those back in Jerusalem heard that Peter had gone into the house of a
Gentile and even shared a meal with them, they were more than a little bit
concerned. When Peter arrived back in
Jerusalem, they confronted him with their criticism. At that point, Peter carefully recounted the
whole story. We find this in Acts
11. Now let’s pick it up and read Acts
11:15-18…
And as I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I
remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed immersed with water,
but you shall be immersed with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If therefore
God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" 18 When they
heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying,
"Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."
After
reading all these passages, substituting either the word “immerse” or “dip” for
baptize, please consider one other small detail. You probably noticed that your translation
said repeatedly “baptized with the Spirit.” When the preposition is expressed [not always
expressed, because the Greek language can basically use a prepositional phrase
without actually including the preposition], it is the word “en.”
That word can be translated “in,” “with,” or “by,” depending on the
context. So why do most all translations
render it “baptized with the Spirit”? I
believe it is because “with” goes together well with “baptize.” If we think of baptism as being the act of
being immersed, or sprinkled, or having water poured upon you,
then “with” is a perfectly good way of expressing it. However, if we see baptism as immersion, then
the best choice of words is “in.” It is
more accurate to say that Annie was immersed in water than to say that she was immersed with water. The word “with” is appropriate for pouring
and sprinkling, but the word “in” is best for immersion, for dipping. We dip something in water, not with water.
Now I want
to go back and read all six of these verses which speak of being immersed or
dipped in water…
Matt. 3:11… I indeed dip
you in water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will dip you in the Holy Spirit and
fire.
Mark 1:8… I indeed dipped
you in water, but He will dip you in the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:16… John answered, saying
to all, "I indeed dip you in water; but One mightier than I is coming,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will dip you in the Holy Spirit and fire.
John 1:32-33… And John bore
witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and
He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know
Him, but He who sent me to dip in water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the
Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who dips in the Holy
Spirit.'”
Acts 1:5… for John truly dipped in water, but you shall be dipped in
the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Acts 11:16… Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John
indeed dipped in water, but you shall be dipped in the Holy Spirit.'
You will
notice that this reference to being immersed or dipped in the Holy Spirit is in
all four gospel accounts. That is very
rare. Other than Jesus’ death and
resurrection, most things about Jesus are recorded in one, two, or maybe three
of the gospel accounts, but not all four.
One thing I remember about the feeding of the 5,000 is that it is in all
four accounts. I remember that because
it is so unusual. Even Jesus’ birth is
recorded only by Matthew and Luke.
Not only is
the dipping in the Holy Spirit mentioned by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but
John the Baptist makes a big deal out of it.
John the Dipper (to be consistent) used this very fact to identify Jesus
as the Messiah. Notice, for instance, in
Matt. 3:11 that John uses Jesus’ immersing people in the Spirit to link Him
with the one who is mightier, whose sandals he is not worthy to carry. This pointing to Jesus as the One who will
immerse in the Spirit is a vital part of John’s ministry.
Suppose I
were to ask you, “How did John identify the Lord Jesus?” Generally we answer like this: “John pointed to Jesus and said, ‘Behold, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’” He said it twice. Where do we find that account? We find it in the first chapter of John, in
verse 29 and again in verse 36. So one
of the gospel writers includes John the Baptist identifying Jesus in this
way. But in all four gospels John the
Baptist identifies Jesus as the one who will immerse in the Holy Spirit. This is the primary point of
identification. Jesus, and no one else,
immerses in the Holy Spirit. That’s how
you will know that He is indeed the Son of God and the Messiah.
Here is the
question with which I want to leave us this morning: What does it mean to be immersed in the Holy
Spirit? What are the implications of
being dipped in the Spirit? John
immersed in water; Jesus immerses in the Holy Spirit. When Annie was dipped in the water, she knew
it. When a person is dipped in the Holy
Spirit, will he know it?
Perhaps you
are thinking: “Now where are we going
with this?” I understand that
question. We become so predictable that
anything that doesn’t fit immediately into our little box is questionable. So how are these questions going to fit into
our box of what we believe about the Spirit?
I don’t know. That in itself is
frightening to some of you. Why? Because we have a tendency to be very much
afraid of the unknown, and we have the same tendency to be afraid of the Holy
Spirit. Remember when we talked about
the Spirit and the Word and how we are stronger on the ministry of the Word
than the ministry of the Spirit? And why
is that? A big part of it is because we
think we have some control over the Bible.
After all, it is made up of words on the printed page. But the Holy Spirit is different. He is a person. Instead of us leading Him, He leads us, and
we don’t know exactly where He is going to lead.
Brothers
and sisters, most of us have a desire to be stable. We like to think we know what we believe,
because we are grounded in the Word. The
truth is that often we are so certain of what we believe we refuse to allow God
to change what we believe. And if a
person we consider to be a mature Christian is open to change in his beliefs,
we label him as unstable. Because we
want to be stable, we are in danger of becoming static. Do we want the Lord to open our
understanding?
If you are
afraid something we believe about the Holy Spirit might change, get over
it. I will go on record as saying that
my understanding of the Holy Spirit is subject to change, and I assure you that
I desire my experience of the Spirit’s work to be enlarged. I need the Lord to work in me by the power of
His Spirit. If that requires opening my
understanding to things I haven’t yet grasped, so be it. I remind you that the most doctrinally orthodox
people of Jesus’ day were the Pharisees.
Their minds were full of knowledge, but their hearts were hard and
dead. We don’t want to be like the
Pharisees.
Don’t
misunderstand. The Holy Spirit will
always lead according to the Word of God, for He is the author of that
Word. But at the same time we must
realize that the same Holy Spirit is the one who is fully capable of opening
our minds and hearts to better understand that Word.
So please
chew on these questions: “What does it
mean to be immersed in the Holy Spirit?
What are the results of such an experience? Is it something of which we are consciously
aware?” Let’s cry out to God for
answers.
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