Lesson 404

 

(Lesson 404)(09-23-12) Acts 22:1-21, "Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles."

This lesson tells us that, after Paul had convinced the chief captain of the centurians that he was a free Roman citizen, he was allowed to speak to the assembled Jews from the steps of the temple.
He told them the story of his being stricken down by Jesus and how Jesus, in the Spirit had blinded him and challenged him to carry His gospel to the Gentiles. He told them about how Jesus had commanded him to go to Damascus and there Ananais would give him back his sight. Ananais said to Paul, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." Ananais then told Paul to "arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord".
There are many who will interpret this last passage of scripture to verify that Paul was commanded to be, and eventually was, "baptized" in water. That however, is not what this passage conveys.

To clarify the real meaning of this text, we must go back to the original account of Pauls conversion in Acts 10:15-18, "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."
This passage contains Jesus' command to Ananias as to what he was to do for Paul, Ananais said, "Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." Ananias was sent to Paul to give him back his sight, and grant him the Holy Ghost. Jesus did not give Ananias a command to baptize Paul in water.

One might say, well this passage says Paul WAS baptized! That is correct, Paul was immersed (baptized), but NOT in water. The baptism Paul received was the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Both accounts of Pauls conversion mention baptism, and it can, understandably, be confusing. To help clear it up, we must remember how the term "baptize" and it's grammatical variations came into being and understand that there are many things into which one can be baptized. Water is only one of them.

Baptize was transliterated from the Greek term BaptizO which simply means 'to immerse' and does NOT specify a medium into which an object or person is baptized. We must rely on the context of the scripture to determine what medium is implied in each of the many applications of the term "baptize" represented in the New Testament.

It should also be noted that there is no scriptural evidence that any of the other thirteen Apostles were ever baptized in water, therefore, there is no reason for Paul to have been. However, John the Baptist provided evidence that they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost, Matt. 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"

Further, One should list the events that occurred between Paul and Ananias in the order they were commanded and the order in which the commandments were fulfilled. Firstly Ananias said, Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, (1)"that thou mightest receive thy sight", (1a)"And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith,"

(2)"and be filled with the Holy Ghost." (2b)"and arose, and was baptized."

This last portion of the text that says, "and arose, and was baptized.", is the point at which Paul received the Holy Ghost, "was baptized" simply means he was overcome by or immersed into, the Holy Ghost.~