Acts 9:10-18, "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 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 application has special meaning as for as these lessons are concerned, in that, although almost every "Christian" will say that the word "baptized", as it was applied to Paul in this text, intends water as the medium into which Paul was immersed "baptized". That notion is simply not true and I believe I can prove it by the instructions Jesus gave Ananias, and by what Ananias did after receiving those instructions.
Beginning in verse 10 we find why Jesus sent Ananias to see Paul, "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE HIS SIGHT.
We should note that there is no mention herein that Ananias is to "baptize" Paul in water. However, if we read verses 17-18 we find that Paul indeed was "baptized", but it was with, or into, the Holy Ghost, NOT water, "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" (Past tense) "baptized."
There is nothing within this text that implies that Paul was ever immersed in water, Paul was clearly immersed into the Holy Ghost. Jesus sent Ananias to "baptize Paul in the Holy Ghost as per verse 17.
NOTE: There is no concrete scriptural evidence that ANY of the Apostles were ever "baptized" (immersed) into water.~
No comments:
Post a Comment