"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. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus."
In Today's quote, Jesus approached Ananias in a vision and sent him to Saul. As we study this lesson, we should remember explicitly why Ananias was sent. He was sent so that Saul might first, receive his sight, and then he was to receive the Holy Ghost.
There is no mention herein that Ananias was to baptize Saul in water. As a matter of fact, there is no mention of water anywhere in connection with Saul's conversion. However, we read in verse eighteen, after Ananias had restored Saul's sight and Saul had received the Holy Ghost, it is said the Saul was "baptized".
We should carefully define the term "baptized" as it applied in the context of what happened to Saul that day. Since there is no mention of water anywhere in the account of Saul's experience, we can be assured that the baptism Saul underwent that day was the baptism of the Holy Ghost, not a water baptism.
Referring back to the reason Ananias was sent, the text clearly states that he was sent to restore Saul's sight and to administer the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the only kind of baptism that Jesus EVER offered.
Therefore when the author said Saul was "baptized", he was NOT referring to a water immersion, he was simply noting that Saul had received (been baptized with) the Holy Ghost, as Jesus had demanded when He gave Ananias his instructions in this lesson.~
No comments:
Post a Comment