Friday, June 30, 2017

Baptized into Christ

Acts 19:1-6 
1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

A baptism only for turning from sin to aim toward God with the true aim of going further to believe in the Christ to follow is what John preached.  These Paul came across had not yet heard the rest of the gospel story, and so were not reborn and sealed by God's Spirit to live within them.  So hearing their hearts were reborn and faith filled them to salvation.  His Spirit gave evidence to them of God's work.

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