Sunday, February 9, 2020

Baptism: Who Does the Baptizing? - Part II

"Okay, then," you might ask, "why does the CHURCH do the baptizing?  Why doesn't God do it directly, like He baptized the disciples in the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?" (You can read this story in Acts 2, by the way.)

Again:  These are good questions, so I hope you will find the answers equally good.  In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave his disciples (i.e., the earliest Christian Church) this commission: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And surely I will be with you to the end of the age."

When Jesus said this, He didn't rule out God accomplishing baptism in other ways, but He did tell the Christians what He wanted them to do.  Go baptize!  Now if you search the scriptures, you will not find any other command telling the church to baptize in any other way, nor will you find a command to individual Christians to seek baptism in any other way.  So although God COULD do it some other way, that's not the way He's given to Christians and the Christian church to do it!

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