Saturday, April 9, 2011

In The Name Of The Lord Jesus


Acts 19:3-7 ESV
3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “ Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “ John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.

John's baptism was not enough, though repentance is a necessary prerequisite to receiving Jesus. These were earnest men, but not complete in the Spirit. 
They heard the word of the gospel. The Spirit enabled the proclaiming and the hearing. The Spirit accomplishes this through man, made possible by the incarnation of God and sacrifice of the one who called Himself "Son of Man".
There are two baptisms here. They represent the water and blood necessary to be cleansed before God.  
There about twelve men, the same number as Jesus chose to start the church. 
They began to proclaim the word, in the words needed and their meaning.  Tongues of fire are lit by coal from heaven's alter placed on their lips. And so it is. 

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