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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/three-baptisms/
It's been quite a while since we've seen such a large number gathered together. It's good to be here this morning at Stowe. Now, I'd like to turn to the Gospel of Luke, please, chapter 12. Luke chapter 12.
Luke chapter 12, and we'll read at verse 49. These are the words of the Lord Jesus. I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till it be accomplished?
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather division. For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Now, come over to the book of Acts, please, chapter 2. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book of Acts. Chapter 2, we read at verse 1. The day of Pentecost was fully come. They were all with one accord in one place.
So the day of Pentecost, that's 50 days after the Passover when the Lord Jesus was crucified. He has already gone back to heaven 40 days after he was crucified, and now we come to 50 days. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all together with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Drop down to verse 41 while we're here. Then they that gladly received his word, Peter has been preaching to the people.
They were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about 3 ,000 souls, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Now come over to chapter 8. We have here in this chapter the conversion of the eunuch from Ethiopia. Philip has been bringing before him the truth of Isaiah 53, verse 35. Acts 8, 35, then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus.
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water. And the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. Now, one more verse we might reference is 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians 12, we'll read at verse 12. Paul speaks first of the human body. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, the human body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
So he's applying that metaphor of the human body now to Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into or drink in one Spirit.
For the body is not one member, but many. Verse 27, as Paul speaks directly to the Corinthians, he says, now ye are body of Christ and members in particular. The Lord will bless to us these fundamental readings from his word.
I want to interest you this morning, in the few minutes at my disposal, in three baptisms, and we have read about them here in these portions of the Word of God. We have, first of all, the baptism of Christ's body, his literal body, in death.
He speaks of that here in Luke chapter 12. Then we want to notice as well the baptism of the church body, in the Spirit. And we have read about that from 1 Corinthians 12, and also the historic account in Acts chapter 2.
And then, finally, we want to notice with you the baptism of the believer's body, his literal body, in literal water, and something of the significance of that as well. Now, the Lord Jesus speaking here in Luke chapter 12, he, this is strange language, at least if we're coming to this fresh and reading it for the first time, he says, I have come to cast fire upon the earth.
And the New American Standard renders the following, and how I wish that it were already kindled. And then he speaks of a baptism. He says, but I have a baptism to undergo. And how distressed I am until it be accomplished.
So he's speaking of a baptism that he himself would undergo. Now, in the context, the Lord has been speaking generally of his second coming, and we've been reminded of his coming already in the first hymn that we sung together.
And he is emphasizing here the need for preparation in view of his coming again. And then he makes this statement, I am come to cast fire on the earth. Now, what we're going to need to decide this morning is whether he is referring here to his first coming, when he came as a man in humiliation, or is he speaking about a future event?
There's two possibilities. If we read on, we'd come to verse 52, where he says, from henceforth. And he goes on to show how that there will be division between people. Verse 51, even in a family of five, there will be three against two, or maybe two against three.
And what he's highlighting is this, that when a person comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior now, that might set them at odds with a family member who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is emphasizing that salvation is intensely personal. It's not a family affair. While God's mind would be that everyone in the family should be saved as individuals. So, salvation is intensely personal.
And the irony is this, that when a person is made right with God, and puts their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, it inevitably puts them at odds with others who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
And it can even bring friction into previous relationships. Now that might come as a surprise to newer believers, but the Lord anticipated it. A division that would result from those that receive Jesus as Lord, and those who naturally are opposed to Him and remain in their sins.
There's a difference, an essential difference between them, and so salvation divides the world. It can divide families. It divides this room. There are those that are saved and in Christ, and there are those that are in their sins, and liable for the judgment of God.
There's a division even in this room. But I take it that not only is there that present application of the Scripture, but there's a future meaning here too. I am come to cast fire on the earth. If we were to go over to 2 Thessalonians 1, you remember there as Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers, he's anticipating a day when the Lord will come again in His glory.
He's coming in flaming fire, taking vengeance. On them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now what is vengeance? Well, vengeance is penal retribution. It is payback for wrong that has been done.
And in the context of 2 Thessalonians 1, the saints are being persecuted by the world out there. And Paul is anticipating the day when the wrongs of earth against the people of God will be dealt with from heaven.
And the Savior will come in flaming fire, casting fire on the earth, if you will, taking vengeance on them that know not God, that have persecuted His people. And there's a day of payback that lies ahead in the future, even from today.
Now on the night before the Lord Jesus was crucified, He warned His disciples that the world would hate them. He said, if the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. This world after all took the Lord Jesus and nailed Him to a cross.
He said, if ye were of the world, the world would love His own. But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. This world system, the world of men and its system, is opposed to Christ and is opposed to His people.
And it's a world that will yet suffer the wrath of God. Now the Lord Jesus goes on to say, but I have a baptism to undergo before the wrongs of earth are made right. But I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until it be accomplished.
Really it would be the outworking of the opposition of this world against God. It reaches its zenith in the crucifixion of the Son of God from heaven. The hatred of men will be put on display. And the Lord Jesus is anticipating that.
And He knows what it will be, an anticipation to be immersed, to be baptized, to be immersed. That's what the word baptism means, to be immersed. He's going to be immersed in the very judgment of God.
It will overwhelm Him.
As He will be the substitute for the sinner. And Christ will die for our sins. You remember the language of the Savior through the psalmist when He said, Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul.
I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. And the Lord Jesus had a baptism to be baptized with, an immersion in which He will be overwhelmed.
And He says, How am I distressed? Until it be accomplished. If we were to turn our eyes today to that night in Gethsemane, we would see something of His distress until it be accomplished. When His sweat became, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground, and being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly.
Father, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done. And He bows His Holy Soul in submission to the will of His Father. He goes on to accomplish that work, that baptism whereby He must be overwhelmed.
Until He cries at last, It is finished. It is accomplished. Then gently they took Him down, unfixed His hands, His feet, brought from His head the thorny crown, brought forth the winding sheet, led Him into a rock, rolled to the door the stone, watched the world add its waxen lock, and left Him there alone.
Wrapped in the silence of the tomb, the great Redeemer lay till the revolving skies had brought the third, the appointed day. Then, up from the grave, heroes, whether mighty triumph or His foes, He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! Hallelujah!
Christ arose. Tremendous, isn't it? To think of the triumph of the Savior. Now is Christ risen from the dead. His immersion in death is accomplished. It is complete. It is finished. Many a believer here today has rejoiced in those very words.
It is finished. Yes, indeed, finished. Every jot. Sinner, this is all you need. Tell me, is it not? The baptism of the body of Christ in death. It was 50 days later when this event that we read about in Acts 2 took place.
They were all together, the disciples were all together with one accord in one place. Isn't that lovely? That's the way God intends that it should be.
Now, they were all in that one room when, all of a sudden,.
The room was filled with the sound of a rushing mighty wind. It filled the whole room. And there appeared, as it were, cloven tongues of fire upon each believer in that room. So there's two things happening here.
The sound as of a rushing mighty wind is indicative of the Spirit of God filling that room. And they're all inside. So those disciples were immersed, if you will, in the realm or sphere of the Spirit.
And then, secondly, the Spirit of God came within each individual. And each individual believer now had the Spirit of God in them. So they're immersed in the Spirit and the Spirit of God is within them, incorporating each one of them into the same thing, the same body of believers.
You see that? Something that had never occurred on earth before. And for the first time on planet earth, the body of Christ, the mystical body of Christ. Now we're talking about believers, is formed. They are incorporated into the one thing.
Each became members of that one body as the Spirit of God took up a residence in each heart. Now that united them together, didn't it? It brought them into the same thing. They were now in the same bundle of life.
The Spirit of the living God in each one, they were sharing in common the same spiritual life. In the same spiritual sphere, they were immersed in it. It was a baptism. It is the historic, once for all, baptism in the Spirit.
Now, Paul will later refer back to that when he writes to the Corinthians. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, he writes this. For as the body is one and as many members, that's the human body, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body.
So our human body has got fingers and toes and eyes and ears and so on. But it's all part of the one body. Now he applies that and he says, so also is Christ. So now he's talking about the members of the mystical body of Christ, the individual believers that are part of the one thing, the body of Christ.
So he goes on to speak of that. He says, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. And he says, We have all been made to drink in one Spirit. So again, two things. There's that reference to the body of Christ being formed by being baptized into one body.
That took place once. Acts chapter 2 is when that happens. The body of Christ was formed there. And since then, every single believer that trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, that body grows. And just like a human body, a little baby that's born, it has all its faculties there, all its members, and yet that body grows over time.
So also is Christ. The body of Christ formed on the day of Pentecost. The church, which is his body, was formed. And since that moment, every believer that is trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a part of that body because the very moment that they trust the Savior, they have the Spirit of God within them.
And that's what it means to be born again, born of the Spirit. And the Spirit of God coming within that believer, at that very moment, that believer becomes the possessor of everlasting life, spiritual life, because the Spirit of the living God is now within him.
And he has a new kind of life he didn't have before. And so the Spirit of God comes within the believer and that believer becomes a part of the body of Christ, which began on the day of Pentecost so many centuries ago.
So that has certain connotation and that has certain meaning that develops from that. If you and I, each as believers, are part of the one thing, the body of Christ, we have union with Christ. That's for sure.
That happened the moment we trusted him. We have union with Christ. But listen, we've also union one with another. Union one with another. So that it's not that just I, as an individual, am making my way to heaven.
No, I've got brothers and sisters now that share the same life. And I've been brought into something that is bigger than me. I've been brought into the body of Christ that comprises every believer from the day of Pentecost back then right through until this present moment.
And there will be others too if the Lord be not come until the moment of the rapture. The body of Christ will then be complete. So you and I have been brought into something that is bigger. And it depends, it all goes back to the day of Pentecost when it was fully come.
So that is the baptism of the church body in the spirit. It is historic. And we come into the good of it individually the moment we trust Christ. Now then, what about this water baptism? There's a lot of confusion in the world over water baptism.
And some think that when a little baby is sprinkled that somehow they become a child of God and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. Well, of course, there isn't one word to support that in our Bibles.
That is extra biblical. That is not from the Bible. Baptism itself as an ordinance is not meritorious in gaining salvation. There are some that would teach that you need to be baptized to have your sins put away.
But rather, baptism is a confession of personal appreciation of the work of Christ on my behalf as an individual believer. The Lord Jesus during those 40 days after he was crucified and he rose again from the dead, he gave a command to his disciple, a precept.
In Matthew 8, verse 19, he said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations or disciple all nations so that they preach the gospel to them that bring the word of God in truth before them. And then he said, Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
So the Lord Jesus gave the commandment, the precept, if you will, back there in Matthew chapter 28. Then we find in Acts chapter 2, after that church was formed in the early part of the chapter, we read further down in verse 41,.
Then they that gladly received his word. So they're believers. They were baptized. That's water baptism. And then they were added to the company there. So that's the practice. Where a person is saved, it is commanded by the Lord Jesus, it is expected that they will be baptized in water.
So the believer's literal body being baptized in water. We see the procedure carried out here in Acts chapter 8, where we read, This Ethiopian eunuch has been up to Jerusalem. He has evidently acquired a copy of the scroll of Isaiah.
And he's reading as he goes along in that chariot from Isaiah 53. He's reading about the man of sorrows. He's reading about one who was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity. The punishment to bring us into peace was upon him.
And with his strife, we are healed. And he's wondering, who is the prophet writing about? And at that point, Philip, he's there, the Spirit of God has brought him down there, the evangelist Philip. And he opens up that same scripture, and he preached onto him Jesus.
And he showed how this is fulfilled in the person and work of our Lord Jesus. His coming into the earth, his moving through a man of sorrows, his death upon the cross. And he'll see of the travail of his soul, God raised him from the dead.
He preached onto him Jesus. And he evidently told him about the need for believer's baptism. Because next thing, they come across some water there. And he says, look, here's some water. What hinders me from being baptized?
And Peter, or Philip, give him a little interview. If thou believest with all thy heart. And the man made a clear confession that he believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This one who was crucified.
According to the scriptures. Who has been raised again from the dead, according to the scriptures. He is indeed the very Son of God. So satisfied that the man was genuinely a believer. Philip took him, and it says they went down, both of them, into the water.
You notice, Philip didn't go and get some water and bring the water over to him and pour it on his head. They went down, both of them, into the water. And he baptized him. He immersed him in the water.
And then it says that they came back up out of the water. And that was a good job. That they came out of the water again. So there's the procedure being carried out. Now, that was in the book of Acts.
And that's the pattern in the book of Acts. They believed and they were baptized. They believed, they were baptized. So what was commanded by the Lord Jesus in the gospel is practiced in the book of Acts.
And when we come to the epistles, we find that it is taught and explained as to the meaning of it. So, for example, if we came to Romans chapter six, I didn't take the time to read it, but in Romans chapter six, we would read this in verse three.
Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Now, what the apostle is saying is this. That in my water baptism, I am saying that I am dead to all that I was in my sins and I'm being buried, put out of sight. And that is symbolized in going under the water.
And then not only that, but the moment that I trusted Christ, the Spirit of God came within and I now have a new life to live. A new life to live I didn't have before. And so they bring me back up out of the water.
You see, see the symbolism? It's like a death that has occurred and a new life that there is to live. And that is the statement that water baptism makes. It is me identifying in that public way. There's identification with Christ in his death, in his burial, in his resurrection.
I'm linked with him indissolubly. I'm linked with a dead, risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ. And I now have a new life to live. A life for God to live. Alive unto God. As Paul writes to the Ephesians later, my time's up.
But he writes and he says this, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is corrupt according to the lusts of the sea. And he says that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness and truth.
So Paul is saying this, that your baptism, while it has taken place, it is symbolizing the fact that now as a believer, you put off the kind of behavior that was involved in your former life. Put it off like you would take off a pair of old clothes that have become dirty.
You put it off. And rather you put on new clothes. A new life to live in Christ. A life for Christ that's characterized by Christ likeness and godliness. So it's tremendous what God has done for his brothers and sisters.
And I trust that even the reflection on these tremendous truths will encourage our hearts as our brethren will develop these truths before us to go on and live our lives, to please him until we see his face when he comes again.
And the Lord bless his word to our hearts.