Thursday, April 26, 2012

Baptism (part 3)

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Baptism is rooted firmly in the Trinity.  Through the Bible, God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God who interacts with us in three persons.  We see all three persons of the Trinity at work when Jesus was baptized: When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22). After Jesus rose from the grave three years later, He gave His disciples this Trinitarian command: go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).  From start to finish, baptism is founded on the one God who is also three persons.

We don’t understand how God can be three distinct persons yet only one God.  The disciples couldn’t grasp it either; in the 14th chapter of his Gospel, John records the following conversation: Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'?  Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.  The second chapter of Colossians tells us, in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit—together they are God.  Together, they give baptism its power to save lives and change people forever.

In baptism, God the Father adopts us as His children and protects us from the devil.  In baptism, God the Son takes away our guilt and covers us with His purity.  In baptism, God the Spirit works within us, building a stronger trust in God, giving wisdom to tell the difference between good and evil, and providing strength to resist the temptations of misbehavior.  Through baptism, every facet of God’s power and love is brought to bear on our lives.  We don’t really understand how it’s possible, but we can find great joy in it, regardless.

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