There Is One Baptism

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                              Acts 1:5

There Is One Baptism

by Robert T. Cooper

Jesus will soon ascend to heaven. He is getting in his last bits of teaching. He is reminding the apostles to stay in Jerusalem because John the Baptist baptized with (or in) water (indeed, these apostles had baptized Jesus’ followers with or in water), but in a few days the apostles would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is an interesting word. It comes from the Greek word which means to put totally under water as one would a dish when one is washing it. It would be translated as “immerse.” That created a problem for the King James translators, because the Anglicans did not immerse and they could not have their translation teach a doctrine that did not conform to the practice of their church. So instead of translating the word, they transliterated it. Indeed if one looks biblically at what believer’s immersion symbolizes, then one sees why the mode of baptism is important.

But before we get into denominational arguments, let’s look at one more point that is even more important. Paul teaches us that there is “one baptism.” Yet here we have Jesus Himself teaching us there is water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism. So where does Paul get off with this one baptism stuff?

The point is this, and I know I am on dangerous denominational ground again. Water baptism, whatever its mode, is commanded. We do it in obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But from a technical point of view, it is not essential to salvation. If you were to get in a car wreck and die between the location of your placing your faith in Christ and the location of your water baptism, like the thief on the cross, your salvation would be secure. That does not mean you have the option of being disobedient and just skipping it if you so choose. It just means that you have already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the ONE baptism of which the water baptism is symbolic.

When a person places his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in that person’s life. The transaction consists of giving Christ all of your life for the rest of your life. In turn, you get all of the Holy Spirit. You are immersed in the Holy Spirit. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit. He lives in you to teach you, to direct you, to comfort you, and to spend the rest of your life transforming you into Christlikeness.

How does a person know whether or not he is really saved? One knows by the testimony of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul says to test yourself, to check yourself out.

For your comments: Have you had the one baptism (the Holy Spirit living in you because you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior)? Have you had water baptism? If so, was it believer’s immersion?

When Will We Ever Learn?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:4

When Will We Ever Learn?

by Robert T. Cooper

When are we going to learn to do what God says, when He says it, the way He says it? He doesn’t mean in a few minutes or when we get around to it. He doesn’t mean for us to find ways to improve on His idea. He just wants us to trust Him and follow His instructions.

1.      When He says to stay, stay. When He says to go, go.

At one time there were 500 who saw the resurrected Christ. Yet on the day of Pentecost, a holy day of obligation when all observant Jews were supposed to be in Jerusalem, there were only 120 in the upper room who received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Where were the rest? What might the Pentecost harvest have been had the other 380 been where they were supposed to be?

2.      When you are engaged in God-directed activity, do it in God’s power.

The hymn says, “The arm of flesh will fail you.” Yet we try to do things “for God” in our own strength. Why? Why do we fail to use God’s power when it is readily available to us? It can only be pride or lack of trust.

3.      Keep God’s Word in your heart, mind, and actions.

God the Father has spoken. God the Son has spoken. It is recorded in Scripture. It is recorded in nature and in history. Read it. Memorize it. Pray it. Meditate on it. Contemplate it. Practice it. Live it. Teach it.

I heard a story about a man who was impressed by the Holy Spirit to witness to a neighbor. Now this man needed to run to the post office, so he thought he’d stop by the neighbor’s house and witness to him while he was out running his errand. He told his wife what he was planning to do and headed out. Driving along, he saw his neighbor was mowing, but was nearly through, so the man thought he’d go on to the post office and stop on the way home.

When he came back by, the yard still wasn’t quite finished, the mower was still out, but no one answered the door. The man went home and told his wife how his good intentions had been thwarted. The wife said, “Oh, no! Did you not hear? The man had a heart attack in his front yard. He died in the ambulance on his way to the hospital.” The man was sorry he had not stopped to witness to his neighbor before going to the post office.

When are we going to learn to do what God says, when He says it, the way He says it?

For your comments: Have you had an experience when you did not do what God said and you were sorry?

The Verb “to Give” Brings New Insight

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:4

The Verb “to Give” Brings New Insight

by Robert T. Cooper

1.      There is a gift.

2.      The gift has recipients.

3.      The gift is the commands of Jesus.

OK, we get it! We are saved by grace. We don’t do anything to earn it. We just have to be careful that we don’t slip into thinking that our obedience to Jesus earns us any merit with God. We don’t do works to be saved; we do works because we are saved.

Then we get all those sermons on the Great Commission: “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” And from the Gospel of John, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” And wasn’t it nice of Bill Gothard to compile for us a list of all the commands of Jesus? I’ve got to get me a copy of that book one of these days.

But I thought Jesus’ yoke was supposed to be easy and his burthen light! Well, reading this verse a word sticks out at us and we suddenly discover a hint: Jesus “gave them this command.” It was a gift! Maybe it was kind of like that hapless fellow who gave his wife a new vacuum cleaner for their wedding anniversary; along with the gift was the implication that something would be done with the gift that did not involve pure enjoyment. But when you consider the commands of Jesus as gifts, they take on an entirely different color, don’t they?

In this particular case, the command was a gift to a particular group of people, or at least part of the command was. Face it, we aren’t all supposed to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps another time we may consider whether there is anything in the command for some or even all of us today. But one should be careful in reading the Bible. Not all popular verses mean what they seem to mean when taken out of context. Sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn’t. It simply means that care should be taken (and often people do not take enough care).

So we are left with the idea that Jesus gifts us with His commands. “Be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”

What do you usually do with gifts? You receive them with joy, thank the giver, and use those gifts appropriately to enhance your life. Hmmm.

For your comments: What about this idea of receiving Jesus’ commands with joy? Have you ever thanked Jesus for particular commands He has given you? Have you ever considered how particular commands of Jesus might enhance your life?

Mealtime Stories

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 1:4

Mealtime Stories

by Robert T. Cooper

Have you noticed how many of your family stories center around mealtime or around food? One of the earliest family stories about me has to do with me getting seconds on potatoes at lunch at school. Then there is the story about my dad and the raisin pie.

It’s been like that throughout history. We know about the time the Earl of Sandwich was playing cards. We know what Marie Antoinette thought about people eating cake. And a whole lot of Bible stories center around mealtime or around food as well.

Here we are in the first paragraph of Acts (well, the original manuscripts didn’t have paragraphs, but we are at the very beginning anyway) and Luke is about to quote something Jesus said in the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension. He wants to help people remember which appearance during that period it was, and so he says that it was on one of the occasions when Jesus was eating with the Apostles. Like that is going to narrow it down a little! Not!

My point is this: Jesus did so much teaching at mealtimes because people learn well in that atmosphere. Think about it.

1.      People tend to be relaxed when they are eating, and so are more teachable.

2.      Because people are busy eating, they will chew and listen while you are making your points, especially if what you say is interesting to them.

3.      Because people are used to conversing at mealtimes, they will ask questions and have discussions as part of your lesson plan at a meal.

4.      You can build a structure where the lesson is the length of the meal, with a life-application assignment to get up and go do immediately following the meal.

So whether you are a parent, a teacher, a mentor, a student, a church member, a disciple, a team leader, or just an ordinary person, pay attention when you are at meals. You may be in a lesson situation. Take advantage of the opportunities to teach and to learn.

Question: What are some of your family stories that center around mealtime or around food? How can you apply this idea of sometimes making a mealtime a learning situation?

God Rules, People Drool

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                              Acts 1:3

God Rules, People Drool

by Robert T. Cooper

That’s a wretched title, but it gets the meaning across. The countdown was on. From Resurrection to Ascension, Jesus had 40 days of appearances to get in His final “on the earth” teachings to His earthly followers. Just about His main topic was the Kingdom of God. Sadly, we don’t talk about this in the USA too much. I’m doing Hillsdale’s Constitution studies with thousands of others, so like many I’m into “all men are created equal.” No one is born with the right to rule. But Jesus says that one of the most important things in all of life is that God rules.

1.      God rules the cosmos.

Why is this important? Because God determines the times set for us and the exact places we will live. I’ll tell you the long story of how the Lord taught me that verse when we get there, but the short version is that He gave us the money to buy a house one block from a classmate of our child. This classmate had a home situation which was helped by our family being there for him. And God did it in such a way that everybody knew it was Him and no coincidence.

In fact, there are no coincidences. Hurricane Isaac causes a delay of the Republican Convention. That means a slightly different group will attend on a slightly different schedule. God moves in big things and in small. A friend met a new neighbor yesterday who casually out of the blue denigrated something; this triggered a reconsideration of a lifestyle decision of the friend. Coincidence? No, for the Lord reminds us to seek Him regarding all decisions on all subjects. He is Lord. He rules.

There are other consequences of God ruling the cosmos. Perhaps you’d like to mention them in the comments section.

2.      Where God rules, His people have His guidance.

We who have placed our faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ have the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we pray, it is not an unusual occurrence that our thoughts are directed in ways we know are from God and not from ourselves. This is because God is a real person and we have a real relationship with Him. God communicates with us in such a way that we know that it is really He Who is speaking with us. So this is one manner of guidance available to God’s people. However it is admittedly subjective.

There is also more objective guidance available from God by way of the Holy Bible. Again, the Holy Spirit is crucial to this guidance, for the Spirit interprets the Scripture to us and teaches us how to apply what it says to our daily situations. We have to learn the right ways to apply the Bible, because some ways are not right. Since God is more interested in us having His guidance than we are, He is active in this process.

As you might guess, it is important to have regular times for prayer and Bible study, not rushed, not short. It is important to have times as an individual and times with other believers. And it is important to “do what it says.” (James 1:22)

3.      No dual citizenship.

One of the issues in witnessing to polytheists is that they tend to simply add Jesus to their pantheon of gods. But there is also an issue in witnessing to modern Americans. That issue is that people tend to think of Christianity as simply “praying the prayer” to accept Jesus, and then you go on with your life like you were before, only you get to go to heaven when you die. Or else you go to church several Sundays each year and that’s about all the claim Christ makes on you; all the rest of your life is like it was before. It’s like you continue your citizenship in the lost world and add citizenship in the Kingdom of God as a dual citizen.

The only thing is that the Kingdom of God has a law: No dual citizenship. In order to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God, a person has to renounce citizenship in the world. A more traditional way of saying this is that one must turn from one’s sinful life and turn to Christ. The fancy theological word is repentance.

That’s what Jesus meant when He said that no one can serve two masters. Either you will love the one and hate the other or you will cling to one and despise the other; you cannot serve God and Mammon. Now we usually think of Mammon as the money god, but think larger than that. Jesus was saying no dual citizenship. If you are going to be in God’s Kingdom, to place yourself under the rulership of God, then you must abandon all allegiance to this world. This world is no longer your home. You become an alien here, an ambassador for the Kingdom. Your heart will long for your true home.

Question: React to these things. What else do you know about the Kingdom of God? If the Kingdom was so important to Jesus, why don’t we hear about the Kingdom so much anymore?

The Green-eyed Monster

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                              Acts 1:3

The Green-eyed Monster

by Robert T. Cooper

Shhhhhhhhh! There are reports that over in Iran lots and lots of people are seeing Jesus. Apparently, He appears to them in person to win them from Islam to faith in Him. There are even reports that He teaches some as new believers for up to two years! Does that seem fair to you? Is the Green-eyed Monster of Jealousy tempting you?

In the forty days from the Resurrection to the Ascension, Jesus showed Himself to the Eleven Apostles. In fact, Matthias saw Him too, so one could say He was seen of the Twelve. In fact, He was seen by others, at one point seen by a crowd of 500 believers. After the Ascension, probably several months later, perhaps in the late fall of the year, Saul of Tarsus saw Jesus just outside of Damascus.

Then there are reports of those who have seen Jesus in ones and twos over the centuries. Some of those reports are believable, like the modern reports out of Iran; some are not believable.

One of the first appearances of Jesus following the Resurrection was on the Sunday one week immediately after Resurrection Sunday. The Apostles were gathered in the Upper Room, probably the one belonging to the parents of John Mark, the one in which Jesus and the Apostles had observed the meal depicted in da Vinci’s famous fresco.

Thomas had missed the appearance of Jesus in that same location one week earlier, but Thomas was present this time. Thomas had insisted he would not believe Jesus had risen unless he touched the wounds of the Resurrected Jesus with his own finger. Jesus appeared and offered to let Thomas touch the wounds. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether Thomas actually touched the wounds or not, but it does tell us that Thomas exclaimed his faith in Jesus as Lord and God.

John 20:29 NIV

²⁹The Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:29 NIV

Now I suspect that somewhere close to 100% of those who read this blog are among those who have not seen and yet have believed. Jesus says you are blessed; I am blessed. Glory, hallelujah!

So, Green-eyed Monster, BUG OFF!

Just for discussion’s sake: Have you seen Jesus? If so, tell us about it. If not, do you want to do so before death? Why?