Pastor John,
I have a question about who baptizes with the holy Spirit. In the scriptures below it sounds like Jesus baptizes people.
Luke 3:16.John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you with holy Spirit and fire!”
Acts 2:32. This Jesus has God raised up, of which we all are witnesses!
Acts 2:33.Moreover, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the holy Spirit, he has shed forth this which you now see and hear.
In what we read tonight, you wrote “Every time the Father baptizes a repentant soul”, and that makes it sounds like the Father baptizes.
I have always wondered if it was the Father or the Son who was baptizing.
Thank you,
Randell
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Thank you, Randell, for noticing that.
God anointed the John the Baptizer to baptize with water, and He anointed Jesus to baptize with the Spirit. That much is clear.
Having said that, though, in both cases, God was in charge of who was baptized. That is why John refused to baptize certain people; God would not allow it. And that is also why Jesus refuses some who ask for his baptism. Jesus is (as John was) God’s agent for baptism, yet God gets the credit, and it isn’t wrong to acknowledge that.
It is the same way with creation. The Son was God’s agent in creation, but every time Jesus mentioned creation, he said God did it
So, yes, Jesus is the one who baptizes, but he does so only according to the will of God. It is impossible to draw a firm line between them; they work together, as one.
Thank you again. I hope that clears it up for you.
Pastor John
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