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NASB | Matthew 3:15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he *permitted Him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 3:15 But Jesus replied to him, "Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John permitted [it and baptized] Him. |
Subject: What does water baptism do? |
Bible Note: You wrote: "So it's clearly speaking of water baptism. Many have said this is refering to the Holy Spirit, but it's not, seeing that Paul mentions the Holy Spirit prior to baptism." And he mentions "one Lord" before and "one God." Are these not all referring to the Triune God? Your logic does not hold up. No one says that the baptism IS the Holy Spirit, but that we are baptized BY the one Spirit. Again you fail to make the fine distinctions. Let's look at Paul's parallel passage that mentions many of the same elements: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:13 One Spirit baptizing us into one body. Same as the Ephesians passage. Paul is making the same point in two different epistles, to the same end: to promote unity among believers. In the Corinthians passage, he is clearly referring to the baptism into Christ by the Spirit. It is very reasonable to conclude that is the baptism being referred to in Ephesians 4. Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit the same as water baptism? If so, then Jesus was pretty confused: "for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." --Acts 1:5 Peter got it, too: '"And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."' --Acts 11:15-18 One more time for emphasis: "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also AFTER BELIEVING [yet before water baptism] in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" Indeed, who are we to stand in God's way? --Joe! |