WATER BAPTISM 4

"As he [Saul] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now get up and to into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"

Acts 9:3-6

This is where it began. Paul didn't ask to meet Jesus. He didn't even believe Jesus was alive. He was hot on the trail of people who believed in the Risen Savior. He wanted to arrest them and place them on trial. However, Paul came face to face with the real Son of God and it changed his life forever!

The men who were traveling with Saul were speechless. They heard a sound but didn't see anyone. When Saul got up from the ground he was blind. His friends led him by the hand into the city of Damascus. Saul didn't eat or drink anything.

Before we go further, let me emphasize the importance of looking for related passages in Scripture. The Bible writers often tell the same story again in other portions of their writings. We need to study all the related passages in order to receive a full understanding of truth.

For instance, Paul told the story of his conversion several times. We learn more about it each time he tells it. This is not a strange occurrence. I have shared the story of my conversion from atheism scores of times through the years. The details of anyone's life could take hours or even days to tell completely. We don't usually have an audience that will sit still that long, so we shorten the story to hit the main points. I'm sure I tell it a little differently each time. I have always prayed to God before sharing my testimony to guide me in what details I should share with any given individual or group of people. I believe God's Spirit guides us to share details and insights into what the person or group needs to hear. I think that's what happened with Paul. He shared his testimony to different people and groups and God gave him the memory and insights to share what was important at the time.

Paul shared the story of his conversion in Acts 21. The place is Jerusalem. Some Jews wanted to kill Paul because they believed he had defiled the temple. They began beating Paul. However, the commander of the Roman Guard heard about it and ran to the temple with some of his soldiers. He arrested Paul and ordered him bound with chains. The mob was so angry and violent the soldiers had to carry Paul to get through the crowd. Paul asked to speak to the people just before the soldiers took him inside the barracks. The commander agreed to allow Paul to speak. Because he spoke in Aramaic, the crowd became very quiet and listened.

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. 'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me."

Acts 22:3-11

We learn more about Paul's personal history through this discourse. Paul talks about his birthplace and legal training under one of the best known teachers of the day. We learn from both testimonies that Paul's companions heard a sound and saw a light, but didn't know what it was. We learn that God wanted Paul to go into Damascus because that's where he would find out about his "assignment." God chose Paul for a very specific purpose.

Paul shared his testimony before King Agrippa many months later. He briefly told the king about how he went from one synagogue to another to arrest those who believed in Christ and even went into foreign cities to persecute them.

"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Acts 26:12-18

We learn a great deal more from this passage. We see that Jesus appointed Paul to be a servant and a witness of what he had seen and what Christ would show him. Jesus would rescue Paul from the Jews and Gentiles. He was sending Paul to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light; from the power of Satan to the power of God. Paul's message was the forgiveness of sins so people could have a place with Christ, set apart by faith in Him.

Paul mentioned his conversion in several letters. Here are portions for your observation. See what information you can gather that adds to a total picture of what happened to Paul on his way to Damascus. Write them down so you can use them during your study.

"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy any Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers."

Galatians 1:13-14

"If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless."

Philippians 3:4-6

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief."

1 Timothy 1:12-13

Let's move on to the next phase of Paul's journey: what happened to him in the city of Damascus.

"In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, 'Ananias!' 'Yes, Lord,' he answered. The Lord told him, 'Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.' 'Lord,' Ananias answered, 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.' But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

Acts 9:10-16

Ananias was afraid of Paul. He had heard what kind of man Paul was and what terrible things he had done to the people of God in Jerusalem. However, God had chosen Paul for a special ministry. Paul would be God's "chosen instrument" to carry the name of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles (note that God mentions Gentiles first in what would be Paul's ministry) and to the people of Israel.

Ananias was faithful and did as God ordered him. He went to the house, entered it, found Saul (Paul) and placed his hands on him. Here's what Ananias said to Saul.

"Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Acts 9:17

33 words. A very simple statement, but so powerful. Ananias believed God's words and called Saul his brother. That was a statement kept for only those people who believed in The Way (Jesus Christ). Paul had met Jesus face to face. It had cost him his physical sight, but he would receive so much more in return. Ananias told Paul he would get his sight back and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The words "be filled with the Holy Spirit" are plesthes pneumatos agiou . Plesthes is the aorist passive subjunctive of pimplemi . The idea of the word is "to take full possession" of something. God was going to place His Spirit in Paul and take full possession of him. Paul would need that Spirit filling to accomplish the things God had prepared for him to do.

"Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Acts 9:18

Here's how Paul explained that life-changing occurrence in another portion of Acts.

"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

Acts 22:12-16

The first thing Saul did after he could see again was be baptized. Neither portion mentions water baptism, but I believe it was. Saul received Christ under the Law Administration (Dispensation). Water baptism was the first thing converts did. It signified a cleansing, a commitment to obey God, a washing away of sins. Saul was a Jew and followed the traditions of other Jews, including those of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and His disciples.

This seems quite strange in light of the fact that later in Paul's ministry, he would declare Christ had not sent him to baptize, but to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:16). Peter's gospel included water baptism. Paul said his did not. How could this be? If Paul knew his grace gospel wouldn't include water baptism, why didn't he refuse Ananias' baptism? Why didn't he stand up at that moment in time and declare to Ananias and all who could hear him the many differences between Law and Grace? For one thing, Paul didn't know anything about the Administration of Grace at the moment he received Christ. God would reveal the details of Grace to Paul during a period of many years. Paul received Christ as any other Jew of that time. He was baptized and continued practicing the law. But remember how Paul received Christ: a direct revelation. Other Jews came to know about Jesus through the preaching and influence of Peter and the Apostles. However, Paul learned of Jesus independent of that. Jesus personally led Paul to Himself. Jesus had a special, yet-unrevealed mission for Paul. Paul would do things for Christ no one else would do. He would preach a message no one else had yet preached. He would go where no man had gone before. He would be the Apostle of Grace!

The Transition Period

Here's what other Bible teachers add to these thoughts:

"We know of course, that the washing of water was only symbolic; that it could not in itself wash away sin; that Saul was saved essentially by the grace and power of God. Indeed he was soon to go forth to make this truth known, preaching 'the gospel of the grace of God.' But the fact that a new dispensation had begun does not mean that the old had already passed away. The other apostles could not yet have understood the secret purposes of God, nor had it been indicated to them that the discharge of their 'great commission' would be interrupted, hence water baptism was still required, along with faith, for salvation (Mark 16:15,16) at the time when Saul was converted, and any true believer would be 'baptized for the remission of sins' (Acts 2:38)...Saul's conversion was not the fruit of a message of grace preached by the twelve. He was saved 'by the revelation of Jesus Christ' while the prophetic program and the 'great commission' was still in force. But his salvation and his ministry were to usher in 'the dispensation of the grace of God,' which was to emerge gradually from the deadlock caused by Israel's failure to accept her messiah."

ACTS Dispensationally Considered, C.R. Stam, Vol. 2, The Berean Bible Society, 1955

"When Paul was saved the Kingdom commission with its command to baptize was in effect. Paul himself was commanded to be baptized. The church at Antioch, where we first find any details of Paul's early ministry, was founded by Jews who were scattered by persecution from Jerusalem. this church practiced baptism the same as did the Jerusalem church. When finally Gentiles began to come in the church it was only natural that they too should be baptized. Paul had received no command from the Lord either to baptize or not to baptize. On his journeys Paul always went to the Jewish synagogue first and it was natural that he would baptize the Jews who believed."

A Dispensational Theology, Charles F. Baker, Grace Bible College Publications, 1971

Paul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus after his conversion. He immediately began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. The people were astonished. They realized Paul was the same man who had raised havoc in Jerusalem against believers in Christ. How could it be that he was now preaching in the Name of Christ? The Bible tells us Paul "grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ." (Acts 9:22) It's important to remember that Paul was an Old Testament scholar. He knew God's word inside and out. He was able to use that knowledge and experience as a prosecuting attorney to preach that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

It wasn't long before some Jews conspired to kill Paul, but he learned about their plan. Paul's friends helped Paul escape Damascus. He went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples. However, they were understandably afraid of Paul. They didn't believe he had really become a follower of Christ. But Barnabas took Paul to the apostles and told them about how Christ had revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus. Barnabas told them how fearlessly Paul had preached in the name of Jesus. Paul stayed with the apostles for a time and spoke boldly in the name of Christ. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews (Paul was a Grecian Jew), but they tried to kill him. Paul's friends came to his rescue again and sent him back to Tarsus (Paul's hometown).

We don't hear anything about Paul for a long time. It's almost as if he disappeared from the scene. Acts 9:31 tells us that the assemblies of believers throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. They grew in numbers and became strong. Acts 10-12 is about Peter and his ministry. That is another demonstration that God was continuing to deal with the Law or Kingdom Dispensation even as He was starting His Grace Dispensation. God was managing two households at the same time. He was transitioning between them. He had work to do finishing up one (Kingdom) and work to do starting up the other (Grace).

Barnabas is an important part of that transition. He was the man God used to introduce Paul to the apostles at Jerusalem. He was also the man God sent to Tarsus to find Paul and take him to Antioch. That was important because Antioch was where gentiles began congregating in the name of Jesus in large numbers. The apostles sent Barnabas to Antioch to check it out. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. He was an excellent, early partner for Paul. He had some insight into Paul's unique calling and went to Tarsus to take Paul to Antioch to help in the ministry to this young group of gentile believers. Paul and Barnabas ministered together for a long time. Interestingly enough, the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Paul gives us some insight to the time involved in his ministry from his letter to the Galatians.

"I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother."

Galatians 1:11-19

Compare that time frame to what Paul tells us in Acts. Luke doesn't mention Paul's trip to Arabia in Acts 9, but we know from Paul's letter that he went from Damascus to Arabia and back to Damascus. He apparently spent three years in Damascus (and Arabia) and then went up to Jerusalem to meet with Peter.

Fourteen years later Paul went to Jerusalem again.

"I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles."

Galatians 2:2

Luke writes about this in Acts 15:1-29. Paul's information in Galatians is helpful because we know 14 years went by between Acts 9:26 and Acts 15:1. If Paul was converted in AD 37, then he would have gone to Jerusalem the first time in AD 40 or 41 and the second time in AD 54 or 55.

Paul practiced water baptism during his early ministry . However, he said something unusual about it in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul started the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey. You'll find that in Acts 18:1-11. He wrote the letter during his third missionary journey while he was in Ephesus (Acts 19). That was probably at least 20 years after his conversion. We have to make room for three years in Damascus and Arabia, 14 years between his trips to Jerusalem and enough time to make two missionary journeys.

Paul and Barnabas taught and preached the word of the Lord in Antioch after his second trip to Jerusalem (Acts 9 and 12). That was also after Paul's first missionary journey with Barnabas (Acts 13-14). "Some time later" Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement about John Mark (Acts 15:37-39). Paul took Silas with him on his second and third missionary journeys instead of Barnabas. You can read about their adventures in Acts 16-18. As I study the distances Paul had to travel in those two journeys, I believe it would have taken them many months and years to travel from town to town, country to country preaching the gospel and establishing churches. If Acts 15 is 17 years after his conversion, Acts 19 is certainly many years after that.

Here's what Paul wrote from Ephesus to Corinth about water baptism.

"I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

1 Corinthians 1:14-17

Here are some things we learn from this verse.

1. Paul is thankful he did not baptize any of the Corinthians except Crispus and Gaius.
2. He remembered he had also baptized the household of Stephanas.
3. He can't remember baptizing anyone else.
4. Christ did not send Paul to baptize.
5. Christ sent Paul to preach the gospel.
6. The gospel is to not to be preached with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The context of this verse is divisions in Corinthian church. Many of the people had disagreements. They were not united in mind and thought.

"My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas [Peter]'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name."

1 Corinthians 1:11-15

Paul acknowledged that some of his readers had received baptism. Again, I am assuming he meant water baptism, but I believe that's a good assumption. I don't believe the context supports Spirit baptism. That's not something Paul could have done since the Spirit of God is the one Who baptizes people into Christ. The baptism Paul speaks of here is something he did for a time and then stopped.

One key to seeing whether Paul really did "stop" baptizing converts in water is to see if he did it again after he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. Since Paul wrote the letter during his visit to Ephesus in Acts 19:8-41, we want to see whether he baptized anyone after that. Here are the scriptures that support Paul's performing water baptism.

1. No baptism is mentioned during the first missionary journey.
2. Paul's first documented baptism was in Acts 16:15. It happened while he was ministering in the city of Philippi. Paul went outside the city gate to the river. He spoke to some women who had gathered there. "One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home."
3. Paul's second documented baptism was also in the city of Philippi. He and Silas were in prison. They witnessed to the jailer who received Christ as his Savior. "...then immediately he and all his family were baptized...he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family." (Acts 16:33-34)
4. The third documented baptism came during Paul's visit to Corinth. He had begun his ministry exclusively to the Jews (Acts 18:5). This is more proof that Paul was still in the transition phase of his ministry. However, the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive. Paul shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." (Acts 18:6) Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. "Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord and may of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized." This is what Paul was referring to in 1 Corinthians 1. Crispus was the first name Paul mentioned. Paul stayed a year-and-a-half with the Corinthians, teaching them the word of God. We know from his letter that he also baptized Gaius and the household of Stephanas while in Corinth.

   One side note here is that Paul had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. We're not sure what it was, but it's interesting to note there is only one more documented case of his baptizing anyone after that vow. Maybe the vow had to do with water baptism, maybe not.

5. The fourth and final documented baptism came during one of Paul's trips to Ephesus. He left Corinth and sailed to Syria. He reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue for a short time, then sailed for Caesarea and traveled back to Antioch. He left Antioch after some time and traveled through Galatia and Phrygia (Acts 18:18-23). He went again to Ephesus and came upon 12 disciples of John the Baptist. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They answered that they had not heard there was a Holy Spirit. Paul asked them what baptism they had received. "'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied." (Acts 19:3-7) After this, Paul entered the synagogue and preached Christ for three months. Some of the Jews became obstinate, refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. Paul left the synagogue, took the disciples with him and had daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. That continued for two years. It was during that time Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians where he said Christ had not sent him to baptize but to preach the gospel.

Please continue with this study at Water Baptism Part 5 or return to The GraceLife(tm) Menu Page for other studies about the Gospel of the Grace of God.

"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."

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