Physical Manifestation of Spiritual Transformation

To begin this weighty offering, I want to draw your attention to a statement that was made on yesterday’s offering. It read thus. Peter, like the eunuch is so taken by the works of the Spirit with them and in them, doing life-changing works in the hearts of hearers of the Word so that nothing will deter or keep the physical manifestation of spiritual transformation from taking place. This statement carries some very powerful facts which, by faith, we must believe, if we are to receive also by faith. Faith is the one and only operating factor, for if there is no faith to believe, then all is but vain and frankly, vexatious. 

May God, the Father grant us the humility of faith to leave all our high and mighty carnal ways of thinking, and bow to His unfathomable ways. May God, the Son, ever challenge us to deny all of who we think we are, all of our natural wills and minds, to know His obedience in mind and heart. May God, the Holy Spirit, enable us to leave all that is of us, to receive all that is of Him, that we too may know His enabling, to receive by faith. Amen!

What are we receiving? We are receiving power from our ever present, living and active Holy Spirit, to take hold of and show openly in our daily living. The first fact in the above quoted statement acknowledges the presence of the living Holy Spirit, working with them and in them. Do we truly believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person, who is with us? Does our faith allow us to believe and receive this truth, that One who is unseen, is among us and within us, doing the will and work of Father God?

Another statement of fact tells us that the Word of God, when heard from the mouth of God, through His chosen vessels, works life-changing miracles in the hearts of hearers. Can our faith allow us the boldness to know that the hearing of God’s Word brings converts to Jesus Christ? Additionally, do we accept that those who hear the Word and have been pricked to the heart, have received newness of life in Jesus? Only by grace, through faith, is this a reality in us.  It takes faith to believe that our Lord does this free work of grace, the salvation of our souls from eternal damnation.

Yet another statement of fact, coming out from the words of both the eunuch and Peter is that nothing will deter or keep the physical manifestation of spiritual transformation from taking place. This simply means that the outward testimony or showing of the inner works done by God in the heart, is water baptism. It is by faith that we believe, for without faith, nothing pleases God, absolutely nothing. Stop! Let this really sink in. Without faith, nothing we think, speak or do, regardless of how good, righteous, noble, loved and appreciated by others as it may be, can be pleasing to God.    

It is with this consciousness of faith that I turn your attention once again to the working of the Holy Spirit in His own unique and inimitable ways. This always shuts me up and brings me low, when I think of how He came on all who heard the Word. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Acts 10: 44. Jesus’ baptism, the giving of the Holy Spirit, came on all who heard the Word. Now who were the people who were in Cornelius’ house, listening to Peter? This is extremely important, for this totally tugs sharply on our faith to believe the wondrous, unfathomable works of God.

Many controversial, topics and issues are coiled up in this experience of baptism, in the house of a Gentile, the house of one who is uncircumcised. Here is the house of one who, though he and all his family were devout and God-fearing; Acts 10: 2a, neither of them knew John’s baptism nor Jesus’ baptism. Hence the reason for referring to this offering as a weighty one. To conclude today’s offering and continue into tomorrow’s offering, we shall lift up three weighty subjects, which deal with baptism.

Here is the first. Among the many truths about baptism which our Lord has shown clearly, is that water baptism does not have to come before His Holy Ghost baptism. What does this say to us? We can safely believe that Jesus does not need a hearer and believer of His Word to first be baptized with water, before He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.