Conquering the Game of Control by Craig Green

Author:Craig Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Destiny Image, Inc.

How Baptized Are We?

Acts 18 gives us an amazing insight into one of God’s primary weapons in combating the control nature within us humans. We find Apollos preaching with eloquence and fervency. Still, to Aquila and Priscilla (and the Lord!), there was something obviously missing in Apollos. While Apollos “taught accurately the things of the Lord…he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). The text goes on to say that Aquila and Priscilla “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).

It is obvious that Apollos was baptized, but not fully baptized. He was “wet” with repentance (the baptism of John), but not wet in all the ways God desires us to be wet. If we are going to operate in the “way of God more accurately,” then we must understand what full Christian baptism is, and be dripping wet in it (Him!).

Not surprisingly, Christian baptism is triune in nature. We are to be baptized by the Father, into Christ Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit. God desires that we be wet with all of Him. But, like Apollos, many of us, bound by our traditions and their limits of accuracy, are ignorant to the fullness baptism is intended to be. Nothing will dislodge our control nature (the core of our being which looks like and seeks power like satan) like a good and ongoing soaking in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

First, Christian baptism is an immersion, initial and ongoing, in repentance, the “baptism of John.” It is in particular the gift of the Father, whose “kindness leads us to repentance” (see Rom. 2:4). In order to be in relationship with the Father, there must be our desire and His power to “turn around” (repent) and go His way. When we “drip” with initial and ongoing repentance, we are equipped to lay down the controlling nature within us that desires to go our own way rather then turn around and go God’s way.

Satan never repented. His character and nature are disgusting reminders of that fact, and a heartrending picture of what our ontology looks like without the immersion of repentance!

Second, Christian baptism is an immersion, initial and ongoing, into Jesus. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). This baptism of intimacy soaks us in the Person of Jesus, His death and resurrection (see Romans 6:3-14), and into the unity of His Body (see Gal. 3:26-28). In short, being baptized into Christ immerses believers into everything Jesus came, died, and rose again to give us. In order to be in relationship with Jesus, we must be dripping wet with His nature and essence! Talk about a powerful way to counteract the fallen nature we were born with!

Satan fled from intimacy from God, and our human nature desires to flee as well. Remember when the Israelites fled from the presence of God at Mount Sinai? (See Exodus 20:18-21.) They were simply acting out of their (and our) basic nature.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.