THE KING’S BUSINESS
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gave him, awakened a great interest on the part of all classes (vs. 5-7). Men were con vinced that he was truly “a man sent from God.” Any man who can convince the world of that is hound to get a hearing. The most astonishing fact about John’s attrac tiveness is that he drew even the self- suf ficient religionists, the Pharisees, and the self-sufficient agnostics, the Sadducees. In the preceding verses John has empha sized the need of good fruit. He now de clares the secret of hearing it. A mightier than he was coming who would baptize with something more efficacious than water— with the Holy Spirit and fire. Some have interpreted these words to mean that there are two baptisms between which one may have his choice,--the baptism with the Spirit (now) and the baptism with the fire of judgment (hereafter cf. next verse). Put the original does not admit of this inter pretation. It speaks not of two baptisms, but of one. If there were two distinct bap tisms it would require that the preposition be used before “fire” as well as before “the Holy Ghost,” but the preposition “with” does not occur twice but once,—so the one baptism is in two elements, “wind and fire.” John doubtless had in mind Isaiah’s ex pression “the spirit of burning” (Isa. 4:4) when he uttered these words. In verse 11 we have three baptismal elements, “water,” in which John should baptize them unto re pentance, the “wind” (the word translated “spirit” means wind, and the Holy Spirit is the “Holy Wind”) and “fire,” in which Jesus should baptize them. In Acts 2 :2, 3 we have the fulfillment of the promise here made. In that fulfillment the apostles found themselves engulfed in the “mighty wind” “from Heaven,” and “tongues of fire” “sat upon each one of them,” and they thus were “filled with the Holy Wind.” The promise then is not a promise of two bap tisms, one of blessing and the other of cursing, but of one two-fold baptismal blessing, the “Holy Spirit and fire.” What Tuesday, January 5. . Matthew 2:11-17.
it means to be baptized in fire we can un derstand if we will consider what fire is said in the Bible to do: (1) “Fire” reveals (1 Cor. 3:13). (2) “Fire” refines (Isa. 4: 4; Zech. 13:9; Malachi 3:1-3). (3) “Fire” consumes filth and scum (Ezek. 24:9-11). (4) “Fire” illuminates. (5) “Fire” makes to glow and melt (Jer. 23:29). (6) “Fire” generates energy. A baptism with “fire” then reveals us to ourselves, consumes the filth and scum (the selfishness, ambition, worldliness and vileness that we have vainly contended against for years) out of us; makes us to burn and glow with love to God and man and truth, and with love for souls; and fills us with heavenly energy (Acts 1:8). Will you present yourself to Him who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire as a candidate for this baptism to day ? The Lord Jesus is the One and the Only One who can thus baptize. In the passage we are studying we sec Jesus Himself, the baptizer with the “Holy Spirit and fire” coming to John to be bap tized with water. Could anything make more plain the great importance of water baptism? Jesus was baptized with water to “fulfill all righteousness.” The meaning of this is that God commands water baptism as the form by which the sinful man shall publicly confess his renunciation of sin. Now, Jesus was not Himself a sinner, but he took the sinner’s place, He was made sin for us (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21), both at Jordan (“the water”) and Calvary (“the Blood ) (cf. 1 John 5:6 R. V.). Note the two occasions on which God bore testimony by an audible voice to the Sonship of Jesus, here, when he humbled Himself and took the sinner’s place in baptism, and on the Mount of Transfiguration, when He hum bled Himself again by turning His back on the glory that was then becoming His, to come back and take the sinner’s place on the cross (cf. Luke 9:31-35; Phil. 2:6-9). That God spoke in an audible voice on this occasion is settled by competent testimony and is conclusive proof of the Deity of Jesus.
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