What Baptism Says-2

WHAT BAPTISM SAYS-II—Luke 3:21-23

Significance of Baptism

Attention:

Do Not Talk To My Parrot

Mrs. Lingle’s dishwasher quit working, so she called a repairman.

He couldn't accommodate her with an evening appointment, &, since she had to go to work the next day, she told him: "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, & I'll mail you the check. By the way, don't worry about my Rottweiler. He won't bother you.

But, whatever you do, do not under *any* circumstances talk to my parrot!"

When the repairman arrived at Mrs. Lingle’s apartment the next day, he discovered the biggest & meanest looking Rottweiler he had ever seen.

But, just like she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet, watching the repairman go about his business.

However, the whole time he was there, the parrot drove him nuts with incessant cursing, yelling, & name-calling.

Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer & yelled: "If you don’t hush your beak, I’m gonna wring your neck!"

To which the parrot replied: "SIC HIM, Brutus!!"

The repairman was ‘immersed’ in a very telling situation....Obviously did not do as he was told.

And likewise baptism is very telling & makes a significant difference in the life of the believer.

Need:

Public baptism revealed/secured Jesus’ significance.

Public baptism reveals/secures our significance.

What does baptism say about us/our significance?

Previously we looked at 3 statements of baptism, wherein Baptism says...

1. IDENTIFICATION BLESSES(:21a)

2. OBEDIENCE BLESSES(:21a)

3. PRAYER ATTAINS(:21b)

4—Baptism says that...

HEAVEN OPENS(:21b)

Explanation:(:21b)

:21—“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; & while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”

Why “the heaven?” It is the heaven which is under authority of the Almighty God. It is the only heaven to which we look.

* “The heaven” encompasses all that is of God...It naturally assumes God’s perfection, goodness, grace, mercy, provision, omniscience, omnipotence, design, purpose, creative acts,

Jesus & John saw the heavens open(Mat. 3:16; Mk. 1:10).

In answer to Jesus’ prayer, the heaven(s) opened. This is an act of God as He enters His world, making inroads to a specific life in order to affect His will.

God speaks & acts in us individually.

*All Christianity holds that the God of the Bible is a personal God...

That He works in our personal lives & is available every moment of every day.

That our every conceivable benefit is thru Him alone.

*Baptism is the first step in obedience & setting ourselves apart(sanctification) for God’s use. It is a natural prerequisite for opening Heaven’s bounty(work & word) upon our lives.

“Heaven”—ouranov—1) The vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it—1a) The universe, the world, 1b) The aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds & the tempests gather, & where thunder & lightning are produced, 1c) The sidereal or starry heavens; 2) The region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal & consummately perfect where God dwells & other heavenly beings. Strong—(through the idea of elevation); The sky; by extension, Heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, Happiness, power, eternity; specifically, The Gospel (Christianity).

“Opened”—anoigw—Strong—To open up (literally or figuratively, in various applications).

Argumentation:

Eze. 1:1—“Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened & I saw visions of God.”

*Mal. 3:10—““Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, & test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, & pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

Our giving is Obedience, Prayer, Baptism! These open heaven for our ultimate benefit in Christ & thus God’s ultimate benefit!

Heb. 11:6—“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, & that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Deut. 28:9-14—[to Israel, His chosen people]““The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God & walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, & they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, & in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, & to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head & not the tail; you shall be above only, & not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, & are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”