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Scripture Reading: Acts 8:26-40
Acts 8:26-40 records the case of Philip preaching the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch. In this case there are a number of patterns that we should follow in our gospel preaching today.
Verses 27 and 28 say, “And he rose up and went. And behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a man in power under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, had come to worship in Jerusalem, and was returning and sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.” Ethiopia is Cush (Isa. 18:1), the land of the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham (Gen. 10:6). The gospel had spread from the racially pure Jews to the mixed Samaritans through Philip and Peter and John (vv. 5-25). Now the angel of the Lord directed Philip to contact a total Gentile from Ethiopia. Through this the gospel also spread southward to Africa.
The Ethiopian man in verse 27 had come to worship in Jerusalem. This proves that the Ethiopian eunuch was seeking after God (see 17:26-27). According to the Lord’s sovereign arrangement, Philip came into contact with this God-seeking man, with one who was hungry and thirsty for God.
The Spirit told Philip to approach the chariot, and when he did so he heard the eunuch reading Isaiah the prophet (vv. 29-30). It was sovereign that the Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah 53: “Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so He does not open His mouth” (v. 32). This verse, a quotation from Isaiah 53:7, refers to Christ the Redeemer. It must have been sovereignly of the Spirit’s leading that this passage concerning Christ as the sinner’s redeeming Lamb, a good passage for gospel preaching, was opened to the eunuch. Therefore, “Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture he brought the good news of Jesus to him” (v. 35).
Here we see the principle that in preaching the gospel we need to use the best portions of the Bible. This means that in our gospel preaching we should not speak concerning peculiar things. For example, after learning that stone is a basic item in the Scriptures, you may want to take this as a subject for your gospel preaching. However, such a subject may not be appropriate for the preaching of the gospel. We should always use a proper portion of the Word in our gospel preaching. We should select a portion like Isaiah 53.
Under the Lord’s sovereignty, Philip used Isaiah 53 to preach the gospel to a Gentile. This Gentile, a descendant of Cush, the son of Ham, a cursed man (Gen. 9:22-27), heard the complete gospel and was saved. This was the first step taken by the Lord in spreading His gospel to typical Gentiles.
Another important point in Philip’s preaching of the gospel was that all his activity was under the direction, leading, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. In 8:29 “the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot.” The Spirit here, as in verse 39; 10:19; 13:2; and 16:6-7, indicates that the Lord’s move in spreading His kingdom through the preaching of the gospel in Acts was by the Spirit’s leading and direction, not by man’s device and schedule. Hence, it was not the act of man but of the Spirit.
We all should learn from this pattern to pray and to keep ourselves in fellowship with the Lord. If we maintain our fellowship with the Lord, we shall be able to sense His leading at any time. Then our move and our preaching of the gospel will be according to the Spirit’s direction. We need to follow the Spirit’s guidance, not our opinion, plan, and schedule. May we learn to have all our activity in preaching the gospel always under the direction and guidance of the Spirit.
In the case of Philip preaching the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, we also have the matter of water baptism in 8:26-40. Today there is much debate among Christians concerning water baptism. Here in Acts 8 we have the case of a genuine Gentile believing in the Lord. From Isaiah 53 Philip “brought the good news of Jesus to him” (v. 35). Then “as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch says, Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (v. 36). The fact that the Ethiopian eunuch had such a reaction when seeing water indicates that Philip in his gospel preaching should have spoken to him about water baptism. If Philip had not said anything about baptism, it is not likely that the Ethiopian would have reacted in this way. Philip may still have been talking about water baptism when they came to the water in which the eunuch was baptized.
It is important for us to see that in this case of water baptism, a typical case, nothing is said about Spirit baptism. In particular, there is no mention of the Ethiopian eunuch speaking in tongues. Certainly if the eunuch had spoken in tongues, Luke would have given an account of this in his record. Since he records this case of water baptism, he surely would have recorded the experience of speaking in tongues had it taken place here. Those who promote tongue-speaking today need to pay attention to this case. This typical case of water baptism is a pattern, but in this pattern there is no mention at all of tongue-speaking. Luke’s record here emphasizes water baptism.
We have seen that the eunuch’s reaction to seeing water indicates that Philip had preached water baptism to him. In this gospel case water baptism is particularly emphasized, but no mention is made of Spirit baptism. This should give us strong instruction that we must pay attention to water baptism, which signifies the believers’ identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:5; Col. 2:12), as well as to Spirit baptism. Spirit baptism signifies the reality of the believers’ union with Christ in life essentially and in power economically, whereas water baptism is the believers’ affirmation of the Spirit’s reality. Both are needed (10:47), and neither can replace the other. All believers in Christ should properly have both, just as the children of Israel were baptized both in the cloud (signifying the Spirit) and in the sea (signifying water), as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:2.
Concerning baptism, water signifies death and burial for the termination of repentant people, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and resurrection for the germination of the terminated ones. The death-water, pointing to and signifying the all-inclusive death of Christ into which His believers are baptized, buries not only the baptized ones themselves but also their sins, the world, and their past. It also separates them from the God-forsaking world and its corruption. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Hence, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and even into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which is joined to Christ in the one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). It is through baptism in such a water and in such a Spirit that the believers in Christ are regenerated into the kingdom of God, into the realm of the divine life and the divine rule (John 3:3, 5), so that they may live by the eternal life of God in His eternal kingdom.
In chapter eight of Acts, the eunuch received water baptism and Spirit baptism at the same time. There are not two baptisms, a water baptism and a Spirit baptism. Water baptism and Spirit baptism are one.
Bible teachers have debated whether the baptism in Romans 6 refers to water baptism or Spirit baptism. Actually, there is no need for argument about this, because in God’s economy there is only one baptism. It would be wrong to ask whether this one baptism is water baptism or Spirit baptism. To ask such a question indicates a lack of knowledge. In the sight of God there is one baptism with two aspects — the aspect of water and the aspect of Spirit.
For God there is not the need of water, only of Spirit. However, as human beings, who are physical, we have the need for a material confirmation of spiritual things. Water baptism, therefore, is the outward affirmation of inward Spirit baptism.
Among many Christians today water baptism is merely a ritual for the receiving of new members. Our practice of baptism must be altogether different. Whenever we baptize someone in water, we need to have the faith that we are baptizing that person not only into water but also into the Spirit as the realization of the Triune God.
The water of baptism is rich in significance. First, this water signifies the Spirit as the realization of the Triune God. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus charged the disciples to baptize believers into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we baptize believers, we must baptize them not only into water, but also into the Triune God.
The water of baptism also signifies Christ. Actually, when we baptize people into the Triune God, we baptize them into Christ. Whereas Matthew 28:19 speaks of baptizing believers into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, in Acts the believers were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. The reason for this is that Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God. Since water signifies the Triune God, it also signifies Christ.
Furthermore, the water of baptism signifies the death of Christ. Regarding this, Romans 6:3 and 4a say, “Are you ignorant that as many as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into death.” Hence, to be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into His death.
We have seen that the water of baptism signifies the Triune God, Christ, and the death of Christ. The issue of such a baptism is the Body of Christ: “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). The Body is therefore the issue of our being baptized into the Triune God, into Christ, and into Christ’s death.
We need to lay aside the traditional concepts of baptism and come back to the pure word of the Bible to see that this one baptism has the aspects of the Spirit and the water. The Spirit is the reality, and the water is the outward affirmation.
We may use the signing of a contract as an illustration of these two aspects of baptism. A contract may first be made orally. This oral agreement is the reality of the contract. But in order for the contract to be secure, there is the need of outward affirmation in writing. A written, notarized contract is the outward affirmation of the inward reality of the contract. In a similar way, we may regard water baptism as the writing of the contract, and Spirit baptism as the reality of the contract. The signing of a contract is not vain, for it is the affirmation of a real contract. In like manner, water baptism is not a mere ritual, for it is the outward affirmation of the Spirit as the reality of baptism. Water baptism without the Spirit would be empty. But Spirit baptism without water baptism would be lacking the necessary outward affirmation. Therefore, according to God’s New Testament economy, baptism should be inwardly of the Spirit and outwardly of water.
Our practice of baptism should be according to the pure word in the Bible. When we baptize people into the water, this signifies that we are baptizing them into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the death of Christ with the issue that they are baptized into the Body of Christ. This is the unique baptism mentioned in Ephesians 4:5 and also the baptism spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:13.
In typology, the children of Israel were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. They did not have two baptisms; they had one baptism with two elements — the cloud and the sea. The cloud signifies the Spirit from the heavens, and the sea signifies the water on the earth. This type is a picture of our baptism today. Whenever we baptize believers, we baptize them in water and in the Spirit at the same time. This means that whenever we baptize people in water, we simultaneously baptize them into the Triune God.
