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Scripture Reading: Acts 22:1-21
In 22:1-21 Paul defends himself before the rioting Jews. In this message we shall focus our attention on Ananias’ word to Paul in verse 16: “And now, why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”
In the case of Paul, like that of the Ethiopian eunuch, water baptism is emphasized. We need to pay attention both to water baptism and Spirit baptism. Water baptism signifies the believers’ identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12), and Spirit baptism signifies the reality of the believers’ union with Christ in life essentially and in power economically. Water baptism is the believers’ affirmation of the Spirit’s reality. Both are needed, and neither can replace the other. All believers in Christ should properly have both.
According to the Lord’s word in Mark 16:16, in order to be saved, a person must believe and be baptized. To believe is to receive the Lord (John 1:12) not only for forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43), but also for regeneration (1 Pet. 1:21, 23), so that those who believe may become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the members of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). To be baptized is to affirm this by being buried to terminate the old creation through Christ’s death and by being raised up to be a new creation of God through Christ’s resurrection. Such a baptism is much more advanced than the baptism of repentance by John (Mark 1:4; Acts 19:3-5).
To believe and to be baptized are two parts of one complete step for receiving the full salvation of God. To be baptized without believing is merely an empty ritual; to believe without being baptized is to be saved only inwardly without an outward affirmation of the inward salvation. These two should go together.
Baptism is actually a great transfer. For this reason, the New Testament ministry began with baptism. We have emphasized the fact that baptism involves first termination and then germination. Through termination and germination a real transfer takes place. It is not surprising, then, that the New Testament begins with baptism to indicate that the things of the Old Testament should be terminated in order to have a new beginning. However, among many Christians today, baptism is simply a ritual whereby people enter into another kind of religion.
When we were baptized, we were transferred out of Adam into Christ. Many Christians have never been taught this adequately. Others know that in baptism they were transferred out of Adam into Christ, but for them this is only a doctrinal matter. It is not something practical in their Christian life. In our living as Christians we should be out of Adam and in Christ. No longer should we live in the sphere of Adam; instead, our living should absolutely be in the sphere of Christ.
In 22:16 Ananias told Paul to be baptized and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord. In this verse “calling on His name” modifies both “be baptized” and “wash.” Here Ananias seems to be saying, “Paul, rise up and be baptized. As you are being baptized, you must call on the name of the Lord. Calling on His name is the condition of your being baptized.”
It would be a good practice for us when baptizing new believers to charge them to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. This means that while they are being baptized, they are calling on the name of the Lord. Just as we breathe and eat at the same time, so a person may be baptized and call on the Lord at the same time. The transfer that takes place through baptism is strengthened by one’s calling on the Lord’s name. Therefore, let us charge those who are being baptized by us to call on the name of the Lord Jesus and thereby have a stronger transfer out of Adam into Christ.
In 22:16 Ananias told Paul to rise up, be baptized, and wash away his sins. We have seen that “calling on His name” modifies both “be baptized” and “wash.” Calling is a condition both of being baptized and of washing away sins. Calling on the Lord’s name was a means for Paul to wash away his sins.
According to Ananias’ understanding, what were Paul’s sins that needed to be washed away? No doubt, the most serious sins, according to Ananias, were the sins of persecuting and arresting those who called on the name of Jesus. Paul’s going out to arrest those who called on the Lord’s name was his major sin. In this matter he was condemned not only by God but also by the believers, both in Jerusalem and elsewhere. All the believers condemned Paul as a persecutor. Paul regarded the calling on the name of the Lord as a sign of the believers. Therefore, wherever Paul went, he sought out those who called on the Lord’s name.
In 22:16 Ananias seemed to be saying, “Paul, in the eyes of the believers your most serious sin was persecuting and arresting those who called on the Lord. Now that you have repented and have had a turn, you need to wash away your sins. In particular, you need to wash away the sin of persecuting the saints. In order to wash away your sins, you need to call on the name of the Lord. If you call, ‘O Lord Jesus,’ a number of times, the saints will forgive you. Your calling will be the condition for the washing away of your sins. Paul, you cannot be a silent believer, a believer who does not audibly call on the Lord’s name. If you are silent, the believers will not recognize you as one of them, and they will not forgive you. Therefore, you must now practice the very thing that you condemned — calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. Once you took this as a sign of those to be persecuted and arrested by you. Now it should be a sign that you have believed in the Lord Jesus and have been saved. Paul, rise up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name. When you do this, you will be forgiven by all those who love the Lord Jesus.”
Paul’s calling on the name of the Lord Jesus was the initial step of his transfer. He was transferred from condemning this calling to practicing it. Some may say that calling on the Lord’s name was a part of Paul’s conversion. Yes, but that was not only part of his conversion; it was also the beginning of his transfer from one realm into another.
It is difficult to understand why the Jews opposed the matter of calling on the Lord’s name. To the Jews the important matters were keeping the law and practicing circumcision and following the customs. Nevertheless, before his transfer, Paul particularly opposed the calling on the Lord’s name.
The principle is the same today among those who oppose the practice of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. Some condemn us for calling on the name of the Lord. Actually, they have no reason to oppose this practice. Nevertheless, some falsely say that it is mere shouting. But what is wrong with believers in the Lord calling on His name? This practice is strongly revealed in the Scriptures. It is better to call on the Lord’s name than to be silent, dead, and without any genuine contact with the Lord.
Some who oppose calling on the name of the Lord Jesus say, “Christianity has been on earth for nineteen hundred years, but we have never heard this teaching that believers should call on the Lord’s name.” To this we may reply, “Perhaps you have never heard this kind of teaching, but certainly you have heard believers call on the Lord’s name. In fact, it is likely that in the years you have been a Christian you have had at least some experience of calling on the name of Jesus yourself.”
There have been many cases of those who called on the Lord’s name without receiving any teaching concerning this practice. One particular person strongly opposed our calling on the Lord’s name. One day as he was riding his bicycle, he was hit by a car, and the bicycle was thrown into the air. While he was falling to the ground, he spontaneously called, “O Lord Jesus!”
I also know of a certain Christian husband who never prayed. One day his wife was involved in an accident. Do you know what he did? He called on the name of the Lord.
Do you know of any genuine Christian who can say that he has never called on the name of the Lord Jesus? Certainly every real believer in Christ has called upon His name at some time. That brother who was hit by a car while riding a bicycle spent some days in the hospital, and day by day he called, “O Lord Jesus.” No one taught him to call; he called automatically. Many of us can testify that when we call on the Lord Jesus, we truly contact Him.
Have you ever had the experience of falling asleep when you were trying to pray? This happened to me a number of times as I was praying silently, especially late at night. From experience we know that silent prayer often puts us to sleep. Furthermore, with that kind of prayer there may be little enjoyment of the Lord, if any. However, when we call on the name of the Lord, we enjoy Him. We may call quietly in order not to disturb others, but we still enjoy the Lord by calling on His name.
I am concerned about those who are troubled by our emphasis on calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. It is not correct to say that we stress this too much. Actually, calling on the Lord is a necessity in our Christian life. If you practice calling on the Lord’s name, you will be in the initial stage of the dispensational transfer. I assure you that the more you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the more you will be brought out of the old things into the new.
Some believers have been Christians for many years. As the years have gone by, their Christian life has become quite old. Because of this oldness, they need to experience a transfer in a practical way. The most prevailing way to have such a transfer is to call, “O Lord Jesus!” I encourage you to practice this. If you call on the Lord’s name day by day, you will be able to testify many things concerning your experience of the Lord.
Calling on the name of the Lord is a great help to Christian husbands. Married brothers often have difficulty in loving their wives. If a married brother will call on the name of the Lord Jesus, he will experience a genuine change in relation to his wife and truly love her.
Likewise, a married sister can be helped by calling on the Lord’s name to submit to her husband. If such a sister does not contact the Lord by calling on Him, she may say to herself, “It is not fair that I must submit to my husband. Why should I submit to him? God is not fair to ordain that he be the head instead of me.” God’s word, however, cannot be changed. Neither can this married sister ignore the requirement that she should submit to her husband. How, then, can she be helped? The best way for her to receive help in the matter of submitting to her husband is to call on the Lord’s name. If she calls on Him day by day, she will be able to submit to her husband.
When we call on the Lord’s name, we experience a real transfer. We are brought into another realm; we are brought into the kingdom of God, which is actually the propagated Christ Himself. If we realize this, we shall understand why the matter of calling on the name of the Lord is emphasized so much in the Bible.
Whenever we call on the Lord, He has both the opportunity and ground to spread Himself within us. This is not a mere doctrine; it is something very practical for our Christian experience. Today our Lord is the all-inclusive Spirit. As the Spirit, He is omnipresent, and He is now working within us, waiting for the opportunity to spread in us. When we call on His name, we give Him the way to increase in us.
An important verse related to calling on the Lord is Romans 10:12: “There is no difference between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him.” For years, I knew only the following verse in Romans 10: “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v. 13). I had been told that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but I had never heard that the Lord is rich to all who call on His name. He is rich not only in initial salvation — He is rich in all divine and spiritual things. If we would participate in the Lord’s riches, we need to call on Him. Day and night, we should call on the name of the Lord. Although we may call quietly so as not to disturb others, we can still softly call, “O Lord Jesus.”
Once we call on the Lord’s name, we cannot remain in our natural thoughts and reasonings. From experience we know that when we call on the name of the Lord we are brought into the depths of our being, that is, we are brought into our spirit. We cannot call on the name of the Lord and at the same time stay in the natural mind. Those who reason concerning the calling may say, “Is it right to call on the name of the Lord? Is this practice scriptural? If it is scriptural, why has it not been taught by others during the last nineteen centuries?” If such a person will call on the Lord, he will be saved from his natural thoughts and reasonings. When we refuse to call we remain in the natural mind. But when we call on the Lord, we are brought into the spirit. Oh, how we need to call on the Lord so that we may enjoy Him!
Calling on the Lord is a reality, for when we call on Him we touch Him. In a verse related to this calling Paul says: “The word is near you, in your mouth” (Rom. 10:8). In a very practical sense, the word here is equal to the Lord. Thus, for the word to be near means that the Lord is near. Whenever we call on the name of the Lord, we experience His nearness, His intimate presence.
How do we know that the Lord is near us? We know this by calling on the Lord. You cannot convince someone that the Lord is near him by arguing or debating with him. The more we argue, the farther away the Lord may seem to be. But if instead of arguing we call on His name a few times, we shall sense that He is near. If we continue calling on Him, we shall realize that He is not only near but even within us. The more we call on the Lord, the more He becomes our enjoyment. Through calling on Him He also becomes our peace, rest, comfort, and solution in all kinds of situations. This is not a mere doctrine or superficial teaching; this is a truth for our experience.
With Paul, we all should learn to call on the name of the Lord Jesus in order to have a complete transfer. Then, also with Paul, we should be faithful to our vision. As we shall see, Paul was able to testify, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (26:19). Paul’s faithfulness is seen in his not avoiding the use of the word “Gentiles” in 22:21. May we all learn to be faithful to the vision we have seen concerning the church, the ground of the church, and Christ as the life-giving Spirit.
We should learn of Paul to present the truth in a very good way. However, this does not mean that we shall always be able to avoid opposition and attack. No matter what our presentation of the truth may be, certain ones will still oppose. Nevertheless, we must be faithful. If at any time we are not faithful to the Lord’s vision, then we are no longer in the dispensational transfer. The way to keep ourselves in this transfer is to be faithful. First, we make the transfer by calling on the name of the Lord. Then we remain in this transfer by being faithful to our vision.
