Sermon Manuscript

Baptism and the Church [Acts 1-2; Matthew 28] ~ 20260118 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

2026 01/18 Baptism; and the Church [Acts 1-2; Matthew 28]; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260118_church-baptism.mp3

Today we get to witness 6 people publicly proclaim Jesus as Lord by being baptized in his name, so I want to look today at what the Bible has to say about baptism, what it is all about.

What is Baptism?

First, a word about the word ‘baptize’; [βαπτίζω] is a Greek word that means ‘to dunk, dip, plunge, or immerse’, so in some of the verses we will look at today, I will use ‘immerse’ as an alternate translation of the Greek word to help clarify.

Water Baptism and Spirit Baptism

John the baptist said:

Matthew 3:11 “I [John] baptize you with [immerse you in] water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He [Jesus] will baptize you with [immerse you in] the Holy Spirit and fire.

In Acts 1, after the resurrection but before Jesus ascended to the right hand of his Father,

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with [immersed in] water, but you will be baptized with [immersed in] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ... 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

John said he was immersing people in water as a sign of repentance. But he pointed ahead to the coming one; God come in the flesh, who would immerse people in the Holy Spirit.

In John 3 Jesus had taught about this powerful work of the promised Holy Spirit.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus’ teaching is rooted in the promises of the New Covenant in Ezekiel 36; promises to cleanse you with water, and give you a new heart and put a new spirit, God’s Holy Spirit, in you.

Jesus says we must experience this new birth, birth from above, new life given by the Holy Spirit.

This connects back to what John said in Matthew 3; this being born of the Holy Spirit is described as being baptized in or immersed by Jesus in the Holy Spirit. This also connects to Jesus’ promise to his followers in Acts 1, that the Holy Spirit would come upon them, and they would be immersed in the Holy Spirit.

Back in John 7 Jesus said:

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Notice, Jesus invites the crowds to come to him to have their thirst satisfied. It is those who believe in Jesus who are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost

Acts 2 describes the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise:

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The apostles were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Just as the glory of God came down in fire on Mount Sinai (Ex.24:17); as the glory of God came as a pillar of fire to inhabit the tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex.40:34,38), so now God’s glory rested on his people, and his Holy Spirit inhabited his new dwelling place.

Peter preached the gospel to the crowds gathered there that day:

Acts 2:23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ...32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on his apostles in fulfillment of John’s prediction and Jesus’ promise.

Response: Believe and Be Baptized

The crowds are cut to the heart by the gospel, convicted of their sins by the Holy Spirit, and ask ‘what shall we do?’

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized [immersed] every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To repent is to have a change of heart and mind; you were believing one thing, but you realize what you were trusting in cannot save, so you turn from what you were trusting in and grab on to the only one who is truly able to save.

Here’s how the people responded that day:

Acts 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized [immersed], and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The people received his word; they had a change of heart about Jesus; they came to believe that he is who the apostles were proclaiming him to be, and they put their trust in this Jesus.

According to these passages, those who repent and believe the gospel are baptized [immersed] by Jesus in the Holy Spirit (the new birth), and all those believers should then be baptized [immersed] in water as a public and visible way of being identified as belonging to Jesus’ church. Baptism with water is the public ceremony of swearing allegiance to King Jesus, and to his church.

Added to the Church; Gathered on Sunday

Verse 41 says three thousand souls were added that day; to what were they added? Verse 47 says that ‘the Lord added to them those who were being saved.’ Acts 5:11 describes ‘them’ as ‘the whole church’ and 5:14 says “believers were added to the Lord”. People were being saved, publicly confessing Jesus as Lord in baptism, and were being added to the Lord, to his people, to his church.

By definition the church is a gathering of people for a common purpose. The word [ἐκκλησία] means those who are called out to assemble together. Acts 2:1, where this all started, the apostles were all together in one place; and it was on the day of Pentecost. The Jewish feast of Pentecost, according to Leviticus 23:16 was the day after the Sabbath; or the first day of the week, a new beginning, Sunday. The church was born that Sunday, and we see this pattern of gathering continue, especially on Sunday.

People were being saved by Jesus, born again, made new by the Holy Spirit, and they were publicly identified with the church through immersion in water. And their lives changed. They devoted themselves to (Acts 2:42) learning more about Jesus through the apostles’ teaching. They devoted themselves to enjoying their new connection with the community of believers, with the church, loving and serving one another. They devoted themselves to remembering Jesus by breaking bread together. They devoted themselves to enjoying together their newfound access to God through prayer.

The gathered church was devoted to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer. They were characterized (v.43-47) by awe, generosity, community, gratitude, and worship. These new believers belonged to a new community; so they gathered. They prioritized time together, but they didn’t spend all their time together, they also scattered into their local communities.

Jesus’ Command to Baptize [The Great Commission]

But I want to back up to look at why the apostles baptized [or immersed in water] new believers. The disciples were following Jesus’ command given in Matthew 28. In Matthew 16 Jesus promised to build his church on the confession of his own identity as Messiah and God. In Matthew 18, Jesus gave his church authority to affirm other people as members of his church as they upheld the family code of repentance and forgiveness. Here in Matthew 28, after his death and resurrection,

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

These verses have been called ‘the Great Commission;’ Jesus is commissioning his disciples to make disciples. Jesus claims to possess all authority, and he promises that his authoritative presence will be with his disciples to the end of the age. His disciples are to make disciples who will in turn make disciples, who will make disciples, who will make disciples... to the end of the age.

Jesus' command is simple: 'make disciples;’ a disciple is a student, a learner, or a follower. There are two primary things Jesus commands that we do with his disciples. We are to baptize them and teach them. Baptizing [or immersing in water] is the initiatory rite that indicates to everyone that they are beginning the life of a disciple, following a new master. Teaching them what Jesus taught is the ongoing process of disciple making.

Jesus is clear as to what his disciples are to be baptized into. In that day it was common for someone who was not Jewish by descent but wanted to worship the God of Israel to be baptized into Judaism as an indication that they had left their old gods behind and had turned to YHWH. John, who was know as 'the baptist' or the one who baptized, came with a radical message. He preached a baptism of repentance - calling Jews to turn from their formal outward religion and prepare their hearts for radical transformation.

Jesus here tells his followers to baptize [or immerse] disciples 'in (or into) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'. Jesus does not tell us to baptize into an -ism or a group, but into a name; into a person, into a relationship. One's name stands for their character, nature or reputation. The word 'Name' is singular, as Israel was so clearly taught that 'YHWH our God is one YHWH'.

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

There is one name, one character or nature, one God. And yet Jesus tells us that we are to baptize into the name of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is one of many reasons why historic Christianity since the time of Jesus has held to the truths that there is only one true God, and that this one God exists eternally in three distinct persons; Father, Son and Spirit. Later this Biblical teaching was given the name ‘trinity’ as shorthand to describe the one God who eternally exists in three persons. We baptize believers into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A Word About The Trinity; One What, Three Who’s

Here are some categories that might help in our thinking about what the Bible teaches about God;

- If we ask ‘what is God’, we could describe the kind of being God is, his character and nature; God is spirit (not flesh); holy (set apart, one-of-a-kind, unique); sovereign, all powerful, all knowing, love, just, faithful, gracious and compassionate…

- If we ask ‘who is God’, the Scriptures clearly tell us that the Father is God; Jesus prays to his Father as God. Jesus claims to be God (but he is distinct from his Father, and enjoys relationship with his Father), and the Holy Spirit is referred to as God, possesses all the divine attributes, and has all the traits of personality (he thinks, feels, and acts).

- There is only one God, one being that possesses all the attributes or characteristics of God. There can only be one absolute sovereign, only one all-powerful being. But the Bible reveals that this being we call ‘God’ has existed forever in three distinct persons in relationship; Father, Son and Spirit. This makes sense of the biblical teaching that ‘God is love’ (1Jn.4:8,16) There is one singular ‘Name’ (in the Bible a name points to character), and three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although the word ‘trinity’ is not found in the Bible, Christians throughout most of church history have used this word as shorthand for the Biblical understanding that the one true God eternally exists in three persons in loving relationship with one another.

Conclusion:

Disciples are those who believe the good news about Jesus and receive the salvation he purchased; who commit to follow him, who identify publicly with the one true God through baptism, as belonging to him, and to the church he promised to build. Water baptism illustrates our baptism by Jesus with the Holy Spirit when we believe in him. It pictures our connection with Jesus in his death and resurrection, demonstrating that we are dead to sin and have new resurrection life so that we can live pleasing to God.

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2026.01.18 Sermon Notes

Baptism and the Church (Acts 1-2; Matthew 28)

baptizo: to dunk, dip, plunge, immerse

Titus 2:13-14; Romans 7:4; Ephesians 5:25-29; Acts 20:28

John baptized with water;

Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit

Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:4-8; John 3:3-8; Ezekiel 36:25-27

The Spirit would be given to all who believe in Jesus

John 7:37-39

Jesus’ promise was fulfilled at Pentecost

Acts 2:1-4

-the glory of God came down in fire

Exodus 24:17; 40:34, 38

The good news about Jesus was proclaimed

Acts 2:23-33

-those who repent (have a change of heart) and receive the word are immersed by Jesus in the Holy Spirit, and then are identified as belonging to Jesus’ church by being immersed in water

Acts 2:38, 41

Believers are added to the church

Acts 2:41, 47; 5:11, 14

The church gathered; devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer

Acts 2:1; Leviticus 23:16; Acts 2:42-47

Jesus commissioned his disciples to make disciples

Matthew 28:18-20

-baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 John 4:8, 16

-teaching them to observe all Jesus commanded

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org