Acts 8:36ff. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? ... If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
For the eunuch and to Philip, the question of baptism comes up. The preaching of Jesus does not exclude the preaching of baptism, which is a testimony of his death, burial, and resurrection according to the scriptures. The believer does not delay to obey. Compare Psalm 119:60 “I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.”
The eunuch of Ethiopia first makes “The ‘Good’ or ‘Great’ Confession” that must be made by all, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Cf. Matthew 16:16; Romans 10:10 – “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Ultimately, every tongue shall confess, Romans 14:11.
Baptism is immersion. Philip and the eunuch “went down both into the water” and both “come up out of the water.” Paedorantists would have them only go “to the water,” – or even if they went “into the water” that “they went perhaps up to the ankles or mid-leg into the water, and Philip sprinkled water upon him” (Matthew Henry). Yet, even the Protestant Reformer John Calvin (who did not hold to immersion only) sensibly includes this note on Acts 8:38: “Hence we see what was the manner of baptizing with the ancients, for they plunged the whole body into water.” Immersion was the universal practice of the New Testament and early churches.
The baptism of the eunuch indicates these elements:
- Proper authority vs. 26-27
- Proper candidate vs. 36-37
- Proper mode vs. 38-39
The Spirit of the Lord removed Philip to points beyond. Even though “the eunuch saw him no more,” he nevertheless “went on his way rejoicing.”
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