Baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ

by Edwin Crozier

Although Peter himself had proclaimed that the promise of salvation was for all who are far off (Acts 2:39), he was still surprised when told to preach the gospel to a Gentile. Yet, while he was preaching to Cornelius, the “Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45).

What happens next is fantastic.

Peter didn’t say, “Well, look at this. These Gentiles are saved. Their sins are forgiven. They don’t need anything else.” No, Peter said, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Then “he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:47-48 ESV).

Let’s piece a few things together throughout Acts.

1. First, remember that baptism in Jesus’s name goes along with repentance and is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). In other words, by commanding this baptism, Peter asserted that Cornelius still needed his sins forgiven.
2. Second, notice Peter says they can’t withhold water. This is similar to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 7, who feared Philip would withhold water from him for baptism. Thus, the baptism in Jesus’s name, which is for the remission of sins, is an immersion in water.
3. Third, notice Peter commanded this baptism. In other words, baptism wasn’t simply an example of something that was done by some of the folks who became disciples; it was and is a command.
4. Fourth, if baptism is merely an outward sign of inward grace, would Cornelius and his family have needed it at all? Peter commands baptism because an outward sign had already been given. The Holy Spirit had been poured out on these folks and demonstrated by speaking in tongues in the exact way the apostles did in Acts 2. This baptism is only needed if it is…well…needed. It was needed because God forgives sins in baptism.

Of course, I completely understand why some suggest Cornelius must have already been saved. Would God pour out His Holy Spirit on someone who is not saved? Yes, in fact, He would. And did so on other occasions. Do you recall that the Holy Spirit prophesied through Caiaphas, the high priest, who was actively plotting to kill Jesus in John 11:49-51? Do you recall when the Spirit of God came upon King Saul and his group of messengers as they were actively trying to kill David in I Samuel 19:18-24? Just as God can save anyone He wants, in any way He wants, He can pour out His Spirit on anyone He wants, whenever He wants, for whatever reason He wants. Let’s not put God and the pouring of the Holy Spirit into a box of our own making.

But to demonstrate that Cornelius was not saved when the Spirit was poured out on him, let us sneak into Acts 11. According to Acts 11:13-14, Cornelius was told Peter would give Cornelius a message by which he would be saved. But notice Acts 11:15. When was the Holy Spirit poured out on Cornelius and his family? The Holy Spirit fell on them as Peter began to speak. In other words, the Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and company before they heard the saving message. They still had to hear the message to be saved.

No doubt, Peter’s command to be baptized was part of that saving message, just as baptism was part of Philip preaching the good news about Jesus to the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8.
There is no doubt that the one, saving baptism is a baptism of water and Spirit. Jesus explained that to Nicodemus in John 3:3-5. But it is a baptism of water and Spirit. It is not just a baptism of Spirit. In this exceptional circumstance, God poured out His Spirit on the Gentiles as a sign to the Jewish Christians that the Gentiles could be baptized without becoming Jews. But they still had to be baptized in water because that is the burial with Jesus, in which we die with Christ and have our sins forgiven.

Have you died with Christ in baptism of water and Spirit? Have you had your sins forgiven in that watery grave? Can we help you with that?