Dual Baptism?

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I
was
sitting in
a beautiful
Catholic Church
in Bancroft, Iowa for
the funeral of Cyndi’s
uncle, and began noticing
the artwork surrounding us
.
At one point
the sun came out
and streamed through
the stained glass windows,
filling the space with a
brilliant glow
.

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Centrally located
above the altar is a
bas-relief sculpture of
Jesus being baptized by
John, with the Holy Spirit
ready to descend in the
form of a dove
.
That scene
got me thinking
about the fact that
Jesus voluntarily
decided to be
baptized
.
I’m assuming
that he didn’t have
to do it, but how would
the story have been
different if he had
declined
???

I surely
don’t believe
that God forces
himself on anyone,
reminding me of the
verse that says he is
always knocking,
but we have to
open the
door *

Behold,
I stand at
the door and
knock. If anyone
hears my voice
and opens the
door, I will
come in
to him
…

Revelation 3:20

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People
have shared
legends with me
that Jesus performed
miraculous acts as a boy
.
In one of them,
he is said to have
brought a bird
back to life
.

I
don’t
believe
them
.

The
story of
Jesus asking
questions to the
elders of the temple
at the age of twelve is
a good indicator of his
understanding of the
Hebrew Bible at an
early age
:

After
three days
they found him
in the temple, sitting
among the teachers,
listening to them and
asking them questions.
And all who heard him
were amazed at his
understanding and
his answers.

Luke 2:46-47

but

Nowhere
does scripture
mention any spiritual
power until after
His baptism
.

After
that moment,
everything starts
to happen,
starting
with
:

The
Spirit
immediately
drove him out into
the wilderness. 

Mark 1:12

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Jesus decided to
be baptized by John,
confirming his willingness
.

I’m not convinced
that the water
is the key to
the event
.
I believe
that the key
to the event is
the willingness
.

After all,
water is
physical
.
I think the water
symbolizes a spiritual
cleansing rather than a
physical cleansing, and a
spiritual cleansing makes
us acceptable (even in our
imperfect state) for the
Holy Spirit to reside
within us
.

Prior
to this event,
the Temple system
was a complicated ritual
of purification to make us
acceptable enough to
approach the Lord
and experience
His holiness
.

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After
Jesus’ death,
resurrection, and
ascension, he sent
the Spirit down to
be with us until
the end of
the age
.

I believe that
the spiritual
baptism is a
different
event
:

And
when Jesus
was baptized,
immediately he
went up from the
water, and behold,
the heavens were
opened to him,
and he saw
the Spirit
of God
descending
like a dove and
coming to rest
on him; 

Matthew 3:16

And John bore witness:
“I saw the Spirit descend
from heaven like a dove,
and it remained on him”

John 1:32

After being
blessed by the Spirit,
Jesus began doing
things that are still
pondered and
discussed to
this day
.

He healed people,
spiritually and
physically
.
He fed people
.

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I believe
that one of the
accomplishments
of Jesus’ life here on
earth was to make
US
acceptable for the
Holy Spirit, making
the people of the
church the new
temple
.

We
ourselves
are a place for
the Spirit to reside,
rather than any
building
.

Do you
not know
that you are
God’s temple
and that God’s
Spirit dwells
in you? 

1 Corinthians 3:16

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Now that
the Spirit has
arrived and can
work through us,
God’s work is done
…

…and Jesus’
work is finished, too.
He is seated in authority,
and all of the spiritual
power now comes
through the
Holy Spirit
.

The
Christian
is still powerless,
but instead of
God acting
UPON US,
or Jesus
working
WITH US,
the power of
the Holy Spirit
can now work
THROUGH
US
.

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Anyway,
these thoughts
flashed through my
mind as I was gazing at
a carving of Jesus being
baptized by John, with
a dove hovering
overhead
.

This
artwork
inspired me,
and I’m grateful
for the experience.

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Rest
In Peace,
and I hope to
see you again,
Mr. Dietering
!!!

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*
note:
Lately
I’ve been
thinking a lot
about how the
decision to open
the door is a personal
decision for each of us,
but
you might be reminded of
the apostle Paul being driven
to the ground on the way to
Damascus, blinded by a
spiritual experience
.
Doesn’t it seem
like God might have
been forcing himself
on Paul in that
moment
???

YES!

Did Paul make
a personal decision
to accept the Lord
as his spiritual
authority
???

again,
YES!

Maybe
he didn’t
ask for a visit
at that moment,
but he was following
his understanding of what
God wanted him to be doing;
defending his Jewish
heritage against the
Christians
.

So, in his mind,
he was already doing
the Lord’s work, and
would have been
open to that
guidance
.

His
door was
already open,
in other words
.

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Thanks for visiting,
come back soon!

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