Baptizo (Matt 28:18 Trinity A)

Not to be confused with bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change.

When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He that believes and is baptised shall be saved'. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!

Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989. (Cited from the Online Bible)

What does it mean to be permanently immersed in the Triune Name?

Creation (Trinity A)

The readings this week remind me of the hymns at the beginning of our hymnal. Songs like This Is My Father's World, For The Beauty of the Earth, Praise Ye The Lord or I Sing the Mighty Power of God. Songs of creation and providence come under the heading of The Godhead.

God the creator was fully vested in his work as he created the Spirit hovered and the Word flowed from his lips. When he created man in his own image it was the fellowship he knew in Himself.

"What [Karl Barth] has helped us understand is that relationship is at the heart of what it means to be 'in the image of God' and that the relationship between male and female is the human expression of our relationship with God."[i]

He created man, what are we that we should be known by him, and yet he cares for us. We look at his creation and see him in his transcendent power. He is worthy of all our praise.

The disciples worshiped the Son on the Mountain before he left. Jesus declared that all the power in heaven and earth had been given to him. The power and authority of the heavens and earth echo down through history as the very words He spoke creating them in the first place. How right they worshipped, and he is with them-with
us-to the end of the age!

Jesus in his authority commanded them to make disciples who would obey everything he had commanded. Paul says, "Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you."

The benediction is repeated and expanded when he adds, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Is this the same as the first benediction? The first addressed to the Godhead and the second to the persons in the trinity ascribing to them distinctions in the way they bless us?

Three Personed God, lift our eyes to your transcendence this week as we see your authority and power in your creation and in our lives pour out all the grace, love, fellowship and peace that are ours in the Son.
Amen.

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[i] Richard J. Foster. The Challenge Of The Disciplined Life (San Francisco: HarperSanFancisco, 1994.) 92.

Theocentric (Trinity A)

rIn college one of my professors said something that resonated with me, but I still am trying to figure out what it means. “We need to get back to a Theocentric theology.” How does that differ from our fiercely Christocentric theology?

The Spirit shows the Son, the Son reveals the Father. Is the Father to be the center of our focus and worship? The thought hit me recently that, as Pentecostals, we mean Theocentric worship should be directed at the fullness of the Godhead. (Let us never forget the Holy Spirit ;)
I can remember sitting at the altar at camp when I was nine. I was seeking and praising God. I found myself making sure to address each member of the Trinity so none of them felt left out. It hit me even then how silly that was. They are one! Incidentally that was the night I was first baptized in the Spirit, but it wasn’t just him I was looking for. Even at nine, I wanted the fullness of the Godhead.