SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:18-28
“He spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.” (Acts 18:25)
Apollos is a learned man, a bible scholar, and a gifted communicator.
He vigorously defended Jesus as the Messiah, with great fervor and boldness.
He seems to be anointed with the Spirit to witness for Jesus, yet he had not received baptism in Jesus’ Name.
People who attach value to the baptism struggle to prove that he must have been baptized at some point.
Which may be the case, but what I want to point out is that the Spirit is not tied to baptism.
The baptism of the Spirit can be symbolized by water baptism, but is not restricted to it.
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
Some churches will not accept you as a member, unless you were baptized properly.
For me what matters is not how much water was used, or when it was used, but evidence that:
(a) The person knows Jesus,
(b) The person shows the the Spirit of Jesus at work in them,
(c) The person wants to grow in their knowledge of Jesus.
I believe it is possible to be baptized with the Spirit without being baptized by water.
Water baptism is a symbol of a deeper reality, and it is the deeper reality that God sees.
May God raise up more Apollos in our community, people who may not fit our mold for member.
But who demonstrate Jesus and the Spirit of Jesus in and through their lives!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, baptize me with this same Spirit, to know You, to show You, and to grow more and more like You! I care not for the ceremony, I long for the reality!