Thanks for Keeping Me Up Last Night

I woke up last night pondering our discussion at Texas Burger so hope this e-mail makes sense. Thanks for keeping me up at night. Specifically I thought about the Roman passage:

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (Rom 8:16-17)

I think Sandi is spot on with her comment that the “SPIRIT” and “our spirit” represent two witnesses. This passage brought to mind a similar reference by JESUS WHO said:

“In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." (John 8:17-18)

The two witnesses of JESUS were HIMSELF and “the FATHER WHO sent ME.” It would appear that our witnesses are the same, our spirit and the SPIRIT OF GOD that says we are children of GOD. (In some Jewish literature they believe that Satan uses the comments we speak against our brother/sister along with Satan’s accusation to be two witnesses. Therefore, they caution against speaking any idle words.)

Baptism, the Testimony of SPIRIT and spirit

I began to think about the Roman passage in the context of our “water and SPIRIT” discussion. We talked about a number of examples in scripture relating water, the SPIRIT, and creations. These include:

 The SPIRIT OF GOD hovering over the face of the waters at creation (Gen 1:2)
 GOD making a wind (SPIRIT) to pass over the earth causing the waters to subside after the flood (Gen 8:1), referred to by Peter in the New Testament as an “antitype which now saves us – baptism” (1 Pet 3:20-21)
 The strong east (direction GOD comes from) wind (SPIRIT) caused by the LORD to split the waters of the Red Sea (Ex 14:21) and according to Paul “all (were) baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1 Cor 10:2)
 “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’" (Matt 3:16-17)
 The words of JESUS to Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5)

All these examples establish a relationship between the SPIRIT, water, and the process of creation. This is just the beginning of examples in scripture.

The other day, Sandi mentioned that she read someone who said the pillar of fire, representing GOD, was always present in the wilderness, but during the day it was blocked by the cloud. So during the day, people saw the cloud and at night they saw the pillar of fire through the cloud. I begin thinking about what other forms water can take and then I remembered this scripture.

“the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 2:5-7)

A mist is like a cloud and as a result, the whole surface of the ground was covered with water at the time that “the LORD GOD formed man of dust from the ground.” (Some of man’s faults might originate in the knowledge that GOD used mud when he formed man.) In some miraculous way, we have the SPIRIT and water even during the creation of man. I can’t explain it so maybe you can help me understand that the SPIRIT OF GOD can somehow draw closer to man in the presence of water (water, cloud, mist).

In the wilderness, when the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, the LORD was in a cloud that covered Mount Sinai. The LORD then called to Moses from the cloud and Moses went up on the mountain to stay with the LORD for forty days and nights (Ex 24:16-18). Again we see that man can be in the presence of the LORD when immersed in water or insulated by water, that is the cloud. This would support the concept that the cloud was always present in the desert separating GOD from the Israelites.

When JESUS ascended from the earth, HE was “taken up and a cloud received HIM out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). I think I can speculate WHO might have been in the cloud. There are countless times in scripture where we read about a future date when JESUS returns in the “clouds,” which we have supposed to be angels or witnesses, but maybe it is literally clouds.

Here is the conclusion of the thought. Baptism is a picture of JESUS’ death, burial, resurrection, and the “new creation,” but it may be much deeper than we have perceived. During baptism, the conditions exist where historically the SPIRIT OF GOD has existed in the presence and drawn close to the spirit of man. Therefore, baptism becomes the beginning of the time when “the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.” (Rom 8:16-17).

With this thought, we might then appreciate why the Jews have such a rich history of immersion, including immersion before major festivals.

I appreciate any thought you have on this subject.

Your brother, Scott