The Gospel of the Forty Days: Baptism, Part 4         In this fourth article on Christ’s command to baptize given to the Apostles during the forty days between His Resurrection and Ascension, we discuss the second effect and purpose of Christian Baptism: sonship, adoption, becoming a child of God. (The first being incorporation into Christ, discussed in the prior article.) How might Jesus have taught about this during those forty days?       Probably as St. John speaks of it: “To all who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children of God; who were born ... of God” (Jn 1:11-12).       But how is one born of God? That was the question Nicodemus raised, and Jesus replied: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5). “Water and the Spirit” is an obvious reference to the baptism that Jesus would institute. To the woman at...

The Gospel of the Forty Days: Baptism, Part 3       In this third article on Christ’s command given to the Apostles to baptize, we left off last with the idea that Jesus Christ, in His glorified humanity, was now able to generate a whole new sanctified race of those who are incorporated into Him through baptism. What might Jesus have taught the Apostles during those forty days about being incorporated into Christ?       Scripture tells us quite a bit actually. The evening before Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, at the Last Supper He spoke to His Apostles about their future incorporation into Him in these words – and we are pointing out the number of ways He expresses it: [1] “You will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20) and [2] if anyone loves Jesus, Jesus and the Father “will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn 14:23). Then He admonishes them to [3] “Abide in Me,” and says that they [4] cannot bear fruit “unle...

The Gospel of the Forty Days: Baptism, Part 2       Last week we began discussion of Jesus’ command to the Apostles to baptize, given during the forty days between His Resurrection and Ascension. An observant person may have asked, Why does Jesus command to baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt 28:20), and yet at Pentecost Peter said to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ (Ac 2:38)?       There are at least two answers. First, any time Jesus Christ is mentioned in the New Testament, as Son of God He is always in reference to the Father; and in the context of baptism, Peter here, and the New Testament elsewhere, speaks of the Holy Spirit given in baptism. Therefore, one can truly say that to baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ is to reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perhaps for this reason, or because of the clarity of Jesus’ command, the early Church records that the words spoken while administering baptism ...