THE MAN FROM ETHIOPIA
By Timothy Glover
A man from Ethiopia was the Secretary of Treasury of Ethiopia for Queen Candace. He was a worshiper of God and for that reason he had come to Jerusalem. He was reading from the book of Isaiah when Philip contacted him. It is important to note that the Spirit used human agents through which the message would be preached. This method is repeated throughout the book of Acts. No direct contact of the Spirit is seen, nor a vision by which the gospel is preached.
The preacher asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” This question was designed in part to find out where this man was in his understanding. If he was a believer in Christ, he would have understood Isaiah 53. If not, he would not understand. Once he confessed his ignorance, the preacher then knew what to address. Philip began at this passage and "preached Jesus to him". As they went on their way they came to a certain water and the Ethiopian said, “Here is water. What hinders me to be baptized?” In the preaching of Christ, the Ethiopian had learned that baptism was a requirement and if he could do what he had learned from Philip. The knowledge of baptism had to have come from the preaching of Christ. Preaching Christ includes baptism as the necessary response. It was a part of Peter’s sermon and of Philips preaching to the Samaritans. Anyone who omits it preaches another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9).
The act of baptism is defined by the description in Acts 8:38. Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water. They would not have both gone into the water if the purpose had been to sprinkle or pour water on the subject. The reason that compelled both to go down into the water is the same reason that compels all who practice immersion to go down into the water. Sprinkling does not require a going down into and a coming up out of the water. Conscious that his sins had been washed away, the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. Think about this as you think about your experience. Did you rejoice on account of sins that were forgiven before or after you were baptized? The order is :
- Hearing the good news about Christ
- Confession
- Baptism
- Rejoicing.
Are you willing to follow this man’s example? You can do exactly what this man did and be just a Christian. He was added to the church just as those on Pentecost were added. The difference in the two accounts of conversion relate to their understanding of the Christ and what they had already done before further instruction was given. Acts 2 and 8 are the same. Our conversion can and should be the same as theirs.
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