The Water Baptism of Cornelius

[TomL]

this is why IGNORANCE run rampant in congregations. people say that they are believes, but are not.

101G.

simply does not address scripture

none of which states he was saved

Acts 11:14 (KJV 1900) — 14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.(future tense)

 

[Fred]

There are many attempts made to get around the necessity of water baptism in the salvation of man. One such attempt I will deal here briefly is with Cornelius.

Heard - the word - believe
akouō ---- logos -- pisteuō


When the author of the Book of Acts (Luke) writes of people who have (1) heard (2) the word/s, and (3) believed it is always in reference to people who are Christians.

Acts 2:22, 44
(22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus the Nazarene, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through Him in your midst, as ye yourselves also know.
(44) And all who believed were together, and had all things in common.

Acts 4:4, 32
(4) Howbeit many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
(32) And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them.

Acts 13:6-7, 12
(6) And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus:
(7) Who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; who summoned Barnabas and Saul, and desired
to hear the word of God.
(12) Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being amazed at the doctrine of the Lord.

Acts 19:10, 18
(10) And this continued by the space of two years; so that all those who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
(18) And many who believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds.


That Cornelius and the other Gentiles with him heard the word and believed before their water baptism demonstrates they were Christians before their water baptism.
Acts 10:43-44
(43) Of Him all the prophets bear witness, that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive forgiveness of sins.
(44) While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word.
Acts 15:7-8
(7) And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men, brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
(8) And God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as unto us.

 

[Peterlag]

There are many attempts made to get around the necessity of water baptism in the salvation of man. One such attempt I will deal here briefly is with Cornelius. The claim is made that since the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius, that is supposed proof he was already saved BEFORE he was water baptized.

The assumption made is that those who are already saved can be the only ones to have the Holy Spirit come upon them.

Yet this assumption is easily refuted for we find in the Bible examples of those not saved yet filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, King Saul being one.

"For instance, in the book of 1 Samuel, we learn about the first king of Israel—King Saul. When he was chosen, Saul was the ideal candidate to be king. And yet because of a series of poor decisions that resulted in disobedience to God’s commands, he was rejected by God. In 1 Samual 16:14, the text explains that “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” Due to Saul’s hardened, disobedient heart, he began to chase David in an attempt to kill him.

Saul’s debased mind even led him to bring about the death of an entire city of the Lord’s priests. On one occasion, as he was chasing David, he heard that David was with Samuel in the city of Ramah. Saul sent messengers to capture David, but when they arrived, “the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they prophesied. And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers a third time, and they prophesied also” (1 Samuel 19:20-21). Notice that the fact that the Holy Spirit came upon the messengers was not an indication of their being saved, but instead was a miraculous intervention on God’s behalf to save David.

Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah in an attempt to capture and kill David. When he got there, “the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah” (1 Samuel 19:22-24). The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were a sign from God, but not one meant to indicate Saul’s salvation. Instead, it was a sign to show that God was with Samuel and was protecting David."

Source Publisher: Apologetics Press
Author: Kyle Butt

If Cornelius Had the Holy Spirit, Doesn’t That Mean He Was Saved? - Apologetics Press

Acts 10 contains the exciting story of Peter preaching the first Gospel sermon to the Gentiles. Until this time, many of the Jewish converts believed that the Gospel was for the Jews, and they thought that those who obeyed the Gospel were also supposed to keep the Law of Moses. That was not...

apologeticspress.org

(Lastly a sidenote: 1 Sam 16:14 says the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. If the Spirit falling upon Cornelius is 'proof' he was saved, then the Spirit departing from one must prove that salvation can also be lost. Correct?)

Cornelius was not baptized with water. Peter mentioned water and they must have said no because it said he was baptized in the name of the Lord. Water baptism is a carryover from part of the Levitical Law. There are many examples of people in the Old Testament who would wash themselves with water as a final step to being clean. Water baptism was an outward sign of washing, and then you would be clean to God. Baptism in water, and the need to be circumcised passed away with the coming of Pentecost, as did the other Levitical Laws. To be led by the spirit is to not be under the yoke of bondage with the extreme of legalism, seeking the works of the flesh from the old covenant concerning the past Law administration that was written to Israel.

It's clear from the gospels that water baptism had to do with the kingdom, which was ministered by John who was known as the Baptizer, and not a minister for the Church of God. John who was a prophet functioning under the old covenant was appointed by God to prepare and confirm the promises made to Israel. His message was to tell those who lived under the old covenant that the king had come and “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He used water as a sign to baptize those who believed the promised Messiah would be coming in just a matter of months and to illustrate that he would be the Christ, who would baptize them not with material water, but with holy spirit, which is “power from on high.” From the habit of tradition, and only for a short period of time, a small handful of people were baptized with water into the New Testament, but never again afterwards.

In the epistles written just a little bit past the beginning of the New Testament is where we read the only time water baptism is mentioned is to note there is no more need for it, and that we are now to be baptized with holy spirit. And this is why in Acts 2:38, Peter commands “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” In Acts 8:16, Peter and John “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” In Acts 10:48, Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” In Romans 6:3, it declares “that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ.” There is not one exception to this practice where we see water baptism, which belonged to the time period when Christ walked the earth, being used once the Church of God had become established.

 

[TomL]

Cornelius was not baptized with water. Peter mentioned water and they must have said no because it said he was baptized in the name of the Lord. Water baptism is a carryover from part of the Levitical Law. There are many examples of people in the Old Testament who would wash themselves with water as a final step to being clean. Water baptism was an outward sign of washing, and then you would be clean to God. Baptism in water, and the need to be circumcised passed away with the coming of Pentecost, as did the other Levitical Laws. To be led by the spirit is to not be under the yoke of bondage with the extreme of legalism, seeking the works of the flesh from the old covenant concerning the past Law administration that was written to Israel.

It's clear from the gospels that water baptism had to do with the kingdom, which was ministered by John who was known as the Baptizer, and not a minister for the Church of God. John who was a prophet functioning under the old covenant was appointed by God to prepare and confirm the promises made to Israel. His message was to tell those who lived under the old covenant that the king had come and “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He used water as a sign to baptize those who believed the promised Messiah would be coming in just a matter of months and to illustrate that he would be the Christ, who would baptize them not with material water, but with holy spirit, which is “power from on high.” From the habit of tradition, and only for a short period of time, a small handful of people were baptized with water into the New Testament, but never again afterwards.

In the epistles written just a little bit past the beginning of the New Testament is where we read the only time water baptism is mentioned is to note there is no more need for it, and that we are now to be baptized with holy spirit. And this is why in Acts 2:38, Peter commands “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” In Acts 8:16, Peter and John “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” In Acts 10:48, Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” In Romans 6:3, it declares “that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ.” There is not one exception to this practice where we see water baptism, which belonged to the time period when Christ walked the earth, being used once the Church of God had become established.

???????????????????

Acts 10:47–48 (KJV 1900) — 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

 

[jeremiah1five]

Heard - the word - believe
akouō ---- logos -- pisteuō


When the author of the Book of Acts (Luke) writes of people who have (1) heard (2) the word/s, and (3) believed it is always in reference to people who are Christians.

Acts 2:22, 44
(22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus the Nazarene, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through Him in your midst, as ye yourselves also know.
(44) And all who believed were together, and had all things in common.

Acts 4:4, 32
(4) Howbeit many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
(32) And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them.

Acts 13:6-7, 12
(6) And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus:
(7) Who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; who summoned Barnabas and Saul, and desired
to hear the word of God.
(12) Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being amazed at the doctrine of the Lord.

Acts 19:10, 18
(10) And this continued by the space of two years; so that all those who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
(18) And many who believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds.


That Cornelius and the other Gentiles with him heard the word and believed before their water baptism demonstrates they were Christians before their water baptism.
Acts 10:43-44
(43) Of Him all the prophets bear witness, that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive forgiveness of sins.
(44) While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word.
Acts 15:7-8
(7) And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men, brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
(8) And God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as unto us.

Since Acts is dealing with Hebrews, they were all Christian who awaited the Messiah even before they were born-again.

 

[TomL]

Since Acts is dealing with Hebrews, they were all Christian who awaited the Messiah even before they were born-again.

Cornelius was not a Jew

Your bias is driving you to deny the very word of God