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Water baptism symbolizes the believer’s total trust in and total reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as a commitment to live obediently to Him. It also expresses unity with all the saints (Ephesians 2:19), that is, with every person in every nation on earth who is a member of the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:27–28). Water baptism conveys this and more, but it is not what saves us. Instead, we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8–9). We are baptized because our Lord commanded it: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
People don’t normally talk about suffering and resurrection in the same breath but they belong together because such is life. The apostle Paul joined these two extremes in his letter to the Philippians. Here’s what he said:
Philippians 3:10-11 TLB
10 Now I have given up everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. 11 So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.
There are two ways to wonder…that’s why we’ve called this sermon and the series we'll be preaching the next few weeks…the Paradox of Wonder. One definition of wonder is to stand in awe. Another definition is to speculate…to question.
People don’t normally talk about suffering and resurrection in the same breath but they belong together because such is life. The apostle Paul joined these two extremes in his letter to the Philippians. Here’s what he said:
Philippians 3:10-11 TLB
10 Now I have given up everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. 11 So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.
