A Cause for Rejoicing

Philip, a layman in the early Christian church, was once guided by the Holy Spirit to go and talk with a eunuch from Ethiopia. Philip discovered the eunuch riding in a chariot and reading a prophecy about Christ, the Messiah, in the book of Isaiah. When the eunuch asked Philip who the prophet was talking about, Philip “told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:26-35).

“As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.”
—Acts 8:36-39.

What caused the eunuch’s rejoicing? It wasn’t just the fact that he’d been immersed in water. It was the excitement of making a commitment to Christ. The eunuch had testified to his belief in Jesus’ power to come into his heart and save him. Philip took him “down into the water” as an open declaration of the new faith that burned in the man’s heart. He buried him in the water as a symbol of the funeral of his old life of sin. Philip lifted the eunuch “up out of the water” as a sign that the Ethiopian had been born into a new life with Christ. There is great joy in baptism only because we are giving our lives to a great Saviour.

Baptism is cause for great rejoicing because those who place their faith in Christ can have the assurance of eternal life. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). When we are baptized, we’re on an upward path leading us to eternal joy with God.

Baptism also celebrates a present happiness with Christ. Jesus promises the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit to those baptized (Acts 2:38), and with the Spirit comes “the fruit of the Spirit”—”love,” which fills the life with “patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, italics supplied).

Having Jesus living inside us by His Holy Spirit gives a profound sense of security and certainty: