The physician Luke wrote after Philip led the Ethiopian man through the scriptures written by the prophet Isaiah, “Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what does hinder me to be baptized?”, and in chapter eight and verse thirty-seven of the book of Acts Luke shared how Philip told the Ethiopian, “if you believe with all your heart, you may” where we read:
And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
The verse begins, “And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may.” Luke began with the words, “and Philip said” which means “and Philip whose name means lover of horses and was Jesus' apostle uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “if you believe with all your heart” or “whether you, Ethiopian eunuch, trust, have faith, cling to and have confidence with each, every, the whole and with every part of your soul and mind”, “you may” which means “you, Ethiopian eunuch, may be baptized in water”. Luke shared how “Philip” told the “Ethiopian eunuch” the requirement for him being “baptized” was to “trust in, rely upon, cling to and have confidence” in Jesus.
The verse continues, “And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Luke added the words, “and he answered and said” which means “and the Ethiopian eunuch responded and began to speak by uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “I believe that Jesus Christ” or “I, the Ethiopian eunuch, trust in, rely upon, cling to and have confidence that Jesus whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate, the anointed One and Messiah” “is the Son of God” which means “exists as God the Father's Only Begotten Son”. Luke shared how the “Ethiopian eunuch” responded to “Philip” and proclaimed that he trusted and had confidence in the fact that “Jesus” is the “anointed Messiah” and God's Son.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Philip” gave the “Ethiopian eunuch” the requirement to be “baptized”. The “Ethiopian man” needed to “believe and trust” that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God. The “Ethiopian eunuch” confirmed his belief, and we shall see how “Philip” baptizes him in our next verse. Anyone who “believes and trusts with all their heart” in God's Son Jesus as the “Christ and Messiah” of God will be “saved”, and they may be “baptized” to demonstrate their inward commitment to Him as their “Savior and Lord”. Let all who read these words hear the instruction of “Philip” and put their faith in trust in Jesus who will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life with God.
Next time Luke shares how Philip told the Ethiopian, “went down both into the water, both Philip, and the eunuch; and he baptized him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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