For many, the beginning of their Christian formation took place before they were even aware of what was going on. It began with an event that is spoken very highly of throughout the New Testament, one that continues to be one of the ways that God does His work into the lives of those whom He would claim as His own. It's an event that takes place when water (in whatever quantity, and applied in whatever way) touches a person at the same time as the name of God is spoken upon the person. This washing of water with God's name is called simply Baptism.
There is a lot that happens in this simple action, though what it is really doesn't seem readily understood by many Christians, and even more seem to take these great and amazing things for granted. How do we discover what all happens here? Well, we simply go to the Bible, to God's Word, to hear what He has to say about it. And as we dive into those gifts that God gives in Baptism, we also see that this action is the beginning of our Christian formation.
Now, to go into all these details, we'll take a couple of posts, at least, to get through them all. For example, the very first thing we start off with. It is where Jesus speaks about His desire to have people of all nations baptized, that most familiar of Bible references in Matthew 28:16-20. Most translations say that Jesus says to baptize them "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Not to get all Greeky on you, but it's perhaps better to translate the first word of those quotes as "into" rather than "in".
What big difference does that make, you ask, and how does that impact Christian formation? Well, rather than just simply having some name spoken over you when you are baptized, "into" actually carries the deeper meaning of you being brought into an intimate connection with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Your Christian formation begins when you are brought into that intimate connection with God in His full essence. And notice that this isn't something that you do. This is God bringing you into Himself as the water and His name are spoken on you.
When you are brought into that relationship with God, your Christian formation begins. There is more to this action than what we have covered today, and we'll dive a bit more into it tomorrow. But this truly does point us to the place where our Christian formation begins: when we are brought into our God, who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us.
There is a lot that happens in this simple action, though what it is really doesn't seem readily understood by many Christians, and even more seem to take these great and amazing things for granted. How do we discover what all happens here? Well, we simply go to the Bible, to God's Word, to hear what He has to say about it. And as we dive into those gifts that God gives in Baptism, we also see that this action is the beginning of our Christian formation.
Now, to go into all these details, we'll take a couple of posts, at least, to get through them all. For example, the very first thing we start off with. It is where Jesus speaks about His desire to have people of all nations baptized, that most familiar of Bible references in Matthew 28:16-20. Most translations say that Jesus says to baptize them "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Not to get all Greeky on you, but it's perhaps better to translate the first word of those quotes as "into" rather than "in".
What big difference does that make, you ask, and how does that impact Christian formation? Well, rather than just simply having some name spoken over you when you are baptized, "into" actually carries the deeper meaning of you being brought into an intimate connection with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Your Christian formation begins when you are brought into that intimate connection with God in His full essence. And notice that this isn't something that you do. This is God bringing you into Himself as the water and His name are spoken on you.
When you are brought into that relationship with God, your Christian formation begins. There is more to this action than what we have covered today, and we'll dive a bit more into it tomorrow. But this truly does point us to the place where our Christian formation begins: when we are brought into our God, who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us.
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