A TREATISE ON RE-BAPTISM. 405
Jerusalem, but wait for that promiseof the Father which,
£saithHe], ye have heard from me ; forJohn trulybaptized
with water,but ye shallbe baptizedwith the Holy Ghost
not many days hence."1 And Peter alsorelatedthesesame
words of the Lord, when he gave an account of himselfto
the apostles,saying: " And as I began to speak,the Holy
Ghost fellupon them as on us at the beginning; and I
remembered the word of the Lord, how that He said,John
indeed baptizedwith water, but ye shallbe baptizedwith
the Holy Ghost. If,therefore,He gave them a likegiftas
to us,who believeon the Lord Jesus Christ,who was I,that
I could withstand the Lord ? " 2 And again: " Men and
brethren,ye know how from ancient days God made choice
among us, that the Gentilesby my mouth shouldhear the
word of the gospel,and believe.And God, who knoweth
the hearts,bare them witness,giving them the Holy Spirit,
even as He did unto us."3 And on thisaccountwe ought
to considerwhat isthe forceand power of thissaying. For
the Lord says to them who would have to be subsequently
baptized because they should believe,that they must be
baptizednot in likemanner as by Him inwater,unto repent
ance, but in the Holy Ghost. And of thisannouncement, as
assuredlynone of us can doubt it,itisplainon what principle
men were baptizedin the Holy Spirit.For itwas peculiarly
in the Holy SpiritHimself alone that they who believed
were baptized. For John distinguished,and said that he
indeed baptized in water, but that one should come who
would baptizein the Holy Ghost, by the grace and power of
God ; and they are so by the [Spirit's]bestowaland opera
tion of hidden results.Moreover, they are so no lessin the
baptism of the Spiritand of water. They areso,besides,also
in the baptism of every one in hisown properblood.4 Even
as the Holy Scripturesdeclareto us,from which we shall
adduce evidentproofsthroughout each individualinstance
of thosethingswhich we shallnarrate.
1 Actsi.4,5. 2 Actsxi.15-17. 3Actsxv.7,8.
4 Thereissomethingneededto make theconnectionof thispassage
complete.