W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest

that privilege, and baptized her the second time, as the substitute of her mother who had gone on to paradise. Or
a brother begs the evangelist to baptize him in lieu of his dear elder brother, who is now lying in the family
sepulcher. To this he cheerfully consents, favoring his pious request. The very fact that it was a common thing
for those primitive Christians to receive baptism in lieu of their departed loved ones manifests the broad
freedom they enjoyed in reference to the ordinance. Paul merely alludes to it as an argument in favor of the
resurrection of the body, which is the subject of that whole chapter, without a word of approval or disapproval.
Of course it was an innocent affair, or he certainly would have corrected any disharmony with the will of God.
It falls in line with the uniform trend of the Scriptures, recognizing water baptism as a non-essential, in which
we all enjoy the very largest liberties. In any form whatever, it is a beautiful souvenir of the one baptism which
Jesus gives. Eph. 7:5.
Was not the eunuch immersed? You may ask. I am satisfied he was not. In the providence of God, I have six
times visited the place where we have every reason to believe the event transpired. It is now on the
macadamized road due south from Jerusalem about eighteen miles. It is a single water spout, an inch or two in
diameter, flowing out from a cliff on the left, as we go south. In that country good water is prized much more
than in this, because of its scarcity. Every time I visited Philip's fountain where he baptized the Ethiopian
eunuch, I found from a dozen to twenty women with their waterpots, waiting each her turn to put the mouth
under the spot and hold it till filled; then setting it up on her head she walked away. There is no mistake about
this being the place. Baedeker's guide book, which is the authority for all of that country, as Mr. Baedeker was
there thirty years traveling everywhere and investigating everything, says positively that this is the place.
Popular sentiment is unanimous in reference to it. It is known far and near as Philip's fountain at which he
baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. There is no chance for immersion, unless they would catch the water and keep it
a good while; and this would be hard to do because the people depend on it for constant use. It is a splendid
article and the only fountain in that neighborhood. Eusebius, the old historian who lived in the fourth century,
states that Philip baptized the eunuch at the fountain of Bethsoran, which is the name of that place. The
statements, “went down into the water” and “came up out of the water,” are surely gratuitous, and optionary
with the translator, as eis means to, just as literally as into, and ek means from, just as really as out of. Therefore
a perfectly correct translation would read, “went down to the water,” and “came up from the water.” There is
always water standing around the fountain and the people going to it, nearly all barefoot, wade into it, get the
water and then come out of it.
When I took my second tour in the Holy Land, in 1899, was accompanied by Rev. F. M. Hill, my son-in-law,
and Rev. J. A. Payne, of California. As I had been at Philip's fountain twice before, when the carriage halted in
front of it, I did not get out, but those brethren, anxious to examine it closely, dismounted and I saw them walk
down into that waste water, look at the fountain, catch some of the water and drink and bring me a drink. Then
they came up out of the water. Both of them had on shoes and I asked them if they got their feet wet, and they
answered in the negative. The fact is that “down” is antithetical to the “up,” when the eunuch invited Philip to
come up into the chariot and sit with him. So when they got to the water, they came “down” out of the chariot.
When they came to it, the eunuch said, “idou,” behold! He used a note of surprise, saying, “behold water,”
clearly implying that Philip had not noticed it, which would not have been the case if they were approaching a
large stream. The truth of it is there is actually no immersion water on all of that ridge, continuous through the
Holy Land and extending from the Great Sea on the west to the Dead. Sea and the river Jordan on the east.
I have heard many a sermon preached on the eunuch's baptism to prove immersion. It illustrates the deplorable
fanaticism which so frequently takes the place of solid Gospel truth. When I was boy I do not think I ever heard
a Campbellite sermon or exhortation that did not give us water baptism by wholesale, which is n part of the
Gospel and never was. If it had been, Paul could not have said, “I thank God that I have baptized none of you,” I
Cor. 1:14. “For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the Gospel,” verse 17. It is utterly impossible for you
to believe these words of Paul and still say that water baptism is any part of the Gospel. It is merely a symbolic
ordinance of the Gospel Church; while the Gospel is not forms and ceremonies, “but the power of God unto
salvation unto everyone that believeth.” Rom. 1:6.
“Power” here is the Greek “dynamite,” that wonderfully strong word. The most glorious privilege this side of
Heaven is to preach the Gospel and give God a chance to use our humble instrumentality for the salvation of