Elder William Gibson's defense against Rev. Kennedy in Kilmarnock

During a debate in Kilmarnock regarding baptism, Rev. Kennedy—a learned linguist—attempted to debunk Elder William Gibson's use of New Testament Greek to support the practice of immersion. Gibson, relying on the Holy Spirit rather than an extensive library, defended his position against Kennedy's arguments regarding the translation of 'out of the water'.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

When Mr. Kennedy arrived, he brought with him a whole library of books, Hebrew Bible, Greek New Testament, Lexicon, dictionaries, etc., etc. There I was with my little pocket Bible, against all this array, but I had with me something that all his books could not give him, and I had faith that the Lord would make the truth plain to the honest in heart. I had been praying that the Lord would give me the victory, and I felt that He would. When he began to speak, he was very confident, and seemed to think he would make short work of me. He spoke for some time, and when he sat down, I arose. I did not feel afraid, for I knew the Lord was with me. I opened my Bible, and the Lord opened my mouth, and I spoke with such power that the people were astonished. I showed them that the Greek language, instead of being against us, was in our favor. I quoted the Greek, and showed them the meaning of the words, and how they were used in the New Testament. Mr. Kennedy was completely nonplussed. He could not answer me. He tried to do so, but he failed. The people saw that he was beaten, and they were convinced that the truth was with me. Many of them came to me afterwards and told me that they were satisfied that I was right, and that Mr. Kennedy was wrong. This was a great victory for the truth, and it did much to open the way for the preaching of the Gospel in that part of the country.