Study 8
WATER BAPTISM - RAISED TO NEW LIFE
Let us begin this study with prayer,
Holy Father, God Almighty,
I come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father, through Your Word, please reveal Your ways to me. Help me to not only understand but also to obey them. Lord, cause me to walk with You, be with You and really come to know You. For Your Holy Name’s sake I ask.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
In Study 7 we discovered that once we become born again believers in Jesus Christ we are to be baptized. To refresh our memories, let us read what Jesus said when He sent His disciples to go and preach the good news.
Mark 16:15-16
"[15] He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Let us notice the following verse,
16a …” Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” In other words, when we believe or become born again believers and are baptized we will be saved from our sins.
16b … “Whoever does not believe will be condemned." In other words if we do not become born again believers we will not be saved from our sins.
The Bible is specifically teaching us that,
THE MERE ACT OF BAPTISM DOES NOT SAVE US FROM OUR SINS
This truth is best illustrated by the encounter Jesus had with one of the criminals on the cross. Even though we read about this account in Study 7, it is worthwhile for us to review it once more.
Luke 23:39-43
“[39] One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? [41] We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.””
Let us notice the following verses,
40 … Basically this criminal was professing his reverent fear of God, in other words he believed in God.
41a … By the criminal stating that he was getting what his deeds deserved, he was admitting or confessing that he was a sinner.
41b … The criminal, by stating that Jesus did no wrong, was saying that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, which is why He was being crucified, is true. In other words he is proclaiming Jesus to be Lord.
42 … The criminal recognized Jesus was not from a kingdom of this earth and hence called out to Jesus to save him.
43 … Jesus assured the criminal he will be with Him in paradise. In other words Jesus told the criminal that he will not be doomed to Hades (Hell) but instead will be with Him in Paradise.
It must be noted that since the criminal’s physical life on earth was basically over and since Jesus already told him he would be in Paradise with Him (Jesus), the criminal did not need, as we do, the blessings and help of water baptism for a new life on earth.
With this in mind let us now begin our study of,
THE CHRISTIAN OR BORN AGAIN BELIEVER’S BAPTISM
To do this we will address the questions of, “Why baptism? And “What is the purpose of baptism?”
To gain insight into the answers for these questions, let us first read the definition of what it means to be baptized. According to W.E.Vine’s “Expository Dictionary of the New Testament”1, the Greek meaning of the word baptism is:
"consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence, that is to dip."
The phrase “to baptize”:
"was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of water by dipping the empty cup into a bowl full of water."
In other words, the concept of baptism or to baptize is to place something into a liquid and when it comes out of the liquid it comes out in a different state or condition.
With the above definition in mind we will see that the purpose of the believer's baptism is to demonstrate or signify that our old self, the one without the Holy Spirit, is dead and that in Christ Jesus we are a new creation. Thus, through water baptism the believer buries, in the water, their old self, which is the one void of the Holy Spirit and is crucified with Christ. They then rise up out of the water with their new self, the one filled with the Holy Spirit. To see this, let us read from,
Romans 6:3-4
"[3] … don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
To gain a better understanding of the believer’s baptism, we will,
1. Discover and briefly explore the various types of water baptism.
2. See that the disciples obeyed Jesus' command to baptize those who believed and placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
3. Review the Great Flood to see that it was also a foreshadowing to teach us about the believer's baptism.
4. Review the purpose and some of the blessings of the believer's baptism.
We begin with a brief review of,
VARIOUS WATER BAPTISMS
As one reads the Bible, we find that God has ordained at least four types and purposes of baptism. There are three types and purposes of water baptism:
1. Baptism of repentance
2. Baptism of priestly ordination
3. The believer’s baptism
In addition to water baptism, there is also a fourth baptism.
4. Baptism of the Holy Spirit (This is covered in Study9).
Since the Bible identifies at least three different kinds of water baptisms we must be very careful in our study of the believer's baptism to only utilize the Scriptures that pertain to it. To help insure that we do not misquote the Scriptures for our study of the believer's baptism, we will first perform a short study of the baptisms of repentance and ordination.
BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE
To gain insight into the baptism of repentance, we begin by recognizing that the mission of John the Baptist was to bring the nation of Israel to repentance. To see this, let us read from,
Matthew 3:1-6
"[1] In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea [2] and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." [3] This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" [4] John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. [5] People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. [6] Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River."
Let us notice the following verses,
2 … John’s message was one of repentance.
3 … The purpose of this repentance was to: “…Prepare the way for the Lord…”
6 … After hearing John's message to repent, the people confessed their sins and were baptized.
It is noted that the above events took place before Jesus revealed Himself to Israel. Thus, this baptism was not the baptism for the born again believers. Since John the Baptist's mission was one of repentance, the baptism he administered was a baptism of repentance. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, in this context, repentance means: “to feel so contrite over one’s sins as to change or decide to change one’s ways.”
Let us now move on to the,
BAPTISM OF ORDINATION
A second type of water baptism identified in the Bible is the one prescribed as part of the ordination into the Old Testament priesthood. To see this, let us review what God commanded to be done for the anointing of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood.
Exodus 40:12-16
""[12] Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. [13] Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. [14] Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. [15] Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come." [16] Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him."
Let us notice the following verses,
12 … They were to be washed with water, a type of water baptism.
13 … They were to be anointed and consecrated, that is set apart. It is noted that the anointing and consecration to God was accomplished by pouring oil on the item or person to be consecrated, in this case it was Aaron and his sons. To see this, usage of oil let us read from,
Exodus 40:9
""[9] Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy."
It is noted that in the Old Testament oil was a symbol to represent the anointing and consecration by the Holy Spirit.
Let us recall that Exodus 40:15 tells us that this washing and anointing was for entry into the priesthood.
With this background, let us now consider the baptism of Jesus Christ. To do this we go to,
Matthew 3:13-17
"[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. [16] As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.""
Let us notice the following verses,
13 … Jesus came to John for baptism. “Why?” Clearly, Jesus did not need to be baptized for repentance. As it turns out this was to be a baptism into His priesthood. In Hebrews 4:14 we discover Jesus is now our High Priest.
Hebrews 4:14
[14] Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 …Jesus told John that to fulfill the requirements of the law, that is fulfill all righteousness (obedience to the Father), it was proper for Him to be baptized. In other words, to assume the position of High Priest it was necessary, as prescribed in Exodus, for Him to be baptized into this position.
16 … Jesus is baptized in water and then the Holy Spirit came upon Him, that is the anointing and consecration.
17 … God the Father gave His approval by saying, “This is My Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.”
From this point on and after His trial in the wilderness, Jesus’ public ministry began.
The third type of water baptism addressed in the Bible is the,
BAPTISM OF THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVER
As we read in the beginning of this study, this is the baptism that Jesus told His disciples to perform for the believer. To refresh our memories let us read again from,
Mark 16:15-16
"[15] He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
As we read the New Testament we find that,
JESUS' DISCIPLES BAPTIZED THE BELIEVERS
As we read the book of Acts we find that Jesus' disciples obeyed His instructions. In other words, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into Heaven, they preached the good news and baptized those who believed.
So that there is no doubt in our mind that baptism is to accompany belief and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, let us read two examples from the many given relative to the disciples activity in this area. The examples we will cover are: (1) the baptism on the day of Pentecost, and (2) the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch.
BAPTISM DURING THE FEAST OF PENTECOST
To read about the baptism during the Feast of Pentecost, let us read what happened after the Apostle Peter explained to the people about the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues. To do this we go to,
Acts 2:37-41
"[37] When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" [38] Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." [40] With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." [41] Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Let us notice the following verse,
39 … This promise is for: (1) Those that were present, (2) Their children or offspring and (3) Those who are far off--for whom the Lord our God will call, including you and I.
41 … Those who accepted his message, that is became born again believers in Jesus Christ were baptized.
BAPTISM OF THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
The new birth and baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch is recorded in,
Acts 8:26-38
[26] Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. [27] So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, [28] was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. [29] Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” [30] So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” [31] And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. [32] The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. [33] In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” [34] So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” [35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. [36] Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” [37] Then 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.” [38] So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
Let us notice the following verse,
37 … If you believe with all your heart you may be baptized.
AN OLD TESTAMENT FORESHADOWING
This now brings us to the questions of, “What is going on?” “What does the believer's baptism signify?” To help us to understand the answer to these questions, we will first review the following Old Testament foreshadowing of,
NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD
To begin our study of this event, let us read from,
Genesis 6:9-17
"[9] This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. [10] Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. [11] Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. [12] God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. [13] So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. [14] So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. [15] This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. [16] Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. [17] I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish."
Let us notice the following verses,
9 … Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people and walked with God.
11-12 … All the people of the earth corrupted their ways.
13 … Because of their corruption, God decided to destroy all the people.
14-16 … Since Noah was a righteous man, God decided to save him and his family. Thus, Noah was told to build and enter an ark. This included his family and representatives from all air breathing creatures of the earth.
17 … God's intention was to destroy the corrupted life or evil with water.
After the flood waters subsided, God told Noah and his family to leave the ark along with the creatures and replenish the earth. To see we go to,
Genesis 8:15-20
"[15] Then God said to Noah, [16] "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. [17] Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you--the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground--so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." [18] So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. [19] All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds--everything that moves on the earth--came out of the ark, one kind after another. [20] Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it."
As we stop and reflect upon what had occurred, we first see that there was the death and burial, through water, of all the corruption. Then, Noah and his family were set free to begin a new life free from the corruption.
It is also noted that the ark is a metaphor for Jesus Christ. To see this let us recall that to escape God’s punishment for the sin and corruption of Noah’s day and to live a new life free from all the corruption, God told Noah to build an ark. After the ark was built he and his family were to go in it. It is the same for us. To escape God’s punishment for sin and be set free to live a new life, we are to put on or clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ. To see this let us read from,
Galatians 3:26-27
[26] For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
PURPOSE OF THE BELIEVER'S BAPTISM
As we read the Scriptures one discovers that in the believer’s baptism three significant things occur. These are:
1. In baptism we proclaim we have become new creatures.
2. We receive a confirmation that we are in right standing before God.
3. We become ordained into the Royal Priesthood.
To see this we begin by noting that through water baptism,
WE PROCLAIM WE ARE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN
The baptism Jesus Christ calls the believer to, is the baptism into Himself. By faith in Jesus Christ, when we lower our self into the water of baptism, we bury our old self which, when we were born again, was crucified with Christ. Then, as we rise up out of the water, we rise to a new life in the resurrected Jesus Christ.
Now one may ask, “What is this old self that was crucified with Christ and buried in the water of baptism?” Prior to our new birth, we did not have the Holy Spirit living inside us. Thus, our old self was composed of our soul, body and our sinful nature (which we inherited from Adam).
The new self or new creation, which occurred through the new birth, is the one who has the Holy Spirit living within them. Thus, we are now composed of our soul, body, sinful nature and God the Holy Spirit. To help us live a life pleasing to God, the Holy Spirit is now present to fight against the sinful nature. Hence, the new person is no longer enslaved by the sinful nature. In other words, we and God confirm that we are no longer the same person but new. To see this, let us read what the Holy Spirit wrote, through the pen of Paul, about the believer’s baptism in,
Romans 6:3-7
"[3] … don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. [5] If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- [7] because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Those baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, that is our old self was crucified with Jesus Christ. Let us recall that when Jesus went to the cross to be crucified He took upon Himself our sins (1 Peter 2:24).
4 … Our old self was buried with Him in the waters of baptism. We do this so that as Jesus was raised from the dead, we also may now live a new life in Him.
6-7 … After water baptism we are no longer slaves to sin; our old self was crucified and buried. Thus, as God set Noah and his family physically free from the corruption of the world they were living in to freely worship and serve Him. Likewise, we, through faith in Jesus Christ, have been spiritually set free from our old self to worship and serve Him.
Thus, the choice is now ours. We can yield ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus' commands, or we can yield to the temptations and lusts of our flesh. To see this let us prayerfully read how the Holy Spirit describes this conflict between the Holy Spirit and the flesh, which is the sinful nature, of the born again believers in,
Galatians 5:16-17
"[16] So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
(This subject of living our new life by faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit is the topic of another Study 14.)
The second purpose and blessing to be received from water baptism is that,
WE RECIEVE CONFMATION WE ARE IN RIGHT STANDING BEFORE GOD
The fact that in baptism we in effect bury our old self and emerge into a new life in Jesus Christ we come to realize that the believer’s baptism also fulfills John's baptism of true repentance. As a consequence of this act of baptism we are saved from our inward fears and questions of whether or not we are in right standing before God.
This is best illustrated by reading what the Apostle Peter said as he was relating our baptism to Noah and the flood.
1 Peter 3:20-22
"[20] … God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, [21] and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, [22] who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."
The key verse is verse 21. To receive a clearer reading of verse 21 we go to, “The Amplified Bible.”
“[21] And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removal of outward body filth (bathing), but by [providing you with] the answer of a good and clear conscience [inward cleanness and peace] before God, [because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Another way to see this is by reading from,
Romans 8:15
[15] For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
It is noted that according to Vine’s “Expository Dictionary of the New Testament Words”2 the word Abba is Aramaic. Abba is the word used to describe the unreasoning trust an infant has with their father. In addition, the Greek word used for father is “pater.” This word was used to convey the intelligent relationship a child has with its father.
Thus, when these two words are put together they express the love and intelligent confidence of a child for their father. This is the relationship we should have with God.
The third and last benefit we will cover with respect to the believer’s water baptism is that,
IT ALSO FULFILLS THE REQUIREMENT FOR OUR ORDINATION
In the first letter of Peter the Holy Spirit identifies true born again believers as God’s chosen people and belonging to a royal priesthood. To see this let us read the following excerpt from Peter’s letter.
1 Peter 2:9-10
"[9] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
Let us notice the following verses,
9 … You are now a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging, that is consecrated, to God!
10 … You are the people of God and are the recipients of His mercy!
Since, the true born again believer is already filled with the Holy Spirit, the remaining requirement for entry into a royal priesthood is water baptism. Since, all things are fulfilled in Jesus Christ we find that the believer’s baptism in Christ also includes our ordination or consecration into a royal priesthood.
CONCLUSION
So what is the point? What is the message of it all? In reflecting upon all we have covered, there are three main points to be made.
The first point to be made is that by faith in Jesus Christ and what He did, in baptism; we bury our old self that was crucified with Christ and rise from the water into new life in Jesus Christ. To see this let us read from,
Galatians 3:27
"[27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
The second point to be made is, as we saw in 1 Peter 2:9-10, through faith in Jesus Christ our baptism was also part of our ordination into a royal priesthood. Thus, you and I can now, in Jesus’ name, freely enter into the Throne Room and approach God the Father. To see this, let us read from,
Ephesians 3:12
"[12] In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
As we read earlier, the third point to be made is that the true born believer in Jesus Christ is now in right standing before God the Father. To see this let us read from,
Romans 8:15
[15] For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN
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