Water Baptism
As a believer water baptism is one of the most important events in your life. Water Baptism shows your friends and families what has happened internally in your life. When we go under the water and come out, we will be celebrating what God has done. It is not just a celebration for us here on earth, but it is also a celebration in Heaven. Water baptism is the wedding and living a life with Christ is the marriage. Water baptism is an outward expression of what happened internally.
Understanding Water Baptism:
John3:5-8, “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus here is detailing our salvation and comparing to the wind. You cannot see the wind, but you can feel the wind. Here, Jesus is detailing our salvation and comparing it to the wind; you cannot see it, but you will see it through their lives. The day you are born again, your spirit is saved, not your soul or your body. Water Baptism then becomes an outward confirmation to your friends and family of what happened internally to you. Water baptism becomes the physical expression of what happened internally.
Romans6:3-4, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall bein the likeness of His resurrection…”
In these verses, Holy Spirit is taking us behind the scenes to see what happens during our salvation and how water baptism is a microcosm of the salvation process. Baptism in water and baptism in Holy Spirit show the different functions of God the Son and God Holy Spirit. God Holy Spirit is the one baptizing you into Christ Jesus, and Jesus Christ is the one who will baptize you into God Holy Spirit. The day that you accept Christ Jesus, that very second, you become one with Jesus Christ and everything He went through is accredited to you. That means that you are identified now with His death, burial, and resurrection. Water baptism shows us that whole process. When we come out of the water, this shows that we have a new life now.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
This is the newness of life that Romans talks about (Romans 6:4). We all have a new nature; sin does not have the grip as it did before. The day you were born again you became a new creature. When you get baptized in water, you announce to everyone around that you are a new creature.
Different kinds of water baptism:
Acts19:1-5, “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So, they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So, they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
In this passage, we see there are two kinds of water baptism. There is John’s baptism of repentance and baptism in Jesus Christ. If you do not understand the purpose of a thing, abuse is inevitable. If you look at water baptism as simply going into the water and coming out, you will completely miss its purpose and importance. These people in Ephesus were disciples of Christ. This means that they already had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. But they were baptized into the baptism of John which is of repentance, and Paul made it a point to baptize them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 3:2-3, “… while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…”
Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
The purpose of John’s baptism was to call the Jews from their traditions. He did this to prepare them for the coming of Christ. His water baptism and our water baptism are very different. His water baptism was designed to prepare the hearts of the people for what was coming next. His water baptism was to point them to Christ. Our water baptism is a result of what Christ did on the cross. The key difference between the two baptism is the condition of the heart. In John’s baptism, he was challenging them to leave behind their traditions and focus on the coming of Christ who will liberate them from sins. Our baptism today is showing the people around us what has happened internally. John’s baptism was pointing them to the coming of Christ; our baptism today is showing people what Christ has done in us.
Myths about Water Baptism:
Since we all come from different faith backgrounds, I want to dispel one major thing. Water baptism does not get you saved, or water baptism is not part of your salvation. Water baptism is simply an outward expression of what has happened internally to you. Water baptism is symbolic of salvation. It is because you are saved that you get baptized to show your friends and family what has happened internally.
