ProJesus
“Dear JESUS, I have a problem...It’s me” “Dear child, I have the answer.....It’s ME”
ProJesus
“Dear JESUS, I have a problem...It’s me” “Dear child, I have the answer.....It’s ME”
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
Many Christian denominations have their own traditions about Baptism as well as other Christian celebrations. (Note: There is a great deal of information on the inerrancy of the Bible on this web site. Simply click on Scriptures. I state this because I will be using the Bible in this information as an expert). There is no reference to Baptism, as we know it, in the Old Testament Bible until John the Baptist came on to the scene.
John, was six months older than Jesus, his cousin, and is believed to have been a member of the Essences at an early age and my not have seen Jesus for many years. The Essences were a group of Jewish teachers who led a quiet, prayerful life in or around Quaram (The Dead Sea Scrolls were found there), near the Dead Sea.
As the Bible teaches, John started his ministry at the River Jordan saying: Matt 3:1-2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight'. So, John is the Prophet of whom Isaiah spoke. His key word here is "repent", the Greek is "metanoeoo" which means to "completely change one's mind", which is a whole lot more than simply saying "I'm sorry".
John further stated: Matt 3:11 " I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." So, John is baptizing with water. We will discuss the Baptism by Jesus in a moment. This information allows me to give a partial answer.
Note, all who came to John were adults who had the mental capacity to "change their minds" and to start living a righteousness life. Note here: The Greek word to baptize is "baptisma" which means "to immerse, or submersion, as in afflictions with which one is quite overwhelmed". Another Greek word is baptizoo which is defined as to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water".
Can you see how they took these Greek words and incorporated them into the symbolic, dipping and cleansing of sins from the body? This is not to say that baby baptism is wrong or unbiblical. However, there are many references that call for adult baptism.
Allow me to change directions and discuss for a moment, the "dedication of a child". We read in Luke 2:21 & 23 "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived........... When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord". So, Joseph and Mary took eight day-old Jesus to the temple "according to the Law of Moses", to "be dedicated".
Let us return now to what John the Baptist said about Jesus: "... He
who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to
carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." What does
that mean? Let Jesus tell us by way of Nicodemus, who was one of the head
Pharisees; he was in charge, he was the man! John 3:1-7 "....Nicodemus
said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no
one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with
him."
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." What is interesting here is that Jesus really ignores the statement by Nicodemus and Jesus tells him what is important. Those words "Born Again" upset some people, however, they are really the center of Jesus' message throughout the Gospels.
Nicodemus continues: "How can a man be born when he is old?".................."Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
If we go back to what John the Baptist said: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." , and what Jesus said : "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ." One statement leads to the next. Jesus is really explaining to Nicodemus the need to be Born Again, in other words the Baptism of the Spirit.
I believe that the Baptism by the Spirit is for us today, however the Baptism by fire, mentioned by John the Baptist, is most likely in the future when Jesus comes in Judgement. Jesus came the first time 2000 years ago to die for our sins and to provide for our salvation by His resurrection and ascension into heaven. Jesus talked about sin and hell but he never said that he was on earth to judge us. He WILL Judge when he comes again.
Let's look at a verse written to the Christians in Corinth where Paul tells the Christians about being Baptized by the Spirit. He doesn't mention John's Baptism of repentance with water.
1 Cor 12:12-13 states: "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink".
Then again in Ephesus: Acts 19:1-7 "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them".
So, you see from this information, there is a water Baptism which is an outward gesture of the person's desire to repent from their sins and to follow Jesus. The Baptism of the Spirit is different in that you don't have water poured on you nor are you dipped in water.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit comes from within your very soul. After all, it's your soul that is important NOT the body. To emphasis this, let us again see what Jesus said about the body (flesh) and the Spirit: John 6:61-63 "Aware that his disciples were grumbling......... Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life."
Finally, what did Jesus say just before His ascension into heaven? The famous "Great Commission" in Matthew and Mark are similar, but I listed them both.
Matt 28:16-20 " Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 16:15-17 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Jesus commands His Apostles to GO and tell all people about Him. AFTER they know about Him and really KNOW Him, THEN Baptize them etc. etc. Jesus emphasis over and over again we must be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
This is not merely a personal but a universal demand. The necessity lies in the inadequacy of the flesh. This includes what is merely natural and what is sinful-man as he is born into this world and lives his life apart from the grace of Jesus. Flesh can only reproduce itself as flesh, and this cannot pass God's demands. There is much more information on Baptism that will be answered in future articles.(Rom 8:8)