Baptism is
a most important step to take in the Christian experience. It is an outward
symbol of an inward change of lifestyle, and acceptance of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ into the heart. When someone says that they wish to unite with
Christ’s body of believers, this is the door through which they are to enter.
Jesus declared:
“…I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 - It
is this way, which one must follow.
The Apostle Paul, after having been converted and having ceased his
persecutions of the saints, declared to Felix, while on trial for his faith:
“I do
admit this to you, that I am a follower of the Way,
which they call a faction.
Accordingly, I worship the God of our ancestors and believe everything set out in the Law and written in the Prophets.” Acts 24:14
Therefore, when
we commit to baptism, we are committing to following the Way, which is
Jesus. Therefore, we need to follow or do what He did, the way that He did it;
also, we are to follow the instructions that He gave. Following are the steps
outlined in Scripture, which point out what Jesus did, along with many other
followers of Jesus, upon being baptized and why the baptizers said and/or did what
they did. Everything needs to be considered, when we talk about this one very
important subject.
1. Matthew
3:13-15 – describes where,
why, how, by whom and the results of Jesus’ baptism. We are to do
as Jesus did; if we do, we should receive the same results that Jesus received;
for He was our example in all things.
a. Where – Jesus was baptized in the Jordan
River: a place where there is plenty of water and he could be completely
immersed. If for some reason there is no river available, then a pool of water,
deep enough to completely submerge you should be used.
b. Why – Jesus said that the reason he
was being baptized, was to “fulfill all righteousness”. This indicates that
Jesus had to add to the list of required prophetic fulfillments, relating to
the coming Messiah. Just like the Israelites, when they passed through the Red
Sea were baptized; (I
Corinthians 10:2) so was Jesus to be baptized. In addition, those who
were baptized by John, the Baptist came and were baptized, because they felt
the need to confess their sin (Mark 1:5); however,
Jesus had no sin. His baptism was to be an
example to all who would come to Him, as an indicator, as to what they
should do; additionally, to stand in the place for any other soul (for whatever
reason) who could not be baptized, even though he/she had confessed his/her
belief in Christ (i.e. the thief on the cross) Luke 23:42 .
c. How – Scripture declares in Matthew
3:16 that “When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water.”
This again indicates that He had been completely immersed. John had placed him
all the way under the water, in order to baptize Him. There was no sprinkling,
no pouring or any of the other 8-10 ways some people will tell you that you are
to be baptized. It was total submersion in a large body of water.
d. Whom – It was John, the Baptist who was
given the privilege of baptizing Jesus. Why was he selected? You may ask. Well,
John had been especially chosen by God, even before his birth Luke 1:5-25, for this
special job. He was referred to as,
“…the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the
Lord…” John 1:23. He is known as the “Forerunner” of Christ; an announcer of
the coming Messiah.
e. The Results – Upon completing the baptism of
Jesus, by John, when Jesus came up out of the water, The Holy Spirit descended
upon Him, in the form of a dove, signifying that He, along with the Father, who
declared Jesus to be “His beloved son”, were well pleased and approved of what
Jesus had just done. Hallelujah!
2. When it
came to other believers, who were baptized like Jesus, some things, SEEMED to
get tricky, but they really didn’t. All it takes is a little reading “in
context” and it will be made quite clear.
a. The
command of Jesus – After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to His disciples
several different times. However, when He was ready to return permanently to
His heavenly home, this is what He commanded His disciples to do:
“Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Matthew 28:19
That seems pretty
clear to me. Here He was, standing on the top of Mt. Olives, giving His
disciples their last directives, before leaving. He understood the importance
of acknowledging all three persons in the Godhead, for all three were present
when He was baptized. Remember, He
was there; the Holy Spirit descended
in the form of a dove, and God the
Father audibly spake from heaven. Now he commissions His disciples to go
and to make other disciples, using the same methodology that had been used by
Him and the other two entities in the Godhead.
b. Baptize
in the name of Jesus – On the day of Pentecost, we read in the second chapter
of the books of Acts (Acts 2) that the
Holy Ghost had fallen upon all of the 120 persons in the upper room, which
included the Apostles. They all began to
speak in foreign languages; 17 in fact; the number of different countries
represented there in Jerusalem.
These
people had come from various parts of the world, for the Passover and had
stayed for Pentecost. Now about Pentecost:
“This one-day celebration came on the heels of the
Feast of First Fruits. This was the name of the day to yield the first fruits
offering, which was to be offered on the 50th day; Pentecost means 50th day.
This feast celebrated the abundant goodness God had shown his people throughout
the year; it acknowledged their sins against Him, and celebrated the peace He
extended to them.
‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ Acts1:5 - And on the 50th
day, the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came in His fullness, thus fulfilling
the promise of the Father and coinciding with the Sanctuary Feast Day, which
pointed to the coming and fulfillment of Jesus, the Messiah or Anointed One.” The Simplicity of the Biblical Sanctuary,
V.E. Harrison, Articulate Communications Publications - 2014
Jesus had
died during the Passover Celebration, for He was “…the lamb which taketh away
the sins of the world.” John 1:29 – Although
these people were doubtless in the area when all of this took place, they
didn’t recognize what all was going on. Only those living in Jerusalem and the
surrounding areas, like Samara, Judea, Galilee, Capernaum, etc. were familiar
with the teachings of Jesus, and many of them did not fully understand; most
were waiting for the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees to accept Him as
the Messiah, but alas they did not. Therefore, the people from these 17
different countries did not understand who Jesus was, or what He stood for, but
the Apostle Peter did. Therefore, as he gave to those listening, an updated
history lesson regarding the recent activity of the religious leaders toward
Jesus; how they had maligned and crucified Him, who was the promised Messiah;
and how God had raised Him from the dead and had taken Him up to glory where He
was presently reigning, the people were convicted in their hearts and amazed.
They asked Peter “…what must we do to be saved?” Acts 2:37 – Peter responded,
“…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Why did
Peter mention that they would receive the Holy Ghost? He mentioned it because
he and the other people, who had been in the upper room, had just received the
Holy Spirit and the people were marveling at their boldness and ability to
speak foreign languages; they wanted to have that same power. They wanted the
joy that they saw on the Apostles’ faces. Therefore, Peter assured them that if
they would accept the Savior, about whom he was preaching and be baptized in
His name, showing that they truly believed in Him, also, as they believed in
the Theocratic God, then they too would receive the same power as the ones in
the upper room had received. Peter was NOT CHANGING CHRIST’S COMMISSION given
in Matthew 28:19.
c. The true
significance of baptism – baptism signifies that we have turned from our sins
and have taken on the life and character of Jesus Christ.
i. “Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4
ii. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”
Ephesians 4:5
iii. “Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Colossians
2:12
Quick Review: When undertaking
baptism, the form that we pursue really does
matter. If it is a Christian baptism, we need to remember the points made in
this writing:
· We need to follow the example of Jesus – He was fully
immersed.
· We need to be baptized in the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, as Jesus instructed.
· We need to remember that it is NOT NECESSARY to be
baptized in the name of Jesus only, as were those who were ignorant of who
Jesus was or why He had come. We have the entire history of what Jesus did, His
immaculate birth, His sinless life, His rejection, His crucifixion, His
resurrection, His commission and His promise to return. Therefore, if we have
had the gospel preached unto us, it is not necessary for anyone to point those
things out again, as though the gospel does not teach these things.
3. How does receiving the Holy
Ghost play into all of this?
a. For
those who insist that one must speak in a foreign language (i.e. tongues), in
order to receive the Holy Ghost, here are just a couple of examples wherein
these things were not so, which points out that Acts 2 was an exception, not
the rule. The people, who had gathered, needed to be able to take the gospel of
Jesus, the Christ, back to their native homeland with them. Therefore, the
gospel needed to be shared in their language that they might understand it. Because
the disciples did not possess that particular gift, God allowed it for that
specific purpose. It really is just that simple.
b. In Acts
8, the Deacon Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ unto the people. He
performed many miracles and people were very much pleased. Verse 12 tells us,
“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of
God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
However, no word is mentioned about them receiving the Holy Ghost until Acts
8:15-17; nor were they ever recorded as speaking in a foreign
language (tongues). In these verses, it
points out that even though these souls had been baptized in the name of Jesus,
they still had not received the Holy Ghost and that it wasn’t until the
apostles came and prayed for them, lying on hands that they received Him.
Therefore, even though some think that you must speak with a foreign tongue, or
only be baptized in the name of Jesus, neither is true.
c. When
Paul was converted, on the road to Damascus, he first met and acknowledged that
it was Jesus, whom he was persecuting, he repented and asked what was he to do
- Acts 9:3-6.
d. Then
Ananias was sent to Paul, while blind and in Damascus. He laid hands on Paul
and Paul received the Holy Ghost, before he was baptized - Acts
9:17-18.
e. Also, no Scripture records Paul speaking in
tongues in order to receive the Holy Ghost.
g. Paul
states that speaking in foreign languages (tongues) is for unbelievers, not
believers. I
Corinthians 14:22
h. Therefore, if you wish to count yourself among
the unbelievers in Christ, then insist that one must speak in tongues for any
reason.
i. Tongues or the ability to speak a foreign
language, without training, is just ONE of the many gifts listed in I
Corinthians 14. As a matter of fact,
Paul puts speaking in tongues, far down the scale of gift receiving. He says
that we need to seek to be a “loving” or “charitable” person in verse 1; next
he compares speaking in tongues with prophesy and states that it is far better
to prophecy, because prophesy builds up people, whereas, if you are speaking in
tongues, that’s between you and God (and is really kind of selfish if no one can be benefited but you). In verses 5-19 Paul explains the importance of
having a translator, if someone is going to speak in another language,
otherwise it is useless for that person to even speak. It is like giving an
uncertain sound to soldiers, when they are going off to war. If the sound is
not clear to them, they won’t know whether to march forward or to retreat.
Paul spends just about the entire chapter of I
Corinthians explaining the proper use of tongues, because many of the believers
back then were as confused about the use of speaking in tongues as they appear
to be now, 2000 years later. He reproves
those who would insist on speaking out, when there was no interpreter. He also
said that if a stranger were to walk in and everyone was insistent on speaking
in tongues at the same time, the visitor would think that they were ‘out of
your minds?’ his words not mine. Let’s look at it in verse 23:
“So suppose that the whole
church is meeting and everyone is speaking in tongues. If people come in who
are outsiders or unbelievers, won’t they say that you are out of your minds?”
CEB
“However, if there is no
interpreter, then they should keep quiet in the meeting. They should speak
privately to themselves and to God.” V. 28
CEB
“God isn’t a God of
disorder but of peace. Like in all the churches of God’s people…” V. 33 CEB
There is more that I could say, but I believe that
you have the point. If we truly seek to do ‘only’ what Christ would have us to
do; earnestly study the Word of God; praying for the Holy Spirit to give us
understanding, then we shall ‘know of the doctrine (teaching)’ John
7:17.
Bottom line: When we truly love God, we will do
whatever He asks, in whatever manner that He presents it. Amen!
Note: All
Scripture is taken from the king, James Bible, unless otherwise noted. The CEB
is the Common English Bible.
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