BAPTIZO

BAPTIZO

Baptism is so crucial in our walk with Christ, yet its significance is widely misunderstood in the Church.  Many see it simply as an expression of our commitment to Christ, or just the next step in the religious order of things.  Baptism is so much deeper than that.  It is our obedient act in the physical, which is the proper response to what Jesus did in the spiritual.  We physically experience what Jesus accomplished spiritually – there is no separation between the two.  Jesus is the transformer, but if we have agreed to give our lives to Him, it requires a response from us.  He works in cooperation with us – not by Himself, apart from our agreement.  We are saved by grace through faith, and faith without works is dead, so simply believing in Jesus is not enough… even demons believe in Jesus!  Our belief requires an act of faith, otherwise it is dead and ineffectual in this physical realm that we live in.

Baptism may not be necessary for the salvation of our souls, but it has everything to do with the sanctification of our flesh.  When we are born again by the Spirit, He regenerates our souls and we are saved into eternal relationship with Him.  Even this requires a physical act of faith – we must confess it with our mouths(Rom. 10:9).  When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, this too requires a physical act of faith by asking for it.  The typical physical response to His baptism then is the manifestation of an unknown tongue – our prayer language.  Even if that doesn’t manifest right away, we will manifest a boldness to proclaim the gospel to others.  Baptism is our physical act of faith for the salvation of our flesh – it’s like our flesh is born again in the water.  We are being sanctified in our flesh, and the beginning of that process is water baptism, in which we identify with Christ crucifying our flesh on the cross, burying it in the grave and we receive His grace to make that act of faith a reality in the water.  We die to our flesh in the water and Jesus delivers us from it.  It is both a water grave and a water womb.  The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  After Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was taken in by a disciple named Ananias.  Ananias laid hands on Paul for the recovery of his sight, and then said to him “And now why are you waiting?  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” – Acts 22:16.  This was not for a public display of Paul’s commitment to Christ.  This was to bring Paul’s flesh into alignment with the will of Christ.

Jesus too was water baptized, and He was baptized in the Holy Spirit on the same occasion.  This example and model was followed very closely by the early Church.  Salvation, water baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit were all part of the same package and done as closely as possible to each other.  When Jesus was baptized, He told John “for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” – Matthew 3:15.  Jesus was righteous and had no need of John’s baptism unto repentance, because He was born right the first time – in right standing with His Father and with the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him.  He was fulfilling the righteousness of the Old Covenant pattern and revealing what He would fulfill to initiate the New Covenant.  The Holy Spirit came upon Him and remained, unlike when the Holy Spirit would come upon some in the Old Testament to anoint them temporarily for a purpose.  The Holy Spirit remained on Jesus because He was the righteous temple of God.  Jesus instructed us as His disciples to baptize other disciples in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit(Mat. 28:19).  This is also a spiritual baptism…  In the Greek, the word ‘baptism’ is baptizo and means to immerse.  The word ‘name’ is onoma and means a person’s authority and character.  So we are to immerse disciples into the authority and character of our Triune God.  Notice that Jesus didn’t say to baptize them in the name of Yahweh and Yeshua and Holy Spirit…  The early Church baptized disciples into Christ, and that is what they said when they immersed.  So when they were baptizing disciples into Christ, they were immersing them into the authority and character of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The act of baptism began with the brazen laver that was between the brazen altar and the Tabernacle of Moses.  After sacrificing animals for atonement, and prior to entering the holy place, the priests were required to cleanse themselves, lest they die.  They would cleanse themselves in the brazen laver.  Interestingly, the laver was made with mirrors that the women had brought from their captivity in Egypt.  When the priest looked into the laver, he would see himself unclean and then washed by the water in the laver.  He would then no longer see a captive, but one who was cleansed and made free.  This is like us coming to our Lord unclean, but then washing ourselves in the water of the Word.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.  We are no longer captives to Egypt(our unclean enemy and the flesh), but we have been washed clean and granted access into the holy place, even the Holy of holies!

Later in history, Jews began to use the Mikveh.  This is a pool used for ceremonial cleansing, and we can also see this in Jesus’ baptism.  The mikveh can be used for one to ceremonially cleanse before entering ministry, which is exactly what Jesus did.  A side note to that is that the Holy Spirit then came upon Him, and we don’t want to try to accomplish any type of ministry that the Holy Spirit is not a part of!  Modern baptism in the Church typically follows something similar to John’s baptism, but we are seeing God use baptism in many ways today, because as I mentioned earlier, it has everything to do with the sanctification of the flesh.  God has led the North Georgia Revival and others to use baptism as a contact point for Him to meet people in the water and minister whatever it is that He wants to minister to them – whether it be a baptism into Christ, a mikveh type of baptism, baptism for physical, mental and emotional or relational healing, deliverance or whatever the Lord has for them.  His Fire comes upon the water, and His Spirit is present, and it’s absolutely beautiful!  I believe that God is once again trying to show how important water baptism is to Him.  He is not simply trying to display His uniqueness in the various ways that revival shows up in the Church.  Throughout Church history, God has brought various revelations to His body to reveal another aspect of who He is to the body of Christ.  Unfortunately, it’s usually not received by all and our enemy tries to steal it away, and so we end up with many different denominations who have focuses on very specific aspects of God but miss the full revelation of who He is.  We can learn something about God from each and every denomination, which is why God wants to break down all denominational walls and unify His body.  He wants us to come together in the perfect bond of unity, which is Love(Col. 3:14).  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another – John 13:35.

Baptism is a beautiful thing.  Not only that, Jesus commanded it.  He said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments(John 14:15), which simply put is to Love.  If we don’t obey Him, then we don’t truly love Him, and He is not our Lord.  The brazen laver and the mikveh were types and shadows of what Jesus would bring through the New Covenant.  He has washed us clean and made us new, and He gave us an example to follow in water baptism.  I pray that you experience the joy of your salvation – not just the salvation of your soul, but the joy of obeying Jesus and experiencing the sanctification of your flesh in a water grave and a water womb.  Salvation includes healing, deliverance, protection, wholeness, safety and soundness of mind.  I pray that you encounter His Spirit and experience His Fire like never before!  As my Pastor would say “DIE WELL”.