Title: The Seven Baptisms
Bible Book: Selected Passages
Author: Charles Massegee
Subject: Baptism in the Bible
Objective:
Introduction
It’s no wonder so many people do not understand baptism. Along with all the other teachings of the Bible, the old devil keeps the waters of baptism stirred up and muddy in an effort to hide its true meaning. Some people believe in baptizing babies. Some people believe in sprinkling water on a person’s head and calling it baptism. Others believe in immersion, putting a person completely under the water before bringing them up out of the water. Some people believe we must be baptized to be saved. Some people believe we should be baptized in the Name of Jesus. Others believe we should be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some people believe we should be baptized going forward while others believe we should be baptized going backward. Others believe we should be baptized three times, once in the Name of the Father, once in the Name of the Son and once in the Name of the Holy Spirit.
I heard of a lady who was baptized in the Name of the Father and she came up out of the water shouting “Praise the Lord”. When she went down the second time in the Name of the Son she came up out of the water shouting “Hallelujah”. When she went down the third time in the Name of the Holy Spirit and coming up out of the water, she did not know what to say, so she shouted “Merry Christmas”.
Some people even believe that you must be baptized in running water for it to be real. Others believe that Jesus was baptized for us and therefore we do not need to be baptized. Some people believe baptism is a church ordinance and only an ordain minister should be allowed to baptism. Others believe the church can authorize anyone to baptize, even a father baptizing his family or a friend baptizing a friend. There are others who believe any one can baptism anyone at anytime anywhere without any church being involved. I even heard of a man who baptized himself.
Even in the Bible there appears to be a contradiction or at least confusion concerning baptism. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 5, the Bible says, “There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism”. On the other hand, the Bible names seven different baptisms. In Hebrews 6:2, the Bible says there are many “baptisms”. How do we reconcile this? How do we explain this? Stay with now, we are going somewhere.
I preached on the Seven Baptisms in a crusade in New Mexico. One of my dearest pastor friends, Dr. Duane Story, came up to me during the invitation and said, “You know, this is the first time in my life that I understand baptism. I don’t believe I have ever really been scripturally baptized. I want you to baptize me tonight.” He explained the situation to the church and a few minutes later I baptized him.
Duane had been saved and baptized many years earlier. Do you think he really needed to be baptized again as a pastor? I don’t know. But he felt like he did since he was born again as an adult after he had been baptized as a kid. I think sometimes a person needs to be baptized, if for no other reason than for conscience sake. Baptism does not save us from our sins but it can save us from a hurting conscience. This was an issue that had bothered this pastor for many years. He finally settled it. I think he did the right thing.
The Bible says, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, baptism, not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”, 1 Peter 3:21. Even though baptism is only an antitype, a symbol, a figure it is very important, and if a person has not been baptized according to the scripture, it may be necessary for them to be baptized in order to have peace of mind about it. Please stay with me here, we are going somewhere.
According to Ephesians 4:5, there is only one baptism. There is only one literal baptism. I’ll show you in the Bible what that one literal baptism is later. There is only one real baptism. The other six baptisms mentioned in the Bible are types, symbolic of something that is literal, a figure or picture of something that is real.
Before I elaborate on the seven baptisms in the Bible let’s look at the word, “baptize”. My classical Greek lexicon gives twenty meanings for the Greek word “baptizo”. The people who translated the Bible from Greek to English never translated the word, “baptizo”. They just transliterated it. The translators simply took the word out of the Greek and gave it an English spelling.
The main reason many people misunderstand baptism is because they try to understand it with the same meaning every time it is mentioned in the Bible. The literal Greek word “baptizo” simply means “to identify by putting one into or under”. In order to understand the seven different baptisms mentioned in the Bible, we need to keep that meaning in mind throughout this study.
I must say again there is only one literal baptism. The other six baptisms are types, symbolic of something that is literal, a figure or picture of something that is real.
I. The Baptism Of The Israelites In The Red Sea
The first symbolic baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. This baptism identified the Israelites with Moses. This is not the “one baptism” mentioned in Ephesians 4:5. We’ll get to that one literal baptism later.
The Bible says, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank of the same spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ”, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.
The Israelites escaped the captivity of the Egyptians, following and identifying themselves with Moses. They were under the cloud. That is, they were all under the guidance of Christ. Those who follow the guidance of Christ are always baptized. They passed through the Red Sea being baptized into Moses. That is, they identified with Moses as they followed him through the Red Sea on dry ground.
Stay with me now, we are going somewhere. Keep in mind the meaning of the word “baptizo”. It means “to identify by putting one into or under”. The Israelites identified themselves with Moses, putting them into and under the mist, the vapor, the fog that was created by the great walls of water on both sides of them. By faith they followed Moses as they passed through on the dry bottom of the Red Sea. This was not a water baptism. They did not even get wet. The Egyptians are the ones who got wet. Jesus Christ also had their back protected. The Bible says, “They drank of that spiritual Rock that Followed them, and that Rock was Christ”.
Being baptized into Moses simply means that they identified with Moses. The Bible says, “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned”, Hebrews 11:29. When they got to the other side, they sang the song of Moses. This beautiful song of deliverance is recorded in Exodus chapter 15. The people of Israel were identified with Moses as they followed him, and they rejoiced and sang about.
Most every New Testament teaching has an Old Testament example. Just like the people of Israel identified with Moses and followed him, we are to identify with Christ and follow Him. Christ will deliver us from bondage and bring us through any sea of impossibility. Also, as long as we identify with Christ and follow Him, He will always have our back. The devil will never be able to slip up on our blind side.
This is baptism number one. It is a symbolic baptism. This baptism identifies the Israelites with Moses as they followed him, crossing the Red Sea on the dry bottom. This baptism is a beautiful picture of the Israelites escaping the captivity of the Egyptians, following and identifying themselves with Moses. I call this baptism, the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea.
II. The Baptism Of The Jews By John The Baptist
The second symbolic baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. This baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist was to “identify” the Jews as a believer in the Messiah. When a Jew repented (changed his mind about Christ) and believed Christ was the Messiah, they would come to John the Baptist and he would baptize them. This baptism of repentance identified them with Christ as a believer. We need to remember this is before Christ had made Himself know as the Messiah. He had not declared Himself as the Son of God yet! The Jews were accepting by faith the message of John the Baptist.
Here old John the Baptist was on the shores of the Jordan River. He was the world’s first evangelist. He looked and acted like a mad man. He dressed himself in camel’s hair, ate locusts and raw honey, and lived in the wilderness. His message was more radical than his preaching outfit. He was preaching that God had become flesh and His name was Jesus Christ, and He was already among them. He always had a crowd of Jews around him and many of them believed His message and accepted Christ as the Messiah. He was baptizing these Jews right and left. The Jewish leadership at that time got concerned about it. So they sent some priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him some questions.
In John chapter 1, verse 19 through verse 28, the Bible says, “Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priest and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he said, no. Then they said to him, who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them saying, I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
The baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist does not picture the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. At this time those things had not happened yet. Christ had not died. There had been no burial or resurrection of Christ. So this could not be a picture of these events. These events would not take place until about three years later. However, this baptism does picture something. The baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist was a picture of the death and burial of a sinner dying under the wrath of God, and telling that sinner that Christ would come and die for him, suffering the wrath of God on the cross for him.
When a Jew was baptized by John the Baptist, he was simply declaring his faith in Christ as the Messiah and saying “I’m not ashamed to be identified with Him. I have not met Him yet. I have not seen Him but I believe the message John the Baptist is preaching. I believe God has become flesh in the Messiah. I repent of my sins and accept the Messiah to take them away.”
As we study these seven different baptisms we must keep in mind at all times the definition of the Greek word “baptizo”. The word simply means “to identify by putting one into or under”. When a Jew was baptized by John the Baptist he was immersed, that is, he was put under the water declaring his faith in the Messiah and identifying himself as a believer and a follower. John the Baptist’s baptism was to last only from the baptism of Jesus to His resurrection, Acts 1:22.
Everyone who was baptized by John the Baptist was baptized again after the resurrection of Christ. John’s baptism of repentance was not enough. It served the purpose at the time, but after the resurrection of Christ, baptism had a completely different meaning.
Please stay with me now, we are going somewhere. In Acts chapter 19, verse 1 through 5, the Bible says, “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.” We will talk about this post resurrection baptism for Christians later. Please, stay with here, because we are going somewhere.
The first baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. Second, the baptism of the Jews in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
III. The Baptism Of Jesus By John The Baptist
This brings us to the third symbolic baptism mentioned in the Bible.
The third baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Why was Jesus baptized? The baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist are closely related but are not the same. The baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist was to “identify” the Jews as a believer in the Messiah. However, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist was to “identify” Christ to the Jews as the Messiah. The baptism of Jesus Christ manifested and identified Christ to Israel, not to the church, but to Israel as the Messiah.
As we continue in John 1:29 thru 32, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, after me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. I did not know Him; but that He (Jesus Christ) should be revealed (identified) to Israel, (not to the church, but to Israel), therefore, I came baptizing with water. And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.”
There is no question about it, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist was to reveal and identify Christ to the Jews as the Messiah. It manifested to the Jews the coming of God in the flesh. That’s all it was. That’s all it has ever been. That’s all it will ever be. John the Baptist’s baptism of Jesus does not picture the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. John the Baptist’s baptism of Jesus was a picture of the death and burial of a sinner dying under the wrath of God, and telling that sinner that Christ would come to take his place and die for him.
In Matthew chapter 3, verse 13 thru verse 17, the Bible says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him saying, I need to be baptized by You, and are You come to Me? But Jesus answered and said to Him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Old John the Baptist was down at the Jordan baptizing sinners as fast as they confessed their sins.
Jesus showed up and wants to be baptized. At first John would not baptism Him. John told Jesus He had it backward. John said that he needed to be baptized by Him, not the other way around. Jesus said no! You don’t understand. I’m down here with the sinners to be baptized with them. John said you are no sinner. What do you mean you are with the sinners and need to be baptized? In so many words Jesus said, never mind, never mind. You don’t understand. If I’m going to fulfill all righteousness then I’ve got to do what the other sinners are doing. Quit arguing with me and baptism me. And down He goes, and gets baptized identifying Himself with sinners. I don’t have to worry about John’s water baptism, or Jesus’ water baptism. If I am in Christ I have already been to the river Jordan, immersed under the water and back up again. Praise God that’s been taken care of and settled forever.
Stay with me now, we are going somewhere. Remember the definition of the Greek word “baptizo”. The word in English, “baptism” simple means “to identify by putting one into or under”. When Jesus Christ was baptized He was identifying Himself with lost mankind and declaring that He is going to fulfill all righteousness on their behalf.
John the Baptist’s baptism of Jesus was a picture of the death and burial of a sinner dying under the wrath of God, and telling that sinner that Christ has come to identify with him and take his place. It had not happened yet. But it was a beautiful picture of what would happen about three years later when Christ would go to the old rugged cross of Calvary and identify Himself with sinners and pay the penalty for their sins. The Bible says, “For He (that’s God) has made Him, (that’s Jesus Christ), sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Cor. 5:21. He assumed our place. He identified Himself with sinners and died for sinners on the cross.
The first baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. Second, the baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Third, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
IV. The Baptism Of The Disciples In The Holy Spirit
This brings us to the fourth baptism mentioned in the Bible.
The fourth baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the disciples with the Holy Spirit after the resurrection but before Pentecost. This was the fulfillment of the promise Jesus had made just a few days earlier, right before he ascended into heaven. It was in preparation for the coming Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was to come to the masses and be available to everyone on a personal basis. Up until then thought out the Old Testament and the Gospels the Holy Spirit was limited to certain people in certain situations when a specific task was involved. Even the terminology was different.
Jesus said, “John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now,” Acts 1:4. Sometime between the ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost the disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is when we identify ourselves with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are born again by the Holy Spirit. These disciples were already saved but they needed to be put into the Spiritual body of Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Also, to emphasize the new terminology that would be used.
Christ’s church was in the process of coming into existence. The baptism with the Holy Spirit puts us into the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12:13. This is a positional baptism. We are in Christ and a member of His body. He is also in us to seal and secure us until the day of redemption. The day of redemption takes place at the second coming. This is the one and only literal baptism mentioned in the Bible.
The other six baptisms are only types, symbolic of something that is literal, a figure or picture of something that is real.
I realize that some people use the term “baptized in the Holy Spirit” as being the same thing as being filled with the Holy Spirit. I have no trouble with this terminology as long as we are using it symbolically. However, there are many questions answered for me when I understand the difference between being baptized with the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The only way we can be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ is for Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. When we are saved, when we become a Christian, Jesus Christ uses the Holy Spirit to put us into, to baptize us into, to born us into the body of Christ.
Please stay with me now, we are going somewhere. We are getting into some deep water now, but I promise you it will be well worth the concentration. I would encourage you to be like the early Christians. They received the word of God with an open mind and then they searched the Scripture to see if those things were so.
The Bible says, “For by one Spirit, (that’s the Holy Spirit), we are all baptized into one body, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, whether we are bond or free; and have been all made to drink into the Spirit,” I Cor. 12:13. John the Baptist said, “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God,” John 1:33-34.
In Acts 1:5, Jesus repeats the words of John the Baptist. Jesus said, “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” I believer the Holy Spirit begin to move in a new and different way beginning in John 20:22. New terms concerning the Holy Spirit would begin to be used. Jesus had been raised from the dead. He has spent forty days showing Himself to be alive. Now He is preparing to ascend into heaven. The Bible says, in John 20:21-21, “So Jesus said to them again, peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you.
And When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.” Could this be their baptism with the Holy Spirit? Some theologians believe this was only symbolic in anticipation for the Day of Pentecost. Could be! But I believe they received the Holy Spirit right then and there. While the term “baptized in the Holy Spirit” was not used, the same thing happened when the term is used. This prepared them to lead the 120 in the upper room to have the same experience. The day of the resurrection marked the transition from the terms of the Old Covenant to those of the New Covenant. The old creation began with the breath of God in Genesis 2:7. Now the new creation begins with the breath of God. This took place in the evening of the same day Jesus was resurrected from the grave. New terminology was now going to be used concerning the Spirit of God
Between the ascension and the Day of Pentecost, about 120 of His disciples gathered in the upper room. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas and the other apostles were there. They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication for ten days. Peter took the leadership. He stood up and preached a sermon about the Scripture being fulfilled. Then he led the group i electing Matthias to take the place of Judas. We do not know everything that took place while they were in the upper room. But I believe during this time between the ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost they were all baptized with the Holy Spirit. Pentecost means fifty. The Day of Pentecost was to come fifty days after His resurrection. Since Jesus showed Himself alive at least ten times over a forty day period after His resurrection, the Day of Pentecost must have come ten days after He ascended into heaven. Even though they were all believers, this little crowd of 120 people spent about ten days in the upper room experiencing the moving of the Holy Spirit and preparing for Pentecost. They were baptized with the Holy Spirit and had become the first fruits of the local church. Now they were waiting for the infilling of the Holy Spirit to prepare them for service, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit to come upon the Jews in a new and different way.
When we get to the second chapter of Acts where we are told of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, we learn that these disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, not baptized with the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit was necessary in order for them to serve and be bold witnesses for Christ. The fact that they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost for service indicates to me that they must have been baptized with the Holy Spirit prior to the infilling. I believe it could have happened when Jesus breathed on them or sometime between the ascension and the Day of Pentecost while they were in the upper room. It took place in the upper room more than likely. I don’t think it really matters, but we know it had to be before they witnessed to the 3,000 souls who got saved on the Day of Pentecost.
The upper room experience when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit is different than the Day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. For the first time the gospel was preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter again took the leadership and preached with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and it resulted in over 3000 souls being saved.
At least 3,000 people were baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. They were born again. They were “put into” the body of Christ and all who gladly received the word of God were baptized with water. This first little church made up of only 120 members, all of a sudden had 3,000 new members.
This Spirit filled message delivered by this Spirit filled preacher cut to the very heart of this great crowd of people who had gathered. At the end of the message they ask Peter and the others “what shall we do?” Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for (because of) the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”, Acts 2:38.
What is the Gift of the Holy Spirit? The Gift is the Holy Spirit Himself. The Lord Jesus not only put the Holy Spirit in them, but Jesus put them (baptized them) into the body of Christ. They became identified with the 120 disciples. This first church was all Jewish. The church began in Jerusalem and then moved out and invaded Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world.
To understand Acts 2:38 we need to understand how the word “for” is used. If I did something nice “for” you, that does not mean I did it to have you. It means I did it “because” of you. You can check this out in the Greek if you need further proof. Peter preached about how Christ had died for them. How He was burial, resurrected from the grave and ascended into heaven. He conclude His message by telling them Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of the Father and was now fulfilling His promise to send His Holy Spirit upon them.
Keep in mind. The upper room experience when the 120 were baptized with the Holy Spirit is different than the Day of Pentecost experience when the 120 were all filled with the Holy Spirit. I realize these two experiences, the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the infilling of the Holy Spirit could have happened back to back at the beginning of Pentecost. But I believe they were baptized when Jesus breathed on them or during the ten days they were in the upper room. Later in the day this little congregation of 120 saw 3,000 souls baptized with the Holy Spirit as they were born again by being baptized into the Spiritual body of Christ. Then they were all baptized in water to identify them as new members of the first church. This will be made clear when we talk about the difference between the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the baptism with fire. Jesus never promised anybody that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire” in the upper room or on the Day of Pentecost. I’ll talk about the meaning of being baptized with fire later. It’s a whole different kind of baptism. It is impossible to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire at the same time. This will be explained in detail later.
The Day of Pentecost was a one time deal for the Jews. You have heard it said, “You can make a first impression only one time.” This was the first impression the Jews got when the Holy Spirit was introduced to the Jews on a massive scale for the first time.
When the Holy Spirit came to the Gentiles in Acts chapters 10 and 11, a Gentile Pentecost was experienced by Cornelius, his family, many of his relatives and a host of Gentile friends he had invited to the occasion. This was a one time deal for the Gentiles. This was the first impression the Gentiles got when the Holy Spirit was introduced to the Gentiles on a massive scale for the first time. Jesus virgin birth was a one time even. His death on the cross was a one time event. His ascension into heaven was a one time event. His second coming will be a one time event. The Day of Pentecost for the Jews and for the Gentiles was a one time event. It was a special day promised by Jesus, never to be repeated. It was a special Day the disciples were told to wait for and prepare for. It was the introduction of the Holy Spirit to the Jews and to the Gentiles. However, we can praise God today, because we don’t have to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon us. We don’t have to make any kind of preparation. He is already here. He is all around us just like the wind. All we need to do is by faith open up our heart and invite Him in. Let’s not hold our breath. Like the air we breathe, all we need to do is open up our life to Him and begin to breathe Spiritually.
Again, this Gentile crowd head Peter preach in their own tongue. There were many people present who spoke many different tongues. The miracle again was in the hearing. For the first time the Gentiles were baptized with the Holy Spirit into the Spiritual body of Christ. Then, to give Peter and the other Jews who had come with him, evidence that salvation had come to the Gentiles, this miracle became one of speaking as well as hearing. Just like on the Day of Pentecost. They all begin to speak in different tongues, praising God and giving Him glory. The Bible says, “For they head them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord”, Acts 10:46-48.
There is no question about it. The tongues spoken of on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:5-11, and the tongues spoken of on the day salvation first came to the Gentiles, Acts 11:11-18, were different kinds of languages. In both cases the miracle was in the hearing and the speaking. The Bible even names these different languages. My sister had the gift of speaking with different tongues. She could speak five different languages. I have a hard time with one language. In order for the gospel to be carried to the whole world there must be people with the gift languages. In Bible days, sometimes the different tongues were learned. Other times it was Spiritual intervention. I have heard of missionaries who have experienced the miracle of tongues. When the missionaries spoke the people could understand them in a different tongue than the one being spoken. Even more wonderful was when the people would begin to praise God in their tongue and the missionaries could understand with out an interpreter. Since this miracle of speaking in tongues with the hearers being able to understand would be few and far in between, when Paul listed the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he included the gift of interpretation. Today when people speak to a crowd with a different tongue they usually have an interpreter. However, I believe the miracle of tongues and hearing still exist when the Lord finds it necessary. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Here is my position. I believe that the “Gift” is the Holy Spirit Himself and everyone who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit, (born again) has the potential at any God given point and time to manifest any of the gifts that might be needed to accomplish God’s will in a person’s life or in a particular situation. It’s too personal for me to go into detail, but I must say, I have experienced most every one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at least once. Most of these gifts may never be repeated in my life again, but there are a couple of them that seems to be activated all the time.
When our daughter, Pebbles, spent two and a half years in the hospital at the University of Minnesota with a kidney and liver transplant, at least one child a day died on the floor we were on. I remember walking up and down the hall crying and praying that God would give me the gift of healing. I just could not stand to see all these precious children suffering, hurting and dying because they needed a transplant and no kidneys or livers were available. I promised the Lord if He would give me the gift of healing I would not tell anyone, show it on television or profit off of it in anyway. “Please, please, O Lord, give me the gift of healing”, I continued to pray day after day. But nothing! One day I was in a room of a child dying and I was praying and praying and praying God would heal that child. I don’t think anyone else head Him, but God said to me loud and clear, “People go to hell healthy. I did not call you or gift you to heal anyone. I called you to be an evangelists and I have given you the necessary gifts to do it. Tell the children about Jesus.”
Many of my charismatic friends make a distinction between the “gift of tongues” and what some call “a prayer language”. Richard Roberts, the son of Oral Roberts and president of Oral Roberts University says that God has never given him the gift of tongues. But he does claim he prayers in “a prayer language”. He says he does not understand what he is praying but God understands. I would never, ever question how someone communicates with God. Prayer is a very personal and private thing. I don’t believe anybody has any business judging how someone else prays. However, at the same time I don’t believe we should put pressure on someone to pray like we do or criticize them if they don’t.
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is the one real baptism that identifies us with Christ. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 5, the Bible says, “There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism.” This “one baptism” is the baptism of the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Please keep in mind the meaning of the word “baptize”. It means “to identify by putting one into or under.” When we identify ourselves with Christ by believing in and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, He baptizes us, (that is He puts us into), the body of Christ. It’s the same thing as being born again by the Holy Spirit, John chapter 3.
Since the Holy Spirit has already been introduced to the Jews and to the Gentiles, there is no need for any of the gifts to be manifested to confirm the coming of the Holy Spirit. He has already come. Today when the Holy Spirit comes into our life, it’s not the gifts that characterizes us as a child of God. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that gives evidence that the Holy Spirit has come upon us. The Bible says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no law (no limit)”, Galatians 5:22-23. Jesus did not say, “You shall know them by their gifts”. He said, “You shall know them by their fruits”, Matthew 7:16. Jesus did not say, “Every tree (person) that does not bear good gifts is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He said, “Every tree (person) that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”, Matthew 7:19. Therefore, it is very obvious; it’s not the gift of tongues that identifies us as being baptized with the Holy Spirit. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit that identifies us as being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The devil can duplicate the Gifts of Spirit, and we can fake the Gifts of the Spirit. But the devil cannot duplicate the Fruit of the Spirit, and we cannot fake the Fruit of the Spirit. Some of us are not bearing fruit like we should, not because we have not received the Holy Spirit, but because there are too many sins and negative things in our life that grieves the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4:30. Fruit grows. If we keep our sins confessed and continue to learn to walk in the Spirit there is no limit to the amount of fruit we can bear. The fruit of a Christian is not another Christian. The fruit of a Christian is not the manifestation of gifts. The fruit of a Christian, or perhaps I should say, the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, Galatians 22-23. Gifts and fruit! That’s another subject. Let’s get back to baptism.
In John chapter 1, verse 11 thru 13, the Bible says, “He came to His own, (the Jews) and His own (as a nation) did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
When we are born again Christ puts us into the body of Christ. When we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, Christ puts us into the body of Christ. Same thing! I must say again, this is the one and only literal baptism mentioned in the Bible. The other six baptisms are types, symbolic of something that is literal, a figure or picture of something that is real. This is where water baptism for the Christian comes in. Our water baptism that we experience after we become a Christian is a type, a symbol, a figure, a beautiful picture of our literal baptism with the Holy Spirit. We will talk about this post resurrection baptism for new Christians later.
First, we talked about the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. Second, the baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Third, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. And fourth the baptism of the first disciples with the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. Now let’s look at the baptism with fire.
V. The Baptism Of The Lost With Fire
The fifth symbolic baptism mentioned is the Bible is the baptism of the lost with fire in hell.
In Matthew 3: verses 11 and 12, John the Baptist said, “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.”
Please stay with me now. We are going somewhere. Scripture explains Scripture. This verse is explained in the next verse. John the Baptist continues in the next verse, verse 12, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” If we separate these two verses we will get the wrong interpretation.
We must keep these two verses together and in context in order to understand that John the Baptist is speaking about two different kinds of baptism. Jesus Christ came the first time to baptize us into the body of Christ with the His Holy Spirit. When He comes again those who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit will be like wheat gathered into barns. Those who have not been baptized into the body of Christ with His Holy Spirit will be gathered up like chaff to be burned with unquenchable fire, Matthew 3:12.
God always give us a choice. In this case we can either be baptized with the Holy Spirit and go to heaven, or we can be baptized with fire and go to hell. I feel like someone is wanting to say, “I thought that on the Day of Pentecost, the believers were baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, because the Bible says that tongues of fire sat upon each of them.”
In the first place the Bible says nothing about the disciples being baptized with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible tells us that they were filled with the Holy Spirit so they would have power to preach the word of God with boldness and effectiveness. It was the 3,000 who were baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. The Bible says that the little crowd of 120 from the upper room was filled with the Holy Spirit, not baptized with the Holy Spirit. There is a drastic difference between being baptized with the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. We can be baptized with the Holy Spirit only one time and that’s when we were saved, born again by the Holy Spirit, baptized into the body of Christ. You can be filled with the Holy Spirit many times. It would be better if somehow we could stay filled with the Holy Spirit. But sad to say most of us spring too many leaks and have need of many infillings of the Holy Spirit. In fact, if we are on the front lines fighting the good fight of faith and ministering the word of God with the power of the Holy Spirit, there is going to be a constant drain on the Holy Spirit in us. This will necessitate us needing a refilling of the Holy Spirit daily.
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. Let’s not isolate the Holy Spirit to just certain areas of our life or certain rooms in our house. Since He is in us, let’s give Him the run of the house. Example: let’s say you have a beautiful home with a very efficient air conditioning unit. The refreshing cool air fills the house except one room where you have the vents shut and the doors closed to that room. What do you do to fill the house with the refreshing air? Get a larger air conditioner? No! Get a new compressor? No! Get a more powerful blower? No! You already have all you are ever going to get.
Just open the vents and doors to the rooms you have isolated and kept closed. Same thing is true Spiritually. You don’t need more of the Holy Spirit. He needs more of you. In fact to be filled He must have all of you. The Holy Spirit is a person. He does not come into your life a foot and a hand at a time. You either have all of Him or none of Him. All we need to do is give Him the run of the house and fill us. It’s not God’s fault we are not filled. It’s our fault. We need to give Him total access to our house and not keep a room or two vacant for our selfish desires.
I have no issue with those who feel like the 120 disciples were baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit back to back at the beginning of the Day of Pentecost. I don’t know if it makes any difference. It may depend on when you think the first church was started. Was it started with the 120 in the upper room or when the 3,000 souls were saved? It may not matter, but I believe the first church started with the 120 during the ten days between the ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost. Or else how could the 3,000 souls be added to the church? The church must have existed in order for people to be added to it. Again, this may be splitting hairs over an issue that does not really matter when it comes to the larger picture. However, to satisfy my analytical and chronological mind I must believe the first church started with the 120 in the upper room. There is one thing for sure in my mind. There is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and there is the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and I believe they are different. One puts us into the body of Christ and the other prepares us to serve in the body of Christ. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean we get more of Him. It means He gets all of us.
The Day of Pentecost was the first time believers were ever filled with the Holy Spirit in the context of Jesus’ promise to send the Comforter. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an option. The Bible says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
I realize that some people use the terminology of being baptized with the Holy Spirit as being the same thing as being filled with the Holy Spirit. I have no issue with this terminology. However, it can be confusing to those who don’t know the difference. I also realize that some people at times use the term baptism symbolizing that they are being consumed or overwhelmed by something, like being baptized with grief, sorry or trouble.
Being baptized with the Holy Spirit prepares us to die. Being filled with the Holy Spirit prepares us to live. The infilling of the Holy Spirit equips us to serve and be a powerful, bold witness for Christ.
On the Day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit giving them power and boldness to be effective witnesses. The 3,000 souls who accepted their powerful witness that day were the first to join the disciples in being baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. In other words they were born again by the Holy Spirit. Then they were baptized in water symbolizing their Spiritual baptism and identifying them with the 120 disciples.
Let’s look closely at Acts 2:1-4. The Bible says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, (notice it was not the sound of a rushing mighty wind they heard, but it was the Holy Spirit they heard as of a rushing mighty wind), and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, (notice it was not fire that appeared to them, it was divided tongues, as of fire), and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (not baptized) and began to speak with other tongues (languages), as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
It was not wind and it was not fire; it was the infilling of the Holy Spirit that came upon them. The word tongues here means spoken human languages. They were divided tongues; that is, there were many different tongues. There was a different language given to each of them and they begin to speak in all kinds of tongues. What a miracle! This miracle spread like wild fire and before the day was over a great crowd representing every nation in the world at that time had gathered. As they continued to speak in all these different languages at the same time, the Bible says in Act 2: verses 7 and 8, “Then they were all amazed and marveled saying to one another, look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” The Bible goes on to name at least fifteen different languages being spoken.
Please stay with me now. We are going somewhere. Then the people said in Acts 2:11, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” Some of the people thought these disciples were crazy. Others thought they were drunk. That’s when Peter took the leadership again and began to preach. The miracle of speaking in a different language all of a sudden included the miracle of hearing also. As Peter preached in one language people from every nation and tongue heard him in their own language. He preached about the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He preached about heaven, hell and the second coming of Christ. He preached about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He preached about repentance, baptism and forgiveness of sin. Then he gave an invitation and 3,000 souls were baptized in the Holy Spirit and were saved. The Bible says in Acts 2:41, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized.”
There is no question about it. The word “fire” in Acts 2 is used symbolically and is not to be confused with the baptism with fire. When the Bible says the divided tongues were “like as of fire” it was talking about the piercing, convicting, quick spreading of the word of God when it is spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit. Please don’t confuse this with the baptism with fire. I don’t know if there was a literal flame of fire dancing over the heads of each person being filled with the Holy Spirit or not. It does not matter. The point is each of them was empowered with the Holy Spirit to speak a different language so the people from every nation under heaven could hear the message of “the wonderful works of God” in their own language. When Peter started preaching, the miracle became one of hearing also. Peter spoke in one tongue but the people who heard him understood him in their tongue.
There are other places in the Bible where fire is associated with the tongue. In James 3:5-6, the Bible says, “Even the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” Again, don’t confuse this with the baptism with fire.
When we are negative, critical or blasphemous with our words, those words are like fire that consumes a forest, spreading uncontrollably. However, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we speak boldly the powerful words of God, those words become “as fire” spiritually consuming the listeners. Just like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak the words of God, the listeners will be constrained to say, “Did not our heart burn within us.” I must say again, please don’t confuse this with the baptism with fire.
Stay with me now, we are going somewhere. Let’s look again at Matthew 3, verse 11. John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize us, either with the Holy Spirit or with fire. The choice is ours. When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we are identified with Christ. We are born again by His Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. At the second coming of Christ those who have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit will be baptized with fire. The baptism of fire is recorded in Revelation 20:14. It takes place at the Great White Throne Judgment. The Bible says, “Then Death and Hell shall be cast into the Lake of fire.” I would not waste my time debating if the fire in hell is literal or symbolic. It makes no difference! If it is literal, that’s bad. If it is symbolic, that’s even worst. Hell must be an awful, awful place, for God to use the word “fire” to describe it.
In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist tells us that those who have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit will be burned with unquenchable fire. This is what it means to be baptized with fire.
There is nothing wrong when we use the word fire to describe being hot for Jesus. We should be on fire for Christ. One of my dearest evangelist’s friends, Freddie Gage, was called “the bouncing ball of fire” in his younger days because of his enthusiasm and passion for lost souls. But this is not the same thing as being baptized with fire. To be baptized with fire simply means we go to hell. So I don’t think we want to be praying to be baptized with fire.
The first baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. Second, the baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Third, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Fourth, the baptism of the first disciples with the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. And fifth, the baptism of the lost with fire in hell. Now, let’s look at the sixth symbolic baptism mentioned in the Bible.
VI. The Baptism of Jesus with Suffering And Death
The sixth baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of Jesus Christ with suffering and death on the cross.
Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. His twelve disciples are with Him. Jesus has just told them for the fourth time that He was going to be condemned to death. That He would be mocked and scourged and crucified. A good point to always remember: Jesus never mentions His death that He does not include His resurrection. After He told them of his suffering and death He added, “And the third day He will rise again,” Matthew 20:19.
James and John came to Jesus desiring the choice seats in the Kingdom of God. Even their mother got in on it. In fact, I think the two sons probably put their mother up to it.
The Bible says, “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, what do you wish? She said to Him, grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, we are able. So He said to them, You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father,” Matthew 20:20-23.
Jesus uses two familiar symbolic words found through out the Bible, cup and baptism. His disciples had just been told that He must suffer and die on the cross. The cup that He was to drink was His suffering leading up to the cross and the baptism that He was to be baptized with was His death on the cross.
Jesus ask James and John, “Are you able to drank the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said, “We are able.” And sure enough there came a time when they had to drink the cup of suffering and be baptized with the baptism of death. In fact all three, Peter, James and John, were martyred as they drank of the cup of suffering and were baptized with the baptism of death. However, the cup of suffering and the baptism of death go much further than the physical. I believe Jesus was asking them the question, “Are you willing to identify yourself with my suffering and with my death on the cross? Are you willing to be crucified with me?”
The Bible says, “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were (not will be, but were) baptized into His death. Therefore, we were (not will be, but 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”, Romans 6:3-4.
If all we see in these two verses is water baptism, I think we are missing the main point. Stay with me now. It means we are identifying ourselves with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It means we have been crucified with Christ. When He died, we died in Him. When He was nailed to the cross, our sins were nailed to the cross. When He was buried, our old life was buried in Him. When He was raised from the grave, we were raised in Him and were identified with a living Christ. Christ is now living in us. Christ living in us is what makes walking in newness of life possible. The secondary meaning, or I perhaps should say, the symbolic meaning would be our water baptism that identifies us as a believer in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We will talk more about water baptism for new Christians in our next study.
But first let’s look at the request of James and John to be president and vice-president of the Kingdom of God. Jesus tries to explain to these disciples that sitting on His right hand and on His left hand in His Kingdom was not a gift. Salvation is a gift. Our free passage into the Kingdom of God is a free gift. But our position in the Kingdom of God is not a gift. God’s free gift of grace gets us to heaven, but our stewardship, works and faithfulness determines what we get after we get there.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, we Christians will be judged according to our stewardship to determine treasures in heaven, Matthew 6:20. According to our works to determine rewards in heaven, 1 Cor. 3:11-15. And according to our faithfulness to determine crowns in heaven, Rev. 2:10. Let’s not get hung up on these treasures, rewards and crowns being literal or symbolic. It does not matter. All we know for sure is they are something other than salvation. Salvation is a “freebie”.
Treasures, rewards and crowns are earned. I have a complete study on this we might share at a later date.
The praise we give Jesus Christ here on earth will determine His praise for us in the Kingdom of God. The position we give Jesus Christ in our lives here on earth will determine our position in the Kingdom of God. The prayer we are encouraged to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven,” will be answered at the second coming as we enter the 1,000 year reign of Christ on this earth.
The first baptism mentioned in the Bible is the baptism of the Israelites by Moses in the Red Sea. Second, the baptism of the Jews by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Third, the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Fourth, the baptism of the first disciples with the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. Fifth, the baptism of the lost with fire in hell. Sixth, the baptism of Jesus Christ with suffering and death on the cross. And seventh and lastly, the baptism of Christians in water to picture their Spiritual baptism and identify them with a local body of believers (a church).
VII. The Baptism of Christians in Water
We are commanded to be baptized in the Name (not names, but Name) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19. Why? Because they are One with three dimensions. It takes all three dimensions of the Divine Trinity (the Godhead) to save us and give us eternal life. First, it takes the love of the Father to make it possible. Second, it takes the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial, atoning death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. And third, it takes the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, woo us to repentance, come into our heart and baptizes us (born us) into the body of Christ.
Water baptism is a picture of how the death, burial and resurrection of Christ reflect our past, present and future in Him, Romans 6:2-8. Stay with me now. We are almost there.
First, the past. When we are baptized in water we are publicly identifying ourselves with the death of Christ and declaring that we have been crucified with Him, Romans 6:3, Galatians 2:20.
Second, the present. When we are baptized we are imaging the death (the crucifixion) of the person we used to be, the burial of that person, and the resurrection of the new creature we are in Christ, Romans 6:4.
Third, the future. When we are baptized we are publicly claiming and portraying God’s promise that when we die and are buried, we too shall be resurrected from the dead, Romans 6:5. Baptism is a beautiful picture of our immortality as a child of God, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22.
When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we are identified with the Spiritual body of Christ. When we are baptized with water we are identified with the physical body of Christ on earth, the church. In other words, our water baptism mirrors our Spiritual baptism. Example! If I took a picture of you with my digital camera and held the picture up next to you, and took a good look at both you and the picture, it would be easy to identify the literal you. The picture would mirror the real you and identify you as to who you are. So it is with our water baptism. Most people just can’t wait to be baptized once they understand what it really means. It’s their first act of joyful obedience!
It’s difficult for me to talk about baptism without including the church. While baptism and the church in no way have anything to do with us being saved, in Bible days it was one decision. It was just understood that when you got saved you were baptized and added to the local body of believers.
Somewhere along the way, for fear we might mislead someone into thinking that water baptism and the church had something to do with our salvation, we divided salvation, baptism and church membership into three decisions
I heard a counselor say to a person who had just gotten saved, “Now do you want to be baptized?” Lord help us! That’s like saying, “Now that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, do you want to begin your Christian life in disobedience?” Sometimes we talk about baptism as if it is an option. With only one exception, in Bible days everyone who got saved were baptized the same day they were saved. Baptism is not an option. Salvation is what the Lord does for us. Baptism is the first thing we get to do for Him. It’s our first act of obedience.
The local church is a microcosm (a small model) of the whole Spiritual body of Christ. Our Spiritual baptism identifies us with Christ, but our water baptism identifies us with a local body of believers, 1 Corinthians 12:1-26. Our water baptism is a portrait (a mirroring, an imaging, a reflection) of our Spiritual baptism and identifies us with a particular local body of believers that are like minded.
I believe the Lord gives the local body of believers a great deal of leave way in making church policy. I am a Baptist. I’m a Southern Baptist! However, I have conducted revivals in just about every denomination under the sun and found many, many wonderful Christian people in all of them. I believe the church is made up of many different kinds of people with different gifts to be used in Christian love, 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13 and 14. At the same time and in the same manner I believe the body of Christ is made up of many different kinds of microcosms (small models) with different gifts and forms of expressing their praise and worship to God. With all of the diversity, the one thing that gives sanity and unity to churches in general and churches individually is the wonderful love of God, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Even the most doctrinally correct church is a disaster when they do not exercise the love of God for one another.
The Lord Jesus Christ established His church on earth, empowered it with His Holy Spirit and has perpetuated it to this day. Jesus said, “I will build my church”, Matthew 16:18. Jesus does the building. We provide the material. His announcement to build His church was like the sound of many trumpets. It was short, to the point, authoritative, and even militant. The word “church” simple means assembly, a group of believers, gathering together for the purpose of praise, worship, preaching, teaching and going into all the world in an all out effort to carry the Gospel of Christ to every creature, Matthew 28:18-20. The great commission is very simple: get people saved, baptism them and then teach them to be obedient. If we want to get in on what Christ is building here on earth, then we need to get involved in one of His microcosms. That’s were the action is.
I want to be right in theology. That’s why I’m a Baptist! But if I thought we were the only microcosm on earth, I would be most ignorant. Some people are more concerned about being right theologically than keeping their heart right with God and their fellow man. You can be right in theology and bust hell wide open. When life is all over and everything is said and done, the only two things that will matter is: Is our heart right with God and is our heart right with one another? This is the bottom line to the Christian life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to share with you a little story about when I was baptized. I was nine years old. I did not understand any of the baptisms I have talked about. In fact, the only baptism I had ever heard about was water baptism. With what little knowledge I had and with what little faith I had as a nine year old boy, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. It was during a revival in my dad’s church, the Second Baptist Church in Ranger, Texas. A few days later I was baptized. I’m sure the subject of baptism was explained to me but I understood very little about baptism. I just knew I was supposed to do it. At the time, to me it meant that I was serious about accepting Christ, and it was letting everybody know I was not ashamed. Please stay with me now. I’m going somewhere with this.
If I allowed my pastor in the church, of which I’m now a member, to baptism me today, it would mean more to me, because I now understand the meaning and significance of being baptized in water. However, when I was baptized, I was baptized for only one reason. I was baptized out of obedience. If I understand the Bible right, that’s the only reason I should be baptized. Here’s my point. If my pastor were to baptize me today, it would mean more to me. But the fact that I was baptized out of obedience by faith, not understanding more about baptism, meant more to God. I believe the Lord smiles when we do things out of faith, not understanding all the details, but just doing it because He told us to do it.
I know of a church that will not baptize a person until that person understands all about it. I told them they had the great commission down backwards. The Bible tells us to get people saved, baptize them, and then teach them. I understand now what by faith I did as a nine year of boy. My baptism becomes more and more real and meaningful to me everyday that I understand it better. And I’m still learning. With out faith it is impossible to please God.
