BAPTISM
A. Being the fulfillment of the righteousness before God - Matt. 3:13-16
1. Although Jesus came to be the Savior of mankind because He became a man, it was fitting for Him to act according to God’s procedure to fulfill all righteousness before God. If the sinless Jesus was baptized, how much more the sinners like us needed to be baptized!
B. Refusing to be baptized being the nullification of the counsel of God - Luke 7:30
1. Anyone who would not be baptized like the Pharisees and lawyers who refused to be baptized nullifies God’s counsel and God’s plan for himself.
C. Being the apostles’ teaching - Acts 2:37-38
1. On the day of Pentecost, many heard Peter’s word and were pierced in the heart, and they asked him what they should do. Peter instructed them that they should repent and be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
D. Being a step for the entrance into the kingdom of God - John 3:5
1. John 3:5 says, "Unless a man is born of water and Spirit he can not enter into the kingdom of God." "Of water" here refers to baptism. "Water" is to terminate people of the old creation and "Spirit" is to germinate people in the new creation.
E. Being baptized into the name of the Triune God - The Father , the Son ,and the Holy Spirit - Matt. 28:19
1. The name denotes a person. To be baptized into the name of the Father , the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into the person of the Triune God. The preposition "into" indicates that the baptized one is brought into an organic union with the Triune God. Through baptism a person who was outside of God is put into the very Triune God.
F. Baptized into Christ death - Rom. 6:3-4
1. In God’s eyes we are all dead because of our offense and sins (Eph. 2:1). A dead person needs to be buried. In Greek, baptism is "baptizo" which means to immerse. At the time you were immersed into the water, you were buried into Christ’s death. The old man in the old creation with all his sins had been buried. At the time you came out from the water, you were resurrected together with Christ. In God’s eyes you are a new person in the new creation. Therefore, you need to walk in the newness of life.
G. To be baptize in water and the Holy Spirit - Acts 1:5; 10:47; 9:17-18; John 3:5
1. Water being the symbol of baptism, and the Holy Spirit being the reality of baptism.
a. Water baptism is the visible aspect. It is the expression and the testimony of the invisible aspect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without water baptism the baptism of the Holy Spirit is abstract.
b. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the invisible aspect. It makes the water baptism real. Without the Holy Spirit the water baptism is vain - a dead and empty ritual.
2. Typified by the sea and the cloud in which the children of Israel were baptized - I Cor. 10:2
a. Even the Old Testament people of God were baptized. Their being baptized in the cloud signifies the baptism of the Holy Spirit and their crossing of the red sea signifies water baptism.
b. Baptism delivers us from Satan and his worldly power, just as the crossing of the red sea delivered the children of Israel from the evil power of Pharaoh and Egypt’s tyranny. Although the children of Israel applied the blood of the Passover lamb and were saved from God’s judgment they still have to cross the red sea for deliverance. Although we have received the Lord’s redemption through His shed blood and have been saved from God’s judgment we still need to be baptized that we may be delivered from the usurpation of Satan and the world.
H. To be baptized by water
1. Water being the means of salvation - I Pet. 3:20-21
a. The words "brought safely through water: which figures also now saves you, baptism indicate that water was the means of salvation by the ark to separate Noah and his family from the corrupted generation and brought them into the new age.
2. Typified by the water through which Noah and his family passed.
a. The Bible tells us that Noah’s household of eight passing through the flood in the ark was a type of baptism. Water baptism separates those of us who have entered into Christ as the ark by faith from the world in which we formerly lived, that we may be delivered from this crooked and perverted generation and be brought into a new realm of resurrection in the new creation.
I. Baptism being an appeal to God - I Pet. 3:21
1. When we were baptized, our conscience no longer condemns us but rather we are full of peace and confidence that our sins have been forgiven, that all the problems we have with God have been solved, and that we have been organically united with Him.
J. The time of baptism - Acts 2:41; 8:37-38; 22:16
1. Once a person has believed in the Lord he must be baptized immediately.
K. The correction of baptism - Acts 19:3-5
1. The baptism of repentance which John preached had passed away with him after the ministry of the Lord Jesus had begun. Once they realized this out-of-date baptism of repentance they immediately were corrected. Likewise, today, there are also improper practices of baptism, such as by sprinkling, infant baptism, and baptism perform on those who have not yet properly believed in the Lord. These also need to be corrected.