WATER BAPTISM This is an outward display of what happened to you when you were saved or born form above. The Holy Spirit did the work of salvation in you through the cross of Christ and introduced you into the kingdom of his dear son. Col. 1:13. The law of the Spirit of life in christ Jesus set you free from the law of sin and death. Rom. 5:2. Holy Spirit did this miracle in you. He gave you a new man. Eph. 4:24. Water baptism is a physical and public declaration that you have been saved and that you now belong to the kingdom of God. with water baptism, you are explaining to the world what christ did to you. AGENTS OF BAPTISM 1. THE RECIPIENT: The recipient of water baptism must become born again. he must have accepted Jesus as his Lord and saviour. He is not just a professor of the faith, he is sure that he has been saved through the cross of christ. The recipient cannot be a baby or a child because salvation takes place at an age of accountability. 2. THE BAPTISER: The baptiser must be born agin. He is a believer who also have accepted Christ as his Lord and a saviour. A person of integrity and a faithful soldier of christ. 3. WITNESSES: Since water baptism is an outward show of an inward grace, it is advisable to have witnesses around. it is not just a private decision but also a message to the world what you stand for. 4. GOD: God is a witness that you have been drawn to him by the inward work of the Holy Spirit via the cross of christ. REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER BAPTISM. i. A safe running water just deep enough for complete immersion. If you cannot get a running river, churches have baptismal pool usually like a swimming pool within the church building or just outside. ii. You need a good thick clothing to cover your body and extra clothing to be used after baptism. iii. I recommend that you take at least two or three witnesses along. iv. The minister or baptiser should be present with another assistant or more assistants. THE SYMBOLS OF WATER BAPTISM. This is why immersion is very important here. whiteout immersion, the vital essence of salvation will not be shown and represented as it ought to be. A. STANDING IN THE WATER: This is a representation of our identifying with Jesus on the cross. By this, the recipient of water baptism shows that he believes that he has been crucified with Christ. Gal.2:20. He shows the world that he has been crucified with christ. Paul calls it ‘baptism into his death’. Let’s look at this scripture: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?. Rom.6:3. It says we ‘WERE baptised into his DEATH’. Jesus died on the cross. Therefore, when he died, our old life died with him. Again, Paul describes this same miracle birth as ‘….we HAVE BEEN PLANTED into his DEATH’. This ‘planting’ is a miracle that cannot be uprooted! Our planting into his death was vital on the cross as much as it was applied to us at salvation. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Rom. 6:5. Notice that Paul says ‘……in the LIKENESS of HIS DEATH’. The elect experienced death ‘in the likeness of his death’. The new birth is far beyond just confessing. What happened to Jesus in history on the cross actually happened to us in the likeness of his death. Next, Paul tells us in more detail what happened to us when we were nailed on the cross. He says ‘……our OLD MAN is CRUCIFIED with him (Christ),…..’. The OLD MAN refers to our old life and it’s source and our human spirit. This is why it is said that we are NEW CREATURE. We were destroyed and recreated in Christ. Notice the word NEW CREATURE. 2Cor. 5:17. The word ‘NEW’ in the original means ‘of a new kind’, ‘unheard of’, ‘uncommon’, and ‘unprecedented’. It also means ‘unused’, ‘unworn’, ‘fresh’ and ‘recently made’. The NEW MAN was ‘recently made’ in Christ. This is what is meant when you stand in water. B. BURIED IN WATER: When the recipient is immerse or fully dipped into the water, it is an outward display to the public that he has been buried with christ. He is identifying that when Jesus was buried, he was also buried. Paul says ‘….we are BURIED WITH HIM in baptism into DEATH’. When Christ was brought down at 6:00pm and buried in a sepulchre, we were buried with him. When the partaker of water baptism is fully dipped or immersed in water, he is showing to the world that he identifies with the burial of Jesus and that he was buried with him as Jesus was. Look at this scripture: 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. Rom. 6:4. It says ‘….we were BURIED WITH HIM by baptism in to DEATH…’. This expression is also found in Col. 2: 12 where he says ‘..buried with him in baptism…’. The life we had was buried with him by baptism into death of Jesus Christ. The OLD CREATURE was buried with Christ. Therefore, when the partaker of water baptism is buried or fully immersed in water, he shows publicly that the life he was known with before salvation has been buried with christ. The old personality has been destroyed and buried in christ forever. The OLD MAN has been buried. Paul in another scripture calls it ‘circumcision made without hands’. Let’s look at this scripture: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Col. 2:11. In the same verse, he calls it ‘….putting off the body of the sins of the flesh….’, he went on to call it as ‘….the circumcision of Christ’. Therefore, when we died and we were buried in Christ, we experienced spiritual circumcision as opposed to physical jewish circumcision. The physical circumcision on the Law of Moses is a shadow or type of circumcision of Christ. It is important to note that every saved child of God HAS PUT OFF…..the body of SINS of the flesh. You died to self when you were buried with Christ. Putting off the body of sins of the flesh is the same thing as circumcision of Christ. In a natural life, men are physically circumcised once! No man is physically circumcised daily!! You cannot die to self by yourself!!! Knowing this is the beginning of true victory over sin. You do not try to put off what has already been done. This is true scriptural dying to self. You died to self once and all you do now is to grow and walk in ‘newness of life’. Rom. 6:4. This is why we learn to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Gal. 5: 16. We are to reckon (record like an accountant) ourselves INDEED dead unto sin. If you do not see yourself as one who is dead to sin, you will struggle with sins! C. RISING OUT OF WATER: When the recipient of water baptism is raised out of water, he shows to the public that he has resurrected with christ; he depicts to witnesses that a new creature has resurrected with Christ. He shows that he is a new man in christ and that he must been seen as such. He also shows that he is committed to walking in newness of life in Christ Jesus. This is an outward show of an inward grace. When Christ resurrected after three days, you resurrected with him that early hours of the morning. Jesus was buried on our wednesday evening at 6:00pm and he resurrected with power early hours of our sunday morning! You resurrected with him as a NEW CREATURE. This scripture tells us that we were raised with Christ: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Col. 3:1 Paul says we were ‘risen with Christ’. Some English version give a better meaning…they say ’SINCE ye then be risen with Christ… (GOD’S WORD), NEW CENTURY VERSION’. Another version goes further and says ‘BECAUSE you have been raised with christ…’. Now, you can see the import. Easy-to-read version says ‘..You were raised from death with Christ’. All I am eager and more concern to show here is that ‘we were raised with Christ’. Just as Jesus resurrected from the dead in history, we resurrected with a recreated human spirit. This new man is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. Eph. 4:24. The whole process of water baptism is also to show that he believes in the full sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. By water baptism, he shows that his sins has been forgiven. He shows that his sins -past present and future has been forgiven him. He also shows that he has been given a new life to walk in righteousness and holiness by the help of the Holy Sprit. Therefore, water baptism is not by sprinkling! Water baptism is not for new born babies because it must be done by someone who has been saved during the age of accountability. Water baptism is not a religious exercise, rather it is a deeply spiritual exercise. Any water baptism undertaken before salvation is therefore, null and void. AUTHORITY OF BAPTISM: This is done under the authority of Jesus Christ. The recipient is baptised in the water ONCE in THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. this is an injunction given by our Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Jesus says ‘….Go ye therefore…’. This is commanded by the Lord himself. Jesus goes on to say ‘….BAPTISING THEM (The Saved) in THE NAME of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost’. END.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 06:34:57 +0000
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