No Need For Baptism By Immersion

Baptism means identification or association with something. The Greek word baptizo has been transliterated "to cleanse by washing, to immerse, to dip, to baptize" John 13:26. The Greek word bapto means to identify, to intimately unite, to dip, Luke 16:24. In Revelation 19:13 it is used to dye a piece of cloth. The Greek word baptisma is used of ritual identification, Matthew 3:7, 21:25; Romans 6:4. The Greek noun baptismos means cleaning, washing dishes; in Hebrews 6:2 it means "baptisms." The Greek word baptises refers to one who performs the ritual of baptism, Matthew 3:1, 6:25,

There are two categories of identification in Scripture:

· An actual identification is called a real baptism.

· A representative identification is called a ritual baptism. It uses water. There are four real baptisms in the Bible, meaning there is an actual identification with something that has significance.

There are five non-water baptisms and four water baptisms in the Bible.

5 Non-Water Baptisms - (Real Baptisms)

1. Baptism of Moses

2. Baptism of the Cup

3. Baptism of the Christian believer by the Holy Spirit into Jesus

4. Baptism of the Christian believer by Jesus with the Holy Spirit

5. Baptism of Fire

4 Water Baptisms - (Ritual Baptisms)

1. Baptism of John

2. Baptism of Jesus

3. Baptism of the Pre-Canon Church Age Believer

4. Baptism for the dead

REAL – NON-WATER BAPTISMS

baptism of MoseS, 1 Cor 10:1-2, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. Water was not involved here. Only Egyptian unbelievers were immersed in the water as a means of death. Identification with the mandates of true leadership is the concept here. Moses was identified with the cloud or Jesus Christ, and the people were identified with Moses.

baptism of the Cross is found in Mt 20:22; Mk 10:38-39; Luke 12:50. This baptism is our Lord Jesus Christ being identified with our sins. This refers to the judicial imputation of personal sins to Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ was identified with our personal sins and judged for them, so that Christ became our Savior. As sinners, none of those to whom Christ spoke were qualified to be baptized with sin on the cross.

baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only, 1 Cor 12:13, "For by means of one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

This baptism is God the Holy Spirit identifying us with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. It is the means of forming the royal family and of breaking the back of the old sin nature as the ruler of human life. We are positionally changed. No water is involved in this baptism. We are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, Eph 4:5; Acts 1:5. The Holy Spirit enters us into union with Christ at the right hand of the Father, making us positionally higher than angels.

Rom 6:3-5, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death [positional sanctification]? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into [His] death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life [experiential sanctification]. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, and not only this we shall also be [united with Him] in the likeness of His resurrection [ultimate sanctification]." Gal 3:26-28.

The Greek prepositional phrase en plus the locative of place of Christos meaning "in Christ" and the prepositional phrase EIS plus the accusative of Christos meaning "into Christ" both indicate positional sanctification. The characteristics of the baptism of the Spirit are:

· The baptism of the Spirit is not an experience.

· The baptism of the Spirit is not emotional activity or ecstatic.

· It is not speaking in tongues.

· It is not related to human feeling.

· It is not progressive; therefore, it cannot be improved.

· It is not related to human merit or works.

· It is obtained at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

· The baptism of the Spirit is eternal in nature and cannot be cancelled.

· The baptism of the Spirit is known through perception of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age. Therefore, it cannot be applied in a state of ignorance. No one can sin in the sphere of positional truth.

· The baptism of the Spirit is not a matter of the believer's volition.

baptism of fire is the real identification of unbelieving Jews and Gentiles at the end of the Tribulation with fire in Hades, taught in Matthew 3:11, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Luke 3:16; Rev 19:11. The unbeliever is identified with fire forever. The Tribulational unbeliever is identified with the defeat of Satan. All unbelievers are removed from the earth for the start of the Millennium. There are three ritual baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine. Water represents something else in a ritual baptism. The person going into the water must have knowledge of the meaning of the ritual.

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD: The Apostle Paul was critical of this practice in this passage. It was not a valid Christian practice, and it is not a valid Christian practice today. Any such practice of baptizing for the dead should be considered a heretical practice among Christians

RITUAL – WATER BAPTISMS

baptism of John (THE BAPTIST) is found in Matthew 3:1-10; John 1:25-33. John lived in the ritual age of Israel. The water represented the kingdom of God. There had to be a ceremony never used before to identify a person with the kingdom of God. The water represented the kingdom of God as John was preaching it. Putting a person in the water showed that he was identified with Messiah and that kingdom. It was an encouragement and means of relating doctrine to the fact the kingdom was being offered during the first Advent. The kingdom was postponed, but this did not change the significance of John's baptism. The water in the Jordan River was symbolic, in that it was a representation of the Kingdom of God about which John preached. The people that came to John, as he stood in the water, entered the water as unbelievers, unsaved and with no hope. Being immersed in the water simply represented being accepted into the Kingdom of God through salvation.

John was preaching repentance, which means the changing of one's mind about Christ. Those baptized were being identified with God's kingdom, and they were saying in effect, I have trusted in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. The water itself was used merely as an illustration for those being newly identified with the Kingdom of God. By using their free will to accept Christ as personal Savior, they came out of the water as believers in the salvation work of the cross, Matthew 3:6, 3:11, And they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom of God through salvation] by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance [change of mind toward Christ], but He [Jesus Christ] Who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

There was no spiritual advance in this baptism; only doctrine advances the believer. John and his ministry and his baptism were unique. In the water the person testified to his belief that the Messiah would go to the cross to die for his sins, recognizing that because he accepted Christ as Savior before He died and accepted Him as King, he was saved and identified in the Jewish kingdom forever. Note: This baptism was never practiced after John's death.

baptism of Jesus Christ was unique. John recognized Jesus Christ's impeccability and refused to baptize Him. Jesus told him the water represented something new, i.e., the Father's plan and will for the dispensation of the hypostatic union to begin His public ministry and to go to the cross and receive the personal sins of mankind and be judged. So at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Christ identified Himself with the Father's will.

What made this baptism unique is that Jesus Christ was not a sinner. Therefore, the water was symbolic not of salvation and the kingdom of God, but rather of God the Father's will. Jesus Christ identified Himself with the Father's will by His execution of Phase One - going to the cross and providing our so great salvation, Matthew 3:13-17, Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan [coming] to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit [it] at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John the Baptist] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove [and] lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Jesus' immersion into the water symbolized Our Lord's obedience to the Father's plan for His first advent, a plan that no one but the impeccable Lord Jesus Christ could execute. No matter what certain religious sects may teach, we as believers cannot 'follow the Lord in baptism'.

In the water, Jesus was saying He would fulfill God's plan and live a perfect life under the greatest testing and then go to the Cross as a perfect person and receive the imputation of all personal sins, Mt 3:13-17. As He came out of the water, Jesus recognized that when He completed the plan of the Father by being judged for our sins and then dying physically, He would be resurrected, followed by His ascension and session. Coming up out of the water was a picture of His resurrection.

Christian water baptism is the ritual testimony of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There had to be a testimony before the Canon was written to explain the baptism of the Spirit. From the beginning of the Church Age until the completion of the Canon, this baptism was necessary to teach the principle of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation. But once the Canon was completed this ritual was no longer necessary, since the explanation for the baptism of the Spirit is now in writing. The purpose of Jesus Christ on the cross, His resurrection, ascension and session, and the beginning of a new Church Age had to be portrayed with ritual until the Canon was completed.

Water was found to be a great illustration in identifying and understanding a point of doctrine. The Lord Jesus Christ understood this principle when He spoke to His disciples, Matthew 28:18-19, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them [teaching believers by illustration and identification] in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Lord instructed His disciples to go out into the world and spread the good news of salvation, and then teach the doctrines related to salvation to these new believers by using water as an analogy or illustration. This is shown in Acts 8:26-39, But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert [road].) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture that he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation, His judgment was taken away; who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth." The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please [tell me], of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized [taught by illustration and identification] him [with the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ]. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.

Water baptism was an illustration, a teaching aide, a picture of the real baptism of the Holy Spirit, which had taken place at the precise moment the Ethiopian eunuch believed in the substitutionary salvation work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It was not, and is not, a requirement for salvation. Water was used; prior to the canon of Scripture being complete, to illustrate the doctrine of being identified with Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. The Ethiopian eunuch being baptized was already a believer. He had already accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and he was already saved. Philip was teaching a doctrinal principle to a believer, not to an unbeliever. An unbeliever cannot understand spiritual things, 1 Corinthians 2:14, But a natural man [unbeliever] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

When the Ethiopian eunuch entered the water, Philip was teaching the fact that he had been identified with Jesus Christ in His death and that he was rejecting human good. Each and every sin of the human race was judged on the cross. So, any and all human effort and good works used by man in an attempt to achieve salvation or spirituality is rejected by God. There is only one way into the kingdom of God, John 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." No work or effort on the part of mankind to achieve salvation has ever been, or will ever be, part of the predesigned plan of God, Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. God can only accept what is His, Matthew 22:21, Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

God's perfect righteousness can only accept what is perfect, and the best works of mankind, no matter how perfect we may think they are, are nothing but filthy rags in the sight of God, Isaiah 64:6, For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. Part of baptism, or identification with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, is that the believer has already been taught and understands that any and all human good is rejected and dead, not only as a way to salvation but also as a means of achieving spirituality. This is also known as retroactive positional truth, which is victory over human good or death to self.

As the Ethiopian came up out of the water, he was baptized or identified with the air, which represented the resurrection, ascension and session of Jesus Christ as He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. The Ethiopian was taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation put him positionally with the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father. This is known as current positional truth. From this position, the believer realizes that security in his relationship with the one and only true God will last forever, John 10:28-29, "And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father's hand."
Being positionally with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian eunuch had the basis for being filled with the Holy Spirit and subsequently producing Divine good from inside the predesigned plan of God. Divine good is the fruit that is automatically produced by the believer who is thinking Bible doctrine and applying it to his life within God's predesigned plan.

In conclusion, the purpose of water baptism (immersion) was to teach by illustration the following doctrines:

The believer is identified with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection;
The believer has victory over, and rejects, human good;
The believer is positionally seated with Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father
The believer must have a clear understanding of how to produce Divine good from within the predesigned plan of God.
Baptism by sprinkling is not biblical.
Water baptism was never intended to be a means of salvation.
Water baptism was never intended to be a means of spirituality.

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, with nothing added to it. It was never anything more than a teaching aide - a way of illustrating the doctrines related to being identified with the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Water baptism was used as a training aid for new, weak believers, just as certain temporary spiritual gifts were used to teach until the Canon was completed. In the water, the believer recognized that he was identified with Jesus Christ in His spiritual death, physical death, and burial, (that is the believer's retroactive positional truth).

Identification with His spiritual death meant rejection of good and evil. Identification with His physical death and burial meant separation from good and evil. Coming out of the water was recognition of being identified with Christ as He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, i.e., current positional truth. Paul tells the Corinthians he stopped using water baptism because it was a means of dividing believers, Acts 2:38, 8:36-38, 16:15,33;1 Cor 1:11-17. So before Romans 6:3-4 was written to explain the baptism of the Spirit and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, water baptism was used to represent what had happened at salvation to those who did not yet have the completed Canon. Therefore, there is no need for the Church Age believers to be baptized by immersion.

03/10/07