It means to immerse or dip or to cover wholly with fluid. The Bible shows baptism to be more than “sprinkling”. Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

• Why is water baptism included as part of God’s plan of salvation?
• Is there any redemptive value in water baptism?
• Is it something that a person has an option to do or not to do?

I believe it is a foundation stone that must be laid, unless it cannot be performed for reason of physical problems.

Hebrews 6:1-2 speaks of the doctrine of baptism meaning both our water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There are four baptisms spoken of in the New Testament.

1.      The baptism of John. Matthew 3:11, 21-25

2.      Our Lord’s baptism of suffering. Luke 12:50

3.      Christian baptism. Acts 2:38

4.      Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Acts 11:10

We will consider Christian baptism in this lesson and the baptism of John the Baptist, because of his message of baptism.

WHO WAS JOHN THE BAPTIST?

1.      He was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. Luke 1:5-13

2.      He was among the greatest of prophets. Luke 7:28

3.      He was the forerunner of Jesus or the one sent to introduce Jesus to Israel.  John 1:31, Isaiah 40:3, Luke 1:76-77, Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JOHN’S BAPTISM?

1.      He was divinely sent to baptize. John 1:33 He sent me to baptize in water.

2.      It marked the beginning of a new age. Luke 16:16 The law and the Prophets era until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached.

3.      His ministry marked a new order of divine requirements. Luke 3:3, And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

4.      It was the counsel (purposed or will) of God for that time. Luke 7:30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

5.      Those who were baptized justified God (declared God to be right in His demands) Luke 7:29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

6.      John’s baptism was superseded, laid aside by Christian baptism. Acts 19:4-5, Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. ⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

WHAT WAS THE ORGIN OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

Our Lord’s great commission. Found in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

HOW DID THE APOSTLES OBEY THIS COMMISION?

        Acts 8:16 “They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Acts 2:38 “Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”Acts 10:48 “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”Acts 19:5 “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

We ask the question, why did the Apostles baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Our Lord commissioned his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Found in Matthew 28:19. They obeyed and fulfilled his commands by baptizing “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”, there was a reason for this apostolic action.

1.      Jesus promised his disciples that there would be new and more complete revelation. John 16: ¹²I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. ¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. Also John14: ²⁵These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. ²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

2.      Our Lord said Name not Names. What was God’s name in the Old Testament? The name was considered to holy to be uttered by the people of God in the Old Testament. We translate the word God as Jehovah, but the Israelites substituted for it the word “Lord”. God is not a name, but rather a simple title of Deity. There are many “gods” among the unbelievers, but according to the Bible, there is only one true God. 1^st Corinthians 8: ⁵For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,), Galatians 4 ⁸Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. The one God reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Every time you see the capitalized Lord in the Old Testament, it means that the original name of God is in the Hebrew text. Therefore, the expressed name of God the Father was Lord.

3.      What is the Name of the Son? “ Thou shalt call his name Jesus”, Luke 1:26-31, Luke 2:21, Matthew 1:21.

4.      What is the name of the Holy Ghost? The name, Christ, means “the anointed” and it is associated with the Holy Spirit. Jesus became Christ the anointed one.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter, under the inspiration of the newly out poured Holy Spirit, clearly stated that in His resurrection and ascension, Jesus Christ had entered into the fullness of the meaning and intention of His name. Acts 2: ³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not names; they are titles describing the office work of each person in the Godhead. The Father has a name; John 5: ⁴³ I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

The Holy Ghost has a name; Acts 2: ³⁶ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

When we pray for the sick, do we pray “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? No. The name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are fulfilled in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now what happens in the water of baptism?

After a person has confessed and repented for his sins, he enters the water and work is done by the Holy Spirit.

The heart is circumcised, the old nature is buried, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is taken on by the candidate and you become one in Christ. The candidate comes out of the water in “newness of life”.  Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We are buried with Christ. Romans 6: ³Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

We being raised with Christ. Romans 6: ⁴Therefore 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.

The old nature is now buried. Romans 6: ⁶Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

There is a cleansing. Acts 22: ¹⁶And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

It is not optional. It goes along with repentance. Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TIMES WHEN WERE THE PEOPLE BAPTIZED?

1.      The same day; Acts 2:41 ⁴¹Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

2.      When they believed: Acts 8:12, 37, 38, Acts 18:8

3.      The same hour; Acts 16:33 (immediately).

Acts 16: ³¹And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³²And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

John 3

⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The Old covenant God made with Abraham required circumcision of the flesh; the New Covenant God makes with us require circumcision of the heart.

Romans 2 ²⁸For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

²⁹But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Therefore, the work of the Holy Spirit is to cut away the stony heart and write His laws upon our heart. This we call circumcision. The rite of circumcision was instituted by God as a seal of His covenant with Abraham and with his seed. Those who kept the rite became heirs of the Promised Land and God’s blessings. Genesis 17 teaches this. The New Covenant was established when Jesus Christ gave his life for the world. If our heart has been circumcised in the waters of the baptism, then are we heirs or the children of faith. It is required, not optional.

BAPTISM IN WATER DEMONSTRATED THE OBEDIENCE OF A GOOD CONSCIOUS

1 Peter 3: 20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

There is a separation in water. Peter compares the separating of the eight souls from the unrighteous souls by water in Noah’s day to that of our baptism.

Water baptism is not for the purpose of cleansing the physical body from filth. It is the act of obedience that demonstrates the reality of our repentance and faith and the desire to have a good conscience toward God.

WHAT ARE THE BLESSINGS OF COMING INTO COVENANT GROUND IN BAPTISM?

1.      We are heirs to the Kingdom of God.

2.      The laws of God are written into our minds and hearts.

3.      We become God’s people and He becomes our God.

4.      We know the Lord as our personal Savior.

5.      All the blessings promised to Abraham are ours.

Water baptismal is not a part of the salvation experience.  It comes afterward.  There is no saving efficacy in water.  Water baptism merely symbolizes what God has already done through His word (John 15:3) and His blood (I John 1:17).

There is no biblical record of infant baptism.  A person must be capable of believing before being baptized (Acts 8:37).