Lesson for January 27, 2021
The Life of Christ
Lesson 6
The Baptism of Christ
There are seven baptisms in the Scriptures, and all are for the purpose of identification. Of these seven, four are ritual identifications and three are actual identifications. There are seven baptisms in the Scriptures. Four are real and three are ritual.
Real Baptisms: (Actual Identification)
- Baptism of Moses is when the children of Israel are identified with the faith of Moses and the cloud as they pass through the Red Sea. (I Corinthians 10:1-4)
- Baptism of the Cup of Christ is identification with the spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the Cross when He paid for our sins. (Matthew 20:22; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24)
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when a believer is placed into union with Jesus Christ at the point of salvation. He is identified then as a believer in Christ. (Acts 1:5; Romans 6:3,4; Galatians 3; Colossians 2:12, Ephesians 4:5)
- Baptism of Fire is final judgment for unbelievers. (Matthew 25:41; Luke 3:16-17; II Thessalonians 1:6-10)
Ritual Baptisms: (Representative Identification)
- Baptism of John is symbolic identification with the Millennial Kingdom of God which John preached.
- Baptism of Jesus was a unique baptism symbolic with identification with God the Father’s will. Jesus Christ identified Himself with the Father’s will in the execution of the salvation plan.
- Baptism of the believer in the Church Age in water represents believers being identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is a ritual representing the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:13)
In order to study the baptism of Jesus, we must first examine and understand John the Baptist’s role in relation to Christ and His baptism. It will also be necessary to understand the reason that John was baptizing people. John the Baptist was the “forerunner” of Christ, sent by God to announce the coming of the Messiah to the nation of Israel. John and Jesus were cousins, and both were Jewish. This is an important fact to consider in understanding the baptism that John performed, including the baptism of Jesus.
Who was this man John the Baptist? John’s birth was a miracle itself. His mother Elizabeth was very old and unable to have to children, but by the grace of God and for a special purpose, she became pregnant with John by her husband Zacharias, a priest. John, like Jesus, was born into a family of faithful believers. John would have become a priest like his father had not God had another special purpose for his life. Perhaps one of the most privileged men in history, John the Baptist (or baptizer) was given the ministry of announcing to Israel the arrival of the Messiah.
A “forerunner” was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah and John was this man, chosen by God for this important task. His message was simple but direct: “Change your mind and believe in Christ for the forgiveness of sin.” He also prophesied the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:5, 2:4, 11:15-18)
John had taken a Nazarite vow according to Luke 1:15. A Nazarite was a Jew who took an ascetic vow described in the Numbers 6:1-21. The term Nazarite comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning “consecrated” or “separated.” The Nazarite is “holy unto the Lord” and must keep himself from becoming “ritually unclean.” The regulations which apply to him actually agree with those for the High Priest and for the priests during worship, as described in Leviticus and in Ezekiel. This vow required the man to observe the following: 1) Abstain from wine, vinegar (which was made from wine), grapes, and raisins and all intoxicants 2) Refrain from cutting one’s hair and beard 3) Avoid corpses and graves, even those of a family member.
The vow, though it doesn’t specify the duration, was kept for a length of time based on the understanding of the person. Some kept it for life, some for years, and others a much shorter duration — 30, 90 or even 100 days. At the end of that time, the man would immerse in water and make an offering that included a lamb, a ewe, a ram, and a basket of bread and cakes. There are cases where a parent would make this vow for her or his child, which the child would observe for his entire life.
We must remember that the four Gospels are accounts of Christ in Hypostatic Union. This period in itself can be thought of as a transitional dispensation, though it is actually a part of the Age of Israel. Many who believed in Christ during this period of time went from the dispensation of Israel into the dispensation of the Church. The message that John preached was to believe in Christ and enter the kingdom of God as a result. The Kingdom of God includes all believers in all dispensations.
The water baptism that John performed was identification with the Kingdom of God. Those who believed in Christ during this period of time were not permanently indwelt with the Holy Spirit and were not baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Church Age (Christian) water baptism is not the same as John’s baptism.
In Acts 19 Paul confronts some of John’s disciples and asks them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed in Christ. Their answer was that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. Remember that we are dealing with a transitional period when some believers who originally received Christ during the Age of Israel have transitioned into the Church Age, which began on the day of Pentecost. Old Testament believers were not permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, these disciples of John knew nothing of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In this instance, Paul laid hands on them and they received the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit at that moment. Paul was an Apostle who had been given special power and authority during this foundational period when the early church was being formed. The office of apostle is no longer valid, because it is no longer needed.
The baptism of Jesus was unique. Since Christ is the king of the Kingdom of God, it would not be necessary for Him to be baptized for identification with the Kingdom of God. So why did Jesus ask John to baptize Him? Jesus was identifying Himself with the will of God the Father. The Father’s will for Christ was to go to the Cross, to pay the penalty for sin by His substitutionary spiritual death, to die physically and to be raised from the dead. This is exactly what the water baptism of Jesus symbolized.
Being submerged in water is analogous to Jesus dying on the Cross and coming up out of the water is analogous to being raised from the dead. Christ identified Himself with the will of God. The baptism of Jesus is not the precedence for baptism in the Church Age. No one can “follow the Lord in believer’s baptism,” as is so often stated at baptismal services. Christ’s baptism is not the same as Church Age Christian baptism.
Water baptism in the Church Age is for identification with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit places the believer into union with Christ. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was prophesied by John the Baptist and by Jesus. The result of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that all believers, regardless of spiritual status, are in union with Christ. (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 14:20; Acts 1:5; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:26-28)
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is neither seen nor felt. It is a fact stated in the Word of God for us to believe. Technically, it is when the believer is placed into union with Jesus Christ at salvation. The word for baptism in Greek is “baptizo” and literally means to dip or submerge. It was used to describe the dyeing of a garment, the dipping of swords in blood or the drawing of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl. John the Baptist and Jesus used the word to describe water baptism as submersion, therefore, the accurate interpretation of the word is “to dip into or submerge.” (I Corinthians 12:13)
When a person trusts Christ as Savior they are “dipped into” or “submerged” into the “body of Christ.” This, of course, is speaking of positional truth, signifying our union with Christ. Water baptism for believers has always been a picture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Submersion into water pictures how the believer becomes united with Christ. (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:4-5)
Water baptism and what some ministers falsely call the baptism of the Holy Spirit have been distorted into a system of works for salvation. No one has ever been saved by being submerged in water or praying to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The only purpose for water baptism in the Church Age is identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and the positional sanctification which it pictures. It was a teaching aid for the early church before the Canon of Scriptures was completed. As a matter of fact, water baptism is mentioned only once after the historical record of the early church in the book of Acts and it is mentioned as a source of division in the church of Corinth. (I Corinthians 1:11-17) The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something that you pray to receive, it is the act of God the Holy Spirit placing you into union with Jesus Christ and no emotion is attached to it.
At the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, represented by a dove, was sent to Him as a guarantee that Christ would be sustained throughout His earthly ministry. God the Father spoke from Heaven and announced that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah. The baptism of Jesus marked the beginning of His earthly ministry. Jesus was 30 years old at the time His earthly ministry began. It would be only three more years before He was crucified to pay for the sins of the world. (Matthew 3:13-17)