Let's begin this study in prayer...
Isaiah 12:1-3In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O Lord. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away and You have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."
In our previous lesson we saw how each and everyone of us needs to be
born again. We also saw that as we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord
and Saviour and call upon Him for help to save us from eternal
punishment, we are born again. The Holy Spirit comes within us to
bring forth His fruits of righteousness. However, we also get the
idea that baptism is important. We saw this in our last study from
reading the account at Pentecost when the people asked Peter what one
must do to be saved. In fact, let us go and read it,
Acts 2:37-39
In addition to the above incident with Peter, we also find our Lord
Jesus Christ instructing His disciples to not only preach the good news
of His coming but also baptize those that believe,
Mark 16:15-16
Given this emphasis on baptism, let us now explore this activity and
Lord willing we will find out why it is so important and spiritually
what is going on through baptism.
By way of background, let us begin by reading about some baptisms
that occurred while Jesus Christ was physically here upon this earth.
I. BACKGROUND
A. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Matthew 3:1-6
Notice vs 2 "repent for Kingdom of Heaven is near."
3(b) "... prepare the way for the Lord."
NOTE: This was a baptism of repentance in preparation for
receiving the Lord Jesus Christ or Kingdom of Heaven.
B. BAPTISM OF JESUS
Matthew 3:13-17
QUESTION: Why did Jesus come to be baptized? Why did Jesus
respond as He did when John tried to deter Him from being
baptized? Clearly Jesus did not need to be baptized for
repentance.
Well, as it turns out this was a baptism into His public
ministry (or) anointing. To see this, let us review what God
prescribed to Moses for the anointing of Aaron and his sons into
the priesthood.
Exodus 40:12-16
Note the order: a. washed with water.
b. then the anointing.
Now notice with Jesus,
1. THE BAPTISM
Matthew 3:15
2. THE ANOINTING
Matthew 3:16-17
From this point on and after His trial in the wilderness, Jesus'
public ministry began.
C. JESUS DISCIPLES BAPTIZED
To see this, let us go out into the Judean countryside and read
what was going on,
John 3:22-24
and
John 4:1-2
QUESTION: What kind of baptism was this?
Well it too was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the
Kingdom of Heaven. To see this, consider the message of Jesus
when He began His public ministry.
Matthew 4:17
QUESTION: Why did Jesus not baptize?
Well, because Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit not water.
To see this let us read what John the Baptist said when he (John)
was baptizing in the river Jordan.
Matthew 3:11
NOTICE: All the above baptisms was a specific point in time when
a change of life or direction was to occur.
QUESTION: Was baptism to end with Jesus' life on earth?
No! On the contrary, just as we read when we began this study,
Jesus told us that it is to continue. However, this is not to be a
baptism of repentance (as John's) or one of anointing (as Jesus),
but a baptism into Him. To see this, let us begin by going to the
Gospel according to Matthew and read what Jesus said to His
disciples before He ascended into Heaven.
Matthew 28:16-20
In fact this is exactly what His disciples did. To see this let
us look at,
II. VARIOUS BAPTISMS AFTER JESUS WENT INTO HEAVEN
A. AT PENTECOST
To see this, let us return to Peter at Pentecost and see what
happened after Peter told the people what they must do to be
saved,
Acts 2:37-41
B. THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
In this case an angel of the Lord sends Philip to an important
official of Queen Candace.
Acts 8:26-39
C. OTHERS
1. PAUL
Ananias baptizes Paul after Paul's conversion,
Acts 9:17-19
2. GENTILES
Peter baptizes the household of Cornelius,
Acts 10:44-48
Finally, let us read about the conversion of,
3. LYDIA
Acts 16:11-15
QUESTION: In addition to the fact that Jesus told us to do it, why is
this baptism so important? To find out, let us begin by looking into
the,
III. OLD TESTAMENT FORESHADOWING
The first example God gives us is the flood of the earth during the
days of,
A. NOAH
1. CORRUPTION OF THE FLESH
Genesis 6:11-13
2. BUILD AN ARK
Genesis 6:14-16
3. ENTER THE ARK
Genesis 7:1-5
4. ALL DESTROYED
Genesis 7:21-23
5. WATER SUBSIDES
Genesis 8:1-5
6. NOAH AND FAMILY SET FREE
Genesis 8:15-20
NOTICE: Death, burial and new life free from corruption.
The second example God gives us is the passing of Israel through the
Red Sea during their exodus from Egypt.
B. MOSES
These events take place after Pharaoh let Israel go from their
bondage. However, he (Pharaoh) has a change of heart and goes
after Israel.
1. EGYPT COMES AFTER ISRAEL
Now remember Egypt represents the world of sin and idolatry
and all the evil forces that were keeping Israel from being
free to follow and worship God.
Exodus 14:10-12
2. THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM
Exodus 14:13-14
3. THE INSTRUCTION TO MOSES
Exodus 14:15-18
4. GOD'S DIVINE PROTECTION
Exodus 14:19-22
5. ALL THE FORCES OF EVIL DESTROYED
Exodus 14:26-28
6. ISRAEL NOW FREE TO FOLLOW GOD THEIR LORD & SAVIOUR
Exodus 14:29-31
Again NOTE: Death and the new life free from corruption and
bondage.
QUESTION: How does all this relate to us?
IV. APPLICATION TO US
Well, What we find is that the baptism that Jesus Christ calls us to
is the baptism into Himself. Through our submersion into the water we
bury our old nature that was crucified with Christ when we were born
again and as we rise up out of the water we rise into a new life in
Jesus Christ. To see this, let us read what the Holy Spirit says
about baptism through the pen of Paul.
Romans 6:3-14
V. A CLOSING EXHORTATION
Now with all this in mind, let us finish our study by reading the
following exhortation,
Colossians 3:1-17
Let's end this study in prayer...
1 Peter 3:18-22For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.
Read the book by John Sweet, Jr.
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