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Posts Tagged ‘Baptism into Christ’

Water Baptism – A Covenant

Posted in The Covenant, tagged , , , , , , , on July 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: Matthew 3:11 & 1st Corinthians 12:13

Water Baptism is an act of Covenant, just as a Marriage Ceremony. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour, there was no cost accrual to us. Our salvation was bought and paid for by The Blood of Jesus Christ. Now that we are Christians, God is asking us to reciprocate. If we want to be a part of the Body of Christ, our first act would be to make a covenant with the Body of Christ, or in other words, declare our loyalty and love by some act of our will. We, therefore, must renounce the former things, and declare our stand for Christ, thus becoming dead to sin and alive unto God.

  1. Natural – Matthew 3:11
    Baptism in water
    Baptizer is man
     
  2. Spirit – Matthew 3:11
    Baptism in Holy Ghost
    Baptizer is Jesus
     
  3. Fullness – 1st Corinthians 12:13
    Baptism into Christ
    Baptizer is Holy Ghost

As the chart shows, let us look at the three dimensions which God has ordained for us to operate.

(1) NATURAL – The First dimension is always the natural. Every principle of God is first given to us in the natural. If we allow our understanding to remain in the natural, then it has no real meaning, since the natural will pass away, and at best is temporary. THE NATURAL BAPTISM, THEN, IS IN WATER, AND PERFORMED BY A HUMAN PERSON.

(2) SPIRITUAL – The Second dimension is always spiritual. The spiritual, therefore, is the real purpose for the natural, and it is upon a higher plane. The spiritual baptism is called the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. This is the entering in of the Holy Spirit into the spirit of the individual. In this baptism, instead of being covered over with water, one is covered over with the Holy Spirit, inside and outside. The pattern, however, was laid by the water baptism. Just as the water covered the believer, so also the Holy Spirit covers him, and the Baptizer is Christ Himself.

(3) FULLNESS – The Third dimension is the absolute fulfillment of both natural and spiritual. If we then understand the water baptism, then we will easily understand what the fullness of baptism will be. In this baptism, we are immersed into Christ by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6:2 speaks of “baptisms,“ while Ephesians 4:5 tells us that there is only “one baptism.“ These are reconciled when we understand that in the one there are three. Matthew 3:11 tells us that John the Baptist baptized with water, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire. That gives us the scripture for the first two. The third is found in 1st Corinthians 12:13, where it states that the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ.

An example would be in order at this point. There was a natural man named Israel, and he produced a people named Israel. If this was the end of the story, then it would be a sad one indeed, but the natural Israel produced a man named Jesus Christ, who became the Saviour and Lord of a spiritual nation, and then some of the promises which it was impossible for natural Israel to walk in, the spiritual Israel are walking in. However, this spiritual Israel is just as unsatisfactory before God as the natural Israel. God, therefore, must bring another Israel to be made out of both, which He calls Zion (The Body of Christ), which will be the perfection of Beauty.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, pg. 56-57)

Thought for today: We, therefore, must renounce the former things, and declare our stand for Christ, thus becoming dead to sin and alive unto God.

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The Covenant of Baptism

Posted in The Covenant, tagged , , , , , on December 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: John 3:3-8, Matthew 3:11

Have you ever thought of what baptism really is? Baptism is a covenant that the believer makes with God. It is permanent. It is a death, a burial, and a resurrection. The thing that dies is not the thing that rises. The thing that rises is a Christ thing. The man’s heart, his mind, his soul, and his behavior must change radically. It is not “Oh, I got changed yesterday.” No sir, it is a continuous change, a gradual change. The ugly caterpillar goes into a chrysalis and changes, changes, changes, until he undergoes his metamorphosis and becomes a beautiful butterfly. Until that day, the change is yet continuing, or should continue.

However, this change is arrested, retarded, or stopped by some of the church doctrines that we have. The believer is no longer functioning under God, for he has not made CHRIST HIS LORD. Jesus is my Saviour, oh yes. I did not have to do anything. All I needed to be saved by Jesus was to be a sinner which I did not do; I was born that way. Born a sinner, Jesus saves you, and now you must turn around and make a covenant with Him that you will follow Him all the way. That is baptism. Outside of this, there is no baptism. You could be wet with water until you continuously drip. You will not be baptized unless that consciousness has come to you.

Some of you have been baptized and feel if you go down in the name of Jesus (someone said “Jesus” over you) and come up again, you are made perfect. You are mistaken. Those of you who believe that you are baptized to become a member of a church and get the right hand of fellowship when you are baptized, YOU ARE NOT BAPTIZED. You must make the covenant with God and then go down in the water. That is baptism and you must know what you are doing. Baptism has the following three steps: Water, Holy Spirit, and Christ. Man baptizes you in water, Jesus baptizes you in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit baptizes you into Christ. That brings you into the holy place.

There is the outer court, the holy place, and then you are still going on further. You are going into the holy of holies where the overshadowing of God will deliver you from all harm. Psalm 91:1 says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” You will go into the ark of the covenant, where you become a permanent part of God.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 2, pg. 4-5)

Thought for today: Baptism is a covenant that requires continual change until our metamorphosis is complete and we are fully changed into the image and likeness of God.

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Baptism into Christ

Posted in Growing in God, tagged , , , , on August 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

The baptism into Christ is described in 1 Corinthians 12:13a. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” This is the final baptism. Baptism in water is the beginning of baptism which finally ends in baptism INTO CHRIST. Christ, therefore, is a place in the Spirit, a Body, a mystic Body, into which we are incorporated by the power of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be baptized into Christ by man but by the Holy Ghost. Man baptizes you in water. Jesus Christ baptizes you into the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost baptizes you into Christ. In Christ is our final destination. That is the destination of every child of God. When CHRIST IS IN YOU, wherever you go, Christ has to go. If you go someplace Christ does not like, Christ will still have to be there in you, because you are carrying Him. When YOU ARE IN CHRIST, you go where Christ wants you to go. When the bull is eaten by the high priest, the bull has no say. He does not tell the priest where to go.

SANCTIFICATION is the work of the Holy Ghost. This work never ceases until we come into perfection to be like Jesus Christ. “Sanctus spiritus” means the “Holy Spirit.” “SANCTification” means “bringing us into the Holy Spirit.” This is the work in the Outer Court, done by the second work of grace, as the second seal is broken. There are three parts to this whole work – baptism, sanctification, and consecration. CONSECRATION is the putting aside, for the purpose of God, that which has been sanctified and cleansed for God and God alone. We are not to be used by the world. Many Christians allow themselves to be used by the world.

In the story of Samson, he transgressed and transgressed again until he broke the covenant. His hair was the symbol of covenant, the handwriting of God upon him. Just like our baptism is the handwriting of God upon us, so was the hair upon Samson. When his hair was cut off, the covenant was broken between him and God and he was made to grind corn like an ox. The Philistines blinded him and made him grind corn for them. The man of God was the means by which all their lusts were being fed. This is what God is saying about transgression. Too many of us do not understand that we were bought with a price and are to be set aside for God’s use and God’s use alone. We are not to be drudged; we are to be put aside specifically for the work of God in all things. This is what is meant by CONSECRATION.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 110-111)

Thought for today: Let us walk each day in the Sanctification and Consecration of our baptisms.

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