THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN LIVING Section B: THE FOUNDATIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP

4. The Doctrine of Baptisms

a) Key Scriptures

Hebrews 6:1-2 Luke 11:13

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 Matthew 3:11-12
Matthew 28:19

b) Introduction

There are three major baptisms for the Christian and other further baptism that can be included
for those who want to go in Christ:

i. Baptism by one Spirit into one body (Position)

ii. Baptism in water (Public confession)
iii. Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Power)
iv. Baptism with fire (Purification)

c) Baptized Into One Body

This is a baptism that all believers must know or they are not believers (1 Corinthians 12:12-
14); Ephesians 4:4-5). The other baptisms are the believers’ heritage rights purchase by Jesus
when He died on the cross. We can make it to heaven without the other baptisms, but we must
be baptized by the one Spirit into one body. This occurs at conversion when we are born again.
Whenever a person without Christ surrenders to Him, the Holy Spirit enters that person’s life.
Romans 8:9 says that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to
Christ.” Inherent in the work of the Holy Spirit is the placing of each new born spiritual baby
into the body of Christ. The amazing truth about this action is that it is not done in some kind
of blanket fashion. Every new Christian is carefully screened and categorized by the Lord and
given the place in the body where he or she is most suited. Serious problems can occur when
believers get restless with the position they have been given and try to change it themselves.
We should learn, as Paul did, to be content whatever the circumstance (Philippians 4:11). Only
the Lord Jesus, who is the Head of the body, may change the individual’s function or even the
whole body’s function, if necessary. We need to listen to Him and go wherever He tells us to
go and do whatever He tells us to do.

Commitment to the local church and to the body of Christ universally is essential because we
have been baptized by one Spirit into this one body. We never need to be lonely again as we
have millions of brothers and sisters all over the world. We need the body of Christ and we are
needed within it. There is not independence in God’s Kingdom but rather interdependence. We
all need each other in order for the body to be the full expression of Jesus as God intends it to
be. We all need to function because the body cannot function fully without us. Every member
is important.

The body of Christ is a place of security. Christians should be the most secure people on earth,
because they are part of a body of which Jesus Christ is head and He loves and cares for it

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(Ephesians 5:23-32). We have the security of each other as well, but we need to live in the
good of the body in order to partake of this security. If we keep ourselves separate then we
cannot expect the benefit. The names given to the church (see below) can help us to understand
the security it can provide for us as individual believer who are the component parts of that
church. We need to be committed to the body of Christ because we are part of it and our future
depends on it.

Name given to the Characteristics/attributes

Scripture references
church within the name
Church of God Frequently referred to It is God’s church, not ours.
Building 1 Corinthians 3:9 Order, structure and purpose.
Ephesian 2:19-22
Bride Revelation 21:9 Love, commitment and purpose.
2 Corinthians 11:2
Body 1 Corinthians 10:17 Function, completeness and
Romans 12:4-5 interdependence.
Ephesians 2:16
Ephesians 4:4
Colossians 3:15
Family Ephesians 3:15 Relationship, order, sharing,
living together, no pretense,
discipline
Flock 1 Peter 5:2 Security, feeding, direction and
Acts 20:28 defense.
Golden lampstand Revelation 1:20 Light, safety and protection from
darkness.
God’s field 1 Corinthians 3:9 We are born to produce and be
fruitful.
God’s fellow-workers 1 Corinthians 3:9 Responsibility and privilege.
Mountain of the Lord Isaiah 2:3 Solidarity, strength and majesty.
Pillar 1 Timothy 3:15 Stability, support and truth.

Without this first baptism the other have no real significance.

d) Baptism in Water

Water baptism is a believer’s baptism and it is a physical act expressing a spiritual truth. In
water baptism we are saying, in effect that we share with Christ in the fact of His death and
resurrection. Obviously the person baptized is not dying for sin as did Jesus, but rather he is
making a public testimony to the fact that he is availing himself of Christ’s work. As Christ
died for sin, so he is now symbolically dying to sin. As he goes into the water and is completely
immersed, the burial of the old sinful nature is symbolized. This nature is left under the water
and the person is the symbolically raised up to new life in Jesus. He is declaring that he will
live for Jesus as His disciple. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). The person being baptized is literally agreeing with God that he
is dead in Christ to the principles of sin and death and he is now alive in Christ to God.

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Baptism is a volitional agreement with God about the effects of the death of His Son. We
willingly, gladly and with joy associate ourselves with the redemptive work of Calvary.

i. Why full immersion?

1. The Greek word for ‘baptism’ is ‘baptizo’ which means to ‘to dip’ or ‘immerse’.
The word was used to describe the immersion of a cloth in a dye.

2. John the Baptist baptized in the Aenon River because there was much water
there which indicates full immersion (John 3:23).

3. The main reason is that only full immersion can properly symbolize burial (i.e
a watery grave). (See Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12).

ii. Why should a person be water baptized?

1. It is a command of Jesus (Matthew 28:19).

2. It is the pledge of a good conscience towards God (1 Peter 3:21).

3. Because Jesus himself was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17).

4. It is a kind of circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12).

5. It was a foundational doctrine of the early church (Acts 2:41: Acts 10:47-48).

6. Water baptism symbolizes washing or cleansing (Acts 22:16). This is only a

symbol as, in fact, we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus (Revelation 1:5)
and we are cleansed from sin is symbolized and testified to in water baptism.

7. It is outward confession of what has happened within. It expresses our

identification with Jesus (Romans 6:1-11).

iii. Baptism in water is a multi-confession to:

 heaven (of our belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus, 1 Corinthians 15:3-
4).

 the church (that we are part of it).

 the world (that we are finished with it).

 the devil (that we are finished with him and we have changed over to God’s
side).

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In water baptism we identify with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord
Jesus.

e) Baptism with the Holy Spirit

Thank God not on the position into which He has brought us, but also for the fact that He has
made available to us the power to live in that position (Acts 1:8; John 1:33).

i. Why be baptized in the Holy Spirit?

1. It is a command (Ephesians 5:18). We can only be filled to our capacity to receive.

This may be very small at the start, but as we go on to maturity our capacity will
increase. We therefore need to be continually filled to whatever capacity we have
at that moment. The words “be filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18 would be
better translated from the original Greek as “be continually filled with the Spirit”.

2. It gives new power and boldness to witness (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14: Acts 4:31-33).

3. It is necessary for the release of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

4. It is necessary for maximum evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-
23).

5. It is necessary to live a life for God’s glory (John 16:14).

6. It makes Jesus more real to us (John 15:26; John 16:13-15; Acts 9:17).

7. It produces greater effectiveness in prayer (Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 14:4 &

15).

8. It enables true worship of God (Acts 2:11: Acts 10:46: John 4:23-24; Ephesians
5:18-20).

9. It brings a fresh understanding of and love for the Word of God (John 16:13; 1
Corinthians 2:9-16).

10. It gives us the power to do what God has called us to do (Acts 1:8).

ii. We all need to be filled

To be filled we need to clean hearts. We need to confess our sins and forgive others no
matter how right we are (1 John 1:7-9; Luke 6:37-38). We then need to thirst (want to
be filled), come to Jesus and drink (receive the Holy Spirit). Then out of our innermost
beings will flow rivers of living water, i.e. the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). The sign that
we have been filled with the Holy Spirit is Jesus, His work and His empowering. All
believers, when baptized in the Holy Spirit have the capacity to speak in tongues.

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iii. What happened in the Bible when people were filled

 120 spoke with other tongues (Acts 2:4) and spoke the Word of God boldly (Acts
4:31).

 Cornelius and those with him spoke with other tongues and praised God (Acts
10:46).

 Paul received his sight (Acts 9:17-18).

 The Ephesians spoke with other tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:6).

 The Samaritans - the Bible doesn’t say, but Simon saw something (Acts 8:17-24).

 Jesus began the ministry from which He had come to earth (Luke 4:18-19; Acts
10:38).

iv. In conclusion
The baptism in the Spirit is given to those who seek it by faith (Galatians 3:2-5). It is
not to be struggled for, agonized about, begged for, tarried for or bargained for. It is a
free gift of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples to enable them to walk as He did
(Luke 11:11-13).

f) Baptism with Fire

In Matthew 3:11-12 the chaff spoken of is anything that is worthless. It is perhaps necessary
for the growth of the wheat, but there comes a time when it is no longer needed. We then need
to be rid of it. God brings things across our paths to purge and purify us. We need the times of
breaking and purifying so that God can change and mold us into what He wants us to be. This
can be a painful process (Isaiah 6:5-7) but in the end we become more like Jesus.

When rubbish or dross is removed from our lives we become more whole in that area. Instead
of being hampered by a problem area, we are purified of it and so we are released more fully
into what God wants us to be. We become vessels more able to fulfill what God has planned
for our lives. God has chosen to use our circumstances and the pressures of life to achieve this
process of purifying in our lives. He will not lay anything too heavy on us; we can trust Him.
However, unless we learn to take on board the pressure and let it change our lives so that we
overcome the source of it, we will never be as God wants us to be. We will always be on the
fringe of fruitfulness instead of fulfilling our full potential in Christ.

Pressure show us what we are made of and it shows us our weaknesses. If we give ourselves
over to God in those areas that we know we cannot cope with alone, then we will be changed.
God will remove that which needs to be removed and in the end we will be more able vessels,
fit to do as God desires, especially in the area He had just dealt with. God is in control of our
lives and circumstances, and if we look to Him and do as He wants then we can trust Him to
look after us and do only the best for us. Remember, we are His sons.

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Many disciples of Jesus ask God to change them, but when the pressure comes they cry out to
Him for it to be removed in effect, they are running from the answer that God is giving them
to their original prayer. We need to yield our lives to God and let Him do as He wants. This
may be costly and will involve suffering (1 Peter 4:12-19; 2 Timothy 2:3; Revelation 2:10) but
in the end we will be more like Jesus and we will be trimmed clean so that we will be even
more fruitful (John 15:2).

g) Questions and Discussion Points

1. Do you feel that you are part of the worldwide body of Christ or do you feel a little isolated?
If so, why?

2. Does the Lord know your specific needs and circumstances and does He care enough about
you to help you through them? (Matthew 6:25-34).

3. Do you know where Christ Jesus wants you to be and what He wants you to do in His body,
the Church, and if so are content in this?

4. Does your church, as the local expression of the body of Christ, provide the security you
need?

5. Whether you have been water baptized or not, are you actually living out the truth that is
symbolized, i.e. we have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer ourselves that live
but Christ that lives in us (Galatians 2:20).

6. Do you think it is possible to continue the works of Jesus without the baptism or filling
with the Holy Spirit?

7. Why do most people run from or resists the pressures and hardships of life if God is in
control and they are sons of God?

8. If we take pressure on board in the wrong way it can lead to stress. How can we ensure
against this?

h) Summary and Application

1. As disciples of Jesus we have all become part of or are baptized into the worldwide body
of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

2. There is a security in knowing that Jesus is the Head of His body, the church, and that He
cares about us as individuals within it.

3. In water baptisms we are symbolizing that on our lives we have died to our old natures and
now live in the life and new nature that Jesus has made available to us by the Holy Spirit.

4. Baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live as disciples of Jesus.

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5. Baptism with fire is the purifying process that all disciples of Jesus need to go through if
they are to become like Him.

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