PRINCIPLES OF KINGDOM LIVING
LESSON 4
WATER BAPTISM
(1) Water Baptism, what is it?
Water Baptism is a holy act commanded by God’s Word. In baptism, the body of the deliverer is submerged (dipped, immersed, plunged) completely under water. In this act of obedience and faith, the believer is identifying himself with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Then 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.” (Acts 2:38).
“And he COMMANDED THEM to be baptized in the Name of the LORD…”
(Acts 10:48).
“Therefore 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.” (Romans 6:4).
(2) Who is it for?
Anyone who will repent (turn to Christ) and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be
baptized. We have many Bible examples of these requirements:
A. The Disciples of Jesus were given authority to go into the world, preach the Gospel
and teach the people. All who would believe were to be baptized.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19).
“He that believeth AND IS BAPTIZED shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16).
B. Repentance and faith for water baptism were required on the day of Pentecost. “Then 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…Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:38,41)
C. Believers in Samaria.
“BUT WHEN THEY BELIEVED Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, THEY WERE BAPTIZED, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12).
D. Philip baptized the Ethiopian.
“And Philip said, IF THOU BELIEVEST with all thine heart, thou mayest (be baptized). And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37). Also read (Acts 9:17-18; (16:30-34); (18:8).
Water baptism is an essential part of obedience; it is not optional. To refuse baptism is to live in disobedience to the revealed Word of God.
NOTE: Water baptism involved a confession of faith in the Lordship of Christ. (Acts 8:36-39); (Romans 10:9-10). The prerequisites of baptism are repentance, faith and confession (these clearly exclude infant baptism).
(3) Water Baptism is not optional. It is commanded to all believers.
A. Jesus commanded it. (Mark 16:16).
B. Jesus Himself was baptized. (Matthew 3:13-17).
C. Peter commanded it. (Acts 10:47-48).
D. Paul baptized believers. (Acts 19:1-5).
E. If we love Christ, we will be obedient to His commandments. (John 14:15).
(4) What can we expect to have accomplished in us?
In a true experience of water baptism:
A. We receive Remission of Sins:
“Then 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.” (Acts 2:38).
B. We bury the “Old Man” – the nature of sin. “Knowing this, that OUR OLD MAN is crucified with Him, that THE BODY OF SIN might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:4-6).
C. We experience Resurrection Life. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection…Likewise reckon (consider, Believe, determine) ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:5,11).
D. We receive the circumcision of Heart. “In Whom (Jesus) also ye are CIRCUMCISED with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the BODY OF THE SINS OF THE FLESH by the circumcision of Christ: BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:11-12).
(5) Remission of sins. What does it mean?
The Remission of Sins is the separating of the sin from the sinner. We may ask forgiveness of our individual sins which we have committed; but the sinful nature we have inherited from Adam and our fore-parents must be destroyed by death.
A. There can be no remission of sin without the shedding of blood (death), for death is the penalty (Payment) (Punishment) for sin.
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22).
B. The death of Jesus Christ made possible the remission of sins for us. He paid the penalty for our sins.
“For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the emission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28).
C. When repentant believers are baptized into Christ, they receive the remission of sins.
“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47).
“Then 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.” (Acts 2:38).
(6) What happens when we bury the “old man”?
This term, “the old man“, is one of the ways the Bible describes Original Sin or the Adamic nature. This sinful nature that rules over the natural man is destroyed. Our life is no longer governed (controlled) by this sinful nature, but is now under the government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Knowing this, that OUR OLD MAN is crucified with Him, that the BODY OF SIN might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7).
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but ALIVE UNTO GOD through Jesus Christ our Lord, Let not sin therefore REIGN in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. NEITHER YIELD ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the Law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14).
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).
(7) What does “circumcision of the heart” mean?
The circumcision of heart is a work or operation of the Holy Spirit, performed on the heart of a repentant believer in the act of water baptism. It is the cutting away of the old inherited nature that causes iniquity (sinful traits) to rule our lives. When this old nature is cut away, we become new creatures. We have A NEW HEART and A NEW SPIRIT.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17).
“In Him also you were circumcised with circumcision not made with hands, but in a SPIRITUAL CIRCUMCISION performed by Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts) THUS you were circumcised WHEN YOU WERE BURIED WITH HIM IN YOUR BAPTISM, in which you were also raised with Him to a new life through your faith in the working of God as displayed when He raised Him up from the dead. And you, who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh – your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature – God brought to life together with Christ, having freely forgiven us all our transgressions; Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the hand-writing of the note (or bond) with its legal decrees and demands, which was in force and stood against us – hostile to us. This note with its regulations, decrees and demands He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to His cross. God disarmed the principalities and powers ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it (the cross).” (Colossians 2:11-15) AMP.
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: But 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.” (Romans 2:28-29).
(8) What is the history of circumcision?
A. The act of circumcision was instituted (begun) by God as a sign of His Covenant with Abraham and his household. The circumcision (the cutting off of the foreskin of he males) was demanded of every male under the Old Covenant.
BIBLE NARRATIVE: The circumcision of Abraham and his family. (Genesis 17).
B. Many times the nation of Israel rebelled against God and neglected the Circumcision. Finally, God spoke through His prophets and promised Israel a NEW COVENANT. In the NEW COVENANT, God was going to send the Holy Spirit and impart (give) a new, circumcised heart to the people.
“For this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND, and WRITE THEM IN THEIR HEARTS: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be in Me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, from the least to the greatest. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no More.” (Hebrews 8:1012).
“A NEW HEART also will I give you, and A NEW SPIRIT will I put within You: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put MY SPIRIT within you, and CAUSE you to walk in My statures, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Exodus 36:26-27).
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, TO LOVE THE LORD THY GOD with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6).
C. Today, the NEW COVENANT has been established through the blood of Jesus Christ. To become a part of this NEW COVENANT, we must REPENT (turn) from our sins, and be BAPTIZED in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the circumcision of heart. The Holy Spirit then brings the power of the Kingdom of God into our lives.
“For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28).
Just as the natural circumcision was DEMANDED of Israel as a sign of their Covenant (agreement) with God, even so the circumcision of heart is necessary if we are to be born from above and enter into the Kingdom of God.
(9) What is New Testament circumcision?
A. It is water baptism. (Colossians 2:11-12). B. It is the fulfillment of the Old Testament circumcision. (Genesis 17:1-14).
C. Abraham received physical circumcision as an outward seal or sign of an inward work of covenant already completed (relationship) with God. Genesis 17:1-14; Romans 4:11. See also Romans 2:28-29. In this way so is water baptism a seal or sign of the inward work of God that has already been done through repentance. Matthew 26:28; Acts 2:38. D. It is a sign and seal of covenant relationship, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. (Joshua 5:1-9) (Colossians 2:11-12); (Acts 2:38).
(10) What is the meaning of Water Baptism?
A. We are baptized into the Lord’s:
1. Death (Romans 6:3-11).
2. Burial (Colossians 2:12); (Romans 6:4).
3. Resurrection (Colossians 3:1); (Romans 6:5-5).
B. We are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19). These are only titles, not names.
C. What is the Name of the Father?
(1) “This (I am, or the LORD) is My Name forever and my memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:14-15).
(2) “The LORD is His Name.” (Exodus 15:3).
(3) “I am the LORD, that is My Name.” (Isaiah 42:8).
(4) “The LORD is His Name.” (Jeremiah 33:2).
(5) “They shall know that My Name is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 16:21); (Amos 5:8); (Psalms 83:18); (Isaiah 12:2); (James 1:17).
The name Lord is used over 6800 times in the Old Testament. Not once did God declare that His name was “Father”. Father, Son are titles, not names.
D. What is the Name of the Son? (Proverbs 30:4).
(1) “Thou shalt call His Name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31). (2) “And she shall bring forth a son and thou call His name Jesus.”
(Matthew 1:21).
Jesus’ name is used approximately 1000 times in the New Testament.
E. What is the Name of the Holy Ghost? The Holy Spirit’s name is interpreted in the meaning of the name “Christ”. 1. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 10:38).
2. God revealed Jesus as the Christ at this anointing. (Matthew 3:16).
3. For thirty years He was known as Jesus of Nazareth. When he was
anointed He became known as Jesus Christ (Gr. “Christos”, Anointed One). (John 1:41). Thus the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost is interpreted in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ – the triune name for a triune God.
(11) Is this New Covenant made with Israel only, or is it, for all people?
Anyone who will repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be baptized into Christ. The promise made to Abraham under the Old Covenant belong to those who are “in Christ”.
“FOR AS MANY of you as have been BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST have PUT ON CHRIST. There is NEITHER JEW NOR GREEK, there is NEITHER BOND NOR FREE, there is NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE: for ye are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS; And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s Seed, and HEIRS according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:27-29).
“For ALL THE PROMISES OF GOD IN HIM are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (II Corinthians 1:20).
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STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What is water baptism? 2. Who can be baptized? 3. Should babies be baptized? 4. How does water baptism give us an identification with Jesus Christ? 5. What does water baptism accomplish in us? 6. What does “remission of sins mean? 7. What happens when we bury “the old man”?
PRINCIPLES OF KINGDOM LIVING
LESSON 4—STUDY SHEET
WATER BAPTISM
1. Water Baptism is a holy act _________________________ by God’s Word.
2. The disciples of Jesus were given authority to go into the world, preach the Gospel and teach the people. ______________________ who would believe were to be baptized.
3. Water baptism is an __________________ part of ____________________; it is not optional. To refuse water baptism is to live in disobedience to the revealed Word of God.
4. ______________ of sins is the separating of the sin from the sinner.
5. The death of Jesus Christ made possible the remission of __________ for us. He paid the penalty for our ________________________.
6. Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our ___________________ is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
7. Ezekiel 36:26-27 A ___________________ also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statures, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.
8. New Testament circumcision: is a sign and a seal of ___________________________ relationship, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. (See section 9 to get this answer)
9. In section 10, and section A, it tells us that we are baptized into the Lord’s:
1.__________________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________________ 3.__________________________________________________________________
11. Thus the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost is interpreted in the name of the _____________________________ the triune name for a triune God.
12. Should infants be water baptized? Explain? _ _ _
