Baptism

Artwork by SUyenaka, All rights reserved.

Water baptism is one of the commands of our Lord Jesus, which He exemplified before commencing His ministry. Baptism was not a new concept begun by John the Baptist, but can be seen typified in the Old Testament and Judaic writings.

The idea of baptism is a death and rebirth or resurrection, leaving the old behind and embracing something new. It is repentance and washing from uncleanness and defilement. It is proclamation that a change has occurred. It is identification with a deliverer. With this understanding, we can see that the crossing of the Red Sea in the Exodus was a baptism type. The Israelites were provided a way through the waters in their deliverance from Egypt (which we already saw in my Mitzraim topic as being a type of the sinful world), abandoning all that was before, and crossing over to a new life in covenant relationship with God. It is significant that at that point, their enemies were cut off. After this, God dwelt with them manifestly. Scripture points out that the Israelites were baptized into Moses, their deliverer (1 Corinthians 10:1-3).

1 Peter 3:20-22 likens Noah's flood to baptism. The books of Leviticus and Numbers cite several ritual washings, which effected declaration of cleanliness from impurity via the waters of separation (eg. Numbers 19:11-21). Early forms of Judaism required full immersion for conversion. The Qumran community and those of the Second Temple Period practiced various forms of baptism. The modern day Jewish community continue to practice ritual immersion "mikveh" for women as a purification rite. The Hebrew word taval means to dip or immerse and is mentioned 16 times in the Tanach (OT).

*It is interesting to know that a Jewish woman immerses before her wedding, to put away all that she was before in her singleness, and prepare to unite with her groom in new oneness of life.

Baptism...to sanctify, make holy, set apart for a new purpose, unite with a new deliverer.

As believers in Christ, baptism serves to effect our death and resurrection together with Him: "Know ye not that, as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead… we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" Romans 6:3-5

I would like to suggest, that just as repentance and forgiveness can be seen as lifestyles, by nature of the need to choose to do them repeatedly, so can we use the concept of baptism in everyday life. Not that we need to immerse over and over, but living in a fallen world, we are constantly faced with choices....choices to sin or not. Choices to follow the enemy or the Lord. Choices in whether to insist on self-will or yield to the Spirit of God. We can use the baptism illustration to understand that we are IN CHRIST, and therefore those things that are not of Christ must be left behind, abandoned to the waters of baptism. An ongoing picking up one's cross and dying to self, denying the old nature, sanctification. Acknowledging that our new life in Christ means putting away what was before in order to embrace our new oneness of life in Him...just like the Jewish mikveh before a wedding.

Are we not betrothed and preparing for a wedding?! Are there things in our lives that cannot be brought into Christ? Leave them behind in the waters of separation. Are there areas where we are still serving and associating with the enemy, or where he has place in our lives? Cut them off in the waters. Are there sins that capture us still? Put them to death in the waters.

Let us determine to say with Christ, that the prince of the world has NOTHING in me (John 14:30b).

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:11

Check out Colossians 3 for more.

Sources: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/9202/was-baptism-practiced-before-christ https://www.gotquestions.org/seven-baptisms.html

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mikveh

https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter-jan-1991/ritual-washings-and-baptism/