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Teaching -
Foundations of Faith
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Written by admin
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Monday, 22 January 2007 17:20 |
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Promotion by Execution
What is Baptism?
Baptism is immersion. Baptism is an overwhelming and irrevocable experience. There are many baptisms (Hebrews 6:2  ) but we are always being baptized into the same Spirit, the Spirit of God. (Ephesians 4:4-6 ).
Baptism is a death
Make no mistake. Baptism is a death. Baptism is not a "bath", it is immersion, and complete surrendering one's self to be overwhelmed by the baptism. The wages is sin is death (Romans 6:23 ). The price remains fixed, the consequences are unchanged. But the GIFT of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23 ). This is Life that outlives death. When you experience a Baptism, old things are passed away and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17 ). In a Baptism, we reckon (recognize) that the old man is dead (Romans 6:1-14 , Ephesians 4:22 , Colossians 3:9 ).
The principle is really quite simple. I have missed it, avoided it, denied it, and tried to circumvent the process many times, yet the Truth still stands and God has not changed the operation of His Kingdom. If you want to advance in the Kingdom of God (and God is not pleased if we do not advance and move forward) you do so by destroying of the former things and moving on toward the goal. I am not talking about a gradual transition that might resemble a walk through the woods on a summer afternoon. I am talking about execution, separation by death to everything preceding. There is no going back, no free trial period that you can wrap up and send back for a refund if you are not satisfied.
Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NIV
Paul said:
Philippians 3:10-11 , 13-14.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ...
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. NIV
Col 2:9-12
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. NIV
About Baptism
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. NIV
First let's look at some definitions from the Strong's Concordance, a dependable resource for word study and definition.
Baptism - Strong's NT:907 baptizo (bap-tid'-zo); from a derivative of NT:911; to immerse, submerge; to make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the N. T.) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism:
KJV - Baptist, baptize, wash
While we're at it what does it mean to be "saved"
Saved - Strong's NT:4982 sozo (sode'-zo); from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saoz, "safe"); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):
KJV - heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
Let's insert our definitions into Mark 16:16 - now it reads:
Whoever believes and is immersed (submerged and overwhelmed) will be delivered (protected, healed, preserved, saved, and made whole)
We can see from these definitions that in order for us to be completely delivered healed, preserved and made whole, we must experience immersions. At times we will be overwhelmed. The truth of this scripture goes far beyond a simple one time experience of dipping in a river or a tub of some sort that makes us wet with water and then we move on.
It is often taught that baptism is a ritual that you must do in order for your "believing" to have its full effect and thus insure your being "saved". The interpretation given to the word "saved" is often "saved from Hell and allowed entrance into Heaven in the after life". I believe that this picture misses a much greater truth concerning the operation of the Kingdom of God in our lives. First this verse says that those "who do not believe" will be condemned, not those who are not "baptized". (Remember always - "Without faith it is impossible to please God" - Hebrews 11:6 )
Secondly, I am convinced that whoever believes WILL EXPERIENCE Baptism as a natural and unavoidable consequence of their choice to (really) believe
These baptisms are more than multiple dunkings in water;
they are specific and individual places of transition where we completely abandon the former realm of living for the new one that God has for us.
I am not advocating the removal of water baptism (immersion) services and events from our gatherings. I am not criticizing any particular traditions or "style" of baptism. Except to say that Baptism is always a submersion, it is not sprinkling. To be sure, Baptism is more that a ritual. There are many baptisms in a person's life of fellowship with the Lord - Hebrews 6 talks about the doctrine of baptisms (notice the plural!) as one of the foundational truths of the Church.
In Baptism there is a "Mystery".
There is a spiritual reality and operation of the Kingdom of God that defies explanation of our natural reasoning. When we immerse believers in water or when the Spirit of God overshadows and overwhelms us in a "Baptism of fire" and the gifts are transferred or ignited - these are benchmarks and permanent transitions in our lives. They are real, they are divinely inspired, they are required for us to attain the high calling of God.
Rom 6:3-12
don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
NIV
Jesus spoke of his own death on the cross as a baptism:
Luke 12:49-52
"I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.
NKJV
This is promotion by execution.
Phil 2:8-11 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death-
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
NIV
Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
NIV
Many Baptisms
- The world was once baptized in a cataclysmic flood that destroyed all life except those creatures and people that stayed in the ark. (Genesis 5-9 , 1Peter 3:18-22)
- The nation of Israel was baptized in the Red Sea shortly after deliverance from Egypt. (Exodus 14 ,15 1 Corinthians 10:2 )
- They were later baptized in the Jordan as they entered the Promised Land. (Joshua 3 ,4)
- John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance and preparation for the appearance of Jesus. (Matthew 3:5 ,6 Mark 1:4 ))
- John spoke of a greater baptism of fire that would be given by Jesus himself. (Luke 3:16 ; John 1:33-34 )
- Jesus was baptized in water just before His public ministry of healing and preaching the Kingdom of God began. (Matthew 3:16 )
- Jesus even referred to his death on the cross as a baptism. (Luke 12:49-52 )
Baptism is not about doing something to attain favor; baptism is the form and method of transformation from living in one realm of life to living in a higher realm. It requires death to the former realm. The result is resurrection into the new.
Part of the problem is that we have turned baptism into ritual, rules, and fake righteousness which has resulted in division, confusion, and a degree of blindness in the Church today.
This mentality leads to questions like: If I am not baptized (speaking of immersion in water) will I still be saved? Subsequent inquiries follow such as "Must I be baptized right away?" and
"What if someone believed Jesus died for their sins and asked to be received into the Kingdom of God, but they died before they got to the baptism service, would they go to hell and not get ‘saved' because they were not yet baptized?
And so on......
The miraculous electron:
Baptisms resemble how electrons change their orbits. Electrons are one of the three "mass" components of every atom. They are the sub-atomic particles that spin around the nucleus of the atom which is composed of protons and neutrons. The electrons kind of resemble planets orbiting around in a solar system but their orbits are fixed. Electrons orbit only in these set orbit sizes and they are not found "between" the orbits at any time.
When a substance is heated and the electrons increase in energy, they "jump" from one fixed size orbit to the next. This is an instantaneous (and really miraculous) event. The electron "disappears" from its first orbit and at the exact same moment "appears" in the higher orbit. It does not just "spin out" from one to the next, and there can be absolutely no time delay between the positioning in the two orbits or there would be a violation of the law of conservation of matter and energy. The electron cannot "disappear" from one place and "reappear" even a nanosecond later somewhere else, it must exist at every single moment, so the best way to characterize it is that it "jumps" and yet there is no transitional position of the electron it is simply "here" in orbit one and then "there" in orbit two with no other places between and no portion of time where it is out of existence.
Pretty amazing considering that this happens constantly with every substance in the universe with a countless ka-zillion billion of billions of electrons. It is happening right now; perhaps we will notice it more in the future.
This I believe is a good picture of what happens in a baptism. "Baptism" means immersion" - to dip or to dunk. With water baptism - You go in and you come out again. You go in a regular son of Adam, or you go in a believer entangled by some form of carnal or other ungodly influences, but when you go into the water you are suddenly and instantaneously identified with the death of Christ - that is to say - you have a whole new identity, every part and speck of Adam's weaknesses - everything that is still with you from "Egypt" is gone. It is gone because you have been executed with Christ and suddenly, instantly, actually just a little quicker than instantly, you are found in Christ!
Pop! - Like the little electron you have been transformed - promoted in the Kingdom of Heaven. You never once ceased to exist, and yet it is no longer you that lives, but Christ in you the hope of glory (Galatians 2:20 ). Every new realm of living that is set before you in the Christian life is accomplished the same way.
The only way that we advance in the Kingdom of God is by Death and Resurrection. You can say Death and Re-birth if you like but it is the same principle and it has never changed. All promotion comes by execution.
It is foolishness to the wise, it is a mystery of the Kingdom, but it is the only way to Holiness, health, and full restoration of our lives and our identities.{mospagebreak title=Passover, The Red Sea, the Jordan}
Passover, the Red Sea, and the Jordon
Baptisms of the Nation of Israel - a picture to help us understand.
PASSOVER - being born again.
The Lord Passed over the blood covered doorposts and entered into the houses of the Israelite slaves on the night of Passover (see Exodus 12 ). The angel of death visited the whole land of Egypt and killed the firstborn of men and animals, but the angel could do no killing where the lambs were slain. The Life is in the blood, the blood of the Lamb covered the doorposts, and Life had entered into the homes of the Israelites so they were saved from death. Being saved from Death is our first experience in the Kingdom of God. We "take" or accept His Life in exchange for ours, we enter into His protection and He enters into us, a blood covenant relationship of life is activated. The historical event of Passover in Exodus is a picture for us (1 Corinthians 10:6 ,11) of the time when we individually enter the Kingdom of Heaven by accepting the blood atonement of Jesus the Christ (the spotless Lamb of God) and accepting Him. We've come to call this "getting saved" - It may have been presented to you in this manner - "say this prayer, and get your place in Heaven" - things of this nature, but these expressions tend to minimize and cloud the absolutely miraculous magnitude of this transition!!
THE RED SEA - a baptism of deliverance
A few days later, all of Israel was baptized into the Red Sea. This is the famous story of the parting of the Red Sea where the Sea opened up and the Israelites walked through on dry land, but when the Egyptians followed them in pursuit, the Sea crashed in drowning every Egyptian (Exodus 14:20 ).
This event is a picture for us of the water baptism commonly practiced through many form and formats in the Christian Church. It is a baptism for believers where the people of God (especially new believers) go into the water and emerge unharmed, but all of the enemies and oppressors of God's people are destroyed. It is a miraculous event bringing deliverance to God's people and Death to every enemy of God.
Exodus 14:13-14
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
NIV
THE JORDAN RIVER - a baptism into warfare and possession
Another baptism awaited the Israelites at the Jordan River. This river marks a boundary line between the "Wilderness" and "The Promised Land". When the Israelites crossed the river, the provision of manna stopped (Joshua 5:12 ). On the day they crossed over the river, they were to live off of the produce of the Land. This again is a new realm of living, in the Wilderness, they lived off of the provision of God directly from heaven, in this land, they were to farm, and work the land. Here God gives the increase to them through the Land.
"The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. "
Deuteronomy 11:10-12 NIV
Israel stepped into the Jordan during the flood season - first in were the priests carrying the ark - the ark of the Covenant is a "type" or a picture for us of the manifest presence of God. It miraculously parted the river and allowed all the people to go across on dry ground.
In this baptism, the source of their provision changed. No more manna, now their food was produced by farming the land. Also, they were not delivered FROM their enemies, but they were delivered to FACE and DEFEAT their enemies. They were now ready to drive out every ungodly thing that claimed possession of Land God had promised them.
This is a baptism into maturity and warfare, having been strengthened and tempered by their 40 years in the desert where God provided for them and dealt with them face to face (Deuteronomy 8:15 ).
More Baptism scriptures:
Luke 3:21
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.
NIV
Mark 16:15-16
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
NIV
Mark 10:37-40
They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
"We can," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
NIV
Acts 1:4-5
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
NIV
Matt 3:11-12
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
NIV
John 1:26-34
"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
NIV
Heb 5:11-6:3
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 6
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
NIV
Noah experienced first hand the first baptism of all life on Earth. This was a one time event and we now have the rainbow as a memorial of the covenant God made with every living creature.
Gen 9:8-17
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you--the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." NIV
NOW There is Nothing to Hinder You if You Believe!
Acts 8:34-39
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, I beg of you, tell me about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this portion of Scripture he announced to him the glad tidings (Gospel) of Jesus and about Him.
36 And as they continued along on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch exclaimed, See, [here is] water! What is to hinder my being baptized?
37 And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart [if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and [Philip] baptized him.
39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
AMP
Glory to God!
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