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Teaching -
Foundations of Faith
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Written by Tom Marxen
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Monday, 22 January 2007 17:20 |
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Page 7 of 9
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 ).
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