Baptism is one of the ordinances (command) in the Bible. It comes from the Greek word baptizo, which means to dip repeatedly, to immerse, or to submerge. The ordinance of baptism was first introduced in the New Testament with the ministry of John the Baptist. The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance, an indication that the person submitting to baptism had repented of his sins and was ready or willing to accept the coming kingdom of God (Matt.3:7-8; Luke 3:7-14). The baptism of John is not the same or synonymous as Christian baptism (Born again baptism) is seen in the lack of knowledge of the significance of Christian baptism by John disciples (Acts 19: 3-5)
The New Testament refers to at least seven baptisms. Some people misunderstood and Ephesians’ 4:5 and even some see it as a contradiction with Hebrews 6:2. The one baptism refer to in Eph. 4: 5 is the born again baptism, not water baptism. The Holy Spirit, in this passage, is reminding believers that there’s only one way into the kingdom of heaven, through being born again by repentance and heart-faith in Christ. That is when a sinner is baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (See also Titus 3: 4-7) There’s only one baptism into Christ, only one way to be saved.
The question naturally arises as to why Jesus submitted to baptism (Matt.3:16), since it certainly was not to signify repentance in Jesus’ case. Why did Jesus Submitted to John baptism?
HOW MANY BAPTISMS IN THE BIBLE? (Heb. 6: 2)
- BORN AGAIN BAPTISM: BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST (John 3: 6-7; Eph.4:4-5; 1 Cor.12: 13; Rom. 6:2-5; Ti. 3: 5-6). This is the most important baptism of all. This is the only baptism that saves. This is the new birth baptism, the point of salvation, when a genuinely repentant sinner first believers and receives the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart. They become a righteous child of God saved by simple faith in the finished work of Christ. In Romans 6: 2-5 the Holy Spirit is talking of the new birth baptism into Christ, done by God to the repentant sinner, the instant they receive Christ as Lord and Savior. The sinful nature is circumcised by God (Col.2:11), Crucified with Christ (Gal.2:20) and buried with Christ (Rom.6:4) THE BIBLE ORDER IS SAVED FIRST: WATER BAPTISM LATER. See ACTS 10 & 11. Note ACTS 10: 44-48
- CHRISTIAN BAPTISM IN WATER (Matt.28:19; Acts 10: 44-48). This is a public symbolic outward representation of Born again baptism, identifying the newly born again believer with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is done in obedience to Christ, by believers, to born again believer signifying their prior spiritual new creation in Christ. Water baptism does not save a person they must be saved before they get fully immersed in water. Water baptism should not be secret but public. Water baptism is only for people who have already experienced the new birth. A baby or an infant cannot understand repentance and faith in Christ and so are too young to be born again.
- BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 1: 4-8). A born again child of God has the Holy Spirit within from the moment they are saved. They are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30, 1 John 2: 27, Heb. 8:10), but not yet filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24: 29, Acts 1: 5 & 8; and Acts 2, 8, 10, 19). This is the Holy Spirit empowerment to be an effective witness of Jesus. This is a wonderful blessing to be partaken by all genuinely born believers. Christ did not begin His ministry without first the Holy Spirit came upon Him. If Jesus needed Him….we needs Him too. Christ had the Holy Spirit within Him before He was baptized. But the Holy Spirit came upon Him in power before He began to minister. This is power ministry. This what Paul meant by a message accompanied by a demonstration of the Spirit’s power (I Cor. 2: 4-5). COMFIRMING THE MESSAGE (I Cor.2:4-5, Rom.15: 18-19, I Cor.4:20, 2 Cor.12:12, Mark 16:20).Some theologians never demonstrated God’s Holy Spirit power. They are full of men’s wisdom’ (head knowledge) and powerless to confirm God’s word. BIBLICAL PROOF. In a court of law, to establish a fact, just two reliable witnesses are required. God gave us three witnesses to demonstrate been Holy Spirit baptism ( Acts 2:4; 10: 44-47; 19:6)
- BAPTISM INTO MOSES (I Cor. 10:1-5) Here the Holy Spirit is warning believers against unbelief, idolatry, and sexual immorality by drawing attention to Moses as a type of Christ. He uses the expression, “They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” implying that all of the Jews who left Egypt trusted in Moses authority and leadership enough to risk passing through a desert to escape Pharaoh’s slavery. In this sense Moses was their ‘savior’. They followed him through the Red Sea, after it parted by a Divine miracle, and were shielded and led by a cloud for forty years in the desert. Remember Moses was a type of Christ and the baptism into Moses a shadow of the born again baptism into Christ. Jude verse 5 clearly states that those who perished in the desert did not truly believe. This is a warning against insincerity and nominal ‘Christianity today.
- JOHN’S BAPTISM: BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE (Acts 19: 3-5) God commanded John the Baptist to introduce a water baptism of repentance but this was soon rendered obsolete by the New Covenant. Water baptism introduced by Jesus Christ. It served its purpose by paving the way for the first coming of Christ, and the start of His public ministry. (See verses for John’s baptism: Matt. 21:25’Mark 1:4; 11:30, Luke 3:3; 20:4, Acts 1:22;10:37;18:25)
- BAPTISM OF FIRE (Matt.3:11) John the Baptist spoke about it as a symbol of what to come. Christ instituted the realty of the New Covenant in His Blood with subsequent Holy Spirit of fire. The prophecy of the baptism of fire was first fulfilled at Pentecost and is recorded in Acts 2: 3-4. It is the power of baptism to set born again believers on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ and burning with the zeal to get His message to all (including the ends of the earth). This baptism is received through intense prayer, seeking and waiting on the Lord. The baptism of fire is also alluded to in these verses: Luke 3:16, 12:49, Acts 2:3-4, 1 Th. 5:19).
- BAPTISED INTO DEATH (Rom. 6:3-5) It is vital to understand that God’s Spirit is here referring to the born again baptism, not water baptism. The spiritual rebirth of a person occurs the instant they repent and believe in Christ as LORD (Almighty God in the flesh) and Savior. They are baptized into Christ’s death, and raised to new life with Him. Their old nature is crucified with Christ (6), and they receive the eternal life of Christ into their heart becoming a new creation. They are set free from sin, guilt, condemnation, and are forgiven, saved and at peace with God through Jesus’ sacrifice and mercy. Water baptism mirrors this burial and resurrection symbolically: the realty must have occurred prior to water baptism. Christ allude to this His actual baptism into death (on your behalf) in Luke 12: 50