Water baptism

 Water baptism

 

In John 3:5, Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Water means baptism, and dying to sin. By dying to sin, God gives us the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are given a good heart that God gives us. In 1 Peter 3:21, it says, “Baptism does now save you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh but the appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Water is a sign of salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is related to water baptism. In other words, water dies on the cross with Jesus, and so we are resurrected with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and are saved.

Water baptism is said to be a sign of salvation. The sign is a promise of what will happen in the future, even though it has not yet been fulfilled. Water baptism means a promise of salvation. Therefore, when you believe in the resurrection with Christ, God will give you the Holy Spirit. Fire baptism is given to believers who have been baptized in water. It is the same principle as sprinkling blood on the altar and burning the sacrificial offering.

The time difference between water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is unknown. Only God knows. Between water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is a test from Satan. Satan tests faith. It is faith that believes that something will be accomplished when it is impossible to hope for.

Romans 6:3 also describes baptism. "Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" There are two types of baptism: water baptism and fire baptism. Water baptism is death to sin, and fire baptism is death to the soul (old man: body of sin). The old man is not an object of change, but an object of death. This is because the desire to become like God (sin) is in the body of sin. Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

Many church people do not understand baptism correctly. Baptism corresponds to water in John 3:5, where Jesus said that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit corresponds to fire baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why we must understand water correctly. In 1 Peter 3:21, it says that water does not wash away the dirt of the flesh. In other words, it is not a concept of washing away sins.

Some also think that one must be born twice because of the words, “be born of water (δατος) and the Spirit.” The first time is from the mother’s womb (amniotic fluid), and the second time is from the Spirit. Water is also expressed in this way. However, the Greek word translated as water, “Hudatos (hudor),” symbolizes the word of the law. The same word is used in John 2:7: “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim.” On the surface, it is filling the jars with water to wash their hands according to Jewish rites. However, spiritually, the water corresponds to the word of God, the law. It means the word of the law without Christ. In order for Christ, who is life, to appear, the death of the cross must precede it. Resurrection life is given after the death of the cross. Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit becomes resurrection life.

Some people also tend to equate water with baptism. Baptism or immersion uses water. That is why it is sometimes expressed as water baptism, but the Bible does not express it as water baptism, but as baptism. Baptism symbolizes dying and resurrecting with Jesus. Among them, water baptism and fire baptism express death, and receiving resurrection life is baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:3-5: “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried with him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Romans 6:3 says that baptism expresses the death of Jesus on the cross, and 6:4-5 says that baptism expresses the resurrection of Christ. The death of the cross and the resurrection are not separate, but occur together. Of course, there is a time difference, but if there is only death with Jesus, it is judgment, but there can be no resurrection without the death of the cross.

So people equate water with baptism, and think of it as the death and resurrection of the cross. That is, the pastor declares to the baptized believer that they are now citizens of the kingdom of God. Water baptism only shows that they are dead. Since they have not received fire baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are still under the law. So they think that they have to wash away their sins with the blood of Jesus every day.

Water baptism is dying to sin as in Romans 6:2. Sin is like Eve who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because she wanted to be like God, so believers die to this sin because there is an idol of greed in their hearts. It is sprinkling the blood of the sacrificial offering on the altar. And fire baptism is dying to the body of sin as in Romans 6:6. The body of sin (the fleshly body: fresh) is like a vessel that holds sin. It is the concept of burning the meat of the sacrificial offering.

If a believer believes that he died with Jesus, Satan's test comes. It tests whether he died to the world, to sin, and to the law. Are you still in the world-loving, worldly, legalistic way, or are you discovering that you have divinity (the image of God) and trying to revive it like a gnostic? Gnosticists are those who pursue mysteries and experiences. If you fail the test, you are still in the law that has not died. The believer himself knows this. Therefore, those who believe that they died with Jesus without dying are lying to themselves.

Afterwards, God gives us resurrection life through the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection life is not the resurrection of the physical body received from parents, but the spiritual body of the spirit received from heaven. It is something that cannot be seen with the physical eyes. It will not be easy to believe this. The spiritual eyes will be opened only to those who have faith that comes from heaven.

If you live your life thinking that you have become a citizen of heaven just by receiving water baptism, what will you do when Jesus says, “I don’t know you”? Water baptism is not a ticket to heaven.