AFTER REPENTING AND BELIEVING in Jesus, we need to be baptized in water. Water baptism is the third foundational principle of Christ.
John the Baptist was sent by God to baptize people in water. Crowds came to hear his message of repentance at the Jordan river and be baptized. Even Jesus was baptized there by John.
“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized…” (Luke 3:21a).
After this, Jesus taught the importance of water baptism. Jesus baptized people in water (John 3:22), his disciples baptized people, and he commanded all his followers to be baptized in water.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. (Matt. 28:20)
Baptism is not a religious ritual. It’s a powerful spiritual experience. It’s an important step of obedience that every believer should take. Whenever we obey God, we experience his favor and grow spiritually. When we submit to the Lord by being baptized, we will grow. This certainly doesn’t mean that all our problems will be solved if we are baptized, but it does mean that if we are baptized we will be blessed.
Baptism Represents Salvation
Baptism is important. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
It might appear from this that baptism is almost equated to salvation. But we don’t need to be baptized to be saved. We believe in Jesus to be saved. The thief on the cross was saved, even though he wasn’t baptized. He believed in Jesus, and then he was reconciled to God. Jesus told him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Baptism is important because it is a divine-instituted symbol which represents three different things that happen to us when we are born again:
- Being cleansed from sin
- The burial of the old man
- Being placed into Christ
Baptism Symbolizes Being Cleansed from Sin
First, baptism symbolizes being cleansed from our sins.
There is also an antitype [to the flood of Noah] which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 3:20-21)
When the flood of Noah came, the old world was washed clean with a flood of water. This is a picture of how our sins are washed away when we trust in Christ. Baptism symbolizes taking a spiritual bath and washing away spiritual filth from our lives. Because of this powerful symbolism, Peter says that baptism “now saves us.” Of course faith saves us, not baptism, but being cleansed from sin is represented by water baptism, and that’s Peter’s point.
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
Baptism Symbolizes Burial
The second thing that water baptism symbolizes is burial of the old man. In the Bible, our sinful self is referred to as the “old man.” The old man is who we are apart from Christ. The old man cannot be reformed. No matter how much we try to change it and make it better, we cannot. Death is the only answer for the old man, and when we first trust in Christ, our old man is symbolically crucified along with Jesus on the cross.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)
When someone dies, his body is buried. When we trust in Christ, our old man is killed. Water baptism is the symbolic burial of the old man. Christians have been “buried with Him in baptism” (Col. 2:12).
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom. 6:3-7)
Through baptism, our old, fleshly, sinful person is symbolically buried. We go under the water, renouncing sin, and we come out of the water to live a new life in God.
Water Baptism Symbolizes Being Put into Christ
The third thing water baptism symbolizes is being placed into the body of Christ. When we are born again, we become part of Jesus. “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30). The Holy Spirit puts us into Christ at the moment of salvation.
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27).
Being dunked under water is symbolic of being placed into the body of Christ.
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).
We become part of Christ’s body at the moment of salvation, and this is symbolized by being baptized. The most powerful place in the universe is in Christ. Jesus Christ is far above every other power, and he has authority over everything. When we are in Christ, we are spiritually in the place that he is. His authority becomes our authority.
Even when we were dead in trespasses, [he] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:5-6)
After being born again, we are put into Jesus. We are seated in Christ in heaven.
Timing of Baptism
When someone is born again, he or she is qualified to be baptized.
An Ethiopian official, riding in his chariot, heard and understood the gospel through Philip. Immediately, he stopped his chariot and got baptized on the roadside.
“See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)
When someone believes in Jesus, he is born again. Then he should immediately be baptized.
When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people believed. They were immediately baptized. “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41).
When Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius’ family and friends, many of them believed in Jesus. Immediately, they were baptized.
Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. (Acts 10:47-48)
When Paul and Silas preached to the Philippian jailer and his household, they believed the gospel. Immediately, they were baptized.
So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house…. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. (Acts 16:31-33)
Throughout the New Testament people didn’t need to wait to be baptized. They didn’t need to go to special classes or study a bunch of books. They just needed to believe in Jesus and be born again.
Mode of Baptism
Baptism in the New Testament was done by full immersion in water. A believer went under the water, symbolizing that all his sins were cleansed, the old man was totally buried, and the person now belonged completely to Christ. Then he came out of the water, symbolizing that he was cleansed from sin, his flesh was dead, and he was going to live a new life in Christ.
Water baptism was done in the name of Jesus. See for example Acts 2:38; 8:12; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5.
But wait a minute. Jesus said that every Christian should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Why were they baptized in the name of Jesus if Jesus told them to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Apparently, being baptized in the (singular) name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the same as being baptized in the name of Jesus.
The name of Jesus is higher than any other name.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)
All God’s children have spiritually taken the name of the “Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:15).
Jesus is the only name that can save us.
“There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12b).
Considering all these facts, the best mode of baptism might be to baptize people “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – in Jesus’ name.” This formula covers all the bases.
False Baptisms
Baptism is only effective when it is done after someone is born again. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward spiritual change. If this inward change has not happened, then the outward symbol becomes meaningless. The baptisms of people who are not born again are false.
Babies cannot be born again because they cannot understand the gospel. This is why infant baptism is not Biblical. But as soon as children are old enough to understand the gospel and be born again, they are old enough to be baptized.
Baby baptism can mislead people. It not only convinces them that they don’t need to be baptized as believers, but it can also give them a false assurance of salvation. Many people think, “I’ve been baptized as a baby, and therefore I’m already saved.” They think they don’t need to be born again.
If you were baptized as an infant or even as an adult when you were not born again, your baptism is not Biblical.
One Baptism
We need to be baptized in water in a Biblical way only once.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).
There is one common baptism for all believers, all around the world. If we are baptized into Christ after we were born again by someone who is born again, then our baptism is recognized by God. A baptism in America is just as effective as a baptism in Timbuktu – and vice versa. We don’t ever need to be baptized again.
Water baptism is a one time event. As long as we were baptized after we were born again by a born again believer, then our baptism is effective, and we don’t need to be baptized again.
~ Prayer ~
Dear God, thank you for the powerful transformation that happened in my life when I trusted in your Son for salvation. My sins were washed away, the old man of my flesh was killed, and you made me part of the body of Christ. I am a new creation. Old things have passed away, and all has become new. This is all wonderfully symbolized by water baptism. Praise you for who I am in Christ, and for the riches I have in Jesus. Help me to live in my new identity as a child of God, by the power of Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen.
Victory Over False Teachings
- Infant Baptism. Some churches believe that babies should be baptized. But the Bible says that only those who trust in Christ can be baptized (Acts 8:37).
- Baptismal Regeneration. Some churches believe that when someone is baptized, they are saved. But the Bible says we are saved by faith, not by baptism.
- Sprinkling. Some churches believe that baptism should be done by sprinkling. But the Greek word baptizo means to immerse.
- Baptism Must be Done by Clergy. Some churches believe that baptism must only be done by a professional priest or member of the “clergy.” But the Bible says every believer is a priest.
- Re-baptism to Join a Denomination. Some churches teach that only baptisms done in their denomination are valid; therefore, anyone who comes to their group must be re-baptized. But the Bible says all Christian baptisms are valid, as long as both the baptizer and the one being baptized are born again.
- Water Baptism is No Longer Needed. Some churches believe that water baptism is not necessary for Christians today. They believe that water baptism is only a spiritual truth that is not to be done literally. But the apostles actually baptized people in water throughout the New Testament, and Jesus commanded every believer to be literally baptized (Matt. 28:19).
Foundations Study 3: Water Baptism
Mark 1:4-5
- How did the water baptism of John the Baptist prepare people for Jesus’ ministry?
- How is repentance connected to water baptism?
Luke 3:21
Why did Jesus get baptized?
Mark 16:16, Luke 23:42-43
- Is it necessary to be baptized in order to be saved?
- Why should we be baptized?
- What are some results of being baptized?
Acts 8:36-38, Acts 10:47-48, Acts 16:31-33, Acts 2:41
- Who is qualified for baptism?
- When should a person get baptized?
- Do we need to take classes before being baptized?
- Is infant baptism Biblical?
- How could belief in infant baptism hinder someone from being born again?
- Is it ever appropriate to be re-baptized?
- Do we need to be baptized in a religious building by “clergy”?
- Should baptism be done by sprinkling or by immersion?
1 Pet. 3:20-21, Acts 22:16
- How does water baptism symbolize being cleansed from sin?
- When are our sins washed away?
Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:3-7
- When is our old man killed?
- How does being baptized symbolize being buried?
- What happens if a dead body is not buried?
Galatians 3:27, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 5:30
- When do we become part of the body of Christ?
- How does being baptized represent becoming part of the body of Christ?
Matthew 28:19-20
What is the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Philippians 2:9-11, Ephesians 3:15, Acts 4:12
- What does it mean that the name of Jesus is the most powerful name?
- What does this powerful name mean for us practically?
Acts 2:38, 8:12, 8:16, 10:48, 19:5
- Is it wrong to be baptized in the name of Jesus? Why or why not?
- Have you ever been baptized? If so, when? Was this baptism Biblical?
Bethel Cornerstone 