Harrison Woodard

11 I indeed baptize you in (with) water because of repentance [that is, because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. -- Matthew 3:11 <AMP>

That statement was important enough to be recorded in 3 Gospels: Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and in Acts 1:5. Believers should carefully take note at what the Spirit is trying to tell us.

I Baptize With Water, Unto Repentance

John the Baptist was the last Old Testament prophet. He baptized people with water, preaching the Kingdom of Heaven and repentance to Israel. He recognized that water baptism was just a shadow of what was to come. (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5) His testimony was that there was someone coming after him who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John recognized that the coming one was superior, and existed before him. John would baptize Jesus to reveal him to Israel, and in so doing, recognized Jesus as Lord, and witnessed him being anointed by the Holy Spirit. (John 1:29-36)

25 And they asked him, Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?
26 John answered them, I [only] baptize in (with) water. Among you there stands One Whom you do not recognize and with Whom you are not acquainted and of Whom you know nothing. [Mal. 3:1.]
27 It is He Who, coming after me, is preferred before me, the string of Whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose.
— John 1:25-27 <AMP>

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus lays out a future formula – teach the nations (Israel was not reckoned among the nations – Numbers 23:9), baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. A careful reading of those passages shows that neither baptism (John’s, or the one in Matthew 28) applies to the Body of Christ, who are children of God, and neither Jew or Gentile, nor are they accounted among the nations. (1 Corinthians 10:32)

Note that in every example in Acts, nobody uses the three names instructed in Matthew 28. Here are three.

Acts 2:38 (KJV)
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:16 (KJV)
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Acts 10:48 (KJV)
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Did they disobey Jesus, or rightly understand that Matthew 28 applied to a future time of judgment? This was a slight digression to show that the purpose and type of baptisms can change depending on the age and audience. And we must be careful attempting to apply what belongs to Israel, to the Church, and what belongs to a future dispensation, to the current one. Everything must fall in its proper place and time.

The spiritual rebirth Jesus discusses in John 3 is fully realized in the Body of Christ. In John 4, Jesus mentions God’s desire that all worship Him in spirit and Truth. This reaches its glorious maturity by the change in status from servants to children in the Body of Christ. There are no more Jews who are “zealous of the Law” because all those barriers are gone, along with the traditions and requirements of the Law. Grace is the order of the day. The only Law is the Law of Love. Believers are no longer spiritually dead, but made alive in Christ! What could mere water on the flesh possibly do for a reborn child of God baptized in the Holy Spirit? (Romans 8, Ephesians 1-4) There is no more veil separating man from God, because Believers become the Temple of God. (John 14-17, Romans 1:1-18, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 2:18-22)

You could take the meanest SOB in the city down to the creek and spend all day sprinkling and dunking him and not change him one bit. What matters is what is in his heart. True spiritual change comes from hearing the Word of God, believing it, and acting on it. That is why we are continually called to preach the Word. It is ALIVE, and capable of truly changing someone from the inside out. Once the confession is made, having believed the Word in the heart, the Holy Spirit transforms the individual from death to life, creating a New Creation in Christ. (Romans 10:8-11, Ephesians 2)

In Colossians 2, Paul puts the hammer down. Believers are COMPLETE IN CHRIST. He talks of a spiritual circumcision, a spiritual baptism through faith, in contrast with all the rudiments of the world – all the religious rituals and ordinances that lead to bondage. Those were a “shadow of things to come.” Believers died with Christ from ceremonialism – whether Jewish in origin, or simply paganized Christianity, it matters not. There is no glory in the flesh, only in the Lord. – Colossians 3:1 (KJV) – If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. All the ceremonies and rituals do in this age is divide the Body. Note the silly squabbles, even wars in the past, over infant baptism, and immersion versus sprinkling, etc. A proper understanding of the spiritual new birth ends ALL works of the flesh, and all religious bondage.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

If you follow the Scriptures from the Gospels, to Paul’s later letters, you will notice a clear trend. At first, its all water baptism, and then gradually its mentions begin to fade, giving way to a spiritual baptism as Paul unveils the Revelation of the Body of Christ, which had been hidden in God. This should be no surprise to Believers in this Age of Grace. The water baptism was meant for spiritually dead people before the resurrection of Jesus. Now that Jesus is glorified, it is unnecessary. Water simply runs off an individual, or evaporates. It does nothing to the spirit. A spiritual baptism, or new birth, changes the heart, creating a new creation in Christ!

How many people throughout time took part in a water baptism and then promptly went back to their life, nothing changed. When Jesus changes your heart, folks will notice. Sinful things that used to be desired gradually lose their appeal. A greater desire comes upon one spiritually baptized to know their Heavenly Father, and live to please him.

Water baptism certainly appeals to the crowd. The local congregation and pastor get the glory, and the person baptized gets wet, along with the praise. But what does God get? If the individual did not have a spiritual baptism, he is not even reborn. It may have been a memorable experience, but deep inside, that person has not changed. And then folks wonder why their new member is back down at the Honky-tonk the following Friday night.

8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] -- Ephesians 2:8-9 <AMP>

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