Cause
we see water baptism a lot in that book.
Not exact matches
New Testament Fulfillment: «After his
baptism, as Jesus came up out of the
water, the heavens were opened and he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.
Christ, mystically understood, is the great fish (the Greek word for fish is πà # À ™, an acronym which translates as Jesus Son of God, Saviour); and we, like him, are fish in the
water of
baptism as we accompany our master (
see Augustine's The City of God, Book XVIII, Chapter 23).
You have been indoctrinated with the false teaching of
water baptism for salvation so that every time you
see the words
water or
baptism you think it has to do with
water baptism for salvation.
Remember, whenever we
see the word «
baptism» in Scripture, we must not immediately think about dunking somebody under
water, but must first remember what the word means, namely, «to be immersed, overcome, or fully identified with» something or somebody else.
It is so critical for properly understanding
baptism to
see the difference between
water baptism and Spirit
baptism.
What we have
seen throughout this survey of Scriptures on
baptism is that
water baptism was a symbolic ritual in biblical times which everybody understood, even those who were not followers of Jesus.
The Church has always taught the importance of
water in the Old Covenant — at Creation, at the flood, at the crossing of the Red Sea — and has also always
seen a symbolising of
baptism in the
water that poured from Christ's side on Calvary: «O God whose son, baptised by John in the
waters of the Jordan, was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and, as he hung upon the Cross, gave forth
water from his side along with blood...» 8