Yesterday I suggested that Matthew 28:19 - 20 is not talking about
water baptism at all, but is instead talking about being immersed into and fully identified with the teaching about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Not exact matches
At baptism you get born by
water and Spirit.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the
water baptism, you know, the outward sign of the internal stuff, I believe there is another answer to the question why Jesus» disciples never immersed «in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit «(as in Mt 28:19),
at least is not recorded in the Acts, but «in the name of the Lord Jesus «(as in whole book of Acts, starting from 2:38).
At first the ritual was doubtless figurative, a ceremonial cleansing in
water, which was regarded as symbolizing, rather than effecting, the purification of the inner life, and the origin of which lay in the
baptism of John and kindred customs rather than in the sacraments of the mystery religions.
So he wrote, «We know that the man we once were has been crucified with Christ for the destruction of the sinful self... ’21 He likened the Christian's immersion under the
water at his
baptism to the death and burial of Jesus.22 The self must die before a man can rise to new life.
I was
at a church a while back that did a
baptism by running people through a
water sprinkler out on the front lawn, and did communion with doughnuts and coffee.
You discuss looking
at burial rituals to consider new ways to present the symbolism of
baptism, but regardless of how a society buries it's dead you will never find a society on earth that isn't familiar with the concept of drowning; thus death by
water has a universal power not limited to any culture.
As the only
baptism that all believers automatically partake of
at salvation is 1Corinthians 12:13 then it leaves
water high and dry.
So as we look
at the subject of
baptism in Acts, we must recall that not all references to «
baptism» refer to dunking somebody under
water.
Cyprian, having made the point about
water and
baptism, goes on to look
at further scriptural examples, including merging Isaiah 48:21 with John 19:34, to make the point that
water from the split rock indicates Christ, «who is the rock, is split open during His passion by a blow from a lance.»
I have
at present a view point that either needs to be confirmed or changed: THAT
BAPTISM MEANS TO BE IMMERSED IN LORD JESUS CHRIST, NOT SO MUCH IN
WATER.
The Bible clearly teaches
water baptism is necessary to be saved John 3:3 - 5 which Jesus says Water and Spirit Romans 6: 3 - 4 and many many more places you are right about some of the things baptism represents but please take a closer look at why all the conversions in Acts involve water bap
water baptism is necessary to be saved John 3:3 - 5 which Jesus says
Water and Spirit Romans 6: 3 - 4 and many many more places you are right about some of the things baptism represents but please take a closer look at why all the conversions in Acts involve water bap
Water and Spirit Romans 6: 3 - 4 and many many more places you are right about some of the things
baptism represents but please take a closer look
at why all the conversions in Acts involve
water bap
water baptism.
And the Trinity is vividly portrayed, with interesting detail,
at the
baptism of Christ, with God's voice calling from Heaven and the Holy Spirit hovering over Christ standing in the
water.
Genesis and Exodus, for example, are clearly based on earlier Babylonian myths such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Jesus story itself is straight from the stories about Apollonius of Tyana, Horus and Dionysus (including the virgin birth, the three wise men, the star in the East, birth
at the Winter solstice, a
baptism by another prophet, turning
water into wine, crucifixion and rising from the dead).
Genesis and Exodus, for example, are clearly based on earlier Babylonian myths such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Jesus story itself is straight from the stories about Apollonius of Tyana, Ho.rus and Dionysus (including virgin birth, the three wise men, the star in the East, birth
at the Winter solstice, a
baptism by another prophet, turning
water into wine, crucifixion and rising from the dead).
The Church has always understood that the «form» of the sacrament was established by Christ when he was baptised in the Jordan, and that the Trinity was present
at Christ's
baptism, because the Father spoke, the Son descended into the
water, and Holy Spirit appeared (Mt 3:16 - 17).
The
water of
baptism, used
at the very beginning of our Christian lives, takes us back to the very beginning of all things, when, as the prayer
at the Easter Vigil reminds us, «your spirit breathed on the
waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness».3
At the Easter Vigil, the priest blesses the
water in the baptismal font, lowering the lighted Pascal candle into it three times while saying: «May the power of the Holy Spirit, O Lord we pray, come down through your Son into the fullness of this font...» He then holds the candle in the
water while continuing ``... so that all who have been buried with Christ by
baptism and death may rise again to life with him.»
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
Baptism is administered by pouring
water over a person — or plunging him or her into
water — saying
at the same time: «I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.»
Baptism is recalled not only every Easter, when the faithful renew their baptismal promises, but also
at a sung Mass with the Asperges, where the people are sprinkled with
water, in a rite which replaces the usual penitential rite.
As believers during this church age, we experience only two of these seven — spirit
baptism at the moment we believe in Jesus for eternal life, and
water baptism as the first step of discipleship and following Christ.
Genesis and Exodus, for example, are clearly based on earlier Babylonian myths such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Jesus story itself is straight from the stories about Apollonius of Tyana, Horus and Dionysus (including virgin birth, the three wise men, the star in the East, birth
at the Winter solstice, a
baptism by another prophet, turning
water into wine, crucifixion and rising from the dead).
The point is that the heretics were quite prepared to say that the Christ came into Jesus
at the
Baptism, that is, with
water; but they were not prepared to say that the Christ was in Jesus
at his death on the Cross, that is, with the blood.
In addition, Walking On
Water has had the privilege of participating in the
baptism of 19 students
at camps during this summer alone!
Along with passengers they were able to witness the traditional aircraft «
baptism» performed by the Airport Fire and Rescue Service, who sprayed
water over the aircraft, after landing from Amsterdam
at 9:15 am.