Foundation of Baptism of Water

What does it mean to get water baptized?

Romans 6 gives us an overview of what it means to be baptized in the name of Jesus. I encourage you to read this slowly and take it in.

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:3-14 ESV

Colossians tells us baptism of water is a form of circumcision.

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11-12 ESV

We see from 1 Peter 3 that baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience.

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:21 ESV

Titus talks about the washing of regeneration.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7 NASB

The Greek word for Regeneration means - new birth, renewal, restoration, regeneration

The Greek word for Renewing means - new birth, is the consequent renewal or renovation in which man as well as God takes part.

Why do we need to be water baptized?

We see in the book of Matthew that John the Baptist knew he needed to be baptized by Jesus, but Jesus knew in order to please the Father, John must baptize him. It is very important for us to understand what Jesus is saying here. Jesus is saying, I must be baptized in order to fulfill all of my Father’s desires for my life. We need to have the same way of thinking.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17 ESV

Galatians tells us that through baptism we put on Christ.

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Galatians 3:27 ESV

When we put on Christ we make no provisions for the flesh.

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 13:14 ESV

As disciples of Jesus we are not to gratify the desires of the flesh anymore. We must take on His way of thinking.

1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

1 Peter 4:1-2 ESV

So, if we are to take on His way of thinking, then we are to be water baptized like He was. We are to do what He did to please the Father and to fulfill all righteousness. We are to take on His death, His burial and His resurrection.

Jesus commands baptism

Jesus commanded the disciples to baptize people and teach them to observe all that He commanded them. So we must do the same.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

John 14:21 ESV

We have seen in scripture to fulfill righteousness Jesus did what pleased His Father. We must also do what pleases our Father. In Acts we see Peter fulfilling Jesus’ commandment by proclaiming to the people what they must do to be obedient to the Word of God.

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:37-38 ESV

How must we be baptized?

In John chapter 3 John the baptizer was baptizing where there was an abundance of water, which allowed him to fully immerse those being baptized. I have posted scripture from a Messianic Bible so it is very clear that baptism is immersion in water.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his immersion, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!

Matthew 3:7-8 World Messianic Bible (WMB)

23 But John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, for there was an abundance of water there, and the people kept coming and being baptized.

John 3:23 AMPC

We see from Mark that Jesus came up out of that water.

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him. 11 And there came a voice out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

Mark 1:9-11 AMPC

We see from this account in Acts 8:38 that Philip knew what was required to baptize someone and followed the command of Jesus when he baptized the eunuch.

38 And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and [Philip] baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 8:38 AMPC

The scripture clearly shows we are to be fully immersed in the water for water baptism. If you have been baptized any other way, I would search the scriptures for yourself and seek God on being baptized according to scripture.

Who must be baptized and when?

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, I beg of you, tell me about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this portion of Scripture he announced to him the glad tidings (Gospel) of Jesus and about Him. 36 And as they continued along on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch exclaimed, See, [here is] water! What is to hinder my being baptized? 37 And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart [if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Acts 8:34-37 AMPC

38 And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself. 40 And [Peter] solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation. 41 Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

Acts 2:38-41 AMPC

29 Then [the jailer] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling and terrified he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved? 31 And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well. 32 And they declared the Word of the Lord [the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and bathed [them because of their bloody] wounds, and he was baptized immediately and all [the members of] his [household]. 34 Then he took them up into his house and set food before them; and he leaped much for joy and exulted with all his family that he believed in God [accepting and joyously welcoming what He had made known through Christ].

Acts 16:30-34 AMPC

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Acts 22:12-16 ESV

We see four different situations here. In each of these situations we see the same deep desire for God. These people believe in Jesus, they desire salvation, they willingly repent, and immediately get baptized in water. We see repentance and water baptism go together.

In who’s name are we to be baptized in?

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

We see in scripture Jesus says to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. This was Jesus’ baptism.

1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Acts 19:1-6 ESV

I have put the same scripture from a Messianic Bible so you can see it clearly.

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 He said, “Into what then were you immersed?” They said, “Into Yochanan’s (John’s) immersion.” 4 Paul said, “Yochanan indeed immersed with the immersion of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua.” 5 When they heard this, they were immersed in the name of the Lord Yeshua (English is Jesus). 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.

Acts 19:1-6 World Messianic Bible (WMB)

We see from this situation here that these people were baptized in John’s baptism. We see that it is clearly not the same as being baptized in the name of Jesus, but it is immersion. Paul told them about Jesus so they chose to be baptized in Jesus.

If you have not been baptized the way we see in scripture, I encourage you to study out the scriptures for yourself and seek God about being baptized into Jesus’ baptism.

We see in scripture that men were being baptized by John the baptist and it was referred to as John’s baptism. Paul is making a distinction between the two baptisms. We know that John’s baptism was for repentance of sin and preparing their hearts to receive Jesus. Jesus’ baptism is to be baptized into His death, into His burial and into His resurrection just as He was. Jesus’ baptism also includes the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Matthew 3:11 ESV

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 ESV

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 8:14-16 ESV

47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Acts 10:47-48 ESV

Examples of baptism and warnings from the Old Testament

We see some warnings from the Old Testament that we need to be aware of. They are stated as warnings for disciples of Jesus. In Corinthians we see people were baptized into Moses, but they chose to walk away from following God. The same can happen now as believers who are baptized into Jesus. We still have a choice to make every day, a choice to pick up our cross and follow Him or walk away.

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

1 Corinthians 10:1-12 ESV

In Jude we see more troubling stories of people walking away from God. We see that people, leaders in the body, and angels have and can leave their place of authority. We too can choose to leave our place of authority.

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Jude 1:5-16 ESV

To Sum it up…

From these scriptures, we are able to understand that every disciple of Jesus is called to be baptized and to baptize people. We see that to be baptized one needs to have a heart of repentance and a desire for God. We also see that baptism should take place immediately and we are to baptize in Jesus’ name.

You do not need to be a professional preacher to baptize anyone, nor do you need to be in a church building to be baptized or to baptize anyone. You can fully immerse anyone for baptism of water in a river, a pond, a pool, or even your very own bathtub.

We see from these scriptures that Jesus doesn’t take baptism lightly and neither should we. We are literally taking part of His death, burial and resurrection. This can not be taken lightly. We should not assume that because we have been baptized that we are safe from destruction. Jesus expects obedience. I highly encourage you to test and examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.

5 Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?

2 Corinthians 13:5 AMPC

I encourage you to do this as I test and examine myself regularly. I also ask God to test me. I ask Him to check my heart to see if I’m pleasing to Him. I don’t want to just assume that I’m pleasing to Him. I want to know I am pleasing Him according to His standards. He is a Holy God and He demands holiness in our lives. We can only do this by the power of the Holy Spirit through obedience.

For more on examining yourself see: Test and Examine Yourself