About Baptism

 About Baptism

 

1. Water baptism

In John 3:5, Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Water means baptism, and dying to sin. By dying to sin, God gives us the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are given a good heart that God gives us. In 1 Peter 3:21, it says, “Baptism does now save you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh but the appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Water is a sign of salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is related to water baptism. In other words, water dies on the cross with Jesus, and so we are resurrected with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and are saved.

Water baptism is said to be a sign of salvation. The sign is a promise of what will happen in the future, even though it has not yet been fulfilled. Water baptism means a promise of salvation. Therefore, when you believe in the resurrection with Christ, God will give you the Holy Spirit. Fire baptism is given to believers who have been baptized in water. It is the same principle as sprinkling blood on the altar and burning the sacrificial offering.

The time difference between water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is unknown. Only God knows. Between water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is a test from Satan. Satan tests faith. It is faith that believes that something will be accomplished when it is impossible to hope for.

Romans 6:3 also describes baptism. "Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" There are two types of baptism: water baptism and fire baptism. Water baptism is death to sin, and fire baptism is death to the soul (old man: body of sin). The old man is not an object of change, but an object of death. This is because the desire to become like God (sin) is in the body of sin. Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

Many church people do not understand baptism correctly. Baptism corresponds to water in John 3:5, where Jesus said that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit corresponds to fire baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why we must understand water correctly. In 1 Peter 3:21, it says that water does not wash away the dirt of the flesh. In other words, it is not a concept of washing away sins.

Some also think that one must be born twice because of the words, “be born of water (δατος) and the Spirit.” The first time is from the mother’s womb (amniotic fluid), and the second time is from the Spirit. Water is also expressed in this way. However, the Greek word translated as water, “Hudatos (hudor),” symbolizes the word of the law. The same word is used in John 2:7: “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim.” On the surface, it is filling the jars with water to wash their hands according to Jewish rites. However, spiritually, the water corresponds to the word of God, the law. It means the word of the law without Christ. In order for Christ, who is life, to appear, the death of the cross must precede it. Resurrection life is given after the death of the cross. Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit becomes resurrection life.

Some people also tend to equate water with baptism. Baptism or immersion uses water. That is why it is sometimes expressed as water baptism, but the Bible does not express it as water baptism, but as baptism. Baptism symbolizes dying and resurrecting with Jesus. Among them, water baptism and fire baptism express death, and receiving resurrection life is baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:3-5: “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried with him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Romans 6:3 says that baptism expresses the death of Jesus on the cross, and 6:4-5 says that baptism expresses the resurrection of Christ. The death of the cross and the resurrection are not separate, but occur together. Of course, there is a time difference, but if there is only death with Jesus, it is judgment, but there can be no resurrection without the death of the cross.

So people equate water with baptism, and think of it as the death and resurrection of the cross. That is, the pastor declares to the baptized believer that they are now citizens of the kingdom of God. Water baptism only shows that they are dead. Since they have not received fire baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are still under the law. So they think that they have to wash away their sins with the blood of Jesus every day.

Water baptism is dying to sin as in Romans 6:2. Sin is like Eve who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because she wanted to be like God, so believers die to this sin because there is an idol of greed in their hearts. It is sprinkling the blood of the sacrificial offering on the altar. And fire baptism is dying to the body of sin as in Romans 6:6. The body of sin (the fleshly body: fresh) is like a vessel that holds sin. It is the concept of burning the meat of the sacrificial offering.

If a believer believes that he died with Jesus, Satan's test comes. It tests whether he died to the world, to sin, and to the law. Are you still in the world-loving, worldly, legalistic way, or are you discovering that you have divinity (the image of God) and trying to revive it like a gnostic? Gnosticists are those who pursue mysteries and experiences. If you fail the test, you are still in the law that has not died. The believer himself knows this. Therefore, those who believe that they died with Jesus without dying are lying to themselves.

Afterwards, God gives us resurrection life through the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection life is not the resurrection of the physical body received from parents, but the spiritual body of the spirit received from heaven. It is something that cannot be seen with the physical eyes. It will not be easy to believe this. The spiritual eyes will be opened only to those who have faith that comes from heaven.

If you live your life thinking that you have become a citizen of heaven just by receiving water baptism, what will you do when Jesus says, “I don’t know you”? Water baptism is not a ticket to heaven.

 

2. Baptism of Fire

Matthew 3:11-12『I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire..』Not many believers know about baptism of fire. It is related to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In fact, since believers do not even know about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, how can they know about baptism of fire?

Luke 12:49-50 "I am coming to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished." Fire means baptism by fire, and the baptism that Jesus received was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which means resurrection. Jesus' death on the cross was a death to atone for all the sins of the world. Whether it is original sin or worldly sin, all are forgiven when a believer enters into Christ. The Bible expressed the death on the cross as baptism by water and baptism by fire.

Water baptism means that if the believer lived in the time of Noah, they would have died in the flood. It means that God was angry because the Son of God married the daughters of men. This means that the spirit of an evil angel who claimed to be the Son of God combined with a body made of clay and became a human being. Water baptism means that the believer confesses that he died with Jesus.

The baptism of fire means that if a believer lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would all be burned to death by fire coming down from heaven. Those who have received the baptism of fire also confess that they died on the cross with Jesus. This is not a formal ceremony, but something that is engraved in the heart. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is widely cited as a theme of adultery. It refers to spiritual adultery rather than physical adultery. Spiritual adultery means believing in God but also following idols. In today's terms, it refers to believers who believe in Jesus but also follow superstitious beliefs, legalism, and gnosticism. These are typical examples of spiritual adultery. God hates spiritual adultery very much.

If you do not believe in Jesus, you cannot be saved. Biblically, this is a natural result. Because sinners cannot enter the kingdom of God. However, what happens if you believe in Jesus but do not believe the words Jesus spoke? This is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and spiritual adultery. Baptism by fire is a baptism given to those who believe in Jesus and believe that they are saved. When believers realize this in their hearts and repent to God, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given.

John 6:29-30 『Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?』 The Jews ask for a sign that they may believe in the one sent by God. Since Jesus performed many miracles, such as the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, the Jews wanted to do the amazing work of God like Jesus, but they asked Jesus about the work of God, "How can we do it?" They already realized that Jesus was the one sent by God. Jesus tells them to believe in the work he has done, but the Jews want a sign. Believing in the work he has sent does not mean believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but believing in the work that Jesus does.

What Jesus does is what God does. In John 6:38-40, “For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.” And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.』

Here too, the statement that we see the Son and believe in Him does not mean that we will be saved if we believe in Jesus, but that we should believe in what the Son does. That is, “Of all those whom He has given me I shall lose none, but raise them up at the last day.” Therefore, Jesus said that those who see the Son and believe in Him will have eternal life. “Pistuion eis auton” (πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν) means those who enter into Him (the Son) and believe. Therefore, they do not simply look to Jesus and believe in Him, but those who enter into Jesus Christ and have faith that is united with Him.

Faith that is united with Jesus Christ means being united with the death and resurrection of the cross. The death of the cross means being baptized in water and baptized in fire. Water baptism is confessing and repenting that the believer himself was a person who had left God, and confessing that he died on the cross, and fire baptism is repenting of the sin of not accepting the word sent by God as it is, and becoming a person who died on the cross. Repentance symbolizes the death of the old man, which is sin and the body of sin. Water baptism is death to sin, and fire baptism is death to the body of sin. And resurrection means the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

However, those who call themselves saints today believe that they have become citizens of heaven by being baptized in water without even knowing the meaning of baptism by fire. Nevertheless, they seek another Jesus. The other Jesus is the Jesus who gives blessings to the world and solves problems. These are the ones who commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and are not saved.

Salvation begins with being free from sin. Jesus took away the original sin and the sins of the world. However, if believers repent of their sins of the world every day and demand the blood of Jesus, they do not believe in the work of Jesus. This is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who believe in Jesus but are caught up in legalism are the same as not believing in the coming of Jesus. Those who are caught up in legalism can cite examples such as insisting on tithing, deceiving the church community building into calling it a temple, saying that only pastors have received the holy priesthood, enforcing the observance of the Sabbath or the Sabbath, or making people observe the holidays or creating similar holidays to observe.

These are the ones who must receive the baptism of fire. Those who are living in this world but have not received the baptism of fire will receive the baptism of fire in the second death after the death of the body. Believers must repent and receive the baptism of fire. Only then can they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

 

3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit

John 1:33-34 “I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when Christ gives the Holy Spirit to those who have been baptized with water and fire. Baptism is done by human hands. In the church, it is generally called baptism, which is a ritual of immersion in water. It is an expression of drowning in water. It is dead to sin. It is not the concept of washing away sin, but rather that sin is dead, and sin that is judged by the law is no longer established. It tells us that we are beings who have left the law.

So Christ gives us the baptism of fire with the Holy Spirit. Baptism of fire is the death of the soul (like clothing) that a person has from birth. The soul is the same concept as the leather clothing in Genesis 3:21, and is called the body of flesh (fresh), the body of sin. Romans 6:4 says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” The body of flesh is expressed here as the body of sin. Therefore, being crucified includes the meaning of water baptism and fire baptism. Dying on the cross with Jesus has the meaning of atonement (water baptism), but it also means that the sinner himself died (fire baptism). If a believer only believes that his sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, he has never been baptized by fire. The sacrificial lamb is killed, the blood is sprinkled on the altar, and its flesh and skin are burned in fire. The blood corresponds to water baptism, and the burning of the flesh corresponds to fire baptism.

Water baptism is often compared to the flood of Noah, God's judgment on those who did not repent of their sins. Fire baptism is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, God's judgment on the sins of going after strange flesh. Jude 1:7, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities in the same way gave themselves over to fornication and went after strange (ἑτέρας) flesh (σαρκὸς) are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." The word sarkos, translated "strange flesh," does not mean the body received from one's parents (soma: like a shell), but the flesh (old man: body of flesh, body of sin) into which the spirit has entered.

Sarkos is the spirit entering the body. To follow another body means to follow another being (the fleshly mind that wants to be like God) in the body, not God. Gnosticism represents the religion that discovers the divinity within humans and tries to find it.

The judgment on the Gnostics is the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, the third mentioned in the Book of Jude. Sodom and Gomorrah were places where idolatry was severe. This means spiritual adultery. It is described as a place of obscenity, which generally means idolatry, which is spiritual adultery. It is presumed that this is an expression of the fact that there were many sexual relations with female priestesses during the time of idolatry.

Dying on the cross with Jesus Christ symbolizes the death of the body of sin and the burning of the garment of the soul. Baptism (water, fire) is done by human hands on the surface, but spiritually it is done by the Holy Spirit. It is a calling and a covenant relationship. However, it does not confirm the covenant relationship. In order to confirm the covenant relationship, you must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Believers receive baptism, but most only know about water baptism. However, not many believers know about fire baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit. Fire baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit are the work of the Holy Spirit. Water baptism and baptism of fire symbolize death, while baptism of the Holy Spirit symbolizes rebirth. Regarding fire baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit, in Matthew 3:11-12, it says, "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 with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning the chaff with unquenchable fire."

The baptism of fire and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are not given at the same time. The covenant is established through the baptism of fire, and the covenant is completed through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In between, there is the temptation of Satan. Galatians 3:2-3 "This only I would learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now trying to perfect yourself by the flesh?" It means that believers should begin with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and end with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but there are those who return to the law. That is why the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is committed.

In Acts 19:1-5, "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus. Finding some disciples, he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." He said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism." But he said, "John verily baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Whether baptism in the name of Jesus was a baptism of fire or a baptism of the Holy Spirit is not clearly expressed, but it is thought to be a baptism of fire.

The baptism that John the Baptist gave at that time was a baptism of repentance. It took the same form as water baptism today, but its meaning was different. At that time, it was the concept of repenting and washing away sins. However, since Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind, water baptism today means the death of the body of sin. Fire baptism is the death of the old soul, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the birth of a new soul. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is related to the life of resurrection. Those who receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit receive the life of resurrection in heaven and become beings who are born again.

The resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples and breathed life into them. John 20:21-22 “Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The difference between believers and saints today is whether or not they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot be called saints. They have been baptized (water baptism and fire baptism), called, and entered into a covenant, but they have not been chosen and confirmed in the covenant. Believers consider baptism (usually water baptism) as a sign that they have become a covenant people, but that is not the case. And most believers do not even know about fire baptism. Water baptism and fire baptism symbolize those who died with Jesus.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is Christ giving the saints resurrection life. Therefore, it is the confirmation of salvation. Those who do not believe in the present resurrection have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who are baptized today but are under the law have also never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from Christ to those who believe in dying with Jesus and being resurrected with Christ in the present. Believers who believe in the resurrection after the death of the body commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 

4. Infant Baptism

Baptism is an expression of the dead. Those who are baptized express that they are sinners and must die to God. Therefore, believers receive water baptism (baptism). 1 Peter 3:20-21『Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein a few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:』

In the Old Testament, sinners brought a sacrificial offering to the temple, transferred their sins to the animal, killed it, sprinkled its blood on the altar, and burned its flesh. Water baptism is the same ritual as sprinkling blood on the altar. Fire baptism is the same ritual as burning flesh on the altar. Fire baptism represents how one should have died if one had lived in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Water baptism and fire baptism represent the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore, when believers are baptized, they engrave the meaning of these in their hearts. This is circumcision of the heart.

Circumcision was used in the Old Testament to indicate that a person was dead by cutting off the foreskin, and it signified the covenant people. A covenant is a contract, but making a covenant does not mean that you have been confirmed as a covenant people. God sees faith. God appeared to Abram when he was ninety-nine years old and changed his name to Abraham. He also commanded circumcision. He also commanded that he be circumcised when he was eight days old. He also called Sarah Sarah and said that he would give her a son and make her the mother of many nations. However, Abraham did not believe God's covenant words. Genesis 17:17 "Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" Confirmation of faith is only achieved when he is 100 years old. What changed between the ages of 99 and 100?

Romans 4:2 『For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.』 It says that Abraham's faith in God at the age of 99 counted as his righteousness. It means that circumcision does not lead to faith. Romans 4:9-10 『Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.』 It means that righteousness by faith was not because of circumcision, but because of faith. Where did faith come from? From himself or from God?

Circumcision (baptism) is a calling and a covenant contract, but it is not a confirmation of faith. Faith is hoping against hope. Romans 4:18-22『Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.』

God said that He would not hold those who believe that they are dead to sin in their sins. Romans 8:1-2 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." In human thinking, they believe that this is true only for past sins and that for future worldly sins, they must repent and receive forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. However, God said that He does not apply the law of sin and death. The fleshly mind comes before the Word of God. This is because they do not believe in the words that Jesus promised, and thus the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is committed.

Since circumcision is based on the Old Testament law, infant baptism can also be seen as based on the Old Testament law. Not all who are circumcised are confirmed as covenant people. Ishmael was circumcised, but he did not become a covenant people. Even if he is baptized formally, those who do not realize that they are united with Jesus who died on the cross and do not believe in him are not confirmed as covenant people. Therefore, infant baptism is not a confirmation as a covenant people.

Regarding this, the apostle Paul speaks very clearly in Colossians 2:11-12: "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, but when the jailer saw that the prison doors were open, he assumed that they had escaped and was about to kill himself. Paul stopped him and told him that he had not escaped. So the jailer, trembling in fear at the presence of God, spoke to Paul.

In Acts 16:30-34, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straight way. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.』

The word of the Lord that Paul preached must have been about the death and resurrection of the cross. All the families who heard this word believed what Paul preached and were baptized. Believing what Paul preached is entering into a covenant with the covenant people. However, even if you believe what Paul preached, it does not mean that the word becomes a complete faith in your life. Just like the example of Peter who denied Jesus three times, anyone's faith can change due to physical weakness. This is because "his faith that he believes."

So it says in Galatians 3:23-25, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which afterwards should be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." God gives the faith of Christ as a gift to those who are united with Him in His death and resurrection.

If an infant who knows nothing about salvation dies before being baptized, it is an area where humans cannot speak carelessly about whether or not they will be saved. However, salvation is not in formal baptism, but in unity with Jesus’ death on the cross and faith in the resurrection united with Christ. Therefore, infant baptism based on the law has nothing to do with salvation. Some family members will be saved, and some will not be saved. There are families where discord arises because of Jesus Christ. However, if one person is saved, the possibility of the family being saved will greatly increase.