Water Baptism Is The First Step Toward Insurrection = Identification With Christ Through Death, Burial, and Resurrection

IS IT REALLY NECESSARY?

As the title of this page communicates, baptism is your identification with Jesus through your death, your burial, and your resurrection into a new life.

Water baptism is significantly important for several reasons. It is the (1) first act of obedience to your new Lord, (2) it represents your death to your former life in the kingdom of darkness, (3) you come out of the water as a new creation in Christ — raised to newness of life.  You have become a part of the “BODY OF JESUS CHRIST” on this earth.

WATER BAPTISM REPRESENTS OUR DEATH TO OUR OLD LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND REBIRTH AS A NEW CREATION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Water baptism by immersion is required for true salvation.

Tilt ! Tilt ! I know this last statement upsets the traditionally and institutionally minded people because they don’t understand the difference between being “saved” and being “regenerated”. Please continue through this post to uncover the truth.

Much of the church world does not understand the difference between being “born again” (regeneration) and salvation (“sozo“)- THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

MARK 16:16 —“He who has believed AND has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

• BELIEVING leads to being “born from above”
• birth into the Father’s family
• “regeneration” of our human spirit by the Holy Spirit
• citizenship in heaven
• BAPTISM leads to “salvation”  [ which is not the same as being “born again”]
• “sozo”
• deliverance from the “world” by dying

• 1 John 2:15-17 — ”Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
• raised to a new life as a “new creation”
• a new “species” on this earth
• becoming a part of the “body of Christ”
• “in union with Jesus” on this earth

MATTHEW 28:19 — “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,…”

• “make disciples” of Jesus by training them
• to be a disciple of Jesus you must be baptized and understand what that actually means

JOHN 3:5 — “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

COLOSSIANS 2:11-12 — “and in Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, and the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

ROMANS 6:4 — “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

• you died and were buried under the water at baptism
• your old life in the world ceased to exist
• you were resurrected into a new life in Christ
• you entered into a “newness of LIFE” in union with Jesus as a part of His body on this earth —  a new Species
• You were making a statement that was “insurrection” —  you were changing your allegiance from the kingdom of darkness TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

There are several issues that the Scriptures bring up that we must address.
• In Mark 16 it says “shall be saved” — what does that mean?
• Also in Mark 16 it says “he who has believed” — what does that mean?
• In John 3 it says “unless one is born of water and the Spirit” — what does that mean?
• In Colossians 2 it says “circumcision made without hands” — what does that mean?
• In Romans 6 it says “buried with him in baptism into death” — what does that mean?
All of these questions have to do with the significance of water baptism.
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Within the mainline institutional church there are several ways that water baptism occurs. There are some denominations that believe babies should be baptized. This type of baptism is performed simply by sprinkling water on baby’s forehead or pouring some water over the baby’s forehead. If you search the Scriptures you will find no justification for this kind of baptism.

You will also find many denominations that believe baptism in water must be done by immersion, or completely dunking under the water. This method of water baptism is the only example of water baptism that we find in the Scriptures. It was the example that was given to us when Jesus was actually baptized in water by John the Baptist.

Some believe that baptism in water is not essential and therefore it is your choice whether to be baptized or not. There is only one Scripture in the entire Bible that is used to support this position. That is the Scripture about the thief on the cross where Jesus told him, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” This was an extremely isolated event and it is not the norm that is taught in Scripture, but I do believe that if you yield in your life to Jesus Christ on your death bed and you had absolutely no way to be baptized when you died that you would go to heaven. That would be an extremely rare situation.

Total submersion under the water is the only way that water baptism can be compared to be being buried as is indicated by the Scriptures.

WHY IS WATER BAPTISM BY SUBMERSION SO SIGNIFICANT?

In Mark 16 “he who has believed” and “shall be saved” have to do with the persons response to the message that Jesus Christ is Lord and that the kingdom of God is at hand.

When one believes that the kingdom of God is at hand and yields his life to Jesus as Lord by rejecting his participation in the kingdom of darkness he makes a quality decision to enter the kingdom of God and to begin a new life of obedience to King Jesus. When this is done that person believed that Jesus was raised from the dead and is now alive will receive admission into the family of God and be given the Holy Spirit to live within them. That person will be “born again” or “born from above” because before they yielded to the Lordship of Jesus they were “dead” spiritually and did not have the life of God until God gave them the Holy Spirit to live within them.

John 14:16 — “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

Their being dead to God had been changed to life in God’s family by the “regenerating” power of the Holy Spirit. This act of regeneration is what we call being born again, but being born again does not mean the same thing as being “saved”.

Being born again gives us new life, but it does not give us the power or ability to turn our back on the kingdom of darkness. That occurs when we “die” under the water and are raised up as a “new creation” in Christ. We are “saved” when Jesus calls us to “come, die, and live”.

You are probably now wondering if I have been given the life  ( “zoe” ) of God by the Holy Spirit when I was born again, then what is “salvation”? What am I saved from? The answer: Saved from the consequences of your rebellion to God by living in the kingdom of darkness ( THE WORLD WITH ITS SYSTEMS OF CONTROL) that is ruled by Satan. Living in the world / kingdom of darkness is in essence a life of total “self willfulness” just like the prince of darkness, Satan. Satan, or the Devil, are the names most used when we refer to the fallen angel that was named Lucifer.

Put all of the Scriptures together and you begin to form a picture of something that is very significant. The basic significance is that baptism by immersion under the water is a public outward demonstration to the world and to spiritual forces that because of your decision to submit your allegiance to Jesus as the Lord of your life that your life has been changed and you have changed your allegiance from this moment forward. Your allegiance is no longer to the world systems / kingdom of darkness and Satan’s influence over your life. You have literally died to it and going under the water symbolizes that death to and burial of the old life. You literally turn your back on the “world systems” that are under Satan’s control and begin a life of following King Jesus as one of His disciples and becoming a child in the family of God.

In the first century when someone chose to follow Jesus and were baptized in water they became an instant enemy to the State ( the Roman Empire ) and an enemy to Satan and his kingdom of darkness because they were now giving their allegiance to a new nation, a new kingdom, under the rule of a new King and Lord.  That is the reason they had such persecution and so many of these disciples were tortured and killed.  When they were baptized they instantly became part of the insurrection and revolution started by that radical named Jesus.

Acts 17:6-7 —  “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

When you get baptized in water you too are becoming a part of that insurrection against the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan because now there is another King you have submitted your allegiance to.

When you are raised up from under the water it represents your birth into your “new life” as a disciple of King Jesus and being in union with Him. You have become a brand new creation upon this earth. You have cut your ties to the world with its systems of control over your life and you have declared a new allegiance and a new citizenship that is in the heavenly nation called the “EKKLESIA“.  The Scripture says that you have been raised up into a new life. This new life is a life of allegiance to King Jesus because you are now “one with Him” and you now continue on with the same purpose and ministry that He was doing during His earth life. You now live a life of thanksgiving to Him for loving us enough to seek us out, tell us the truth about the two kingdoms, and deliver us from our enslavement to the kingdom of darkness and the consequences of our former allegiance to that kingdom and its systems of control. Once you have experienced water baptism after bowing to King Jesus, He enables you to become a part of the Church He is building called the “ekklesia” and you become a new creation as a child of God and are in union with Him as a new creation, or species, upon this earth.

The “ekklesia” is the “Church that Jesus is building”.  It is the “body of Christ” upon this earth.  As like the human body, it is broken down into small groups we call “cells”, or “kingdom communities”,  or “kingdom outposts”, or “covenant life groups” where the building up of the body occurs.

Ephesians 4:11-16 —  “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

The training for becoming a “disciple of Jesus” it to take place within the cell, or one of these small group communities mentioned above.

Matthew 16:18 (NLT) — “Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

**NOTE:  The “rock” Jesus was referring to was not Peter.  It was the revelation that Jesus is the Christ.  The Church was not built upon Peter; it is being built by Jesus upon the revelation of who He is.

This whole process of: (1) being presented with the “good news” ( the gospel of the kingdom that declares the kingdom of God is at hand ), (2) you then acknowledged making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, and (3) then you being baptized in water was all done to demonstrate how much God actually loves you by giving you His life and giving you the power to be “saved” ( delivered from & empowered to overcome the world systems) from slavery to the kingdom of darkness under Satan’s control which are also known as the “world systems”.

I John 2:15-16 — “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

• In this scripture “the world” is the Greek word referring to the systems of this world under Satan’s control.

JOHN 3: 16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten and so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him”.

• In this scripture “the world” is the Greek word referring to the people in this world.

The Scripture in Colossians 2 deals with a significant spiritual truth that is called the “circumcision of the heart”. That is a significant act when someone enters into a covenant relationship with another person. It is called the “mark of covenant”.

The Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we have actually become a “new creature” because we have been joined with Jesus by His Holy Spirit as one new body of Christ on this earth through being born again, being baptized, and entering into  our blood covenant relationship with Jesus.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 — “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

According to Scripture as soon as someone makes a commitment to submit their allegiance to the Lordship of Jesus and repent by rejecting the kingdom of darkness in their life, they need to be baptized in water as soon as possible – not a month away in a special ceremony at a church meeting when it’s convenient.

Water baptism is actually your very first step of obedience to your new Lord and Master. It is a declaration to the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God and everyone on earth that you have made Jesus your Lord, you are entering His kingdom, and you are cutting all ties with the “world systems in the kingdom of darkness”. Your baptism can take place in the church building’s baptismal tank, or in a river, or in a swimming pool, or in a bath tub, or in a lake, or the ocean. It doesn’t matter as long as you understand what you are really doing.

If we’re simply doing a “religious” thing then don’t concern yourself with it because nothing has really changed. You are still doing what you want to do rather than what He is saying for you to do.

Remember, in covenant, there is an exchanged life — you exchanged the lordship of your life to Him and He became the Lord of your life and He imparted to you His righteousness and His faith so you could reign in life through Him —  by your baptism you literally became “ONE WITH HIM” as a “NEW CREATION” on this earth called the “BODY OF CHRIST”.

The reason so many Christians were put to death and slaughtered by the Romans was because the act of water baptism was an act of defiance and insurrection declaring the swearing of a new allegiance  to a new Lord.  When anyone said Jesus was their Lord that was direct defiance to Caesar;  for in the Roman Empire only Caesar was called Lord.