Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
August 11, 2019
When the average believer hears the word “baptism” they think water is involved, and that is false.

JOH 15:2   “Every branch in Me [Baptism of the Spirit] that does not bear fruit, He takes away [Divine Discipline]; and every {branch} that bears fruit [Fruit of the Spirit], He prunes it [suffering for blessing], that it may bear more fruit [Divine good and the glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ ].

  1. The first principle that we noted in JOH 15:2 is the principle of being “in Christ, as New Creatures or “in Christ as “New Spiritual Species” which says “Every branch in Me” referring to “every believer that is found and involved the Baptism of the Spirit.

I say that because every time the average believer hears the word baptism they automatically think water is involved in some way, and that is false.

In fact, according to the Word of God there are eight different baptisms found in the Bible, Five Dry and Three Wet.

  1. The Baptism of John the Baptist; Mar 1:4.
  2. The Baptism of Moses ( 1Co 10:1–3).
  3. The Baptism of Jesus ( Mat 3:13-17 ).
  4. The Baptism of Fire ( Mat 3:11-12).

 

  1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:13).
  2. The Baptism of the Cross; (MAR 10:35-39).
  3. The Baptism of Church-age believers; (MAT 28:19).
  4. Noah’s type Baptism (1Pe 3:18-22)

So, we have eight different baptisms that are found in the New Testament which means to be identified with something or someone as we ought to.

Remember that the word baptism means identification or association, not water, though water is used in some of the baptisms.

And, as we also noted on Friday,  there are two categories of baptisms or identification in the Scripture:

  1. We have an actual identification which we call a Real Baptism.
  2. We have a Ritual Baptism which is represented by the use of water and the appropriate identification that is mentioned in the passage.

Now, there are five “real baptisms,” meaning something is really identified with something else which is real or someone else who is real.

Notice how fantastic the Apostle Paul writes as God the Holy Spirit, our Mentor, inspired the genius of the Apostle Paul, to put in writing many of the doctrines found in the Mystery Doctrines of the Church-age; EPH 3:1-10.

Eph 4:4-6, notice what the apostle Paul says;  One body, one Spirit,  one hope of your calling;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, EPH 4:6  one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

  1. There is Noah’s type of Baptism where the Apostle Peter mentions that eight people were saved by water because Noah’s family identified with Noah and they were saved or delivered OUT OF THE WATER not saved or delivered in or by the water; Gen 6:13; 1Pe 3:18-22.

We should never teach on the subject of baptism unless we include these two entire chapter found in GEN 6:1-13 and 1Pe 3:18-22.

  1. We have the Baptism unto Moses when the apostle Paul presents Israel’s baptism unto Moses “in the cloud and in the sea;” 1Co 10:1­2;  Exo 14:29.

Now, the word “baptized is the aorist passive indicative of the verb baptizo and the passive voice tells us that they received the action of the verb which is the fact that they were being identified with Moses.

This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses.

And, the water involved in this baptism killed the Egyptian military, it did not save them at all.

Here, mainly Egyptian unbelievers were immersed in the water as a means of our Lord killing them with the exception of a few Egyptians and rabble who had believed in the God of Israel, Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God who led others to salvation by means of the Ten Plagues.

Here, mainly unbelievers, with the exception of some, were immersed or dipped in the water as a means of death.

Identification with the guidance and direction of True Leadership is also the concept here.

Moses was identified with the cloud or Jesus Christ and the people were identified with Moses.

  1. The next baptism is the baptism of the cross which is found in Mark 10:38.

Here, the cup mentioned is the cup of the cross where our Lord was about to be identified with the sins of mankind.

Nothing to do with water here but everything to do with the reality of the identification that would take place between the Lord Jesus Christ drinking the cup of sins from mankind by means of the Baptism of the Cross.

Jesus Christ was identified with our personal sins and judged for them, so that we could be identified and associated with the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect righteousness that He gave to us as He became our Savior.

Here, the cup mentioned is the cup of the cross where our Lord was about to be identified with the sins of mankind.

Nothing to do with water here but everything to do with the reality of the identification that would take place between the Lord Jesus Christ drinking the cup of sins from mankind by means of the baptism of the cross.

Jesus Christ was identified with our personal sins and judged for them, so that Christ became our Savior.

  1. The fourth baptism is the Baptism of the Spirit which is a Real dry baptism and not a WET baptism because the Baptism of the Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation for Church-age believers only,     1CO 12:13.

1CO 12:13  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

The baptism of the Spirit is the means of forming the Royal Family and of breaking the back of the old sin nature as the old ruler of human life.

Through this baptism, the believer is positionally changed because he or she was placed in Christ, and identified with Him, as a member of His body, which is the Church, where He is the head and we are identified as members of His body.

In fact, this baptism, the baptism of the Spirit, is more real to us then who we are at the present time.

Now, I am going to make some statements that may seem to contradict themselves but it is only a “seeming contradiction” which means that it seems to ‘contradict itself’  until you understand the entire statement completely….and then it all makes so much sense.

So much so that we can say with the Apostle Paul in what I love to call my eye gate and ear gate presentation when Paul was so blown away  by the wisdom and knowledge and love that God has for his own; ROM 11:33-36.

ROM 11:33   Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

ROM 11:34   For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?

ROM 11:35   Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

ROM 11:36   For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Think about it, because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, what we are in our condition right now is not what we are now, positionally, as God sees us in our position not our condition.

As a real baptism we are really members of His spiritual body who are also really members of His bride.

And His Body and His Bride is more real and more of a reality than who and what we are now, in our condition.

We are all that positionally but someday we will be that experientially because as a real baptism we are really members of His body and we are really His future bride, and this is more real than who and what we are right now at this present time.

One of the other differences between a real baptism and a ritual baptism is that the Ritual Baptism can be seen whereas the Real Baptism cannot be seen but must “be” believed.

And, there are certain principles of doctrine that we learn from this particular statement such the principle found in ROM 14:23  He who doubts is condemned because he does not live in faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin.

You might ask, what kind of sin do we commit if we don’t operate in faith?

Well, the obvious ones are fear, worry, anxiety, anger, condemnation, stress, bitterness, tantrums, frustration, implacable, etc.

Thumos indicates a more agitated condition of feelings, outbursts of anger, emotions from inward indignation,  and this type of anger is overt and critical.

Orge suggests a more settled or abiding condition of mind, frequently with a view to taking vengeance followed by the silent treatment and it is much more subtle than thumos.

No matter which we have to deal with, either thumos or orge, they both have a hatred which is an emotional and irrational sin of violence.

Or even better, After salvation, then What?

I know you have heard many of the principles I am going to give you  but, as usual, we need to see the importance of the heart as our tool which over 90 % of the time, it refers to our right lobe not our cardiovascular system.

Or, to make it even simpler, we could say that the word lebh in the Hebrew or kardia in the Greek are both translated heart but both refer to brain function, not to the emotions or beating your chest because you feel so guilty and condemned but in reality the heart, as it is used in the Bible, refers to the brain and how one thinks.

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