Water Baptism is based upon a "spiritual" baptism unto Christ.   "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?    God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?    Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized unto his death?    Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.    For if we have been grafted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:    Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.    For he that is dead is freed from sin.    Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:    Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.    For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.    Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord"  (Romans 6:1-11) (My translation).  The Greek word translated "into" in the KJV may also be translated "unto" as in "And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (I Corinthians 10:2).   In water baptism, we are to consider ourselves grafted together with Jesus, both in his death and burial and also his resurrection.  We are to consider the old man dead with Christ on the cross, but the new man alive with him.

    In water baptism, we are to consider ourselves grafted together with Jesus, both in his death and burial and also his resurrection. We are to consider the old man dead with Christ on the cross, but the new man alive with him.

1. Baptism is a picture of what happened to Jesus.

a. He lived here on the earth.
b. He was killed and was buried.
c. He arose from the grave.

2. Baptism pictures what happens to the individual as he is joined unto Jesus by faith.

a. He once lived for himself, but by faith is joined unto Jesus.
b. He dies with Jesus on the cross and was buried.
c. He, as a Believer, now has a new resurrected life with Jesus as his Lord.

3. Baptism is also a picture of what happens to the physical body.

a. We now live here on earth.
b. We will die (unless we are raptured) and will be physically buried.
c. We will be resurrected and stand before God.

    Baptism is also a "sign" of the New Covenant as circumcision was a sign of the Old Covenant.  "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:    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.    And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;    Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;    And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it"  (Colossians 2:10-15).  Again, BAPTISM is a sign or "picture" of what is to have already occurred inwardly.
   The English word "baptism" is a transliteration from the Greek word "baptisma", that is a letter for letter substitution.  In the day of the writing to the New Testament, the common usage of the Greek word "baptisma" was that in the dyeing of a garment.

1. Only true Believers (old enough to make a faith commitment) were immersed.

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?    And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.    And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him"  (Acts 8:36-38)

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"  (Acts 2:38).

"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ"  (Acts 20:21).

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"  (Acts 2:38).  The Greek word translated "for" may be understood as "because" your sins have been remitted.  One may get a ticket "for" speeding ... because he has broken the speed limit and not in order to break the speed limit.

    We should also understand that baptism is not a sacrament, but an ordinance although some churches have adopted it that way.  A sacrament is defined as a visible sign instituted by Christ to confer a special grace or divine life on those worth to receive it.  In other words, a sacrament would be something that a Believer would do in order to get special favors with God.  In contrast, an ordinance is something that is ordered by authority.  Baptism is something that Jesus commanded us to do.

1. Jesus commanded all Believers to be immersed.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"  (Matthew 28:19).  Note: First they were to teach then to baptize.

2. Peter, the apostle, taught that one should be baptized.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).

3. Paul, the apostle, practiced it.

"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.   When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:4-5).

4. All true Believers (those who had made a commitment to Jesus as Lord) submitted themselves to be baptized.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls"  (Acts 2:41).

5. Baptism is the means of union unto to the local body of Believers.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

6. Baptism, as an act of obedience, may be one requirement to received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Look at Acts 2:28 "be baptized" in the light of "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."  (Acts 5:32).

7. Jesus, our example, was baptized.

"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:15-17).

8. Baptism, is a public witness to others of the work of Jesus in the life of the Believer.

When our oldest daughter was about six years old, she witnessed a Baptism and asked about the meaning of it.  After I shared the meaning to her, she, on her own, gave her life to Jesus as her Lord.

9. Baptism helps in the saving of the soul of the Believer (helps establish in the mind will, and emotions of the Believer the truth of what has already occurred in the spirit-man).  NOTE: Water baptism in no way saves the spirit of the individual or gives eternal life.

"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:" (I Peter 3:21).  (Note: answer of a good conscience).

10. Water baptism is a part of the initiation and commissioning of the Believer into ministry.  When Jesus, our example was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon him, and he was led the Spirit to be tempted.  Then immediately he was ushered into ministry.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,    To preach the acceptable year of the Lord"  (Luke 4:18-19).

    The English word "Baptism" is not a direct translation from Scripture.  Early church leaders took the Greek letters from a Greek word "baptisma" and took the English equivalent to those letters and came up with the word baptism.  The Church at the time the English translation could not legitimately use the proper translation because the Church was not practicing immersion.  The practice of sprinkling or pouring was the common practice of the day.  Why?  The Church had come to believe two false doctrines: (1) that water baptism was essential for the salvation of man and (2) that infants needed to be baptized in order to be saved.  It would be difficult to immerse an infant or someone on their death bed. It was easier to sprinkle water on or pour water on the individual.  However, in contrast to their practice, the Greek word "baptisma" literally meant to immerse, duck under, or to dip in to cover.  Therefore, the church leaders created a new English word, "baptism", and explained that it meant to sprinkle or pour.  These false doctrines came into the institutional church when the Church was married to the world.  The time was when Constantine was emperor. Reportedly he saw what he thought was the sign of the cross in the clouds and had his army baptized thinking that would give him God's favor.  That church age is depicted in the book of Revelation with letter to the church of Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17).  Note the word "Pergamos" is a compound word implying an improper marriage.  It was a marriage between the institutional church and the world. Throughout church history there have always remained those who have chosen "immersion" as the proper method of baptism.  "Immersion" of Believers was the common practice in the New Testament:

1. John used the Jordan River (not a bowl of water).

"And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins"  (Matthew 3:6).

2. After Jesus was immersed:

"And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him"  (Mark 1:10).

3. When the eunuch was immersed:

"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him"  (Acts 8:38).

4. Immersion is a picture of the individual's burial with Jesus.

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" (Romans 6:3).  Pouring or sprinkling does not give a picture of a grave or someone buried.

"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" (Colossians

5. The basic meaning behind the word is "to immerse", "dip", or "plunge under."   See: Etymology below.

  The first reference to the word "baptism" is found in the New Testament when John baptized.   "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7).  Some scholars are quick to point to the baptism is not strictly a New Covenant concept but goes back to various "washings" or "bathing" in the Old Testament.  For example, the same Greek word that is translated "baptisms" in Hebrew 6:2 is translated "washings" in this verse: "Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation" (Hebrews 9:10).  However, John gave new dimensions to the concept.  Rather than the individual "bathing" themselves, John did the baptizing.  He also called for repentance.  "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus" (Acts 10:4).

    Therefore, when Jesus came to be baptized, John had difficulty understanding why Jesus wanted to be baptized realizing that Jesus did not need to repent.  "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.    But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?    And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.    And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:    And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  (Matthew 3:13-17).  Is Jesus, our example, defining baptism for the Church?   Jesus was thirty years old when he started his ministry.  The baptism of Jesus was symbolic of Jesus being set aside for ministry and not because he needed to have his sins washed away.  Again, the Old Testament gives the example.   "And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.   And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.   And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:     And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Exodus 40:12-14).

    Now, let us view a sequence of events that is to be a norm. "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,    He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.    And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.    Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.    When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.    And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.    And all the men were about twelve"  (Acts 19:1-7).  Paul meets the disciples of John who have been baptized by John, but have yet to commit their lives to Jesus as Lord, not knowing who Jesus is.  When Paul explains who Jesus is, they believed in him, then Paul baptizes them in the name of Jesus.  After Paul lays his hands upon them, the anointing of the Holy Spirit comes upon them for service.  See the parallel: Jesus was baptized and then the Holy Spirit came upon him.

    Although, one may be sprinkled rather than immersed, it will not keep anyone out of heaven in that water baptism is not essential for one to go to heaven.  However, there is a grave danger in what is known as "infant baptism" where one is sprinkled or christened as a baby.  The danger is that some may grow up believing that their "infant baptism" secures their eternal salvation.  It may give some a false sense of salvation hindering them from ever making a faith commitment to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  See What Must I Do To Be Saved?