Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Baptizer



Flowing Stream

The doctrine of baptism is very important to Christianity, and has a root also in the mikvah of Judaism. The mikvah in Judaism is a ritual cleansing that can be done daily, on Sabbath, and for special events, such as the bridegroom on the day of his wedding. The mikvah is a cistern deep enough for full immersion. Only living water can be used in the mikvah. That means that the water must come directly from a source of flowing water, such as a stream, river, sea, etc. The water cannot come from the tap, nor hose, nor be carried by man in buckets. This is a very interesting distinction between water that can carry and sustain life and water that does not. God, our Father, is characterized as "living water". From Jeremiah and Psalms, He is associated with kinds of living water.
"O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters.
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise."                              Jer. 17:13-14

"They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light."                          Psalm 36:8-9

Jesus identified Himself as, and with, living water (Jn. 4:10-11, Jn. 7:37-38). The term "living", not only refers to the water's ability to sustain life, but also has the meaning of prosperous life, giving life, reviving, refreshing, and restoring to life.

John the Baptist appears in the New Testament as a preacher of a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mk. 1:4). He also identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world, and Jesus, Himself, was baptized by John to fulfill righteousness. Most people can relate to John's teaching of baptism. They understand repentance and forgiveness.
Interestingly, Jesus points to something beyond this baptism of John. He gives this statement:
"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
                                                               Mt. 11:11
The Apostle Paul also points this out when he asks a question to a group of believers who had not heard of a baptism of the Holy Spirit:
"And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
                                                               Acts 19:3-4
So, believers learned that there was a baptism that went beyond John's baptism. They were then baptized in the name of Jesus.
Jesus gives this instruction Himself to His disciples as He is ending His time with them on earth:
"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."       Mt. 28:19

When we are baptized, we are baptized into something, as Paul's question above indicates: "Into what then were you baptized?"
Believers understand that we are baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Col. 2:12). But we should also understand that we are to be baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is what makes these who are baptized in this way greater than John. They are being immersed into the Name of the Almighty. They are being baptized into the Living Water, the giver, sustainer, reviver, and restorer of life-YHWY, the life-giver.

Our Father is a baptizer.

"Baptized Into Your Name Most Holy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vu_nSVxmNo

"Streaming water"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpO9xVvMcyU

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