WATER BAPTISM

Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  
Matthew 28:19

In the Gospel of Matthew, shortly before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was to return back to His throne in heaven, He sent a message to His eleven Apostles to meet with Him on a mountain in Galilee. 

His final instruction to His Apostles was for them to make disciples of all nations, and to baptize the born-again believers in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

As it is written:
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  
19 Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:  
20 Teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you.  Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Amen. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about water baptism.
As it is written:
John 3:3
3 I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  

So, we see that water baptism is not an option, it is a command from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Water Baptism

Water baptism was set in place by God the Father and fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

As it is written:
Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
14 But John tried to deter Him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me? 
15 Jesus answered, Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.  Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He came up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him,
17 And a voice from heaven said, this is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.

Water Baptism Explained by the Apostle Paul

As it is written:
Romans 6:3-9
3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 
4 We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.
6 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,
7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.
9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.

As it is written:
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

As it is written:
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.
 

The Act of Water Baptism

The act of being water baptized is when the born-again believer is totally immersed in water; lowered down under water.  This is powerful, because the born-again believer is going under water, and the born-again believer is doing so in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 

The born-again believer is going under water knowing that their sins and their old way of living are now being buried in the watery grave; and it is being done in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

When the born-again believer is raised up from being immersed under water, he or she will have left their old way of life buried in the watery grave.  He or she will come up out of the water being resurrected to a new life in Christ Jesus.  

Water baptism is also announcing publicly that the individual's sins have been forgiven and washed away by the blood of Jesus.  It is announcing publicly that the individual has died to sin.  It is announcing publicly the burial of the individual's old way of living.  It is announcing publicly the individual's resurrection to a new life in Christ Jesus.  Amen.


 

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:27

And it is so, in the name of Jesus.