About Our Confusion About Baptism

If you have followed my study of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, you have come across some common words and phrases used by Christians. These include born again, born from above, water, Spirit, flesh. Confusion and disagreement about these words and their meanings continue among us Christians. We argue back and forth about water baptism versus Spirit baptism, one baptism versus many baptisms, about which baptism saves, the baptism of children, making a decision for Christ before being baptized and so forth.

I do not suggest that my comments will bring an end to these arguments. Each of us must make his or her own decisions about these matters. Instead, I will summarize what I have shared in my earlier blogs about this important conversation and invite you to draw your own conclusions.

1. Nicodemus and his party saw Jesus as a Rabbi, but failed to see Him as the LORD, YHWH, God with us, Emmanuel, the Word (logos), the Son of God.
2. To gain this insight and faith, one must be reborn.
3. This rebirth comes from above; it is the work of God's Holy Spirit. Like the wind it is outside human control or decision making.
4. These reborn are chosen by God to be members of the royal family of Jesus Christ (Messiah), priests of God, members of Jesus body and of the Father's eternal family. 
5. Water plays a critical role in this rebirthing work of the Holy Spirit. It points to the long history of God's chosen people Israel and to their Exodus journey from slavery to the promised land. 
6. In, with and through this water (baptism) the Spirit declares us reborn to be members of God's chosen people, forgiven for all sins for the sake of Christ and promises that God will raise us up with Him in the new creation.
7. This powerful Word connected with the water (baptism) both creates and sustains the Spirit's new life within us as we continue on our journey to the promised land.

If indeed you are a reborn member of God chosen people, you personally know and understand what I have summarized above. You are not like Nicodemus who asked, "How can these things be?" (John 3:9). You also understand that these are but earthly things. Knowledge about heavenly things still awaits us (John 3:10-13). however, the center, the crux of the matter, the most important point at issue in the whole conversation is to be found in these words of Jesus:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - Jhn 3:14-18 ESV

Jesus purposely draws a parallel between what was to happen to him upon the cross and the bronze serpent Moses was commanded to raise up as he led the Israelites on their journey to the promised land (Numbers 21:7-9). You see, they complained again about the misery of the wilderness. There was no food, no water and they had come to loathe the daily supply of Manna, calling it "worthless food". To awaken them to their sin the LORD sent venomous snakes among them. Many died. This led to their confession and plea, "Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses did and the LORD heard their prayers.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. - Num 21:8-9 ESV

This bronze serpent event, said Jesus, points beyond itself to the cross upon which Jesus was to be raised up. And it is all God's doing, God's gracious gift. Just as the wilderness people did not die from the snake bites, so all who believe that Jesus was judged, condemned and killed upon the Roman cross on the hill of Calvary for us and for all, will not die. They will be saved from the eternal wrath of God and receive instead a resurrected body and a new life that will never end.

That, as I said, is the crux of the matter, what its all about. Nothing else matters more than this. It is all about God's grace, unearned and undeserved. And faith to believe it is all the working of God's Spirit, sent from above and beyond us, working through this Word of grace. This is the rebirth Jesus speaks about, for which we shall praise him and the Father to all eternity.

I shall wrap up this discussion in my next post.