2002-12-26
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
We continue looking at the list of seven ones in EPH 4: 4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, Who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.” Anytime that a formerly traditional Jew has the veil lifted [2 COR 3: 13-14] and comes to faith in Christ, he finds himself at the juncture where he is asked to become baptized. That means having enough understanding of this Christian ritual to see its importance. As I see it, baptism is the outward symbol of the inward transformation by the renewal of one’s mind, an action only God through the Holy Spirit can bring about. Moreover, it is symbolically a fresh start spiritually, the being born again in the spirit [RO 6: 3-4]. We have already looked at these elements in the list of seven: 1) one body [the Body of Christ, the church]; 2) one Spirit [the Holy Spirit]; 3) one hope to which god has called you [the Gospel of Jesus Christ]; 4) one Lord [Jesus Christ]; 5) one faith; and today, we look at 6) one baptism.
Baptism is a new covenant ritual which actually has its foundations in the old covenant. The symbolic washing for purification that was done in the “mikvah” certainly suggests God’s direction for doing this didn’t just come out of the blue. Archeological ruins uncovered next to the Temple Mount area show the presence of these rectangular pools with steps leading down to them. These were the places where people were to ritually wash themselves before entering the Temple itself. In ancient Israel, purification didn’t always involve water. The act of being circumcised for men was a form or preparing oneself for the covenant relationship with God. The fact that Abraham was deemed acceptable to God before his circumcision [GN 15: 6] points out that the latter was a symbol of the inward transformation which had already happened and not the cause of it [GN 17: 10-27]. It was a sign of an everlasting commitment between a person and God. The words of PS 51: 10-12 bring up the issue of spiritual purification which the believer seeks from the only Source where it is available. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and loyal Spirit in me. Do not banish me from Your presence; do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You.” Another symbol used for purification of heart and righteousness in the Lord’s eyes is white linen. You’ll remember that Jeremiah’s shorts in JER 13, were made of white linen. After he followed God’s instructions to bury them and the water got at them, they shrunk. This was the God’s way of demonstrating that the heart of faithfulness of the Jewish people had shrunk just prior to their punishment (which came in the form of the Babylonian Captivity) for habitual sinning. The story of the shorts was a dramatic warning from Jeremiah of what was to happen to the people of Judah.
The ritual of baptism with which we are familiar is a feature of the new covenant that began with the ministry of John the Baptist. It was water baptism and the promise of even more to come in MT 3: 11, “I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the One Who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry His sandals.” This humility set a wonderful example for all of us. Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist evokes a beautiful picture in our minds of this ritual and what it means to us. MT 3: 16-17, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on Him. Then a voice said from heaven, ‘This is My own dear Son, with Whom I am pleased.’” The nature of this being reborn in the Spirit is eloquently explained by Jesus to a Pharisee from the Sanhedrin [Jewish Ruling Council], Nicodemus, who had come to Christ under cover of night for His teaching in JN 3: 5-7, “’I am telling you the truth,’ replied Jesus [to Nicodemus’ question about being born a second time], ‘that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but he is born spiritually of the Spirit. Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must be born again.’” The significance of baptism should not be under rated. While it is a symbol of the salvation already granted by Christ’s Atonement and our repentance and faith in Him, it is a necessary mark of our continuing commitment to that faith. COL 2: 11-12 helps us to understand even better. “In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by men, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self. For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, Who raised Him from death.” RO 2: 29 speaks directly to us about what a real Jew is, “Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives his praise from God, not from man.” Today, each of us is called to examine the question: What does my baptism mean to me?
PRAYER: O Lord, each of us is faced with waging spiritual warfare against the forces of evil. You have equipped us for victory, even though we must suffer pain and loss, and sometimes even martyrdom. We ask ourselves: Are we worthy to receive the blessings You give us? Of course, only Your Son, the One You have given sole authority to judge us [DN 7: 13-14] can answer that question. However, You have mapped out a course for us to follow that begins with our confession and repentance of sins, followed by our profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to stop there. We must become baptized as a symbol of the commitment we have made to be Your covenant partners in the Covenant of Grace. What a privilege it is for us to have been called by You to come to faith, to have the opportunity of salvation afforded us by the sacrifice of Your Son, and to be given the blessings and protection we have from You! You have given us the gift of Your Spirit to dwell within us and have instructed us to take care of our bodies, as they are the “temples of that Spirit” [1 COR 6: 19] and are told that we belong to You, not ourselves. The lives we lead must be in conformity to the standard set up by Christ and not the world [RO 12: 2]. Furthermore, You command us to us is to live “in Christ,” as described in EPH 5: 1-2. “Since you are God’s dear children, you must try to be like Him. Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave His life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.” And, You have commanded us to proclaim our faith in Him [MT 28: 19-20]. While not always easy to carry out this command, You bless us with eternal life when we do. COL 3: 3-4 describes our goal today and always. “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” Thank You, Dearest Abba, for giving us Christ’s example of worthiness to follow, for protecting us through the challenges to our faith that Satan sends us, and for enabling us to understand and follow Your directives by means of the Holy Spirit, so that we can experience joy and fellowship with You eternally. It is through Him that we are made worthy to receive these blessings. We humbly confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to discuss the seventh element in our list of ones: 7) one God and Father of all mankind. Are you feeling blessed? I hope so. It has been my discovery as I study God’s word daily that God’s blessings are in every facet in my life. Just watching Him at work in my own life and in the lives around me helps me to see those blessings. Obviously, there are times when I search for His lesson in something that is happening in my life. But, that is due to the limits of human perspective, not because the blessings aren’t there. Not seeing a blessing coming my way from Him can also be caused by sins like impatience in waiting for His perfect time, not taking the time to look for what He is teaching me, or most importantly, not seeking Him out when the need arises. Frankly, that need is often. God is with us every minute of the day and night, looking for opportunities to help purify our hearts from the temptations to sin that abound around us. For Him, it’s a “love-task” to provide the lessons we need to learn and teach us to look for them. His greatest desire, the desire of His loving heart, is to save and sanctify as many people as will allow that, so they can return to His side in heaven for eternal joy, fellowship, and peace with Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn