1) Introduction

There is much confusion regarding baptism in Christian circles. There is disagreement among, and even within, different religious groups as to how, when, by whom, and in whose name a person should be baptised. This prompted us to examine baptism – or rather, baptisms – from a biblical perspective.

 

Origin of the word

The Greek word „baptizo“ or „baptízein (βαπτίζειν)“, from which our English word „baptise“ is derived, means „to immerse, to wet, to dye“. „Flavius Josephus uses the term baptismós (βαπτισμός) – baptism – in the context of his account of John the Baptist„ [1] It can be said that this word is a term that gained its meaning through the ministry of Yehoshua (Jesus).

 

1) Ablutions in Israel and other ancient cultures

Long before Yehoshua (Jesus), there were purification customs and ablutions in Jewish culture as well as in other cultures. The following example shows how the people of Israel were to purify themselves before meeting YaHWeH.

Exodus 19:9–10, 14: „9 And YHWH said to Moshe: Behold, I come to you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. And Moshe told the words of the people to YHWH. 10 And YHWH said to Moshe: Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. […] 14 And Moshe went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes„

These purification customs were also in place when Yehoshua began his ministry.

John 2:6: „And there were six water jars of stone set there, according to the purification of the Jews, containing each two or three measures“.

The word „purification“ used here is „katharismos“ in Greek and, in this context, refers to the washing of hands before eating.

In John 3:25, „katharismos“ refers to the baptism practised by Yohanan (John) the Baptist and Yehoshua’s disciples: 

„22 After these things, Yehoshua and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. 23 And Yohanan also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was many waters there, and they came, and were baptized. 24 For Yohanan was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then a debate arose from the disciples of Yohanan with the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to Yohanan and said to him: Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Yarden and to whom you testified, behold this one is baptizing, and all are coming to him. 27 Yohanan answered and said: a human being can take nothing, unless it be given him out of heaven. 28 You yourselves testify to me that I said: I am not the Mashiah, but that I am sent before him. 29 He who is having the Bride is the Bridegroom, but the friend of the Bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, rejoices with joy because of the Bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase and I must decrease in popularity„ (John 3:22–30).

During the time of John the Baptist, baptism was thus still connected with the purification rites of the Old Covenant. But John himself pointed out that these rites were coming to an end, as they had been instituted only for a time (v. 30). There can be no question of „baptism“ (in the Christian sense) either in the Old Covenant or in other cultures.

 

3) Types of baptism since Yehoshua of Nazareth

a) The baptism of John

Luke 3:3: „And he [i.e. John the Baptist] came into all the region round about the Yarden, preaching the baptism of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins„

This baptism, then, served the purpose of repentance, namely to prepare the way for the Mashiah (Messiah) in Israel at that time, for whom the people had long been waiting and who was about to be revealed. For we read further: 

„4 as it is written in the book of the words of Yesha`yah the prophet, saying: Voice crying: In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rocky ways will be made smooth. 6 And all flesh will see the salvation of Elohim„ (Luke 3:4–6).

The Jews were already waiting for their Messiah at that time, as they knew the prophecies of Isaiah and other prophets who promised the Saviour. John reminded them once again that this waiting had to do with purification. He made it clear to them that this time, however, it was a matter of purification from past deeds—that is, a new attitude of heart—and no longer a matter of outward ablutions.

Out of obedience and to set an example for us, Yehoshua himself was baptised by Yohanan, even though he was already pure and without sin: 

„21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Yehoshua also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, like a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven: You are my Son, the Beloved! In you I am well pleased“ (Luke 3:21–22).

With Yehoshua, Yohanan’s baptism was abolished. It was merely a stage in Elohim’s (God’s) plan of salvation. This is also very clearly evident from the following text: 

„1 And it came to pass that while Apollos was in Corinth, that Paulos, having passed through the upper parts, came to Ephesus. And finding certain disciples, 2 he said to them: Have you received the Holy Spirit since you have believed? And they said to him: But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. 3 And he said to them: Into what then were you baptized? And they said: Into the baptism of Yohanan. 4 But Paulos said: Truly, Yohanan baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people to believe in him who would come after him, that is, in Yehoshua Mashiah. 5 And they having heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yehoshua. 6 And Paulos having laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and, not only did they speak in tongues, but also prophesied“ (Acts 19:1–6)

This passage from the Bible shows that those people who had been baptised by John were already disciples, that is, followers of Yehoshua’s teaching. But they were still lacking something: the Holy Spirit.

 

b) The baptism of the Holy Spirit

John the Baptist knew that his baptism was not yet final and therefore pointed this out to the people: 

„… I indeed baptize you with water. But one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire“ (Luke 3:16). 

In the following points, we shall consider what the baptism with the Holy Spirit is and what the baptism of fire is.

Firstly, it must be clear why Yohanan the Baptist could not baptise with the Holy Spirit: 

„18 For Mashiah also has once suffered for sins, he righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, in order lead us to Elohim, having indeed been put to death in the flesh, but brought back to life by the Spirit, 19 in which also having gone, he preached to the spirits in prison, 20 having once refused to believe, when once the patience of Elohim waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a small number of souls, that is eight, were preserved from danger through water, 21 which also is an antitype which saves us now, baptism, not the purification of the filth of the flesh, but the demand to Elohim of a good conscience, through the resurrection of Yehoshua Mashiah“ (1 Peter 3:18–21).

In verse 18 we read that Yehoshua Mashiah was made alive by the Spirit. We cannot say the same of Yohanan the Baptist. He was merely an ordinary man. But Yehoshua was the One raised from the dead. Yehoshua was raised by the Spirit because He Himself is Elohim and Spirit. Who else, then, can baptise with the Spirit, other than the One who is Spirit Himself? Dear reader, no pastor, prophet, man or woman of Elohim can baptise you with the Spirit. 

„It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing“ (John 6:63). 

Baptism in the Spirit is not within the power of man. Man can proclaim the Gospel. But it is Elohim who draws people to Himself through His Spirit: 

„… no one can come to me, unless it is given him out of my Father“ (John 6:65).

But why does man need the Holy Spirit, and what does He actually do?

• John 16:8–11: „8 And he, having come, he will convince the world about sin, about justice and about judgment: 9 about sin indeed, because they do not believe in me; 10 and about justice, because I go to my Father and you see me no more; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged“. 

The Holy Spirit convicts. Man becomes aware that he has lived in sin all his life, that only Elohim is righteous, and that, unless he changes, he is subject to judgement like the prince of this world.

• Titus 3:4–7: „4 But, when the kindness and the philanthropy of Elohim our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not on the basis of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, through the bath of the new birth and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 which he shed on us abundantly through Yehoshua Mashiah our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace, we should become, according to the hope, heirs of the eternal life„. 

The Holy Spirit thus purifies us and brings about our rebirth (better: birth from above; see our teaching “Conversion”). Only through this do we become heirs of life, and thus, to put it simply, enter heaven. (It is interesting that Paul refers again in verse 5 to the washings of the Old Covenant; see above).

• 1 Corinthians 6:11: „And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Yehoshua and in the Spirit of our Elohim“. 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit thus brings about the cleansing, sanctification and justification of man.

• 1 Corinthians 12:13: „For also in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, whether slaves or free, and we have all been made to drink into one Spirit“. 

Through baptism, the Holy Spirit unites the body of the Messiah; He unites nations and Jews.

• Ephesians 1:13-14: „13 In whom you also, after that you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in him also you have believed, you were marked with the seal of the holy Spirit of the promise, 14 which is the pledge of our inheritance for the redemption of those whom he has acquired, for the praise of his glory“.

The Holy Spirit is therefore the guarantor that we receive the promise of eternal life, as expressed above, and enter heaven.

We thus recognise from the explanations of Paul, Peter and the Lord Yehoshua himself that baptism with the Holy Spirit saves a person.

Misleadingly, it is preached in charismatic and Pentecostal churches that the baptism of the Spirit inevitably results in speaking in tongues, that is, speaking in angelic languages that people do not understand. However, if we refer to 1 Corinthians 13:1, we understand that speaking in tongues is not necessary for salvation, but merely an external manifestation: 

„If I speak with the tongues of humans and of angels, and do not have love, I have become a resounding brass, or a cymbal that frequently repeats the cry alala“.

The Spirit gives as He wills and to whom He wills. Speaking in tongues is merely a small gift from Elohim and by no means the sign of salvation! This gift, for example, was received by the Ephesians upon whom Paul laid his hands: “And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they not only spoke in tongues but even prophesied” (Acts 19:6).

Our motivation, however, should be the saving, clear conscience of which we have already read above: 

„which also is an antitype which saves us now, baptism, not the purification of the filth of the flesh, but the demand to Elohim of a good conscience, through the resurrection of Yehoshua Mashiah“ (1 Peter 3:21).

 

c) Baptism in the name of Yehoshua

„3 And he said to them: Into what then were you baptized? And they said: Into the baptism of Yohanan. 4 But Paulos said: Truly, Yohanan baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people to believe in him who would come after him, that is, in Yehoshua Mashiah. 5 And they having heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yehoshua„. (Acts 19:3–5).

These disciples had therefore already been baptised with the baptism of John, but now they were additionally baptised „in the name of the Lord Yehoshua„.

This was an outward sign that they believed in Mashiah Yehoshua (V.4). This baptism refers to baptism by immersion in water. It is intended to demonstrate that the person being baptised has already become a child of Elohim in their heart. It is therefore important to understand that it is not this baptism that saves the sinner, but his prior decision to follow Yehoshua. 

If a person has repented shortly before his death and, for whatever reason, has not been baptised (desert, prison, deathbed, …), he is nevertheless saved. Let us only recall the criminal who hung on the cross beside Yehoshua and to whom the Lord had promised: „Today you will be with me in paradise“ (see Luke 23:39–43). 

What matters is not baptism itself, but the attitude of the heart!

Why should Christians undergo water baptism?

• Immersion in water is a sign that the old self has died and that a new self, cleansed, is rising. Yehoshua Mashiah, too, was immersed in the realm of the dead before he rose gloriously from the dead.
• In the time of the early Christians, under the Roman Empire, it took courage to be baptised publicly. Those who followed the „new way“ – as the teaching of Yehoshua Mashiah was called at the time – were ostracised and persecuted. Those who were baptised were truly serious about it. What a contrast this is to our baptisms today: adults and, above all, children in the free Christian milieu, who are by no means aware of following Yehoshua, are being baptised. Not to mention the Catholic and also the Protestant Churches, which baptise babies without any capacity for decision-making and thus incorporate them! Baptisms that can be taken seriously are found today more in countries where Christians are persecuted, such as North Korea or Afghanistan, than in our Western world. This, however, will also change, as living as a true Christian and follower of Yehoshua is becoming increasingly difficult here in Europe too. In future, a Christian who publicly professes faith in Yehoshua and his teachings will face dangers here as well.

Who can baptise and who cannot?

• In principle, any professing Christian may baptise another person. A professing Christian is – according to the Bible, Romans 10:9–10 – one who confesses Yehoshua as Lord with his mouth and believes in his heart that Elohim raised him from the dead. Such a person must therefore not adhere to any other creed, such as that of the Catholic Church; otherwise, they no longer trust in the risen Yehoshua alone, but in a human institution, and are thus not saved. Logically, an unsaved person cannot lead another person to salvation: „Leave them: They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch“ (Matthew 15:14).
• The administration of baptism is therefore not restricted to pastors and church leaders!
• It is very pleasant when a woman baptises another woman and a man baptises another man. However, this is by no means a doctrine, but a suggestion, should the opportunity arise.

Yehoshua himself commanded his followers to perform baptism by immersion: „Therefore, having gone, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit„ (Matthew 28:19).

Petros said to the people: „… let every one of you be baptized on the name of Yehoshua Mashiah for the forgiveness of your sins …“ (Acts 2:38).

The question of whether one should be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit or in the name of Yehoshua is moot, since Yehoshua himself is Father, Son and Spirit; it therefore always revolves around the person of Yehoshua! (see another article „ELOHIM (God) is not a Trinity“).

 

d) Baptism with fire

„Yohanan answered, saying to all: I indeed baptize you with water. But one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire„ (Luke 3:16).

What baptism by fire exactly means is described in more detail in the following verse: „His winnowing shovel is in his hand and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire„ (Luke 3:17).

Let us take a look at what the winnowing shovel is all about: The winnowing fork was a small shovel used to toss a portion of wheat into the air so that the wind could blow away the lighter chaff (Isaiah 30:24; Jeremiah 4:11). This tool is also mentioned symbolically in connection with the judgements of Elohim (Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; 51:2) and the judging power of the testimony of the Lord Yehoshua (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17)“ (www.bibelkommentare.de – Bible Encyclopaedia).

Fire is therefore associated with judgement. In the Bible, there are two judgements: 

• The judgement for the unbelievers, which is mentioned here only for the sake of completeness.

James 5:1-3: „1 To you now, you rich men! Weep and wail for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are rotten, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a witness for you, and will devour your flesh as fire. You have accumulated riches in the last days“

• The judgement of the believers, which concerns us in connection with baptism.

Heb 12:28-29: „28 Therefore, receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, through which we may serve Elohim acceptably with reverence and fear, 29 for our Elohim is also a consuming fire„.

That judgement always involves separation is evident from the following passage.

Luke 12:49–53: „49 I have come to cast fire into the Earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished. 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on Earth? No, I say to you, but rather division. 52 For from now on, five in one house will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father will be divided against the son and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law“

Yehoshua speaks clearly and plainly here that the fire is a baptism and that through it believers will be separated from unbelievers. The judgement described here takes place – as mentioned in verse 49 – already on earth.

The Gospel of Matthew speaks of the final judgement, in which the sheep are separated from the goats. Some Bibles refer to this passage as „The Last Judgement“. Please read Matthew 25:31–46!

The lifelong baptism of fire relates to a Christian’s daily way of life. Over the course of a Christian’s life, it separates them from old friends, habits, wounds and errors of the soul. This is often a painful process, as we must bid farewell to things, customs or people that do not fit into the Kingdom of Elohim. The baptism of fire burns away the fruits of the flesh in favour of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–25). We must defend our position as children of Elohim (which is beautifully described in Ephesians 2:1–6), and this only works if we follow the Spirit of Elohim. (This transformation through the Spirit is explained in more detail in the Article/Bible study „Conversion: Receiving the Holy Spirit and Walking with Him“)

Another famous saying (image) of Yehoshua Mashiah expresses exactly what is meant by the baptism of fire for a Christian: 

„34 … Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his soul, will lose it, but whoever will lose his soul for my sake and the gospel’s, the same will save it“ (Mark 8:34–35).

 

Conclusion

We must learn to understand and distinguish the language of the Bible; otherwise, firstly, we will not know what Yehoshua truly wishes to teach us, and secondly, we will pass on false teachings and practices to others!

We therefore reiterate that there are different types when the Bible speaks of „baptism“:

Yohanan’s baptism formerly prepared the way for the Messiah. Jews were to repent and be baptised in the Jordan. Today this no longer applies: „It is finished“ (John 19:30).

 

Baptisms that are still valid for us:

The baptism that leads to salvation is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which a person receives when they accept Yehoshua into their life. The Holy Spirit within you testifies that you will go to heaven, or rather, that from now on you belong to heaven. This has nothing to do with speaking in tongues!

Baptism in the name of Yehoshua does not bring salvation, but is merely the consequence of it. This baptism is a water baptism and follows the baptism with the Spirit. It is an act of obedience to testify before the world that one now belongs to Yehoshua.

Baptism with fire, on the other hand, is a saving baptism, because it purifies the Christian and ensures his salvation to the very end, so that he does not „suffer shipwreck in the faith“.

It already passes judgement during the believer’s lifetime

• in his heart, so that evil may be separated from him
• in his family, his Christian congregation and his wider circle, so that it may become clear who is a Christian and who is not

It will also bring judgement in eternity

• to show believers their deeds once more and to reward them accordingly
• to separate the wicked from the righteous forever

———————————————————————————————————————————

[1] Wikipedia: Baptism