Baptism, water and spiritual, is only found in the New Testament. It has been said that it comes from the Jewish rite of baptism required when a proselyte is converted to Judaism. If so this ritual is not recorded in the Old Testament as such. This could be where the confusion begins with a misunderstanding about baptism in the church today.

The first time baptism is referred to in the Bible is when John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness (Matt 3:1-12). It is interesting that in these twelve verses we find the word baptize or one of its derivatives five times identifying two different types of baptisms. In (v.6) we see water baptism at a time when the candidate came to John with a repentant heart confessing his or her sins.

In (v.11) we find both water baptism of John and the first mention of a spiritual baptism with the Holy Spirit that Christ Jesus would perform. Unless the two are understood for their different purpose, there will always be disagreements about the place and purpose of water baptism and spiritual baptism with the Holy Spirit.

It is necessary to consider words and their contextual use because the Bible does not contradict itself. If a person’s belief is not in line with the written word of God they either have an error in their belief or they do not understand the meaning of God’s word.

We would do well in our search for truth to put away denominational or local church jargon and use Biblical terms in the vernacular of our day. If this means translating them to modern language for understanding than so be it. Jesus spoke the street language of the time and place of His earthly walk.

For the purpose of this article I am considering the New Testament difference between water baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit and whether water baptism is a requirement for salvation or if it is a testimony of the believer’s relationship to Christ Jesus. References are from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise stated.

It had been 400 years since God had spoken to Israel His chosen people. In the desert "the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias." He was a strange looking man with long hair and a beard dressed in clothes made of camels hair with a leather belt around his waist. He left the wilderness and went to an area near the Jordan River and began preaching a message of repentance that the people had never heard from the religious leaders of their day.

The Jewish people to whom John's ministry was directed were familiar with the concepts of repentance and forgiveness of sins (1 Kings 8:33-34; Isa 55:6-7) even though complete forgiveness was not possible apart from the shed blood of Christ (Heb 9:15). We ask what about baptism? What did the Jews of the first century know about the practice of baptism?

The practice of water baptism, as a sacred ordnance, was not first introduced by Jesus the Christ, but most likely had its beginning in ceremonial washings of the Old Testament.

John’s message was simple and to the point. The wrath of God was coming. Those who do not accept Jesus as the promised Messiah and live a spiritually fruitful life in Christ Jesus will be cut down and thrown into the fire of God’s wrath. He called for a radical change of mind and heart and a change of life style as a result or their change of mind.

John’s baptism was water baptism closely tied to repentance and forgiveness (Mark 1:4). John did not and could not forgive sins. To affirm that they had accepted this message John baptized those in the Jordan River where he was preaching who came to him. They were told to live in a manner that was proof of their repentance.

They questioned John as to whether he was the Christ they had been waiting for. To this he replied he wasn’t the Messiah they looked for. His message was a message of preparation because of the difference between water baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit that the Messiah would do.

John was Jesus Christ’s cousin foretold in (Isaiah 40:3 & Malachi 3:1) as the forerunner of Christ to prepare the way for the people to accept Jesus as their promised Messiah.

We need to consider no less than three words and their meaning: baptize, water and repentance.

The Greek verb is baptizo English is to baptize meaning to cover or immerse or to make whelmed to wash. For a baptism to happen there has to be a reason, a Baptizer or administrator, a candidate, and a medium to be used for the baptism such as water, oil, blood, or the Holy Spirit. In (Matt 3:1-12) John the Baptist is the Baptizer or administrator, those who came to be baptized were the candidates, and the water of the Jordan river was the medium to be used repentance and confession of sins was the reason. In this passage this holds true of both in the process of water and spiritual baptism. John said: (Mat 3:11 KJV) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" One use of the word baptize is that or water baptism and being baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire is a spiritual baptism.

The plain sense of this passage tells us there is a difference in the two baptisms John is the Baptizer using water as the medium for his baptism unto repentance and Jesus is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit as a medium for His Spiritual baptism unto heart purity (Acts 15:8-9). It is important to note that the word "fire" is not in some manuscripts and the word baptize does not always mean water baptism.

The following is an example of the different use or the words baptized and baptism Lord Christ Jesus spoke of in His conversation with James and John when their mother ask Jesus that her sons sit on His right hand and the other sit on His left when He came into His Kingdom/ To this Jesus replied: (Mat 20:22 KJV) "...Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able."

The plain sense of this passage shows us that Jesus is using a metaphor in the phrases: "drink of the cup" and "be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with." In other words be immersed in the mission I have undertaken to fulfill.

Jesus�?last words to the 500 on Mt. Olivet on the day of His accession is recorded in the following Scriptures, (Matt 28:19-20);(Mark 16:15-18);(Acts 1:4-5). In each of these passages there is a partial picture of the commission Jesus mandated His followers to fulfill.

From the place of Christ Jesus accession to the upper room in Jerusalem 380 people got lost because the Scriptures say there were 120 in one accord on the Day of Pentecost that were filled with or baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-5).

Consider John the Baptist’s words first: (Mark 1:8 KJV) "I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." "He that John refers to is none other that Christ Jesus the Messiah the Anointed One of God.

Without doing any extensive exegesis the plain sense of this verse tells us there is a difference if water baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit and without doing any exegesis we see the difference to be the medium to be used in the two baptisms. John’s baptism is that of water Christ Jesus baptism is with the Holy Spirit.

It is important to note that the term "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" is not a Biblical term. Also it is important to note that there is a difference in the meaning of the words "of" and "with". The proper term is "baptism with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8).

Christ’s fulfillment of all righteousness was symbolized in His submitting Himself to water baptism of John His cousin (Mat 3:13-17 NKJV) "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. {14} And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" {15} But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. {16} When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. {17} And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.""

(Mark 16:15-16 KJV) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. {16} He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Jesus words are: (John 3:5 KJV) "...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Just as baptism can mean immersion other than in water so Jesus use of the word water in the above passage most likely means "living water" that only He can provide for those that come to Him.

In search of truth,

Don