Baptism By God

There is only one baptism that counts today. That is the baptism by the Holy Spirit. Any other type of baptism today is simply an outward expression of the true baptism that takes place in a believer that has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This regeneration occurs for a person when they come to saving faith in Jesus and what Jesus did for all sinners on the cross. Jesus took away the sins of the world, so that anyone that believes in Jesus and his finished work of taking their personal sins away at the cross, is born again of the Spirit of God.

Prior to believing in Jesus, a person is dead in their sins, because they did not believe. But, when a person repents of their unbelief, and trusts in Jesus, Jesus comes to live within that person and gives them eternal life. This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; giving life to the dead, becoming born again in the spirit.

Baptism In The Holy Spirit

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:13).

This is a definitive verse on one of the great themes of the Bible. The preposition “by” is the Greek, en, which can take many meanings (by, with, through, etc.) depending on context, but is most frequently and most naturally rendered simply as “in.” The baptism in one Spirit is the theme of this passage, teaching us that every one of the “brethren” (v.1), those who, “speaking by the Spirit of God” have acknowledged Jesus to be their Lord (v.3), have been “baptized into one body”—the body of Christ Himself. Read more about baptism of and by the Holy Spirit.

If anyone is saying that you need to be baptized with water in order to be saved, they are deceived and the truth is not with them. Many denominations today make many man made rules and regulations for their religion. Catholic theologians wrap up their arguments with single verses of scripture, taken out of context, and approached from the belief that believing in Jesus is only the first step in salvation. They are badly deceived into thinking they have to do something in order to be saved for the long term, so-to-speak. Baptism to Catholics is a Holy Sacrament (not the effective work of God and God alone), that must be done, performed and administered by men, in order to take away sins, completely ignoring the fact that Jesus took away the sins of the whole world. They view water baptism as a step in the process of becoming a Catholic Christian. To Catholics, Jesus was only the starting point of salvation. Catholics are not the only ones that are deceived. Many Protestant denominations place much emphasis on water baptism also. Both Catholics and some Protestant denominations say that infants must or should be water baptized; citing scripture that told about households (Acts 16:15) and families (Acts 16:33) were baptized in the early church. While these scriptures do show baptism, they however do not show that baptism was necessary for salvation. These scriptures showed what was happening in the early church. People were not saved by baptism of water but through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul even placed the emphasis on Jesus Christ as the one who saves and placed very little emphasis on water baptism. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:13-17, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Be Baptized By God

Baptism from God is the greatest miracle of all. Baptism of water, by men, pales in comparison to the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is a greater miracle than a former unbeliever (spiritually dead person) becoming a true believer (born again) and having the Holy Spirit baptize that person into the body of Christ Jesus. Only true believers are baptized into the Body of Christ, and only by God are they baptized into Jesus's body. Repent and believe; place your trust (faith) in Jesus completely as the one who saves completely. Don't add man-made works to salvation. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water though. Baptism by water, if done in the proper context and understanding for the believer, is a wonderful picture of the baptism that is done by the Holy Spirit of God. But, don't ever confuse the two and say that water Baptism is required for salvation.

Simply put, Baptism by God the Father, by the Holy Spirit, Baptized into Jesus's Body, is the most important Baptism that one could ever experience for salvation of their eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Please read the Welcome message.