If you have been made spiritually alive in Christ, transformed from death to Life, and are complete in Christ, what more could mere water on the flesh do for you? Seek those things which are above!
The religious wrongly divide the Word, attempting to apply ceremonies and introduce traditions that have no place in the Body of Christ. Rightly divide God’s Word, and stick to His Truth. There is only One Baptism - a spiritual one in this Age. It is done exclusively by God and not by man. Being dunked or sprinkled will not make you any more righteous, and in fact, may introduce doubt into your life, and that is the real danger. I suffered from uncertainty for years over this before I found Peace and Truth in God’s Word. It is our FAITH that pleases God, not water activities. And faith comes from hearing His Word. (Romans 10:17, Hebrews 11:1 & 6)
Believers are COMPLETE IN CHRIST. They are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. A Believer is part of the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the ONLY Head. A Believer is a child of God, joint heir with Jesus, and Blessed with all Spiritual Blessings. Rejoice in this reality and let nobody, religious or otherwise, steal your confidence in Christ or your Joy. We have reached the point where what Jesus promised the woman at the well is fully realized. - John 4:23-24 (AMP) - 23 A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.
24 God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).
We have God’s Truth and the Holy Spirit inside. We are made in His image and can fellowship with Him as reborn, spiritually alive children.
Note Paul’s clear Revelation as to what you were before, what you are NOW, and who is responsible for this transformation and why it was done. Note also what part you played. It amazes me religious folks miss this.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (AMP)
4 But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
5 Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).
6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
7 He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]
10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].
In Colossians 2, Paul puts the hammer down. Believers are COMPLETE IN CHRIST. He writes of a spiritual circumcision, a Spiritual baptism through faith, in contrast with all the rudiments of the world - all the religious rituals and ordinances that lead to bondage. These were a “shadow of things to come.” Believers died with Christ from ceremonialism - whether Jewish in origin, or simply paganized Christianity, it matters not. There is no glory in the flesh, only in the Lord. All the ceremonies and rituals do in this age is divide the Body. Note the silly squabbles over infant baptism, immersion versus sprinkling, etc. A proper understanding of the spiritual new birth ends ALL works of the flesh, and all religious bondage. You could perform religious ceremonies all day and every day, and still be a spiritual baby. You need continual fellowship with the Holy Spirit and a steady diet of God’s Word, storing it in your heart, while renewing your mind with His Truth.
This is strong meat, but it will transform your life. We are identified with Christ in death. And raised with Him to new life. THIS Baptism is NOT MADE WITH HANDS.
Colossians 2:10-14 (AMP)
10 And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].
11 In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts).
12 [Thus you were circumcised when] you were buried with Him in [your] baptism, in which you were also raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God [as displayed] when He raised Him up from the dead.
13 And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.
Can you see it! Hallelujah!! How could any religious ceremony top that?
And then Paul makes it even more clear. Believers are done with the outward show, the religious trappings that have a form of godliness but deny the power. (2 Timothy 3:5) Prayerfully read this last passage with regard to the topic at hand.
Colossians 2:16-23 (AMP)
16 Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath.
17 Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.
18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit,
19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as]
21 Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],
22 Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines.
23 Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]
Believers are spiritually minded, they have the mind of Christ.
Colossians 3:1-4 (AMP)
1 IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.
3 For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.
Final thought - Paul states that there is ONE Body, ONE Spirit, and ONE Baptism. If there is only ONE Baptism, there cannot be two. You must either agree with God’s Word, or with religion. Oh, and there is only ONE HEAD of the Body, religion has messed that up as well.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (AMP)
4 [There is] one body and one Spirit—just as there is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received—
5 [There is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of [us] all, Who is above all [Sovereign over all], pervading all and [living] in [us] all.
Excellent post.
Great answer, it is always great to see the Christian doctrine and command of Jesus to baptize to be held up to scorn and derision by referring to it as “ water activities”. The Muslims must be laughing their butts off, good job.