Baptized Into Christ

" Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death." Roman 6:3

Is there any room for baptism in this century of hip hop, 401k plans, cruise ship vacations and the like. I would say as long as men and women have to deal with their identity in life, baptism will be right at the heart of it all.

Baptism has been a subject that eludes many and some wonder why it is even necessary. Even Jesus who was the very Son of God was baptized by John the Baptist and John found it difficult to do so but Jesus insisted it must be done and when He was baptized by John immediately the Holy Spirit like a dove descended upon Jesus and rested and the heavens opened and a voice said, " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.".

If we see Jesus go into those waters for whatever reasons we would want to know why.

I'm going to enter into them deeply then later on come back out on the shallows.

First lets consider Jesus baptism. Don't be afraid to enter with Him.
From the above experience of our Lord's Baptism we can garner several truths.

First there is a spiritual reality: Jesus is the Son of God.

Second, there is a practical outworking: Baptism.

and finally Third: The affirmation and confirmation from heaven of that divine truth: the Holy Spirit descending, and a voice speaking of the Father's good pleasure.

The spiritual reality is there; Jesus could be no less the Son of God than He already was. Even though some say He needed to be baptized in order to be anointed for ministry - I take some exception to that for how more anointed does one have to be when your God. I think it goes a bit deeper than that and I believe Jesus and John knew it was not about anything like that and all Jesus told John was that it was "for righteousness sake." Look at the verses if you have to. ( Matt 3:14-15 ). Jesus just knew He had to do something on this earth that testified to something that was already true in heaven.

It was ALREADY true concerning Jesus that He was the anointed one of God and that death worked in Him 24/7 so that when John baptized Jesus the Holy Spirit descended like a dove AND RESTED upon our most precious Lord. There was a resounding display right there in front of the whole universe for we find all the trinity coming together and the Father breaking in at the moment to testify vocally himself! THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL-PLEASED. Matt 3: 1-17

It is important to mentioned this first thing for all of us who are baptized afterwards are baptized into Christ and this is a picture of that fullness though only He is solely THE BELOVED SON and no one can ever take that rightful place. John said I am not fit to remove his sandals and right after he said that John also said , " He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Matt 3: 11. John saw that the baptism of repentance he was baptizing the Israelites was just a shadow to a greater a fuller baptism of Christ.

Sadly Baptism is not fully understood and appreciated otherwise we would be dripping with water gladly wet in that testimony of the death and resurrection of our Jesus. It has so much power and significance to the believers life if he/she would grasp it by faith.

For instance there's this whole terrible ' skeleton in the closet ' -we call 'sin' -that seems to have its free course in this day and age. I don't say this for judgement sake but in order to help us deal with this matter of the flesh. I'm seeing all these self-help classes popping up that are suppose to deal with these matters and issues but I'm afraid it's all pruning away at the branches of a tree and they really don't do anything to remove the source of the problem and nothing will deal with the issue better than to get at its very root.

When Paul was writing to the Romans about baptism it was all in relation to sin. Read Romans chapter 6:1,2 and 3and you will see that the topic I started is totally in relation or in context to the issue of sin in the life of an individual. He basically was saying... how can you keep on sinning if you've been baptized! Or.. How can you be alive to something that your dead to!

Now its not like something magical happened when you were baptized but I will say this; Something radical happened to you when you first believed in Jesus; something life altering,something life changing, something so revolutionary that it extracted something in your very DNA makeup and caused you to become someone altogether different...you became a new creation. Baptism is the testimony of that! even as baptism was the testimony that Jesus was all that He was. When you believed in Jesus -there was a spiritual baptism so to speak ,you were baptized into Christ but there must be testimony of that here on the earth as well for it is fitting for righteousness sake.

The Father desires testimony of His will accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

What is going on here!? Why this whole matter of testimony?

That is a subject all by itself but suffice it to say there are rulers and authorities in the heavenly places and there is this whole matter of giving glory and manifesting that in our own vessels for it is the reason we were created in the first place. There is so much more but I can't get into that otherwise I will deviate. Right now the matter before us is being baptized into Christ and the power over sin.

When you see this whole matter of union with Christ you begin to see your standing in the place of power in life over sin. This is not a knowledge issue either. It is a matter of revelation.

A day will come in your walk as a believer when everything will seem so shallow and you will desire a deeper walk with Him or something will present itself as an obstacle to your life in Christ and you will need a deeper knowing of Him to go on. That day you will bow down before Him and make a cry for Him to be your help and in that day He will open your eyes to see these things.

He will show you that He has so met you 'IN HIMSELF'.

It will not be sufficient to have your life as you once did you will know deep down inside that you will need this deeper relationship with your Lord and He will lead you into His very self by the leading of the Holy Spirit. It will not be anything magical but something quite life changing for the eyes of your understanding will be opened to see Jesus in ways you had not seen Him before and life will take on deeper meaning and significance. You will begin to walk as a new creation on a new path with different eyes and a much healthier disposition.

I will write one more thing down and stop and will take it up some other time for this is a great topic. When we enter the waters of baptism we are essentially entering into the death of Christ so that as He died so we too died in Him and as we are being raised out of those very waters we are being raised into the likeness of that very resurrection of our Christ. This is a great mystery but may the Holy Spirit reveal it to those who seek Him.. Romans 6:4-11

I will write more later