Hebrews 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (13) For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. (14) But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Hebrews 6:1-2 “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
There are six foundational doctrines to the Christian faith. Because they are foundational, every believer should have a clear understanding of each one of these doctrines, and live by them. Those who have a clear understanding of these doctrines and who also live by them will have a sure foundation; and they will not be deceived by any false teachings that they may come across in their Christian walk. Scripture reveals to us that these doctrines are the milk of God’s word, which all new born believers should feed on. However, even mature adults drink milk as part of their natural diet, and in the spirit, that principle remains the same. And so, it is good for mature believers to also revisit the foundational principles of Christ from time to time, to ensure that their foundations remain solid. In this teaching, we will examine the doctrine of baptisms, which is the third of the six foundational doctrines taught to the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:1-2 “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, (2) all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
Firstly, let me say that the scripture plainly calls this doctrine the doctrine of “baptisms” – plural. It is not the doctrine of “baptism” – singular. The Holy Spirit thus indicating very clearly to us that there is more than one baptism under the New Covenant. Someone said, but I thought that Paul taught us that there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). That is correct, but just as there is one God, consisting of three in one, i.e. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, so there is more than one baptism. In fact, there are three distinct baptisms taught in the New Testament, and all three are different facets of our being baptized into Christ. The first baptism we experience is when we are baptized into Christ Himself (Galatians 3:27). The second baptism we experience is when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). And the third baptism we experience is when we are baptized in water (Acts 8:38). By using the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, the apostle Paul alludes to all three baptisms in the above quoted passage of scripture; for in this passage Paul speaks of the children of Israel being baptized into Moses, which is a type of the church being baptized into Christ. Paul then goes on to say that the children of Israel were baptized into Moses in the cloud, which is a type of the church being baptized in the Spirit. And then Paul refers to the children of Israel being baptized into Moses in the sea, which is a type of the church being baptized in water. And so we see that each one of these baptisms is a separate event in our walk as believers, and just as each baptism is a separate event, so each baptism also fulfils a different role in our Christian walk. It is impossible for believers to grow to full maturity in Christ without firstly, experiencing each one of these baptisms, and secondly, without understanding each one of these baptisms and how they impact on the life of the believer. And so in this series we want to look at each baptism in more detail so that we can fully understand each one.
Michael E.B. Maher
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