WATER BAPTISM is a basic requirement to a Christian’s salvation.
MARK 16:16 states, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be SAVED; but he that believeth NOT shall be damned.”
I Peter 3:21 also reads, “The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now SAVE us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
A series of questions usually arise in Water Baptism: “What is the Biblical way of doing it?” Is baptism performed by sprinkling? Or is it by immersion in water? Is it using the TITLES of Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Matt. 28:19), or using the NAME of the Lord Jesus Christ? (Acts 2:38)?
The Bible cannot contradict itself for it is the Word of God. What we need today is a revelation from Almighty God in order to for us to understand and dovetail every word in it correctly. Let us therefore take a closer look upon this all-time controversial issue.
The word “baptize” originated from the Greek Word “baptizo” which means to “IMMERSE” in water. For the first thirteen hundred years from the death of Christ, baptism was always performed by IMMERSION of the person UNDER WATER.
Acts 8:39 states this, “And they went both DOWN INTO the WATER, both Philip and the Eunuch; and he baptized him”. John 3:23 also states, “John also was baptizing at Aeneon because there was MUCH WATER there” . “They came up OUT OF THE WATER” (Acts 8:39).
It is therefore evident from these very scriptures that Water Baptism was originally performed by “immersion” of the individual person underwater.
TITLES OR NAME ?
In Matthew 28:19 we can read Jesus’ great commission unto His disciples saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Now, Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith, never told us to baptize in the NAMES, but in the N-A-M-E, (singular). The clue here is to find what NAME the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost possess. Take note that the word “Father” is not a NAME. “Son” is not a NAME either; neither is the Holy Ghost a NAME. These are but TITLES of the ONE true GOD.
If we trace God’s Name back in the Old Testament, we will find that God the FATHER was always called the “LORD”, capital "L-O-R-D".
In the New Testament, we find that “JESUS” was the name given to the SON of God.
In this our age, the dispensation of grace, when the Holy Ghost was given since the Day of Pentecost, He is called the “CHRIST” or the “Anointing” of God.
We can now therefore conclude from these basis that the TITLES of “Father, Son and Holy Ghost” refer to only one compound NAME, which is the only Name which was given on earth whereby man must be saved (Acts 4:12) - and that NAME is nothing else but the NAME of the “LORD JESUS CHRIST”, the complete NAME of GOD.
We can read all throughout the Bible that ALL of Jesus’ disciples used His NAME in Water Baptism (References: Acts 2;38; Acts 19:1-5; Acts 10:46-48; Acts 8:14) .
NEVER can we find in the entire pages of the Bible where anybody was ever baptized using the TITLES of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Look it up for yourself and you’ll NEVER find one. There’s a million dollar reward today for anyone who can find one verse that states just that.
The apostles understood that baptism in those TITLES was not a LITERAL command, just as when Jesus told them, “Except you EAT My FLESH and DRINK my BLOOD, you have NO Life in you”. Nowhere in the Bible can we find that they literally ATE the flesh of Jesus nor DRANK his blood. Literally eating Jesus’ FLESH and literally DRINKING His BLOOD would make them cannibals and vampires if such command was followed to the letter. But the thing is that it was revealed unto them that eating His Body means "partaking of His Word" and drinking his Blood meant "receiving His Atoning sacrifice" into their lives. In Water Baptism, It was revealed also unto them WHO really was the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and what the NAME of God really was. "Lord Jesus Christ", that's the complete Name of God.
Credits to Ptr. Ron Millevo
http://www.endtimemessage.info/waterbaptism.htm
