Lessons 15-17

Lesson 15 – Mark 1:8

Mark 1:8 (JB) I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

In this verse, John the Baptist was informing the people that the Messiah would give them a greater opportunity, a chance to experience a greater baptism than JB could give them. He was saying that water baptism is good, but the baptism that the Messiah would offer would be much better.

Now let's discuss baptisms. Did you know there are at least 5 different kinds of baptisms, four of which are still in effect? Every believer should know about them. Baptisms, along with repentance from dead works, faith towards God, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment are listed as the principles of the doctrine of Christ (Hebrews 6:1-2) These topics are the basics or fundamentals of the teachings of Christ. They are called the "milk of the Word" because every new "born again" believer, sometimes called spiritual babies in Christ, could drink (understand) them and grow spiritually from the study of them. (1 Peter 2:2 Desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.)

Now, back to baptisms... we've already studied the first kind, that is, water baptism. It was referred to as John's baptism (Acts 19:3-4). It signified the person was repenting of his sins. (Mark 1:4-5) It was an outward sign of an inward change in the person. The method used was immersion. This baptism is no longer done.

The second kind of baptism is invisible to the eye. It happens inside you, in your spirit. It is done by the Holy Spirit at the time you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It brings forgiveness and cleanses you from all your sins. (This baptism also makes you a member of the body of Christ. (1Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.) The Holy Spirit baptizes you into the family of God. This immersion into Christ makes you a child of God. Romans 8:16 says, The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

This baptism is the most important one of all. Galatians 3:26-27For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. It establishes God's presence in you at all times through His Holy Spirit.... 2Timothy 1:14 reminds us that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers. Other verses establishing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer are found in Romans 8:9,11 and Acts 5:32.

Romans 5:5 states, “...the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Who is given unto us."

Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed (you belong to Him) with the Holy Spirit of promise.

The disciples received the Holy Spirit in them, when Jesus met them after His resurrection. John 20:19-22 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

So, to review, when you repent of your sins and make a sincere confession of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit baptizes you into the body of Christ. He comes to live in you, giving you eternal life. The Holy Spirit also makes you a brand new creation in your spirit. That's why it is called "being born again." John 3:3-7 and 1Peter 1:22-23 This baptism makes you a citizen of heaven and a member of the family of God by adoption.

The third kind of baptism is a water baptism and superseded (took the place of) John's baptism. When a person believed and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he was baptized in water, signifying his repentance of his sins, his allegiance and identification with Jesus as the true Messiah. This was an act that people could see. It was also an outward sign to others. Immersion was again the method used for this baptism. This water baptism is usually associated with becoming a member of a church. Usually the person will be water baptized in a local church to announce to everyone that he has trusted Jesus as Lord, to show his first step of obedience to Christ (Matt. 28:19-20) and to become a member of the family of the church. (That's why in some churches they refer to each other as brothers or sisters in Christ.)

Note: You may need to read these lessons slowly and several times to understand all this if it is new to you. There is a lot of information in these lessons. If you have any questions, let me know.

Lesson 16 – Mark 1:8 cont.

Doctrine of Baptisms-continued Mark 1:8

In the previous lesson, I mentioned there are at least 5 different kinds of baptisms. I explained 3 of them. They were: (1) JB's water baptism, which is no longer done, (2) the most important one of all, the baptism into Christ, which gives you eternal life and makes you part of the family of God, and (3) water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, as an identification of a new believer to other believers.

Today we will start to discuss the last two kinds of baptisms. They were both identified by John the Baptist when he was telling the people about the coming Messiah. He said in Mark 1:8"...He (the Messiah ) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." That's the fourth baptism. In Matthew 3:11, JB said that the Messiah would baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The baptism with fire is the fifth and last one. These are the two baptisms that we need to study. First, we'll look at what God says in His Word about the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Some churches believe and teach about this baptism and some ignore it. I will show you what God says in His Word about it.

John the Baptist said in Mark 1:8 that the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit, not water. While Jesus was on the Earth, He Himself didn't do any baptizing with water. (John 4:2 Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples {did}). This then would mean that the baptism that the Messiah Himself would do was different from water baptism. Secondly, Jesus said in John 14:17 that the Holy Spirit would dwell in believers and be with believers. In lesson 12, we studied the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that happens at the time that a person gets saved and baptized into the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you.

Now let's look at the baptism that Jesus does and what God says about it in His Word. First, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, done by Jesus, is different from the baptism of salvation. Remember the baptism associated with salvation, done by the Holy Spirit, makes a person become a part of Christ's body. (That's a metaphor meaning you belong to Him.) The baptism by Jesus is done to believers. Jesus only baptizes those who have already become children of God through faith in Him.

So this means the baptism by Jesus has a different purpose than the other baptisms we have studied previously. What is that purpose? Acts 1:8 tells us "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The baptism by Jesus brings power to the believer so that he or she can be an effective witness for Jesus. This power increases as the believer matures spiritually.

There are other benefits to the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It also helps you to pray more effectively. Jude 1:20, Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 14:15 It enables you to have a special prayer language where the Holy Spirit will talk to God through you. 1Cor. 14:2 The prayer language is given to every Christian who asks and in faith receives the baptism by Jesus. It is a privilege to be able to talk to God this way.

(Some think this prayer language is the gift of tongues (languages), but it isn't. The gift of languages or tongues is different in that it is given to specific people to speak God's message to a group or church and, therefore, must be interpreted into English for the benefit of all present. Not every Christian gets that gift.)

Peter, Andrew, James, John, the other apostles, even Jesus' mother, Mary, and His brothers who became believers after Jesus' resurrection, and many others (120 in all), were the first to receive this new baptism with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:13-14, 2:1-4.

Baptism by Jesus will make you able to sing in the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-19, 1Corinthians 14:15

It will make your spiritual gifts (some of which are listed in 1Cor 12:8-10) more effective. (1Cor 12:7,11)

It will make you more sensitive to avoiding anything sinful that would displease the Lord. I can't give you a verse for this; I've just noticed that effect in my own life and in others.

It will increase your love for God and people. This is also an effect I've noticed. 1Cor 13, commonly called the love chapter, is sandwiched between the 2 chapters on the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives. So it stands to reason that they go together.

Some people get the baptism for salvation done by the Holy Spirit mixed up with the baptism that Jesus does, so I've made a list to show you the differences.

Baptism of Salvation

- done when unbeliever wants to be saved, repents from his sins, and confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord by faith Roman 10:9-10,

- done by the Holy Spirit 1Cor 12:13, Romans 6:3

- brings eternal life John 3:16 , 1 John 5:13

- necessary for salvation Roman 8:10

- presence of God in you

- immersed into Christ

- puts Holy Spirit in you 1John 3:24

- for membership in the body of Christ

- child of God

- Holy Spirit is like a well of water--in you John 4:14

- evidenced by fruits of the Holy Spirit, Gal 5:22-23

Baptism for Service

- done by Jesus Mark 1:8

- power to be a witness for Jesus Acts1:8 John 15:27

- necessary for most effective service

- brings developing power of God Acts 1: 8

- done when a believer asks for it Luke 11:13,

- Holy Spirit upon you Acts 1:8,2:3 and with you Acts 1:5,2:4,17,18

- poured upon Acts 2:16-18,33,10:44-46, as with oil Ex 30:25,30,Psalm 133

- power of God upon you Acts 1:8

- for ministry to the body of Christ

- servant, witness

- greater power in operating the gifts of the Holy Spirit -1 Cor. 12,14

- Holy Spirit is like a river of water--flowing from you to others John 7:37-39

Similarities between the baptism into Christ and the baptism by Christ

- Both are asked for Romans 10:13, Luke 11:13.

- Both are gifts Eph 2:8-9, Acts 2:38-39.

- Both must be received by faith.

They are two distinct and separate experiences. Jn 20:21-22 with Acts 2:1-4, and in Acts 8:1-8,14-17. Sometimes time lapsed between the salvation experience and their baptism with the Holy Spirit by Jesus (Acts 9:1-20) and sometimes it didn't. (Acts 10:44-48,19:1-7)

Lesson 17

Doctrine of Baptisms -continued

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire

As we have seen in the last few lessons, there at least 5 baptisms that the Bible teaches and that we are studying. The last one that we will look at is the baptism with fire. The baptism with fire is done by Jesus. We know that from what John the Baptist said about the Messiah in Matt 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:, and in Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (By the way, I'm using the KJV at times and the New KJV at other times.)

I'm going to give you 3 different interpretations of the baptism with fire. (The reason there are several interpretations of this phrase is because people disagree as to its meaning.)

The first interpretation is that the baptism with fire and the baptism with the Holy Spirit are the same thing. The people who think this, do so because there was a fire-like manifestation (visible appearance) seen at the first baptism with the Holy Spirit to 120 disciples and apostles at the feast of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, (Dixie: they just got baptized by Jesus Acts 1:4-5) and began to speak with other tongues (D: there's the evidence of the baptism by Jesus-sometimes it happens right away and sometimes it's delayed by the person's lack of understanding), as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this was noised abroad (D: evidently, some hours had passed), the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. (This shows some of those who spoke got the gift of unknown tongues-that is, unknown to the speaker, not the hearer. They could speak in the native language of the listener, even though they hadn't studied the language at all.)

The second interpretation is that the baptism of fire means Jesus will purify you by allowing difficult circumstances in your life. Those who believe this are thinking of the qualities of fire, particularly as it pertains to gold and silver. Those metals have to be heated to very high temperatures to get the impurities (dross) out. So accordingly, the baptism of fire might mean that it brings circumstances or suffering into your life to purify you from the sins that are hidden, ones that you may not be aware of. It would also reveal any weak areas or idols in your life.

There are verses that refer to "the fiery trial" of persecution in 1Peter 4:12-19 and to faith being tested by fire in 1Peter 1:7. There is also a passage in 1Cor 3:12-15 that refers to believers' works being tried by fire, where those good deeds that remain will be rewarded. The problem with calling any of these a baptism of fire is that they are never mentioned as that or referred to that way. Although suffering from persecution for the sake of Christ is called fiery, it is never referred to as a baptism.

The third interpretation of what the baptism with fire means is taken directly from the passages containing that phrase, Matt 3:4-12 and Luke 3:7-17. (I will include the Matt passage and you can look up the other one on your own.)

Matt 3:4-12 And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "O generation of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9"and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10"And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Did you notice, as you read this passage, that there were two distinctly different groups at the Jordan River listening to John the Baptist? One group heard John's message and responded by repenting and confessing their sins. They got baptized, and then wanted to know what to do to change from their old ways to the ways of God. (Their questions and John's answers are in the Luke 3:7-17 account. Basically, he told them to give to the needy, be honest, be content, and don't be deceitful.)

The other group was made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, (2 religious orders, sort of like what today are called denominations). They also heard God's message given by John, but they rejected it, refusing to repent of their sins and to be baptized. (Luke 7:30 ... the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30But the Pharisees and lawyers (students of the law of Moses) rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

John calls them "vipers" (snakes) in verse 7 of Matt 3. (Do you remember who else is represented by a serpent? Genesis 3:1-15, Revelation 12:9) He says in the next question that wrath is coming after them. In verse 8, he informs them that they can avoid the judgment of the wrath of God on sinners, if they will do as he has said and repent, acknowledge their spiritual condition, confess their sins, and be baptized to receive remission (forgiveness) of their sins. He warns them in verse 9 not to trust in how godly their parents and ancestors were, because it wouldn't do them any good. They have to have a personal relationship with God.

In verse 10, he states that judgment has already begun (by God sending His message to them) and those who don't produce the fruits (works) that signify hearing and obeying God would be like trees that are judged of bad quality and that are deserving of destruction. John warns them that those who reject God's message will be "thrown into the fire..." In verse 11, he states there are choices: 2 baptisms, one with the Holy Spirit and one with fire. In verse 12, John gives an illustration of threshing grain to show the difference between them.

To explain the meaning of this, let me give you some background. In Bible times, when the wheat was harvested, and since farmers didn't have modern machinery, the wheat still had straw and chaff (husks) mixed in with it. After it had been beaten to loosen the husks, the farmer would pile it all on a cloth or large shallow basket. To separate the good from the bad, he then would take a rake or winnowing fork, usually in a fan shape, and toss the grain into the air, so that the wind would separate the heavier wheat grains from the lighter weight straw and chaff. The wheat would fall back down to the cloth. The lighter chaff and straw would be blown away from the wheat. That was done over and over until all the chaff had been removed. Then the wheat was stored and the chaff was gathered up and burned.

In this illustration, those that repent of their sins are represented by the wheat and those that don't repent, who reject God's Word, are pictured by the chaff. The Pharisees and Sadducees are being warned that they will experience a baptism of fire, meaning judgment and the wrath of God, if they don't respond properly to God. A picture of this judgment is given in Rev 19:20, And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (This happens at the end of the 7 year tribulation.)

Then a thousand years later, Rev 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is the judgment for sinners, not believers. Believers in Jesus do not go through this judgment. They are "saved" from this wrath of God, because they believed God's Word to them, repented of their sins, trusted Christ as their Savior, and made Him Lord of their lives.

So, now that I've explained the 3 interpretations of the "baptism with fire," which do you think it is?