Romans 6:3–4—Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
A number of years ago I received a greater understanding of new life in Jesus expressed through water baptism. At a time when I was seeking to know the Lord in a deeper way, I had an encounter with Jesus in a dream. I felt extremely vulnerable as He held me in his arms like a child, looked into my eyes and said, “Kara, I know that you hate yourself, but you were buried with Me.” Wow. I quickly realized my need for healing from generational self-hatred, and experienced a life changing revelation of what it means to be buried with Jesus and raised to life through His resurrection.
When you became a Christian, the Bible says you became a new creation; your old life has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). Water baptism helps demonstrate the reality of this spiritual truth that the old ‘you’ has died. Romans says, that we were buried with him through baptism into death, and that just as Jesus was raised from death by the glory of the Father, we too get to walk in this same newness of life (Romans 6:4). Therefore through baptism we are publicly declaring that we have died to our sinful old life and everything that hinders our walk with Him. Water baptism gives a Christian a singular opportunity to practice obedience, worship, and devotion to Jesus. Hence the familiar hymn declaration, “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.”
What’s more, we’re also expressing our participation in the divine nature of God. In baptism, by faith, we are showing that we are united with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Where we were once under the law of sin and death, we’re now released into life in and through the Spirit of God. This is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! We’re now seated with Him in heavenly places and everything that is available to Jesus is now made available to us.
Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change that already occurred the moment we received Jesus as our savior. Meanwhile, faith is the means of our being united to Him. Through baptism we are declaring to the world and the devil that we no longer belong to it; we now belong to Jesus. An analogy would be saying, “With this ring I thee wed.” When we say this, we don’t mean that the ring or putting the ring on our finger is what makes us married. No, it represents the covenant, but it’s the covenant-making vows that establish the marriage. So it is with faith and baptism.
Baptism is also an ordinance or commission of Jesus. The Bible says in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” The apostles in the early church followed this commission and preached the Gospel with power. Almost immediately, people were convicted to be water baptized. Baptism is a command given by Jesus to be used in making disciples until Jesus returns at the end of the age.
For me, my baptism is a moment in time that I’m able to easily visualize. It is a stake in the ground, a ‘not today, Satan,’ moment that I’m able to use when negative thoughts and lies attempt to steal my joy. It is a reminder that the uncreated God of the universe lives inside of each follower of Jesus and wants to empower us to live a life of abundance in Him.
Tags: commitment, new creation, transformation, covenant, water baptism
