Spoken Word #92
Water Baptism
Brian Kocourek
This
evening I would like to speak on Water Baptism since we are going to have a
baptism this next Sunday. Now, baptism
is one of the three ordinances that our Saviour left us. It is the first of the
ordinances that he taught the disciples, although he never baptized disciples
himself, he left that up to others to do for Him. John
4: 1-2 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made
and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his
disciples, 3 He left
So
we see that as far as water Baptism is concerned, all his disciples were
baptized in water, and yet he himself baptized none of them. Yet there is
another Baptism that Jesus did Baptize the disciples with, and that is the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit. John even prophesied that one greater than he would
baptize with the Holy Spirit in the following Scriptures:
Matthew 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:
Mark 1: 8 I
indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost.
Luke 3: 16 John
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
John 1: 26 John
answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth One among you,
whom ye know not;
John 1: 33 And
I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto
me, Upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the
same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Now,
Although Jesus Himself never baptized any with water, yet he had his disciples
do so. But this sort of baptism was not something new to
Paul
alludes to this in 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should
be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed
through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses
in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the
same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same
spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ. 5 But
with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to
the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat
down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither
let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three
and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ,
as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither
murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them
for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly
beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise
men; judge ye what I say.
We
can see a form of ritual purification by water in the book of Leviticus s 11, 14 and 15
and in The Book of Numbers especially 19
where washing with water by immersing the body was symbolic of the cleansing
process. Although
the term "baptism" was not used by the Jews to describe purification by
water, the word mikvah was used instead
to describe immersion. In Jewish history immersion in water was used for ritual
purification and for restoration to the condition of "purity" for certain circumstances.
For example, Jews who became ritually defiled by
contact with a corpse had to use the Mikvah before being allowed to
participate in the
The Apostle Paul
comments on this in Hebrews
10:10 By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. So we have a once for all sacrifice that needs not be
repeated as it was in the
So you see, Paul speaks of this often times and daily
process which they also did in water baptism, which the Jews called mikvah. Now, let’s continue with what Paul is teaching
us here.
12 But
this man, after he (the man) had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, (sins
plural, all our sins, past, present and future.) sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering He (the Son of
God) hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for
after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws
into their hearts, and in their minds will
I write them; 17 And
their sins and iniquities will I
remember no more. 18 Now
where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Now, I would like to
stop right here for a moment and I want to ask you a question. Do you believe
this is the Word of God to us? Do you believe that God has forever washed away
your sins, all of them, past, present and future? Then why do you keep going
back to Him and asking for forgiveness for things you have already asked
forgiveness for? Now, that is not to say we shouldn’t apologize and make right
when we err. But when you have asked forgiveness and you take God at His Word,
then you need not ask over and over again, unless you do not believe you were
forgiven in the first place. You see, I think we need a better understanding of
total justification. Brother Branham said to be justified is as though you
never did do it in the first place. Well, if you didn’t do it in the first
place, then why are you going back again and again to ask forgiveness for the
same thing?
If you didn’t do it,
then you didn’t do it. I mean once the
sinner has become conscious of what God has done for them through the shed
blood of His Son, then what are we dredging up old sin for anyway?
19 Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having
an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.In other words, water baptism. 23 Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
And if He is faithful that
promised, then to keep going back and asking again and again shows you don’t
believe that He is faithful that promised. So if you are going to doubt
anything, doubt your doubts, and believe what God has said about you.
Now, I don’t
want to make this a history lesson, although I enjoy history, but let me just
say a few more things about the Jewish right of water baptism which they called
their form of immersion by water.
Immersion was
required for both men and women when converting to Judaism. There were three
prerequisites for a proselyte coming into Judaism: Circumcision, baptism, and
sacrifice Immersion is also required for several other reasons but we won’t get
into those at this time.
Paul tells us how we are to be baptized in his
letter to the Colossians
2: 12 Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Now, when you bury someone, you don’t sprinkle them
with dirt, you bury them under the dirt.
Again
we see in Romans
6: 4 Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. So again we see the baptism in water represent our dying out
to self, and we are buried with Him in His death.
Anyway, it is immersion, and if so, then why
Immersion? Well, the very word Mikveh was first used in the book of
Genesis 1:10 where
we see, And God called the dry land
Earth; and the gathering together of
the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was
good. And this gathering together
is the Hebrew word Mikveh used
for the first time. So we are looking at living waters, deep waters which he
called the sea.
The term Mikveh in Hebrew literally means any
gathering of waters, but is specifically used in Jewish law for the waters or
bath for the ritual immersion. The Mishnah
tells us that Ezra decreed that each male should immerse himself before praying
or studying. Some Jewish groups such as the Essenes observed ritual immersion daily to assure readiness for
the coming of the Messiah. So we see that the ancient Jew
used the Mikveh as a process
of spiritual purification and cleansing, and as I said was the was seen by the
Jews as no strange thing when John the Baptist came forth calling people to
repentance and baptism by immersion as an outward show of an inward work of
grace.
1 Peter
Acts
2:36 Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when
they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with
many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this
untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Now, we see here that there are two very important
elements to be taken seriously in water baptism. First of all it calls for
repentance which is a change of the mind. A person could be baptized every hour
of their life but without repentance they just go down a dry sinner and come up
a wet one.
On the wings of a dove
65-1128E P:96 Now, the Lord can show me a vision; He could
tell me what's the matter with each one of them. I can prove that to you
(See?); you know that. But that don't heal them. That doesn't heal them. No,
it's got to be something drop in them. See? And I hope...Like I could go up
here take each one of you and baptize you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ;
that won't remit your sins. No, no. No, I don't believe in water baptism in the
Name of Jesus Christ unto regeneration; I
believe the Blood is regeneration (See?) now, not the waters. But, see, I
could baptize and baptize, but you only go down a dry sinner, come up a wet one
(See?) until you have thoroughly
repented. Repent, and then be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. See?
And that's where I different with the Oneness movement. Not baptizing to regeneration,
no; I believe it's the Blood that cleanses, not the water. See? Repentance, and then be baptized in the
Name of Jesus Christ.
Key to the door 62-1007 P:60 And
that's the reason I do use the word baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ, but
not to regeneration. Now, the Pentecostal, United Pentecostal church baptizes
in the Name of Jesus Christ for regeneration. I don't believe that. They can do
it if they want to. But I believe that
Peter said repent first. Water don't remit sins. The
You
know that is where they always miss the mark, is that they don’t realize the Gospel
is all about repentance, a changing of the mind. Let’s just look at what the
scripture teaches concerning repentance, and I want you to notice how often it
says this.
2 Peter 3: 9 The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So you see the Lord desires that we
all repent.
And notice, if the Lord loves you he wants you to repent. Revelation 3 :
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent.
Revelation 3: 3 Remember
therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee
as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 2: 5 Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. So we see that judgment is all that is left if we do
not repent.
2 Timothy 2: 25 In
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth; You see, Repentance comes
from God and leads us to the truth. So repentance is a changing of the mind,
from unbelief to belief, and from
un-right-wiseness to right-wiseness.
2 Corinthians 7: 10 For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Notice, the Scripture does not teach that Godly sorrow
is repentance, but that it will work repentance. Just being sorry is not
repentance, because the Bible speaks of having works fit for repentance.
2 Corinthians 7: 9 Now
I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a
godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. Notice that it is not enough to be sorrowful, but that
the sorrow leads to a change of the mind.
Acts 26: 20 But
shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the
coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. So there are works which are meet for repentance. In other words, what
good does it do to say you changed your mind, unless your actions show that you
indeed have.
Acts 20: 21 Testifying
both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we see that the motive for preaching was to cause
repentance, which is a change of the mind. Then what good does it do to preach
what everyone already knows. You’ve go to bring forth repentance, that is what
the True ministry of God will produce in the True Five Fold.
Acts 19: 4 Then
said Paul, John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on
him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. So we see even John’s baptism was unto repentance.
Acts 17: 30 And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: There was a time when God turned his eyes, but now,
there is no more excuse for sin when he has given us opportunity to be filled
with His own sinless spirit.
Acts 13: 24 When
John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the
people of
Acts 11: 18 When
they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life. You see,
it’s all about repentance, God granting us repentance which leads unto Life,
eternal Life.
Acts 8: 22 Repent therefore of this thy
wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven
thee. Forgiveness comes through
genuine repentance.
Acts 5: 31 Him
hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins. That was the
whole purpose of Christ coming to
Acts 3: 19 Repent ye therefore, and
be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; repent so your sins may be blotted out. What a
promise. And this Scripture is fulfilled in this very hour when the Presence of
the Lord is come. And why is repentance so important?
Luke 24: 47 And
that repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at
Well, then what about those who are not willing to
repent? Luke 13:
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.Luke 13: 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 11: 32 The
men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it: for they repented at the
preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. And if they were saved by repenting then, what about
when the Holy Ghost is come.
Jesus said, Luke 5: 32 I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.
But he also said, Luke 3: 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We
have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these
stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Luke 3: 3 And
he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins;
Mark 6: 12 And
they went out, and preached that men
should repent. You see, the
ministry is all about changing the minds of men towards God.
Mark 2: 17 When
Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the
physician, but they that are sick: I
came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
Mark 1: 15 And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mark 1: 4 John
did baptize in the wilderness, and preach
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Matthew 9: 13 But
go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Matthew 4: 17 From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to
say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Look, Jesus came to call man to repentance. And for
men to show it by their actions.
Matthew 3: 8 Bring
forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Matthew 3: 2 And
saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
But what if they are not willing to repent? Then
what? Then there is nothing left but judgment.
Revelation 16: 9 And
men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath
power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 11 And
blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and
repented not of their deeds.
Revelation 9: 21 Neither
repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9: 20 And
the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of
the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of
gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor
hear, nor walk:
Revelation 2: 22 Behold,
I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Revelation 2: 21 And
I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Revelation 2: 16 Repent;
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the
sword of my mouth.
Hebrews 12: 17 For
ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was
rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears.
Hebrews 6: 6 If
they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify
to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
So
I hope you can see the importance of repentance in baptism. Because the water
does not wash you clean, it is only an outward display of what has already
taken place in a repentant heart. That is why we see John came forth baptizing
men and the purpose was to show forth publicly their repentance.
We
see this is Mark
1: 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins. And again we see this testimony of repentance in Matthew 3: 6 And
were baptized of him in
We also see this in Mark 16: 16 He
that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. So a change of the mind is essential, here. Because we
see what happens when they do not repent.
Luke 7: 30 But
the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the
counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
Now, Peter said there is a name that is involved
here. He said, first of all you must repent which means you must change your
thinking, and then you must be baptized in the NAME of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and then you will receive the baptism of
the Holy Ghost. The Catholic church and her daughters want to argue this point
and say that the words of Peter are not as important as the words of Jesus
himself, and they will quote you Matthew 28: 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: But as brother Branham
taught us, father is not a name, it is a title, son is not a name it is a title
and holy Spirit is not a name, it is a title. So the name is what we are
baptized into. But if you were baptized using those titles, and then they said,
“which is the Lord Jesus Christ”, you might want to reconsider being baptized
over again.
So
the name is of utmost importance, because without the name you aren’t going to
receive the Holy Ghost.
God of this evil age 65-0801M
P:112 And when Jesus said, "Go baptize them
in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost," setting that there to blind
the unbeliever... Watch. Why didn't Peter carry that out word by word? He had
to. If a man is baptized in the titles
Father, Son, Holy Ghost, he's
never been baptized at all; he has no name. Father's no name; Son's no
name, and Holy Ghost is no name. Holy Ghost is what It is, like I'm a human. It
is the Holy Ghost. Father's a title; I'm a father. Son is a title; I'm a son.
Human is a title; that's what I am. But my name is William Branham. And the
Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost is the Name of Jesus Christ. Jesus said,
"I come in My Father's Name?" What is the Father's Name? Any son
comes in his father's name, and the Father's Name is Jesus Christ. See? See
what I mean?
Look, it can be proven by history that no one was
ever baptized in those titles until the Catholic Church made it so 3oo years
after the church had been baptizing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is
just a catholic creed and all her daughters too. Christian Baptism is not to be
done in titles. The whole purpose for Christian baptism is not just repentance
like the Jew who looked for Messiah that is just the beginning. Baptism is an
identification of our death to self, and our dying with Christ and our being
raised with Him. Baptism done correctly in this hour must be done in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are not baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, you must be baptized over again,
Acts 18: 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at
Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the
scriptures, came to
What shall I do with Jesus
63-1124M P:153 If you want to be baptized, if you have
took the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I say this with reverence and respect, but to
my way of seeing it, you are not
baptized. You're not,
for you haven't carried out what He said. He said, "Baptize them in the
Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." If you just had those titles
called over you... He never said, "Go call these titles, go call these
names." It never was done in the Bible. It never was done that way. It was
baptize the way Jesus said, "In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost," which is Jesus Christ.
COLOSSIANS
3:17 And whatsoever ye do
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God and the Father by him. So if
you are not baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, then you are not doing
everything in that name like you were told to do.