BAPTISM INTO
THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST
5. Baptism in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Death
Famous Painting of "Christ Crucified" by Salvador Dali
"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." (Jn.19:30) "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. 6:5)
Since water
baptism symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the mode should reflect these aspects as well.
Many churches administer baptism by complete immersion, and generally
there are two modes of immersion. The
most common one is to immerse the body in a horizontal position with the face
looking up. This mode requires the
baptist to support and lift the body from the water. The second one is for the person to immerse in the forward
position with head bowed. In this mode
the person does not need support or assistance from the baptist to come out of
the water.
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In the baptismal scene of the film “JESUS” which was shot in the River Jordan Jesus immersed Himself and came out of the water. This is the exact description in the Bible, “Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water, . . .” (Mt. 3:16) John the Baptist did not assist Him. He did so by Himself. The reason why Jesus was able to do that was because He immersed Himself in the forward position with face downward. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACTS ON THE JESUS
FILM PROJECT Last update April
25, 2002 4,299,437,883 people have viewed the film
since 1979 JESUS is the
most watched film in the history of the world, seen by over four billion
people in 236 countries, shown on television in 167 countries, and translated
into 654 languages with a new translation coming out every 7 days. God has used this film to restore the
correct mode of baptism to His people.
Millions of believers all over the world have now been baptized in
the forward mode with head bowed in the Living Water. |
According to
the book “Understanding the Difficult Words of
Jesus” by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard, Jewish-Christian Biblical
scholars, the Hebrew word for “baptize”
which is “tovel”
can either mean “I baptize” (I immerse
an article) or “I am baptized” (I immerse myself).
“Baptism in Jewish practice was the submerging in
water of an article or the submerging in water of oneself in order to become
ritually clean. A man (or woman)
performing this rite was not physically assisted by another person. He walked into the water alone and dipped
himself.” [Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus - page 136]
This was the actual practice in Biblical times. Elisha gave this message to Naaman, “Go and wash in the
Jordan seven times . . . So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the
flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kn. 5:10,15)
There are a few
scriptural points that support the teaching that baptism is administered with
head bowed in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death.
1.
Romans 6:5 states: “For if we have
been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be
in the likeness of His resurrection, . . .” What is the likeness of the Lord’s death? John 19:30 gives us the description how
Jesus died. “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He
said, “It is finished!” and bowing His
head, He gave up His Spirit.” The Lord Jesus Christ died with His head
bowed. To be united together with Jesus
in the likeness of His death during the baptism would mean that the Christian
is immersed in the water with “head bowed”.
2.
Romans 6:6 states: “knowing this, that
our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away
with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Water baptism symbolizes the Christian’s
crucifixion with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The “old man” refers to the
unregenerate or sinful person, who must be crucified with the Lord . How is a person crucified during the baptism? By being immersed with the Lord “in the likeness of
His death”, that is, “with head bowed”. By being baptized in this mode, the Word of God says: “. . . that the
body of sin might be done away with,”
3.
Romans 6:7 states: “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” The mode of baptism with head bowed,
that is in the likeness of the Lord’s death, enables a person to be freed from
sin. In the New Testament there are
three elements for the remission of sins.
The first one is baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts
2:38; 22:16). The second is to be
washed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1
Jn. 1:5; Rev. 1:5). The third is to be
baptized with head bowed in the likeness of the Lord’s death. The baptism that includes all these three
elements is the most powerful mode for the remission of sins.
4.
Acts 2:38 states: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism is preceded by repentance. All the people who came to John the Baptist for baptism in the
River Jordan were told to repent and they were “confessing their sins.” (Mt. 3:1-2,
5-6) What should be the attitude or
posture of a repentant sinner who comes to receive baptism? The Lord Jesus Christ told the parable of
the repentant tax collector, who “would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven,” (Lk. 18:13). Because
of sin the prophets of old would not lift their faces up to God in heaven (Ezra
9:6; Psm. 40:12). A person who comes to
receive water baptism must repent and confess the sins with head bowed.
5. John 3:5
states: “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to
you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of
God.” Our Lord further
explained that “born
of water” refers to water baptism, and “born of the Spirit” refers to
baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5; 3:38).
Water baptism has many corresponding
features with natural childbirth. The
baby is placed inside a “bag of waters” that corresponds with baptism by full
immersion. As the time of delivery
approaches the baby’s natural position is with the head downwards. If the baby’s head is in the upward
position there would be birth complications.
As the time of delivery approaches the
baby’s natural position is with the head downwards. If the baby’s head is in the upward position there would be
birth complications. Any doctor or
midwife will agree that the normal position of the baby’s face is downward
during the birth itself. Many medical
people will also agree that if the baby’s face is in an upward position birth
defect may occur. It is more than
coincidence that in the new birth of water God had also designed that every
Christian who is obedient to the truth will consider baptism with head bowed
in the forward position. 6. Matthew 3:16
states: “Then
Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; . . .” Notice that Jesus went out of the water “immediately”
by Himself. John the Baptist did
not assist Him. The Lord came up by
Himself. Jesus could not have come up
immediately by Himself if He had been immersed backward with face upward. Just try it and you will agree that the
backward immersion mode is impossible to come up out of the water by
yourself. Our Lord definitely immersed
Himself in the forward motion with head bowed.
This forward mode had been the Jewish practice during the time of
Jesus. In the film entitled “JESUS” the Lord was depicted as being baptized with
head bowed facing downward. Based on
the Gospel of St. Luke, the producers sought biblical accuracy in every
detail. The script was checked and
rechecked by more than 200 Biblical and historical scholars. They discovered the immersion with head
bowed to be the correct baptismal mode.
[Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus - page 136]
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7. Mark 16:20 states that the Early Church “went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” Ever since this truth was revealed to the Church our Lord Jesus Christ had actually confirmed the word in different parts of the world. “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.” (Heb. 2:4) Many believers have seen visions of the Lord’s blood in the water where baptism was administered in this mode. The Lord confirmed that immersion with head bowed is the correct baptismal mode. |
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May God bless you.
