Our Baptism: Jesus’ Baptism
An all-creatures Bible Message

Our Baptism: Jesus’ Baptism
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
11 January 2015
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 1:1-5
Mark 1:9-11
Luke 1:35
Luke 3:16
Acts 6:8
Acts 19:1-7

Our baptism: Jesus’ baptism should be a significant part of our life.
 
Anyone can be dunked in water and all they get is wet, but if our baptism is like Jesus’ baptism, then each and every one of us should be a new spiritual being in Christ.
 
This means that we should have turned away from the corrupt and evil ways of this world, and been transformed into children of God who live in the heavenly will of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
 
This is what our baptism and Jesus’ baptism is all about.
 
With this in mind, let’s take a look at Mark 1:9-11, and see if we can understand the significance of Jesus’ baptism that should have occurred in our baptism as well as in our life.

9. And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
 
10. And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
 
11. and a voice came out of the heavens: "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."
NASB

We hope we all see the significance of Jesus’ baptism; it’s that the Holy Spirit came upon Him, or to say it another way, He was baptized in or by the Holy Spirit.
 
This is a vital part of our believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, for if we truly accept Him, then we should also desire to follow Him and His teachings.
 
If this is the case, then we also need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us separate ourselves from the people and institutions responsible for the horrible pain, suffering, and bloodshed that causes the death of millions of our fellow human beings and billions of animals every year on this earth.
 
Note what John the Baptist told the people about Jesus in Luke 3:16…

16. John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
NASB

The Holy Spirit is the driving force, the fire, that should have occurred with our baptism; and if it didn’t, then we need to ask the Lord to transform us into the child of God He wants us to be, so that we can join in the effort to free creation from its present corruption and bring the heavenly will of God to earth as it is in heaven.
 
Think also about what the angel told Mary in Luke 1:35…

35. And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.
NASB

The Holy Spirit also imparted this power to Mary, just as He is willing to do with us so that we also can effectively perform all that God wants us to do.
 
This is also the power that gave Stephen the ability to be an effective disciple of Jesus, as we are told in Acts 6:8…

8. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
NASB

This is the same kind of power we all need in our lives.
 
In Genesis 1:1-5, we have an example of Jesus’ baptism and our baptism in the way God created the heavens and the earth.

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
 
2. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

This is the way most people are in the world today.
 
They are formless and void of doing any real good to free the world from its present corruption, violence, and suffering.
 
And as with the world when God first created it, the Holy Spirit hovers over all of us waiting to be called upon to transform us into the image of God, just as He transformed the formless and void earth into the creation He wanted it to be.

3. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

Like the earth at the time of creation, most people in the world, today, are living in the darkness of sin and death, but when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and we welcome Him in, He removes the darkness and fills us with light and life so that we can also spread this light and life throughout the world around us.

4. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

Though it doesn’t say it here, we should also see the darkness as being symbolic of the sin and death in this world, and if our baptism is like Jesus’ baptism, then like God, we should help remove or separate the evil darkness that covers the lives of most people and show them the light and life of heaven and encourage them to also live in the light and turn away from the suffering and death of this worldly system we live in.

5. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
NASB

Our baptism should bring the heavenly light and peace of heaven into our lives, just as God brought light into the world.
 
As we look at Acts 19:1-7, let’s keep in mind the significance of Jesus’ baptism and our baptism.

1. And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found some disciples,
 
2. and he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

This seems to be a continuing problem with many Christians, even to this very day.
 
And, in a way, it’s also a problem with many people who claim to have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for they show very little of the fruit of the heavenly love, compassion, peace, and non-violence toward the whole of creation that should have entered their lives with this baptism, for it is a vital part of our baptism.
 
This is also what Jesus taught us.

3. And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism."
 
4. And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
 
5. And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
 
6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

Unfortunately, many people fake the speaking in tongues and prophesying, but we can tell if it is for real when we see the difference in the fruit of their lives.
 
Those who are truly baptized in the Holy Spirit have the fruit of the children of God who live in the heavenly will of God, and diligently do everything in their power to help free creation from its present corruption.
 
Those who fake or pretend to have the gifts of this baptism show who they really are, because they still live in the violent ways of this earth, with all its pain, suffering and death for both humans and animals.
 
Our baptism should be a holy baptism that brings light and life into the world just as it is in heaven; a light that others can plainly see.

7. And there were in all about twelve men.
NASB

And, there should be a lot more of us today.
 
Today we may not see a lot of true baptisms in which people exhibit the heavenly power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, where they become children of God and do everything in their power to end the corruption of creation with all its pain, suffering, and death of both humans and animals.
 
And just because we don’t see a lot of other people changing, it is no excuse for our baptism not to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that helps us bring true peace to every human being and billions of animals.
 
We can help end the horrible suffering and death by changing our own lives and encouraging others to do the same thing.
 
The more of us who do this, the more power we will have collectively to bring true peace to this earth as it is in heaven.
 
Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can end the warring madness and terrorism.
 
We can end the government corruption that favors the exploitation of animals and calls the people who try to expose the horrors of animal agriculture, “terrorists”, when all they are trying to do is bring heavenly peace to this world and end the exploitation of animals for human profit and lust.
 
We cannot afford to be cowards and ignore the evils that cause so much pain and suffering.
 
We can end all the evil schemes of the devil and bring God’s heavenly will to earth as it is in heaven.
 
We can!
 
Amen.

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