Hello again. I’ve been on a two – week break and I’m excited about what I’m about to share. I hope this post ignites your heart to the deeper journey and specific plan Jesus has just for you.
I’m sharing my understanding of “baptism” in Christ. Simply, Christ’s justice to the areas of your life and mine needing cleansing and healing.
It’s redemption and restoration in fullness, in grace, a new creation in Jesus.
Exploration
We hear about NASA’s plans to explore Mars for life.
The natural man or woman is driven to determine his existence in relationship to the universe around him – what he or she can see, feel, and gaze upon – the same temptations Eve faced and Adam partook.
All of us face these temptations in one form or another. We are a mixture of the natural and the spiritual.
The spiritual man or woman is on a journey of exploration as well. Some think the journey culminated with the advent of Christ and the writings of the New Testament.
On the contrary, the Lord Jesus Christ and the writings of Scripture have yet to reveal the fullness of the treasure of Christ and his word to the church, you and me.
Be of good cheer, there is much of Jesus still to come to the church in these latter of the latter days. Unprecedented times and unprecedented changes are on the horizon both in and out of the church.
Now is the time to make ready for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is here, now, present, to “entertain” those who desire intimacy and connection with him, the purposes and plans of the kingdom and their special part in his unfolding story.
And those purposes and plans include the rescue of not only his called and chosen, but those in darkness who respond to him.
Christ, The Treasure
The treasure, the prize, is deep intimacy, fellowship, connection and union with Jesus. It is the most holy and wonderful thing possible in this creation. The joining of two hearts as one, the bride and the bridegroom.
Jesus is taking many into deep intimacy, in these, the latter days of the New Testament period. There is a profound work of the Holy Spirit happening in our midst, in this generation, inside the visible church.
There is a new work of the Holy Spirit today in the church of Jesus Christ. God is replacing the strength of Passover and Pentecostal Christians with “a little strength,” a new awakening in the Church to a richer and deeper walk with God.
Some may call this the beginning of the fulfillment of the final and third major feast of the Old Testament, the Feast of Tabernacles.
What is known is the Lord is taking many into a rich, deep, new place in him. This is not a phase. It is a paradigm shift in the kingdom of God.
A new position and place in God in grace, similar in magnitude to the unprecedented changes evidenced in Passover and Pentecost.
A new spiritual man and woman is on the horizon in the kingdom of God. And it will not look like what we have been taught, attribute, and suppose the final moves of God will be in the last of the last days. God has surprises for all of us.
To the church of Philadelphia (Revelation, Chapter 3), Jesus says you have little strength. Our strength is not in the exploration of the universe or of the smallest particles of matter, but in the breath of God and presence of Christ.
New Move of the Spirit
Are you aware the Lord Jesus Christ is moving in the midst of his church today taking many deep unto himself – connecting them to him in union?
Are you taking advantage of the resources Christ has made available to the church – inner healing, counseling, deliverance, prayer ministry, etc., – and of the many para – church ministries (men’s and women’s groups, © Ransomed Heart Ministries, etc.,) Christ has labored so diligently to prepare as a banquet for you and me?
Are you asking Jesus to make you a new man or woman from the inside out, to bring fresh streams of living water and fresh manna from heaven to the dark places of your struggle?
Are you feeling challenged or called by the Lord to search things out, to open up your heart in vulnerability to him and others?
Are you shopping in the “boutique” God has prepared specifically for you?
I pray the Lord continue to open the floodgates of revelation and understanding to you and me, we might press deeper into the things of God and the richness of the treasure of Christ.
I encourage you to suspend fear and seriously consider new things Jesus Christ might bring your way. Jesus is sufficient to keep you within the bounds of his love and goodness, and within the territory of the kingdom of God and holy Scripture. See Psalm 16 and 1 Peter 1:13.
There is much grace in Christ yet to be revealed. Don’t give up! Jesus has a rescue plan and itinerary just for you for the struggles you deem insurmountable.
What Does It Mean to Be Baptized in Christ? (1 Peter 3:21, Luke 12:50, Romans Chapter 6, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 7:1)
Men and women go through great effort exerting themselves in all manner of advancement. The list is endless of the efforts we make to advance in this world.
And with all the effort and advancement man and woman has made, especially in the present age, the deep areas of the heart – the cleansing of deep wounds, sins, and darkness (woven and etched into the fabric of who we are) – remains by and large, unexplored.
There is only one who has traveled this road in fullness, Christ. And he is the only one with the understanding, wisdom and grace, to take you to those places in your own life.
Christ is doing a deep and methodical work in the church today. Many are experiencing deep cleansing and healing in the inner man and woman.
The great masses of mankind are not partaking of God’s banquet in Christ.
The baptism of Christ is not a topic of discussion, except when circumstances become so dire a person seeks deep cleansing and healing because their life depends on it.
(I know this from experience – see About Me for more of my personal story.)
When Peter wrote about baptism now saving, (1 Peter 3: 21), he was referring to the journey spoken in Hebrews 3:14 – the journey of conviction, i.e., confidence and trust.
It is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse and heal us from brokenness, wounds, and sins, redeeming us from the clutches of darkness, transforming our lowly natures into his glorious nature, connecting and uniting us to him.
It is not another form of self-righteousness. It’s not another form of becoming holy, the New Testament equivalent of pharisaic practices, but a journey in Christ, where Christ is allowed to “care” for you and me.
It is interesting in 1 Peter 3:21, Peter uses the Greek word eperotema, Strong’s Greek #1906, rendered “pledge, demand, answer, appeal, examination, etc.,” in various translations, in reference to having a clear conscience.
The heart of this Greek word is to question, inquire, interrogate, and implies intensity. This is the profound work of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to write the word of God in the tables of our heart.
It is bringing to death the old nature through repentance, forgiveness, uprooting plantings in our life not of God. It is the impartation and creative work of Christ in us, the new creation.
The answer, pledge, appeal, etc., of a good conscience toward God, is a journey in Christ, Christ “caring” for you and me. It is our testimony, answer, and proclamation of the goodness of God – his wondrous works in and through us.
“It is the conversation – inquiry, interrogation, demand, etc. – that happens behind closed doors in counseling, inner healing, deliverance, prayer ministry, personal prayer, etc., and, of course, all sorts of other interactions with the Lord.”
(A vivid example of this is Christ in the wilderness and his responses to the interrogation of Satan. Christ’s responses testify to the word of God written on the tables of his heart. The conversation for Christ continued throughout his ministry and into the garden.
God is having a “conversation” with us. He is going to the core of who we are, what we believe, and how we practice life, to cleanse and heal the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. It is not only the “conversation” that brings cleansing and healing, but also the ongoing “conversation” in the stewardship of our healing.
The word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit washes us clean, and his words in “conversation” with us through differing ministries, manifestations and forms is a process of converting our heart from the beliefs and practices of the world to the things of God.)
Baptism, the Delight and Love of God
This is where you learn the grace and love of God deeply for yourself first, and for others. When Christ “comes” and “takes” you, he reveals himself to you in grace.
You become aware of your complete inability to cleanse and heal yourself of your wounds, brokenness and sinful nature. No matter how much you try, the utter hopelessness of sin and brokenness cannot be remedied in the natural.
You learn to receive “care” from Christ. You come to understand the grace of God in the midst of your own fallen life. You learn to turn to Jesus and receive his confidence and love in the season and process of your undoing and his care.
It is this confidence and trust in him (Hebrews 3:14) that keeps you in the palm of his hand, willing to go through the personal “treatment and rescue plan” he has just for you.
Baptism, in Brief:
“It is God taking us initially into the wilderness. A place in him, a place of exposure, unveiling and learning – care. A place of perseverance and obedience –a testimony and answer to the goodness of God to provide, heal, and protect.”
“It is Christ’s personal commitment to work the work of God in our lives, a righteousness inviting others into Christ, to the things of God, opening hearts to be Fathered into sonship.”
“It is a baptism that draws us to help and love others, to compel others into the goodness of God, a baptism promoting Christ, a baptism reaching out to the lost and hurting, a baptism of intentionality and engagement and exertion to advance the kingdom of God.”
“It is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ standing between us and our fallen nature, restoring our true identity and destiny, creating a new nature within us that we might walk in the fullness of our inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“It is a baptism answering the assaults of the enemy with a “demand,” “appeal,” or “pledge” on the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ – repentance and forgiveness – turning away from the embrace and harbor of sin and bitterness.
“It is a baptism where Jesus takes you to a place you would not naturally choose to go, like Peter in the Gospel of John Chapter 21. Where the thoughts and attitudes of the heart are revealed and transformed to the new creation by the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.”
In Conclusion
Baptism is our response to Christ’s question; “Will we put ourselves under his stewardship and mantle? Will we allow ourselves to be yoked to him and to receive the burden he has for us to carry?
Will we allow ourselves to be fathered, disciplined, and corrected?
Will we allow the Holy Spirit to examine, appeal, interrogate, etc., us in the deep recesses of our heart that Christ might care for us and impart his grace and revelation of truth deep within the foundation of our being?
Will we allow Jesus Christ to care for us, to receive his delight and love? Will we receive the gentleness of Christ in the deep and wounded areas of our life we hide?
Will we allow the Lord Jesus Christ to take us, you and me, on a journey deep in him where the controls and steering of our life are “taken” by him?
Will we allow Jesus Christ to fulfill the Scriptures of “taking,” “coming,” “appearing,” etc., and revealing himself to us in grace? Will we allow Jesus Christ access to the deep pains we suffer in our brokenness, wounds, and sins?
Will we allow Christ to do the unimaginable and unprecedented in our lives? Will we allow him to take us on a pioneer journey and adventure ahead of others you may know?
In I Peter 3:21, Peter is saying, “baptism, is not about appearances, duties and obligations and certainly not about pretenses and duplicity’s, hiding and subduing everything we believe others may fault or condemn us for.”
“But baptism is the cleansing and healing of the whole man, body, soul, and spirit. It’s about cleaning the inside of the cup, our thoughts and attitudes. It’s about Christ and our heavenly Father uprooting every plant he did not plant in us.”
“It’s about the Holy Spirit dismantling structures of sin in your life and mine. It’s about the Holy Spirit cleansing our wounds. It’s about being renewed and restored to the place Adam was before the fall, a place we know not of, a place only Christ can take us to.”
“Baptism, is like receiving a doctorate of the heart. A deep work of the Holy Spirit in the inner man. A place of grace in the midst of sin and cleansing repulsive to the natural man.”
“Baptism is being born again, spirit filled, and continuing the journey into connection, intimacy, and union with Christ. A place of completion in Christ, the distant city Abraham looked forward to, a broken and contrite heart in the hands of God.”
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If Peter includes Noah and the “disobedient” in his first letter, his letter of testimony, teaching and exhortation, at the beginning of the Church age, how much more are we to take heed nearing the end of the New Testament?
The baptism of water that symbolized the answer of a clear conscience before God, that brought Noah and his family into a new identity and destiny, brought death and destruction to those who forsook its call.
Let’s not be like those who cling to the hope of this culture and world, but like those who look heavenward to their salvation in Christ.
Blessings, Drake
