FIRST LOVE MINISTRY : By Blood and Water

To accomplish this, we ultimately toured five major baptisms presented throughout scripture, each with five components, the totality of which presents us the Lord’s mind regarding the meaning of Christian baptism. The five baptisms are Old Testament Baptism, John’s Baptism, Faith (Reality) Baptism, Apostles’ Baptism, and Baptism With the Holy Spirit.

We set our study of water baptism in context of a beautiful developmental typology centered on the Tree of Christ. Beginning with its Old Covenant shadow in ceremonial washings, we examined the Tree of Christ’s atoning baptism on the cross, and then its reflection through Apostles’ Baptism on the pond of God’s mortal New Covenant people between the Tree and the sun’s final glory.

Our tour began with a view to how water was intertwined with blood in atoning for sin and bringing to birth new spiritual identity in Christ. By tracing water and blood together in the Old Covenant, we were able to see in Hebrews how Real baptism for salvation from sin was accomplished through the bodily water of the Lord Jesus shed on the cross for us.

We also studied the meaning and purpose for the continued use of water baptism under the New Covenant, beginning with John’s baptism—how that baptism’s purpose was to establish a visible body of followers, bearing witness to the heart’s cleansing by the water of Christ and marking the launch of soul-saving discipleship through a heart inquiry yielding full commitment to Christ. We concluded that water baptism was left us as an identifying stamp on our mortal bodies to aid our weakness of flesh until the mortal age has been fulfilled.

After all this, we capped off our probe by seeing how water baptism unto discipleship is itself but a shadow of the far more important New Covenant Baptism With the Holy Spirit which actually works in us to produce the transforming changes associated with soul salvation, empowers us for destiny fulfilment and joins us into the body of Christ.

	Host	Candidate	Element	Mode	Effect
Old Covenant Shadow Baptism:	Moses, priest, Israelite	Priest or Israelite	Natural water	Physical immersion and sprinkling	Ceremonial Purification from sin
John’s Baptism	John Ben Zacharias and his disciples	Repentant believers in the coming Messiah	Natural Water	Physical Immersion	Forming a visible disciple corp within Israel to receive the Priestly forgiveness and Kingly authority of the Messiah
New Covenant Reality (Faith) Baptism:	The Holy Spirit (- on behalf of Christ)	Heart (spirit) of the Believer in Christ	Water of Christ’s Body, aka, the Water of: - “His Death” - “His Word” - “His Name”	Spiritual action of Faith	Forgiveness of sin (justification), Cleansed conscience, Reborn spirit (regeneration), Sanctified body
Apostles Baptism	Apostles or other believers in Christ	New believers in Messiah who had already come and was now ascended	Natural Water	Physical Immersion	Solidifying a visible body of disciples and the visible personal testimony to kick-starting the race of personal soul salvation
Spirit Baptism	The Lord Jesus (in consort with the Father)	Heart (soul) of the Believer in Christ	The Holy Spirit	Spiritual action of Faith (described as sending/ receiving, filling, pouring, falling upon, welling up from within)	purifying of new identity and soul transformation, empowerment for ministry to the body of Christ, enjoining into the Body of Christ

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This concludes our major study into the true story and meaning of Christian baptism. Following is a set of Addendums. These addendums are for those interested in still more depth or who yet struggle with the power of a carnal mind and religious spirits regarding the spiritual efficacy of earthly water.

Chris Anderson
New Meadow Neck, Rhode Island

First Love Ministry
- a ministry of Anglemar Fellowship
http://www.firstloveministry.org

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