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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
| Let us pray together before beginning this lesson: |
| Our Father, Your word has revealed great things until now, and we know that You still have many important things to teach us. May You reveal them during the next lessons that, through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, we put them into practice. May these teachings help us better reflect Your image in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. |
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Lesson 8 |
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2 Kings 5:1 |
Comments |
| Now Naaman, commander of the
army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master,
because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. |
Let us begin our lesson with this Old Testament story relating the experience of Naaman the Syrian, a leprous man in search of healing. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
2 Kings 5:9,10 |
Comments |
| Naaman went with his horses and
chariot, and he stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, «Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.» |
Having heard about Elisha the prophet, Naaman decided
to visit him to be healed of his leprosy. Elisha did not deign to meet him. Nevertheless, he let him know the way to be healed: washing himself seven times in the Jordan river. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
2 Kings 5:11,12 |
Comments |
| But Naaman became furious, and
went away and said, «Indeed, I said to myself, "He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy." Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?» So he turned and went away in a rage. |
Not expecting such a method of healing, Naaman, furious, was getting ready to leave without following the instructions of Elisha. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
2 Kings 5:13,14 |
Comments |
| And his servants came near and
spoke to him, and said, «My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, "Wash and be clean"?» 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. |
The waters of the Jordan had no miraculous properties. What really healed Naaman was only his obedience to Elisha's instructions. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
1 Peter 2:21 |
Comments |
| Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. | Just as Naaman was asked to dip in the
Jordan, God also asks us to show in a concrete way that we take a stand for Him. What does God ask us to do? Let's turn our eyes towards our Savior Jesus Christ, our example in all things. |
1 John 2:6 |
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| He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Matthew 3:13-15 |
Comments |
| Then Jesus came from Galilee to
John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, «I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?» But Jesus answered and said to him, «Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.» |
Jesus was not a sinner, so He did not need to be
baptized: this is why John the Baptist opposed His baptism. But Jesus wanted to leave us an example, so that we «fulfill all righteousness». |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
John 3:22 |
Comments |
| Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. | Jesus taught His disciples the importance
of baptism. Just before leaving for heaven, He commanded them to baptize each new convert. |
Matthew 28:19,20 |
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| [Jesus said,] «Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.» |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Romans 6:3,4 |
Comments |
| 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. |
What does baptism mean? It is a gesture symbolizing our desire to die with Jesus, leaving behind us the «old man», that is, our former life of sin, and thereafter walking in newness of life. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Romans 6:5,6 |
Comments |
| For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 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. | Baptism symbolizes the replacement of the old man by the new man. |
2 Corinthians 5:17 |
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| Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. |
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Colossians 2:12 |
Comments |
| (...) buried with [Christ] in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. | Let us remember: baptism symbolizes our death to sin (death of the «old man») with Jesus Christ, followed by our new birth in Jesus Christ. |
Romans 6:11 |
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| Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
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1 Peter 3:20,21 |
Comments |
| The longsuffering of God waited
in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight
souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism. |
The apostle Peter uses the Flood account to make us
understand the meaning of baptism: in answer to God's call, Noah and his family «were
saved through water». Just as for Naaman the leper, water saved nobody: it is God who, through water, saved those eight souls from death. |
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1 Peter 3:21 |
Comments |
| There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | Just as Noah answered God's call by a concrete deed,
entering into the ark, we must also answer God's call by a concrete deed: our baptism. This is «the answer of a good conscience toward God», the public demonstration of our faith in Jesus Christ. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Ephesians 5:25,26 |
Comments |
| Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. | Baptism is, in a sense, the marriage of
the believer with his Savior Jesus Christ. Such a union must be entered into publicly! |
Matthew 10:32 |
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| [Jesus said,] «Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.» |
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Ephesians 4:5 |
Comments |
| [There is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism. | Now, how must baptism be administered? Some people say that it is necessary to immerse the candidate, to cover him completely with water. Others claim that a simple sprinkling of water is sufficient to baptize. The method of baptism may be considered as a minor point by some people, but let's make no mistake about it: the Word of God attaches great importance to this point. According to the Bible, there is only one real baptism, one way of baptizing: what is it? |
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John 3:23 |
Comments |
| Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. | The only kind of baptism taught by the Word of God is
baptism by immersion: the candidate must be plunged into water to be baptized. This is why the Bible says that John needed «much water» to baptize. In fact, the verb «to baptize» comes from the Greek verb «baptizo» which means «to immerse», «to plunge into», «to submerge», as any good dictionary will confirm. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Matthew 3:16 |
Comments |
| Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water. | After His baptism, Jesus came up from the water. This verse clearly shows that He was immersed, plunged into the waters of the Jordan. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Acts 8:36-39 |
Comments |
| As they went down the road, they
came to some water. And the eunuch said, «See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?» Then Philip said, «If you believe with all your heart, you may.» And he answered and said, «I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.» So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away. |
If sprinkling of water were enough, why did Philip and the eunuch go «down into the water»? |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Colossians 2:12 |
Comments |
| (...) buried with [Christ] in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. | Only one way of baptizing can be in harmony with the symbolism of burial: baptism by immersion. |
Romans 6:4 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Matthew 28:19,20 |
Comments |
| [Jesus said,] «Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.» |
Having said this, the next question is: are there
preliminary qualifications for baptism? The Bible answers: Yes. Indeed, as we will see in the next verses, the candidate for baptism must have faith in Jesus Christ and repent of his sins. Since babies cannot fulfill these conditions, they cannot be acceptable candidates for baptism. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Mark 1:5 |
Comments |
| And all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to [John] and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. | As we can see, confession of sins and repentance must precede baptism. |
Acts 2:38 |
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| 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.» |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Acts 8:36,37 |
Comments |
| The eunuch said, «See, here is
water. What hinders me from being baptized?» Then Philip said, «If you believe with all your heart, you may.» |
Also, to be eligible for baptism, the Word of God declares that it is necessary to believe in the Lord with all our heart. |
Acts 18:8 |
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| Then Crispus, the ruler of the
synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Acts 8:12 |
Comments |
| But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. | The Bible mentions the baptism of «men and women»,
but never of babies or young children. In fact, infant baptism is a practice which began in the third century A.D., to increase the number of «believers» in the Church. Nevertheless, the Bible is clear: the only valid baptism is the baptism of a person fully aware of his decision. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Acts 2:41,47 |
Comments |
| Those who gladly received
[Peter's] word were baptized. (...) And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. |
Through baptism, we enter into God's great
family: the Church. We also become laborers in His harvest, gladly working for Him. |
1 Corinthians 12:13 |
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| For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
1 Corinthians 12:20,27 |
Comments |
| But now indeed there are many
members, yet one body. (...) Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. |
Through baptism we become a part of the
body of Christ, the Church, working according to the gifts and talents God has given us. Being His ambassadors, we represent His kingdom on this earth. What an honor it is! |
2 Corinthians 5:20 |
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| Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Luke 3:21,22 |
Comments |
| Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him. | Having taken a stand for God by our baptism, we can rely on the work of the Holy Spirit who will help us to perform our function as ambassadors for Christ, purifying our heart from all iniquity. |
Acts 2:38 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
John 3:5 |
Comments |
| Jesus answered, «Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.» |
As this lesson is drawing to a close, we
must understand the importance of baptism in the life of each Christian. These words from Jesus show that baptism is not an option for whoever wants to follow Him, but rather a necessity. Then, what will our decision be? |
Mark 16:16 |
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| [Jesus said,] «He who believes and is baptized will be saved.» |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
John 13:15 |
Comments |
| [Jesus said,] «For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.» |
Jesus, having never sinned, did not need to be
baptized. But He was nevertheless baptized to give us an example to follow. Now we must ask ourselves, individually: «As for me, will Jesus have made this gesture for nothing? Will I follow His example by accepting baptism too, or will I go on as if He had done nothing?» |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
Acts 22:16 |
Comments |
| And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. |
May the Holy Spirit open our hearts and guide us, as we make this important decision concerning our baptism. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Born of Water and the Spirit |
| Let us pray: |
| Dear Lord, As we seek Your Word to discover Your will for each one of us, very important choices are continually facing us. Today, You taught us that we must be baptized by immersion, to become a member of Your great family, Your Church. This decision is not easy, but through Your Son, You have given an example to guide us, and You grant us the power of Your Holy Spirit, so that we may have the strength to take a stand for You, and to publicly demonstrate it by our baptism. Assist us, dear Savior, as we make this crucial decision. In Jesus Christ. Amen. |
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Born
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