RESTORED Week 3 (The Importance of Water Baptism)

Watch the Video for Week 3:“The importance and Meaning of Water Baptism.”

Scriptures Mentioned Today

• Matthew 28:18-20
• Romans 6:1-13
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Your Notes from the Teaching

Don’t forget to pray, read and worship today!

In this week’s teaching, we were exhorted to become water baptized if we have not already done so. If that is you, consider contacting your church and getting that set up ASAP. If you have been baptized already — write down some things that changed after you were baptized into Christ. Celebrate these things, and give thanks to God for the grace being made in your life by His grace! If you have not yet been baptized, and are hesitant for any reason — discuss these hesitations with your cohort, mentor or pastor. Below are all the scriptures related to Water Baptism in the New Testament. Take some time to do a lookup of these scriptures, and see what God will show you — either about your baptism to come, or the one you’ve had already. The better you understand your unity with Christ in His cross, the better you will understand your unity in His resurrection! Matthew 3:11, Matthew 28:19 Mark 16:15-16 Acts 1:5 Acts 2:38…41 Acts 8:35-38 Acts 9:17-18 Acts 10:44-48 Acts 19:1-6 1 Peter 3:18-22 Colossians 2:11-14 Galatians 3:26-29 Romans 6:1-8 (this is the most thorough explanation on the subject of baptism — we recommend reading it in more than one bible translation if possible.) 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

Don’t forget to pray, read and worship today!

Most everyone knows the story of how Israel came our from slavery in Egypt, when God parted the Red Sea, brought them to Mount Sinai, and gave them the 10 Commandments. But did you know that God considered this a kind of “baptism?”

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Read the story of the crossing of the sea (Exodus 14) (If you have time, the whole story of Moses, the plagues, and the Passover are a fascinating setup for this world-changing moment at the Red Sea. These are found in Exodus 1-14.)

The crossing of the sea, and the destruction of pharaoh’s army all foreshadow what happens to each of us when we are baptized into Christ. Answer the following questions to learn the meaning of how the “Exodus” from Egypt relates to our freedom in Christ through baptism.

Who does Israel represent?

Who does Pharoah and his army represent?

What is different about Israel’s condition on the other side of the Red Sea? (remember — they had already been freed from slavery before they were “baptized” by crossing the sea).

What does Moses’ statement found in verse 13 mean for you, as you walk in your newness of life?

Celebrate your freedom today!!! And just think how awesome it is that God foreshadowed it 15 centuries before Jesus was even born!

Don’t forget to pray, read and worship today!

Read Colossians 2:8-15, and let's take a moment to think about what is meant by verse 11:

...in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

The circumcision of all men born into the line of Abraham (the grandfather of Israel) was to serve as a symbol of covenant. It signified a belonging to God, and represented being “marked” as a child of God. The ritual was so important to God’s people that the early church wrestled intensely with the idea that the tradition should be carried on in the church. (And aren’t we all glad they agreed that baptism replaces circumcision?)

According to the Law of Moses, a male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day of his life. Eight is the number of new beginnings, and foreshadowed the fresh start (born again) life we have in Christ, beginning with our baptism.

So, apart from water baptism being a much gentler way of marking us in Christ, it also serves as a kind of covenant-making ceremony with God through Christ.

We make covenants because we are aware that we will fall short in our loving commitment. A married couple makes covenant with each other because their love will be tested, and the covenant provides a security — that even though the relationship may be tested, it will not be abandoned.

God, the Father, has already made His covenant with us through Christ, and He will never fail to keep it! What kind of covenant will you make with Him today as you recall the miracle of your baptism and New Life?