Baptism and the Three Covenants

Part Two – Law vs. Tradition

Baptism – Webster’s Definition(s):

1.   a Christian sacrament marked by ritual use of water and admitting the recipient to the Christian community

a.    sacrament – a Christian rite (such as baptism or the Eucharist) that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or (indulgence) to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality

2.   a non-Christian rite using water for ritual purification

a.    ritual –

                                         i.    according to religious law

                                       ii.    done in according to social customs or normal protocol

3.   an act, experience, or ordeal by which one is purified, sanctified, initiated, or named

a.    purify –

                                        i.    to clear from material defilement or imperfection

                                       ii.    to free from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish

                                     iii.    to free from undesirable elements (Thetans -scientology)

b.   sanctify –

                                        i.    to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use

                                       ii.    to free from sin

                                     iii.    to impart or impute sacredness (Indulgences), inviolability, or respect to

                                     iv.    to make productive of holiness or piety (conventional belief or standard – one accord)

 

Ephesians 4:4-6 (Christianity’s Standard or Piety)

(4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called

     one hope where you were called,

(5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

(6) one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all

     and in all.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Shema or Israel’s Piety)

(4) Hear of Israel the Lord our God is One

(5) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine hearts,

     With all thy souls (life), and with all thy might.

 

History of Baptism –

A.   Exodus 19:10 & 15 - And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, …..

(15) And he (Moses) said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

Note:  Here God is instructing Moses just how the people should prepare themselves to come before the Lord, in their best state of being, or existence.  This not only includes the right state of mind, it also includes the appropriate state of presentation, our absolute best.  For this reason, we are taught the significance of preparation, such as the day of preparation.  Exodus 16:22 - And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.  Preparation for how we come before the Lord, and how to avoid doing work on His Sabbath.

 

God gives instructions for Moses to sanctify the people, but which definition of sanctification is being referred to here?  Since Moses is not God, he cannot forgive sins, to believe so is to commit blasphemy.  Since Moses is not God, he cannot impute (to credit to a person) sacredness to one who is not sacred, this too would be considered blasphemy.  These two definitions are consistent with Roman Catholic Ideology, where the Pope stands for God, and is capable of forgiving sins, and crediting indulgences.  Therefore, the true definition of sanctify must be either to set aside for a religious purpose, or to make productive holiness or piety. 

 

          So we can see that God is commanding the people, thru Moses, to clean

everything about themselves.  They are to wash their clothes, with themselves in them, and not to defile themselves (make unclean) by engaging in activities that would dirty themselves, such as sexual intercourse.  Leviticus 15:21 - Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. 

Jewish Tradition –

1.   State of Purification

a.    Tumah – is the state of ritual impurification (unclean).  A person or object that contracts tumah is said to be tamei or ritually impure, and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and utilizations until undergoing predefined (laws or traditions) purification actions (activities and time) that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.

                                                 i.    Items were made in a particular manner

                                               ii.    Sacrifices were made to anoint items in Tabernacle

                                              iii.    Ritual Cleaning of items before used

b.   Taharah – the state of being ritually pure, after going thru the requisite rite of custom.

 

2.   ritual purification had two parts.  The first to attain purification so one can come before God, the second is a mechanism to maintain the purification that one already has.

A.   Tevila – ritual purification by complete immersion in a Mikah Bath - is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.

 

 

B.   Netilat yadayim – the washing of hands with a cup, or ordinance of hand washing.

a.    Types of hand washing (Netilat Yadayim) as prescribed by Jewish Law(s).

                                                                 i.    Negel Vasser – washing of hands 3 times from a vessel, when one awakes from sleep, to remove the evil spirits from their hands.

                                                               ii.    Washing of hands before prayer

                                                              iii.    Washing of hands when one touches private parts, sweat from his body, or cutting finger nails

                                                              iv.    Washing of hands when one leaves the bathroom

                                                                v.    Washing of hands when on leaves a cemetery

                                                              vi.    Washing of hands before the breaking of bread

                                                             vii.    Washing of hands after eating a meal where the salt of Sodom was served

                                                           viii.    Washing of hands, practiced by priests, prior to going up to bless the people

                                                              ix.    Washing of Hands when, prior to eating, one dips a morsel of food within a liquid, which then clings to that morsel, with the exception of fruits.

 

Time	Source	Reason
After sleep	Talmud	Spiritualism of immortal soul (Kabballah) Evil attaches to person or object
Before prayer	Torah	Come cleansed before God (command I-IV)
Privy parts	Torah	Cleanliness it affects others (command V-XII) and Levitical
Post Bathroom	Torah	Cleanliness and others (command V-XII) and Levitical
Leaving a Cemetery	Torah	Commands (I-XII) & Levitical
Breaking of Bread	Torah	Holy Bread (Commands I-IV)
After a meal	Talmud	Belief evil attaches to things or places (Salt of Sodom) Kabballah & superstitions

 

Prior to blessing	Torah	Commands I – XII
Prior to eating	Torah	Commands V-XII – Levitical Laws

 

Washing of hands in Jewish Tradition comes from
A.      Two Sources – each source has a different purpose and

understanding for each practice

1.   Talmud – belief that one can acquire Tulmah and become Tumei (unpure) by something outside themselves

a.    Doctrine of Original Sin

2.  Torah – one must choose to become impure, or accidently

     becomes impure, such as an illness

          B.      Three Purposes

                   1.       Cleanliness for others

                   2.       Cleanliness before God

                   3.       Both

 

         C.       Difference between Torah & Talmud

1.   Torah

a.    Is the first five books of the bible

b.   Torah is supported by the Major and Minor Prophets

c.    Does not include the New Testament in Jewish Circles

                                                                 i.    Rabbinical Curse on translation of Daniel 9.

                                                               ii.    Includes New Testament in Christian Circles

d.   Writings end after Revelation, about 100 AD

2.   Talmud –

a.    Is the first five books of the bible

b.   Is supported by the Major and Minor Prophets (Usually)

c.    Does not include the New Testament in Jewish Circles

                                                                 i.    Includes New Testament in Christian Circles

d.   Writings end after 200 AD, 165 years after the fulfillment of the 70 weeks prophesy, therefore, it contains 165 years of uninspired writings. 

                                                                 i.    In Gnosticism we call these the Apocryphal Writings.  Revelation 2:15 - So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Gnostic beliefs), which thing I hate.

                                                               ii.    In Judaism we call them (Gnostic believers) Kabballah.

1.   Inspiration from a spirit not of God, or a seducing spirit.

 

Christian Baptism – This differs from Jewish baptism.  In Jewish baptism one is baptized to attain ritual purity, or to restore oneself to ritual purity (purity by works).  Jewish baptism (Tavila) has two components, one to make oneself ritualistically pure, Tevila, the other to restore oneself to ritual purification by partaking in a particular ritual, Netilat, the washing of hands.

 

Christian baptism also has two components, as we learned last week.  The first component is the public declaration that we are not enough, and we claim the righteousness of Christ, thru our faith in Him (Justification by faith).  This proclamation is done by the total immersion of the individual in water, but it is not specific to a particular place such as the Mikah Bath. Total immersion symbolizes the death of sinfilled self, and resurrection of the restored individual, thru Christ’s righteousness.   The second component of Christian Baptism is the baptism of the Spirit.  During this, one receives the Holy Spirit, who Christ referred to as the “Living Water”.  This true vicar of Christ makes the changes in our hearts and minds that lead to our total transformation, from being of this world, to having a kingdom not of this world.

John 18:36 - Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.  

For this same reason, Pilot found Christ innocent of all charges.  He found no intention of sedition against Rome, Christ was not a Zealot.  Since Christ’s kingdom was not of this world, He could not be judged by the standards of this world.  As Christ we too must ascribe to another kingdom, one not of this world, otherwise we are subject to the standards and punishments of this world, death.

 

A.   John 3:5 - Jesus answered, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.

 

Once again, we have established that baptism has two components.  The first is fulfilled by the total immersion of the individual by water, this is a public declaration of the individual’s intentions to accept Christ as their sovereign and God.  The second is fulfilled by complete immersion of the individual by the Spirit.  It must be a complete (all or nothing) immersion, otherwise a person is trying to serve two masters, and Christ Himself stated that this is not possible.  Mathew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

 

B.   Mark 1:2-5 –

(2) As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before

     thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

(3) The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the

     Lord, make his paths straight.

(4) John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of

     repentance for the remission of sins.

(5) And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of

    Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river (water) of Jordan,

    confessing their sins.

 

The confession of our sins, not to man but to God, leads to our realization, that we can never be enough, repentance.  For this reason, we turn our ailing heart to the Calvary.  We see the most precious of gifts given to man by God the Father, His Son, the atoning sacrifice. 

 

Understanding the three Covenants:

A.   The Three Covenants:

1.   Garden of Eden – I will be their God, they shall be my people.  There was no offering of the Covenant to Adam or Eve.  This covenant was established before creation itself, between God and God. 

Genesis 3:15 - And I (God/Jesus) will put enmity (Mutual hatred) between thee (Satan) and the woman (Church), and between thy seed (Satan’s followers) and her seed (Christ); it (Christ) shall bruise thy head (at the cross), and thou (Satan) shalt bruise his (Christ’s) heel (at the cross).

 

2.   Mount Sinai –

a.    Exodus 19:3 & 4 –

(5) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my

    covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above

    all people: for all the earth is mine:

(6) And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests (direct access to God), and an holy nation.  These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

                   b. 

 

 

3.   New Covenant –

a.   Jeramiah 31:31-34

(31) Behold, the days com, saith the LORD, that I will make a

      new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of

     Judah:

(32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their

      fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring

      them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they

      brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the

      LORD.

(33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the

       house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put

       my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;

       and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

(34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and

      every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD:  for they

      shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest

      of them, saith the LORD:  for I will forgive their iniquity, and

      I will remember their sin no more.

 

In all three Covenants, there can only be One who has the requisite authority to offer the covenant.  God alone is the offeror of these covenants since He is the owner of the Universe. 

 

We must also realize that the One who accepts the Covenant must also have the requisite authority to accept it, since an offer is only made to a specific entity, the Offeree.  This person must be willing to give up something (and therefore have something to give up), an object, time or a right, in order to exchange for what the offeror is offering.  Since we are poor and pathetic, humans cannot accept the offer from God. 

 

Since humans have nothing to offer, and therefore lack capacity to accept God’s offer, then what we are capable of accepting must be a gift from God.  A gift is not bound by law; therefore, it becomes the only thing that we can accept from God.

 

Let us compare the Covenants to each other:

In the Garden of Eden and in the New Covenant, we find a contract that is devoid of human acceptance, or attempt for human acceptance.  Here God is both the offeror, and the only one with capacity to be the offeree.  The terms of the contracts are identical, “God will be our God, and we shall be His people”.  Therefore, Covenant Garden of Eden and the New Covenant are the same on their face (identical).

 

After the fall of man, we find that God gave His children a promise of a gift.  Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

Additionally, in the New Covenant, we see that Christ gives His Children a gift, the Comforter.  He states that we will not need to teach one another of Him, for we will all know Him, through the Comforter (Holy Spirit).  This is the same as being a nation of priests, every man will have access to God the Father, thru His Christ.  Here we find that the Covenant at Mount Sinai and the New Covenant both agree in regards to the benefits found in the covenants, access to God the Father, thru Christ the Son.

 

If these covenants agree in terms, mechanism for fulfillment and the promise of benefits, then why is the New Covenant, a better Covenant than the one at Mount Sinai?  Why did the first Covenant in the Garden of Eden fail?  To understand this we need to know what is a covenant, token and breach.

 

What is a covenant?

Covenant - an agreement, especially by lease, deed, or other legal contract.

 

What is a contract?

Contract - a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law.

          A Contract consists of

1.   Offer – only the Offeror, one offering, can set the terms in the contract

2.   Acceptance – can only accept, as the terms have been set up, cannot change any term or it is a rejection of the offer (counter offer)

3.   Consideration – bargain for exchange

4.   Lack of defenses

 

 

 

 

 

Tokens –

1.   an outward sign or expression (sign or symbol)

2.   something given or shown as a guarantee (as of authority, right, or identity)

 

Breach – failure by one of the parties to fulfill their agreement, and it can be enforced by the other party by law.

 

Why did the first Covenant fail?

Genesis 3:6-7

⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

 

Eve was tempted by her lusts, the lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life in eating of the forbidden tree.  Adam, succumbed to his lust, the lust of the flesh, making Eve greater than God.  This led to both attempting to cover their nakedness (righteousness by works).  Although, neither Adam nor Eve were privy to accepting the contract, and therefore not in breech, by their actions, they rejected the gift.

 

Why did the Covenant at Mount Sinai fail?

Exodus 19:8 - And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.

Exodus 20:19 & 20 - And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

 

As we saw in the first and third Covenant, there is no role for man in fulfilling the terms of the covenant, or accepting it.  When the Children of Israel stated that “they will do”, they placed a term that did not previously exist (added a term), therefore they gave a counter offer, rejects the original offer.  Since “all the world is mine” saith the Lord, then the people had nothing to bargain for exchange, therefore they placed themselves in a position where they had no right to be, in the place of God (Blasphemy).  Additionally, when they refused Christ and stated that they would only speak to Moses, they create an additional term, which again negates the offer by creating a counter offer.  This has the unintentional additional effect of creating the first Vicar between God and man, Moses. 

 

The New Covenant is perfect, for it is between God and God.  Man has no place in this contract, he only receives the Gift and benefits of this contract.  Under law, a gift is not enforceable and is therefore not a contract. 

 

Remember that a token is an outward manifestation of authority for the ones in the contract.  It is not the contract, nor the terms in the contract.  Every contract, or covenant, will have its unique Token(s) as a symbol for that particular contract, just as every company has its unique emblem or logo.  When a contract is fulfilled or breached, its existence ends, and the tokens for it also end.  In the same aspect, when a contract is created, it must have a different token(s), even if the terms are similar, because each contract is offered only to a specific offeree. 

 

What are the Token(s), outward manifestation of each Covenant?

 

Covenant	Offeror	Offeree	Terms	Beneficiary	Token
Garden of Eden	God	God	I will be your God and you shall be my people	Man’s Dominion & direct with God	Robe of Light Keeping God’s Law (Sabbath)
Mount Sinai	God	God Man intervened (counter-offer)	I will be your God and you shall be my people   Obey indeed and keep	Nation of priests – direct with God	Teviah Netilat Circumcision of Foreskin (ritual purification) They did God’s Law, Never Kept it
New Covenant	God	God	I will be your God and you shall be my people	Nation of Priests, Rule with Christ	Baptism Feet Washing Circumcision of the heart Robe of Christ Righteousness Keeping God’s Law (Sabbath)

 

So what are the Commandments of God?   

It is not a term listed in the Covenants “Garden of Eden”, or in the “New Covenant”.  It seems to be listed in the Covenant at Mount Sinai, or is it?  The fact that the words used, “obey indeed” and “keep” should be clue to that this is not the case.  The bible is very clear, Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; if every man has sinned, then there can be no perfect obedience found in man, and therefore man is not capable of keeping God’s Commandments of himself.  This is why Christ is so special.   As the only Man who lived a sinless life, Christ becomes the only one who could be a propitiation for our sins.  What God was offering at Mount Sinai is the exact same Covenant that He offered at Eden, and is offering to you and me today.  Christ will place His laws in our hearts and minds, and His Gift, the Living Water, or Holy Spirit will keep them in us, through us, and for us.  Just as God is the only One who has capacity to offer and accept the covenant, He is the only One capable of keeping His Commandments for us. 

Our attempts to keep God’s Commandment is not our mechanism for salvation, it is a means of showing the world that we are God’s Children, and of showing God our love. 

 

So why must I be baptized to be saved?

As we read above in John 3:5, we must be baptized of both water and the Spirit in order to be saved.  We can see the significance of being baptized by the Spirit, since He is the One who keeps the commandments for us, but the significance of baptism by water is equally important.  It is the declaration to the world who our God and King is.  It is what makes us, along with the Holy Spirit being in us, a peculiar people.

 

What was the Levitical system (Genesis 3:15)?

Since we have seen that all the Covenants are identical, that keeping the commandments was not a term in the Covenant at Mount Sinai, and that the Children of Israel rejected the gift by adding terms to the covenant, then there must be some other significance to the Levitical System.  The Levitical system is a promise of a future gift from God.  The Levitical System is an expansion of the promise found in Genesis 3:15. Every letter in the Levitical System testifies of the consistency, love and forgiveness of Christ.  It is a reminder that one day the Messiah would come, and He did.  Now we have another promise:

Acts 1:11 - Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

 

This promise creates a duty for us to share, just as the woman at the well did. 

Mathew 28:19-20 – ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Let each of us, take up our cross and follow Jesus.  Let us take the three angels message to the world, and be the heralds for our soon coming Christ.  Selah.