What is baptism?

Water baptism - a sign of the believer's repentance, a sign that he accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior - is participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Being baptized “with the Holy Spirit and fire” refers to the renewing and cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. The Worldwide Church of God practices baptism by immersion (Matthew 28,19; Acts of the Apostles 2,38; Romans 6,4-5; Luke 3,16; 1. Corinthians 12,13; 1. Petrus 1,3-9; Matthew 3,16).

On the evening before his crucifixion, Jesus took the bread and wine and said: "...this is my body...this is my blood of the covenant..." Whenever we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we accept the bread and wine as a memorial our Redeemer and proclaim his death until he comes. The sacrament is participation in the death and resurrection of our Lord, who gave his body and shed his blood that we might be forgiven (1. Corinthians 11,23-26; 10,16; Matthew 26,26.

Ecclesiastical orders

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ecclesiastical orders of Protestant Christianity. These ordinances are signs or symbols of God's grace at work in believers. They visibly proclaim the grace of God by indicating the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

"Both of the ecclesiastical ordinances, the Lord's Supper and Holy Baptism...stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and proclaim the reality of God's grace by which we are unconditionally accepted, and by which we are under the unconditional obligation to be so to others what Christ was to us” (Jinkins, 2001, p. 241).

It is important to understand that the Lord's baptism and the Lord's Supper are not human ideas. They reflect the grace of the Father and were instituted by Christ. God stated in scriptures that men and women should repent (turn to God - see Lesson 6) and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2,38), and that believers should partake of the bread and wine "in memory" of Jesus (1. Corinthians 11,23-26).

New Testament ecclesiastical ordinances differ from Old Testament rituals in that the latter were merely "a shadow of the good to come" and that "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10,1.4). These rituals were designed to separate Israel from the world and set it apart as God's property, while the New Testament shows that all believers from all peoples are one in and with Christ.

The rituals and sacrifices did not lead to lasting sanctification and holiness. The first covenant, the old covenant, under which they functioned is no longer valid. God “abolishes the first to establish the second. According to this will we are sanctified once for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 10,5-10). 

Symbols that reflect God's bestowal gift

In Philippians 2,6-8 we read that Jesus gave up his divine privileges for us. He was God but became man for our salvation. The Lord's baptism and the Lord's Supper show what God has done for us, not what we have done for God. For the believer, baptism is an outward expression of an inner obligation and devotion, but it is first and foremost a participation in God's love and devotion to humanity: we are baptized into Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

"Baptism is not something we do, but what is done for us" (Dawn & Peterson 2000, p. 191). Paul declares, “Or do you not know that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6,3).

The water of baptism covering the believer symbolizes Christ's burial for him or her. Rising out of the water symbolizes Jesus' resurrection and ascension: "...that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too might walk in new life" (Romans 6,4a).

Because of the symbolism of being completely covered by the water, representing "being buried with him by baptism into death" (Romans 6,4a), the Worldwide Church practices God's baptism through total immersion. At the same time, the Church recognizes other methods of baptism.

The symbolism of baptism teaches us that "our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we might henceforth serve sin" (Romans 6,6). Baptism reminds us that just as Christ died and rose again, so we also die spiritually with him and are raised with him (Romans 6,8). Baptism is a visible demonstration of God's gift of self to us, evidenced that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5,8).

The Lord's Supper also testifies to God's self-sacrificing love, the highest act of salvation. The symbols used represent the broken body (bread) and the shed blood (wine) so that humanity can be saved.

When Christ instituted the Lord's supper, he shared the bread with his disciples and said, "Take, eat, this is my body, which is given [broken] for you" (1. Corinthians 11,24). Jesus is the bread of life, "the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6,48-58).
Jesus also handed out the cup of wine and said, "Drink from it, everyone, this is my blood of the covenant, which was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26,26-28). This is "the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 1 Cor3,20). Hence, by ignoring, disregarding, or rejecting the value of the blood of this New Covenant, the spirit of grace is reviled (Hebrews 10,29).
Just as baptism is another imitation and participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, so the Lord's Supper is another imitation and participation in the body and blood of Christ sacrificed for us.

Questions arise regarding the Passover. The Passover is not the same as the Lord's Supper because the symbolism is different and because it does not represent the forgiveness of sins by the grace of God. The Passover was also clearly an annual event, while the Lord's Supper may be taken "as often as ye eat of this bread, and drink of the cup" (1. Corinthians 11,26).

The blood of the Passover lamb was not shed for the forgiveness of sins because animal sacrifices can never take away sins (Hebrews 10,11). The custom of the Passover meal, a night of vigil observed in Judaism, symbolized the national liberation of Israel from Egypt (2. Moses 12,42; 5 Mo 16,1); it did not symbolize the forgiveness of sins.

The sins of the Israelites were not forgiven by the celebration of the Passover. Jesus was killed the same day the Passover lambs were slaughtered (John 19,14), which prompted Paul to say: "For we also have a Passover lamb, this is Christ, who was sacrificed" (1. Corinthians 5,7).

Togetherness and community

Baptism and the Lord's Supper also reflect unity among one another and with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

By "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4,5) believers were “conjoined with him, and became like him in his death” (Romans 6,5). When a believer is baptized, the Church recognizes by faith that he or she has received the Holy Ghost.

By receiving the Holy Spirit, Christians are baptized into the fellowship of the Church. "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, and were all made drink of one Spirit" (1. Corinthians 12,13).

Jesus becomes the communion of the church that is his body (Romans 12,5; 1. Corinthians 12,27; Ephesians 4,1-2) never forsake or fail (Hebrews 13,5; Matthew 28,20). This active participation in the Christian community is affirmed by partaking of the bread and wine at the Lord's table. The wine, the cup of blessing, is not only "the communion of the blood of Christ" and the bread, "the communion of the body of Christ", but they are also the participation in the common life of all believers. "So we many are one body, because we all partake of one bread" (1. Corinthians 10,16-17).

Forgiveness

Both the Lord's Supper and baptism are a visible participation in God's forgiveness. When Jesus commanded his followers that wherever they went they should baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 2 Nov.8,19), it was an instruction to baptize believers into the community of those who will be forgiven. Acts of the Apostles 2,38 declares that baptism is "for the remission of sins" and for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If we are “risen with Christ” (ie, risen from the water of baptism into new life in Christ), we are to forgive one another, just as the Lord forgave us (Colossians 3,1.13; Ephesians 4,32). Baptism means that we both give and receive forgiveness.

The Lord's supper is sometimes referred to as "communion" (emphasizing the idea that through the symbols we have fellowship with Christ and other believers). It is also known by the name "Eucharist" (from the Greek "giving thanks" because Christ gave thanks before giving the bread and wine).

When we come together to take the wine and bread, we gratefully proclaim the death of our Lord for our forgiveness until Jesus returns (1. Corinthians 11,26), and we participate in the communion of the saints and with God. This reminds us that forgiving one another means sharing in the meaning of Christ's sacrifice.

We are in danger when we judge other people unworthy of Christ's forgiveness or our own forgiveness. Christ said, "Judge not, lest you be judged" (Matthew 7,1). Is that what Paul is referring to in 1. Corinthians 11,27-29 refers? That if we do not forgive, we will not discriminate or understand that the Lord's body is being broken for the forgiveness of all? So if we come to the altar of the sacrament and have bitterness and have not forgiven, then we are eating and drinking the elements in an unworthy way. Authentic worship is associated with the cessation of forgiveness (see also Matthew 5,23-24).
May the forgiveness of God always be present in the way we take the sacrament.

Conclusion

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ecclesial acts of personal and communal worship that visibly represent the gospel of grace. They are relevant to the believer because they were ordained in the Scriptures by Christ himself, and they are means of active participation in the death and resurrection of our Lord.

by James Henderson