A STUDY OF BAPTISM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE NEW COVENANT

WHAT IS THE NEW COVENANT?

As we begin, let’s first define the word covenant; “A formal, binding agreement, under seal, between two or more parties to perform some action.”

The new covenant is a grace covenant as opposed to the original works covenant. The original covenant required repetitive sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Christ’s blood sacrifice on the cross means that all of our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Heb 8:12), past, present and future (Heb 9:23-27). In the new covenant Christ promises us forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven for nothing more than an honest commitment on our part to believe in him and to try to keep his commandment to love (Heb 9:15). He knows that we will fail in our attempts and he forgives us in advance for that, but we must still continue to try (1 Cor 15:2). In fact, we don’t need a book of laws to tell us how to keep his commandment, the laws are written in our hearts and consciences (Rom 2:14-15, Heb 8:10). After we are saved our salvation doesn’t depend on what we do, it only depends on who we are; we belong to God and he loves us no matter what. The following scriptures discuss the new covenant:

Matt 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

1 Cor 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Heb 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Covenants are usually written in ink. However, as we read above the new covenant is written in blood, the blood of Jesus. Also, covenants must bear a seal to be legal. Let’s next look at how God seals the new covenant.

HOW IS THE NEW COVENANT SEALED?

God seals his side of the bargain by giving his Spirit to indwell the new believer, as indicated in Eph 1:13 and 4:30. Let’s look at the scriptures that tell us this.

Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, (as soon as we believe, we receive, also see Acts 8:15-17, 10:44-48 and 11:15-18).

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Only God seals the new covenant, just as only a representative of the state seals a legal covenant. Both sides must sign the document, however. Again, God signs in blood, the blood of Jesus. Believers sign by believing the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and by actions that prove their sincerity.

HOW ARE BAPTISM AND THE NEW COVENANT RELATED?

Baptism and the new covenant seem to be related is through forgiveness of sins. But are they really? This can be a little confusing. Let’s read a few scriptures and discuss this.

Matt 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.

There are many other Scriptures that tell us these same basic things. We see that the new covenant was instituted by Jesus for forgiveness of sins. Heb 9:22 tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins. In the old covenant, God required repetitive animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins (Ex 29-30, Num 28-29) as a model of the eventual ultimate blood sacrifice that Jesus would make (Heb 9:6-10). Lev 17:11 lets us know that they were a substitutionary execution for sin. Heb 10:1-17 (and Matt 9:12-13, 12:3-8, Hosea 6:6, Ps 40:6-7, 1 Sam 15:22-23) tells us that God did not really desire sacrifices because man had defiled them (Isa 1:10-20, 65:6-7). In fact, these blood sacrifices of animals, by themselves, did not result in the forgiveness of sins. Their only power was in the model that they provided of the coming ultimate sacrifice for sins (Heb 9:6-10, 10:1-4). Still they were a part of the law and part of God’s overall plan to teach man that he could never be good enough to deserve to go to heaven.

God’s requirement for being good enough is perfection, as taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matt 5-7. Jesus came to earth to live the perfect life for us and then to make the perfect sacrifice for us. Now, if we are believers, when God looks at us he sees us as perfect even though we aren’t, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Let’s look at Acts 22:16 a little more closely. It will become clearer to us a little later in this lesson that baptism does not wash our sins away, it is just symbolic of the fact that it has been done by the sacrifice of Jesus. From Acts 22:16 the phrase “Calling on his name” is the key. It is “calling on his name” to save us, rather than baptism, that results in “our” sins being washed away.

Baptism and the new covenant also seem to be related through circumcision, as odd as that may sound. Let’s read Col 2:11-14.

Col 2:11-14 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

So we see that circumcision was required in both the old and new covenants. The old covenant required physical circumcision (Gen 17:4-13) while the new requires circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:28-29). Circumcision of the heart as described in Deut 30:6 results in “love of God.” The lifestyle of love that Jesus commanded includes love of God as a requirement. Another way of looking at this is that in both cases something is cut away or removed, in both cases it is for the good of the individual, and in both cases it is a sign or seal of the covenant (Gen 17:11, Eph 1:13). In the old covenant it was removal of foreskin of all males. In the new covenant it is removal of the heart, which is then replaced with a new heart (Ezek 11:18-19, 36:26-27, 1 Sam 10:9-11). Remember the heart is the mind of the spirit and that is where God’s Spirit resides in us. He removes our old sinful subconscious mind and replaces it with a new one in which his Holy Spirit resides. God placing the Spirit in us is his seal on us and he sometimes refers to that as giving us a new heart. So we see another Old Testament model, this one involving circumcision.

Baptism symbolizes a break from the past life of sin and committing to a new life in Jesus. Circumcision, resulting in love of God, symbolizes a cutting out of the old sinful mind, replacing it with a new one inhabited by the Spirit and committing to a life of love. Did anyone realize that believers in Jesus still practice circumcision? Simply amazing! In the Old Covenant only males were circumcised while in the New Covenant everyone is circumcised. Heb 8:6 tells us that the New Covenant is the better covenant.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM?

 The total symbolism involved in baptism is truly amazing. It is also the one time ceremony that we have to go through in order to symbolically unite with Jesus and go through his death, burial and resurrection with him, all for the forgiveness of our sins. We’ll see the scripture that tells us this below. Let’s first check with an authoritative expository dictionary to see what the original Greek word “baptisma” meant. Its principal meaning was to be immersed. I personally think that if a person wants to be sprinkled or poured upon that God is big enough to know the intention, so I don’t have a problem with it. I do think immersion is the better choice simply because that is what Jesus did and what seemed to be practiced by the early disciples. It also meant “to become closely bound to” the person in whose name one was baptized. Thus one who is baptized in Jesus name becomes closely bound to him.[1]

Now, what is the purpose of baptism? We’ve partially answered this question already, but let’s go on to a more complete answer. Let’s look at a few other scriptures on baptism so that we may better understand its purpose and what it does and does not do for us. Various scriptures seem to associate belief with being saved and receiving the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13, Acts 8:14-17, 10:44-48, 11:15-18) and baptism symbolically with forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16, 2:38, Rom 6:3-11). Let’s read what a few of these scriptures on baptism tell us.

1 Peter 3:18-21 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

These verses say that the flood symbolizes baptism. How? The ark went down into the water and when it reemerged there was a new beginning for mankind. We are a form of the ark. When we are baptized we go down into the water and when we reemerge we have a new beginning. It also says that we are saved by baptism because we pledge a good conscience towards God and because of Christ’s blood sacrifice and resurrection. It is not the baptism which saves us but the pledge to believe in Jesus. Rom 6:3-11 presents a similar view of baptism.

Rom 6:3-11 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 This presents an enlightening view of baptism. When we are baptized we symbolically unite with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. Our sins are crucified and we arise free from sin. Since we died with Christ, we cannot die again; so we will live through eternity with him. Thus it is with baptism; when we go into the water our sins die with Jesus and when we arise from the water we are freed from the bondage of sin by Jesus resurrection.

Gal 3:26-27 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 I believe that this gives us a message similar to Rom 6:3-11. Baptism results in us being clothed in Jesus through his death and resurrection. However, I also see another symbolism in this scripture. We are told repeatedly that we, as the church, are the bride of Jesus (Eph 5:29-32). I see us putting on our white wedding clothes when we are baptized and “clothing ourselves with Christ.” I see baptism as the betrothal ceremony for the believer. 2 Cor 5:1-5 speaks of the believer being clothed in his spiritual body. Several passages in Revelation speak of the church in heaven being clothed in white (Rev 3:5, 18, 4:4, 7:9).

Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.

These scriptures imply that baptism represents the washing away of sins. Baptism is a truly amazing event for the believer, but is it the event that saves him? Let’s look more closely at that.

DOES BAPTISM SAVE?

Acts 8:14-17 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:9 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

These two Scriptures plainly tell us that we are not saved unless we have the Spirit in us and that baptism does not provide the Spirit. Eph 1:13, which we read earlier, plainly tells that we receive the Spirit the moment that we become believers in Jesus (also see Acts 19:2).

Acts 10:45-47 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."

These scriptures represent two clear witnesses that baptism does not save. We are saved through believing in Jesus.

In that case we might ask about Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16, which some claim say that Baptism saves. Let’s look at them.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ (because of) the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

A better translation of this verse based on the original Greek would replace word “for” with the phrase “as a result of.” That solves the problem and makes this verse totally compatible with other verses on baptism.[2]

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

It is true that anyone who believes and is baptized is saved, but it is also true that anyone who only believes but has not yet been baptize is also saved. The second part of the verse makes it clear that the real consequence involves not believing. Finally, Paul tells us in 1 Cor 1:13-17 that the cross of Jesus, not baptism, is what provides power. Paul tells us that he baptized very few people (although he taught it; see Rom 6:3-11, Gal 3:27). Paul says that his mission was to preach the gospel. He apparently left it up to his new churches to do the baptizing.

I hope this discussion of baptism answers some of your question about baptism and its importance. Again, I find the symbolism in baptism to be truly amazing.

SUMMARY

Let me summarize some of the amazing things that baptism seems to symbolize for the believer:

The execution of all of our sins, past, present and future; the forgiveness of our sins.

A break from the past life of sin and the beginning of a new life in Jesus.

The circumcision of the heart for the believer, or the cutting away of the old subconscious mind and its replacement with a new one in which the Holy Spirit resides.

The ark in the flood, in that we go down into the water and emerge with a new beginning.

Uniting with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection; our sins are crucified and we arise free from sin. Since we died with Christ, we cannot die again; hence we will live through eternity with him.

The betrothal of the believer to Jesus, as the future bride of Christ; we are clothed in the garment that we will wear to the wedding.

Becoming closely bound to Jesus and associated with him.

DO THE WATERS OF BAPTISM CLEANSE US FROM SIN?

BECOMING CLEANSED SO THAT WE CAN WORSHIP GOD

INTRODUCTION

1. BOTH OUR SOULS AND SPIRITS MUST BE CLEANSED: We must have both our souls and our spirits cleansed before we can come into the presence of God. (Ps 24:3-5)

Ps 24:3-5 3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.

DISCUSSION: This scripture answers a key question, “Who may stand in his holy place?” or who is eligible to come into the presence of God? The answer given is anyone who has clean hands and a pure heart, etc. Our architecture of man study concluded that the hands are part of the body which is part of the soul, while the heart is the mind of the spirit. Thus we see that both soul (hands) and spirit (heart) must be clean in order to stand in the presence of God. Let’s next look at how we can have our soul and spirit cleansed. To become cleansed we must start with the inside. We must first accept the blood sacrifice of Jesus which cleanses our hearts or spirits. This happens “once for all” when we become a true follower of Jesus, as we will see below.

2. HOW OUR SPIRIT IS CLEANSED:

♦ We are cleansed through the gospel of Jesus by which our spirits are made clean “once for all.” (Heb 9:11-14)

Heb 9:11-14 11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

DISCUSSION: This scripture tells us that the ceremonial sacrifices of the Jews only made their outside or their bodies (the outward part of the soul) clean, while the one time, “once for all” blood sacrifice of Jesus makes our inward selves, or our spirits clean. We also see that we can’t worship God unless our consciences (hearts, the mind of the spirit) are cleaned by the blood of Jesus. Our spirit must be cleansed before the Holy Spirit will come to dwell within us. Only after we are saved does the Spirit come to dwell in us (Acts 11:16, Gal 3:1-5).

♦ We become cleansed by accepting the blood sacrifice of Jesus, which provides forgiveness of sins. (Heb 9:20-22, 10:10-12)

Heb 9:20-22 20 He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep." 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Heb 10:10-12 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

DISCUSSION: These two scriptures confirm what we read earlier that the shedding of blood, or being sprinkled with blood is required for purification or forgiveness of sins. The shedding of Jesus’ blood makes it possible for us to have our sins forgiven and to have eternal life with him.

♦ Our spirits are cleansed by having our hearts (our consciences) sprinkled with the blood of Jesus sacrifice for us. (Heb 9:14, 10:19-22

Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Heb 10:19-22 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

DISCUSSION: These two scriptures tell us that in order to have our conscience cleaned we must have our heart sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. It seems to follow that our conscience is within our heart and therefore within our spirit. (As we have already seen the heart is the mind of the spirit). We have now seen several examples of how we get our inner selves, our hearts and spirits cleansed. It seems that this is a one time, once for all cleansing and after the cleansing God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us. He would not do this if we were not spiritually clean and free from sin. But how about our bodies, the outward part of us that dwells in this old sinful world? How do we get our bodies cleansed? The scripture immediately above from Heb 10:19-22, tells us that we must become clean not only on the inside but also on the outside. It tells us that we must wash our bodies, or souls with pure water. What is that and how do we do it? We’ll address that next.

3. HOW OUR BODY (AND THUS OUR SOUL) IS CLEANSED:

♦ Our souls are cleansed through remaining in the word of Jesus. (Eph 5:25-27)

Eph 5:25-27 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Heb 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

DISCUSSION: Again, these two scriptures seem to tell us that in addition to our hearts and therefore our spirits needing to be cleansed, our bodies and therefore our souls also need to be cleansed. These two scriptures taken together tell us that our body or soul needs to be cleansed with pure water which apparently is through washing with the word. But just what “word” is it that this is talking about? It certainly could be referring to the Word of Jesus or the Bible. Reading and studying the Bible certainly helps us to understand how we need to live our lives and how we can remain in Jesus. Let’s look further to see if there might be more to this.

♦ Our souls are cleansed through following the word Jesus has spoken. (John 15:1-4)

John 15:1-4 1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

DISCUSSION: The word here may be referring to the phrase “remain in me and I will remain in you.” It may be saying that the disciples were already followers and had been cleansed. However, to remain as his followers, they had to continue to believe in him. The word may also be referring to the gospel that Jesus had spoken to the disciples. Also, Jesus is sometimes called the Word by John. In any event, it seems that our souls can be kept clean by consuming the word of God. Unless we remain in the Word we cannot be fruitful for Christ in this world. However, as we walk through the sinful world and occasionally let our souls partake of that sin, our souls become soiled. How do we get our souls back to the point where they are clean enough that we can return to the presence of God and truly worship him? The next scripture deals with this problem.

♦ Our soiled souls are made clean again through the action of Jesus “washing our feet,” which have become unclean as we walk through the sin of this world. This restores us to complete cleanliness whereby we may enter into the presence of God. Jesus does this when we ask for forgiveness of sins. (John 13:6-17, 1 John 1:9)

John 13:6-17 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

I Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

DISCUSSION: In the ancient world there were public baths. As a person returned home from the bath his feet would become defiled or dirty from walking over the dusty roads. He would need to rewash his feet after he returned home. This is the imagery that is apparent here. Jesus has given us a complete bath; both our body and our spirit are made clean by being sprinkling with the blood of his sacrifice. Our spirits remain clean in the eyes of God for all eternity, but our souls need regular cleansing because of the dirt we accumulate as we walk through the sinful world. Jesus washes our feet, an outward part of our souls, when we confess our sins. We then become completely purified from all unrighteousness and are worthy to enter the presence of God. The words of John 13:6-17 are reflected in the Lord’s Prayer where we are instructed to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others as God forgives us. When Jesus tells us in John 13:14 that we should wash one another’s feet as he washed our feet, he is saying that we should forgive one another as he forgives us. 1 John 1:9 tells us that we are purified if we confess our sins. Symbolically speaking, that confession leads Jesus to wash our feet, which results in the cleansing of our souls. We are now totally cleansed and ready to enter into true worship of God.

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS

SOMETHING TO PONDER: When we go to God in prayer it seems that we are entering his presence. Does this mean that our prayers might not be heard or answered if we are not worthy to be in his presence? Would it not be a good idea if we always sincerely asked God for forgiveness of our sins every time we pray?

Ps 24:3-4 3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart

I Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

DO THE WATERS OF BAPTISM CLEANSE US FROM OUR SINS?

We interpreted Heb 10:19-22 above to indicate that to enter God’s presence we need to have our spirits cleansed by being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus sacrifice and our bodies (and therefore our souls) washed with pure water. Could this pure water be the water of a believer’s baptism? Let’s read Acts 2:38.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We know from other scriptures (Acts 5:32, Gal 3:1-5) that baptism does not in itself result in us receiving the Holy Spirit, because in some instances believers received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized. They received the Holy Spirit when they became believers. Acts 2:38 seems to indicate that baptism symbolizes the washing away of our sins. Since it is an outward gesture I believe that it represents our souls, our outward selves, being cleansed while our inward selves, our spirits, are cleansed by being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus sacrifice. When we become a believer our spirit is baptized, we receive the baptism of the spirit and are born of the spirit, or born again when Jesus sprinkles our hearts with his blood to cleanse our spirit forever. When we are baptized by water, our souls are temporarily washed clean of sins and we are given a chance to start over with a clean slate. However as soon as we head out into the world our souls again become stained with sin and we must continuously ask for forgiveness to keep ourselves clean.

This outward cleansing of our souls is important while we are still on earth because before our deaths when we approach God we do so with both body and spirit. However, at our deaths only our spirits go to heaven while our bodies remain on earth and turn to dust. It’s only necessary for our spirits to be clean for us to enter heaven at our death and this was done once and for all by Jesus blood sacrifice. What about our soul for eternity? We will be given a new one, one that cannot be stained by sin when we receive our glorified bodies at the rapture. We will take this into eternity with us. Our new soul will not have a sin nature!

IS THERE OTHER SIGNIFICANCE TO THE WASHING OF FEET?

We have seen that there is a deeper, hidden meaning to Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The more obvious interpretation to this act lies in the fact that in Jesus first coming he came as a “servant,” Luke 4:16-21, Isaiah 61:1-2. In the act of washing the disciple’s feet he was humbling himself as a servant to his disciples. He indicated to the disciples that they needed to do likewise.

This is a good example of the holographic, supernatural nature of the Bible. The parables that Jesus taught are all similarly presented. They all have a simple, easily recognized Christian principle that they present. These applications are what we usually read in books and hear in sermons and they are all very valid. However, Jesus indicated to his disciples that the parables all had a much deeper and less obvious meaning. He explained to them how to interpret the parables and he interpreted a few for them. However, even after this and to the very end of Jesus time on earth the disciples had trouble understanding this deeper meaning to the parables. They also did not pick up on all of the clues that he gave them about his coming death and resurrection. He scolded them for this after his resurrection, as indicated in Luke 24:25-26.

Luke 24:25-26 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"

DOES THIS INTERPRETATION OF THE NEED TO BECOME CLEAN BY ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS DIMINISH THE ONCE FOR ALL CLEANSING THAT JESUS SACRIFICE PR0VIDES FOR US?

It appears to me that Scriptures teach that our spirits are cleansed once for all by the blood of Jesus sacrifice. Since it is our spirits that go to heaven, they must be clean and free from sin or they cannot be in the presence of God. Jesus took care of that for us, thank goodness. Our souls were also initially cleaned by Jesus when we became believers in him and were baptized into his name. However, our souls are continuously being stained by new sin that we come into contact with everywhere in this sinful world. Before we can go into the presence of God and worship him in this life we must wash away the stains of that sin. We do that by confessing our sins to God. He forgives us and then sees us as clean and we can come into his presence. This regular confession of our sins, discussing them with God and asking him to help us deal with them more successfully in the future, is all part of our sanctification process wherein we seek to become more like Jesus.

SUMMARY: BOTH THE SOUL AND THE SPIRIT MUST BE CLEANSED

Our spirit is baptized by being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus the moment we become a believer (Heb 10:22). That means that our spirit is permanently cleansed and never needs to be cleansed again. We are seen as holy by God and fit to be in his presence. That is necessary for the Holy Spirit to be able to come into our temple and reside. We might call this the “Baptism of the Spirit.” However, our bodies and thus our souls present an entirely different problem. They are incurably sinful and need repeated cleansings to be able to come into God’s presence. Our souls have a first time cleansing when we undergo water baptism, which represents “Baptism of the soul.” Our sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38) when we undergo this baptism into the fraternity of believers in Jesus. However, this cleansing must be repeated again and again as we are taught by Jesus in his model prayer. 1 John 1:9 says that this asking for forgiveness results in our being purified of all unrighteousness. We need to do that daily if we expect to come into God’s presence with our souls (when we pray).

[1] Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Vine, Unger and White, Thomas Nelson Pub., 1996

[2] The Complete Book of Bible Answers, Ron Rhodes, Harvest House 1997