Mega8

Let's begin to discover the unique differences between the two baptisms by closely examining the purpose for the coming of John the Baptist, which was to prepare the "way", mortal's hearts, with repentance toward God, to make ready their hearts to believe to receive the coming Jesus Christ and his baptism in holy Spirit. I explain the results of my research throughout the new covenant writings for all the references to baptisms, whether water baptism or baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ, to determine the defining characteristics of each, and their differences. I classify those characteristics into source, element, results produced and prerequisites categories for each kind of baptism, which helps me to understand the specific purpose and scope of their use throughout the new covenant writings.

Before beginning this research it was necessary for me to retranslate from the original language texts, well over two hundred verses of holy scripture, to be certain to weed out any possible preconceived baptism ideas which may have crept into any of the paraphrased translations in existence concerning the original form and function of baptisms. Frequently only a small nuance in meaning between what is said in the original language Greek texts and what is stated in a paraphrase is all the light breeze required to push the bow of the boat into another direction altogether.

My study digs down to to the roots and wellsprings of the truth of God's Word concerning this critical foundational concept of baptisms. The results of my research leave me awe struck at the realization of how perfunctory and Laodicean the current denominational "Christian" doctrines of baptism have become, that are taught. I have yet to find anywhere, in books, on the WWW, etc., anything taught on baptisms other than drive-by, surface-level generality confusion. Between what I can find around me and my research, I find the comparison very disparaging, but at the same time jump for joy in thanksgiving to the Father and His son Jesus Christ for their fellowship with me, and allowing me to come to this priceless knowledge and clarity of understanding concerning baptisms found in God's Words of life.

--- : ---

This statement of John the Baptist declares the purpose for his coming, the limitations of his water baptism, and introduces us to the one coming after him (Jesus Christ) who is bringing the new birth above, baptism in the gift of holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11 [It is] true (men), I (egō) baptize (baptizō) you (humas) in (en) water (hudati), into (eis) repentance (metanoian).

But (de) the one (ho) causing himself to come (erchomenos) behind (opisō) me (mou) is (estin) one stronger (ischuroteros) [than] me (mou), of whom (hou) I am (eimi) absolutely not (ouk) suitable (hikanos) to carry (bastasai) the (ta) underbindings (hupodēmata).

He (autos) shall baptize (baptisei) you (humas) in (en) to holy (hagiō) Spirit (pneumati) and (kai) to fire (puri).

"I baptize (baptizo) you in water into repentance" - John the Baptist couldn't baptize anyone unto receiving the new birth above, which comes only from baptism in the gift of holy Spirit; because,

John the Baptist wasn't Jesus Christ, and
The day of Pentecost had not yet arrived (Acts 2) and so the outpouring of the holy Spirit was not yet made available to mortalkind (John 7:37-39).

Even when Jesus Christ was upon the earth before his ascension, he couldn't baptize anyone in holy Spirit, because the outpouring of the gift of holy Spirit still was not yet available. God hadn't done it yet. That point in time hadn't come yet in the unfolding of God's plan. The outpouring of the gift of holy Spirit became available for the first time on the day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus' ascension. Therefore, Jesus Christ's baptism in holy Spirit which John the Baptist prophecies here in Mat. 3:11, doesn't begin until ten days after Jesus Christ's ascension.

Water baptism, according to John the Baptist, is a baptism into repentance. Both water and repentance are two of several defining characteristics of the baptism which John did, and still characteristics of water baptism today, and at any time. John's water baptism was not a baptism in holy Spirit that he declares Jesus Christ was coming to do in the future.

"He shall baptize you in to holy Spirit and to fire." - John says not he, nor anyone else but Jesus Christ would be the one who would baptize them in holy Spirit, at some time in the future when he comes. This is a critical foundational truth to understand concerning the subject of baptisms, that John the Baptist couldn't baptize anyone with holy Spirit and eternal life, but only the coming Jesus Christ could baptize anyone in holy Spirit.

Baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ is the new birth above, of which he taught Nicodemus (John 3). It is the baptism in holy Spirit which brings the power of ageless life, because the holy Spirit is the power of resurrection (Rom. 8:11; 2 Cor. 13:4; 1 Pet. 1:5). Water in water baptism, is symbolic of death and the grave. Holy Spirit in the baptism of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ, is not only symbolic of life, but it is the actual power of life (Heb. 7:17; 1 John 4:13), which is why it is a baptism unto ageless life. The various aspects of the water baptism ceremony symbolically represent the death, burial, and resurrection of our lord Jesus Christ, and the believer's subsequent death, burial and resurrection with him. Through baptism in holy Spirit from Christ Jesus the believer receives the actual power of the resurrection and ageless life.

The submersion of a person under the water, as it is believed John baptized, represents that person's acknowledgement of not only Jesus' death and burial to pay the penalty for their sin, but is symbolic act of their own death and burial of their "old man (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9)" along with his sinful ways. The person's raising back up out of the water is symbolic not only of Jesus being raised out from among the dead, but of their hope and belief for their own future resurrection out from among the dead, according to God's promise through His son Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9-10). The believer's participation in water baptism is a statement to the community that they repent from following sinful ways and doing dead works, to following Christ Jesus' example, and his teachings going forward.

The raising back up out of the water is not the actual resurrection of a mortal, who's resurrection is yet to come at some time in the future, at Christ's appearing or return. Likewise, the baptismal water is not the actual power behind that future resurrection. The scriptures declare that the baptism water symbolizes death and the grave, but holy Spirit is life, and that it is the power behind a believer's future resurrection (Romans 8:11; 1 Peter 3:18)!

Therefore, water baptism per se is absolutely not a baptism unto the new birth above, and therefore in and of itself cannot guarantee a mortal's future resurrection. Water baptism is a baptism unto repentance (Mat. 3:11), and is closely linked with that which happened to the prophet Jonah (Jonah 1:12-17), symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of the coming redeemer, and symbolic of the believer's repentance, death, burial and resurrection out from among dead, as symbolized by "the repentance of Nineveh upon hearing of its own overthrow (Matthew 12:39, Jonah 3)".

All of the people that John the Baptist ever water baptized, and all the people that Jesus' disciples ever water baptized, before the day of Pentecost, could not have then received baptism in the gift of holy Spirit because the outpouring of the gift of holy Spirit, the power of resurrection, salvation and eternal life was not yet made available to mortalkind. The baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ, and therefore the resurrection power of the holy Spirit wasn't available until the day of Pentecost and thereafter. Therefore, all through the gospel records, water baptism was not synonymous with baptism in the gift of holy Spirit. Water baptism was a ceremony to help people repent in their hearts toward God, and prepare them to receive the coming redeemer Jesus Christ and his baptism in holy Spirit which he would bring with him (Mat. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16).

Differences Between The Two Baptisms

"But the one coming after me" - "But", de in the Greek, is a mild adversative/diversative conjunction, and used most commonly in the holy scriptures as a diversative conjunction, when a notable difference is expressed between the subjects of two or more clauses. When used repeatedly in a sentence or paragraph, it serves to point out that each subject or object is notably different than the other. Here, the holy Spirit's use of de expresses a notable difference between baptism in water from John, and baptism in holy Spirit from Christ Jesus.

The two baptisms are different because;

the sources of the baptisms are different,
the elements of the baptisms are different,
the results produced from the baptisms are different,
the prerequisites for the baptisms are different.

Sources - Only mortals (source) baptize in water (element), but (de) only Christ Jesus (source) baptizes in holy Spirit (element).

Elements - In water baptism water is obviously the element of baptism, and it represents death and the grave. In baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ the holy Spirit is the "element" if you please, and it not only represents new life, it is the actual power of wholeness and the resurrection.

Results produced - The best water baptism can produce in a believer is repentance, which brings forgiveness of sins. Baptism in holy Spirit places the powerful gift of the holy Spirit within a believer, which can produce physical wholeness now, and resurrection out from among dead and ageless life in the future.

Prerequisites - Anyone can go through a water baptism ritual through simply asking to be baptized, because there will be some mortal somewhere willing to baptize them, and as many times as they wish. Mortals have no absolute foolproof method of knowing what's truly within another mortal's heart, as to the true motive behind their desire to become water baptized. As recorded in Acts 8:5-24, Philip, who was doing miracles in the city of Samaria, water baptized Simon the Sorcerer as well. Sometime later, after Peter and John had came to Samaria from Jerusalem, those apostles laid their hands on those believers of Samaria and they received the baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. When Simon saw that through the laying on of hands of the apostles that those believers received holy Spirit, Simon offered to give them money to buy the power of the holy Spirit. Here's Apostle Peter's response;

Acts 8:20 But (de) Peter (petros) enunciated (eipen) toward (pros) him (auton), "The (to) silver (argurion) of you (sou), together with (sun) you (soi), may possibly be (eiē) into (eis) a loss (apōleian), because (hoti) you decided (enomisas) to acquire (ktasthai) the (tēn) gift (dōrean) of the (tou) God (theou) through (dia) necessities (chrēmatōn)!

Acts8:21 There is (estin) absolutely not (ouk) a part (meris) for you (soi), but absolutely not (oude) a lot (klēros) [for you] in (en) this (toutō), the (tō) Word (logō)! Because (gar) the (hē) heart (kardia) of you (sou) is (estin) absolutely not (ouk) straight (eutheia), [being] in opposition (enanti) of the (tou) God (theou)!

Acts 8:22 Therefore (oun), repent (metanoēson) from (apo) this (tautēs), the (tēs) evil (kakais) of you (sou), and (kai) pray (deēthēti) to the (tou) God (theou), if (ei) perhaps (ara) may be forgiven (aphethēsetai) you (soi) the (hē) thought (epinoia) of the (tēs) heart (kardias) of you (sou)!

Acts 8:23 Because (gar) I see (horō) you (se) being (onta) into (eis) bitterness (pikrias) of gall (cholēn), and (kai) [into] a bond together with (sundesmon) unrighteousness (adikias).”

Simon had at some time previously been water baptized unto repentance by Philip who was openly demonstrating the power of the holy Spirit of God in the city of Samaria. But now Peter was summing up Simon's heart condition by saying;

the heart of you is absolutely not well set in the sight of the God,
repent from this, the evil of you,
pray to the God, if perhaps may be forgiven you the thought of the heart of you,
I see you being into a gall of bitterness,
a bundle of unrighteousness

Apostle Peter spares no adjectives here summing up Simon's spiritually displeasing predicament in God's sight. In spite of recently being water baptized by Philip, Peter's assessment of Simon's current heart condition doesn't validate Simon's water baptism as having helped him in repentance toward God, at all! Could Simon's heart have become so unrighteous since his water baptism, or was it in this poor condition all along? Did Philip miss-read Simon's heart? Was Philip in error water baptizing Simon? No, absolutely not, Philip was not in error water baptizing Simon! The purpose of water baptism is to help bring a sinner with a sinning heart, to repentance toward God from dead works! In Simon's case, the water baptism didn't help to become repentant toward God. There is no declaration or statement made in God's Word that every time someone is water baptized that they shall immediately and automatically become fully repentant toward God and His son Jesus Christ. If someone doesn't want to repent toward God, baptizing them one hundred times will not make them repent. Simon is obviously not being called by God to His son Jesus Christ.

One of the lessons we receive here shows us that Philip required no prerequisites for water baptizing any of the mortals in Samaria. They came as they were, just like we all came, as sinners before God. Philip was not required by God to be a mind-reader of those he water baptized, before baptizing them. Those Samaritans were not required to be righteous before they were water baptized. The whole purpose of Jesus' coming was to transform the unrighteous into righteous. Water baptism is the beginning of this transformation for the unrighteous, helping them to start their transformation by first turning their hearts to God in repentance toward Him from their dead works (Heb. 6:1). Repentance is always the first step in coming to God or His son Jesus Christ.

Another lesson we receive here shows us that even after the day of Pentecost in which the baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ first became available to mortalkind, the water baptisms Philip performed didn't automatically and simultaneously coerce Jesus Christ into baptizing those Samaritans in the holy Spirit! Their baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ came at a different time, many days later than at the time they were water baptized. Why? Hint: It has something to do with gaining the knowledge and understanding of God's Word about Jesus Christ, and then BELIEVING it.

Another lesson we receive here shows us that those who are workers and slaves to Jesus and the Father, who are out there working in the trenches and on the deserts of life, are not responsible to either the Father or His son Jesus for what's in another mortal's heart. But, each mortal is responsible for his or her own heart condition before God, depending on how they either starve or feed their heart God's Word. I don't believe Philip condemned himself for one second over Simon after Apostle Peter chastised Simon the Sorcerer. Philip did the best he could for the mortals in Samaria, just like John the Baptist did the best he could for Israel, whose leadership back then eventually murdered Jesus Christ.

However, there are a few prerequisites concerning the BELIEVING condition of a mortal's heart, to receive from Jesus Christ his baptism in holy Spirit.

Romans 10:8 BUT (alla) what (ti) says (legei) [the righteousness], "The (to) word (rhēma) is (estin) near (eggus) you (sou), in (en) the (tō) mouth (stomati) of you (sou) and (kai) in (en) the (tē) heart (kardia) of you (sou)", this (tout) is (esti) the (to) word (rhēma) of the (tēs) [righteousness] of belief (pisteōs) which (ho) we preach (kērussomen)!

Romans 10:9 Because (hoti), if perhaps (ean) you may confess (homologēsēs) in (en) the (tō) mouth (stomati) of you (sou) 'Lord (kurion) Jesus (Iēsoun)', and (kai) you may believe (pisteusēs) in (en) the (tē) heart (kardia) of you (sou) that (hoti) the (ho) God (theos) aroused (ēgeiren) him (auton) out (ek) of dead ones (nekrōn), you shall be made whole (sōthēsē).

Romans 10:10 Because (gar) [in your] heart (kardia) you believe (pisteuetai) into (eis) righteousness (dikaiosunēn), but (de) [in your] mouth (stomati) you confess (homologeitai) into (eis) wholeness (sōtērian).

Romans 10:11 Because (gar) the (hē) writing (graphē) says (legei), "Everyone (pas), the one (ho) believing (pisteuōn) upon (ep) him (autō) shall absolutely not (ou) be let down to shame (kataischunthēsetai)!"

Through reading these verses I get a clue that BELIEVING certain things in my heart about God's son Jesus, who he is, what he has done, and what God's purpose is for him in my life, has EVERYTHING to do with my receiving baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ, the new birth above, wholeness. Water baptism in and of itself doesn't produce this necessary believing, but is intended only to help in the transformation of a sinner's heart into repentance toward God, which repentance can ultimately lead to the believing required for receiving the new birth above. That's why John's baptism is referred to as a 'Baptism unto repentance' by John the Baptist (Mat. 3:11), Matthew (Mat. 3;1-6), Mark (Mark 1:4), Luke (Luke 3:3), and apostle Paul (Acts 13:24, 19:4). But God's Word says that the prerequisite of belief to receive the new birth above is not produced through water baptism, but comes through hearing God's Word. Water baptism doesn't magically distil the specific knowledge about Jesus Christ into the sinner's heart, which specific knowledge is required to be believed by the sinner, in order that the sinner receive the baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Christ Jesus, the new birth above.

Romans 10:14 Therefore (oun), how (pōs) may they call aloud upon (epikalesōntai) [the Lord's name] into (eis) whom (hon) they absolutely not believed (ouk episteusan)?

But (de) how (pōs) may they believe (pisteusōsin) [the Lord's name] of whom (hou) they have absolutely not (ouk) heard (hēkousan)?

But (de) how (pōs) may they hear (akousōsin) [the Lord's name] apart from (chōris) preaching (kērussontos)?

Romans 10:15 But (de) how (pōs) may they preach (kēruxōsin) [the Lord’s name] if perhaps (ean) they may not be sent (mē apostalōsin)?

Down as (kathōs) it has been written gegraptai), “How (pōs) beautiful (hōraioi) [are] the (hoi) feet (podes) of the (tōn) [ones] who (hos) [are] evangelizing (euaggelizomenōn) peace (eirenen), of the (tōn) [ones] evangelizing (euaggelizomenōn) the (ta) good things (agatha).”

Romans 10:16 BUT (all), absolutely not (ou) all (pantes) have been obedient (hupēkousan) to the (tō) evangelism (euaggeliō)!

Because (gar) Isaiah (Esaias) says (legei), "Lord (kurie), who (tis) believed (episteusen) the (tē) thing heard (akoē) of us (hēmōn)?"

Romans 10:17 So (ara) the (hē) belief (pistis) [comes] out (ek) of a thing heard (akoēs);

but (de) the (hē) thing heard (akoē) [comes] through (dia) an individual word (rhēmatos) of Christ (christou).

This specific knowledge about Jesus must be learned out of God's Word. It must go into the sinner's heart and become understood to the point that it convinces the sinner that what God says about His son Jesus is true, and then that resulting belief from becoming convinced out of God's Word fulfills the believing prerequisite for baptism in holy Spirit form Jesus Christ. Only the Father and His son Jesus could possibly know whether the sinner actually believes God's Word about Jesus and his redeeming work on the stake. The power of the new birth above is in each and every word of God's Word, not in the water of water baptism, the water of the great deluge, the water of death and the grave.

According to God's Word, believing comes from hearing the knowledge of God's Word, understanding it, becoming convinced that it is true, which conviction then results in belief in a mortal's heart. I have found no where in God's Word where it makes any allowance for what is referred to as "blind faith". The outstretched hand of benevolence of God which calls and leads sinners to repentance (Rom. 2:4) and to His Word, ignites our conviction in the veracity of God's Word in few or many places, which convince us that God's Word must be true in other places as well.

The risen and ascended Jesus Christ is the only one who can baptize a mortal in the gift of holy Spirit thereby giving them the new birth from above. As we can see by the record in Acts 8 about the Samaritan believers, water baptism absolutely cannot guarantee baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. The purpose of water baptism is to help a sinner transform his or her heart into repentance toward God. Water baptism is a baptism unto repentance, and in and of itself cannot guarantee baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Christ Jesus. Only the Father and His son Jesus both know absolutely, infallibly what's truly in a mortal's heart (Psalm 44:21; 139:23; Jer. 17:10), whether it truly believes upon the name of JESUS.

Jesus' Ministry Grows While John's Ministry is Lowered

In Matthew 3:11, the clause "But the one coming after me" along with the rest of the context, indicates that the holy Spirit wishes to shift the hearer's focus from John's water baptism to Jesus' going forward. John the Baptist said;

John 3:30 That one (ekeinon) needs (dei) to grow (auxanein), but (de) me (eme) lowered (elattousthai).

The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah prophesied of the coming redeemer, Jesus Christ, characterizing him as a little tender sprout (tsemach) which would come and sprout, i.e., grow (Isaiah 4:2, Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 6:12). Now, with the knowledge of the new birth above, and the revelation of the Great Mystery, the one body of Christ, we can see that when Zechariah said, "and he will build the Temple of Jehovah", he spoke of the baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ which would literally baptize believers into his one spiritual body, the desired true "tent", and holy place God our Father (Lev. 26:11-12; 2 Cor. 6:16).

John the Baptist came to prepare the way, i.e., believer's hearts to repent toward God, so they could begin to receive and believe in their hearts the knowledge of God's Word concerning the prophecies of the coming redeemer Jesus Christ. In John 3:30, now that Jesus Christ has finally come, John the Baptist declares that his purpose, to prepare the way of the Lord, was now "lowered". His ministry was now becoming less important, while the ministry of Jesus Christ now began to grow. John the Baptist did all he could to prepare the hearts of those of Israel to repent toward God, to get them prepared to receive Jesus Christ and his baptism in holy Spirit, into wholeness.

We now know that Israel as a nation collectively refused to believe that Jesus was the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the promised messiah about which all the prophets prophesied. Does this mean that John the Baptist failed to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel? No, it was not John's fault! Some of Israel did believe after hearing Jesus speak and seeing the miracles he did. It wasn't for a lack of evidence pointing to Jesus as the promised messiah, why Israel didn't believe. Israel's leaders and subsequently its people lacked the knowledge of the prophesies to understand their fulfillment as they unfolded before their very eyes! Israel lacked the knowledge of God's Word! It was the same old problem they had always had, self-imposed ignorance and stupidity (Isaiah 6:9-10; Acts 28:25-27). God, through the prophet Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6)!" Jesus pointed his finger directly at the writers and Pharisees as those responsible for leading Israel away from entering into the kingdom of God (Mat. 23:13), and lying to Israel and murdering him (John 8:44).

Throughout their history as a nation they chronically turned their eyes and ears away from God and His Word, and subsequently lost the knowledge of it and subsequently their belief of it in their hearts. This is why the devil was able to keep coming and kicking their butts throughout their history. Israel never caught on to their problem! It's truly amazing. John the Baptist did all he could, even up to giving his last full measure of devotion through his beheading. Today, if any nations or individuals chronically get their butts kicked by the adversary the devil and/or any of his demon spirits, it's because they don't have their eyes and ears deep enough and regular enough into God's Word to 1) build and establish any level of believing toward God, 2) maintain a required level of fellowship with the Father and His son Jesus Christ, and 3) support spiritual growth and an effective spiritual walk.

John the Baptist's Purpose and Ministry

Matthew 3:3 Because (gar) this (houtos) is (estin) the one (ho) having been worded (rhetheis) through (dia) Esaias (Esaiou) the (tou) prophet (prophētou), saying (legontos), 'A sound (phōnē) shouting (boōntos) in (en) the (tē) desolate place (erēmō), 'Make ready (hetoimasate) the (tēn) way (odon) of LORD (kuriou).

Make (poiete) the (tas) paths (tribous) of Him (autou) straight (eutheias) .'"

"the way of the Lord" - The way where Jesus wanted to walk, and where the Father wanted him to walk was in the believing hearts of those of Israel, and then any believer's hearts! John the Baptist came to make ready believer's hearts in Israel to believe and receive the coming deliverer and redeemer, Jesus Christ. But mortals then as well as now can't receive anything from the Father without first repenting in their hearts toward God the Father. Because, without repentance there can be no forgiveness of sins. For any believer to receive anything from God, he must first become eligible to receive, and that begins with repentance toward God from dead works, to serve the living God. John's water baptism was designed to produce repentance within the heart of a mortal, to make ready a mortal's heart, to make it well set to become a way, a beaten path of Jesus Christ!

"the paths of Him" - God's paths are the hearts of mortalkind. God searches everyone's heart, looking in each and every one for belief in it for Him, His Word, and his son Jesus Christ.

"straight" - Full of honesty and truth; as opposed to "crooked", meaning full of dishonesty and deceit.

God's messenger Gabriel speaking to Zacharias about the purpose for the birth of John the Baptist, said;

Luke 1:17 And (kai) he (autos) shall come before (proeleusetai) in the sight (enōpion) of Him (autou), in (en) Spirit (pneumati) and (kai) inherent power (dunamei) of Elijah (Hliou), to turn back (epistrepsai) hearts (kardias) of fathers (paterōn) upon (epi) ones born (tekna), and (kai) [upon] ones dissuaded (apeitheis) in (en) to thoughtfulness (phronēsei) of righteous ones (dikaiōn);

to make ready (hetoimasai) for [the] LORD (kuriō) a people (laon), He having schematically laid it down (kateskeuasmenon).”

Repentance now, as under the old covenant, brings forgiveness of sins. But repentance alone cannot fully make ready a mortal's heart to receive baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. Something else is required of a mortal's heart, which is BELIEVING in their heart God's Word about JESUS and his name (Rom. 10:8-10; Deut. 30:14-15)! This is the reason for the gift ministry of Evangelists (Eph. 4:11), to preach the good news to inspire repentance and believing in mortal's hearts.

Back to Matthew 3:11:

John the Baptist's prophecy emphasizes the importance of getting the baptism in holy Spirit from Christ Jesus when he finally arrives. John the Baptist's preaching at this point was intended to shift the attention off from himself and his water baptism, and onto Jesus Christ and the importance of his baptism in holy Spirit! What good is repentance in a mortal's heart if they ultimately do not receive the gift that God's forgiveness and grace made available through Jesus Christ, the new birth above, baptism in the gift of holy Spirit? This is why the concept of FAITH / BELIEVING (Heb. 11) is so important. A mortal can have all repentance toward God in their heart, but without their free will knowledge and believing toward God to receive His son Jesus and all the Father made available through and in him, then that repentance is under-utilized.

This is what we see recorded in the record in Acts 19:1-7. Those certain disciples received water baptism unto repentance toward God in their hearts, but they neither heard of nor believed upon the name of Jesus to receive his baptism in holy Spirit unto wholeness! What puzzles me is that John the Baptist preached that Jesus was coming, and came. Why these certain disciples hadn't heard John's preaching of Jesus seems very puzzling to me. Apparently these certain disciples were not water baptized by John the Baptist, but by some other who neglected to preach the part about the coming of Jesus Christ and his baptism in holy Spirit as foretold in Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-32), what Jesus referred to as "the Promise of the Father". Sadly, the same is true today. Almost all Christian denominations do not make a distinction between the two baptisms, water baptism done by mortals, and baptism in holy Spirit which can only be done by Jesus Christ himself, ignorantly assuming the two to be one in the same baptismal event.

As we shall see out of God's Word, there are many more records showing either water baptism or baptism in holy Spirit occurring without the other occurring simultaneously, than there are records which show both baptisms occurring simultaneously!

"one strongerer (ischuroteros) [than] me" - Ischuroteros is a form (nominative, singular, masculine, comparative) of ischus, which refers to, "the power naturally resident in the subject." Jesus Christ, the subject, is stronger than John the Baptist because what Jesus Christ is naturally capable of doing spiritually is stronger than what John the Baptist is naturally capable of doing. The natural greatness of one thing over another can only be proved by evidence from the effects produced. John the Baptist states that Christ Jesus' baptism in holy Spirit is stronger than his baptism in water. To state it another way, John the Baptist says that the baptism in holy Spirit done by Christ Jesus has a stronger effect on the one being baptized than the baptism in water done by himself.

The point John the Baptist is making is that what his water baptism can't and could never do, Christ Jesus' baptism in holy Spirit can and will do. John's baptism in water could never give a mortal holy Spirit, because holy Spirit wasn't available to mortalkind until on the day of Pentecost and thereafter. The day of the feast of Pentecost recorded in Acts, occurred 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, and ten days after his ascension. Because of this, John's water baptism simply couldn't impart the new birth above and ageless life, which is the purpose and reason for Christ's coming. Water baptism was unto repentance only, it was not unto the new birth above and wholeness. It couldn't be, because it didn't give holy Spirit to the one being water baptized. This is why when you see the words "baptize", "baptized", "baptism", etc. in the scriptures, you need to ask yourself, is the passage talking about John's water baptism, or is it talking about the baptism in holy Spirit from Christ Jesus that John the Baptist prophesied and emphatically announced was coming after him, as recorded in Mat. 3:11 as we've been reading.

"(whose sandals I am not (ouk) sufficient (hikanos) to carry (bastasai))" - John says that he and his water baptism unto repentance are not "sufficient" to be compared to Jesus Christ's baptism in holy Spirit which is the power of the resurrection. In other words, John the Baptist was saying that he absolutely could not do the spiritual work that Jesus Christ the promised coming redeemer was sent and came to do. In fact, he was saying that his water baptism was so hopelessly inadequate to produce the effects that Christ's baptism in holy Spirit would produce, that he was so far out of Christ's league that he wasn't even sufficient enough to carry Christ's underbindings (sandals)! John the Baptist never baptized anyone in holy Spirit, and never could, but in water only. Baptism in holy Spirit came with Christ Jesus, and only he can give and baptize a mortal in the Spirit of his Father, at Jesus' discretion alone.

"he (Christ Jesus) will baptize (baptisei) you in holy Spirit and in fire (puri)," - Christ Jesus and only Christ Jesus can baptize a believer in holy Spirit. Not the Pope, not Billy Graham, not any mortal! John the Baptist could not, even though he was filled with a measure of holy Spirit from the womb! No mortal can control, or coerce Christ Jesus into baptizing another mortal in holy Spirit. No mortal truly knows what's in the heart of another mortal except the Father and his son Christ Jesus (Acts 1:24). It's the son's responsibility to decide whom he'll call out to build his body, the new temple made without hands.

After John the Baptist was born, his earthly father, Zacharis, was filled with holy Spirit (it was only temporary and conditional) and prophesied, praising the God, and spoke of the purpose of John's life, as he understood Gabriel had told him, and from any further revelation he received through the holy Spirit which filled him;

1:76 But (de) you (su) also (kai), young child (paidion), shall be called aloud (klēthēsē) a prophet (prophētēs) of His highest (hupsistou), because (gar) you shall go forward (proporeusē) in the sight (enōpion) of [the] LORD (kuriou) to make ready (hetoimasai) [the] ways (hodous) of Him (autou);

1:77 to give (dounai) the (tou) knowledge (gnōsin) of wholeness (sōtērias) to the (tō) people (laō) of Him (autou) in (en) to a letting go (aphesei) of sins (hamartiōn) of them (autōn)

"to give the knowledge of wholeness to the people" - The knowledge of wholeness is not simply that wholeness is now available, and leave it at that, but the knowledge about the coming redeemer Jesus Christ and his fulfillment of the prophecies, and that he is the son of God, that he came in the flesh, that his shed blood replaced the blood of goats and heifers, and that through his shed blood is the permanent letting go of the penalty of death against us for our sin.

John the Baptist and his water baptism unto repentance couldn't forgive sins and bring the new birth above to God's people. If John the Baptist's water baptism could have done it then Jesus Christ would not have needed to come with his baptism of holy Spirit! Jesus Christ and his baptism in holy Spirit is the only baptism which can bring the gift of holy Spirit, and therefore wholeness! John the Baptist helped mortals make ready their hearts with a water baptism of repentance toward God. John gave them some knowledge of the one coming, Jesus Christ, that it was his baptism in holy Spirit that they need to receive (Mat. 3:11).

John the Baptist recognized and plainly spoke of the two baptisms as though they are not synonymous, that water is not holy Spirit, and holy Spirit is not water. John the Baptist indicates to us in Mat. 3:11 that he was given revelation by the Father about the coming outpouring of the gift of holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the Great Mystery, that was promised by the Father in Joel 2:28-32. John may not have known that he wouldn't live to see it. But, John knew that the disciples of Jesus would be baptized in holy Spirit and fire (tongues like as of fire sat on each one of them), soon. On the day of Pentecost about three thousand other disciples received the baptism in holy Spirit also, but the scriptures do not indicate that "fire" visibly sat on them.

According to John 3:22-30, Jesus' disciples also baptized in water for a short time simultaneously as did John the Baptist. But, the water baptism that Jesus' disciples did also, then, was unto repentance only, as was John's water baptism. I'll say it again, baptism in the gift of holy Spirit wasn't available to mortalkind until on and after the day of Pentecost. The time period when they were both water baptizing was before the day of Pentecost, before Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, rose out from among the dead, and ascended up into a cloud. The gift of holy Spirit was not yet made available by the Father to mortalkind until the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). Therefore, all those water baptisms could not have possibly brought the new birth above and wholeness to those baptized; and all those baptisms were water baptisms unto repentance only.

Throughout the new covenant writings the holy Spirit makes distinctions between the two kinds of baptisms, between water baptism and baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. The responsibility and privilege is upon the disciples of Jesus Christ to take the time to do the in-depth study to discover those clear differences in the two baptisms, if we are to go on to properly understand what is written and revealed about the Great Mystery. If we can gain an in-depth knowledge of what has been revealed to us by the holy Spirit, of what has been written by those men of God, then we can reprogram our minds not to jump to the conclusion of "water" every single time we see the words 'baptize' and/or 'baptism' in God's Word.

Distinguishing Between The Two Baptisms Is Foundational Understanding

The words 'baptize', 'baptized' and 'baptism', etc., in the original texts do not always, by any default, refer to water baptism. Many times their usage refers to the baptismal "element" of holy Spirit. If the elements of water or holy Spirit are not explicitly stated in the original language Greek texts, then whichever element is implied by the word "baptism" needs to be deduced or induced by the immediate, local and/or remote contexts of the text. This is a subject area where the exact knowledge of what was actually written in the original language texts, in all those verses and contexts which contain the words 'baptize', 'baptized' and 'baptism', etc., becomes critical in helping to determine whether the holy Spirit meant baptism in the 'element' of water or holy Spirit.

From digging the holy scriptures in depth out of the original language texts, the realization that water baptism was absolutely not synonymous with baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ, was a difficult transformation for my mind to make in its thinking, because from a child all I had heard was 'WATER' 'WATER' 'WATER', 'FULL EMERSION', 'FULL EMERSION', 'FULL EMERSION'. No one, and I mean no one, no preacher, no teacher, no elder, no one ever told me that baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ was required for wholeness and ageless life. All they said was water baptism. They had and still have little if no clue about this. I'm bringing it to them, the so-called "experts" in these matters. The "Christian" assumption was and still is that if you are baptized in water you shall receive ageless life; and if not, you don't. Since the knowledge of the two baptisms and the profound differences between them is somewhat easy to learn from reading and studying God's Word, the lack of knowledge of them I perceive as indicative of slothfulness in discipleship. If this sounds a little harsh, then how harsh is ageless death for those who don't lift a pinky to know and believe to receive the new birth above, baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from Christ Jesus. Eternal death is a little harsh isn't it?

The lie that water baptism guarantees ageless life is a doctrine of demons that has crept into the church over the centuries. If its not a doctrine of demons, then why it is so darn convenient for Satan, the devil, who's only purpose is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:9-10)? It shocks and awes my mind to try and imagine how many countless mortals lived and died throughout the last two millenniums, sitting under the perfunctory and pathetically uneducated teachings of "Christian" church denominations, believing that when they got wet somehow they had obtained ageless life, when they may not have received ageless life, depending on their heart condition toward the knowledge of Jesus Christ! I believe Hosea's prophecy is still true today; "My people (and those who would become God's people) are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6)!"

Even now, I know no brothers or sisters in Christ, no matter what their member in the body of Christ (if they are in the body of Christ), who can articulate for me the knowledge of the two baptisms, that there are two distinct baptisms with to distinct purposes, and what are the differences in sources, elements, results produced and prerequisites, between the two. This was common knowledge among the true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ in the first century. Do you know anyone who knows the difference between the two baptisms, or even cares that there are two distinct baptism? With all the additional abundant evidence in God's Word about the two baptisms which I am about to articulate, I'm baffled as to why "Christianity" in general is so ignorant about it, unless the median level of knowledge of God's Word truly is so lacking now as in Hosea's time, which would be evidence accounting for this Laodicean period (Rev. 3:14-22) in which the modern so-called "church" now appears to be.

In the first century Apostle Paul (assuming he is the author of Hebrews, which style closely resembles that of Paul's known writings) spoke about the knowledge of the two kinds of baptisms in the context of being foundational spiritual understanding, by implication as being part of the "milk" of God's Word which a believer must know before going on "to perfection".

Hebrews 6:1 Through which (dio), having let go (aphentes) of the (ton) word (logon) of the (tēs) beginning (archēs) of the (tou) Christ (christou), may we be brought (pherōmetha) over (epi) to the (tēn) completion (teleiotēta) [of it], not (mē) throwing down (kataballomenoi) again (palin) a foundation (themelion) of repentance (metanoias) from (apo) dead (nekrōn) works (ergōn) and (kai) belief (pisteōs) upon (epi) God (theon),

Hebrews 6:2

- of baptisms (baptismōn),

- of teaching (didachēs),

- and (te) of putting upon (epitheseōs) of hands (cheirōn),

- and (te) of standing up (anastaseōs) of dead ones (nekrōn),

- and (kai) of ageless (aiōniou) justice (krimatos).

According to the author of the letter to the Hebrew believers of Israel, to those who have already received baptism in holy Spirit, at least these four subjects deal specifically with receiving the new birth from above (local context 5:9, 6:4), and are foundational knowledge which believers must know before going on "to completion" in their knowledge of Christ Jesus. You'll notice that the critical Greek text records that the holy Spirit said baptisms (baptismōn) plural, indicating that the writer who received the revelation from the holy Spirit understood the two baptisms could only be water baptism and baptism in holy Spirit, and that they were generally and specifically different from one another, else why would the holy Spirit go to the trouble of using a plural noun (2 Pet. 1:21).

In my opinion, approaching and working God's Word like this, at this level of detail, is simply paying attention. To not pay close enough attention to clearly grasp and understand exactly what God says, has to be neglect, else we fall ourselves back to an extremely compromising position of suggesting that God by way of His holy Spirit has simply not made Himself clear to us, and that either or both God and His holy Spirit have failed us, which of course ludicrous and an excuse for our own failure. Sadly, I believe I could get a show of hands from some fools who would consider taking this position. And I believe I could tell you how far they were going to get with God and His son Jesus Christ.

The what of what is to become completed is my knowledge of Jesus Christ throughout God's Word, which builds my believing, which produces a more powerful spiritual walk. Do I know the details of Jesus Christ throughout God's Word to the same degree as I know the details of my secular job? Do I really understand thoroughly the foundational basics Paul mentions in Hebrews 6:1-2 , the milk items of God's Word? With time and practice can't I learn how to do my secular job better? Likewise, I can go on to complete my knowledge and understanding of these foundational basic spiritual concepts. According to the writer of Hebrews, I must experientially know and understand these foundational things first, in order to go on to completion in gaining a full assurance of the hope (Heb. 6:11) and inheritance of the promises of God (Heb. 6:12). The writer wanted to take the Hebrew believers, which included at least those who received the outpouring of the gift of holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:38-41), further in their spiritual knowledge and understanding and subsequent walk of Jesus Christ, beyond these foundational basics, which we all must believe is God's desire for all of us.

Hebrews 5:13 Because (gar) each one (pas), the one (ho) holding together with (metechōn) milk (galaktos), he [is] untried (apeiros) [in the] word (logou) of righteousness (dikaiosunēs), because (gar) he is (estin) an infant (nēpios).

The Two Baptisms Distinguished By The Results Produced

To me the following passage in 1 Peter sheds a tremendous amount of light on the difference between water baptism and baptism in holy Spirit. This passage defines the results produced in the believer who receives the new birth, baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. From the defining characteristics of the results produced from baptism in holy Spirit, we can ascertain further what either baptism is and is not.

1 Peter 3:18 because (hoti) Christ (christos) also (kai) once (hapax) suffered (epathen) about (peri) sins (hamartiōn), a righteous one (dikaios) over (huper) unrighteous ones (adikōn), in order that (hina) he may lead you toward (prosagaē humas) the (tō) God (theō);

[it is] true (men), he having been put to death (thanatōtheis) [in] flesh (sarki), but (de) he having been made alive (zōopoiētheis) [in] Spirit (pneumati);

"but he having made [it] alive [in] Spirit" - There's de again, signaling to the reader to take special note of the contrasted difference between what is said about death, and what is said about life. Even though Jesus Christ's flesh was dead and buried in the tomb, his Spirit that the Father gave him of Himself wasn't dead, and it came back into and made alive again Jesus' flesh. Spirit is eternal, and can't be killed by mortals. That Spirit made Christ's flesh alive again after three days while it lay in the tomb. Baptism in water can't guarantee anyone's resurrection out from among the dead and eternal life, because water isn't a power source. Baptism by Christ Jesus in holy Spirit guarantees resurrection and eternal life, because holy Spirit is a power source (Acts 1:8, 4:33, 10:38, Rom. 15:33, 15:19, 2 Tim. 1:7).

1 Peter 3:19 in (en) which (hō) [suffering] also (kai), he having gone (poreutheis) to the (tois) spirits (pneumasin) in (en) a watch post (phulakē), he preached (ekēruxen)

"a watch-post" - This is what we know as a prison in our culture. The ancients named the place where law-breakers were confined after the purpose for which they were confined, so they could watch them, i.e., keep an eye on them and control their activities.

"spirits in a watch-post" - Apostle Peter refers to demon spirits which are connected in some way with the sinful nature of almost all the mortals upon the face of the earth in the days of Noah.

1 Peter 3:20 [to the spirits] having been dissuaded (apeithēsasin) in time past (pote), when (hote) in (en) days (hēmerais) of Noah (nōe) the (hē) patience (makrothumia) of the (tou) God (theou) was causing Himself to look out to receive (apexedecheto) a schematic being laid down (kataskeuazomenēs) of an ark (kibōtou), into (eis) which (hēn) a few (oligoi), that (tout) is (estin) eight (oktō), souls (psuchai) were brought through whole (diesōthēsan) [as they went] through (di) [the] water (hudatos)!

"[to the spirits] having unbelief" - The split here of verses 19 and 20 into two verses is very unfortunate. Apparently there were certain demon spirits working among mortals in the days of Noah, who were largely responsible for mortal kind's mass unbelief toward God (Mat. 13:19; 38-39). According to the ancient text, Jesus says that the evil one snatches (Gk. harpazei) out of a hearers heart God's Word about the knowledge of the kingdom! The knowledge of the kingdom of heaven must be fairly important knowledge if it is the prime target of the devil and his demon spirits. This snatching out of a person's heart of the specific knowledge in God's Word about the kingdom of heaven, is exactly what Jesus meant when he said, "The thief comes absolutely not, if not in order that he may steal, and he may sacrifice, and he may destroy" people hearing God's Word (John 10:10).

When the devil and or his demon spirits snatch God's Word out of a person's heart, that person is left with unbelief, because belief comes through hearing God's Word (Rom. 10:13-17); if God's Word has been snatched out of a hearer's heart, it is as though they never heard it, because the Word is gone out of them, it's no longer in them. Only God's Word can build belief in a person's heart.

See Heb. 11 to see how important it it to build and have belief in God's Word, and in His son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

Christ Jesus in his fleshly body made alive by holy Spirit, preached to those spirits who were confined into a "watch-post". In the early history of the replenishment of mortal kind upon the face of the earth (Gen. 1:2a - 6:7), by the time the days of Noah had arrived (Gen. 6:8) demon spirit-inspired sin became so pervasive again among mortal kind that the demon spirits almost succeeded in the second extinction of mortal kind, except for eight souls. I believe the first extinction of mortal kind occurred along with the end of the dinosaur age, caused by the devil taking one third of the heavenly host with him in his rebellious high treason against God.

To those demon spirits in a "watch-post" of some kind who didn't believe their death-dealing authority over mortal kind could be broken, Jesus announced his resurrection out from the dead, which was the sign of Jesus' successful accomplishment of making atonement for the sin of the first Adam, and the subsequent sins of all mortal kind since then by his shed blood, and restoration of the Father's paternal possession, mortal kind. Jesus' resurrection was the evidence of the defeat of the authority and power of the devil over mortal kind. Through Jesus' resurrection from dead, the idling down (katargeitai) of the last enemy of mortal kind was set in motion, the extinction of death (1 Cor. 15:26)! Now the death-doomed orbit of mortal kind's future comes about into full retrograde motion with Jesus Christ's feet now standing on the neck of death (1 Cor. 15:20-27)!

"were kept whole [as they went] through [the] water" - i.e., "they came through the waters of death whole, intact". In water baptism, the water is symbolic of death and the grave, as practiced by John the Baptist. In water baptism, the submersion of a mortal in the water is symbolic of the death and burial of the mortal's "old man", who was unrepentant to God for doing things the worldly way, the way of sin and death, out of the sin nature received in Adam. Later, after the revelation of the Great Mystery, the one body of Christ, through apostle Paul in about 53 AD, water baptizers added to the ritual that the subsequent emerging out of the water is symbolic of believer's fleshly body being made alive again by the holy Spirit and their resurrection out of the grave. In the days of Noah, the deluge became the grave of all living things upon the earth. The ark, which is a type to holy Spirit, saved Noah and all those within it from the watery grave, just as the holy Spirit will save all those who believe, from the grave. Apostle Peter draws the first correspondence in types between the ark that saved Noah (verse 20), and the holy Spirit which raised Jesus out of the grave (verse 18).

Some preachers at work as wolves in sheep's clothing, teach that the meaning of "saved though water" means that mortals will be "saved through, or 'on account of' water baptism", thus drawing our attention away from baptism in holy Spirit unto wholeness, thus ignoring the existence and distinction between the two baptisms. This is a sly twisting of the meaning of the word through (di). The root of the Greek word is dia, meaning e.g., as one would walk through a garden, or walk through a door, or to sail through a storm. It is not obvious to some that the ark saved the eight souls in spite of the flooding water. Apostle Peter, in his writings, often uses the preposition di with its object in an instrumental sense as an intermediate agency. However, the use of di in the sense of an intermediate agency in the prepositional phrase 'through (di) water' in 1 Peter 3:20, is obviously in error, since if it were not for the ark in which were the eight souls, the flooding water would not have saved them, but killed them all as it did every other living thing on the planet.

1 Peter 3:21 and (kai) which (ho) opposite type (antitupon), baptism (baptisma), now (nun) makes whole (sōzei) you (humas); absolutely not (ou) a putting away (apothesis) of dirt (rhupou) of flesh (sarkos), BUT (alla), a good (agathēs) conscience (suneidēseōs) upon interrogation (eperōteôma) into (eis) God (theon), through (di) [the] standing up (anastaseōs) [out of dead ones] of Jesus (Iēsou) Christ (christou),

"and which opposite imprint, baptism, now saves you;" - What 'opposite' refers to here is that the element of water is often used in God's word to symbolically represent death, the grave and even the destructive affects of demon influences (flooding waters). But in water baptism, although the water still symbolically represents death and the grave, the water is being used to help accomplish a good purpose, a mortal's repentance toward God which can ultimately bring a believer to belief in God's son Jesus Christ and baptism in the gift of holy Spirit from him, bringing ageless life.

Peter uses the word baptism in this verse. To which baptism does Apostle Peter refer, to water baptism, or baptism in holy Spirit, or both? Let's begin by digging into the evidence given to us in the immediate context of the letter and work our way back out to the remote contexts given to us in other letters and writings.

Before we go further I would like to explain the ancient grammatical concepts of type and antitype, which literally and symbolically refer to an imprint (tupon) and an opposite imprint (antitupon). The word for type, Gk., tupon, is a noun, and is used in holy scripture to refer literally to an imprint left by a blow. The verb form tuptein, means to strike or make an impression. For example: In John 20:25 the KJV translates tupon as "the print (tupon) of the nails" in Jesus' hands, referring to the hole left from the puncture of the nails. This alludes to the idea that from seeing and touching the imprint, one can possibly determine something about the thing which made the imprint, and/or the event which occurred which caused the imprint, as Thomas needed to experientially know.

Apostle Peter and Paul's usages of type (tupon) in their writings are in the sense that types are only illustrations or analogies, they are words used to indicate things which are symbols or reflections of other things. Types may or may not teach the whole truth, but often provide insight into aspects of a truth, as the type does here about the water in water baptism. The reference to water in this sense is in the grammatical form of a figure of speech, tupos, meaning a type.

As is sometimes the case, the cause of an imprint can't always be fully understood by observing the imprint alone, but the imprints hint at the causes of them, and may show details which are analogous to the details given in the corresponding truths which are elsewhere clearly revealed. Other times the grammatical use of the figure of speech tupos can actually help clarify the subject matter, although its symbolic reference is incomplete by itself. Often times God's Word uses several different figures of speech all clustered together within a passage to help guide the hearer into a deeper understanding of God's mind than the brevity of non-figurative wording alone could convey.

Many things which occurred and are recorded in the old covenant writings were imprints which portrayed to some extent spiritual truths which would later become clearly revealed in the new covenant writings (1 Cor. 10:1-6). For example: the record of Jonah in the whale's belly for three days and three nights was a prophetic sign, and an imprint which symbolically foretold of Jesus' three days and three nights in the grave, and then his subsequent resurrection. In the flood in the days of Noah, the flood was the cause of death and the watery grave of all things upon the earth except for Noah and all living things within the ark. In water baptism water represents the grave as well. But Apostle Peter says, "and which opposite imprint, baptism now makes whole you" (verse 21). Peter is introducing to us a "baptism" in which the "water" has the opposite meaning than the cause of death and the grave as the water represented in the record of Noah!

Back to 1 Peter 3:21...

"absolutely not a putting away of dirt of flesh" - Although apostle Peter is talking about water baptism, he's clarifying that it isn't done for purposes of outward cleansing, but to help lead a sinner into repentance toward God, and ultimately into baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. Under the old covenant Law, the priests would wash their hands and feet in the Laver (loutroô) to remove outward dirt to make themselves fit to enter into the tabernacle or temple of God to serve Him. This ritual done under the old covenant law was an imprint of the baptism in holy Spirit from Jesus Christ which would come in the future under the new covenant in his blood.

Perhaps now you can begin to see how John's water baptism was an intermediate imprint of cleansing between the old covenant physical cleansing and the new covenant spiritual cleansing through Jesus' shed blood, the first two of which were meant to enlighten us as to our need to become spiritually clean through Jesus' baptism before our re-entering back into the presence of God since Adam's fall from His presence recorded in the book of Genesis. The priests depended upon various blood sacrifices of animals upon the alter to make atonement and temporary pardon for their inner spiritual filth from the affects of sin nature in their blood (Leviticus 17:11). The various sacrifices represented various kinds of healings from various infirmities (astheneias) and diseases (nosous), together covering any kind of malady (malakian) whatsoever.

The Scope of "Baptism" Broadens - Another Type of 'Water'

In Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians, comparing how males should care for their females based upon the imprint we have of how Jesus Christ cleansed and made holy the assembly, Paul reveals to us that the waters of the Laver are an type/imprint of another great truth. The Laver was used in the tabernacle and the temples for the priests to wash themselves before they carried out their services in God's house and in His presence. The holy Spirit tells us through apostle Paul that the water of the Lavers, was a type/imprint of the individual words (rhēmatōn) of God's Word, which words wash us on the inside by imparting knowledge, understanding and subsequently believing into us of the Father and His son Jesus Christ, which believing makes us righteous in the sight of the Father.

Ephesians 5:25 The (ohi) males (andres), love (agapate) the (tas) females (gunaikas), even as (kathōs) the (ho) Christ (Christos) also (kai) loved (ēgapēsen) the (tēn) assembly (ekklēsian), and (kai) gave himself alongside (heauton paredōken) over (huper) her (autēs),

Ephesians 5:26 in order that (hina) he may make her holy (hagiasē autēn), cleansing [her] (katharisas) to the (tō) bath (loutrō) of the (tou) water (hudatos), in (en) a word (rhēmati),

Apostle Paul implies that the water of the Laver was an imprint to the cleansing properties of the words of God's Word. Righteousness didn't come to those priests through washing in the Laver. Righteousness didn't come to them or anyone in Israel through keeping the works of the law (Rom. 3:20-22, 4:1-5; Gal. 3:5-6). Righteousness came to a scant few of them the same way it comes to us now, and as it has always came to any mortal throughout anytime in history, through simply BELIEVING the words (rhēmatōn) of God's Word!

Ephesians 5:27 in order (hina) to place beside (parastēsē) himself (heatō) her (autēn), the (tēn) glorious (endoxon) assembly (ekklēsian), having (echousan) no (mē) stain (spilon), or (ē) wrinkle (rhutida), or (ē) any one (ti) of the (tōn) things of those (toioutōn), BUT (all), in order that (hina) it may be (ē) a holy one (hagia), and (kai) an unblemished one (amōmos)!

The individual word (rhēmatōn) of God's Word, when we put them in our mind and believe them, make us righteous on the inside. They cleanse our mind and body from unrighteousness. Now God's Word has taken us far along the path of the knowledge and understanding of baptisms, all the way now to the point of understanding how the water of God's Word, the individual words themselves, when we baptize our mind in them they cleanse us on the inside, and make us "holy of the water of the Laver".

Back to 1 Peter 3:21...

"upon interrogation into God, through resurrection of Jesus Christ" - Apostle Peter, speaking of water baptism, says we believers/disciples are to conduct an interrogation (eperoôteôma) into God, i.e., His Word, concerning what is meant by that part of the water baptism which symbolically represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the raising back up out of the water of death and the grave. In 2 Tim. 2:15 in apostle Paul's letter to Timothy, Paul's exhortation to Timothy was for him to "make haste (spoudason, imperative mood, a command) to stand yourself alongside to the God, approved, a laborer unashamed, cutting uprightly (orthotomounta) the Word of the Truth". To this apostle Peter gives us some specific subject matter to make haste studying, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"BUT (alla), a good perspective" - People who perform customer service as their vocation talk a lot about customers calling in and not having a good attitude. But a person's perspective, how a mortal sees things going on around him, drives his attitude. When we go to God's Word or directly to Him in prayer to thank Him, or gain knowledge and wisdom, or to ask for the needs of others or ourselves, what is our perspective of God and His willingness to be our sufficiency for all things? Is our perspective based upon the knowledge of what Jesus' resurrection out from the dead means to us?

Is our perspective filled with believing (Heb. 11) God's Word about His son Jesus Christ and what he did for our wholeness (Romans 10:9)?

Does our perspective see in God's Word that when the Father aroused His son Jesus out of death and the grave that it made us righteous (Rom. 4:25)?

Does our perspective see in God's Word that when God raised Jesus from the dead that God raised us with him (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; Col 2:12)?

Does our perspective see in God's Word that we who were raised with Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ, we are new creatures (1 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15)?

Does our perspective see the promise in God's Word that as Jesus Christ walked in newness of life we also can NOW walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)?

Does our perspective see in God's Word His promise that the wounding of Jesus' physical body was for our healing (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53)?

Does our perspective see in God's Word His promise that when we are raised we will be given a glorious new spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44)?

In our perspective can we see in God's Word that He has made us able to do all things through Christ who inherently empowers us (Phillipians 2:13)?

In our perspective can we see in God's Word that He has made us more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:37)?

In our perspective can we see in God's Word Jesus' promise to us that if we shall ask of him anything in his name, including our need for physical healing, he will do it to glorify the Father (John 14:13-14)?

All these things which relate to the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the imprint of water baptism, baptize and wash our minds in these truths of God's Word, to remove any spot or blemish, any doubt or deceitful misconception. Therefore, if then from our perspective we can see and believe these great and precious truths, then what should our attitude be? If from our perspective we see and believe these things in God's Word, then we have great hope, and confidence in place of doubt, fear and worry.

Let us have no doubt concerning God's ability to be all our sufficiency (2 Cor. 3:5; 9:8); nor fear and worry over what we'll eat and drink today or what clothes we'll wear (Mat. 6:31); nor fear and worry over what other mortals may do to us (Mat. 10:28); nor fear and worry over the health of our children (Luke 8:50); nor fear and worry over putting off the physical bodies we now are housed within (Luke 12:6-7)!

To the extent we see the resurrection of Jesus Christ in our perspective, throughout the Father's Word, then we see everything! Then we see that just as surely as the water of the Laver washed the hands and feet of the priests, the words of God's Word about Christ wash us and cleanse us in our minds and bodies on the inside, and through believing the water of the Word we are baptized on the inside with the new birth from above, the gift of holy Spirit from Christ Jesus. The opposite imprint (antitupon) of the deadly water which became the grave of all living things in the days of Noah is this cleansing living water of God (John 4:10), the holy Spirit, which now cleanses us on the inside from every spot and blemish of unrighteousness.