Today we want to discuss five baptisms mentioned in the Bible.

Christ's Baptism of Suffering. "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!" {Luke 12:50} Jesus was speaking of the cross. He was to be "immersed" in sorrow, anguish, and pain. He would suffer the cruel death on the cross as the ransom payment for sin.

John's Baptism of Repentance. "John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." {Mark 1:4} John's baptism was a prelude to the baptism that Jesus would introduce. John's baptism was not "for the remission of sins," because Christ had not yet died.

Baptism of Fire. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." {Matthew 3:11} This is the baptism that will be poured out on the ungodly and disobedient at judgment .

Believer's Baptism. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." {Matthew 28:19} This is the baptism that places one into contact with the blood of Christ. "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." {Colossians 2:11,12}

Baptism of the Holy Spirit. "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." {Acts 10:3,4} This baptism was the fulfillment of a promise; it was not a command. The only two accounts of Holy Spirit baptism are in Acts 2 and Acts 10. The one in Acts 2 was a fulfillment of the promises Jesus made to His disciples in John 14-16. The other provided the Jews with a sign of God's acceptance of the Gentiles.

The ONE Baptism. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism." {Ephesians 4:4,5} Paul clearly teaches us, in the platforms of unity, that only ONE baptism-water baptism for the remission of sins-can save {Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13}. This is why the text tells us there is just one. This is not a contradiction even though the Scriptures mention other baptisms. The baptism of fire is yet to come at judgment, and the others have served their purposes. Have you been baptized with the ONE baptism? (KMG)