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     Over two dozen times the New Testament uses the word mystery.  The apostle Paul wrote God had revealed to him “the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 1:3, 4).  Almost everything about Jesus being the Savior and King of His kingdom and Christianity is the mystery God revealed after Jesus ascended into heaven.

     In the last article, we noted, Jesus said one had to be born of the water and the spirit to enter His kingdom (John 3:3-5).  Some 30 years later, Paul said he had been conveyed into Jesus kingdom which was done when his sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:13,14).  When was that?  When Paul was baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 22:16).  Just what is this baptism, this rebirth which is the moment of being born into Jesus kingdom?  Is it significant today?  If so what is the significance?

     Baptism is part of the mystery of Jesus kingdom!  The dictionary says baptism is sacrament, a ritual a purification, an initiation.  That is the modern usage of the word, but is that the biblical meaning?  “Baptize” is not a translation from the original New Testament Greek.  Rather, it is a transliteration of “baptizein” (Greek — root is “bapto”) which means to dip or immerse.  Even Merriam-Webster dictionary (11th ed.) declares that.

     Regardless, folks still define the mode of baptism as sprinkling, pouring or immersion.  The Greek translation of the OT (250 BC), uses the three Greek words for which are translated sprinkling, pouring and immersion (dip) in the same passage (Leviticus 14:15, 16).  Man, not God, has blurred the meaning of baptizein, by not translating it.  What is the significance of this change?
     Obviously, to change God’s word or to mislead folks by not honestly translating “baptizein” is eternally tragic.  Today proclaimers assert sprinkling or pouring water on a person’s head is “baptizein” (immersion).  This is like saying red or green is also blue.  Can one enter the kingdom of Jesus by not obeying God’s command precisely as He gave it?

     Even Jesus’ word “born” again implies coming out of something.  Although the devil has had his hand in the perversion (transliteration) of biblical translation, God has not left man in a lurch.  Considering all of the verses in which the translation “baptism” is used, the context in some passages show us biblical baptism is immersion.

     Following His immersion, “Jesus came up immediately from the water....” (Matthew 3:16; cf Mark 1:10).  The early Christians were zealous to tell everyone about salvation in Jesus (Acts 8:1-4).  The rest of Acts 8 gives us a detailed sampling of the evangelistic activity of one man — Philip.  He encountered a government official from Ethiopia who was reading Isaiah 53 (700 year old prophecy about Jesus) and with whom he studied.  As they traveled, they came to a pond or river.  “And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.  Now when they came up out of the water” (Acts 8:26-39).  If the mode of “baptism” is pouring or sprinkling, it would not have been necessary to go down into the water.  But being immersed explains why they did so.  In so doing this man also entered Jesus kingdom on that day.

     Another part of the mystery revealed to the apostle Paul.  He had been born into the Old Covenant given by Moses on Mt Sinai via his Abrahamic lineage (Romans 11:1).  Now he had been born into the New Covenant via immersion (Acts 22:16).  Paul declared that by obeying so, God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13).  At the moment of baptism, God added him to His kingdom (Acts 2:47).

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