The Simple Answers… To Life’s Most Important Questions.
Bible Study Course Lesson 9 –23
You’ll recall that the Father, in whose image we are made, has three fractions, pictured in the Garden as water, wine, and oil (to be more precise, sources of these three things – a river, a grapevine, and an almond tree).
With that hint, reading Matthew 3:11 will probably tell you where I’m going next; there are three baptisms mentioned there; water, spirit, and fire. One for each of the Father’s fractions which correspond to water, to air, and to fire.
1 John 5:6-8 (BBE) This is he who came by water and by blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is true. There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood: and all three are in agreement.
Thus there is not one baptism, but three that every true Christian needs. See, people read Hebrews 6:2 and think “Oh, right, the doctrine of baptism!” But that’s not what it said; it said, quite clearly, the doctrine of baptisms!.
The word is plural because John the Baptist (who should know a thing or two about baptisms) clearly told us there are three of them. And if there are three baptisms, and baptism pictures entering a house… then this means you must pass through, and graduate out of, THREE HOUSES on your way to God.
And these THREE WITNESSES are necessary –Moses to witness that you’ve trained your heart, Elijah to witness that you’ve trained your spirit, and Jesus to witness that you’ve trained your soul. Which is why Jesus commanded His apostles to baptize disciples three times! (Matthew 28:19).
We’ve been so busy disproving the trinity in this verse, we’ve failed to see the doctrine of baptisms here; for Jesus said “baptize disciples into…” and then cited three things. Is it possible that this doesn’t correlate with John’s three baptisms? Or with the three baptizers of John 1:25? Or with the three fractions? Or with 1 John 5:6-8? (As it reads in the NIV, without the extra “trinity” part). I think not
BAPTISM INTO THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT
I’ve addressed Matthew 28:19 several times in prior lessons, and each of those answers was true; this does not prove the trinity. This does speak of baptizing them into the name or house of the Elohim, which the Father, Son, and everyone in the ekklesia shares (Ephesians 3:14-15).
And yet this also alludes to the fractions of God in a different way; for it speaks of the Father’s fractions, His internal trinity, if you will. The same trinity we have, since we were made in His image, inside and out.
If you’ll remember from the lessons in the latter part of Series 7, God’s fractions in Eden – the river, the grapevine, and the almond tree – correspond to the heart, the spirit, and the soul, respectively. In a different layer, they correspond to the saints, the Son, and the Father, again respectively.
So when Matthew explicitly references three baptisms, we would expect them to correspond to the ekklesia, the Son, and the Father (in that order), for that is the order in which they must always be done – as John the Baptist, also in the book of Matthew, told us of the baptisms of water, air, and fire in that order.
The only confusing thing is that Matthew 28:19 mentions baptism into the Father; then baptism into Jesus (thus, Jesus’ spirit) and baptism in “the holy spirit” – which can only be the Father’s spirit. So the Father is mentioned twice! That doesn’t make much sense, does it?
What’s more, Jesus mentioned the Father first, where water baptism into the ekklesia should be! But when you remember that these are all, in a sense, representative of the fractions of the Father, it starts to become clear.
Remember, when a disciple is baptized into a house, they take upon them the name of that house (Matthew 10:41). And if they are indeed the ekklesia, they do bear the name of the Father as well (Ephesians 3:14-15).
But they are also baptized, albeit temporarily and as a proxy, into the lesser name of that father-figure, for they are immersed in his house and spirit. Because every disciple is immersed into, joined unto, the house of the ekklesia where the Father sent them.
What’s more, every father-figure is, well, a figure of the Father – which is to say a symbol of THE Father (Hebrews 9:8-9, 24). For it is by learning how to hear and see and walk from these father-figures, that you can learn to properly see, hear, and walk before THE Father.
Thus, the heads of the ekklesia do, in a real sense, picture the Father (Job 33:6, 2 Corinthians 5:20), representing the Father to you.
THE FATHER’S BEAST
We know that Jesus is the head of the church and therefore the church is the body of Jesus. By that logic then, we know the Father is Jesus’ head; which means Jesus and the Church are the body of the Father. The beast(s) of the Father.
Now water baptism represents, at its most basic level, the spirit of the Father. And yet that definition is too broad; for water baptism represents the baptism in tiny pieces of the Father, which are contained in the hearts of the ekklesia (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
Which means it would be more accurate to say that water baptism is baptism in the Father’s second-hand spirit. His spirit, but diluted and served up in bite-sized pieces as contained in the spirits of His children!
For like all children, it is indeed His living water that makes us alive. Because remember I said above that all water baptism was, in a sense, into the Father; for it is into water, which is living water, which is what makes all of us alive! And the ekklesia pictures that water!
Which means baptism into the ekklesia is baptism into THE Father, by being baptized into the house of A father – the house called by His name! After all, isn’t that what Moses did? 1 Corinthians 10:2. Isn’t that what John did? Acts 19:3. They were baptized into the house of THAT FATHER!
And since these fathers teach you the law and kill your beast, they are aptly symbolized by the river in the Garden of Eden; a river which, as more and more houses are added as the generations pass, will continue to deepen throughout eternity (Ezekiel 47:1-9). And everywhere these waters go, they heal the land and the people. Just as the law does, just as the saints will do.
EXTERNAL FRACTIONS OF GOD
The Father’s external fractions – basically, the roles He and His family perform in His house – correspond to the father, mother, and children of any other house; or the soul, spirit, and beasts of any other body.
Thus the Father is the most holy spirit – the head of all, the soul of the Elohim. Jesus, as head of the woman corresponds to the Father’s spirit, and the ekklesia, as His children, correspond to His beasts; the church, which symbolizes the water of the Father.
Which means the next baptism of Matthew 28:19 is baptism into Jesus, the air/wind/spirit, the grapevine, the cloud; seen as a fraction of the Father, this pictures baptism into a type of the Father’s spirit, for that’s the role of Jesus as the Word of God – to be the external spirit of God, which is to say, the mouthpiece and spokesman of God!
And finally, being baptized into the holy spirit can only picture being baptized into the Father Himself – which is to say, God’s “I”, which as with any of us, signifies the soul of God. The flame of fire, the light unto which no man can approach who has not first been redeemed by Jesus.
Thus, as it was in John 6:44-45, when a disciple learns from the Father (or, in symbol, a father-figure who himself has the spirit of the Father), they come to Jesus to be baptized in HIS spirit. And Jesus perfects them, then commends them to His Father, baptizing them into His Father’s spirit.
So likewise the disciples were commanded to baptize them in the ekklesia, which bears the name of the Father (and, in a small type, a father); so that they could be baptized by that ekklesia into the Son’s spirit… who would, in time, baptize them in the HOLY SPIRIT OF THE FATHER.
Thus, the disciples were commanded to do what had already been done to them; for Andrew, for example, had been baptized into the name of John, and been John’s disciple (John 1:40), and called by His name! He was then baptized in Jesus’ spirit, to become Jesus’ disciple (John 14:17); and was about to be baptized in the Father’s spirit! (Acts 2:1-4). Precisely according to the pattern in Matthew 28:19!
LOWERCASE JESUS
Jesus spent four years teaching the disciples. Now to us, separated by 2,000 years of awe and wonder, these disciples were taught by JESUS. But at the time, He was not “JESUS” as we think of Him (Philippians 2:6-8) – not the resurrected deity, not the savior of mankind, not the namesake of a religion.
To all appearances, He was just another dude named after Joshua, a popular name for obvious reasons. I stress this because JESUS didn’t call the disciples away from their nets; instead, Jesus did.
Jesus, who was a rather unattractive man with no reputation, someone who was far more likely to be a nutjob than a prophet, called them away from their livelihood with a vague promise to make them “fishers of men” (I mean, what does that even mean??).
So for those four years, He wasn’t JESUS. He was just a man, doing the same job for the disciples that they themselves would later do as apostles, to give them an example (1 John 2:6, John 20:21, etc.). That last verse literally says “as God apostled me, so I apostle you”.
During all this time, Jesus differed nothing from any other servant of God; even though He was lord of all (Galatians 4:1-2). Which means His time teaching the disciples was His “apostleship”, and no different from the role any other human house-head sent by God performed for his disciples.
Which means this corresponds to the time Titus, say, spent with Paul; Peter learning from Jesus was no different from Titus learning from Paul – except, of course, that Jesus was much better at His job.
So Jesus, to give His own apostles an example, took them out of the house of Moses and brought them into His house, to finish the work John had started but still without giving the apostles His spirit inside of them (John 14:17). Exactly like every other apostle would do, later!
But note that last verse carefully… they had been baptized into Jesus’ house (which is what the apostles would later do) but Jesus’ spirit was still not in them. It was merely around them. Thus, they were immersed, baptized in His spirit.
At that time, it could not be in them, for He was not yet dead (John 16:7). Likewise, I cannot give you my spirit; but I can surround you with my spirit (John 20:22). Remember, spirit is breath. So when Jesus exhaled on them, they were immersed in His spirit.
And if they then inhaled it… then it would have been in them. Likewise, if you are baptized into my house, then you will inevitably be baptized in my spirit; my breath, my words, will surround you day in and day out (Deuteronomy 6:7).
And if I have Jesus’ spirit in me (and I think I do; 1 Corinthians 7:40); then there is second-hand Jesus everywhere I exhale. And some of that breath, if you are breathing in as I breath out, will inevitably wind up in you. Ewww, am I right?
For my spirit is certainly not holy, particularly in the morning. But Jesus’ is. So when I speak, to the extent that I am filled with the spirit of Jesus and His Father, there is a certain percentage of Their holy spirits surrounding my disciples; just as when the human Jesus spoke, there was a whiff of the Father in His breath (John 14:7-10, 24).
These divine spirits are careful to be present in the human houses at a safe dilution; that way, if you cough it back up, God can give you the benefit of the doubt and blame your sneeze on my bad breath, not you reacting badly to His holy breath (even though we all know that sometimes it’s gonna be both).
But God and Jesus watch this process; they carefully monitor your Elohim-allergy, and as you become capable of tolerating greater quantities of Their breath mixed with my own, They gradually leave me out of the picture altogether.
Thus, the immersion in the water of any house that has the holy spirit will gradually, safely, lead you to the ability to breathe the rarified air at the top of the mountain of God, through three separate baptisms; once in Their diluted water, once in Jesus’ spirit, and once in the Father’s spirit.
THREE BAPTISMS
After Jesus’ death, but BEFORE the spirit was “given” in Acts 2, Jesus gave them the holy spirit (John 20:22), by breathing on them, the same way all masters convey their spirit to their disciples. But how could Jesus give them the holy spirit, since we all know it wasn’t yet given? And the answer is easy: whose spirit was this?
Forget theology; dumb it down to the most basic, most obvious sense possible; spirit is air; wind is air; breath is air. They’re literally the same words in Greek and Hebrew. So if Jesus breathed on them… what covered them was JESUS’ BREATH!
Thus, He allowed them to inhale HIS OWN SPIRIT. They had been baptized in it for years; now He was letting them baptize IT. Remember the simple rule: when you are immersed in something, you become part of it; when you swallow or inhale something it becomes part of you.
They had been IN Jesus, which is to say, in Jesus’ house, surrounded by Jesus’ spirit. But now Jesus would be in them, which is to say, He would be in THEIR house, His spirit would be in the midst of them (John 17:23, 26, Colossians 1:27).
He couldn’t do that until after His spirit was no longer needed to make His human tabernacle alive. Sure, a man can give you a breath of his; it’s done all the time with CPR; but he can’t give you all of his breath and live.
So they had inhaled parts of His spirit now and then, as His disciples; some things He said had become part of them. But not all of what He said. Not all of what He wanted. But now they would have access to all of it, on demand (1 Corinthians 2:16).
He entrusted His Father with all of His breath (Luke 23:46), so that His breath can now be given into to anyone who can handle it (Ephesians 5:18). Which is why that same “wind” (still the same Greek and Hebrew word) was later breathed on the disciples in a more dramatic fashion in Acts 2:1-2.
They were surrounded (baptized) in a great and rushing “mighty wind” (literally, a strong spirit); whose spirit is this, if not the same one they had already received now present in greater quantity? But that breath is not, itself, the end; it is merely another step preparatory to receiving the Father’s spirit.
For the wind was not alone; the wind brought tongues of fire which covered the heads of the disciples. Thus, IMMERSING them in fire… which was the promise OF THE FATHER’S SPIRIT! (Luke 24:49). Alighting, specifically, on the heads of the NC houses!
Which is why in Acts 2:14-18, Peter said that this was happening to them because NOW they were SONS of God! ( Acts 2:17 in particular). Because it is this spirit in particular which made them apostles, and sons of God! The John 20:22 spirit wasn’t enough, or they wouldn’t have needed this!
WATER, WIND, AND FIRE
Said simply, the soul is pictured by things which burn; fruits like olives and almonds which give oil; things which create fire. Hence why God’s eyes are on fire; because eyes picture the soul (Revelation 1:14), so a flaming soul would be a soul full of wisdom and power (Proverbs 21:20).
The spirit is pictured by things containing air; wine, bread, wind; for wine, obviously, is a spirit – called so to this day due to the fact that it generates large amounts of “air” while fermenting. Wine also is red, and is in a Biblically-approved sense “the blood of the grape” (Deuteronomy 32:14). Thus baptism in wine is baptism in the spirit of Jesus.
Finally, the flesh is pictured by things containing water. Thus, the water baptism pictures, well, living water; ergo, baptism pictures immersion in people who have life in themselves (1 Corinthians 15:22, Romans 6:11), as opposed to the dead waters in Revelation 17:15. People in whom is the spirit! For where are two people gathered together in a single name, in the name of Jesus… if not in a HOUSE? (Matthew 18:20).
So the almond tree, which we’ve connected in the past to the olive tree, is an excellent source of oil; oil which is the source of all FLAME in the temple (Exodus 27:20). Thus, baptism in fire is, quite literally, a baptism in oil that has been turned into spirit!
For is fire not superheated, highly energetic… air? Thus, a powerful spirit? So what better symbol could there be of the spirit of POWER? I’ve said before that fire baptism is not something Protestants should want; and I meant it, for what does fire do? It consumes the flesh.
No, that’s not quite accurate… it turns flesh into smoke… turning carnal beasts into spirit beings! And isn’t that something we are all trying to accomplish in ourselves? But the problem with fire is that it does so violently, mercilessly, and irreversibly.
The apostles had been baptized by John in water; Jesus had breathed upon them, and baptized them with His spirit; and now Jesus’ spirit was bringing them a baptism of fire. Just as John had said would happen in Matthew 3:11.
But John went on to say that the fire would destroy anything that wasn’t holy ( Matthew 3:12). Which is why they had to be PREPARED so thoroughly to receive it! For what does a burning bowl of oil look like, if not a… lake of fire? (Revelation 21:8).
Hence we have to go through Moses and the prophets/apostles before we receive either of these spirits. Because before we are put into the flames of this purifying fire, this most aggressive of baptisms, we must be prepared! (Numbers 31:23-24). If you haven’t been purified by the water, and by the wind, inside and out, you will not survive the fire.
FAILED BAPTISMS
If the fire lights upon you and the smoke from that flesh is not a sweet savor, God just destroys it outright (Numbers 26:61). Which is exactly what you would do in your own barbecue; rather than risk eating foul flesh, rather than risk the food poisoning of making that evil stink a part of your flesh, you simply burn it up, and destroy it (Ezekiel 28:17-19).
This is what happens when people are baptized by a baptism they are not ready for (Job 30:19). Reading this verse, you see three separate things, which when you think about it, clearly picture three failed baptisms.
Mire is made by water when it encounters too much dirt for the water to clean; so before you are baptized in water, you should scrape off at least some of your dirt, leaving it behind through circumcision, lest there be to much for the ekklesia to wash off, and they themselves become dirtied by it.
Dust is made by wind that blows over land with too little water; thus, before you are baptized in Jesus’ spirit, make sure you’ve absorbed enough water from your baptism in the ekklesia that the wind won’t “dry your bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
Finally, ashes are made by fire that encounters fuel with too little oil in it… for oil leaves behind no ash! And absolutely before you are baptized in the Father’s spirit… you should be very certain you are full of oil; which is to say, a soul full of wisdom and good works (Matthew 25:1-13).
For a candle will never burn down, as long as its oil is replenished constantly! (Zechariah 4:11-12). As long as there is plenty of oil to burn, the fire will never touch the candleholder! So if there is plenty of oil in your head/soul, the fire will not burn you all the way down to the ground!
Which is why you must be fruitful to every good work, so as to not be consumed by the Father’s fire (Colossians 1:10). You must live your life with your oil constantly topped off with new wisdom and fruits of the spirit! (Ephesians 5:8-14).
Thus making yourselves children of light, and capable of WALKING IN THE LIGHT. The light which Jesus shall give you –which is, of course, the spirit of God.
A RISKY WAY
In Ephesians 1:15-18, Paul said he asked God continually for the Ephesians to receive the holy spirit of the Father. And yet since Paul, of all people, knew that the spirit could be conveyed through laying on of hands… you gotta ask… why didn’t he just… you know… do that? Because he had already done it to 12 of these same Ephesians! Why not do it to the rest?
If this was so important to Paul, nay, if it was so important for them, that the Ephesians have the Father’s spirit… why not just lay hands on them and force God to give them His spirit? Because that’s not the safest way to receive the spirit! It works, but it’s risky.
God didn’t give the holy spirit to Moses’ elders on Sinai (Exodus 24:11), and a year later they still hadn’t received it (Numbers 11:16-17). And in spite of the holy spirit being given to the 70, none of them were sufficiently changed by that spirit to survive the curse in Numbers 14!
The only ones who survived it were the two who already had it without Moses having to ask (Numbers 14:24, Numbers 27:18)! The Lord had ALREADY given Caleb and Joshua God’s spirit, before Moses asked! Because they were the only ones the Lord actually liked (Numbers 32:11-12). They were the only ones God was “persuaded better things of” (Hebrews 6:9).
But because Moses needed help so badly, God gave it to them for his sake. But it would have been far better for them to have waited for it to arrive properly – even if it never did. Because the more you know about God, the harder it is to be forgiven (Hebrews 6:4-8). And the laying on of hands exists to create elders out of those who are not quite worthy by giving them the holy spirit for your OWN sake – not theirs.
That verse speaks of the Earth which drinks in rain. Because the Earth receives the spirit, the water from God gladly. But if that Earth then brings forth thorns, the Earth is cursed. Which is why God didn’t just dump His spirit on the Israelites… because they were FULL of thornbush seeds (Hebrews 12:15).
DEATH BY FIRE
As we’ve said many times, the whole nation of Israel could have had God’s spirit, but they didn’t receive it because of a lack of faith (Hebrews 4:1-6); without faith it’s impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6); therefore, without faith it’s impossible to have the holy spirit! (Acts 5:32).
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17-21). And Israel DID KNOW! They had seen the mighty works, and had plenty of reasons to believe; but still they feared, and thus they could not become elders (Titus 1:7-9).
So what would have happened if Moses had forced the Israelites to be baptized in the cloud – forced them to be immersed in the spirit of God the Father, who spoke from Sinai in Exodus 20:1? Exodus 19:11-24 gives us the answer… it wasn’t safe for them to receive the holy spirit too early! (Hebrews 12:18-25).
And this is the same thing that would have happened to the Ephesians, had Paul laid hands on them en masse! Because what happens when you force truth into something that isn’t sufficiently circumcised? Matthew 9:16-17.
Doing this too soon creates grave risks for those who are burdened with it (2 Timothy 1:6). And it was a burden for Timothy, too… because warnings like these were not necessary for Caleb, or David (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Paul took a chance on Timothy, and had to remind him to make sure he stayed the course (1 Timothy 4:14-16). Probably he did; but how many others didn’t? (2 Timothy 4:9-11, 16, and particularly 2 Timothy 4:5). Timothy had to “make full PROOF of his ministry”.
So Paul commanded Timothy not to give the spirit to other elders until he was confident the person wouldn’t be harmed by it (1 Timothy 5:21-25). Because the spirit of God is like a flame of fire (Hebrews 12:29), and fire consumes the adversaries (Hebrews 10:27, Psalms 97:3).
And yet to be an elder they must first survive that fire! Which is why the evangelists in Acts 6 were specifically required to have both spirits before the hands were laid on them; the holy spirit of Jesus AND the Father’s spirit of wisdom (Acts 6:3,10).
The laying on of hands didn’t have to convey either spirit to these men, it simply confirmed to all present that these men had God’s spirit, and thus were brethren of the apostles – survivors of the flame of the Father’s presence.
Which is why, when the disciples asked to be rulers, Jesus took that to mean to be baptized in the Father’s spirit, as He was (Mark 10:35-40). Which is why a parallel version specifically connects this baptism to fire (Luke 12:49-50), fire which was “straightening” Him.
Jesus warned them that this baptism was no easy thing to handle; but went on to say that, as elders, it was something they would have to do eventually (Mark 10:41-45). And they could, and would do it… but Jesus didn’t do it to them that day because they had a lot of growing up to do first.
Hence why Paul expressed his desire for the Galatians to receive God’s spirit, knowing that without it they would not have salvation… but for their own safety dare not pressure it upon them too soon by laying hands on them! (1 Timothy 3:6-10).
So he left it up to God to give when He thought them ready! Because until a person has been made into a friend of God by successive baptisms, they cannot not survive the fire!
FLAMING SWORDS
Most people read 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8 and conclude, forgivably enough, that there is only one holy spirit. But if you read the context, that’s the opposite of the point Paul was making; 1 Corinthians 12:3 specifically contrasts the spirit of God and the holy spirit, thus, the spirit of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:5,6 differentiate between the Lord’s servants (the apostles, elders, and so on), whose job it is to break our hearts and spirits, and God’s work in us which leads our souls to become like His. 1 Corinthians 12:11-13 speak of the “work” of the Father who baptizes us into the body of Christ (John 6:44-45).
Paul’s emphasis throughout was that it is the spirit of GOD, the spirit of the FATHER, who does all these things through Jesus’ spirit. For Jesus’ spirit can only make you dead; it cannot make you alive (Romans 8:9-11).
Which is why the baptism of fire was brought BY the wind (Acts 2:1-4). For even after the washing with water and of air, our access to this fire is only through the spirit of Christ (Ephesians 2:18). As long as we are flesh, we cannot dwell “in the light unto which no man can approach” (1 Timothy 6:16, Exodus 33:20).
And so these baptisms, and all of these houses, are both for our preparation and our protection – for each of these baptisms are both doors and walls, both cornerstones and stumbling blocks. Both a way to keep sinners out, and a path to lead the righteous in. Flaming swords to protect the way to the tree of life.
God knew that these foolish men would create a lot of problems; yet they’re generally opposed to sin, and while they’re certainly not immune to lust, they are quite immune to your lusts, and therefore able to judge your heart and spirit with something approaching objectivity.
So the foolishness of preaching keeps selfish people from hurting each other too much, while giving everyone a chance, however slim, to advance; and without an enormous amount of micromanagement, that’s the best God can expect.
With more attention, with better parent-figures on the job, God could save many more. But right now, God has very few servants He can count on. Even the angels are not pure in His sight (Job 25:5). That’s why He needs you!
Because until He DOES have 144,000 holy spirits who are made in His image and likeness, He can’t possibly get the rest of the world saved; yes, any individual person, were they given His full attention, could possibly (probably?) be saved.
But why devote such effort to one person, when there are others who are much easier to teach? Leave the brute work of training such beasts for the Churches, for now; then, if they outgrow that, let the servants of God do it –both human and angelic (Revelation 22:9).
Then, if and when they outgrow them, God gladly takes a more direct interest. Meanwhile, whoever dies today due to the inept ministration of a blind guide who might have been saved… well, that’s WHY there’s a second resurrection! (1 Timothy 2:4). Because God only wants the best and brightest in the first resurrection.
If that seems calloused, ask yourself: as a man, you create and expend trillions of potential children in a lifetime. As a woman, you are born with millions of potential children. So how often do you lament your gajillions of unconceived offspring? Then you’ve been #goldenruled.
Academically, you might wish to have more, 10, 20, 500 children in your house… but you just don’t have the time, the resources, and the space to give each of them life. Maybe though, one day, when you had enough servants, houses, and older children to help raise them… right? For then you’d have the time to conceive more abundantly.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
It may seem like throughout all this process God has stayed aloof, a Father with a very hands-off approach to raising His children; but nothing could be further from the truth (John 6:44-45). Indeed, there is nothing you ever learned that God wasn’t involved in teaching you (James 1:16-18).
Which you can see in the one verse for this lesson, Isaiah 42:22-24; the Lord’s children were robbed and spoiled by their preachers, are snared in pits, hid in prison houses –a better description of Churches doesn’t exist. But among those Churches, God seeks those who will listen, and hear –who will realize that this is because they would not walk in His ways, or obey His law.
Isaiah 43:1 continues the thought, showing how they were to be redeemed from that bondage to Egypt. Who is speaking here? Pay very close attention to verses like this, because God doesn’t stutter: The LORD that created Jacob, and the One who created Israel. And who created Israel? (Genesis 32:28). Israel was created by God, for it was He who called Israel BY NAME!
And God said, while that person was still in Egypt “thou art mine”, and circumcised him out of Satan’s house. And then caused that person to pass through the waters of baptism into the house of the ekklesia to be the son of a father-figure (Isaiah 43:2), and God was with him there.
And when he outgrew that father, he was passed along to the next father-figure, Jesus; for the river of Jordan means “descending”, thus, being baptized in the spirit of Him that came down from heaven. And it was God who stopped the river for him so that death would not prevail over him;
And finally, when he was baptized in the Father’s spirit, joining God’s own house as His own son, he shall not be burned by it –for there will, by that point, be nothing flammable left in him, it all having been burned away, bit by bit, by the fiery trials along the path to this point.
But at no step in this process was the Father ever less than fully invested in our growth; but for our own sake, BECAUSE He is a flame of fire, He kept us at arm’s length. He left us to the tutelage of various calibers of men to bind us, change us, wash us;
And when they were done, He led us to His own Son to purify whatever the men missed; all so that we could be taught not to “kindle” His fury –for His fury is a flaming fire that consumes the adversary (Numbers 11:1). And He doesn’t want to be our adversary, but our Father.
And finally, continue reading in Isaiah 43:3-10. Do I need to sum it up? To explain that these “witnesses who justify thee” are these houses, these baptisms? That the “men given for thee” are the elders who give of their own lives to save yours?
Or that you yourself are deaf and blind, but through this process you will develop eyes and ears? For thus is “every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him”.
Said differently (and respectively)… Everyone that was called out of Egypt (circumcised); created a new person in Christ (baptized in water); formed into the image of God by baptism in Jesus’ spirit; and made in the likeness of God by the fire of God’s spirit.
So it’s really just Genesis 1:26 all over again.