Manuscript Releases, vol. 6 [Nos. 347-418]

Baptism

By baptism you have taken upon you a solemn pledge. In the name and presence of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, you have solemnly covenanted to be the Lord's. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” I think that if we all understood the sacred ceremony, we should see much more in it than we now discern. 6MR 25.3

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” 6MR 26.1

This Scripture is given for the instruction of every soul, who receives baptism.—Letter 125, 1900, pp. 2, 3. (To Brother and Sister Iram James, August 24, 1900.) 6MR 26.2

As a Christian submits to the solemn rite of baptism, the three highest powers in the universe,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,—place their approval on his act, pledging themselves to exert their power in his behalf as he strives to honor God. He is buried in the likeness of Christ's death, and is raised in the likeness of His resurrection. He went down into the grave, but He rose from the dead, proclaiming over the rent sepulcher, “I am the resurrection and the life.”—Letter 53, 1904, p. 6. (To Brother Prescott, January 26, 1904.) 6MR 26.3

The rite of baptism is administered in the name of the Father, and of Son, and of the Holy Ghost. These three great powers of heaven pledge themselves to be the efficiency of all who submit to this ordinance, and who faithfully keep the vow they then make. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” It is here that the great danger comes in. A worldly spirit and worldly practices have taken the place that Christ should have in the life. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.... Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” 6MR 27.1

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.... Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” 6MR 27.2

God has opened the way for us to receive help from the source of all power. He has accepted his people in the beloved. Those who thus unite with the church by baptism are sealed as men and women who have been born again, of water and of the Spirit. They have entered upon a new life. They are to be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world through lust. They are to keep themselves free from every dishonest practice. Their example is to be a continual witness to the power of heavenly grace. The spirit of truth is to control them. 6MR 28.1

We are to be consecrated channels, through which the heavenly life is to flow to others. The Holy Spirit is to animate and pervade the whole church, purifying and cementing hearts. Those who have been buried with Christ in baptism are to rise to newness of life, giving a living representation of the life of Christ. The commission has been given to us. Upon us is laid a sacred charge. Go then, Christ says to them. Make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. “And, lo,” he declares, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” You are dedicated to the work of making known the gospel of salvation. Heaven's perfection is to be your power. As God's followers, by converted lives, make known the power of his grace. A clear distinction is drawn between “him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”—Manuscript 78, 1905, 3-5. (“A Message to Believers,” undated.) 6MR 28.2

“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.” We are ordained unto God to bear fruit. Was this not our experience when we were led down into the water and baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? What did that mean?—It meant that the three great powers in heaven were pledged to keep us so long as we remain one with Christ, united to the vine.—Manuscript 37, 1908, 6. (“Abiding in Christ,” Sermon, March 10, 1908.) 6MR 29.1

Christ Himself was baptized by John. When John would forbid him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” Jesus replied, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” 6MR 29.2

Baptism is a most solemn ceremony. When men and women, truly converted, are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, these three representatives of heavenly authority behold the scene, and accept the vows made by human agents to walk henceforth in newness of life. In taking the baptismal vows, you have united with the highest powers in the heavenly courts, to live a life patterned after the life of Christ. I praise the Lord with my whole soul that you have taken this step. [Romans 6:3, 4, quoted.] 6MR 29.3

Christ will fulfil every promise that He has made in His word. Wonderful is His work in behalf of fallen man. For those who endeavor to follow in His footsteps, He molds the character after the divine similitude. What privileges and blessings are ours, as children of the heavenly King! In our Christian experience as children of God, we are to be workers together with Christ, our lives fashioned after His life. And if we bear His likeness, we shall represent Him before the world.”—Letter 174, 1909, pp. 1, 2. (To Sister Rumbough, December 21, 1909.) 6MR 29.4