Study on the Doctrine of Immersion (Baptism)

Part 1It will behoove us to begin with the etymology of the word and words directly associated with baptism before we trace its origins and first appearance. It is important for us to recognize that the meaning and purpose of this subject in the New Testament (Messianic Writings) is born in the Old Testament (Tanakh). The English word 'baptize' comes from the Greek word baptizo. This word, in turn, comes from the Hebrew taval. 

This parent verbal root is formed by a tet, bet, lamed. The pictographic meaning here is to be surrounded by the leader of the house. It's meaning in our context and use is to dip or to plunge into water, i.e., to surround or immerse something into water. It's cognate (family) meaning is the act of pressing down. This same word is used to describe a woman dyeing a linen garment. Tevilah is the act of dipping white linen into colorful dyes to change their color. The Greek word baptizo maintains this same definition, for it, too, means to dip, plunge or immerse. There are two other Hebrew words from which we get baptizo, and there is one other Greek word that the Hebrew word taval is translated. We will cover these interesting words later.

The first occurrence of a word always lays the foundation for it's literal and symbolic use. The first appearance of the word taval translated into baptizo is in Sh'mot (Exodus) 12:22:“Take a bunch of hyssop leaves and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame. Then, none of you is to go out the door of his house until morning.”

Here, this word is directly associated with the 'pressing down' of the hyssop into the bowl containing the blood of the Passover lamb. The first occurrence is found

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in the immersion into the blood of the lamb rather than the oft cited water. Blood outside of the body represents death; this is why our Redeemer shed His blood for us. The partakers of the Passover had their doors marked with blood (the representation of death), so when Yahveh came through, He passed over the houses with the blood applied. In other words, Yahveh could not smite what was already dead, because death had already been “applied” through the immersion of the hyssop leaf in to the blood. Interestingly, hyssop is known for its cleansing property. This is the background to Sh’aul's (Apostle Paul) remarks in Romans 6:1-8:

“So then, are we to say, "Let's keep on sinning, so that there can be more grace"?  Heaven forbid! How can we, who have died to sin, still live in it?  Don't you know that those of us who have been immersed into the Messiah Yeshua have been immersed into his death?  Through immersion into his death we were buried with him; so that just as, through the glory of the Father, the Messiah was raised from the dead, likewise we too might live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  We know that our old self was put to death on the execution-stake with him, so that the entire body of our sinful propensities might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.  For someone who has died has been cleared from sin.  Now since we died with the Messiah, we trust that we will also live with him.”

Can you see how many times immersion (baptism) is associated with death? The picture Elohim is drawing from the beginning is that when the end comes and judgment falls, those who are already judged (dead in Messiah) will be passed over. You cannot kill that which is already dead. The death pictured here is the old man of sin; this is pictured by the blood on the doorposts. You and I are immersed in His blood, which represents His death for us. This is our first occurrence of the Hebrew word for baptism in the Tanakh, but this is not the first occurrence of a baptism. The place in which a tevilah was to take place was called a mikvah. This word comes from the root qavah, which means to gather together for a purpose. Hebrew words that are associated with righteousness and holiness often share an etymological background of oneness, unity and gathering into one. Most Hebrew words that are associated with

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unrighteousness and evil all share an etymological background of scattering, breaking, mixing and dividing. The word for a baptismal is no exception. The first occurrence of a baptizing is actually in the very beginning.

Again, baptism is not a ‘New Testament’ doctrine. As a matter of fact, it is one of the very oldest teachings in the Scriptures. The idea of immersing and or cleansing with or in water is old because ALL matter is cleansed in water in the beginning. Water is in the very, very beginning and directly associated with the Spirit of Elohim. B'resheit (Genesis) 1:2“The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.”The first action of Elohim is to move upon the face of the waters. This is because all of Elohim's creation will be first immersed in water. Two entities are brought forth first in the Word of Elohim. Light and water, both of which are still being researched as to their essence, purpose and possibilities. The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and water are used consistently all through scripture as figures, one of another.

Yesha'yahu (Isaiah) 12:3 “Then you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.”Yesha'yahu 44:3“For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, my blessing on your offspring.”Yesha'yahu 55:10-11 “For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out from my mouth - it will not return to me unfulfilled; but it will accomplish what I intend, and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.”Yochanan (John) 7:37-38“Now on the last day of the festival, Hoshana Rabbah, Yeshua stood and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking!  Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!”

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Hitgalut (Revelation) 22:17“The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' Let anyone who hears say, 'Come!' And let anyone who is thirsty come - let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.”

These are but a handful of examples, but enough for us to recognize that the pattern placed by Elohim has the Spirit of Elohim moving first. What Elohim will do for man, He does for the creation first. In a foreshadowing of a future restored fallen creation, Elohim first moves on the face of the waters (B'resheit 1:2). This is because the earth will be cleansed by the waters a little later. He then brings forth light (1:3). Then He cleanses the earth with water (1:6-10). After that, the earth brings forth fruit (1:11-13). Then the creation is a witness through the sun, moon, and stars (1:14-19), and the result is life (1:20-27).

In verses nine and ten of B'resheit we have the earth baptized first. All the material from where life will come, is first immersed and then brought up out of the water.

B’resheit 1:9-10“God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear," and that is how it was.  God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.”

Apparently, the land was still underneath the waters a result of the fall of HaSatan in the beginning. AFTER the Spirit of Elohim moves on the face of the waters, we have the earth coming up out of the waters. The phrase 'gathering together' in verse ten is the word ul’mikvah. This Hebrew word is the from the word mikvah, which is the Hebrew word for baptismal, or the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek baptizo. It means a place of gathering. The Creator begins by immersing and cleansing the earth within which all plants, animals and people come. The cleansing power of water still fascinates man to this day. Science still does not fully comprehend its abilities. The following is a quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica: "Although it's formula (H2O) seems simple, water

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exhibits very complex chemical physical properties that are incompletely understood."

One of the more profound properties of water is its ability to dissolve so many other substances. Water is the principle substance in all living things, and is a universal solvent; only when we stand before our Creator and He reveals what water is really all about, will we fully realize the enormity of it. Every law and every commandment of Elohim has a physical and a spiritual purpose and application. All things brought forth from the earth are cleansed and declared very good (tov) by the Master. Not only good, but complete, lacking nothing! We have our pattern of baptism displayed in the gathering together of the waters in B’resheit 1:10, AFTER the bringing forth of light. This will be the pattern for man as well.

As we study the subject of immersion, we will see that there are many kinds of baptisms in scripture. There is the full immersion pattern established in the creation, in the beginning; there is a purpose of sprinkling clean water; there is baptism of the Holy Spirit, fire; and repentance, for example, all of which we will cover in this doctrinal position statement.

Let’s continue our discussion of the mikvah. This word is used to describe what is commonly called a baptismal, is taken from the Hebrew word qavah. This word is formed by a qof, vav, and het. Its etymological meaning is to gather together toward a purpose or goal; its various uses in scripture are quite intriguing.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:36“… although a spring or cistern for collecting water remains clean. But anyone who touches one of their carcasses will become unclean.” Collecting in this usage is in the sense of gathering a sufficient volume, as in plenty.'Ezra 10:2Sh'khanyah the son of Yechi'el, one of the descendants of 'Eilam, spoke up and said to 'Ezra, "We have acted treacherously toward our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra'el.

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Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 14:8“You, hope of Isra'el, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night?”Yirmeyahu 17:13 “Hope of Isra'el, ADONAI! All who abandon you will be ashamed, those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust, because they have abandoned ADONAI, the source of living water.”Now, perhaps the most revealing appearance of this word and its first use as an abstract term from B’resheit 49:18: “I wait for your deliverance, ADONAI.”

Right in the middle of Ya'kov's (Israel) prophecy over his twelve sons, he stops and makes this statement. As you can see, the verbal root of the word for the place of immersion is also the verbal root of the word for hope and waiting. Hope and wait for what? Restoration! The very first appearance of immersion occurred with the creation in the beginning, as we have already addressed. What happens to the earth and creation is a pattern for what Yahveh will do with His people. Perhaps the adversary (HaSatan) fell from his exalted position as a cherub named Lucifer (Yechezk'el (Ezekiel) 28:14; Higalut 12:9; II Corinthians 11:14), and that he was the cause of the tohu and bohu of B’resheit 1:2 (formless and empty)?

Other scholars would tell you that the process of Genesis, chapter one is the foreshadowing of the natural birthing process. Regardless, the Creator then moved over the face of the waters to create and restore the creation in the same way He creates and restores mankind. Now we add to this the fact that when you begin to absorb the dynamics of the Hebrew language you begin to observe a pattern of like kind in many of the Hebrew words that are associated with things that are wholesome and positive, and likewise a pattern of like kind in the words that are associated with evil, wickedness and destruction. In other words, as these words are traced out, we find that terms associated with righteousness all share a common etymological root meaning of bringing things into oneness or echad. 

Likewise, words and terms that are generally associated with corruption, confusion and chaos also share common etymological meanings of breaking or scattering. When the formless, confused and empty earth is immersed in the

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waters, it emerges as a cleansed creation. No longer formless and void but whole and complete, the earth awaits, as we do, a new body. This process will also be seen in the restoration of Adam and in the restoration of the body of Messiah or Israel, His assembly (Greek: ekklesia) from the beginning.In Romans chapter eight we have a continuing revelation of this truth that Elohim patterns the salvation and deliverance of man in the creation.

Romans 8:18-25 I don't think the sufferings we are going through now are even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us in the future.  The creation waits eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed; for the creation was made subject to frustration - not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it. But it was given a reliable hope that it too would be set free from its bondage to decay and would enjoy the freedom accompanying the glory that God's children will have. We know that until now, the whole creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; and not only it, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons - that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free.  It was in this hope that we were saved. But if we see what we hope for, it isn't hope - after all, who hopes for what he already sees?  But if we continue hoping for something we don't see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance.

Notice that the creation 'waits' for the manifestation of the sons of Elohim. The word translated as waits is from the Greek word ekdechomai. This word is translated in the Tanakh from several Hebrew words of which all are very provocative, keeping in mind that our subject is baptism - which in it's root means to wait or to hope and it's verbal root means to gather together for a purpose. The three Hebrew words are qavatz, bachar, and qatzar. These words are generally translated in the Tanakh as to gather, chosen and harvest. Gee, you mean to be immersed, to wait, to hope, to gather, a harvest, and the chosen are all connected some how? Yes! Not only connected, but patterned by the natural things from the beginning.

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The next word we come to in our Romans text is the word hope in verse 20. It comes from the Greek word elpis. This is the common Greek word for hope and also comes from the Hebrew root qavah. This word is translated specifically from the Hebrew word tiqvah, which you may recognize as the basis for the title of the Israeli nation anthem, HaTikvah or The Hope. This word in Romans 8:20 is translated many times in the Tanakh from the Hebrew word for trust, batach. It is as if the Master is telling us that the creation, having already been immersed, is waiting and trusting in its new body as well as we are. The big difference being that the creation trusts in its Creator naturally, instinctively, and without hesitation, whereas humanity is created with the ability to say no to the Master and choose not to hope or wait.In this section of scripture Sha’ul takes us back to the creation, to the earth immersed in the waters in the beginning. Sha’ul teaches us that the creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of Elohim as we all wait for our new bodies. In the end, we will be resurrected with our new bodies as a new heaven and earth emerge with theirs. Notice how many times the words hope and wait are used here.

Elohim's desire from the very beginning has been to fill His house (tent) with His people, His family. This truth is portrayed in the language through the very first letter of scripture. This first letter is a bet, which is the Hebrew letter for the 'house'. This letter is enlarged and written demonstratively bigger than the other letters. This expresses that Elohim's word not only begins with His house, but His house is a big house. All those who will dwell in this house are His family, made up of His people. Those who belong in His house are those who have been cleansed, are expressing His light and producing His fruit, because they have inherited His seed. From the beginning, there is only one house and one seed. The process that one goes through to enter His house is first expressed in the creation in the beginning.

The creation is first cleansed by the Spirit of Elohim (B'resheit 1:2), then it receives the light (B'resheit 1:3), followed by the immersion and rising from the waters (B'resheit 1:10). All this is followed by the creation's ability to be a witness (B'resheit 1:14-18)

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Elohim begins this process through His Spirit in man as well. The creation could not receive that light until the Spirit of Elohim redeemed it through His power first in the very bowels of the creation, and so it is for man as well. Man is first immersed by the Spirit of Elohim from within. This is the one baptism that Sha’ul refers to in Ephesians 4. The etymological background of baptism is ‘to gather’. Not only to gather, but to gather into one. It is the Word of Elohim that ultimately does the gathering. It is the Word of Elohim that regenerates us. The Spirit of Elohim is an idiomatic term used to express the Word of Elohim in demonstration and action. In the same way that the words Yeshua, Messiah, Son of Elohim and Emmanuel are used to express the Word in redemption, deliverance and salvation. Elohim is echad (One); Yeshua is Elohim in the flesh; the Ruach is the unseen divine influence, power and wisdom of Elohim. In the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew by Samson Raphael Hirsch the word davar means to 'gather into one'. It is the Hebrew word used to express the gathering of the thoughts, desires, motivations into a message, decree or proclamation, and the will of Elohim into one to produce all of creation. It is translated into Greek as logos. Everything, if you will, boils down to the Word, and it is the Word that gathers all that is holy into His house. The Word of Elohim must first quicken and cleanse.Yochanan 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life,”Mizmor 119:9How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.Mizmor 119:50 In my distress my comfort is this: that your promise gives me life.Ephesians 5:26"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," “in order to set it apart for God, making it clean through immersion in the mikveh, so to speak,”Ephesians 1:13“Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh”

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Yochanan 15:3"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." The CJB translations uses the word ‘pruned’ instead of clean – indicating that one can produce fruit, having been pruned.The Word of Elohim will cleanse us, produces light in us, gathers us together and causes us to produce fruit, so that we may be a witness unto all the creation. His Word is His seed. (Luke 8:11, Galatians 3:16) The nature of His Word is to gather into one all that are His. When we repent and choose to follow the Elohim of Abraham, Yitzchak and Ya‘aqov, we are first immersed into Him by His Spirit. As sons of Elohim we are gathered unto Him, this same pattern will be accomplished in His body as well. It will be His assembly, His people, His Israel. But His people are scattered throughout the earth. They are now dispersed in the sea of humanity, scattered to the west. But Elohim will send for fishers to fish for them.

Yirmeyahu 16:16 "'Look,' says ADONAI, 'I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks.”But then Elohim will gather them. The Hebrew word used here is qavatz.Mizmor (Psalm) 102:22“when peoples and kingdoms have been gathered together to serve ADONAI.”Yesha'yahu 40:11“He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering his lambs with his arm, carrying them against his chest, gently leading the mother sheep."Yesha'yahu 43:5“Don't be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east, and I will gather you from the west;”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:1-2That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake; but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the crowd stood on the shore.

Can you see the familiar components of the gathering of the people of Elohim QaVatz, with the gathering together of the waters in B'reshiyt 1:10? Yahveh uses the waters to express the gathering together of His creation, His

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people, and His body. The creation was made perfect and complete, it fell into emptiness, then Elohim restored it. Adam is made perfect and complete, he falls, and then Elohim restores Him. His people Israel are made complete, they fall (divided) and Elohim is restoring them as we speak. All who are part of this one house, one body and one seed, tribes of Y’hudah and Ephrayim, and all those grafted into the covenant through faith in Yeshua, are redeemed by first being washed in the water of His Word. This is the means by which we enter into the everlasting Messianic Covenant. The fruit of this immersion is that we bring forth light, then we immerse ourselves into the waters of baptism. In other words, Elohim Himself has to carry out the baptism into His body, house and seed. The result of this baptism will be our immersion into water. Water baptism is the fruit of our immersion into the Word of Elohim. Elohim first has to cleanse the Most Holy Place (heart) in our tabernacle. Afterward, He moves to the Holy place (mind) wherein stands the Menorah, the great light. Then He moves to the court (body) where we wash ourselves. Elohim washes us from the inside out.

Part II: A look at the different baptisms in the Tanakh

Part III: A look at the different baptisms in the Messianic Writings

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Doctrine of Immersion (Baptism) Part 2In the beginning Yahveh cleansed the earth and all that is contained within. Elohim begins with a washed and cleansed world. He cleansed that which is natural first, and drew a picture for all mankind to see so that man would be able to comprehend what Elohim does to that part of us that is unseen, that which is eternal.

II Corinthians 4:18 “We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.”The law of like kind producing like kind tells us that only that which is eternal and unseen can bear that which is eternal and unseen. Regenerating our spirit can only be accomplished by the Spirit of Elohim. The area of the mind and body is where we come in; now that which is eternal has been cleansed, that which is temporal can respond to that change.

I Corinthians 2:11-12 “For who knows the inner workings of a person except the person's own spirit inside him? So too no one knows the inner workings of God except God's Spirit.  Now we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God, so that we might understand the things God has so freely given us.”One of the things that make man unique from animals and rocks is that man has a 'spirit'. According to Sha’ul the 'spirit of man' is given so that man might know the things Elohim has given man. Once again, like kind begets like kind. The spirit of man gives man the unique opportunity to be able to invent, to plan, to ponder, to design and put things in order, such as to purposely travel across town to rescue someone. The Spirit of Elohim however, is given so that the man who receives Him can know the things of Elohim. This 'Spirit' becomes one with the spirit of man, the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. (I Corinthians 6:17). Only the Spirit of Elohim can wash and cleanse the spirit of man so that man might know Him. This is a cleansing baptism only Elohim can perform.

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However, Elohim's children are designed like the tabernacle in the wilderness. Elohim begins with the ark in the Most Holy Place and then moves toward the outer court, or that part of the tabernacle which is visible. The outer court, or our flesh, is designed to reflect the essence of that which is unseen. Every time we wash ourselves outwardly, we are to be reminded of what our Savior has accomplished in our spirit (inwardly) by His Spirit, as well as be a testimony of obedience to the commandment from Yahveh.Vayikra 8:5-6Moshe said to the community, "This is what ADONAI has ordered to be done."  Moshe brought Aharon and his sons, washed them with water,Mattityahu 3:14-15 But Yochanan tried to stop him. "You are coming to me? I ought to be immersed by you!" However, Yeshua answered him, "Let it be this way now, because we should do everything righteousness requires." Then Yochanan let him.What Elohim has done in us, which only He could do, is present in the seed of the woman described in Genesis, chapter three. That seed, also known as the good seed, is what was planted in our hearts in the process of being born again (or born from above); that is why the Word of Elohim has to begin in our hearts. It has never begun anywhere else. ALL things that come forth from a believer from that point on are released from the heart. The heart contains the seed and then we produce fruit. When we have little fruit or no fruit, it is a matter of disobedience. Here are a few examples of the fact that Elohim has ALWAYS begun with the cleansing of the heart.

Sh'mot 25:2"Tell the people of Isra'el to take up a collection for me - accept a contribution from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give.”Sh'mot 28:29Aharon will carry the names of the sons of Isra'el on the breastplate for judging, over his heart, when he enters the Holy Place, as a continual reminder before Yahveh.”D'varim 4:29 However, from there you will seek Yahveh your God; and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and being.D'varim 6:5-6

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and you are to love Yahveh your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart;

According to the parable of the sower, which is the most important parable to understand according to Yeshua’s words in the Gospel of Mark, the fruit you produce is the evidence of what has taken place in the heart first. The Elohim of Avraham, through His omniscience, understood the importance of our immersion in water in the natural. Elohim has designed the natural and spiritual laws and ordinances to play a symbiotic role in the kingdom. The spiritual cannot have completed purpose or expression without the natural and vice versa. So, concerning whether water baptism is a “requirement” for salvation or not, both sides of the controversy skirt the whole purpose of this cleansing. Immersion in water is a commandment that is self-evident. When something is wrong on the inside, it manifests itself on the outside (flesh). We often refer to that as the soul (mind, will and emotions) “being out of peace.” Elohim is simply showing us a picture of this; Elohim shows us this in nature in many ways, one being the reproduction of like kind by any given seed. Putting a tomato seed in the ground produces a plant which bears tomatoes; it will not produce cucumbers. The intrinsic difference between you and me, and a tomato plant, is that we get to choose whether we produce good fruit or not. A tomato plant, given soil, water and light, will give good fruit as long as the conditions are right for it to flourish, but the plant itself does not control the conditions. The point is that the tomato plant does not have a choice; it either flourishes or dies because conditions are right. Human beings, on the other hand… must take responsibility for the conditions in which His seed is planted and nurtured.The natural activity of washing ourselves to represent what He has done in the unseen is pretty clever and insightful. Elohim in His mercy chose a simple, almost everyday activity to show forth what He has done for us. Why would someone NOT want to be baptized? Is it too much to handle? Is it just too bizarre? Our Father has painted a beautiful yet simple picture of His rescue of mankind. A picture that began in B'resheit chapter one has remained constant throughout the Scriptures. Immersion into the natural flowing waters is not a Christian thing, it is a Elohim thing!

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Thus far, I hope to have reasonably established that Elohim delivers us from the inside out, that He starts with the heart, changes our mind, and then our bodies respond. This spiritual reality is seen in the design of nature as well. All living things are produced and reproduced by a seed, and that seed is planted first in the 'heart' of all living things. So it is with Elohim's children.

What are we being delivered from? Hebrew has several other words for sin beyond chata, each with its own specific meaning. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word aveira means "transgression". And the word avone, or "iniquity", means a sin done out of moral failing. The word most commonly translated simply as "sin", chata, literally means "to go astray." Just as rightly applying Torah, halakah, provides the proper "way" (or path) to live, sin involves straying from that path.

There are many 'baptisms' (Ivrim 6:1-2). The Hebrew uses several words to employ the idea of being immersed, washed, cleansed or purified with or in water. Four of the more common words associated with water are rachats, kavas, tahar, and chata'. Rachats means to thoroughly wash, kavas means to wash by compressing, tahar means to free from foreign matter, and chata' means to remove from sin. You may notice that this word is the root of the word for sin (chata) and sin offering (korban chatta'at).

Used in this form it speaks of removing from sin.Vayikra 14:52“He will purify (cleanse) the house with the blood of the bird, the running water, the live bird, the cedar-wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.”Sh'mot 29:36 “Each day, offer a young bull as a sin offering, besides the other offerings of atonement; offer the sin offering on the altar as your atonement for it; then anoint (cleanse) it to consecrate it.”In order to properly understand the spiritual application we must discern the natural application first. The context will generally reveal whether we are talking about the washing of the flesh with water or the washing or cleansing of the heart or mind. We must not read 'water' into every occurrence of washing,

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cleansing, purifying or baptizing. Here are a few examples of where the text clearly indicates cleansing or washing the flesh with water.

Sh'mot 29:4"Bring Aharon and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash (rachats) them with water.Sh'mot 30:20 when they enter the tent of meeting - they are to wash (rachats) with water, so that they won't die. Also when they approach the altar to minister by burning an offering for Yahveh,Vayikra 15:8 If the person with the discharge spits on someone who is clean (tahar), the latter is to wash (kavas) his clothes and bathe (rachats) himself in water; he will be unclean (tamei) until evening.There are occasions when water is associated with cleansing or washing and the context still reveals an internal cleansing that only Yahveh can perform. Yeshua seems to appeal to this truth as well with respect to the forgiveness of sins.Yechezk'el 36:25 (best understood in context)Then I will sprinkle clean (tahar) water on you, and you will be clean (tahar); I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

Luke 5:20-24When Yeshua saw their trust, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."  The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim began thinking, "Who is this fellow that speaks such blasphemies? Who can forgive sin except God?"  But Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, answered, "Why are you turning over such thoughts in your hearts?  Which is easier to say? `Your sins are forgiven you'? or `Get up and walk'?  But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic, "I say to you: get up, pick up your mattress and go home!"

We must discern the difference between cleansing the heart and cleansing our walk with Yahveh.Sh'mot 30:18-19

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 "You are to make a basin of bronze, with a base of bronze, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.  Aharon and his sons will wash their hands and feet there”Mizmor 26:6I will wash my hands in innocence and walk around your altar, Yahveh,Mizmor 51:7Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Yochanan 13:6-10 He came to Shim`on Kefa, who said to him, "Lord! You are washing my feet?"  Yeshua answered him, "You don't understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand."  "No!" said Kefa, "You will never wash my feet!" Yeshua answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me."  "Lord," Shim`on Kefa replied, "not only my feet, but my hands and head too!" Yeshua said to him, "A man who has had a bath doesn't need to wash, except his feet -- his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you."When man is reconciled to Yahveh, he is cleansed in his heart first as revealed in the construction of the tabernacle. When one enters the gate of the tabernacle, the first station he must come to is the altar of sacrifice; when the sacrifice has been executed and the blood applied, then one goes to the second station – the washing basin. When we, as sons of the living Elohim, approach Elohim we are to apply the blood, and be cleansed. When the tabernacle or temple stood, it was a physical object that required one to enter by being physically cleansed. But this cleansing was also produced as a result of an obedient heart first. One washes their flesh because their mind sent them the proper electrical signals. The information that the mind sends to the body must come from either the spirit of man or the Spirit of Elohim (1Corinthians 2:10-12). But our obedience comes from the heart first. Whatever is in your heart will determine what you believe, and what you believe will determine how you behave. The cleansing of the heart, which only Yahveh can do, leads to obedience and obedience tells us that we are to be immersed in water.

In order to cleanse the heart, the old man of sin must die, and this is why immersion is a picture of death, which we will address soon. The bottom line is that the washing of the flesh is always preceded by the desire to wash the flesh.

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Water baptism DOES NOT precede salvation, for salvation is a matter of the heart.

Now we have a proper foundation of the use of words in the Tanakh. These words must be placed back into their proper context. Regardless of what a particular word means, it must be harmonious to the overall subject and context in which it is placed. Therefore, before we address the immersions spoken of in the Messianic Writings, let’s agree upon the following:

1. The word for immersion (baptism) in Hebrew is directly related to hope and gathering.

2. Immersion speaks prophetically of the reuniting of the whole house of Israel.

3. The spiritual application of immersion is revealed in the natural.

4. Elohim always cleanses the heart first, then the flesh.

5. We must discern the difference between Elohim's cleansing of the heart and our approach to the throne of Elohim as His tahar children (children in right standing with Him).

6. We cannot immediately place water into the context of baptism, washing, cleansing and purifying.

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Doctrine of Immersion (Baptism) Part 3The scriptures teach that there is only one Torah for the tribes of Israel (homeborn) and the foreigner (Sh'mot 12:49, Vayikra 24:22, B’midbar 9:14). The Hebrew word for homeborn is 'ezirach. Planted in the heart of this word is the Hebrew word for seed, zera'. 

Remember, there is only one good seed from the very beginning. According to the law of like kind, a seed always reproduces after itself, or perhaps we could agree, Himself. This is a very simple teaching! Elohim's commandments and instructions are always the same for all His people, whether they were born in the land, or were grafted in among those born in the land. This principle is given in the first chapter of B'reshiyt, because it is designed to be the basis for all of the teaching of the rest of scripture. Isaiah 46:10 instructs us that Yahveh reveals the things of the end at the beginning. In other words, when reading and studying the Messianic Writings (New Testament), we must keep these fundamental principles in mind that were revealed in the beginning. These truths are given in the beginning because Elohim loves the whole world, and those whom He has called are ALL ordained from the beginning. The Apostolic writers of the first century wrote nothing new, they simply wrote what was true.

This fundamental fact is also true with baptism. Baptism was and is nothing 'new' to the Hebrew people or the writers and prophets of the Tanakh. Sh’aul (Paul) brought this truth forth in his letter to the believers in Corinth.

I Corinthians 10:1-4 For, brothers, I don't want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea, and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe, also they all ate the same food from the Spirit, and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit - for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah.

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Do you know why all the 'mixed multitude' ate the same spiritual meat and drank the same spiritual drink? Because there is only one good seed! This passage is a clear reference to the 'one' baptism that Sh’aul will mention later to the Ephesians. When Yahveh does the immersing, it is done to the heart, for the heart (the source of obedience) must be cleansed first. This is the pattern repeated for us in the Torah when our loving Father teaches us how to deal with disease.

Vayikra 15:5-13Whoever touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. Whoever sits on anything the person with the discharge sat on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.  Anyone who touches the body of the person with the discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.  If the person with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, the latter is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. Any saddle that the person with the discharge rides on will be unclean.  Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening; he who carries those things is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.  If the person with the discharge fails to rinse his hands in water before touching someone, that person is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening.  If the person with the discharge touches a clay pot, it must be broken; if he touches a wooden utensil, it must be rinsed in water.  "'When a person with a discharge has become free of it, he is to count seven days for his purification. Then he is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water; after that, he will be clean.

Every instruction in this passage presupposes a willing heart. One who does not regard His Father will not wash himself or herself. Our Father is giving instructions here for His children. Their obedience to wash themselves begins first in the heart. These passages begin with, 'speak unto the children of Israel' (Vayikra 15:1-2). Yahveh has already cleansed their hearts. This pattern was repeated with Yeshua washing His disciples’ feet in Yochanan 13:1-11.

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What we see teaches us about what we cannot see. Although the 'spiritual' is the greater eternal reality, the natural is designed to consistently teach us the spiritual, and works in a symbiotic relationship with the spiritual. When faithful to the natural, we get revelation regarding the spiritual. When grasping the spiritual, we can see how the commandments concerning our bodies and behavior are revealed in the spiritual. Perhaps this is part of what Yeshua was referring to in what we erroneously called the Lord's Prayer.

Mattityahu 6:9-10 (Hebrew Gospel of Matthew)“But thus you shall pray: Our Father, may Your name be sanctified; may Your kingdom be blessed; may Your will be done in heaven (spiritual) and on earth (natural).”

The patterns for this reality have been revealed from the beginning. Elohim's desire is to cleanse our hearts, knowing that this is where obedience begins. In showing us this eternal reality, He gives us a natural picture in the beginning with the immersion of the creation and it's coming out of the waters. This is why it is so imperative to learn the scriptures from the beginning.

The Baptism of RepentanceIn the Tanakh we read several prophecies of one who is to prepare the way for Yahveh. Yesha'yahu first tells us this one.

Yesha'yahu 40:3A voice cries out: "Clear a road through the desert for ADONAI! Level a highway in the 'Aravah for our God!”

A very provocative statement indeed! The word translated as 'prepare' here is not the most common Hebrew word for this action. The Hebrew word kun is primarily used to express the idea of preparation or making ready for something. The word in our text is panu. This word means to turn toward something or to turn your face back to someone. As a matter of fact, the etymological root of this word is the Hebrew word for face or countenance (panah). There is a specific prophetic reason why this word is used instead of the common word for

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preparation. The reason is that the ministry of Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist) and Eliyahu (Elijah) are the ones being referred to here. This verse is quite challenging because the word for 'straight' here is yashar, which is a cognate (family word) of Yeshua.

Now it gets even more interesting in the word for 'desert'. We are told that the Messiah was to come as lightning out of the east to the west (Mattityahu 24:27). The west is where the scattered sheep of the house of Israel are to be found. This is where the multitudes are found. All the words in context with those in the west and the multitudes are associated with the words for mixing and scattering. One of these words is the word translated as 'Arav' (Arab) in the Tanakh. This word means to mix or to mingle, which was the result of the house of Israel being scattered and mixed with the nations (Hosea 7:8). It comes from the root 'arav which first appears as the word 'evening' in B'reshiyt 1:5. This is because the evening is a mixture of light and darkness; it is a word that represents the direction that Elohim's people will go, and the word used in Aramaic to describe the feet and toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzer's dream in Daniel 2:41-43.

The word translated as desert in our text is 'arabah, referring to the people who lived there. In Sh'mot 12:38 it is the word used to describe the 'mixed multitude' that came out of Egypt in the Exodus. None the less, there is an interesting combination of words used here that provide the background for the ministry of Yochanan. Not the least of which is the testimony for WHOM Yochanan is preparing the way.

In all four gospels we are given details of the ministry of Yochanan. We are informed that Yochanan's baptism was the baptism of repentance in Mattityahu 3:11, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:8, and Yochanan 1:26. In Mark's gospel we are told that Yochanan's baptism was for the 'remission of sins'. When one agrees to come to the mikveh, this tells me that Elohim has already done a work in their heart, and coming to the mikveh, i.e. obedience, is the fruit of that faith. The gospels and the book of Romans declare that the good news came first to the Jew, then to the Greek. Yochanan's primary audience was Jewish, including Pharisees and Sadducees (Mattityahu3:7). His baptism was the baptism of repentance. In the Hebrew, the act of repentance is employed in the

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word shuv. This word means to turn back to where you came from (the beginning), and first appears in B'reshiyt 3:19 when Yahveh tells Adam that he will return (shuv) to the dust of the ground from where he was taken. This concept was seen in the word for 'prepare' in Yesha'yahu 40:3 that we discussed earlier.

Here is why Yochanan’s ministry was not to the gentiles: it was not the gentiles who needed to repent (return to the beginning). The gentiles first had to believe in the Elohim of Abraham before they could repent for sinning against Him. For this reason, Yochanan’s ministry was directed toward His own people and its leaders, for they had turned away from the Torah and taught others to do so as well. "REPENT! For the kingdom of Elohim is at hand" cried both Yochanan and Yeshua. How had they turned away from Elohim? They turned away from the pure Torah, the Word of Elohim and chose to live by man’s traditions and incorrect interpretations. Yochanan's immersion into the living Jordan River was after they had turned their hearts toward Elohim and repented.

Repentance is turning our face back to Yahveh, opening our heart to receive His Instruction (Torah) and follow His ways. Only when submitted to Elohim can He deliver us from our enemies.

Ya’akov (James) 4:7-8“Therefore submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and He will come close to you.”

Water does not cause repentance. Repentance comes from the heart. It is also the fulfilling of righteousness that Yochanan was the witness of this cleansing, for Yochanan was a priest. It was the priests who 'inspected' the cleanness or continued uncleanness of an individual. Yochanan's baptism was a picture of repentance, which only prepares the way for Yahveh. This preparation is also seen in the Exodus from Egypt. Before the Passover (the lamb), Pharoah had to let Elohim’s people go; he had to turn them loose so they could begin the journey back to the land that Abraham had “crossed over” (Hebrew) to as well. The baptism of repentance was for the turning of a straying heart of one of Elohim’s own back to Torah.

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Yeshua tells us that HE is the testimony (witness) of the Torah.Yochanan 5:39“You keep examining the Tanakh because you think that in it you have eternal life. Those very Scriptures bear witness to me,”Luke 24:44Yeshua said to them, "This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled."

When His own people hear of the Messiah, they have already had their hearts prepared for such a revelation by Yochanan's baptism of repentance. Trusting Elohim and obeying Him is the fruit of repentance. If the Jewish leaders of the time were really seeking Elohim and following His Torah, then they would have seen and received the Messiah. Some did, but many did not because they were not following the Torah. Those who did repent bore the fruit of the Torah and welcomed the prophesied Messiah of the Torah.

Mattityahu 3:7-8 (Hebrew Gospel of Matthew)“He saw that many of the Pharisees, that is, Pharizei and (Sadducees) came to His baptism and He said to them: (Offspring of serpents, who taught you) to flee from the wrath to come from God? Produce the fruit of perfect repentance”Perfect repentance could also be stated as complete repentance. In order to be cleansed by the Father, one must be willing to die to self and adhere to His instructions, in order to find life.

Acts 19:1-6While Apollos was in Corinth, Sha'ul completed his travels through the inland country and arrived at Ephesus, where he found a few talmidim. He asked them, "Did you receive the Ruach HaKodesh when you came to trust?" "No," they said to him, "we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Ruach HaKodesh.”  "In that case," he said, "into what were you immersed?" "The immersion of Yochanan," they answered. Sha'ul said, "Yochanan practiced an immersion in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put

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their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua."  On hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua; and when Sha'ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Dying and being gathered (immersed) into the name of the Lord Yeshua is to submit to the authority of Yeshua to restore oneself to covenant relationship with the Father.

Now we come to the baptism of Yeshua. All four gospels record Yochanan baptizing Yeshua, although the book of Yochanan reveals a bit less detail of the natural and more detail of the spiritual. We know that the ministry of Yochanan was the baptism of repentance, but did the Messiah have need to repent?

Mattityahu 3:15 (Hebrew Gospel of Matthew)“Then came Yeshua from Galilee (to) the Jordan to be baptized. But John was doubtful about baptizing him and said: ‘I should be baptized by you, and you come to me?’ Yeshua answered and said to him: ‘permit it, because we are obliged to fulfill all righteousness.’”Yochanan has understandably viewed this whole process as backwards. You should be baptizing me, he says, but the Messiah has already immersed Yochanan, in the spiritual sense, because the work was already done in his heart. The preparer of the way must be prepared before the preparer of the way can prepare the way. In other words, one who turns others back to Messiah must have already turned back to Messiah. Yochanan had some insight into Who the real Immerser has always been in Yochanan's gospel.

Yochanan 1:15-16 “Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, "This is the man I was talking about when I said, `The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.'" We have all received from his fullness, yes, grace upon grace.”I believe that fulfilling all righteousness is clearly understood in its context. The word 'fulfilling' in Mattityahu 3:15 is pleroo in the Greek and mala' in the Hebrew. Its form here is the same form in which it occurs in Mattityahu 5:17. The verb here does not imply the action is complete; He is fulfilling all

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righteousness at that moment, but has not completed His fulfilling, because His righteousness is on-going for eternity. Messiah is establishing righteousness by doing what is righteous. Immersion, being gathered to Him and in Him, is the righteous thing to do. Yeshua is our pattern and example. I believe that Yeshua's call to be our pattern is revealed in the Hebrew word for pattern, which is tavniyt. (See Sh'mot 25:9, Ivrim 8:1-5.) The root of this word is ben, the Hebrew word for son. (from Hebrew letters Bet Nun – House of Life) The example He has set for us is expressed in the very consistent admonishments to follow Him.

Yochanan 10:4“After taking out all that are his own, he goes on ahead of them; and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”Mattityahu 16:24Then Yeshua told his talmidim, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him say `No' to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me...I Corinthians 11:1Try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah.I Kefa 2:21Indeed, this is what you were called to; because the Messiah too suffered, on your behalf, leaving an example so that you should follow in his steps.

There are two primary words used in biblical Hebrew to express our English concept of following. One is yalak and the other is radaph. The word yalak is dominantly translated as walk. The word radaph is much more intense and etymologically means to actually chase after or pursue. When both words are used in context with the Lord, they both also express the idea of following.

Mizmor 34:11Come, (yalak) children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Yahveh.Mikhah 4:2 Many Gentiles will go and say, "Come, (yalak) let's go up to the mountain of Yahveh, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach

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us about his ways, and we will walk (yalak) in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of Yahveh from Yerushalayim.Mishlei 15:9Yahveh detests the way of the wicked but loves anyone who pursues (radaph) righteousness.Mishlei 21:21He who pursues (radaph) righteousness and kindness finds life, prosperity and honor.

Hoshea 6:3Let us know, let us strive (radaph) to know ADONAI. That he will come is as certain as morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.

The Messiah is the one that comes as the latter and former rains. This is all part of Elohim's plan to teach us and to know Him. He will take upon the form of a servant and be a living, breathing example of what His righteousness looks like when obeyed. Messiah came to restore unto His people the Torah. Now, do you think it is a coincidence that the Hebrew word for the former rain is yarah. Does that look familiar? It should, for it is the root of the word Torah.

Yeshua's baptism was to serve as our example as we follow in His footsteps, as we take up our cross and follow Him. Before Yochanan brings up his confusion of who should baptize who, he mentions that Yeshua came to baptize in the Holy Spirit and with fire. Now, remember that Yochanan's baptism is of repentance and it was to prepare the way for Messiah. Repentance (shuv) means not only to turn from something, but to turn back to something. Repentance therefore is in the same sense of preparing – turning from one’s own ways and turning back to Yahveh’s. For the Jew, it was returning… for the Gentile later it was turning to the Elohim of Abraham for the first time.

Yochanan baptized the Jews in the baptism of repentance. These people were not baptized in the Holy Spirit as yet. Messianic doctrine is that baptism in the Holy Spirit is our immersion into the body of Messiah. Of course, these people had not so much as heard of Messiah or the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6).

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Elohim is perfectly capable of ministering to His people in diverse ways and yet still remain omnipresent in the universe and One. It seems odd to have a doctrinal position that one can have the Messiah, but not the Holy Spirit. Aren’t they One? How did you come to faith in Yeshua? Was it not through the wooing of the Holy Spirit? Yet, we have doctrinal positions that you can be “saved” and have “Jesus living in your heart”, but not “have” the Holy Spirit?

When you receive the seed (the Word of Elohim) your spirit is regenerated and you become a temple for Yahveh’s dwelling. It is the Word of Elohim that regenerates and gives life. Regeneration is an action and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is the term used to express the demonstrative, active presence of Elohim. However, you cannot separate the Spirit of Elohim from Elohim or from the Word of Elohim. They are all echad, One as Elohim. There are various terms, for lack of a better word, that are used in the Hebrew and carried over in the Greek and English to express the different attributes of the one Elohim.

Here is the bottom line: when you are reconciled to Elohim, you receive His Word or Seed. You receive the Word, Yahveh, the Ruach, Yeshua, the Father, the Creator and the one true Elohim. Everything that comes after that is fruit. How much and how often His fruit is manifested depends upon the contents of the soil, light, water, and tender loving care.Yochanan's baptism was soil preparation for The Seed. Yochanan tells us, however, that someone will come after him and He will baptize you in the Ruach HaKodesh. This is the regenerative work of the Word of Elohim, expressed through the words Ruach HaKodesh. This is how we receive the Seed. The Spirit of Elohim is Elohim. This means He is just as omnipresent as Elohim. The Holy Spirit can indwell you and me, and still be everywhere at once. This the Spirit of Elohim has been doing from the beginning. You cannot be a child of Elohim without the Seed of Elohim in you.

Speaking in other tongues? Fruit. Supernatural ability to prophesy? Fruit. Enhanced discernment? Fruit. Get the picture? Faith produces works (fruit). We are to contend for the faith. We are to pursue the gifts, because there as we allow more of Him and less of us, we are sanctified in greater measure. We

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should desire to go deeper into the things of our Father. Being immersed is not a one time thing… it is a lifelong pursuit! The act of baptizing and being baptized is used dozens of times in both testaments. However, there is one occasion in which this word appears in the plural.

Ivrim 6:1-2“Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, and instruction about washings, s'mikhah, the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment.”

Yet, according to Sh’aul in Ephesians 4:4-6, there is only one baptism. Is this a contradiction?

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.”It seems that the writer(s) of Ivrim is speaking of the various ways in which some one can be immersed, whether that be in water, the gifts of the Spirit of Elohim, refining fire, or the Messiah. I believe that there is only one immersion into the body of Messiah, and it is this immersion that Paul is referring to in this passage. It is this immersion that everyone who has called upon the Elohim of Israel from the beginning has been gathered. The scriptures are clear that the Messiah was the Word of Elohim made flesh and has eternally existed. There is only one Seed, which is the Word of Elohim, so it would seem to follow that there be only one immersion into that Word. All other immersions are experiences in our walk with the Word of Elohim. For example, Yochanan baptized with water unto repentance. This is a faithful human experience with water appropriately representing repentance. But, he says, there is one after me (Messiah) who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I contend that this is also a faithful human experience that the Messiah appropriates. In other words, outside of the Word of Elohim (Messiah) there can be no receiving of this baptism. I believe it is an experience which many encounter after having received the Word of Elohim, and

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an event in which others encounter at the same time they receive the Word of Elohim. A casual reading of the book of Acts will demonstrate that every occurrence and experience concerning the Holy Spirit is a different experience with different manifestations. While it appears in Acts 2:38-39 that water baptism seems to precede the receiving of the Holy Spirit, later on in Acts 10:44-48 water baptism follows the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Elohim is in the business of planting of His Word into our hearts. After that, depending on individual walks with Him, it is different for all of us.

Only that which is eternal (unseen) can change or cleanse that which is temporal (seen). When someone receives the Messiah by faith, he or she receives the Word or Seed of Elohim. Now this Seed is planted in order to produce fruit, and that Seed, by law, can only produce the fruit of the Seed that is planted. Our fruit, according to the scriptures, is the product of the things we say and the things we do.

Mizmor 1:2-3Their delight is in Yahveh's Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams -they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.Yirmeyahu 32:19“…great in counsel, mighty in deed! Your eyes are open to all the ways of human beings in order to repay each one according to his ways, according to the consequences (fruit) of what he does." Romans 6:22“However, now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you do get the benefit - it consists in being made holy, set apart for God, and its end result is eternal life.”Mattityahu 7:17-18 Likewise, every healthy tree produces good fruit, but a poor tree produces bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, or a poor tree good fruit.

There are many other verses dealing with the Word of Elohim and fruit, but Elohim knew that men are capable of adding to, subtracting from, and mishandling His Word. In anticipation of that, He revealed the meaning of our

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fruit in the actual Hebrew letters that make up the word for fruit. The Hebrew word for fruit is p’riy. The consonants that make up this word are a peh, a resh and a yod. The peh is the letter for the mouth, the resh is the letter for the head, and the yod is the letter for the hand. The word for fruit represents the things you say (mouth) and the things you do (hand). The resh lies in the heart of the word and means the 'head of' or that which directs. The Seed is the Word of Elohim or His instructions and teaching, which is His Torah. It is what determines the kind of fruit Elohim's people are to produce. When we receive the Word of Elohim, we receive Elohim Himself, according to Yochanan 1:1-14. The Spirit of Elohim comes with Elohim, because He is Elohim. Yochanan 14:26 tells us the purpose of the Holy Spirit:  “But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

The function of the Holy Spirit is to bring to our remembrance (and shed light upon) all things that the Messiah has taught. Once we have received the Word of Elohim (the Good Seed), everything else is produced by our fruit. This includes water baptism, the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and the fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

Based upon the principle of the Seed, I believe that one can receive the Word of Elohim and be saved from the wages of sin (death), and yet still in another experience, receive the Holy Spirit, have the Holy Spirit fall on them, and in other occurrences manifest the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a term used to describe the active, demonstrative presence of Elohim. It is a 'three-dimensional' word used to express Elohim when we see Him acting, moving, rising, falling, entering, leaving, immersing, filling, grieving, rejoicing and giving. Baptism in or with the Holy Spirit is something one should desire every day. Let us not attempt to compartmentalize the work of the Spirit of Elohim. Our prayer should be that as a flower that has already been planted through no effort of my own, rain on me and in me O Elohim, any time and any way You choose.

Some Final Thoughts

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In conclusion, here are some final thoughts concerning baptism and the nature of Ruach HaKodesh. It is the Spirit of Elohim who is the generator and regenerator of life. All of the actions or active manifestations of the one Elohim are revealed in His Spirit; all of the immersing, regenerating, giving, grieving, moving, rising, coming upon, falling upon, crying and rejoicing of the one Elohim are expressed in the words Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Elohim. According to I Corinthians 12:11, this same Holy Spirit distributes gifts as HE wills.

From the beginning, every human being that chooses to follow the one Creator has received the Seed or the Word of Elohim; what that person receives in addition to that from that point forward is determined by his or her obedience and faithfulness. Having said that, an individual who has received the Seed of the woman can still 'receive' the Holy Spirit. Receiving is a verb, it is an action, and that action is driven by the Holy Spirit. There should be an outward manifestation of that reception, and how it is manifested is left to the Holy Spirit, as HE wills. Once a seed has been firmly planted in the good soil, that seed still needs to receive sunshine and water. It is the act of being led by the Spirit that allows us to bear fruit. When that soil receives the seed is determined by the sower. You and I are NOT the sowers of the seed. Elohim is the sower.

Mattityahu 13:36-37Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His talmidim approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;All the baptisms (immersions) and manifestations of the Word of Elohim that follows are our fruit. What happens to you AFTER you have received the Word of Elohim is not confined scripturally to a particular order. Every appearance of the 'Holy Spirit' in the book of Acts is manifested in a different way. The disciples of Yeshua could still be breathed on by Messiah (Yochanan 20:22), and they could still 'receive' the Holy Spirit for power to go unto the nations after they were ordained as His disciples. Now just because a person is a self-proclaimed follower of Messiah, does that mean that he is 'saved'? The answer may surprise you! Eleven of His twelve disciples were, but one was not. For example in the parable of Mattityahu 13, Yeshua distinguishes His disciples from the multitudes by not

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only stating that it was given 'them' to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but He also proclaimed that they were those whose eyes see and ears hear.

Messiah calls His and Yochanan's disciples, 'sons of the bridegroom' in Mark 2:18-20. He gave them authority to heal and cast out demons in Mark 2:14-15. Now, were they very successful at it? No, but that was a matter of fruit and not the power and ability of the Seed. However, Mark 6:12-13 does record some success. All of Yeshua's 12 disciples, save one, had received and believed the Word of Elohim, leading to their trusting in Yeshua. They were baptized (immersed) into the body of Messiah and that all other manifestations were the result of the Holy Spirit as He willed, according to His plan.

The expressions and manifestations of the Spirit of Elohim have been in operation from the beginning, because Elohim is Aleph Tav, the beginning, the end, and everything in between.

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