Weekly Pursuit – Week 3 of March
Verse:
1 Cor. 10:1-2 “For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
Excerpts:
By crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel were saved from Egypt and also brought into a realm of freedom. What a salvation! In principle, baptism is the same for us today. It saves us from bondage and brings us into absolute freedom in Christ. As Colossians 2:12 makes clear, this is accomplished “through the faith of the operation of God.” Therefore, as we baptize people, we must encourage them to exercise faith in God as the One who operates. There is no doubt that the crossing of the Red Sea was accomplished through God’s operation. As we baptize new believers, we ourselves need faith, and we need to help those who are being baptized to have faith as well. The new converts need to realize what is happening to them at the time of baptism. They need faith to enter into the water of baptism and to pass through it. What a difference it makes when everyone participating in a baptism is full of faith!
Pharaoh and the Egyptian army were buried in the sea. This is a clear picture that in baptism Satan and the power of the world are buried. It is a fact that the Egyptians were terminated in the Red Sea. But the significance of this fact is that when we were baptized, Satan and the world with its tyranny were terminated. When we baptize others, we must tell them that as they are buried in baptism, Satan and the world will be buried also. How impressive is the crossing of the Red Sea as a picture of baptism! When we consider this picture in the light of the New Testament, we have a clear view of the significance of baptism.
In His creation God prepared the Red Sea to serve as a baptistry for His chosen people. Then during the exodus He led the people to this baptistry. This was no accident; it was according to the plan of God. God wanted to bring His people into a situation where it was impossible for them to go back to Egypt. (Life-study of Exodus, msg. 29)
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