Christian baptism is a “birth of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3, 5)—a “birth from above”—without which no one can see the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). It is the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
In Christian baptism, we are buried with Christ so that we may rise with Him (Romans 6:3–6); for through baptism, we “put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27), making it the gateway to a new life, or “newness of life” (Romans 6:3–6).
Through Christian baptism, we become members of the Body of Christ—the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:4)—whereby all Christians become equal brothers in Christ and members of one body by one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Christian baptism has replaced Jewish circumcision; it is the circumcision of Christ, made without hands, which puts off the body of human sin (Colossians 2:11). Through it comes salvation (1 Peter 3:18), as well as the washing away and forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16; Acts 2:38).
