I would like to share something that was presented to me.I will have to admit up to this point..I have no answer..but I do know what I experienced in my walk.This guy challenged me with the following.
Brother, i want you to take your bible and look carefully at
Acts 2, 8, (Samaritans) 10, 19, and 22, and find where the word water is mentioned, or any indication that they were taken to a river, stream, pool, or that water was brought to them. You will have to admit that you are assuming the water to be there in the text. Which , quite frankly, it is not. You have to be able to answer the question, "How do you know from the scripture that these individuals were baptized with water. Show us....
1.
Acts 22:16. Paul didn't get wet. Here's why... "And now why tarriest thou (What are you waiting for?), having risen, having been baptized, having washed away thy sins, having called on the name of the Lord..." Annanias was not telling Paul to stand up and get wet. consider:
Arise: "anastas": Aor. t. Simple English past tense. "Baptised": Aor. Mid. imperit. "having been baptized"- Aor T. again, and in the middle voice. The middle voice lays stress on the action TAKEN TO the subject. It is very close to the passive voice (which is the voice used throughout Acts relative to baptism). The middle and the passive disallow the involvement of the person being baptized as an active participant in their baptism. In other words, when they are baptized, they are a passive recipient. When John the Baptist baptized, most of the voices are in the active voice, which means that they actively participated in their water baptism. Not so in the middle or passive voice. "Washed": middle voice and aor. t. again "having washed ", "Calling": same thing- Aor. t. middle V.
In other words, what Annanias affirms to Paul is: "Now Paul, what are you waiting for? You have been raised (with Christ), you have already been baptized, already been washed and already called on the name of the Lord. " (Implication- Nothing left to do, so get going.)
2.
Jhn 4:1-2. This coincides with
John 3:22-30, which is in refernce to John the Baptists disciples transitioning over to Jesus. John's ministry was now coming to a close and he was about to be arrested. John said that Jesus must increase but that he must decrease. Look at these passages carefully. After John's disciples transition over to Jesus, water baptism is never performed or taught or brought up again by Christ. That ship has sailed.
3. Christ was water baptized (and there is no text that tells us to "follow Christ in baptism") because as our great high preist, it was necessary for him to be washed with water at the beginning of his ministry just like the Aaronic priests were washed with water at the beginning of theirs. Christ's baptism weas unique to Christ and does not pass down to us. See
Ex. 29:4 for this. This is what Jesus was communicating to John when he said, "Let it be done so that we might fulfill all righteousness."
Where's the water?
What would be your response?