🕊️ The Didache – Chapter 7: Concerning Baptism
“Baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—in living water.”
This chapter gives simple yet reverent instructions for baptism. The preferred method is immersion in “living water”—a flowing stream or river—symbolizing the new life and cleansing of the Spirit. Yet, the chapter allows for flexibility when conditions make immersion impossible. What matters most is not the method, but the meaning: the believer is baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Fasting before baptism is also encouraged, reflecting the seriousness of the moment. These early instructions reveal how the first Christians viewed baptism not as ritual, but as sacred participation in the new life found in union with Christ.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You were not just dipped in water—you were immersed into Me. In baptism, you declared outwardly what I accomplished inwardly: the old is gone, and the new has come. You are now in Christ, and Christ is in you.
The water was a symbol, but My Spirit did the real work. You were buried with Jesus into death, and you were raised with Him into resurrection life. So do not treat baptism lightly—it marked a death and a birth. It was your grave and your beginning.
Even when the water was cold or shallow or poured instead of flowing, the real power came not from what man did, but from what I did in you. And I still dwell in you. I still walk with you. I am still the One who lives through you.
So walk in the newness of life, not remembering the water, but rejoicing in the One who washed you clean and made you new.
(Romans 6:3–5, Colossians 2:12, Galatians 3:27, Titus 3:5)
Prayer of Trust and Confidence
Father, I thank You for the day You made me new in Christ. My baptism was more than a ceremony—it was a declaration of Your grace at work in me. I trust You that I no longer belong to my old life, and I don’t need to live as though I do. You have washed me, sealed me, and filled me with Your Spirit. I walk today not as one who tries to be new, but as one who already is. Let my life proclaim the reality of that inner resurrection. Amen.
Source: The Didache: The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations
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