Wednesday | 19 November 2025

Baptised into Moses

In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul noted that the whole nation of Israel was ‘baptised [by God] into Moses in the cloud and in the sea’. 1Co 10:2. When the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea, Moses became to them more than just their deliverer – that is, the one who proclaimed their salvation and led them out of their slavery to Pharaoh; he was now their messenger and baptiser into Christ.

His baptism was an immersion into the fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this regard, we can view Moses as being the ‘type’ of a presbytery. 1Co 10:11. God first baptises the hearer into the presbytery, as He baptised Israel into Moses. The presbytery’s work, then, is to baptise their hearers, through discipleship, into the name of the Father, the name of the Son and the name of the Holy Spirit. Mat 28:19‑20.

The Greek word baptiso, translated ‘were baptised’ in Paul’s statement to the Corinthians, means ‘to be identified with’. In the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were identified with the work and purpose of their leader, Moses. Accordingly, this baptism included teaching and cultural training so that the nation was properly informed and connected to Yahweh as the family of God and as a kingdom of priests, both to God and then to the Gentile nations.

Likewise, in the New Covenant, messengers are to teach the implications of immersion in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As disciples walk in the light of this word on the pathway of salvation that Christ pioneered for them, they are abiding in God and progressively being made in His image and likeness. Significantly, disciples are then able to participate in the work of proclaiming the gospel, through offering, by the capacity of seven Spirits from the Holy Spirit.