What does it mean to be baptised into the Father?

When I think about the complexity of the Trinity, the three-in-one God, my mind cannot understand, but my heart feels wonder in abundant satisfaction. It is as though my heart, in the midst of its euphoria, is saying to my mind, There are things you cannot understand, and you must learn to live with this. Not only must you learn to live with this, you must learn to enjoy this.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)

This is not a formula for when baptising. Jesus is not saying this is what I want you to say but He is speaking of a changed identity by being baptised as clothes are changed washed in dye.

That’s what Jesus meant.

It is essential that disciples of God know God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God 3 Persons.

It matters not who you are, where you have come from, what you have done, your identity can change so much that you become unrecognisable almost.

Take for example, Moses. A murderer, a man with a speech impediment and probably some attitude problem. A man in the back and beyond of where he should have been. Trained in Egypt, should have risen to stardom but is now looking after sheep, wasting 40 years of his life.

Exodus 3: The angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush … and God called to him from within the bush “Moses”.

And so we stand before the Father, Son and Spirit just as Moses stood before God, the angel of the Lord and the fire and we are bewildered, unexplainable, beyond words.

All we can say and all God wants us to say is “Here I am” and in that way we are enticing His identity. Here I am who are you?

“I am who I am” I am everything, all that is needed, in control, overall.

Here I am, on this day, in this time of struggle, a child, young person, mid-life, retired.

Here I am married, divorced, single.

Here I am in this circumstance, catastrophe, confusion, contradictions.

 Here I am in my boredom, brilliance of opportunity, in this bereavement.

Here I am I am not anywhere else, I wish I was, but I’m here.

To hear His words, ‘I am who I am’.

To know Him as Father.

There is so much we can know through Gods Word about the Father but I want to show you 2 things importantly:

He is the Father of creation. Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart or “Create a Genesis week in my life” (Message)

Broken, sinful, failed heart. Here I am, it’s a mess, but you are the Father of all creation and you can speak things into existence, you can shape and form this life, you can create something from nothing. Give Him your chaos.

He can take nothing and create something, He can also take the bad and the ugly and through a process of evolution produce something beautiful and glorious.

He is the Father of Adoption. Romans 8:15 “you received the Spirit of adoption.”

You have an enemy who is trying to get you to believe what he is saying to you. For what you believe you are is what you are and who you think you are is what you do. Why did sin happen? Adam didn’t know who he was, tried to become someone. The accuser said “If you do this then you will be like God.”

He should have said “stupid snake I am already like God. Why try and become what I already am?” But he didn’t and he became what God had not intended.

You are a child of God, belonging to Him, adopted to Him.

God wants you plunged into Him, thrown into a relationship that you can know but whose name is far too mysterious for you.

Your identity soaked into His identity.

A baptism of mystery and meaning.

Of closeness and transcendence.

Baptised into the Father.