'Being Born of Water and Spirit'—50 Bible Verses About Baptism

Traci Rhoades

Wed, May 31, 2023 at 10:03 AM UTC

16 min read

A working definition of the word, baptism, can be a fluid one, depending on your faith circle. The scriptures have plenty to say on the topic, which leads us to these 50 Bible verses about baptism, but there are a few different traditions to note as well.

First, it has roots in the Jewish ritual of Mikveh, or mikvah, an act of ritual bathing that dates back to the earliest days of Hebrew worship, in God's instructions to Moses about the tabernacle. This Hebrew word has a couple of meanings; something waited for, as well as a collection (i.e. of water such as a pond). We read in oneforisrael.org : "The priests had to be ritually clean (tahor) in order to serve at the tabernacle, and Israelites who had become ritually unclean (tamay) had to restore their situation with the passing of time and bathing their whole body in fresh, ritually clean (tahor) water, according to Leviticus 15."

The Babylonian Talmud dictates that a mikvah must be large enough to have an average-sized man be immersed in it. The waters of a mikveh should come from a natural source, "living water," either out-of-doors, collected rainwater, or natural formations like oceans and rivers. Jewish men and women still bathe in mikvah waters today.

We see this idea of a mikvah washing and a baptism come together in the days of John the Baptist, who was raised Jewish. This act appeared to be a sign of belief in the prophet's message, and a way of confessing one's sins, or repenting. We read of Jesus's own baptism in three of the four gospels. He commanded his followers to be baptized in what Christians know as "The Great Commission" (Matthew 28:19-20). What that baptism looks like, and symbolizes, differs among the various church traditions. The end result unites Christian believers, however; as a proclamation that an individual has joined a body of believers who are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We've collected 50 Bible verses (from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition - NRSVUE) that speak to ritual cleansing, metaphorically and literally, of mikvah and then later, baptism. They offer beautiful imagery of the faithful coming to living waters, asking God to cleanse them from sin, and draw them unto himself once again.

50 Bible Verses About Baptism

1. Exodus 13:21

"The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night."

While this verse does not mention water, fire would become known as an association with baptism, which Paul picks up on in the next shared passage, tying in the Israelites finding themselves in the parted Red Sea.

2. I Corinthians 10:1-3

"I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food."

3. Exodus 30:17-21

"The Lord spoke to Moses, 'You shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it; with the water Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister to make an offering by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die: it shall be a perpetual ordinance for them, for him and for his descendants throughout their generations.'"

4. Exodus 40:30-32

"He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they went into the tent of meeting and when they approached the altar, they washed as the Lord had commanded Moses."

5. Leviticus 14:8-9

"The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp but shall live outside his tent seven days. On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean."

6. Leviticus 16:24

"He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people."

7. Numbers 19:7

"Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest shall remain unclean until evening."

8. 2 Kings 5:10-14

"Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.' But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, 'I thought that for me he would surely come out and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and would wave his hand over the spot and cure the skin disease! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, 'Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, "Wash, and be clean"?' So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean."

9. Psalm 51:2

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

10. Psalm 51:7

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

11. Isaiah 43:1-2

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

12. Psalm 63:1

"O God, you are my God; I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

13. Jeremiah 2:13

"For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water."

14. Amos 5:24

"But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

15. I Kings 7:38

"[Hyram from Tyre] made ten basins of bronze; each basin held forty baths; each basin measured four cubits; there was a basin for each of the ten stands."

16. 2 Chronicles 4:6

"He also made ten basins in which to wash and set five on the right side and five on the left. In these they were to rinse what was used for the burnt offering. The sea was for the priests to wash in."

17. Isaiah 1:16

"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil."

18. Jeremiah 4:14

"O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness so that you may be saved. How long shall your evil schemes lodge within you?"

19. Exodus 19:10-11

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.'"

20. Psalm 26:6

"I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord."

21. Psalm 73:13

"All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence."

22. Matthew 27:24

"So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.'"

23. Matthew 3:11

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

24. Acts 16:31

"They answered, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'"

25. 1 Corinthians 12:13

"For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

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26. John 1:33

"I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'"

27. Galatians 3:27

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

28. Mark 16:16

"The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned."

29. Ephesians 4:4-6

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

30. Matthew 3:13-17

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God's Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'"

31. Mark 1:9-11

"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"

32. Luke 3:21-22

"Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"

33. 1 Peter 3: 21-22

"And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him."

34. John 3:5

"Jesus answered, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.'"

35. Acts 1:4-5

"While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. 'This,' he said, 'is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[ b ] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"

36. Acts 2:1-4

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."

37. Ephesians 1:13-14

"In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory."

38. Acts 19:3-4

"Then he said, 'Into what, then, were you baptized?' They answered, 'Into John's baptism.' Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.'"

39. Acts 16:14-15

"A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.' And she prevailed upon us."

40. Acts 8:35-39

"Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?' He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing."

41. Acts 2:41

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

42. Acts 8:12

"But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."

43. Acts 22:16

"And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name."

44. Colossians 2:11-12

"In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by the removal of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead."

45. Romans 6:3-4

"Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life."

46. Mark 10:35-40

"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, 'Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.' And he said to them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?' And they said to him, 'Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.' But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' They replied, 'We are able.' Then Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.'"

47. Revelation 7:14

"I said to him, 'Sir, you are the one who knows.' Then he said to me, 'These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

48. Revelation 22:1-2

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

49. Hebrews 10:22

"Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

50. I John 5:6

"This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth."

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