Question:
Concerning baptism…Do you have to be baptized in water? Or is baptism something else?

Answer:
I would like to try to answer this question by briefly looking at the two kinds of baptism that are relevant today. They are (1) The baptism of the Holy Spirit; and (2) baptism with water unto Jesus Christ. We will see that both baptisms introduce us into something, the former into the body of Christ (the true church of God), the latter into the realm of profession here on earth (the kingdom of heaven).

(1) Read the following Scriptures: Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 10:44; 11:15,16; 1 Corinthians 12:13. In the first two passages we have the baptism of the Spirit foretold; in the next three passages we have the historical accounts of this baptism given; and in the last passage we have the doctrine of this baptism stated. We see from these verses that only believers participate in this baptism and that the result is that they are introduced into the mystical body of Christ. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down to indwell the believers who were assembled and in so doing the body of Christ was formed. In Acts 10 we have an example of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit adding souls to the body of Christ. The moment Cornelius and his friends believed the gospel, the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place. Ephesians 1:13 teaches us that this is the pattern for today: one believes the gospel, and the Holy Spirit of promise is given as soon as the soul believes.
(2) Read the following Scriptures: Matthew 28:19, 20 (JND version); Romans 6:3, 4 (JND); Acts 10:47,48. In the first passage we have the command given to baptize; in the second we have the doctrine stated; and in the third we have a historical account given of people being baptized according to the command given in Matthew 28.
Let us take note of a few things that these verses bring out: (A) BAPTISM and TEACHING are necessary for one to be DISCIPLED; (B) Baptism is “unto Christ Jesus”; and (C) It is with water that one is baptized in the name of the Lord.
(A) On the authority of Matthew 28:19 we can say that “baptism is the initiatory rite of Christianity by which one officially becomes a disciple [follower] of Christ.” We saw earlier that the baptism of the Spirit brought one into the true church of God, the body of Christ. Here we learn that one is brought into the body of Christ’s disciples here on earth by baptism (followed by teaching the one baptized the truths that Christ had taught). The King James Version is somewhat obscure here, but Mr. J. N. Darby’s version is crystal-clear. It reads, “Go [therefore] and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, BAPTIZING them…teaching them…” This is not to be confused with preaching the gospel to the unsaved, for baptism has no place there (see 1 Corinthians 1:17). Rather, this verse commands believers to disciple those who are willing to be discipled, and it is by BAPTIZING and TEACHING that this is accomplished.
(B) Baptism is “unto Christ Jesus.” What do we mean by that? To help us understand this we will read 1 Corinthians 10:1, 2, “…all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were BAPTIZED UNTO MOSES in the cloud and in the sea.” When the children of Israel went through the Red Sea they came under the authority of Moses as their God-given leader. He was their teacher and guide. In water baptism we come under the authority of Christ Jesus. In that significant act we are identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ and placing ourselves under His Lordship (read Ephesians 4:5 in this connection). We are in essence saying, “I am going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. His teachings will be my guide and I will submit to all that He commands me.”
(C) In the example given us in Acts 10:47, 48 we can put some of our former thoughts together. In verse 47 we read, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Peter knew that Cornelius and his friends had been saved. He knew that their hearts would now be open to being discipled; that is, he knew that they would be willing to submit to coming under the Lordship of Christ in baptism. Thus, “He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (v. 48). It was “in the name of the Lord” (though no doubt it was actually in the Name of the Triune God as commanded in Matthew 28:19) because, as mentioned above, His Lordship is being owned in the act of baptism. And we do see here that it was water in which they were baptized (see also Acts 8:36,38 JND).
Why water? I would suggest two possible reasons. (1) The water in which one is immersed (immersion seems to be the proper mode based on Acts 8:36, 38, 39 JND) signifies the truth of Romans 6:4, “We are BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM into death.” (2) In Acts 22:16 we read of Ananias’ words to Saul, “Arise, and be baptized, and WASH AWAY THY SINS, calling upon the Name of the Lord.” Here we read of the waters of baptism “washing away sins.” Surely this is not speaking of one’s sins being washed away before God (Saul’s sins were already forgiven before God when Ananias spoke those words), for that is only accomplished by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). But Scripture does speak of a forgiveness of sins BEFORE MEN (see John 20:23). I take it that this means that when one submits to baptism (which means he is willingly becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ), he is then forgiven by his fellow-disciples of Christ who have been the instruments by which he was admitted into the kingdom of heaven. (The “kingdom of heaven” refers to the sphere where the Lordship of Christ is professed. It is disciples of Christ who disciple others, by BAPTISM and TEACHING, into this kingdom. See and compare Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 28:19, 20.)