True baptism requires repentance. Why, then, was Jesus baptized? Did he need to repent? Or was he merely pretending to repent? These simple yet profound questions strike at the very core of Christianity—and the church's traditional answers are not only insufficient but can rattle the very heart of the gospel message. Thankfully, the answer lies hidden in the startling truth that Jesus was following a pattern—an archetype—and that God himself began this pattern right from the beginning.

God is metamorphosing in order to reconcile the world to himself. Since Genesis, he has been leading the way in repentance and undergoing a baptism himself. As the great Archetype, God has left believers an archetypal pattern in the example of Jesus—the true image of God—and it is an example that is meant to be followed. Our own baptism should then be like his, and a clear understanding of his baptism will shed light on our own.

The baptism of Jesus shatters the glass ceiling that tradition has placed over the saints. God's children will follow him all the way to the throne. All this and more of God's astonishing and mind-boggling plans for the world and for himself are revealed in the baptism of Jesus. The Archetypal God will ready you for flight—it will give you eagle's wings and a strong burst of spiritual insights to help you soar with angels.