Baptism

The verb “baptize” and the noun “baptism” are Greek words that are not translated but transliterated. We know the etymology because of the use of the word in ancient Greek literature. They are words which have come down to us through three different Greek languages over a period of 1000 years. Before these words got into the New Testament they were a thousand years old. So we know exactly what they mean. The Greek word for baptize means to identify one thing with another, to identify with “something else.”

Homer, in the IX book of The Odyssey, used the word baptize in his analogy of the spear entering the eye of the Cyclops and with the immersing of hot steel in water by the smith: the steel was identified with the water.

Herodotus used the word baptize in baptizing a new spear in the blood of a pig which had been sacrificed to the god of war: the spear was identified with its intent, to draw blood. When the Spartans went to war they always took an oath to kill the enemy and in doing so they plunged it into the pig’s blood. That was called the baptism of the spear. It was now a warrior’s spear, it had touched blood. So the point of the spear, which is something, goes into something else (pig’s blood) which has been offered as a sacrifice to the god of war.

Euripides used baptize in identifying a sunken ship with the sea. The “something else” was the bottom of the sea. He said the ship was baptized in the sea. Thus, the connotation of the word is always identification with “something else” and that is what baptizo means. It means to put something into something else, and that is all.

We know this because there are seven baptisms found in the Bible. Four of them are dry and three of them are wet, but in each of these baptisms something or someone is identified with something else. That is what baptizo really means. “Baptize” is not an English word, and the only way to translate it is give it it’s proper meaning: to identify, to identify something with something else.

To summarise: Baptizo or baptise means to identify. That is the translation of the noun and “to identify” is the verb. This was true in the days of Homer. Homer used these words in the sense of identification. Then in the days of the great Greek historians of the fifth century BC, Herodotus and Thucydides used it. Euripides used it. And always with great consistency the verb and the nouns have meant identification. They connote identification. Something is identified with something else. Homer talks about the crafty Ulysses putting the sharpened beam into the eye of Cyclops. he says the plunging of the beam made a hissing noise like a man who smelt iron when he dips the iron into the water, and he used the word bapto, identifies it, so that the iron is tempered. So the word has been used extensively so there was never any excuse for a transliteration. The translation should be “identification.”

Baptism #2

Baptize means to identify: To be made one with. It means something so identified with something else that its nature or character is changed, or represents a real change that has already taken place.

There are seven baptisms in the scriptures (Four real, three ritual)

1. Real Baptisms: (Actual Identification)

a) Baptism of Moses — 1 Corinthians 10:1,2. The children of Israel are identified with Moses and the cloud as they pass through the Red Sea.

b) Baptism of the cross or cup — Matthew 20:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus Christ drank the cup filled with our sins — identified with our sin and bore it on the cross. He was made sin for us — 1 Peter 2:24.

c) Baptism of the Holy Spirit — (Believer), 1 Corinthians 12:13. The believer at the point of salvation is placed into the body of Christ. He is identified then as a believer, as a Christian — Acts 1:5; Romans 6:3,4; Galatians 3; Colossians 2:12, Ephesians 4:5.

d) Baptism of fire — (Unbelievers), the baptism of judgement on all believers: Battle of Armageddon, Matthew 25:31, 33; 3:11; Luke 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.

2. Ritual Baptisms: (Representative Identification) Water is used. Water is symbolic of something else, but the individual is really identified with the water.

a) Baptism of John — Matthew 3:6, 11a. Water is symbolic of the Kingdom of God which John preached. People, when baptized by John were indicating, in effect: “I have previously believed in Christ, I am now symbolising that identification with His Kingdom by baptism.”

b) Baptism of Jesus. Unique Baptism. Water was used. Jesus Christ was NOT a sinner. Water is symbolic of the Father’s will. Jesus Christ identified Himself with the Father’s will in the execution of salvation — Matthew 3:13-17. We cannot “follow the Lord in baptism” as to His purpose (securing our redemption) but can duplicate the mode of His baptism.

c) Baptism of the believer in the Church Age — Matthew 28:9. Water represents the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It symbolises retroactive and current positional truth. It is the ritual of the real baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is thus a picture of Spirit baptism.

The person going into the water is identified with the water, and he is saying in effect, “I am identified with Him in His death.”

The person coming out of the water is identified with the air which represents: Identification with Christ in His resurrection; The believer giving testimony to current positional truth — allowing His resurrection life to live through us.

Ritual without reality is meaningless. Water baptism is the ritual (picture) of the real (Baptism of the Holy Spirit). The believer needs doctrine before baptism, i.e. positional truth: retroactive positional truth , current positional truth, experiential positional truth, human good versus divine good. He should understand the difference between relationship and fellowship.

The believer was baptized in the early church very soon after salvation. Reason: Because as soon as the individual was saved he was given a long lesson in Bible doctrine. Immediately upon understanding the basics the individual was baptized. An individual should never be baptized until he understands the doctrine behind the ritual.

____________________________

Baptism

Baptize means to identify: To be made one with. It means something so identified with something else that its nature or character is changed, or represents a real change that has already taken place.

There are seven baptisms in the scriptures (Four real, three ritual)

1. Real Baptisms: (Actual Identification)

a) Baptism of Moses — 1 Corinthians 10:1,2. The children of Israel are identified with Moses and the cloud as they pass through the Red Sea.

d) Baptism of fire — (Unbelievers), the baptism of judgement on all believers: Battle of Armageddon, Matthew 25:31, 33; 3:11; Luke 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.

2. Ritual Baptisms: (Representative Identification) Water is used. Water is symbolic of something else, but the individual is really identified with the water.

The person going into the water is identified with the water, and he is saying in effect, “I am identified with Him in His death.”

Baptism of the Cross

The first use of the word “cup” is in Matthew 26:39 (The Cross). The cup contained the sins of the world. Jesus Christ was sinless — 2 Corinthians 5:21. The Father judged those sons — Isaiah 53:4-6.

Christ drank from the cup — John 18:11. Drinking from the cup is a picture of the judgement of God’s wrath. which fell upon the Son when He drank (when He bore the sins of the world). God’s wrath is against sin but the sins were poured out upon Christ who drank the cup to the bottom (bore the sins of the whole world), therefore the Father’s wrath was poured out upon Him.

The Father rejected human good for future judgement. The individual chooses human good for divine good (the cross). The work of Christ on the cross was divine good. If one rejects divine good (Christ’s work) they stand on their own merit (human good). Anyone standing on human good will have a cup from which he will drink, containing the wrath of God.

Jesus Christ deliberately drank from the cup: volition of His humanity. He received the judgement for our sins.

The alternative: Either accept Christ drinking the cup for you on the cross, or accept the wrath of God on yourself. If you reject the cross, then the alternative is the wrath of God.

In the Tribulation Jesus Christ becomes the judge and He pours out His vials (drinking cups) of judgement on religious unbelievers — Revelation 16.

When He came, first advent: He drank the cup.

When He comes, second advent: Unbelievers will drink the cup because they did not accept His drinking cup for them.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The baptism of the Holy Spirit did not occur in the Old Testament or in any previous dispensation — Acts 1:5, future tense. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was prophesied by John the Baptist — Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16. The mechanics for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given in 1 Corinthians 12:13. The Holy Spirit enters the believer into union with Christ at the moment of salvation. It happened the first time on the Day of Pentecost.

The unification of believers is dependent upon the baptism of the Holy Spirit (this only occurs at the moment of salvation). The implication of the baptism H/S are given in Galatians 3:26-28. Principle: All social distinctions are destroyed. The principle of retroactive identification is brought out in Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit begins the Church Age — Compare: Matthew 16:18 (Says the Church is future); Acts 1:5; 2:3. Key verses: Acts 11:15-17 — says the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place on the Day of Pentecost. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “one body”: the body of Christ, Colossians 1:18.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the basis for positional truth — Ephesians 1:3-6. It is not an experience, it is NOT speaking in tongues or ecstatics. The aorist tense of 1 Corinthians 12:13, once and for all, plus the phrase “we all” (all who believe), not just some.

Colossians 2:12

— we are actually looking at the ritual related to this spiritual circumcision. “Buried” is the aorist passive participle from the compound verb sunqaptw. Sun means “with,” qaptw means to be buried. It should be translated “Having been buried with.” It is an aorist tense: point of salvation. Passive voice: you received this burial, you didn’t bury yourself.

“with him” — we have the locative of a)utoj, a pronoun used here for Jesus Christ. It is in the locative form to indicate union with Christ — “Having been buried with him” or “in him.” This is the positional truth of Romans 6.

Then we have a prepositional phrase, the preposition e)n plus the instrumental of baptisma. Baptisma is in the instrumental case — “Having been buried in him by means of the baptism.” There is a definite article here.

We have to remember that baptisma which is a noun, baptizw which is a verb, and baptw which is a verb, are all words which have come down to us through three different Greek languages over a period of 1000 years. Before these words got into the New Testament they were a thousand years old. So we know exactly what they mean. The worst thing that ever happened to the Christian church in the English speaking world is when these words were transliterated. For example, baptizw is transliterated “baptise.” But it isn’t a translation. Only a translation tells us what is going on. It is legitimate only to transliterate the proper names of people and geographical locations, and so on — rivers, mountains, cities; but it is never legitimate to transliterate a verb like baptizw. It should be translated. That has not been done and that is a part of the great problem. Baptizw or baptise means to identify. That is the translation of the noun and “to identify” is the verb. This was true in the days of Homer. Homer used these words in the sense of identification. Then in the days of the great Greek historians of the fifth century BC, Herodotus and Thucydides used it. Euripides used it. And always with great consistency the verb and the nouns have meant identification. They connote identification. Something is identified with something else. Homer talks about the crafty Ulysses putting the sharpened beam into the eye of Cyclops. he says the plunging of the beam made a hissing noise like a man who smelt iron when he dips the iron into the water, and he used the word baptw, identifies it, so that the iron is tempered. So the word has been used extensively so there was never any excuse for a transliteration. The translation should be identification.

Baptisms

by
Dr. George E. Meisinger
Chafer Theological Seminary
cts@school.com

Introduction

When one hears the word "baptism," it is natural to assume water baptism. In many people’s minds water and baptism are inseparable.

The Term

The word "baptism" comes from the Greek word baptizo. In the fourth century B.C., Aristophanes used the term of dipping or plunging a cup into a bowl of wine to draw out the wine.[1]

Polybius in the second century B.C., used baptizo to describe a sunken ship, obviously immersed.[2]

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the term to describe a Syrian general, Naaman, who plunged himself (baptizo) seven times into the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:14). In these three instances, whatever or whoever was "baptized" was immersed.

The term, however, was also used metaphorically without involving water. For example, in a papyrus dated about 150 B.C., the individual "baptized" was overwhelmed or flooded, not by water, but by calamities.[3]

To be baptized in the ancient world, then, was to be engulfed by something, whether wine, water or trouble. The term emphasizes the notion of "submerge," or "immerse."

The Meaning

If we ask what meaning "baptism" has, we find help in an ancient custom that employed the term baptizo. Before going to war, Spartan soldiers took their spears and swords and plunged (baptized) them in blood.

The Egyptians had a custom when a crocodile dragged a person into the Nile and drowned him. When his body was recovered, the priests embalmed the remains, arrayed it in beautiful robes and placed it in a sacred sarcophagus. They treated his body "'as one who is more than an ordinary being.' A man drowned in this way was called one who had been 'immersed' [baptized]."[4]

What do we learn from the Spartan and Egyptian usages of the term? The Spartan's immersion was to identify their weapons with their intended purpose, which for them was warfare. A similar situation exists for the Christian. His baptism publicly identifies him with God's purpose for his life, which for them is to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Egyptians believed that the immersion of the drowned man identified him with special status. He was no longer ordinary, but extraordinary. So it is with Christians. Their baptism identifies them with their new extraordinary place in the plan of God: they are sons of God, royal priests, and raised to newness of life.

It is likewise with the various New Testament baptisms: Each act of baptism identifies the individual with something suggested by its context.

The Eight Baptisms
of the New Testament

Of the eight baptisms that follow, the first five involve no water, that is, no one got wet. The final three baptisms involve water. Yet in all cases the baptisms identified those baptized with something.[5]

1. The baptism of Israel (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).

In this passage the apostle speaks of Israel (“our fathers”), all of whom were baptized unto Moses, the Pillar of Cloud and the sea. Because Moses was God's appointed leader, by baptism unto Moses they were identified with Moses and God’s purpose for Israel through Moses. The cloud spoke of the Lord and divine guidance. The sea, which God parted, spoke of divine omnipotence. Thus, the baptism of Israel identified the Jews with God's omnipotent plan for Israel, under Moses, between the Exodus and entrance into Canaan. By the way, no Israelite got wet!

2. The baptism of the cup (Matthew 20:20-33; Luke 12:50).

The "cup" refers to Jesus Christ's suffering on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ identified with our sins in that God "made Him who knew no sin to be [a sin-bearer] for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21; cp. 1 Peter 2:24). Being our sin-bearer, Christ was immersed in our sin and died, paying the penalty for our sin and guilt. He drank the cup of our suffering for us. We could also call this the baptism of the Cross.

3. The baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16-17; cp. Isaiah 4:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

This fire speaks of divine judgment that destroys the chaff (unbelievers) in Israel. These unbelievers will be identified or immersed with fire or divine judgment at Christ's second coming. God removes them from the earth at that time (Matthew 24:37-41; cp. 25:31-46). Three parables deal with the baptism of fire: (a) The wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), (b) the good and bad fish (Matthew 13:47-51), and (c) the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).

4. The baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians. 12:13).

In this baptism, which takes place for every believer at the moment of faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit identifies each Christian with the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 1:18; 2:12). This identification makes each one a "new creation" in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), thus granting him a new, perfect, and eternally right relationship with God.

5. The baptism of Noah (1 Peter 3:20-21).

Noah's ark speaks of how the baptism of the Spirit perfectly delivers a believer from judgment. Peter shows that Noah's experience of full deliverance in the ark was a type of the baptism of the Spirit. The ark speaks of God's perfect provision for all who place their trust in Jesus Christ. Noah was a believer and, therefore, placed in the ark, identified with it, and thus delivered from the judgment of the flood. The believer who trusts Jesus Christ is placed in the ark of positional truth and, consequently, delivered forever from eternal judgment.

6. The baptism of John (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:4; cp. John 1:25-28).

This is the first of the three baptisms that involve water. John immersed believers in water. The water spoke of their faith in John's message concerning the coming Messiah and of their repentance from sin because they were now in the kingdom of the regenerate. After Pentecost (Acts 2), John's baptism was inadequate because it was limited to the time of Christ's earthly ministry. For that reason, Paul later rebaptized John's disciples to identify them with the new Church Age and its distinctives (Acts 18:25-26; 19:3).

7. The baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17; John 1:29-34).

John the Baptist immersed Jesus Christ in water. The water spoke of God the Father's will for His Son. By His baptism, Christ testified to His willingness to fulfill God's will for His life. This was a unique, never to be repeated baptism.

8. The baptism of believers (Matthew 28:19; Acts 16:14-15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 1 Corinthians 1:13-17).

Immersion in water symbolizes, or gives testimony to, a Christian’s immersion into union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. This further identifies us with Christ's death and resurrected life (cp. Romans 6:1-14). What believers' baptism portrays is a deduction derived from details of the baptism of the Spirit. More follows in a moment.

Chart number one in the appendix compares and contrasts these eight baptisms.

Water Baptism

There was a time when baptism was a great troubling issue in the church. For example, after the Reformation, there was a group of believers called the Anabaptists who believed that one should only baptize people after they had become Christians. Thus if one had been baptized before trusting Christ as his Savior, they baptized him again after he became a Christian.

That is why people called them Anabaptists: ana means "again." There were many who took exception to that! They believed that if they had baptized someone before his salvation, it was sufficient. They believed it so strongly that widespread hostility broke out against the Anabaptists and many were martyred for their convictions:

· The Protestants burned some at the stake.

· The Roman Catholics drowned those they caught.[6]

In later centuries heated conflicts broke out among some believers about whether one should be baptized by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. Most denominations believe that immersion is acceptable, but some also think that you may merely pour or sprinkle water on the person being baptized. One thing remains clear, however, in spite of all of the fuss that people have generated over the centuries, the New Testament commands baptism.

Its Meaning

In keeping with our study under #8 above, when a Christian is baptized in water, he testifies to his identification with Christ. God baptizes the believer by the agency of the Holy Spirit into union with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), thus making him a part of the body of Christ, the Church (Colossians 1:18). In this way the believer is identified or associated with the Head of the body, Christ Himself, and with the rest of the body, his fellow believers.

To develop the symbolism of water baptism further, we may say that as a believer is immersed in water, he signifies his identification with Christ's death on the Cross and how that washed away his sins through faith in Christ (Colossians 2:12, 20; 3:3; cp. Acts 22:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Revelation 7:14). As he comes up out of the water, he signifies his identification with Christ's resurrected life and how he may now walk in "newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12; 3:1).

Is Water Baptism
Necessary for Salvation?

There are at least four reasons why we must answer this question "No!"

Theological Reason

Salvation is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. Thus, baptism does not save anyone, or help to save anyone. Man can do nothing by way of good works to acquire or maintain eternal life (Romans 4:4-5; 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

Scriptural Reasons

1. Acts 8:12-13. "When they believed [i.e., 'after' they believed] . . . they were baptized." The sequence is first faith, which saved, then water baptism.

2. Acts 10:44-48. The sequence is clear: Peter preached, the Holy Spirit fell on those who heard the word (and believed) "then Peter answered . . . and ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Note that he ordered or commanded, thus did not make water baptism optional for those who had believed.

3. Acts 9:17-18; 22:6-16, esp. 16. The sequence of events is (a) Paul was born-again in Damascus following a challenge from Ananias (Acts 22:16), (b) the Holy Spirit then filled him (Acts 9:17), and (c) finally Ananias baptized Paul with water (Acts 9:18; 22:16).

4. Romans 4:1-4, 10-11. This passage gives us an extraordinary illustration of how ritual follows inner spiritual reality. Abraham first believed then God imputed righteousness to Abraham while he was still uncircumcised. Then he was circumcised. In fact, the Lord did not have Abraham circumcised until 25 years after he was declared righteous (cp. Hebrews 11:8; Acts 7:2-4 and Genesis 12:1-3 with 17:9-19).

Historical Reasons

The Didache (ca. A.D. 150)[7] does not allow for baptism until the reality precedes the ritual. It claims that "instruction precedes baptism."[8]

Josephus, a first century historian, states "that the washing (with water) . . . [was] not in order to the putting away of some sins . . . [but presupposed] that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness."[9]

Logical Reason

What about those too sick to baptize? Or a dying man who believes on the street following a fatal car accident? What about the repentant thief on the cross next to Christ who put his faith in Him (Luke 23:29-43)? Also Scripture declares Zaccheus (Luke 19:9) and Cornelius (Acts 10:7) to be saved before they were baptized.

What Water Baptism
Does Not Do

It does not contribute to our salvation. God gives each new convert at least 33 things at the moment of salvation that place him in perfect and eternal relationship to God (Hebrews 10:14). One cannot improve upon such perfection with or without water.

It does not make one more spiritual. A Christian achieves spiritual status only through walking by means of the Holy Spirit and through growth in God's Word, not through water.

Water baptism has no magic in it and imparts no mystical or spiritual potential. It confers no grace to those who are baptized, that is, it does not guarantee to them heaven, spiritual success, forgiveness, a greater potential to become saved at a later age, nor secure the removal of sin, whether the sin nature, imputed sin, or personal sin. Water baptism is a picture or symbol of an already existing inner reality.

Is Water Baptism
Obligatory After Salvation?

In a word, "yes!" But why? John baptized Jesus Christ and we are to imitate Christ to fulfill the standard of righteousness as He did (cp. Matthew 3:15).

Christ baptized others through His disciples (John 3:22, 26; cp. 4:1-2), showing His approval. In the Great Commission, the resurrected Christ commanded His followers to baptize those they disciple, just days before the Church dispensation began (Matthew 28:19-20). In obedience to Christ's command, the apostles commanded the newly converted to be baptized (Acts 2:38).

The New Testament church practiced water baptism as an integral tradition of the present age (Acts 19:4; 1 Corinthians 1:13-17). In 1 Corinthians 1:13-17 (cp. esp. 1:17 with 4:15) a clear-cut distinction is made between the Gospel and baptism. Paul led all of them to Christ through the gospel, but only baptized the few mentioned in chapter 1. He delegated the baptizing of the rest to his evangelistic team members, e.g., Sosthenes and Timothy (1 Corinthians 1:1; 16:10).

The fact remains that though he did not emphasize baptism, he did in fact baptize. It is one thing to say that Paul did not emphasize baptism, but it is non sequitur to say that because he chose to delegate the ritual we should not baptize. Paul did baptize some, and since he thought it important enough to do that, we may assume he, as Christ before Him, delegated the rest to others!

By the way, throughout the centuries a baptism service has been a time of rejoicing, not a chore to be endured, or to be gotten over as quickly as possible.

Let me illustrate a positive attitude regarding baptism.[10] At a large church in Elkton, Maryland, a visitor came to a Sunday morning service. During the message he listened with great interest and at the conclusion of the service the preacher gave his usual appeal for people to believe in Christ for eternal life and forgiveness. This visitor showed that he wanted to believe in Christ.

The custom of that church is to baptize new believers on the spot. Consequently -- and I quote the preacher now -- "When he came into the baptistry, I dropped him into the water and out again to walk in the newness of life. He came up out of the water clapping his hands and shouting, `Hot dog, Hot dog, Hot dog.’

"Our people roared with laughter. I quickly asked them for silence as I explained that this . . . man had not been around the church and didn't know about ‘Amen, Praise the Lord, and Hallelujah.’ His word was ‘Hot dog,’ and he was praising the Lord with the only vocabulary he knew."

The point is that baptism is not only necessary as a fulfillment of righteous living, but a time of rejoicing as the new believer thus testifies to his faith in the Savior. This expression of faith should also be a catalyst of joy to those observing.

How Should
Someone Be Baptized?

Three ways of baptizing exist in the Christian world today: sprinkling, pouring, and immersion. Does the New Testament show that the first Christians followed one or the other?

The primary usage of baptizo is to "immerse" or "dip." There are other Greek words for pouring (ekxeo)[11] and dipping (bapto).[12]

The verb "to baptize" is often used with prepositions (eis and en) whose primary meanings are "into" and "in" that denote to immerse completely.[13]

Circumstances attending the administration of baptism further denote immersion. For example:

· "Coming up out of the water" (Mark 1:9-10). We best explain this as coming up out of the water that had immersed the new convert.

· John baptized near the city of Salim "because there was much water there" (John 3:23). Other places also had much water, e.g., the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13, 16). The best way to explain the mention of “much” water is that more than a pitcher full of water was used to accomplish baptism. Why? Immersion was practiced.

· When Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, "they both went down into the water." When done "they came up out of the water" (Acts 8:38-39). This, again, we best explain by an immersion.

Immersion is the best mode to picture our identification with Christ's death and resurrection (Romans 6). Going completely down into the water speaks of our death and burial with Christ (Romans 6:3-4). Coming up out of the water speaks of our resurrection with Christ unto newness of life (Romans 6:5b, 8, 11b).

Early church history: The Didache allowed pouring but only if no other means were available. It draws a clear distinction between pouring (ekxeo) and immersion (baptizo). Historian Philip Schaff says immersion was the original form,[14] and Martin Luther preferred it.[15] John Calvin says that immersion was the custom of the ancient church, though he thought the mode inconsequential.[16]

Proselyte baptism and John the Baptist's baptism were immersion. It does not make sense to claim that the church practiced something different without sound evidence that they did. Application: if you have not been baptized since believing in Christ, you should be immersed. If, however, someone poured or sprinkled you after your new birth, that is acceptable. Scripture does not command the mode, but does the act! If one has a choice in the matter, though, it is best to follow the New Testament pattern.

Who Should Be Baptized?

It is for Believers

Baptism is for Christians who have believed and want to bring forth fruit in keeping with their repentance (deduction from Matthew 3:8). They also want to fulfill the process of discipleship for their lives (Matthew 28:19) and accept Christ's authority and thus are obedient (Acts 2:38).

Note that though Paul did not emphasize baptism in his ministry, that is, he did not always do it himself, yet he still did do it, or had others do it for him. And he did it as late as the 5th decade of the first century in both Corinth and Ephesus (1 Corinthians 1 and Acts 19).

See Chart number two in the appendix that provides an overview of the historical occurrences of water baptism in the first century.

What About Baptizing Infants?

If we should baptize only those who believe, what does this mean for "infant baptism?"[17] Many parents rightfully want the best for their children, thus they have them baptized where this is practiced. Yet there are at least 7 reasons for not baptizing infants and for parents to wait until a later time:

1. There is no evidence in the New Testament of someone baptizing a baby. To do it, therefore, is to practice it without biblical precedent or teaching.

2. Sometimes appeal is made to "household baptism" (whole families baptized) as a reason for baptizing babies. This, however, is not valid because the texts show that those baptized had believed, something a baby cannot yet do (Acts 11:14 & 17-18; 16:31-34; 1 Corinthians 1:16 cp. with 16:15).

3. Others appeal to the Lord's blessing of little children (Matthew 19:13-15), insisting those acts justify baptizing infants. Yet blessing and baptizing are different. To bless is to seek God's benefits for! To baptize is to perform a ritual that pictures an already existing inner spiritual reality.

4. Some people appeal to 1 Corinthians 7:14, which says that children are "holy" or "sanctified." Yet sanctification and baptism are two different things. What the passage does say is that God regards the children of a mixed marriage (believer + unbeliever) to be legitimate (as opposed to illicit).

5. Some attempt to create an analogy between circumcision and baptism, appealing to Colossians 2:11-13. This too cannot stand because:

· Circumcision and baptism are concerned with separate ages: Israel and the Church. For Israel circumcision was a sign of their national relationship with the Lord. For the church baptism is a sign of identification with Christ's death and life.

· Circumcision and baptism involve different covenants, that is, on the one hand, the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants and, on the other hand, the New Covenant. Under the Mosaic Covenant the Lord commanded to circumcise 8 day old boys. Under the New Covenant, we should baptize all who believe, whether old or young, male or female (Acts 8:12).

· God gave the sign of circumcision only to Abraham's descendants, thus Jonah did not ask the Assyrians to be circumcised. Nor did Elisha seek to circumcise Naaman, the Syrian.

6. There is an implication in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Here Christ commands Christians to make disciples by baptizing and teaching converts. You cannot "make disciples" of babies for they cannot be taught, thus it is senseless to baptize them.

7. Infant baptism is expressly contradicted by several biblical truths:

· By the Scripture's prerequisite of faith.

· By symbolism, i.e., you would not bury one physically before his death, so similarly you should not bury one symbolically in baptism before his identification with Christ's death.

· By history: the Didache did not allow for infant baptism for it claimed that "instruction precedes baptism." Historically, it appears, infant baptism arose because of the erroneous teachings of sacramentalism [that baptism confers a special or mystical grace] and baptismal regeneration [that forgiveness requires water baptism].[18]

· By attempts to rationalize its existence. Many advocates claim that the power of infant baptism is not tied to the exact moment of administration, but looks forward to the child's later years. They sometimes say that baptism becomes effective when the child's "dawning" intelligence awakens to what took place. The Bible does not claim that any type of power exists in water baptism itself. Furthermore, the Bible portrays baptism as taking place after the "dawned intelligence" has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

8. The insurmountable problems of infant baptism

· It is a subtle deception for it promotes a false security about salvation. It blurs the fact that the only means of salvation is faith alone in Christ alone. Thus, it works against one's voluntary act of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

· It warps sound theology because infant baptism minimizes the complete sufficiency of faith in God's promises to effect salvation (cp. 1 Peter 1:23).

· Infant baptism promotes a type of legalism because some groups that practice it exclude the infants of parents whose faith is nominal or insincere. Church leaders then may arrogate to themselves the ability to discern how sincere parents are, or to fathom their motivation--something only God can do (1 Corinthians 4:5).

· Though infant baptism is not directly prohibited in the New Testament, it is better to carry out baptism as Scripture shows. Follow the Word; do not invent something not there.

· One should not employ infant baptism for "infant dedication" because (1) it has no precedent in the Word, and (2) it adds a different and biblically foreign meaning to baptism.

What About Rebaptism?

Paul rebaptized a group of John the Baptist's disciples, who were probably true believers (Acts 19:1-4). In fact, there is no reason to suppose that if they had died between their conversion under John and before their baptism by Paul that they would not have gone to heaven.

Prior to their encounter with Paul, however, they had not been baptized by the Holy Spirit and thus added to the Body of Christ, the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 1:18).

Paul’s concern in Acts 19 was that they receive the Spirit and thus be identified with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection (cp. Roman 6:1-14). Then Paul’s water baptism would take on a new meaning for them, matching their new inner reality and position in Christ.

The implication is that rebaptism should be done if it's a case of being rebaptized as a Church Age believer. Of course, we are no longer in a transitional period such as those in the book of Acts. So what is the principle? Since the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a once-for-all-event, baptism should be done once-for-all after you have been born again.

Conclusion

As the enthusiastic convert who cried out "hot dog!" we should seek not only to "fulfill all righteousness," but also to rejoice at a baptism service. A baptism is foremost of all a symbol of one's new position in Jesus Christ and how through faith the Spirit identifies him with Christ's death and resurrection.

Appendix

Chart One

NT BAPTISMS
Name	Type & Verse	Baptizer	Agency	Identified With
John	Ritual (Mt. 3:11)	John the Baptist	Water	Repentance
Jesus	Ritual (Mt. 3:13-17)	John the Baptist	Water	Righteousness
Believers	Ritual (Mt. 28:19)	A Believer	Water	Body of Christ
Noah	Real (1 Pet. 3:20f)	Jesus Christ	Ark	Positional Truth
Israel	Real (1 Cor 10:1-2)	God	Cloud & Sea	Moses
Cup	Real (Mt. 20:20-23)	God	Cross	Sins of World
Fire	Real (Lk. 3:16-17)	Jesus Christ	Fire	Judgment
Spirit	Real (1 Cor. 12:13)	Jesus Christ	Holy Spirit	Body of Christ

Chart Two

WATER BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER An Historical Occurrence Overview
LORD'S SUPPER	Gospels Acts 2		Acts 20 1 Cor. 10-11		Love Feast in Jude 12
	10 Days before Pentecost Jesus says to baptize all nations (Mt. 28:16-20).		Paul baptized in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:13-17). Baptism in a theological discussion (1 Cor. 15:29)		Baptisms in the plural (Heb. 6:2)	John records the baptizing efforts of Jesus & His disciples (Jn. 3:22-26; 4:1-2).
WATER BAPTISM	Jewish Believers Predominant			Gentile Believers Predominate
	AD 30-40	AD 40-50	AD 50-60		AD 60-70	AD 70-100
	Baptize "all who are afar off" (Acts 2:38-39, 41). Examples: * Samaritans (Acts 8:12-13, 16) * Ethiopian (Acts 8:36-38) * Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48)		Lydia (Acts 16:14-15) Philippian jailer (Acts 16:33) John's disciples (Acts 19:5) Paul mentions his own baptism (Acts 22:16)		Book of Acts end ca. AD 61. Paul dies AD 64, less than 10 years after rebaptizing John's disciples.

George E. Meisinger is dean of Chafer Theological Seminary and teaches in the Old and New Testament departments. He received a Th.M. in Old Testament Literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. in Biblical Studies from Western Seminary. He also pastors Grace Church in Huntington Beach, California.

[1] Henry Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, London: Oxford University Press, 1966; p. 305.

[3] James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963; p. 102.

[4] Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972; 1:533.

[6] Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980; pp. 331-334. Also see Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 3, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

[8] James Orr, editor, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1939), 1:385-401.

[9] Josephus, Antiquities, 18:5:2. He also says that "baptism is acceptable to God when used, not for the purification of the soul, but for sanctification of life, the soul being already cleansed by righteousness" (Ant., 18, 117).

[10] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1984), p. 681.

[11] Bauer, Gingrich and Danker (BGD), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 247, give “pour out” as the principle definition.

[12] See use of the term bäptw at 2 Kings 8:15; Luke 16:24; John 13:16; and Revelation 2:14; 19:13. Also see BGD, pp. 132-33.

[13] See Mark 1:5, 9; Matthew 3:11; John 1:26, 31, 33.

[16] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, MCMLX), 4. 15. 19 (pg. 1320). Also see Schaff 8:587.

[17] Frederic Godet, Commentary on 1 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1979), pp. 346-48.

[18] See Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, Everett F. Harrison, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book house, 1960, pp. 83-89, for a series of articles titled “Baptism,” “Baptism, Believers’,” “Baptism, Infant,” “Baptism for the Dead,” and “Baptismal Regeneration.”