Last post, we looked at places where the New Testament letters mention “baptism” or “baptize.” We should also mention passages in the epistles that might be referring to baptism without using the word.

1 Corinthians 6:11 talks about Christians having been washed. This could refer to having been washed in baptism, having been symbolically washed in the blood of Christ, or both.

In the same way, Ephesians 5:26 speaks of the church having been washed “with water through the word.” The reference to water suggests a link to baptism; the reference to the word suggests a symbolic reference.

Titus 3:5 speaks of the Christian conversion as experiencing the “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This is an obvious reference to baptism or an obvious reference to something else, depending on your point of view.

Hebrews 10 encourages Christians to draw near to God. Borrowing language from the Old Testament regulations concerning the purification of priests, the author mentions “having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Is the mention of water merely part of the priestly symbolism or is the author speaking of baptisms role in the purification of the Christian?

I personally believe that 3 of the 4 contain a direct reference to baptism; I’m not so sure about the passage in 1 Corinthians. But we’ll get into all of that in future posts.

What passages would you add to the list?