About 5 years ago, I made a statement of my basic beliefs about baptism. Having reviewed the passages on baptism, I want to repeat that statement as a launching point for a discussion to follow:
I believe in baptism…
…of adults
…in water
…by immersion
…as part of saving faith
…for the forgiveness of sins
…accompanied by the reception of the Holy Spirit
…to enter into the body of Christ
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?
As we survey the New Testament texts on baptism, we’ll turn our attention to the letters. To start off, let’s focus just on the passages that specifically mention baptism:
Rom 6:3–4; 1 Cor 1:13–17; 10:2; 12:13; 15:29; Gal 3:27; Eph 4:5; Col 2:12; Heb 6:2; 1 Pet 3:21
The first passage is Romans 6, where Paul uses the example of baptism as part of his teaching on the importance of repentance and sanctification. It’s important to note that baptism is not the point of this passage, yet important things are taught about baptism.
In the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, we find a passage that is puzzling to some, where Paul talks about having been sent to preach not to baptize. I think people who haven’t been in missions settings are especially puzzled by this; those who have realize the complications of having the visiting celebrity actually doing the baptisms and the importance of using local people for this act to enhance the connection with the local church. (I wrote more fully on this a while back)
Chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians has a symbolic use of the word baptize, where Paul talks about the Israelites being baptized “into Moses” when they entered the cloud and the sea. Chapter 12 of the same book says that we were all baptized by the Spirit into the body of believers.
The fourth reference in 1 Corinthians makes the head-scratching comment about baptism for the dead. Lots of theories out there about that one.
Galatians 3:27 talks about Christians being clothed in Christ in baptism.
Ephesians 4 tells us that there is only one baptism; it’s surprising how often this unity-inspired comment has led to disagreement and division.
Colossians 2:12 speaks of baptism as a burial and a raising, the same language Paul used in Romans 6. It also emphasizes the role of faith in Christian baptism.
Hebrews 6 speaks of teachings about “baptisms” as being part of the elementary teachings of the church.
1 Peter 3:21 compares the Christian’s experience in baptism with that of Noah and his family on the ark. And I don’t think Peter had even seen the movie!
Next I want to look at some of the passages that may be referencing baptism even though the word isn’t used. Did I miss any direct references?
As we survey New Testament texts on baptism, we find numerous passages in the book of Acts. (A search in Accordance shows 27 mentions of baptism or baptize) Specifically, we find many examples of baptisms, with a bit of teaching around them.
Chapter 1 repeats the contrast between John’s baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus was going to bring about. (I won’t do much discussion of my views on what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, having discussed that topic earlier on this blog)
Chapter 2 includes the announcement of Christian baptism by Peter (“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”) as well as the first baptisms. (about 3000 people)
In Chapter 8, we see numerous people baptized in Samaria and the baptism of an Ethiopian man by the side of a desert road. Verse 37, which may or may not have been part of the original text, gives us “the good confession” which is often repeated at baptisms:
And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
In Chapter 9, we see the conversion of Paul. Luke tells the story of Paul’s baptism here, then quotes Paul telling the same story in Chapter 22.
Chapter 10 sees the conversion of Cornelius and his family. The New Testament never says that Cornelius was the first Gentile convert, but many believe that to be the case. Either way, his conversion became a test case for the early church.
Acts 16 shows us some conversions in Philippi, including Lydia and the unnamed jailer along with their households.
Chapter 18 tells us about some conversions in Corinth. It also has the story of Apollos, a Christian preacher who was preaching John’s baptism. The story tells us of his doctrine being corrected; no mention is made as to whether or not he himself was rebaptized.
In contrast, a group of believers in Ephesus are rebaptized in Chapter 19, for the same reason: they had been baptized with John’s baptism and hadn’t received the Holy Spirit.
That’s a quick overview of Acts, which by far gives us more information about baptism than any of the other books. (at least in sheer quantity of texts)
Did I miss anything major this time?
Over 30 years ago, I studied for three years and earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible. Then I went on and finished a master’s degree in Biblical Studies. I’ve been in full-time ministry for a significant portion of those 30 years. I now do a radio program called “Read The Bible” (Lea La Biblia).
And then I write a blog post about baptism in the gospels… and forget to mention the baptism of Jesus!
Wow. That’s an inauspicious start. The good thing is, we’ve got commenters like Jordan who will graciously point out the error of my ways, even giving me the benefit of the doubt that my omission may have been intentional.
No. I messed up. One of the key events concerning baptism in the gospels is Jesus’ own baptism. It’s in all four gospels, with varying degrees of detail. It’s the moment when he publicly accepted his role as Messiah and was publicly declared to be the Son of God. It was something he did “to fulfill all righteousness.”
It’s really important. And needs to be considered as we study baptism.
Jordan also provided a link to an article about baptism in the Old Testament, along with a disclaimer that he disagrees with many of the conclusions, but appreciates the list of verses. I’ve never emphasized the connection between these Old Testament washings and New Testament baptism, but it’s worth a look.
OK… what else did I miss?