What Did the New Testament Writers Mean by "Baptism"?
If our goal is to discover what a biblical author meant almost two millenia ago in a foreign language when he wrote about baptism, we should not consult a modern English dictionary like Websters. Why? Because English dictionaries tell you how a word is used today by those who speak English.
If we hope to discover what the biblical writers meant by baptism, we must consult what it meant in the language they used (Greek) when they wrote the New Testament. We should also examine those biblical contexts where they used "baptize" or "baptism."
The Verb: To Baptize
Unlike today where the verb "to baptize" is primarily used in religious settings, in the time of Jesus this word was also used in secular contexts in either a literal or a figurative manner to mean "immerse, ... plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm, etc."1 For example, among those ancient Greek documents which still exist where the verb baptize was used, we find that "baptize" was used to describe a boat which had sunk as well as a person who was overwhelmed with problems.2
The Noun: Baptism
The noun "baptism" refers to the dipping and the immersion of someone or something. For example, Mark 7:6 uses baptism to refer to the rules of the Jews to immerse vessels to remove impurity. Some Greek manuscripts in this verse use baptism to include the washing of beds whereby describing the practice of washing their pallets much as we today wash blankets and sleeping beds. Again, the idea is of plunging an object into water. See Matthew 9:6 for a reference to this pallet style of bed.
Within the New Testament we also find baptism being used in a metaphorical manner. Jesus referred to the overwhelming nature of his impending death as being a baptism. Luke 12:50
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 Paul called Israel's crossing of the Red Sea a baptism. Paul argued that this crossing was a baptism because the Israelites were surrounded by water - there were walls of water on both sides of them as well as a water canopy above them. Similarly the baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to God's Spirit being poured out upon certain individuals so that they were overwhelmed and immersed by His Spirit. Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 17
The only descriptions used in the New Testament for water baptism depict it as a "burial" followed by a "raising up." Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12 Accordingly, John is said to have been baptizing at Aenon because there was plenty of water available there. John 3:23 Likewise, in Acts 8:38 baptism involved two men "going down into the water." In agreement with this, the nature of baptism is described in Hebrews 10:22 by the phrase "our bodies washed with pure water." As outlined below, while the washing of someone's body with water and the application of Christ's blood to one's heart are simultaneous in Hebrews 10:22, it would be a mistake to confuse the priestly metaphor of sprinkling blood to be a description of the physical act of baptism.
What is the Purpose and the Result of Being Baptized in the Name of Jesus?
Analysis
The central promises of the covenant Jesus has made possible are: forgiveness of sins and God taking people to be His people. Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:16-18 Just as those elements associated with producing the new covenant are described as providing the blessings of the new covenant (e.g. Jesus' blood Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 5:9) so to, baptism is described as procuring the blessings of forgiveness and belonging to God. Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26-27; 1 Peter 3:21 Accordingly, it should be clear that with baptism a person is entering into the new covenant which therefore results in that person receiving the blessings of the new covenant.
Why would anyone choose to be baptized? Because he or she believes the message about Jesus in the gospel and desires to rely upon Jesus for salvation. Acts 2:41, 8:12, 35-36; 16:32-33 Baptism is therefore a faith response to the message of the gospel in which someone calls upon the name of the Lord trusting in Jesus' blood to cleanse him from all sin as he or she is physically buried in water. Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-4 Because of this obedient faith, that individual is born of God and God places him or her within His community of the saved. Baptism describes that moment when someone dies to sin and begins to live a new life in Christ to serve God.
What Should We Expect to Find in the New Testament if this Assessment is Accurate?
• We would expect the scriptures to affirm that salvation comes to those who trust in Jesus and in his blood because with baptism a person is relying upon Jesus for salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 3:25; 5:1, 9• We would also expect salvation and conversion to be described in terms of obedience since we must respond in faith to the gospel by being baptized. 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:9; Acts 6:7
• We would expect to consistently find examples of unbelievers responding to the gospel by being baptized. Acts 2:41; 8:12, 35-36
• We would NOT expect to find any examples of anyone being saved by only saying a sinner's prayer to accept Jesus into their life as their personal Savior. Accordingly, there are no examples of anyone being saved by just "accepting Jesus into their heart."
For a discussion of texts like Acts 4:4 consider the article "Children of God by Faith." For a biblical assessment of the doctrinal teaching of Romans 10:9-13 consider either Everyone Who Calls Upon the Lord Shall be Saved! This is Good News! or "Children of God by Faith."• Since there is no need to teach even the least of those in the new covenant to know the Lord (Hebrews 8:11), we would NOT expect to find any examples of those incapable of believing the gospel (for example, babies) being baptized. Accordingly, there are no examples of babies being baptized in the New Testament.
Various Baptisms in the New Testament
Within the New Testament, three different baptisms deserve study since sometimes people confuse them with each other. However, by the time of about 60 A.D. when Paul wrote Ephesians 4:4, the Christian community only observed one baptism. Below is a brief outline of these three different immersions mentioned within the New Testament.
John's baptism
John's baptism was a water baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Mark 1:4 Those baptized with this baptism were told to look for the one who would follow. Mark 1:7; Acts 19:4 This baptism was only valid until Christ's death and resurrection. Those who were baptized with this baptism following the resurrection of Christ were rebaptized. Acts 19:3-5
Baptism in the name of Jesus
Baptism in the name of Jesus refers to that water baptism which is based upon Christ and which Jesus commanded his apostles to administer to make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20. The book of Acts demonstrates that this baptism was the regular practice of the early Church. Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12-13, 16, 36-38; 9:18, etc.
All who respond to the gospel by being baptized are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 Although some have understood the gift of the Holy Spirit to be a gift which the Spirit gives (e.g. salvation), in view of Acts 19:1-3 it would seem that the gift is the Holy Spirit. From Paul's question it is clear that he associated knowledge (if not possession) of the Spirit to be associated with baptism in Jesus' name.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
John announced that the one who would follow him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John 1:33; Mark 1:8 Although Jesus had spent about three years with his apostles, had given them authority over evil spirits and had even breathed on them to receive the Spirit, none of these events are refered to biblically as the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was only before his ascent into heaven that he told his apostles that they would be immersed in the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5 This baptism with the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit descended upon them and filled the room leading to the gospel being preached for the first time to the Jews. Acts 2:1-4, 33
The only other occasion where scripture records this baptism occurring is when the gospel was first preached to the Gentiles. Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-17 By pouring out His Spirit in this occasion even on Gentiles, God taught Peter (and the other Jewish Christians) that He had accepted the Gentiles.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a baptism which a person can be commanded to obey, it was the result of the Spirit's initiative. Scripture only describes the events of Pentecost and Cornelius' conversion as being this immersion in the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13 points to the work of the Spirit in uniting Christ with Christians and Christians into the body of Christ. The usage of baptismal language here is natural since it associates the Spirit's activity in incorporating the believer into Christ with that time when a person is being physically baptized. See also Acts 2:41.
The discerning reader will notice that according to Scripture "receiving the Spirit" occurred through the laying on of the apostles' hands (Acts 8:14-18; 19:6; 6:5-8) and never was this giving of the Spirit called a baptism with the Spirit. To assume that every activity and manifestation of the Spirit is dependent upon the believer being baptized with the Spirit will lead a person into confusion.
1 "baptizo," A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (U. of Chicago Press: 1957): 131.
2 "baptizo," The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament: Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non-Literary Sources (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids: 1980): 102.
Other articles which might be of interest
Using A Napkin to Tell the Gospel (Simple diagram illustrating the gospel message)Brief Responses to Common Objections That Baptism is Necessary for Salvation
Baptism, Obedience and Justification by Faith: Forcing Square Pegs Through A Round Hole?
Copyright © 2002 Barry Newton, Revised version