Baptism: union with Christ

This We Believe——8

George E. Rice, Ph.D., is associate professor of New Testament, Andrews University Theological Seminary, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a Church relation; and to the Lord's Supper, in which the members of the Church, by the sacred use of bread and wine, are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn self-examination.

—The New Hampshire Baptist Confession (1833), Article XIV.

Ever since the risen Lord gave the command " 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them'" (Matt. 28:19),* baptism has been viewed not only as a public testimony that the one baptized has accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour but also as the door through which all must pass in order to become a member of the body of Christ.

Meaning of the term

There is not, however, unanimous agreement in the Christian community as to how this rite should be performed. Seventh-day Adventists follow the practice of immersion, believing that this is the mode of baptism taught by the New Testament and followed by the apostolic church. This belief is held for two reasons:

1. The Greek verb baptizein ("to baptize") implies immersion, coming as it does from the root baptein ("to dip in or under").1 Thus the term carries with it the connotation of immersing the baptismal candidate under the water.

Although we recognize that there is danger in building a denominational stance on the idea that a given word in Scripture has only one meaning, the weight of evidence in the New Testament text points in the direction of baptism by immersion. The three occurrences of baptein in the New Testament reflect its meaning to submerge: (1) the rich man requested father Abraham to permit Lazarus to dip (baptein) the tip of his finger into cold water so that Lazarus might moisten his tongue (see Luke 16:24); (2) Jesus identified His betrayer by dipping (baptein) a morsel and handing it to Judas (see John 13:26); and (3) as the commander of the armies of heaven, Jesus' garments appeared to John as though they had been dipped (baptein) in blood (see Rev. 19:13).

The verb baptizein is used three different ways in the New Testament. The first is in connection with water baptism. The references are too numerous to list here; any good concordance will give them. Second, baptizein is used metaphorically by Jesus when He referred to His Passion as His baptism (see Matt. 20:22, 23; Mark 10:38, 39; Luke 12:50), and also by John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter, and referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16). Third, this same verb is used for ablutions or washings. The two occurrences of this use of baptizein, rather than supporting baptism by affusion, simply reflects the use of this Greek verb to denote washings to cleanse from Levitical impurity. 2 Both Mark 7:3,4 and Luke 11:38, where baptizein is used in this manner, have to do with the ritual washing of the hands. In addition, the noun baptisma is also used in connection with water baptism and metaphorically in reference to Jesus' Passion.

On this basis, J. K. Howard observes: "There is no evidence that sprinkling was ever an apostolic practice; indeed, the evidence all points to it being a late introduction." 3

2. In addition to the fact that the term baptizein indicates immersion, the accounts of water baptism given to us in the New Testament suggest that the people were immersed. For example, the baptism of John, which paved the way for Christian baptism, appears to have been by immersion. The crowds that came to John "were baptized [ebaptizonto] by him in the river Jordan" (Matt. 3:6; cf. Mark 1:5). We read too that John "was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there" (John 3:23).

Submitting to John's baptism, Jesus also was immersed in the Jordan. "And when Jesus was baptized [baptistheis], he went up immediately from the water" (Matt. 3:16). Mark also says, "Jesus . . . was baptized [ebaptisthe] by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water ..." (chap. 1:9, 10).

The baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch likewise supports the position that immersion was practiced in the apostolic church. "And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized [ebaptisen] him. And when they came up out of the water . . ." (Acts 8:38, 39).

The imagery used by Paul in Romans 6:4 in connection with his teaching on baptism and the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection suggests that, for Paul, baptism involved immersion.

The passage dealing with baptism in the post-apostolic Didache corroborates the evidence for immersion in the New Testament. This famous passage allows pouring only as a last resort: "Concerning baptism, this is the way you shall baptize. Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water. If there is no flowing water, then baptize in other water, and if you are unable to use cold then use warm. But if you have neither, then pour water upon the head three times, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." 4

Door Into the church

The idea of baptism as the door into the church was derived from Jesus' commission. The nations were to be made disciples by being taught and baptized. Those who heard Peter's Pentecostal sermon asked, " 'Brethren, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ'" (Acts 2:37, 38). Luke then tells us that three thousand were added that day (see verse 41). He does not specify to what these baptized ones were added, but it is clear from the context that they were added to the body of believers. Luke again says, "And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved" (verse 47). It is understood that these people who were added day by day entered the Christian community in the same way as those who responded to Peter's message on the day of Pentecost—by baptism. We are unable here to speak in detail of the people in Samaria who were baptized by Philip (see chap. 8:4-25); of Saul (see chap. 9:1-19); of Cornelius, his family, and friends (see chap. 10); of Lydia and her household (see chap 16:11-15); of the Philippian jailer and his family (see verses 16-40); of Crispus and his family (see chap 18:8); of the twelve "disciples" found by Paul at Ephesus (see chap. 19:1-7); and of countless others, all who entered the Christian community by baptism.

Door Into a relationship

Not only is baptism the door through which a person must pass in order to enter into the community of believers, it is also the door through which one enters into an intimate relationship with Jesus. A part of this relationship is sharing His baptism, His Passion.

The preposition eis is used "to denote the aim sought and accomplished by baptism." 5 It is with this preposition that Paul establishes the experience of a relationship with Jesus: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into [eis] Christ Jesus were baptized into [eis], his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into [eis] death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3, 4).

Space doesn't allow us here to discuss the Biblical concept of the corporate body. However, it may be suggested that Paul had the corporate idea in mind when he says that when we are baptised we enter into the experience of Christ's Passion, an intimate experience that can be shared only by those who submit to the baptismal rite.

Concerning Paul's teaching on baptism, Howard says, "In the symbolic act of baptism the believer enters into the death of Christ, and in a real sense that death becomes his death; and he enters into the resurrection of Christ, and that resurrection becomes his resurrection." 6 He continues, "Baptism is thus the place where man and Christ are bound together. It is this sharing in these events which was in Paul's mind as he writes elsewhere, 'I have been crucified with Christ. . . and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me' (Gal. 2:20)." 7

Because we believe the baptismal waters do not possess supernatural power, and that faith accomplishes what baptism signifies, Seventh-day Adventists do not practice infant baptism.

Door into the covenant

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant relationship between Yahweh and His Old Testament people. However, Paul viewed the covenant relationship as being broken by the rejection of Jesus. What had been the sign of the covenant now became a sign of man's attempts to save himself, a position entirely foreign to Paul's teaching of salvation by faith in Jesus. Although God's covenant and His promises remained the same, there was now a new people, and a new sign of the covenant, as far as Paul was concerned. The.sign of physical circumcision had been replaced by baptism, representing a spiritual circumcision of the heart and a salvific relationship with Jesus.

Paul says, "In him [Jesus] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead" (Col. 2:11, 12).

Having the "body of flesh" removed through the spiritual circumcision per formed by Jesus, the one baptized now "puts on Christ" and enters into the covenant relationship with Jesus. As a result he is in line to receive the fulfillment of the covenant promises.

Again Paul says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. . . . If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:27-29).

The text of the New Testament presents baptism by immersion as the mode used by John the Baptist and the first evangelists of the apostolic church. Immersion was the mode of baptism to which Jesus submitted. It is the imagery of immersion that Paul uses in speaking of the intimate relation ship that exists between the newborn Christian and Jesus when the Christian experiences death, burial, and resurrection together with Jesus.

Through baptism the new Christian enters into the church and the covenant relationship with Jesus. Baptism replaces circumcision as the sign of this covenant relationship. With the removal of the "body of flesh," he who is baptized "puts on Christ." Thus he becomes a spiritual child of Abraham and is in line for the fulfillment of the covenant promises.

Notes:

1 William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), pp. 131, 132.

2 Albrecht Oepke, "Bapto, Baptizo," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1964), vol. 1, p. 535. Cf. Arndt and Gingrich, op. at., p. 131.

3 J. K. Howard, New Testament Baptism (London: Picketing & Inglis, Ltd., 1970), p. 48.

4 Didache, 7.

5 Oepke, op. cit., p. 539. Cf. Arndt and Gingrich, op. cit., p. 131.

6 Howard, op. cit., p. 69.

7 Ibid., p. 71.

 

* The Scripture quotations in this article are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus
George E. Rice, Ph.D., is associate professor of New Testament, Andrews University Theological Seminary, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

May 1982

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Vital signs of a healthy church

Like people, churches have certain vital signs that indicate health and vigor. Apply this checklist to your church and see where first aid may be needed.

God on trial

The plan of salvation involves larger issues than we usually consider. In the cosmic struggle that has been going on between God and Satan since the beginning of this world, God's triumph is sure. But He must overcome in a manner that will forever demonstrate His righteousness.

This incomparable Jesus

To the Puritan preachers of seventeenth-century England, all Scripture was for one purpose——to show men the incomparable Christ. To fail in communicating this would be to fail at the most crucial point of all, and no preacher worthy of his calling would be found wanting.

A day of mourning

With careful consideration and earnest prayer, churches and pastors often have to make decisions that bring pain to people. How can we keep such necessary tasks from becoming routine and keep alive a sense of sorrow?

Christ or antichrist: The mysterious gap in Daniel 9

Historically, the church has seen the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9 as referring to the Messiah, specifying the timing and details of Jesus' ministry. A popular reinterpretation in recent years has shaped many Christians' understanding of end-time events by separating the final week of Daniel's prophecy from the preceeding sixty-nine, transposing it from the historical context of Jesus' ministry to the last days of earth, and applying it to the work of antichrist. Scriptural evidence is on the side of the traditional interpretation, says the author of this article.

What Jesus said about Himself

Endless hours have been spent discussing the mysteries involved in the Incarnation. Almost everyone believes that Jesus was, and is, God. But what about His human nature? How much of a man was He? Was He just like us or not? Our answer seems to depend on how we understand the nature of sin and Jesus' relationship to it.

Worldview

The first Seventh-day Adventist magazine to be published in the Soviet Union in more than fifty years contains devotional reading, Bible study, practical counsel, messages from church leaders, and news.

You are what you think

Physiological research continues to demonstrate the truth of Biblical insights into the close relationship between your mind and your body. What happens in the brain really does determine the real you!

Shepherdes: To love and to cherish

I had been loved, but there remained an elusive quality missing in my marriage. Still, no union is perfect, and I had received so very much more than most that I would not complain.

Recommended Reading

Even if you don't know Hebrew you don't have to miss the insights that come from the original languages. The "Theological Wordbook" is the first full lexicon of the Hebrew Old Testament designed for you.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up

Recent issues

See All