Introduction
Baptism is the act by which a person is declared to be a member of the body of Christ, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’ (Acts 2:38) or ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’ (Matt. 28:19). Baptism is an outward act which signifies inward grace received by the believer. There is some debate about the earliest mode of baptism; it may have been pouring, or sprinkling, or immersion in water. Possible historical antecedents of Christian baptism are the Jewish rite of circumcision, proselyte baptism, baptism in the Qumran community and the baptism of John. The theology of baptism may be presented in terms of the uses to which the NT authors put it; most often they consider its present implications for Christians. Baptism is relevant to Christian living and Christian ethics. Believers are reminded of their baptism to strengthen their faith, to call them to unity and to exhort them to live lives worthy of the gospel, that is, to ‘walk in newness of life’ (Rom. 6:4).
Baptism and Salvation
In Matthew 3:7, Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:3; 7:29 (*cf. Acts 19:3) baptism is mentioned with reference to the ministry of John, who baptized with water in the Jordan. His baptism was a preparation for the eschatological kingdom (‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’, Matt. 3:1, rsv), and hence a pointer to the advent of the messianic era. John emphasized the need for repentance. He warned the Jews not to boast in being the children of Abraham; the kingdom is not to be inherited on the basis of race. His baptism was ‘for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3); it anticipated its eschatological fulfilment in Christ, who alone has the prerogative to baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). In Mark 10:39 ‘baptism’ is used figuratively by Jesus, but again in the context of the events of salvation history, in a prediction of his vicarious suffering and (perhaps) the suffering of his disciples.
Several references to baptisms administered in the early Christian community are found in the book of Acts. In each case baptism was a vital part of people’s response to God’s gracious offer of salvation. Those baptized include: the believers on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41); the Samaritan believers (Acts 8:12–13); Saul (Acts 9:18); Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:48); the Philippian jailer and his household (Acts 16:33); and Crispus with his household (Acts 18:8). In all these instances baptism was administered only after the people had heard the gospel and confessed the lordship of Christ. Baptism was the seal of their faith.
Galatians 3:27, the only explicit reference to baptism in Galatians, occurs in a passage crucial to Paul’s argument. His purpose is to establish a Christological foundation for the inclusion of Gentiles (including the Galatians) within the covenant community. For Paul, the relationship of believers to Christ by faith is the premise from which their participation in the blessing promised to Abraham may be inferred. But since his Jewish Christian opponents do not approve of this teaching, which gives to Gentile Christians a status equal to their own, he has to appeal to an experience shared by all Christians, namely baptism. Baptism is the proof of believers’ incorporation into the death and resurrection of Christ, which is the basis on which they participate in Abraham’s blessing.
Half the references to baptism in 1 Corinthians are found in 1:13–17. Party spirit among the Corinthians had, it seems, generated a mistaken view of baptism, in which more importance was attached to the identity of the baptiser than to baptism itself as a seal of believers’ conversion experience. Paul had baptized some of his readers; therefore, they believed, he should be given a position of honour, perhaps equal to that of Christ himself. In response, Paul places baptism in its proper perspective; he strongly denies any view which would focus attention on himself at the expense of Christ, who is the embodiment of Paul’s good news.
Paul’s concern in 1 Corinthians 10:2 is to warn the Corinthians not to regard baptism (and the Lord’s Supper) as conferring upon them immunity from divine judgment. Just as the Israelites, who enjoyed various privileges, fell in the wilderness because they lived wantonly, so the Corinthians will suffer the same disaster if they presume upon God on the basis of their vaunted ‘spiritual’ life. Whilst this passage has sometimes been thought to express a relationship between the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, it should be noted that here Paul uses ‘baptism’ metaphorically, and makes no explicit reference to either practice.
In 1 Corinthians 15:29, in the context teaching on the resurrection, Paul refers to the practice of being baptized for the dead. The Corinthians conceived of baptism as a sacrament which united them to Christ and thus gave them protection from all spiritual powers, unlimited authority and a confident hope of final resurrection. This erroneous view may have led some of them to be baptized on behalf of their dead, unbelieving relatives. Paul does not approve the practice; he merely points out that it is evidence for the bodily resurrection (which his readers regard as impossible).
Baptism and the Body of Christ
The Corinthian church was exercising one spiritual gift to the exclusion of all others, and regarded as ‘spiritual’ only those who did so. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul argues that the true basis of his readers’ spirituality is the Spirit in whom they all share, and that all gifts should be given equal recognition. To make these points he appeals in 12:13 to baptism. The Corinthians have all confessed the lordship of Christ at conversion, and therefore have new life in him by the Spirit. On the basis of their confession they have all been baptized into Christ. Their baptism is thus a proof and reminder of what the Spirit has done in them; it demonstrates that they are all ‘spiritual’. All their gifts come from the Spirit, and none should be exalted at the expense of others so as to cause discrimination and division among believers. Far from expecting baptism to be an issue of contention in the body, Paul appeals to it as a basis for church unity.
Similarly, in Ephesians 4:5 baptism is used to remind believers of the essential unity of the body of Christ. It is the seal of an inward work of divine grace, a work made apparent in believers’ complete break with their past, sinful life, their confession of the lordship of Christ, and their receipt of new life in him. Through their faith in the one Lord, they have been incorporated into Christ’s death and resurrection. By their one confession, conversion and incorporation into Christ, depicted in baptism, they belong to one God. They are children of the same Father, who has called them into a relationship with himself and one another, and they are to walk in accordance with that calling. Thus baptism reveals the foundation on which the unity of the church, and hence the church itself, is built.
Baptism and the New Life
The context of Romans 6:4 suggests that Paul’s teaching on sin and grace in Romans 5:12–21 has been misconstrued: ‘Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?’ (Rom. 6:1). For Paul, baptism indicates that the Christian life has begun; so it is logical for him to appeal to his readers’ baptism to correct the misunderstanding. Baptism demonstrates that believers in their temporal existence should consider themselves dead to sin and alive to God under the reign of grace. It thereby determines the proper content of the Christian life in the present age.
Likewise, in Colossians 2:12 Paul appeals to his readers’ baptism to show them the basis of their new life in Christ and to urge them to reject any philosophy which calls into question the fullness of that life. False teachers are denying the sufficiency of Christ; Paul insists against them that fullness of life is found only in Christ, the object of the believers’ faith, and not in the activities of spiritual powers. The Colossians are reminded by their baptism of the complete break they have made with their old pagan life (lived under the control of those powers) and of the need to go on in their walk with Christ, living in him just as they have received him.
In Hebrews 6:2 the author exhorts his readers to progress in their Christian faith by moving beyond its foundational principles, including baptism. They have appropriated the message of salvation by faith and the attendant new life in Christ; their baptism proves that they have done so. Now consistent spiritual growth is expected of them; they are to reject spiritual mediocrity and go on to maturity.
In 1 Peter 3:21 the author uses baptism to encourage his readers to stand firm in their confession in the face of unpleasant experiences. Sometimes believers are persecuted because of their obedience to God’s will (*cf. 1 Pet. 4:12–19), and they may be tempted to avoid such suffering by returning to their former, sinful way of life. But their baptism marks the end of that old life and the beginning of a new one. Therefore they are to repudiate sin. Having confessed Christ by faith at conversion and been raised to new life, their call is to acknowledge his lordship by following in his steps, accepting the suffering which results from doing good (1 Pet. 2:21).
Conclusion
Baptism is a symbolic event representing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In it the church confesses that the baptized person has died to sin and has received a new spiritual life by the grace of God. Through it believers of all races are welcomed into the one body of Christ, where they are expected jealously to guard their new spiritual state.
Bibliography
J. Baillie, Baptism and Conversion (London 1964); C. K. Barrett, Church, Ministry and Sacrament in the New Testament (Carlisle, 1993); K. Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol. 4.4, ed. by G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance (ET, Edinburgh, 1969); G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament (Grand Rapids and Carlisle, repr. 1990, 1997); E. J. Christiansen, The Covenant in Judaism and Paul: A Study of Ritual Boundaries as Identity Markers (Leiden, 1995); O. Cullman, Baptism in the New Testament (London, 1950); J. D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Philadelphia, 1970); M. O. Fape, Paul’s Concept of Baptism and its Present Implications for Believers: Walking in Newness of Life (Lampeter, 1999); W. F. Flemington, The New Testament Doctrine of Baptism (London, 1948); A. Gilmore, Christian Baptism (London, 1959); G. W. H. Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit (London, 1967); H. G. Marsh, The Origin and Significance of the New Testament Baptism (Manchester, 1941); R. Schnackenburg, Baptism in the Thought of St Paul (ET, Oxford, 1964); A. J. M. Wedderburn, Baptism and Resurrection (Tübingen, 1987).
M. O. Fape
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