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Topic: Baptism
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epouraniois
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Mat 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
This is App 185 from the Companion Bible
http://w3t.org/?u=es1
THE FORMULAE OF BAPTISM IN ACTS AND THE EPISTLES
(In relation to Matt. 28:19, 20.)
1. To some, perplexity, and even distress, is caused by the apparent neglect of the disciples to carry out the Lord's command in Matt. 28:19, 20, with regard to the formula of baptism. They read the express words of the risen Lord in the Gospel: then, turning to Acts and onwards, they find no single instance of, or reference to, baptism in which the Triune name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is employed.
2. On the contrary, from the very first, only ten days after the injunction had been given, Peter is found (Acts 2:38) commanding all his hearers including those of the dispersion (the diaspora) to be baptized in (the texts, except T, read en, not epi, nor eis as in Matt. 28:19) the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 8:16 (eis); 10:48 (en); 19:5 (eis), are in accord, the formula being in or into the name of the Lord, or the Lord Jesus. In the last case, whether this refers to those who heard John or Paul, or whether the baptism was that of John or Paul, the formula is the same. Rom. 6:3, -- "as many of us as were baptized into (eis) Christ Jesus". 1Cor. 1:13, 15; here baptism "in (eis) the name of Paul" is clearly contrasted with baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, or Christ Jesus, which must have been used as to Crispus, Gaius, and Stephanas.
3. In all the other places where the act of baptism is mentioned, directly or indirectly, the formula by implication is the same. These are: Acts 8:38; 9:18 (and 22:16); 16:15, 33; 18:8. Yet on the other hand there stands the definite command in Matt. 28:19, 20, as to the discipling of THE NATIONS into (eis) the Triune name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
4. The "difficulty" is created by non-observance of the injunction in 2Tim. 2:15 as to "rightly dividing the word of truth". It comes by mixing up and thus confusing the "mystery" (Ap. 193) concerning the church of God during the "times of the Gentiles" with the ordinances and observances of the "times" of Messiah (Isa. 33:6), with which the command in Matt. 28:19, 20 has clearly to do, as the discipling of the nations AS NATIONS, is expressly declared. It is the commission of the Jewish ministry at the end of this age. There is nothing corresponding to this form of baptism in any of the foregoing passages (2), all of which are connected with individuals or families. Inasmuch as the mystery is the great secret which was "kept secret since the world began" (Rom. 16:25; cp. Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26), it follows logically that it must not be read into the Gospels.
5. The "discipling" work of Matt. 28:19, 20 is national work: its object -- to bring all nations into blessing with Israel. It has nothing to do with the present dispensation and the "one baptism" (Eph. 4:5) of this dispensation. Matt. 28:19, 20 takes up the proclamation of the kingdom, left uncompleted in Matt. 10:5-15, after the church has been called on high. Therefore, the baptism "in" or "into" the name of the Lord Jesus in Acts, &c, was the continuation of John's baptism for a while, i.e. during the transitional period of Acts (see App. 180, 181) until the mystery was openly revealed and fully proclaimed (see Longer Note, p. 1694). Then, the baptism of Eph 4:5 supervened and still maintains.
6. To hold, as some do, that the disciples had "forgotten", or were "ignorant of", or else "ignored" the express command of the Lord, is to charge those spirit endowed men with either incompetence or insubordination! Peter and John and the rest must have known well the meaning and future reference of Matt. 28:19, 20; and they knew of John's baptism also: but until "led on" into more of "all the truth", by the Holy Spirit, and until the revelation of the secret concerning the church which is His body was declared, they continued to baptize, as John had done, into the name of the Lord Jesus.
7. This explanation does no violence to the Word of God. It does not impugn the intelligence or bona fides of the disciples. It leaves each of the several Scriptures unscathed and in its proper place, and each as being absolute truth. What it really "touches" is tradition only and the teaching based thereon.
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Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The question then becomes, which baptism would you like to take, for there is more than one. Therefore, “to keep [guard] the unity of the Spirit” becomes the central goal. One that Adam failed to do, and was replaced by the cherubim in the garden, and the letters written to us by Paul beseech us to “keep the unity of the Spirit”, as Paul did guard the “way”. For the way is now made open to all nations.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
We do not belong to a calling which has to resort to shadows. We belong to the dispensation of the one body of the mystery, where we are charged with guarding the unity of the Spirit. This is the calling after the final rejection of Acts 28:28, and the epistles that are strictly ours are Ephesians, Philemon, Titus, 1&2 Timothy, Colossians, and Philippians. The other books were written to a separate company, but that is another study.
Yet, we dare not trifle with the word “one” in Ephesians. Do we want the baptism of the dry land, or of the water, or of the Spirit? What is true of one people of one time, may not be true of another time and people, and we should have this in mind when contemplating the different “callings” of the various times and peoples.
Heb 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings[baptisms], and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
And below, we have the traditionalist baptizing from the OT, as these Jews were baptizing all the time, not just once. God did not impose these things upon them, but they were imposed by the traditionalists. This was a superficial thing which had no effect but to make the priests more powerful than ever:
Mar 7:3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
Mar 7:4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
Luk 11:38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
Let us look at Baptism closer, as there are arguments put forward that are very convincing concerning baptism and following the Lord.
Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
That is pretty plainly spoken. He is baptizing with water so that the Lord should be made manifest to Israel.
Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
So already we have it put forward that there will be a baptism set apart from water to look forward to.
Mat 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
We must ask ourselves, if the Lord asked John to baptize Him now, to fulfill all righteousness, then do we have to do it all over again to fulfill all righteousness? They were demarcating a specific point in time, that being the fulfilling in Him as “Jesus Christ the righteous” [1Jo 2:1].
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
You see, if one is to argue that verse 12 means submersion in literal water, then you know what you’ve got to prove don’t you? You’ve got to prove that verse 11 means physical circumcision, and that is absolutely apposed to the whole NT and nobody would put it forward. If circumcision has a spiritual application, then we are already mentally prepared that baptism has a spiritual application in verse 12. Our Savior was baptized in the Jordan, and after it was all finished, He said He was looking forward to a baptism. Baptism in water had taken place. Baptism in Spirit had taken place, so what was it then that He was looking forward to?
Mat 20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
Mat 20:21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
Mat 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
There is only one answer to the question of what baptism this is speaking of and it is the baptism of death. Paul came to preach the gospel & faith that Christ might immediately return after the apostles of the Acts were sent out, but before “the mystery of the Gospel” was made known to him. Lets look at another portion of scripture to provoke our thoughts. Here Paul is writing for the 2nd offering & the acceptance of Christ where there are both Jew and Gentiles.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Now look at this rather casual rendering of the subject:
1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Paul brings it altogether, saying that Christ sent him not to baptize but to preach the gospel, to put on Christ, to say they could be all one in Christ Jesus. He is saying that this is the beauty and the essence of his teachings. In one epistle he says he wasn’t called to baptize, and in the other he says the glory of this calling is to put the old [man] away; that in this company there is neither Jew nor Greek…for all are one in Christ. You cannot believe that Paul would glory in baptism and then speak of it as a mundane thing in only a few months apart from one epistle to the other. Paul was not swayed on every wind of doctrine, but solidly standing on Christ through the Spirit. We’ve got to face the facts that these words are used differently in different contexts and dispensations, as the apostle Peter was commissioned to baptize to Israel, during the rejection and subsequent offering to both Jew and Gentile, so Paul was also commissioned to teach of the mystery of the church of the one body where Christ is in you.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Now this is a very persuasive argument for all to be baptized. Lets continue reading the verse.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
And these signs shall follow. Well, it may have been true for them, but it is not true for me. I don’t belong to that company of the Pentecostal period. For in Acts 2:5 it is made clear that these were all Jews from various nations who had come to gather for the regular feast. There were no Gentiles there. It is not where the church was spoken of in any way. It was a time before the offer was sent out to both Jew and Gentile, and most certainly before the offer was sent to only the nations, and not any more to the Jews. Peters attitude in Acts 10 to Cornelius shows that there would have been a riot if even one Gentile had have been there. There isn’t the slightest indication of one gentile present; as the feast, and the Pentecost belonged to Israel alone.
In Hebrews 6, he is urging these people to give up certain things and move on to the full grown manhood which begin in chapter 5.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
“full age” means to be perfect, which means to continue to completion, which is very different from our idea of getting better to perfection.[a study in itself]. It is from the Greek “tele”, like telescope, or television, or telegram. it is something far off, as a goal to reach, and one of the key words in Hebrews; …In verse 9, did He get better? No, but he did continue on to completion, and is the meaning of the word “perfect” throughout the NT. It is the continuing on spoken of in Revelation to keep the crown.
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
The thought continues right on through into chapter 6, as the word “therefore” leads us right into the goal of the exhortation in verse 6:1
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Paul tells them that all the washings and forms of outward expressions are gone, that they have Christ to believe in now, that all that were shadows looking to Him which had come. Paul is pouring out in his letters for the realization that faith can bring the 2nd coming now if everyone will accept it. These thoughts are poured out in the 7 epistles preceding the very different letters following Acts 28:28.
In Ephesians, Paul speaks of the body as growing up into the unity of the faith to become a perfect man. The doctrine is outlined in the first 3 chapters, while the practical out workings are given in the last 3.
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
And we have the verses that say when I was a child I acted like a child, but when I was a man I put away childish things. So what do we want when we speak of baptism? The one of water, which would be a sign to the nations of Israel that Christ obtained? Or the baptism spoken of by Joel the prophet which were given in the subsequent events of Pentecost in Acts 2 where they raised the dead and healed the sick and spoke in tongues to read and testify to all peoples at once? Or do we want the baptism of the one Spirit in Ephesians in the fullness of times; post Acts 28:28?
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
It might be a good time to look at the first baptism in scripture:
1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
Did you notice they were all baptized unto Moses? The whole nation had come out of bondage and into redemption, being baptized into Moses, being a shadow of Him who was to come. One day it will also be fulfilled that the nations will be baptized as spoken of in Mathew 28 at the end of the millennium. lets look at the first baptism a bit more.
Psa 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
Psa 78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
There are many such passages in the OT, and they all have the one outstanding point that they were on dry land. They had the baptism of dry land. Then we had the baptism of water by John the Baptist, who said one was coming who would baptize with the Spirit. Then we had in Acts the baptism of water accompanied by signs and miracles. Then we move right on over to the Church of the Mystery where there is no more land or water, but where there is just one body and Christ, with Christ being in you as the central pillar of the unity of the Spirit.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
A perfect grace is offered, and the choice has always been to continue in practices or to have faith. It is the offer made to become the full grown man throughout the Bible.
Rom 6:2 God forbid. [then starts the argument] How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
It recurs in verse 15:
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Again in verse 7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid.
And one more time in verse13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid.
Here we have the format, a series of protest and a series of responses. And what is the answer? How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Paul told them that if they are dead in it, then you can’t live in it. He told them as many were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into one body. You see, when he told them he wasn’t sent to baptize them, he was speaking of two aspects of baptism. Paul wasn’t saying he wasn’t there to baptize them into His death, because that is exactly what he was out to do in that period. To be baptized “with Him”, and crucified “with Him”, and die “with Him”, and to be quickened “with Him”, and in Ephesians to be raised together “with Him”, and to sit “with Him”.
Baptisms, like other shadows, were offered to different peoples in separate ways where the peoples it applied to also reflect the specific calling and glory according to the particular promise of their adoption. And now, we are beyond the ordinances and signs, which may have had a direct correlation to their baptism, however it does not to us. We walk in newness of life, having Him in us and us in Him. This is our comfort and our peace of mind.
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
And the argument continues. But they were exhorted to walk in newness of life and not serve the old patterns. Baptism is actually an intruder into the seven-fold unity of the Spirit, and has changed from one form to another over different time periods to represent specific future events. The call has gone out to all nations. Therefore, we are called into the one baptism of the one hope and the one calling as put forth in Ephesians and to keep the unity of the Spirit. We should really consider if the one baptism is restricted to water, as there are so many things that point in the opposite direction. There is one thing we cannot get away from, and that is the One Lord. We cannot say there is more than one baptism any more than we can say there is more than One Lord, or one hope, one faith, one God and Father of all, or one body, and one Spirit:
Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
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