SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF BAPTISM
Water baptism is an ordinance, a requirement for obedience. However, only for Christians and therefore water baptism comes after salvation. It is not a prerequisite to spiritual regeneration. The New Testament does not teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation. I do understand that some Christians use Jesus’s comments in the Gospel of John as proof text, teaching that literal water baptism is necessary for salvation, John 3:5-6 ESV: “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ’”. However, the rest of Scripture is very clear that it is not water baptism but spiritual baptism into the resurrection of Christ that actually saves. The Gospel of John itself also tells us that salvation is received by faith alone, John 3:16 ESV: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. Salvation is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Scripture does not contradict Scripture, and so we must allow Scripture to contextually qualify and interpret what Jesus meant when He spoke to Nicodemus about being Born Again. If we read ahead a few Chapters, we see that the Holy Spirit Himself is referred to as “living Water”, John 7:37-39 ESV: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.‘” [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”. Likewise, in Ephesians 5:25,26, 1 Peter 1:23 and James 1:18, we can read that water is also a reference to God’s Word, and we read throughout the Gospels that salvation comes through hearing God’s Word. The Word of God and Salvation are inseparable.
God has commanded Christians be Baptized by Water, and so Water Baptism is intended for those who have already been saved. It is not a means of salvation. In 1 Peter 3:21, Peter clearly taught that water baptism was not a ceremonial act of physical purification, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12). Luke 23:39-43 is a good example of a saved man who was not baptized in water. Likewise, if baptism is necessary for salvation, why would Paul have said, 1 Corinthians 1:14: “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius”. In studying 1 Corinthians, we understand that Paul was addressing divisions within the Corinthian church community, but if baptism were necessary for salvation, then Paul would in essence be saying that he was thankful that they were not saved. While I don’t want to jump ahead in our study of 1 Corinthians, I would humbly suggest that we pay attention when we come to chapter 15, where will see that Paul gives no mention of water baptism in his writing regarding the requirement of salvation.
Water baptism is therefore an outward confession of an inward condition. Water Baptism is a symbolic means of making public our decision to have repented and accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. This is as important now as it was in the early days of the Church, when the idea of an un- baptized believer was unheard of. To refuse to be baptized is like saying one does not truly believe, or that a person who claimed to believe in Christ, was ashamed to proclaim his faith in public, and thus indicated that he or she did not have true faith. Thus, yes, every Christian should be water baptized by immersion, as commanded and for the purpose that it serves as a public illustration of the believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, rebirth.
However, If we believe water baptism is necessary for salvation, then we are claiming water baptism is a requirement in addition to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and that constitutes works-based salvation. To add anything works-based to the gospel is to say that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation. To say that baptism is necessary for salvation is to say we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ’s death in order to make it sufficient for salvation. Jesus’ death alone paid for our sins (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus’ payment for our sins is appropriated to our “account” by faith alone (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, baptism is an important step of obedience after salvation but cannot be a requirement for salvation.
GETTING THE BAPTISM OF JESUS CORRECT
Matthew 3:11 ESV: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”.
NOTE: We see here that there are two types of Baptism:
- Baptism by Water, where John was baptizing with water for repentance.
- Baptism by the Holy Spirit, Where Jesus “will” baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:13-14 ESV: ”Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. [14] John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?“.
NOTE: We know that Jesus having been conceived through the miraculous and non-sexual conception of the Holy Spirit was not born of sinful seed, and never sinned and therefore had no need to repent. John signifies this by questioning Jesus and asking why?
Matthew 3:15 ESV: ”But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented”.
NOTE: Here Jesus answers and says to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus was NOT doing this as an outward sign or as an example for others to follow, because:
- That was John’s purpose. “Make straight the way.”
- It would have signified Jesus had sin to repent of, and thus given the wrong message.
So, what is this righteousness that Jesus mentions needing be fulfilled?
Romans 7:12 ESV: “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good”. Matthew 5:17-18 ESV: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished”.
Jesus said every iota and dot of the law must first be accomplished before the law will pass. We also know that in accordance to the law:
- God’s way into His presence was through the consecrated priests
- There can be no change in the law without a change in priesthood. Hebrews 7:12 ESV: “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well”.
So, what this says is that Jesus abides by the laws He Himself as God established. He does not circumvent them but fulfills them. Under the law, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifice. Likewise, under the laws of Levitical priesthood, a priest had to perform specific rituals before they became the High Priest who could enter the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifice. I won’t list them all, but you we know they had to:
- Undergo training, (see Luke 2:41-52),
- Be anointed (Jesus is anointed by the Spirit Matthew 3:16-17),
- Undergo a ceremonial washing. Again, this is not to say that Jesus needed cleansing Himself but in order to fulfill righteousness of the law, He was required to do cleansing under the law, His own law, that He did not come to circumvent, but instead fulfill.
Let’s look at the definition of the word Baptism which according to Strong’s Concordance includes Water Baptism for repentance of sin, Baptism by the Holy Spirit and Fire and also in its simplest form, is considered a cleansing. Strong’s Number: G907
Original Word: “βαπτίζω”
Transliterated Word: “baptizō”
Strong’s Definition: From a derivative of G911 “to make whelmed (that is fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: – baptist baptize wash.
Thayer’s Definition:
- To dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
- To cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe
Jesus did not need to be cleansed in repentance of sin but instead he needed to perform a ceremonial cleansing in accordance with the law, in order to fulfill all righteousness and in order to become the High Priest and offer Himself as the sacrifice to God the Father. This is what is meant to fulfill all righteousness.
Keeping in mind that “Every iota and dot of the law must first be accomplished before the law will pass” we should understand that Caiaphas was at that time of Christ’s arrest the High Priest and there cannot be two High Priests. Caiphas called Jesus to his house and Caiphas still dressed in his Priestly and Seamless garments (likely without the breast plate), makes accusations of Jesus. Then enraged by Jesus’s answers, Caiphas tears his garments and under the law, when a priest tears his garments, he nullifies his priesthood. Leviticus 21:10 ESV: “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes”.
This was not some suggestion that God would like to see a High Priest not do, instead this was the law. A commandment given by God to High Priests and breaking His commandments nullified their Priesthood. In fact, that would be the least of their problem for if the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with a torn garment, they dropped dead. This is why the High Priest who entered the Holy of Holies had a rope tied around their waste and this is why the High Priests wore breast plates over their seamless garments / tunic. For if they were found unclean or if their clothing was even accidently torn, they died and needed to be pulled out.
This brings not only great significance to John 19:23-24 ESV: “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, [24] so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things”, but likewise illustrates the providence of God at work, in His wise and gentle influential direction that sees to His plans being fulfilled.
While Caiphas may not have understood what he had done, God did, and thus, as far as God and His law was concerned, we now had a law fulfilled, a change in the Priesthood where it was transferred from Caiphas to Christ who had performed all the legal and ceremonial requirements to become High priest and “offer” sacrifice. Thus, Jesus was Himself the sacrifice made on the cross at Calvary but Jesus still had to “offer” that sacrifice 43 days later to God in the heavenly Tabernacle Hebrews 9:11-12 ESV: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent ( not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) [12] he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption”. This is why Jesus told Mary not to touch Him, John 20:17 ESV: “Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’”, for He had not yet entered the heavenly tabernacle to offer His sacrifice and therefore needed remain clean.
When the change in priesthood occurred with Christ there also came a change in the Law. This is self-evident because there is no law without priesthood and no priesthood without law. Not that all the demands of the Law are abrogated, but rather the change is with that of the Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices that they made are set aside. Romans 8:3-4 ESV: “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”.
It is also important to note that under the Levitical law given to Moses, it was against the law for a King to be a Priest or for a Priest to be a King. With the change in the law, we go back to a Pre-Levitical Priesthood, a Melchizedek Priesthood of Christ holding both the office King and High Priest. The Book of Hebrews really drives this home.