The Prayer Book: IX

Baptism: Water & Spirit

"...We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life...We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we areburied with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in joyful obedience to your Son, we bring into his fellowship those who come to him in faith, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer; Rite of Holy Baptism)."

Baptism & Salvation History

In the above prayer, taken from the liturgical rite for Holy Baptism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, we see the connection of baptism to the great saving acts of God throughout the history of his people. We see the recognition of the life-giving action of the Holy Spirit upon the waters from the very beginning of creation (Gen. 1:2); we see the people of Israel saved by passing through the waters of the Red Sea (Ex. 14); we see Christ submitting to baptism, both as our example in all things (Heb. 2:17-18) and as the revelation of his anointing by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17). This connection of Baptism to the events of Salvation History (heilsgeschichte) is common in the New Testament. Paul sees baptism in the circumcision of the Israelites, as marking the people of God; and, just as circumcision removes flesh, baptism removes the sinful nature that Paul commonly refers to as the "flesh" [Greek "sarx"] (cf. Col. 2:11-12). He also connects baptism to the exodus: "For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Peter connects baptism to the Ark of Noah, "in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:20-21). So, we see both Peter and Paul connecting the saving acts of God throughout history with Baptism. The Lord commanded that his disciples "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19); as a result, baptism has thus continued top be a central act in Salvation History, as God continues to save those who are baptized - baptized into new life, into Christ, and into the Church. For the entirety of Church history, there has been no other way in which one was placed into Christ or his Church. Thus, baptism is central, indeed necessary, to the salvation of God's people.

Baptism into New Life

First of all, baptism is a baptism into new life; it is in baptism that one receives salvation/regeneration. “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12). This circumcision done by Christ is the circumcision of the heart - the Old Testament tells of God’s plan to send his Spirit to his people, and of their need to receive a new heart, a circumcision of the heart rather than of the flesh (Deut. 10:16, Deut. 30:6, Is. 32:14-15, Is. 44:3, Jeremiah 4:4, Ezekiel 11:19-20, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Joel 2:28-29, Zech. 12:10), this is the circumcision of new birth by the Spirit (Rom. 2:29), of which Paul says is “the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism” – it doesn’t get much more clear than that. Paul says of the love of Christ that “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The very words of Christ reveal this truth: Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). No one will see Christ without being born of water (baptism) and the Spirit (indwelling). Jesus said that “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Many argue here that it is only unbelief that condemns – very true, but they ignore that belief and baptism is said to save; for true belief will bring about baptism. From the very beginning the saving response to the gospel for those who believed the message has been to “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). In the same way, Ananias told Saul “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). Peter tells us that baptism saves, showing us that the righteous of the earth were, and still are, preserved through water by the work of God (1 Peter 3:20-21, see above).

This teaching of scripture, that baptism brings forgiveness of sin and new life, was maintained by the Early Church Fathers. Irenaeus reminds us that, “the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins” (Bercot, 1998, p. 51). The same truth was taught by the early theologian Tertullian: “'Unless a man has been born again of water and spirit he will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.' These words have tied faith to the necessity of baptism. Accordingly, all thereafter who became believers were baptized” (Bercot, 1998, p. 53). Cyril of Jerusalem compares baptisms purification of the flesh to the Spirit’s purification of the soul, saying, “Since man is of twofold nature, composed of body and soul, the purification also is twofold…the water cleanses the body, and the Spirit seals the soul” (Armstrong, 2007, p.196). Consistent teaching on the subject follows with St. Augustine: “This is the meaning of the great sacrament of Baptism, which is celebrated among us. All who attain to this grace die thereby to sin-as he himself is said to have died to sin because he died in the flesh, that is, ‘in the likeness of sin’: and they are thereby alive by being reborn in the baptismal font, just as he rose again from the sepulcher” (Augustine, 2006, p. 58). Martin Luther taught, in his Small Catechism, that baptism was made effectual by the promise of God: “Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead it is water enclosed in God’s command and connected with God’s Word…it brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare” (Lull, 2005, p. 325). The clear teaching of the scriptures and the church regarding baptism is, and has always been, that baptism saves.

Baptism into Christ

When we are baptized, we are baptized into much more than water – we are baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ. We were dead in our sin (Rom. 6:23), but were made alive in Christ and placed into the life of Christ (Gal. 2:20), so that we should now live for him just as he died for us (2 Cor. 5:15). “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 6:3-4). See, through our death in baptism we die to our old self- that person is left behind, and we are raised up to live a new life in Christ, because he was raised to new life for our sake (Rom. 4:25). This is a mystery, but the baptized die to themselves, and the life they live is the life of the risen Christ. Simultaneously, we are an expression of his death and his new life: "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Cor. 4:10). So we, the baptized, are mystically "in" Christ in a way that we cannot fully understand but in a way that calls us to live out our lives as an expression of Jesus in the world: Christianus alter Christus ("the Christian is another Christ").

Baptism into the Body

When we are baptized we are baptized into Christ, and we are also baptized into his Body, the Church. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Cor. 12:13), and we, as a Body, must hold firmly to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). For those of us who have been “baptized into Christ have clothed [ourselves] with Christ” (Galatians 3:27), and we are now “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Therefore, baptism calls the church to unity, and the baptized, who all share in the same Spirit, hope in the same Lord, and call upon the same Father, should never be comfortable with division among them. Baptism, then, is central to achieving unity in the church.

Baptism as Sacrament

To correctly understand Baptism, one must recognize baptism as a sacrament of God; basically, one must acknowledge that baptism into Christ is an event through which God acts, and that baptism is never solely an action of man but is always an action of God. Many wrongly assume that baptism occurs after regeneration/salvation. Baptism, however, is always connected in the scriptures with regeneration/salvation. The scripture does not teach regeneration/salvation apart from baptism, nor does it affirm that baptism is a result of regeneration/salvation. Rather, through baptism, God accomplishes regeneration/salvation. Therefore, by attributing baptism as an act of man (a "work"), many deny that it is in fact an act of God (a sacrament) and not an act of man at all. They have rationalized what God's Word calls a mystery and, therefore, they cannot understand it in the way that it is presented in scripture. You must acknowledge baptism as a sacramental act, in which God works - if you deny this, you can not accept baptism as effectual for either the infant or the adult, and therefore, it is irrelevant as to when it is accomplished - baptism must be more than obedience to be relevant. Baptism is not spoken of as "obedience", but it is clearly spoken of as "new life". Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). No one will see Christ without being born of water (baptism) and the Spirit (indwelling). Paul clearly connects baptism with being born again when he says “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12). Notice that we are not cleansed from our sinful acts, but from our sinful nature. We are born corrupt through the sin of Adam, and therefore must receive cleansing of our very nature through the promise of the Word of God given and accomplished in baptism. Baptism must be understood as an act of God that brings forgiveness of sins, not as an act of man that affirms that sins have been forgiven. Baptism must also be understood as the entrance into Christ - we must not only believe that Christ is the Son of God (demons believe that), we must be united with him in baptism. An infant, therefore, who is baptized, is united to Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and the purification of the sinful nature apart from a mere intellectual acknowledgment of Christ. When we are baptized, we are baptized into much more than water – again, we are baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ. We were dead in our sin (Rom. 6:23), but were made alive in Christ (John 11:25-26), therefore our life was removed from ourselves (Matt. 10:39) and placed into the life of Christ (Gal. 2:20), so that we should now live for him just as he died for us (2 Cor. 5:15). A word must be said here regarding the rejection of baptism as a sacrament, specifically the rejection of paedo (infant) baptism based on the appeal to "sola scriptura." Sola scriptura cannot be used to deny infant baptism for several reasons. First of all, infant baptism was being practiced in the church before the New Testament scriptures were completed. Secondly, infant baptism was a universal practice of the church before the circulation of the gospels or the Pauline epistles was universally practiced; therefore, the early church affirmed infant baptism before it affirmed the earliest versions of the developing canon. Third, infant baptism was solidified as apostolic tradition and practice centuries before the New Testament canon was solidified as the authoritative apostolic canon. Finally, Luther himself, the proponent of sola scriptura, continued infant baptism, affirmed its practice, and taught it in his churches and catechisms; he did not use sola scriptura in the way commonly used today - he intended it to mean that scripture contained all that is needed for salvation, not to disregard all that is not clearly commanded by scripture. The version of sola scriptura commonly appealed to in this regard is a perverted one - and based on this version of sola scriptura you cannot practice anything in the church - no guitars, no stained glass, no pews, etc. - only what is explicitly commanded - which by the way, adult baptism is never explicitly commanded as the only valid practice of baptism! Further, in the New Testament we do not see second generation Christians being born into the church, we only see adult baptism because we only see adult converts to the faith; there are not yet any children born into Christian families in the recorded conversions in Acts. There is never any prohibition on infant baptism in the New Testament, and we do see the baptism of entire families (Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33; 1 Cor. 1:16). So, in light of the lack of prohibition of infant baptism in the scriptures, the baptism of entire families, and the universal practice of the church from apostolic times, infant baptism must be accepted as a valid expression of this sacrament through which the action is accomplished by God and not by the minister or the baptismal candidate.
Baptism as a sacrament of God is clearly taught by the Anglican Church, as seen in article XVII of the Articles of Religion:
"Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God...The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ."