Meaning and Use
We get the word baptism from the Greek word baptizo. When it appears in a Bible passage, the translators transliterated it, leaving it untranslated. They brought the Greek letters over into our English bibles and anglicized them. Baptizo means to immerse or dip, like to put a cloth into dye to stain it. What is Baptism? That’s a great question.
There are different types of baptism mentioned in the Bible. So, pay attention to the context whenever you see this word used.
Baptism into Moses
All the Jews who passed through the Red Sea when they left Egypt were baptized into Moses:
“I would not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
Since the Jews passed through the sea on dry land, their baptism involved water, but they didn’t even get wet! They were baptized in the sense of being identified with Moses as God delivered them through him from slavery in Egypt to the borders of their Promised Land. The cloud mentioned in this passage led the Israelites on their forty-year journey in the Wilderness.
Gentile Proselytes
According to Alfred Edersheim, Gentile proselytes to Judaism were baptized by complete immersion to cleanse them from their Gentile uncleanness.
John’s Baptism
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus’ ministry, initiated a baptism of repentance (turning back to God) for those who answered his call:
“John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2).”
When John preached, the Jewish nation was under God’s discipline for breaking their covenant with Him (Deuteronomy 28 & 29). God told them how to return to fellowship with Him after they broke the covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). They needed to turn back to Him (repent with corresponding actions):
“The Lord will once again rejoice over you … if you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 30:9-10).
John baptized people in the Jordan River, preparing them for Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was coming after John to offer to bring God’s rule to earth in Jesus’ person. That’s why John announced that the ‘kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ John baptized those who committed to turning back to God, repenting of their disobedience, and preparing themselves for Jesus’ promised Davidic (earthly) kingdom.
Jesus Baptized by John
Jesus came to be baptized by John. John admitted his discomfort with this:
But John prohibited Him (Jesus), saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him” (Matthew 3:14-15).
We don’t get a full explanation of why Jesus came to John for baptism. We do know that somehow it fulfilled “all righteousness.”
Did Jesus Baptize?
Jesus didn’t come to baptize people. Scholars dispute whether Jesus baptized people with water, but we know that His disciples did:
“Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)” (John 4:1-2).
And Jesus’ disciples’ baptism (with water) was probably for the same purpose as John’s: To prepare people for Jesus’ kingdom reign.
John the Baptist said that Jesus baptized, not with water, but with a different Essence:
“I (John) indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but He who is coming after me (Jesus) is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (John 3:11).
Jesus would baptize those who obey His gospel with the Holy Spirit, while those who disobey will suffer judgment by fire.
Jewish Believers After Jesus’ Death & Resurrection
After Israel rejected Jesus’ Kingdom, its leaders crucified Jesus. But death couldn’t hold Him. He resurrected from the dead and ascended to God’s right hand in heaven. From there, fifty days after His resurrection, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The Holy Spirit came with perceptible signs, so the Jews who saw them wanted an explanation.
The Apostle Peter told his fellow Jews they had mistakenly crucified the Messiah God sent, and the Holy Spirit was a sign from God. When they became personally convicted of their error, they asked Peter what they should do to make things right with God (Acts 2:37). He told them:
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:28-41).
Believer’s Baptism
Those who believed Peter’s message about Jesus chose baptism to identify themselves as believers in Jesus.
A few years later, the gospel message spread to the Gentiles, and those believers continued to choose baptism as an outward expression of their faith in Jesus. The Ethiopian Eunuch is the most familiar example (Acts 8:26-39):
“Then Philip … preached Jesus to him (the eunuch). As they went on their way, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:35-37).
Baptism Isn’t for Eternal Salvation
This tradition, or ordinance, continued for believers as the gospel spread. Baptism is an ordinance, not a sacrament. A sacrament implies that the act of baptism is a way to obtain grace from God, and that’s not correct. It’s also not a way of salvation and doesn’t contribute to salvation from sin. It is an act of obedience and identifies a believer with Jesus and other believers in Him.
“Figuratively this (the people saved by entering Noah’s ark during the flood) is like baptism, which also saves us now. It is not washing off the dirt from the body, but a response to God from a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
Note: The Bible doesn’t always use the word ‘saves’ to refer to eternal salvation through Jesus. As in this case, it relates to ‘a response to God from a good conscience.’ In other words, to a believer who already has eternal life, here it means being obedient to God by being water-baptized so one’s conscience is clear.
Spirit Baptism
Some baptisms don’t involve water. The Holy Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ when they believe in Jesus as their Savior:
“For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, whether we are slaves or free, and we have all been made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Baptism by Persecution
Baptism is also used figuratively to describe the persecutions a believer experiences. The Apostle Paul described his baptisms in detail:
“Why are they then baptized for the dead? And why do we stand in danger every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily (1 Corinthians 15:30-31; for more detail see 2 Corinthians 11:23-27). What About Those Who are Baptized for the Dead? – Cuurio.
Jesus used it that way to describe the sufferings He’d face on the cross:
“But Jesus said to them (His disciples), “You do not know what you are asking (they asked for seats next to Him in the resurrection). Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized (Jesus means His coming death on the cross) (Mark 10:38)?”
Note: Some churches teach baptism by sprinkling babies.
Conclusion:
To baptize literally means to immerse or dip into.
There are many different types of baptism, so context is vital.
Gentile proselytes to Judaism were baptized to cleanse them from their Gentile uncleanness.
John the Baptist’s baptism called the Jews of his time back to fellowship with God and prepared them for Jesus’ potential earthly kingdom.
Jesus was baptized by John ‘to fulfill all righteousness.’
People who believe in Jesus are water-baptized to obey God, so they have a clear conscience.
During the Church Age, the Holy Spirit spiritually baptizes believers into the body of Christ.
Jesus and the Apostle Paul said they were baptized by their trials while following God’s will.
