2018 02 11 pm – John 1:29-34 – Other Baptism Bits

February 11, 2018

Why do we baptize by sprinkling? Shouldn’t we immerse in water? And what is baptism with the Holy Spirit? Is it a ‘Second blessing’?

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

The baptism question that usually gets the most attention is whether or not it is right to baptize infants.  But we are not going to focus on that today, because we talked about that just a few weeks ago.

And neither shall we focus on John’s baptism, because we looked at that just last week.  It was a ‘washing’ of repentance and a sign of your devotion to the coming Messiah.

And neither shall we focus on what Christian baptism means, because we have just heard that in this Lord’s Day.

So, you might be wondering, what then are we going to focus on today?  What’s left, in relation to baptism?  Well, two things, the mode of baptism and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

  1. As we see from v28, John baptized in the Jordan River, and from v31, his baptism was a baptism with water. So we probably have this picture in our minds of people being dunked in the river.  Right?  And in Acts 8, we read about Philip baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch and that they went down into the water and came up out of the water.  So that surely is a ‘river-dunking.’  Right?  So why do we just sprinkle water on a person’s head?  Shouldn’t we immerse?  Is what we do really a baptism?  Many Christians today would say that it is not a   So we ought to think about the mode of baptism.
  2. But secondly, John contrasts his water baptism with Jesus who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” So what is that?  And if you have any Charismatic or Pentecostal Christian friends or have read about their beliefs, you will know that they give baptism with the Holy Spirit a lot of attention.  And they do so, in large part, because of what we read in Acts 19 and the believers there who spoke in tongues and prophesied after they were baptized.  So are we missing out on something that should be part of the Christian life?

 

  1. Well, let’s begin with the mode of baptism. Talk with any Baptist friend and he or she will object to sprinkling for three reasons: 1) the word baptism means immersion, 2) Romans 6:4 says we are buried with Christ in baptism (so, buried = immersion), and 3) the Ethiopian ‘came up out of the water.’  Let’s take each of these in turn
    1. The first assertion is that the word baptism just means immersion.
      1. Well, our reply is, Not so. That is incorrect.  There are two very similar words in Greek.  Bapto means immerse or dip.  In John 13:26, for example, Jesus talks about dipping bread in the dish.  That is the word Bapto.  And it is always translated as dip in our English Bibles.  But the other word is Baptidzo.  And that is the word that is transliterated as ‘baptize’ in our English Bibles.  It is the word we find three times in our text.  And the reason why we don’t translate the word but have instead invented an English word that sounds like the Greek word is because the Greek word has a range of meanings.  To immerse is one of them.  But if the word just meant immerse, it would be translated as immerse wherever we read baptize.
      2. Let’s consider one especially important instance of baptidzo. Please turn to Hebrews 9 (p. 1260).  The author is talking here about the Ark in the Holy of holies and the annual Day of Atonement ceremony, and explaining how it didn’t really forgive sins but instead pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus.  So in v10 we read, “They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings– external regulations applying until the time of the new order.”  Well, the word ‘washings’ translates the Greek word baptidzo.  The author is talking about the various ceremonial baptisms of OT ceremonies.  And he will now tell us about some of these OT baptisms.
        1. Notice firstly though how vv11&12 connect the blood of Christ with the blood of bulls and goats used in these baptisms. And then in v13 we see that it was when “the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer were sprinkled on those who were ceremonially unclean.”  So this is the first OT baptism the author is describing and it is a sprinkling.  And v14 explains how this pointed forward to the blood of Christ and the New covenant.
        2. v19 gives us the next OT baptism: “When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.”
        3. And then v21 gives us another example: “In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies.”
        4. And then the author goes on to show how the blood of Christ is the fulfillment of all these baptisms. The point is though that in each case they were sprinklings, not immersions.  And they were sprinklings of blood that pointed forward to the blood of Christ that truly cleanses.
        5. So it is wrong to say that the word baptism just means immersion. And as this passage demonstrates, there is a very clear link between these OT baptisms and how we baptize today.

 

  1. But the second assertion is that we should immerse because Romans 6:4 talks about our ‘being buried with Christ through baptism.’ So the idea is that immersion is more consistent with burial than sprinkling.  But congregation, being dipped into water hardly equates with being buried in a tomb!  The Apostle Paul is not making a point here about the mode of baptism but rather its meaning.  At its heart, baptism is about identification.  This whole section of Romans is about how believers are joined to or united with Jesus Christ.  Paul’s point here is that baptized ones are indentified with Christ in His life, death, resurrection, and reign.  Baptized persons are devoted to and controlled by and sharing in Jesus Christ.  That is what he means when he says that we are buried with Christ through baptism.

 

  1. Well, the third and final assertion is perhaps the strongest of the three. It is about Acts 8 and the description of the baptism of the Ethiopian.  Let’s turn there (p. 1148). v38, “Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.   When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away…”  So there you have it, out Baptist friends say, a description of an immersion baptism!
    1. Well, a little bit more Greek grammar for us to consider! With the “went down into the water” part, the key word is “into,” for into suggests under.  The problem is that “into” translates a very common Greek preposition eis.  And eis can be translated as into/in/to/towards/until/for/among.  So when you come to eis in the text, there are various ways it can be translated, with the context often helping.  Well, the word eis is found 10 times in ch. 8.  In one of the other places it is translated as “for,” in three of the other places it is translated as “in,” and in five of the other places it is translated as “to.”  Vv25,26, and 27 are three examples – “to Gaza” or “to Jerusalem.”  Here in v38, the only possibilities are into/in/to/towards because of the context.  And if the most common way that the word is translated in this chapter is “to,” you would need a pretty strong reason to not translate it as “to” here.  And there simply isn’t one.  And indeed, Young’s Literal Translation, which is the English version that focuses on literal accuracy more than anything else, has “and they both went down to the water.”  Obviously, they needed water.  Remember also that Philip and the Ethiopian have just read Isaiah together.  And Isaiah 52 speaks about the coming Messiah who will “sprinkle many nations.”  I suggest to you that they both got out of the chariot and climbed down to where the water was and that Philip took up some water and sprinkled it on the Ethiopian’s head.  And when v39 says that they came up out of the water, we are simply reading about them climbing back up to where the chariot was and the next thing that happens.  This is not a description of them both popping up out from underneath the water, and poof, Philip disappears.  So at the very least, to say that vv38-39 are a description of a river-dunking is saying more than the text says; it is to read into the text what the text is not necessarily saying.

 

  1. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, really? Are we trying to get out of this by arguing about “to” or “into”?  Isn’t that a bit finicky and petty?  I trust you have seen though that when you put all of this together, there is a strong case for the symbolism of sprinkling.  But let me also remind you that our baptism form says, “baptism, whether by immersion or sprinkling…”  So we believe that both sprinkling and immersion are acceptable modes of baptism.  We are simply answering the objections of those who say that baptism must be by immersion.  Listen to how the Westminster Confession of Faith puts it in ch. 28 Art. 3: “Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary.  Baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water on the person.”  So, if you were sprinkled with water, by a minister, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you have been rightly baptized.

 

  1. Well, secondly and more briefly, John also says in v33 that Jesus “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” So what does that mean?  And is it something associated with prophecy and tongue-speaking, like we read in Acts 19, and which is taught in charismatic and Pentecostal churches?

 

  1. Well, it is dangerous to take one or two examples of something in the Bible and let them determine your theology and practice. For example, we could say that faith means you walk on water, because Peter did, so if we claim to have faith, let’s all go to the beach now and walk on water.  That would be foolish.  Right?  It is far better to look at the general statements of the Bible about faith to get an idea of what faith is and what faith does.  So let’s start with the general statements of the Bible about baptism with the Holy Spirit.
    1. Turn over a page or two to John 3. Here Jesus is having a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again.  The technical term for this is regeneration.  In v5, Jesus says, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”  This is what John the Baptist is talking about back in our text.  To be baptized with the Spirit is when the Holy Spirit comes to give you a new nature that now believes in Jesus.
      1. We saw this in our earlier reading in Ezekiel 36. God spoke of the NT times and said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you.”  And interestingly, in connection with we said about the mode of baptism, God also said, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.”  The main point is that baptism of the Holy Spirit is the work of God in you to bring you to faith.
    2. But let’s look also at one of the most helpful texts on the subject – 1 Cor. 12:13 (p. 1202). Paul is talking there about how all Christians make up the body or the church of Christ.  He is emphasizing the unity of believers.  He says, “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.”  So to be baptized with the Spirit is to become a believer and become part of the body of Christ.  And a key word in this verse is “all.”  Baptism with the Holy Spirit is something that all believers have in common.  You don’t need to turn there but Romans 8:9 says the same thing in the negative: “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”  To be a believer; to have Christ; to be in Christ, is to have the Spirit of Christ.  Soif you believe in Jesus, you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has made His permanent home in you.
    3. And in the language of Scripture, all of this is in view in the baptism of believers. When a person publicly professes faith in Christ and is baptized they are one who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit.  We know that the work of the Holy Spirit actually began before the moment of their water baptism.  The Spirit opened their eyes to Jesus and this has brought them now to the baptism font.  But the language of Scripture puts it all together as baptism.  That is why Ephesians 4:5 says there is “one baptism.”  So baptism with the Holy Spirit is the work of the Spirit to bring a person to a living faith in Christ and it happens to all believers.

 

  1. So what is going on then in Acts 19? Our Charismatic and Pentecostal friends say that what happens here and in a few similar episodes in Acts is a second baptism, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  According to them, all believers receive the baptism of Christ but some believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  And those believers are then able to do things like prophesy or heal or speak in tongues.
    1. Well, I expect you can see from the get go the pastoral problem that this idea causes. I mean, who would be satisfied with just the baptism in Christ!  The emphasis will of course go towards baptism of the Holy Spirit and these amazing gifts!  And that is exactly what you see in the TV shows of churches where this idea lives – it is all about the Holy Spirit and the miraculous and the extraordinary.
    2. So again, what are we to make of this Acts 19 episode and others like it in Acts? Well, the first thing we must note is that we are dealing here with a unique time in the history of the church.  It is the Apostolic age.  It is the time of the NT church without a NT!
      1. So in Acts 1:5, Jesus told the disciples that soon they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, referring to Pentecost. So you had believing disciples who were then baptized with the Holy Spirit.  But this is because the Jews needed to see the power of the Spirit of God at work in the disciples.
      2. And in Acts 8, we read about Samaritans who had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus who had not yet received the Holy Spirit. But this apparent ‘delay’ was so that the Jews could see that the Samaritans were included in the Church, and that the Samaritans could see that the Jewish apostles were the channels of divine truth.
      3. And in Acts 10 and here in Acts 19, we read about people being baptized and the Holy Spirit coming upon them so that they spoke in tongues and prophesied. But this is not a second baptism; this has to do with this unique time – the apostolic age – where those sign gifts were necessary as a demonstration of divine authority, because there was no yet a NT.  These sign gifts are not necessary today because in the complete Bible we have all the authority that we need for faith and life.
      4. As we read passage like this in Acts, one commentator has given us a useful warning when he said, “We must not make the tragic mistake of teaching the experience of the apostles, but rather we must experience the teaching of the apostles.”

So, by way of summary, the Bible never commands Christians to be baptized by, with, or of the Holy Spirit.  It does command us to be baptized into the Triune name of God.  “Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary.  Baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water on the person.”  And if you believe in Jesus then you have been baptized with the Spirit.

What the Bible does say to those who have been baptized with the Spirit, however, is be filled with the Spirit, walk with the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and keep in step with the Spirit. It also tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  SO even though we might have the mode of baptism and what baptism with the Holy Spirit is all nicely worked out, let us strive to be those in whom there is more and more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Amen.