For some reason God has placed the topic of baptism at the forefront of my mind recently so it only seems natural that it is our topic of discussion today. While baptism is a huge topic with all kinds of facets to consider, the focus of my consideration has been on what is happening spiritually. I enjoy an inspirational baptism video as much as the next person but I am convinced that there is more occurring than hugs, high-fives, and promotional material for the church. In my mind, at the heart of the matter is the question, “Is baptism an isolated yet necessary act of obedience or is there something lasting that occurs?” In other words, once I have been baptized, is there any reason to consider it again outside of giving an inspiring testimony to others who may be considering getting baptized?
Let me get a few theological beliefs out on the table first just to clear up my view of baptism. I believe Scripture is clear on the necessity of baptism. It is one of the last commands Jesus gives to His apostles in the Great Commission; to baptize the new disciples being made through their teaching. Throughout the Acts narrative of the early church the apostles preached repentance and baptism simultaneously (another blog for another time perhaps) which shows the clear importance they placed on it. A second thing I believe is that those same Scriptures are clear that baptism is for those who can communicate repentance and faith in Christ. Finally, because I believe repentance and faith must be communicated before baptism, I further believe that baptism does not grant salvation to a person.
The rest of this blog post will proceed with those beliefs operating in the background. However, none of that answers the question of what happens, if anything, at a baptism… especially spiritually. A majority of my church experience has been in various Baptist churches and baptism is expected as an act of obedience…a public display of intent by the person (because they are supposed to) and a welcoming to the family by the congregation (because they are supposed to). I have never received any in-church teaching or explanation of what God’s role in baptism is; we symbolically identify with Christ in His death and resurrection but what does that even mean? So, is it simply one human obediently officiating a service where another human obediently confesses in front of other humans?
However, if this is all baptism is, then why was such emphasis placed on it by Jesus and His apostles after Him? Paul writes in Ephesians regarding unity in the church in this way,
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:1-6)
There within these bedrock foundations of our faith Paul places baptism as a necessary element of what unifies believers together through the Holy Spirit. If this is true then baptism must be more than an act of obedience. Somehow, through the act of baptism, the Holy Spirit is increasing the unity of the church in a way that is critical to her livelihood; an individual believer is united to the Church through the Holy Spirit.
What a mystery! I remember in seminary when concepts became super difficult to comprehend, we would jokingly punt to Deuteronomy 29:29. How is God 3 persons yet one God? “The secret things belong to the Lord.” How is Jesus fully God and fully man? “The secret things belong to the Lord.” So how does the Holy Spirit unite believers through baptism? Maybe we should just say, “The secret things belong to the Lord.” There is some truth to that because Scripture is silent in how He does it, it simply affirms that He does. While it may be mysterious, it is not without precedent; there is an equally mysterious unifying within biblical marriage.
All the way back in Genesis 3 we read about the mystery of husband and wife leaving their fathers and mothers and becoming one flesh. Jesus expands on this mystery by adding the statement, “Therefore, what God has joined together let no one separate.” (Matt. 19:6) So somehow, the Spirit unifies a husband and wife together without going into detail about how He does it. Jesus’ teaching on marriage demonstrates that there is a unity between husband/wife/God that did not exist prior to a public vow of faithfulness.
Is it too much to consider the Spirit working similarly in baptism? Again, Eph. 4:6 claims one baptism of unity through the Spirit…the unity between a believer/Church/God that did not exist prior to a public vow of faithfulness. This unity with the believer is to the universal, “big C Church” of all true believers but is made functional through the local, “little c church”.
As believers we are called to be baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection symbolically but doing so is our wedding vow to the Church; we even say “I do” in response to questions regarding our belief in the Gospel. We have entered into a sacred covenant with Christ’s chosen representative on Earth, the “big C Church” of all true believers. The marriage is not between an individual church or denomination but rather the collective church body of Christ as a whole. Furthermore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. There are two implications from this that should be discussed.
The first implication is that baptism is not optional, it is necessary. That should not be surprising, but if the similarity to marriage is comparable than a Christian choosing to not be baptized is akin to a man (or woman) living/sleeping together with their partner outside of marriage. Inherent in the response to the Christian Gospel is baptism. It may not be immediate like we see throughout the early church in the book of Acts but it must happen. The alternative is quenching the Spirit and attempting to “live together in sin” as a Christian.
The second implication is that a baptized believer should not be “divorced” from the church. Again, there are many passages that stress the need to gather together or fellowship as a body but this cuts to the individual level. Lone Ranger Christianity is not biblical…me and Jesus is church enough for me is not biblical…I love God but not His Church is not biblical. Even if the “little c church” sins and mistreats us we are still called to be an active part of the “big C church”. This is not just when it is convenient; it is intentional committed living as a lifelong spouse to her. The alternative is quenching the Spirit and attempting to erase all of the “one another” passages out of Scripture.
I know this was a longer post and I hope you have made it this far. Baptism is a huge topic that is impossible to treat in its entirety here but I pray the facet we examined today has ben insightful. I must emphasize that baptism as a marriage is an analogy and cannot be taken verbatim. It is similar to St. Patrick’s example of the shamrock as a helpful but incomplete analogy to explain the Trinity. Please, please, please let me know your feedback on this topic; I would love to hear from you. I admit there is a degree of newness to what I tried to communicate and newness in theology can be a bad thing…if it hasn’t been adopted in 2000 years can it really be a legitimate view? At the end of the day, I want to see God glorified and to know Him more completely and this understanding of baptism has done that in my life, so I pray the same may be true for you all. May the Spirit of revelation guide you in all truth and righteousness. Blessings!
