Transcript HOLY SPIRIT - Erskine College

BAPTISM
BAPTISM: DEFINITION
• WCF 28:2,3 “The outward element to be
used in the Sacrament is water, wherewith
the party is to be baptized in the name of
the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, by a minister of the gospel, lawfully
called thereunto. Dipping of the person into
the water is not necessary; but Baptism is
rightly administered by pouring or
sprinkling water upon the person.”
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BAPTISM: DEFINITION
• Per WCF, there are some Key Elements
involved:
– Water is necessary
– The Formula is “in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit”
– Baptism is performed only by a lawfully
ordained minister
– Immersion is not necessary
– Pouring (affusion) or Sprinkling (aspersion) are
satisfactory modes of baptism
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BAPTISM: DEFINITION
• The interpretation of this statement
– It was the position held by a majority of the
commissioners assembled at Westminster and
was the accepted position in Presbyterian
churches generally
– Immersion cannot be required from Scripture;
it is unnecessary and is not the normal practice
in Reformed churches
– Pouring and Sprinkling can be demonstrated
from Scripture and are the most appropriate
means of baptism
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• Baptism is engrafting into Christ. (See J. Murray,
Christian Baptism, 6)
– It is mentioned often in Scripture, especially in
connection with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection
• Union with Christ
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Rom. 6:3-6, baptized into union with Christ
I Cor. 12:12-3, baptized into Christ’s body
Gal. 3:27-8, baptized into Christ
Col. 2:11-12, buried with him in baptism
All these refer to spiritual baptism, not water baptism;
yet the significance of spiritual baptism should be
reflected in water baptism
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• Baptism signifies the forgiveness of sins by his
blood
– Scripture links baptism to purification/cleansing: Matt.
3:6, “they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins.”
– Mark 1:4 “baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
– Luke 3:3, “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins.”
– John 3:25, John’s baptism= “a discussion arose between
some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. “
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• Baptism is the outward washing symbolizing
inward regeneration by the Holy Spirit
– John 3:5, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’”
– I Cor. 6:11, “And such were some of you. But you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
– Titus 3:5, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in
righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”
– Acts 2:38, “And Peter said to them, "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 22:16, “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.”
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
– Col. 2:12-13, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you
were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of
God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in
your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made
alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”
– Heb. 10:22, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and
our bodies washed with pure water.”
– I Peter 3:21, “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,”
– The same term is used for water and spirit baptism
• They are linked in John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16
• Perhaps referred to in I Cor. 12:13, Gal. 3:27
– The baptism of the Holy Spirit points to union with Christ
in which all the benefits of redemption are received
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• Baptism seals our adoption as children of God
• Baptism unites us with Christ’s resurrection to
everlasting life
• Baptism is the sacrament of initiation, that gives
admission to the visible church
• Baptism is linked by Christ to discipleship, Matt.
28:19
– Baptism is a prerequisite for church membership, Acts
2:41
– Baptism signifies our engagement to be the Lord’s own
treasure
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• Baptism shares a parallel significance with
Circumcision
– Baptism becomes the initiatory rite of Church in NT
– NT links significance of baptism with circumcision, Col.
2:11-13. Cf. heart circumcision, Rom. 2:28-9
• Gen 17:13, circumcision is perpetual
• OT circumcision shares the same meaning with
NT baptism, namely, union with God and His
people, cleansing from sin, regeneration, and the
covenant of grace in general.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• For the OT meaning of circumcision, see the
following:
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Gen 17:10- covenant- circumcised
Gen 34:14-17, union with God’s people (intermarriage)
Ex. 12:44,48, required to eat Passover
Deut. 10:16, (30:6) regeneration, love for God (cf. vss.
12-13)
– Joshua 5:7-9, cleansing from defilement
– Jer. 4:4, regeneration, cleansing heart (vs. 14)
– Jer. 9:25-6, know and love God in heart
• Since baptism is practiced in the NT, circumcision
is no longer necessary: I Cor. 7:18-20; Gal. 2:3-5
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SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM
• As sign, Baptism “is a testimony which
God has been pleased to give to us so
that we may better understand the high
privilege of union with the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit.” J. Murray,
Christian Baptism, 87
• As seal, Baptism “authenticates,
confirms, guarantees the reality and
security of this covenant grace.”
Murray, CB, 87.
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BAPTISM: ITS MODE
• Baptizo, according to Arndt and Gingrich lexicon,
has the following range of meanings: “dip,
immerse, dip oneself, wash, plunge, sink,
drench, overwhelm.” BAG, 131
– In LXX, Baptizo is used 4x:
• II Kings 5:14, “dipped” (But, cf. Lev. 14:7-8, rachatz/bapto,
Lev. 14:6, dip living bird in blood of dead bird; Lev. 14:16,
dip finger in oil in hand)
• Isa. 21:4, “horror overwhelms me” (NASB)
• Judith 12:7 “she would wash herself in the camp at the
fountain of water.”
• Ecclesiasticus, 34:25, “being cleansed from the dead” (Cf.
Num. 19:11-19)
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BAPTISM: ITS MODE
• In NT, Baptizo is used 74 times, but there is no
example of a specifically stated mode
– It appears, however, that Mark 7:4 favors sprinkling,
and Luke 11:38 pouring
– In many other instances, circumstances rule out
immersion
• Baptismos (3x), Baptisma (20x) and Baptistes
(12 x)
– Baptismos is used in Mark 7:4 and Heb. 9:10 where it
favors sprinkling
– In Heb. 6:2, no mode is indicated in the context
– Baptisma and Baptistes are not used with sufficient
context to determine mode
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BAPTISM: ITS MODE
• Bapto is used 4x: Luke 16:24 “dip”, John 13:26
“dip”(twice), Rev. 19:13 “dye.” Cf. to Daniel 4:30,
5:21 in LXX (ebafh)
• Regarding the use of prepositions and the mode
of baptism: Nothing can be proved from the use
of Greek prepositions. In the examples normally
cited, the prepositions (en: in with, at, by; eis: to,
into, unto, toward; ek: out of, from, apart from,
away from) indicate at most that the parties to
the baptism went down to where the water was
(river, stream, fountain), then the baptism took
place, then the parties went up the banks to
normal ground level. See esp. Acts 8:38,9
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BAPTISM: VALID AND PROPER
• A Valid Mode is a mode by which baptism truly
has taken place- the person is baptized
– In the Reformed view: as long as there is a duly
authorized minister, water, and the Triune formula,
baptism has taken place. All three modes produce a
valid baptism.
• A Proper Mode means that the mode is the
method taught by Scripture & apostolic practice
– In the Reformed view: pouring and sprinkling are
proper modes (“rightly administered”); immersion is
not a proper mode. However, an improper mode does
not negate the sacrament. Thus an improper baptism
may nonetheless be a valid baptism
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BAPTISM: MEANING AND MODE
• “The central import is that of union with Christ”
John Murray, Christian Baptism, 9
– Rom. 6:3-6; I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27,28; Col. 2:11,12.
• The outward washing of baptism symbolizes the
inward washing by the Holy Spirit and the
sprinkling of the blood of Christ:
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John 3:5, “born of water and the Spirit”
I Cor. 6:11, “but you were washed”
Titus 3:5, “Washing of regeneration/renewal of H.S.
Acts 2:38, “be baptized . . . receive the gift of H.S.”
Acts 22:16, “be baptized and wash away your sins”
I Peter 3:21, “saved by baptism” = inward cleansing
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BAPTISM: MEANING AND MODE
• Baptism is the outward washing that symbolizes,
signifies, and seals the inward washing, wherein
the Holy Spirit applies the blood of Christ for
actual cleansing
• In the Old Testament, Levitical cleansing took
place primarily through the sprinkling of blood,
water, etc.; sometimes through pouring, and
sometimes dipping or “wiping.” It is very hard
to find an Old Testament ritual cleansing
that requires immersion
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BAPTISM: MEANING AND MODE
• This is most important in view of
Hebrews 9:10 which speaks of
various ceremonial washings, or
baptismois
• In I Cor. 10:2, Israel is described as
“baptized” into Moses; the only
immersion that occurred in this context
is the immersion of Pharaoh’s army, Ex.
14:28!
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BAPTISM: MEANING AND MODE
• Sprinkling and pouring appear to be the modes
most often associated with the new covenant:
– Jer. 31:31,33 cf. with Ezekiel 36:24-7 “sprinkle,”
“cleanse”
– Isa. 52:15, “sprinkle many nations”
• Heb. 8, new covenant replaces Mosaic covenant
– Heb. 9:11-15; 10:19-22, “baptisms” of Mosaic
covenant; replaced by sprinkling of blood of Christ
– I Peter 1:2, “sprinkling of blood of Christ”
– Joel 2:2-32; Acts 2:17, promise of New Covenant, the
pouring out of the Spirit
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BAPTISM: ITS SUBJECTS
• Throughout the OT, the covenant promise was
maintained that God would continue to bless
children through the faith and obedience of
their parents
– Job 1:5, Job offers sacrifices for his children
– Gen. 26:2-4 Abraham’s blessings are passed down through
Isaac
– Gen. 28:12-14, Abraham’s blessings are passed down through
Jacob
– I Kings 11:12-13,32; 15:4; II Kings 8:19; 19:34; II Chron.
21:7, the blessings of the Davidic covenant are passed down
to David’s natural children
– Deut. 7:9, Psalm 103:17-8, promise and blessing are extended
to thousands of generations of descendants of God’s people
– Deut. 4:37-8; 7:7-8, the blessings of Mosaic covenant flow to
the children of covenant-keepers
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BAPTISM: ITS SUBJECTS
• This blessing on children required the
parents to be responsible and rear their
children in the fear of the Lord
– Parents were to apply the covenant sign, Gen. 17:914; Ex. 4:24-6, etc.
– Parents were to train their children, and teach the
covenant to them, Gen. 18:19; Deut. 5:29; 6:6-9;
20-25; Psalm 78:1-8
– Parents were to discipline their children properly,
Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 29:15, 17
– Parents were to protect their children from unbelief,
Nehemiah 13:23-7
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BAPTISM: ITS SUBJECTS
• The NT applies the provisions of the
Abrahamic covenant to believers and their
children
– By faith, NT believers are tied directly into the
Abrahamic covenant, Gal.3:16-18; 26-29
– Jesus blessed the infants, saying of such was the
kingdom, Matt. 19:13-5; Mark 10:13-6; Luke
18:15-7
– Peter affirmed that Jews in Jerusalem were
included in Abrahamic covenant (after Pentecost),
Acts 3:25-6
– Peter spoke to the same group and offered
continued covenant promises to their natural
children if they would repent, Acts 2:39
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BAPTISM: ITS SUBJECTS
• The NT applies the provisions of the
Abrahamic covenant to believers and
their children
– The promise to the Philippian jailer, based
on his (sing.) belief was the salvation of
“you and your house.” Acts 16:31
– By virtue of at least one believing parent,
children are covenantally in a special
relationship to God, “holy,” I Cor. 7:14
– Thus, in NT, children of believers are
considered to be in covenant relation with
God
– AND, remember I Cor. 10:2 “All Israel”
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BAPTISM