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According to the New Testament, the believers have not only believed in Christ but have also been baptized. Baptism is even more difficult to define than faith is. Whereas faith is somewhat mysterious, it is nonetheless a direct fact. Baptism, however, is not only a fact but also a symbol, and because it is a symbol it is not easily explained. In this message and in the message following, we shall seek to define baptism according to the holy Word.
Many verses in the New Testament speak of the necessity and importance of baptism. In Mark 16:16 the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.” To believe is to receive Christ not only for forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43) but also for regeneration (1 Pet. 1:21, 23), so that those who believe may become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the members of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). To be baptized is to affirm this by being buried to terminate the old creation through the death of Christ and by being raised to be the new creation of God through Christ’s resurrection. Such a baptism is much more advanced than the baptism of repentance preached by John (Mark 1:4; Acts 19:3-5).
To believe and to be so baptized are two parts of one complete step for receiving the full salvation of God. To be baptized without believing is merely an empty ritual; to believe without being baptized is to be saved only inwardly without an outward affirmation of the inward salvation. These two should go together. Moreover, water baptism should be accompanied by the Spirit baptism, even as the children of Israel were baptized in the sea (water) and in the cloud (Spirit) — 1 Corinthians 10:2 and 12:13.
Mark 16:16 does not say “who does not believe and is not baptized shall be condemned.” This indicates that condemnation is related only to not believing; it is not related to not being baptized. Believing itself is sufficient for one to receive salvation from condemnation; yet believing needs baptism as an outward affirmation for the completion of one’s inward salvation.
In the case of Philip preaching the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), we have the case of a genuine Gentile believing in the Lord. From Isaiah 53 Philip “brought the good news of Jesus to him” (v. 35). Then “as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch says, Look, water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (v. 36). The fact that the Ethiopian eunuch had such a reaction when seeing water indicates that Philip in his gospel preaching should have spoken to him about water baptism. If Philip had not said anything about baptism, it is unlikely that the Ethiopian would have reacted in this way. Philip may still have been talking about water baptism when they came to the water in which the eunuch was baptized.
In this gospel case water baptism is particularly emphasized, but no mention is made of Spirit baptism. This should give us strong instruction that we must pay attention to water baptism, which signifies the believers’ identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:5; Col. 2:12), as well as to Spirit baptism. Spirit baptism signifies the reality of the believers’ union with Christ in life essentially and in power economically, whereas water baptism is the believers’ affirmation of the Spirit’s reality. Both are needed (Acts 10:47), and neither can replace the other. All believers in Christ should properly have both.
Concerning baptism, water signifies death and burial for the termination of repentant people, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and resurrection for the germination of the terminated ones. The death-water, pointing to and signifying the all-inclusive death of Christ into which His believers are baptized, buries not only the baptized ones themselves but also their sins, the world, and their past. It also separates them from the God-forsaking world and its corruption. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Hence, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and even into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which is joined to Christ in the one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). It is through baptism in such a water and in such a Spirit that the believers in Christ are regenerated into the kingdom of God, into the realm of the divine life and the divine rule (John 3:3, 5), so that they may live by the eternal life of God in His eternal kingdom.
In chapter eight of Acts the eunuch received water baptism and Spirit baptism at the same time. There are not two baptisms, a water baptism and a Spirit baptism. Water baptism and Spirit baptism are one. In God’s economy there is only one baptism. It would be wrong to ask whether this one baptism is water baptism or Spirit baptism. In the sight of God there is only one baptism with two aspects — the aspect of water and the aspect of Spirit. For God there is not the need of water, only of Spirit. However, as human beings, who are physical, we have the need for a material confirmation of spiritual things. Water baptism, therefore, is the outward affirmation of inward Spirit baptism. Whenever we baptize someone in water, we need to have the faith that we are baptizing that person not only into the water but also into the Spirit as the realization of the Triune God.
In Acts 16 we have two more cases of the baptism of believers. Speaking of Lydia, “whose heart the Lord opened to give heed to the things spoken by Paul” (v. 14), we are told that “she was baptized and her household” (v. 15). Here we see that baptism immediately followed believing, as the Lord commanded in Mark 16:16. The same thing happened with the Philippian jailer. Paul and Silas “spoke the word of God to him together with all those in his house. And taking them with him in that very hour of the night, he washed their stripes; and he was baptized immediately, he and all his household” (Acts 16:32-33). Once again baptism was practiced immediately after someone believed.
To be baptized is to be baptized into the name (denoting the person) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into an organic union with the processed Triune God. This is revealed by the Lord’s word in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is to bring repentant people out of their old state into a new one by terminating their old life and germinating them with the new life of Christ so that they may become kingdom people. John the Baptist’s recommending ministry began with the preliminary baptism by water only. Now, after the Lord Jesus accomplished His ministry on earth, passed through the process of death and resurrection, and became the life-giving Spirit, He charged His disciples to baptize the discipled people into the Triune God. This baptism has two aspects: the visible aspect by water and the invisible aspect by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 41; 10:44-48). The visible aspect is the expression, the testimony, of the invisible aspect; whereas the invisible aspect is the reality of the visible aspect. Without the invisible aspect by the Spirit, the visible aspect by water is vain; and without the visible aspect by water, the invisible aspect by the Spirit is abstract and impractical. Both are needed. Not long after the Lord charged the disciples with this baptism, He baptized them and the entire church in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:4) and in the house of Cornelius (Acts 11:15-17). Then, based upon this, the disciples baptized the new converts (Acts 2:38), not only visibly into water but also invisibly into the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4), into Christ Himself (Gal. 3:27), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). The water, signifying the death of Christ with His burial, may be considered a tomb to terminate the history of the baptized ones. Since the death of Christ is included in Christ, since Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, and since the Triune God is one with the Body of Christ, to baptize new believers into the death of Christ, into Christ Himself, into the Triune God, and into the Body of Christ is to do one thing: on the negative side to terminate their old life and on the positive side to germinate them with a new life, the eternal life of the Triune God, for the Body of Christ. Hence, the baptism ordained by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:19 is to baptize people out of their life into the Body life for the kingdom of the heavens.
The word “into” in 28:19 indicates union, as in Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27, and 1 Corinthians 12:13. The same Greek word is used in Acts 8:16; 19:3, 5 and 1 Corinthians 1:13, 15. To baptize people into the name of the Triune God is to baptize them into spiritual and mystical union with Him.
In Matthew 28:19 there is one name for the Trinity. The name is the sum total of the divine Being, equivalent to His person. To baptize believers into the name of the Trinity is to immerse them into all the Triune God is.
By the time the Lord Jesus gave the charge to His disciples recorded in 28:19, He had already died an all-inclusive death on the cross, had been buried, had entered into Hades to overcome the power of death and everything related to it, and had come out of death and had entered into resurrection. Furthermore, He, the pneumatic Christ, had already breathed Himself as the life-giving Spirit into the disciples (John 20:22). Having done all this, He charged them to disciple the nations and to bring them into the Triune God so that they may have an organic union with Him. However, the Lord Jesus did not tell the disciples to baptize the discipled nations into the Triune God but to baptize them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. To baptize believers into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is in fact to baptize them into the processed Triune God.
Unless baptism in the Holy Spirit is specifically designated, the word “baptism” in the New Testament indicates baptism through water implying the significance of the baptism in the Spirit. Even the water baptism of John the Baptist pointed to Spirit baptism. Although John’s baptism did not imply the Spirit, it nevertheless pointed to the Spirit. With the Lord Jesus and the apostles baptism implies both the water and the Spirit. This principle applies to the baptism mentioned by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:19. Therefore, to baptize believers into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to baptize them both in the water and in the Spirit. Physically, we baptize believers in water, yet the water symbolizes the divine name, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This means that when we put people into the water of baptism, we put them into the person of the Triune God so that they may have an organic union with Him.
According to the book of Acts, the believers are baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, who is the all-inclusive embodiment of the processed Triune God. Acts 8:16 speaks of those who were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. The name denotes the person. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the person of the Lord, to be identified with the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, to be put into an organic union with the living Lord.
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. This indicates that to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit because the Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9).
Acts 19:5 tells us of certain believers at Ephesus who “were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” This is to be baptized into a spiritual union with the all-inclusive Christ. Apparently, these believers were not baptized into the name of the Triune God but into the name of the Lord Jesus. Actually, by being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus they were baptized into the name of the Triune God, for the Lord Jesus is the all-inclusive embodiment of the processed Triune God. Today, when we baptize believers into the name of the Lord Jesus we are actually baptizing them into the Triune God.
In the book of Acts we see that the believers are baptized not only into the name of the Lord Jesus but also in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 10:48 says, “He charged them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” To be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized into the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ, within which is the reality of baptism.
Some readers of the New Testament may think that there is no difference between being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus and in the name of Jesus Christ. However, there is an important difference. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the Triune God to have an organic union with Him. But to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized in Christ as a sphere, the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ. It is also to be baptized into Jesus Christ as an element. Within Christ as the sphere and element is the reality of baptism. Apparently, water is the sphere and element in which the believers are baptized. But the water signifies a person, the all-inclusive Christ. This person, signified by His name, is the sphere and element in which we baptize the believers.
The divine and spiritual reality of baptism is in the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism, therefore, should not be a ritual through which people become members of a religion. We need to touch the reality of baptism. The water symbolizes the spiritual and divine reality which is the Triune God embodied in the all-inclusive Christ. When we baptize others, we need to pray for the divine reality of baptism.
Although our concern is with the spiritual reality of baptism, we still need water as a symbol. If we simply say to others that we are baptizing them in the name of Jesus Christ without putting them into water, there would be nothing to symbolize the reality of baptism. We need to put the believers into water. Nevertheless, actually we are not baptizing them in water, for the water is a symbol of the reality in the name, the person, of Jesus Christ.
Concerning baptism, water has four characteristics. First, water is enterable. Second, people can be buried in water. Third, water is used for washing. Fourth, according to the Bible, water is used for separation. For example, the deluge separated Noah and his family from the perverted, corrupted age. Also, the water of the Red Sea separated the children of Israel from the Egyptians. All these four characteristics are included in the matter of baptism. The water indicates that our God is enterable. Thus, when we baptize the believers, we put them into the enterable God. Furthermore, when believers are baptized, they are buried in God. In a very real sense, God is the tomb in which we are buried. To be buried in water is actually to be buried in God. The preaching of repentance by John the Baptist indicates this. All those who were willing to repent were buried by John the Baptist in water. The water in which they were buried points to the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said that he baptized in water unto repentance, but that One — the Lord Jesus — was coming who would baptize people in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; John 1:33). Elsewhere we have pointed out that the Holy Spirit is the germinating element. But unless we are buried the Spirit cannot germinate us. The point we are emphasizing here is that the water of baptism signifies that our God is enterable and that we, through baptism, are buried in Him.
When we baptize others, we need the deep realization that actually we are not putting them into water but are putting them into the enterable God. This is not the unprocessed God, the “raw” God, but the God who, embodied in Christ, has been processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. This processed Triune God is the sphere and element into which the believers are baptized. This is what it means to baptize the believers in the name of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 2:38 Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ....” To be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized upon the ground of what the name of Jesus Christ stands for. This name stands for all that the person of Jesus Christ is and all that He has accomplished, both of which constitute the faith, the contents, of God’s New Testament economy. It is on this ground that the believers in Christ are baptized.
The New Testament uses three different prepositions to describe the relationship of baptism to the Lord Jesus. First, eis, into (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:16; 19:5; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), signifies a spiritual union with the all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. Second, en, in (Acts 10:48), signifies the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ. Third, epi, upon or on (Acts 2:38), indicates that we are baptized upon the ground of what the name of Jesus Christ stands for. This name stands for all that the Lord Jesus is and all that He has accomplished. Now we can understand why these three prepositions are used with respect to baptism in the New Testament. The person of Jesus Christ is not only the sphere in which we are baptized but also the ground, the standing, upon which we are baptized. This ground comprises Christ’s person and work, and His person and work constitute the faith of God’s New Testament economy. This means that we baptize the believers on the ground of the New Testament faith. Therefore, the believers are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into the name of the Lord Jesus, in the name of Jesus Christ, and upon the name of Jesus Christ.
