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In this lesson we shall continue to see the truth pertaining to baptism.
John 3:5 says, “Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This word clearly indicates that, to be regenerated and enter into the kingdom of God one must be born not only of the Spirit but also of water. Hence, baptism is a condition of regeneration and entrance into the kingdom of God. This, of course, refers not only to the outward form of baptism, but even more to the reality of baptism. Nevertheless, we must not consider the aspect of reality as altogether spiritual and neglect the practice. To be regenerated and enter into the kingdom of God we need not only to repent and believe that we may receive God’s life through the Holy Spirit, but also to practice baptism that everything of ourselves may be terminated by the water of baptism.
Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This shows that through baptism, as the conclusion of our repentance and believing, we are forgiven of our sins and we receive the Holy Spirit. Hence, baptism, together with repentance and faith in the Lord’s name, is a condition for us to be forgiven of our sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. If we desire to be forgiven and to receive the Holy Spirit, in addition to our repenting and believing in the Lord’s name, we must also be baptized as the conclusion of our repentance and faith.
The Scriptures tell us clearly that as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27), have been put into His death (Rom. 6:3), and have been buried and raised together with Him (Col. 2:12). This shows how closely baptism is related to our salvation. Baptism is the procedure by which we are put into Christ, and it is the step by which we are put into His death and are buried and raised together with Him. Hence, baptism does not merely signify our co-death, co-burial, and co-resurrection with the Lord, as many Christians believe. Through baptism we are actually put into Christ; we are in reality put into His death and are buried and raised together with Him. This, of course, requires faith. The inward believing heart, however, needs to be matched by the outward action of baptism. To be put into Christ, to be put into His death, and to be buried and raised together with Him, we need both the inward faith and the outward baptism.
In Mark 16:16 the Lord Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” This indicates that man needs baptism as well as faith to obtain full salvation. Just as faith is a condition of salvation, so baptism is also a condition of salvation. This is why Peter said that baptism saves us (1 Pet. 3:21) from this generation, just as the ark through the judging water saved Noah and his family of eight from that generation.
Many people often change the Lord’s word, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” into “He who believes and is saved shall be baptized.” They consider that faith alone is the procedure for salvation and that it precedes salvation, whereas baptism is something that follows salvation. Actually, what the Lord means is that baptism and faith together are the procedure for salvation and both precede salvation. To be saved we need to take only one step, but it requires two feet. One foot is faith, and the other is baptism. These two together make one complete step to bring us into the Lord’s full salvation.
Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus is qualified to be baptized, because the Word says, “He who believes and is baptized...” (Mark 16:16). This is an unchangeable principle. One who does not believe or has not yet believed is not qualified to be baptized.
When those in Samaria believed Philip, bringing the good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12). They believed not only in the gospel but also in the name of the Lord. Because of their faith, they could be baptized and were all baptized.
When Philip preached the gospel to the eunuch from Ethiopia, he also said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may [be baptized]” (Acts 8:37). Hence, a person may be baptized as long as he believes with all his heart. It is not necessary to wait until he understands a great number of doctrines, nor is it necessary to require of him other things. We must take note, however, that this verse says that a person must believe with all his heart, not halfheartedly, that is, not half believing and half doubting. Only when a person believes with all his heart can he be baptized.
Furthermore, in the early days many Corinthians also believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8). Their case also illustrates that faith, and faith alone, precedes baptism. Nothing less than faith is acceptable, and nothing more than faith is necessary.
When He was on earth, the Lord Jesus did not baptize people personally; He asked His disciples to do it (John 4:2). Although there were some apostles among the disciples, they did not baptize by their apostleship; rather, they baptized as disciples. This tells us that the Lord did not ask those who had official duties among the disciples to baptize people; rather He told the disciples, those who believed in Him, to baptize people. Therefore, a person is qualified to baptize as long as he is a believer in the Lord, a disciple of the Lord. The teaching that only those who have official duties in the church are qualified to baptize people is neither scriptural nor according to the Lord’s will. It is not the Lord’s intention that only those who have official duties in the church may baptize, nor is it that those who baptize do so in an official capacity; rather, it is that all the saved ones may baptize people in their capacity as believers.
Although the Lord chose Paul to be His apostle, He sent a disciple, not an apostle, to baptize him. The name of that disciple was Ananias (Acts 9:10, 17-18). The Bible does not tell us that he had any official position in the church; it only says that he was a disciple. This indicates that a person may baptize as long as he is a disciple; he does not need to be someone with official duties in the church. Of course, those who baptize must take the matter seriously and seek the Lord’s leading.
It was to the disciples, not the apostles, that the Lord gave the ultimate commission of preaching the gospel to all the nations and baptizing them (Matt. 28:16, 19). Eleven of those who received the commission were apostles, yet here in Matthew 28:16 they were not called the eleven apostles but the eleven disciples. The Lord commissioned them not as apostles, but as disciples. If the Lord had given them the commission because He considered them to be apostles, then it would mean that He required only a small number of apostles to preach the gospel to all the nations, and that He did not require all the disciples to do it. This was not the Lord’s intention. The Lord intended that all His disciples who believed in Him would go to preach the gospel to people and baptize them. Anyone who was a disciple of the Lord should preach the gospel and baptize people. It was the mission of His disciples to preach the gospel, and it was also their obligation to baptize people. Baptizing and preaching were the two aspects of His charge to His disciples. His disciples had both the responsibility and the authority to carry out both aspects. Hence, whoever has the authority to preach the gospel has the authority to baptize.
Philip was not an apostle but an evangelist (Acts 21:8), yet he not only preached the gospel to the eunuch but also baptized him. This shows that anyone who has the authority to preach the gospel may baptize. Furthermore, Philip baptized the eunuch by himself along the road in a place where there was no church. This also proves that, in a place where there is no church, a believer may baptize people on his own after he has preached the gospel to them. Of course, in principle this is true, but in specific cases one must have the leading of the Holy Spirit to do this, as Philip did.
When Paul preached the gospel in Corinth, many were saved and baptized. He, however, baptized only a small number of them (1 Cor. 1:14-17). The rest of them were baptized by the other believers. This shows that those who baptize people do not necessarily have to be the sent apostles or those with official duties. Of course, the sent apostles and those with official duties may baptize people as Paul did, but in places where there are other brothers, it is best if they do as Paul also did by letting the brothers do more and doing less themselves.
Some, however, have taken 1 Corinthians 1:17 as their ground to merely preach the gospel without baptizing people. This thought is also inaccurate. Although the apostle said that he was not sent to baptize but to preach the gospel, he also baptized if necessary. However, in places where there were brothers, he would try to do less himself. The principle is that whoever preaches the gospel should baptize. It is best if there are brothers who can share in this together; otherwise, you must do it yourself.
Once a person has believed in the Lord, he must be baptized immediately and not wait one moment. On the day of Pentecost, when the three thousand received the gospel preached by Peter, they believed in the Lord and were baptized immediately (Acts 2:41). The Samaritans, having heard the gospel preached by Philip, also believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12). The eunuch from Ethiopia believed while on the road, and it was not convenient for him to be baptized, yet he did not hesitate but was baptized immediately after he believed (Acts 8:37-38).
The Philippian jailer and his household believed in the Lord at night and were baptized immediately the same night (Acts 16:33). They were Gentiles who had never known God or the word of the Lord, and when they believed it was already midnight. Yet Paul and Silas, still bearing stripes from being beaten with rods, without hesitation immediately baptized these people who had only heard the gospel once and had believed in the Lord.
Furthermore, in the case of Saul, Ananias was sent by the Lord to Saul, saying, “And now, why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). Only three days had passed (Acts 9:9) since Paul had believed, yet the Holy Spirit blamed him for delaying his baptism. Today if someone is baptized after having believed for only three days, people may blame him for doing it too soon. However, in this matter we must follow the mind of the Holy Spirit, not our own concept. It is a delay to the Holy Spirit if someone is not baptized after having believed for three days, for the Lord’s intention is that a person be baptized immediately after he has believed in the Lord, without waiting even a moment.
Therefore, concerning baptism, we must be recovered to the extent that the water of baptism always follows the preaching of the gospel. Once a person receives the gospel and believes in the Lord, immediately he goes into the water to be baptized. To practice this way is according to the Lord’s mind; it is to follow the Bible’s example, and it is spiritually profitable. However, it also requires faith and spiritual power. We need to preach the gospel with power and have the faith to baptize. Otherwise, we are merely imitating the letter of the Scriptures without spiritual reality.
There is no restriction concerning the place of baptism; any place with water is good for baptism. After the eunuch from Ethiopia believed the gospel, Philip baptized him along the road when they came to some water (Acts 8:36-38).
John 3:23 also says, “And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized.” Because there was much water in Aenon, John baptized there. This shows that a place that is right for baptism must have sufficient water. As long as a place has enough water for a person to be immersed, that is a suitable place to have a baptism.
Acts 19:3-5 says, “And he said, Into what then were you baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” These verses tell us that there were about twelve disciples in Ephesus who were baptized with John’s baptism of repentance. They were not aware of the fact that John’s ministry was to lead men to believe in the Lord Jesus and that the baptism of repentance which he preached had passed away with him after the ministry of the Lord Jesus had begun, so that men must now be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Once they realized this matter, they immediately were corrected. In the early days this out-of-date baptism of repentance, which was inaccurate, needed to be corrected. Likewise, today there are also some improper practices of baptism, such as baptism by sprinkling, infant baptism, and baptism performed on those who have not yet properly believed in the Lord or who do not yet have a spiritual contact with Christ. These also need to be corrected. Of course, in making the correction, we also must exercise our faith to receive all the spiritual realities of baptism.
Baptism, as the conclusion of our repentance and faith, is closely related to our salvation. It is a condition for us to be regenerated and enter into the kingdom of God. Through baptism we are forgiven of our sins and receive the Holy Spirit, we are put into Christ, and we are saved. As long as we have believed in the Lord Jesus with all our heart, we are qualified to be baptized. Nothing less than faith is acceptable, and nothing more than faith is necessary. Furthermore, whoever has the authority to preach the gospel has the authority to baptize. Anyone who is a disciple may baptize. Concerning the time of baptism, once a person has believed in the Lord, he must be baptized immediately and not hesitate a minute. This example is clearly set forth in the Scriptures. All these points, of course, are given here as principles. In practice, we must have the leading of the Holy Spirit, and we also need faith and spiritual power. We must preach the gospel with power and baptize with faith. Concerning the place of baptism, there is no restriction except that there should be enough water for a person to be immersed. If a person’s baptism was improper, it should be corrected.
