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` For there are three that bear witness . . . . He (John) went into all
the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism for forgiveness. '
Whenever there is confusion over Scriptural understanding, inevitably the traditions of men, no doubt with good intent, will be the problem. From the title of this study we get the subject of Baptism, and here we will meet with many traditions of men! Indeed from the title itself (which comes from 1 John 5:7-8 and Luke 2:37) we can see the traditions of men intruding into the text. Prior to the sixteenth century the Greek manuscripts recorded these verses as `For there are three that bear record (witness), The Spirit and the Water and the Blood, and these three agree in one'. But as we have said, in order to give the text greater authority well-intentioned translators add, `in Heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are One. And there are three that bear witness on earth'. With that aside we can turn to our sub-title of John preaching around the Jordan, preaching a baptism for forgiveness - recorded in Luke's Gospel (and referred to in Acts as `John's Baptism').
`John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins'. The full meaning expressed here is of John coming with the express purpose of turning the people's minds and hearts towards an `object or person'. The following quotation from the Book of Isaiah clearly points to the long-promised Messiah of Israel, and John's express purpose was to call for a ritual washing, a baptism of repentance, the meaning of this repentance being that of `coming to one's senses concerning the nature and cause of sin itself'. Within the context of the words, this cause of sin was that of straying from belief in the Promise of God to send a Messiah, One who would bring salvation and the Kingdom of God, providing for `the remission of sins'. Once again we need to understand the underlying meaning of that expression recorded here. It is that of straying from the requirements of the Law, resulting in sin either by omission or commision, and the expression is used here in connection with the Burnt Offering of the Levitical Law, once again turning the people's minds and hearts towards the coming Messiah. This `John's Baptism' is therefore clearly connected to the people of Israel and cannot be used to confirm baptism for Gentiles who have no concept of the Righteousness of God, of His Promises and of His Law.
We turn now to Matthew's Gospel, which records the `Baptism of Jesus' by John. Chapter 3 and verse 13 records: `Then came Jesus from Galilee to Jordan, to John, to be baptised of him'. We read of John's indignation when understanding who this Man was, for he said: `I have need to be baptised by You, and You come to me'? We then hear the words of Jesus: `Let it be so for now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness'. The narrative continues with Jesus being baptised, and upon His emergence from the water `the heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him', with a Voice from Heaven confirming that this Jesus was the long-promised One of God. These verses must naturally take us back to the Law, to Torah, in order to see the foreshadowing of what was now being revealed. Leviticus chapter 8 records the calling and anointing of Aaron and his sons for priesthood; `And the LORD spoke to Moses saying that Aaron and his sons . . .'. In using the title LORD we are seeing the use of God's Covenanted Name, revealing that this act was concerned with His Promise to Israel. We see in verse 6 that Aaron and his sons were washed (that is, baptised) with water, and in verse 10 Aaron was anointed with oil (and in verse 30 Aaron's sons also). Taking in the whole chapter it can be seen that this washing and anointing were within the context of the remission of sins through burnt offerings, as mentioned in the narrative of `John's Baptism'.
With this foreshadowing the full meaning of the words of Jesus at His Baptism, `to fulfil all righteousness', can be seen. `To fulfil' has a meaning of `to accomplish all its obejectives' and is connected with God's Righteousness, which always means God's Righteous acts towards His chosen people. We see in the Baptism of Jesus the revelation of God's Messiah, God's Righteous Promise being fully accomplished and confirmed by a Voice from Heaven, `This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased'. This was no anointing of an earthly High Priest - the Voice from Heaven anointed `My Son', a heavenly High Priest who would offer Himself for the remission of sins. With so many people as witnesses to the anointing it would not be long before it came to the attention of the Sanhedrin, who knew exactly what was happening - John was baptising the people in preparation for the One who followed, Who through washing (baptism) and anointing (by the Holy Spirit) was being revealed from heaven as the Messiah. We cannot therefore use this occasion to justify baptism for believers, either Jew or Gentile.
We would briefly turn to the account of the Passover Meal recorded in John's Gospel, where we see an implied account of an earlier baptism. Here we read of Jesus `washing His disciples' feet' and of Peter's indignation at this act: (John 13:8-10)
" Jesus answered, `Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me'.
`Then, Lord,' Peter replied, `not just my feet but my hands and
my head as well'. Jesus answered, `A person who has had a bath
needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean'. "
We see here a priestly function in accordance with sacrificial rituals. Although there is no mention of those disciples undergoing `John's baptism', it is inconceivable that they, of all people, would not have done so, and the implication that they had done so is seen in the words of Jesus, `a person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean'. In these words we see what was happening at this Last Passover Meal. According to Mosaic Law those called to be priests were washed and then anointed by smearing oil on their foreheads in preparation for ministry in the Tabernacle or Temple. They were now already `washed' and ceremonially clean, but before they could minister in their priestly duties their hands and feet were ritually washed again for they were handling holy things and standing on holy ground in the Temple. Even these priests, as they waited in the Temple for their course of ministry to begin, needed to have their feet washed before standing on holy ground. Here in John's Gospel we see priests of the New Covenant, whose bodies had already been washed but needing their feet to be washed before the Sacrificial Passover Meal where Jesus, as High Priest, offered Himself as the Perfect Lamb of God!
Before we can conclude our search for the full meaning of baptism for Believers in the Lord Jesus, we would bring in one further reading of the command to `go and baptise', seen in Matthew 28, but first we need to look at `the Three Commissions', one of which is recorded in Matthew 28. In doing so we need to remind ourselves that all three are set within the Gospels, therefore the commissions were given to the Jewish disciples to fulfil, and also that they were given by the Lord Jesus following His crucifixion and before His ascension. All three concern baptism for service in the Great Commission. The first is seen in Luke 24. Jesus was speaking to His disciples on the evening of the day of His resurection, and He appeared not only to the eleven disciples but also to `those with them'. This given commission was now a continuance of His own ministry, and of that of the earlier John the Baptist, to preach `repentance and forgiveness of sins . . . in his Name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem'. The New Covenant had now been brought in, thus enabling this Good News to be declared, and we see this first Commission being undertaken by Peter, speaking in the Temple compound, as recorded in Acts 2.
The second Commission is seen in Mark 16: 14-18:
" Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating . . . . He said
to them, `Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all
creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved . . . .' "
The outworking of this second Commission is fully recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and given to the Eleven as the personal ministry of those Apostles to be fulfilled by them before the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70.
The third Commission is recorded in Matthew 28 when `the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go'. This could be called the greatest of the three Commissions, for it is the proclamation of a King who had left Jerusalem but who will return in power to set up His Kingdom. it is a call, a summons to all the Gentile nations to submit to the Lordship of Jesus as King of Israel. This proclamation is as a witness to all nations immediately before the end of the Dispensation of Grace, the end of an Age. This Commission is wholly for the future, and for a future Jewish people (seen in Revelation chapters 7 and 14) and proclaims judgement on the Gentile nations and the final deliverance of Israel. Psalm 2 dramatically records this fulfillment, the details of which can be seen in the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse, the Unveiling of the King and His Kingdom. Here we need to pause and consider - to Selah!
All that we have recorded so far involves a baptism, a washing and an anointing, a confirming act of God upon people or upon a Person to reveal the Righteous Purposes of God in different Dispensations or Ages, some past and others in the future, and cannot, should not, be used to justify baptism for Believers in the Lord Jesus in the present Age. Most people fully understand the meaning of the word `baptism' - which is an act of plunging, so as to overwhelm, an object, usually plain cloth, into water containing dye. When the cloth is pulled out of the water it has been changed from the old into something new, but it is not the act of baptism that brings about the change, but that into which the cloth has been baptised. Therefore by concentrating on the word `baptism' our minds can so easily glaze over the associated words and the context of the narrative, which can lead to confusion in our understanding of Scripture. The act of baptism has two parts to it; the plunging in and the raising up out of an element - which in our understanding here means water. The `two parts' are so conjoined that they become one, yet with two distinct acts.
Here we can move into the more familiar recording of Scriptural baptism, seen with Peter's proclamation in the Temple Courtyard. This we have described as the first Great Commission, recorded in Acts chapter 2. It is usually taught that here we see the `birth of the Church', but to do so distorts the message seen in this Inter-Dispensational Period for the Acts of the Apostles does not record `the birth'. Yes, there is a sighting of it: The Body of the Church was emerging, but there were two `children' in attendance at that Pentecost and the umbilical cord of the Age of the Law had not yet been cut from the past, thus enabling it to fade away and allowing the Age of Grace to be fully brought forth. Glimpses of what was emerging can be seen in the narrative of Peter's vision of `all kinds of four-footed animals' . . . in Philip's meeting with the Ethiopian . . . and in the account of the `Philippian jailer'. But the full Body of the Church would not be seen until the end of a 40 year Probation Period for Israel had completed its course.
The Acts of the Apostles is set within this 40 year Probation Period, which commenced with the crucifixion of Jesus through to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70 following the rejection of Paul's message concerning Jesus the Messiah to the Elders of Israel (recorded in Acts 28). In general terms the first half of `Acts' covers approximately 15 years and refers principally to the Jews and proselytes to Judaism. The second half of Acts records Paul's ministry to the Jews and Gentiles, but Paul's message was no longer that of Peter's proclamation of Jesus the Messiah `whom you crucified' but Jesus as Saviour and Lord, raised from the dead and glorified as Head of His Body, a new people! This understanding brings us back to Acts chapter 2 where we find Peter proclaiming on that day what was but a continuation of John the Baptist's preaching of a baptism of repentance, a turning to Godly ways and belief now in the crucified Jesus. Peter's proclamation should not be used as a requirement for Believers who have followed on from that Probation Period. Therefore we need to turn to Paul's Epistle to the Romans, the `Passover Epistle', for that commencement of the disciples' new life in Jesus, with the clear understanding of the sacrifice of His death and their being `raised up from the dead to the Glory of the Father'. In this, our sacrificial `dipping' in baptism into Christ's death, we are imbued with, saturated with, the Holy Spirit and raised to new life - not into the Name of the Messiah but into the Person of Jesus and into a Living Relationship with Him. For believers in Jesus baptism is entering into the `sacrificial offering' of His Blood and His Resurection through the work of the Holy Spirit - a Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Life of Jesus!
This glorious truth could not be revealed in all its fulness during the 40 years covering the time of the Acts of the Apostles, but we see this `fulness' alluded to in the postscript of Paul's Roman Epistle where he talks of a `mystery'. This Epistle was written in AD 58 from Corinth, and its doctrinal message ends at chapter 15, `signed off' in the next chapter in verse 22: `I Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord'. However, Paul himself now adds a second postscript, written later in AD 63 whilst he was in Rome and writing his Epistle to the Ephesians. In his postscript Paul writes: (Romans 16:25-26)
" According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but is now made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the command-ment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. "
This `mystery' could not be revealed until the `umbilical cord' of the Age of the Law had been cut, releasing all people, both Jews and Gentiles, into the Age of Grace and the full birth of the Church which is His Body.
Paul's second `Pilgrim Feast' Epistle, his Epistle to the Ephesians, was written in AD 63, close to the end of the 40 year Probation Period of Acts, and written whilst in prison in Rome, and here he is now able to reveal this `mystery' alluded to in the second postscript to his Roman Epistle. The great theme of this Epistle is the revelation given to Paul that all who have been buried with Christ in His death are now raised to new life in Him. We are now raised up together with Him and seated in the heavenly realm with Christ Jesus. Furthermore, as this mystery is fully revealed we see why it could not be revealed in Peter's proclmation at that `Pentecostal gathering' in the Temple Compound, for on that occasion his proclamation was still for the people of Israel in a Probation Period still within the Age of the Law. Once that Period was concluded this mystery could be preached in all its fulness: (Ephesians 2 in full)
" As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by Grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming Ages He might show the incomparable riches of His Grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called `uncircumcised' by those who call themselves `the circumcision' (that done in the body by the hands of men) - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the Covenants of Promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the Blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. "
The Age of Grace was now fully revealed . . . the Church, the Body of Christ was born!
Writing in chapter 3 Paul proclaims this `mystery' with reverential awe, `For this reason I kneel before the Father'. Further on he writes: (Ephesians 4:4-6)
" There is one Body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope
when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. "
You will note that seven times Paul writes here of `oneness', a completion of God's people, Jew and Gentile, all centered on the One, the Lord Jesus, who is the Person through whom we enter into the fulness of this `mystery', the Body of Christ, through baptism. This, then, is the baptism for believers in the Lord Jesus: Repentance of sin (coming to one's senses), a willing entering into His Death and trusting in our New Life by being raised up in Him. As we said earlier, baptism must be understood as being in two parts, conjoined so as not to see the join . . . death and life, joined in this act of baptism . . . a sacrament, an outward, physical sign of inward and spiritual Grace . . . all of God . . . not to be entered into `when you are ready' or `when you are well instructed', but when you believe in Him! One baptism in two parts, joined as one in Him . . . love and pain joined for ever in this glorious Truth of Baptism by and in the Holy Spirit. To the Glory of the Father!
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