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Water Baptism In the Great Commission, our Lord commanded His Disciples to do two things. First, they were to teach all nations His Word. Within this phrase are two critical elements. First is His use of the word 'nation.' Prior to this time, the message of Christ was restricted to the Jews. However, the wall of partition now being broken down by the death and resurrection of Christ made the Good News available to all people. Second, is the word used for 'teach.' It does not simply mean to teach someone, but to become a pupil or disciple. In a sense, Jesus was telling His disciples and ultimately us that the whole world has become their school and each person a student or disciple. The second aspect of the great commission was that those who accepted the teaching and Jesus Christ, the object of the teaching were to be baptized. All denominations believe in some form of baptism for new converts. So there is no problem or dispute in regards to its necessity. The problem lies in the interpretation of the word itself. In Greek, the word baptize is 'baptizo (bap-tid-o),' which means to make fully wet. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), "It may be remarked that no Baptist has written a lexicon of the Greek language, and yet the standard lexicons, like that a Liddell and Scott, uniformly give the meaning of [baptizo] as "dip," "immerse." They do not give "pour" or "sprinkle," nor has anyone ever adduced an instance where this verb means "pour" or "sprinkle." The presumption is therefore in favor of "dip" in the New Testament." To further understand the meaning and use of this word during the time of Christ, it is important to first identify His audience as they provide the key in interpreting their intended meaning and application. In this particular case, the audience were Jews. Therefore, it use would have been based upon their understanding of the word. This is especially true when the Hebrew word 'Tabal (taw-bal)' is introduced into the equation; the meaning of which is "to plunge" (The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, Lexical Aids To The Old Testament, AMG Publishers, Spiros Zodhiatees, Th,D,)). This word is used of Naaman dipping into the Jordan River (2 Kgs. 5:14; cf. Lk. 16:) and would have been most likely picture in the disciples' mind when Jesus used the Greek equivalent 'bapto' or 'baptizo.' As further pointed out by the ISBE, the Greek word for sprinkle (rhantizo [hran-tiz-o]) is never translated as baptized. Having established the biblical meaning of the word 'baptize' attention must now be given to the rest of the command. They are to "baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." A Key word in this phrase is the preposition "in" which actually means 'into' so that the phrase is properly interpreted "baptized into the name of..." It means to become a part of something or someone and further emphasize that the word baptize means to immerse. Baptism should not to be seen as some sort of a magical formula, but a confession of faith in the individual Persons of the Trinity. This is seen in the way Jesus phrased the command. He did not say that we are to baptize in the names of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; but He distinguishes each Person by the phrase "in the name of." Therefore, the significant is not so much in the water baptism, but what it symbolizes. In the cultures that the disciples were being sent, there were all kinds of religions and gods. As these people were converted from paganism to Christianity, they demonstrated this radical change through water baptism--this was the physical picture of the spiritual change that had taken place within them. They were leaving one life and becoming part of another. The only method of baptism that properly illustrates this change is immersion. Having now identified themselves with this new teaching and its Teacher, they were now to be taught His Commandments in order that they would be able to live the kind of life characterized b this new kingdom. Baptism is regarded by nearly all religions as a very important act, regardless of the method used. The argument of whether one should sprinkle or dip has been with us since the Reformation and I doubt that it will be resolved any time in the near future. However, each Believer must come to term with the method of baptism because it is one of only two Ordinances commanded by our Lord. Since He felt it necessary to make it a part of the Great Commission, it is important for His Church to clearly understand how it is to be observed. As implied earlier, baptism does not save a person but it is an outward sign of what has happened spiritually. This is the real reason I believe that Jesus gave the command, not to divide His Church, but to help us (as well as the world around us) understand the process of regeneration. although the act itself perhaps have no meaning to unbelievers, it should not only be clear to us when we submit to it, but at the same time remind us of what has happened to us inside. Because of its significant and importance, a person who is not saved or unsure of their salvation should never be baptized.
In Christ, Minister John Cobb
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