What do YOU think he meant by "purify the water"? Are you saying the water now has supernatural powers? Why stop at infants? shouldn't we just shower the whole world with that water, without permission from anyone? Then EVERYONE will be regenerated, right?
When it is water connected with God's word, then it certainly is supernatural. Not the water, it's just water, but the word of God? God's word makes things happen. By His word He created the universe from nothing, by His word He made the sun still in the sky, by His word He made the waters part and Israel to walk on dry land. By His word He caused the wind and waves to silence, by His word He made the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise. By His word He declares you forgiven.
So we read in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. So when God declares that whoever is baptized into Christ has put on Christ (Galatians 3:27), and that whoever is baptized is baptized into Christ's death, buried with Him in baptism, and therefore raised up together with Christ to new life (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12-13), that whoever is born of water and the Spirit is born anew from God above (John 3:5) and that with the washing of water with the word Christ has cleansed us (Ephesians 5:26) I think we should take God's word seriously. He means what He says.
This argument that if we can baptize infants why not just start hosing down everyone fails to take into account that we who believe in baptismal regeneration and that infants and children are included understand that it's still a matter of faith. You don't go tackle the stranger on the street and drag him to church, but presumably--if you have children--you have raised/are raising them up as believers, teaching them in the things of Christ, taking them to church, etc. It's the same thing, it's just that we recognize baptism as the starting point of our journey as Christians, and so since we are going to be raising our children as believers, we baptize them, teach them, and preach to them the word of God; trusting not in human power and wisdom, but in God's power and grace to work and create faith in them. Just as He does for us.
Just because we descend as the old man and ascend as the new man, doesn't mean the water is what does the transformation. We see that with Cornelius and others who reveal their state BEFORE they are baptized.
Your quote from Justin Martyr completely obliterates your position when he says, "I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ." You can see that he's talking about people who have been already regenerated, "had been made new", who then go on to dedicate themselves to God.
Look at it again. They were made new when they dedicated themselves,
"
I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ;"
And then goes on to say "Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated." That's pretty clear.
But, if they are really saying, as you seem to think, that the water is somehow "purified" and given a supernatural power, then they go against Peter when he said:
[1Pe 3:21 KJV] 21 The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Read that again, the waters of the flood and the salvation of Noah is a figure, a type, it points to the reality of what? Baptism. Which has nothing to do with washing dirty off the body, but has everything to do with the pledge of a new conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The text is clear, Baptism isn't about getting the body clean, it's about the transformation that happens when we are regenerated, made new, for we are transformed as God turns us toward Himself with a new and clean conscience.
ὃ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀντίτυπον νῦν σῴζει βάπτισμα οὐ σαρκὸς ἀπόθεσις ῥύπου ἀλλὰ συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς ἐπερώτημα εἰς θεόν δι᾽ ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
ho kai hymas antitypon nyn sozei baptisma ou sarkos apothesis rhypou alla syneideseos agathes eperotema eis theon di anastaseos Iesou Christou
And this prefigures baptism which now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
It's not the bath that saves, but the cleansing of the conscience. And yes, I could say that such a position could be developed pretty quickly in light of the importance the Jews made of circumcision.
If it were just a bath, just getting wet, just water and nothing else, without God's word; you'd have a good point. But you can't say it's
just water without throwing out your Bible in the process.
God doesn't stake His own Name on something that is meaningless, and He has staked His Name on Baptism: "baptize them in
the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit".
That's it's not about mere water doesn't change the fact that God uses that very water to accomplish His work.
The Son of God bore "mere flesh", but that very flesh is your and my salvation because it was His flesh that was nailed to the cross; it was not just "mere blood" that was shed, but the blood of the Son of God. It was on "mere wood" that our Savior was crucified, it was a "mere tomb" in which His body was laid.
Don't fall into the error of the Gnostics who regarded things to be worthless because they were matter. God uses material things. He always has. God doesn't declare physical things worthless, but rather sanctifies physical things for His purposes. He didn't choose to send angels out to preach the Gospel, but chose human beings. His word is written by human authors, with ink and parchment.
Why should it be incredible that He who says concerning "mere water" that He can use it as an external and outward physical sign to accomplish His very own saving work, that He should join together with that water His own word?
-CryptoLutheran