Water baptism, a comprehensive look

So I'd like to start this in an unlikely place and I will try to keep this brief (DISCLAIMER - I think I failed, sorry!). I'd like to start in Genesis, with the flood.

20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 7:20–23.

The Earth experienced a type of water baptism in the Great Flood. The waters cleansed the earth of sin. This is an important thing to remember about the purpose of water baptism.

The Apostle Peter would later write:

in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 3:20–21.

Now some will stop me right here and say "this proves baptism isn't necessary for salvation as it says 'not as a removal of dirt from the body'" But I'd ask you to consider, removal of dirt from the body is not in reference to moral cleansing. Even the translators of the NET have this as their note on this verse:

"tn Grk "the removal of the dirt of the flesh," where flesh refers to the physical make-up of the body with no moral connotations."

Baptism is a response of a good conscience towards God and it saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 1:4.

Jesus was proven to be who he claimed to be by his resurrection from the dead. This is why the resurrection is the principle moment in all of human history. It is why we celebrate it so!

if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 15:17.

Our faith is made secure by the resurrection. So when Peter writes baptism saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have to keep in mind, we are baptized into Jesus.

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 6:3–4.

I look at Romans 6 as the ultimate passage on baptism in the whole of the Bible. Why? What do we learn about baptism from Romans 6?

1. We are baptized into Jesus
2. We are baptized into his death
3. We are buried with him in baptism
4. We rise to newness of life from baptism (burial)
5. We will be resurrected as was Christ

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:26-27:

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

IN Christ Jesus... you cannot be IN Jesus unless you are baptized into Him. This is the biblical method. This will provoke some people, and that's ok, it's good to stir the water some. But scriptures are clear here, you cannot be IN Jesus unless you are baptized into Him.

One note that I'm sure some are going to reference at this point. Some teach and think that Paul is not mentioning or talking about water baptism, but is instead referring to spiritual baptism or something similar. There is not passage anywhere that would suggest this. And in matters where doctrine may be a bit cloudy from misunderstanding we need to find how people put their theology into practice. We have only one book in the entire Bible dedicated to church history. Only one book in the entire Bible that the Holy Spirit put his seal of approval on as this is authoritative scripture, and that's the book of Acts. And in the book of Acts, the Apostles and early church, practiced a real, legitimate, actual baptism by immersion into water. They do mention Spirit baptism, sure, but that is when the Holy Spirit comes upon people to give them power, not to regenerate them. So church history according to the Holy Spirit says that baptism in scripture is referring to an actual event in water, not something spiritual.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 6:5.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 6:8.

Being united with Christ is reference to baptism from a few sentences prior. Again, we are baptized into Jesus and united with Him.

We are baptized into His death.

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 1:4.

Repentance carries this idea that I am going to stop following my own sinful flesh and turn towards God to live in holiness. It's a complete turning from one way to another. It's a form of death. You are dying to your flesh and it's desires, to live for God.

John proclaimed that people should repent and be baptized so that they could receive forgiveness of their sins. He would also proclaim that people shouldn't just say... I repent, but that they should live their lives in a way that showed that they had indeed done so. But the biblical precedent is that repentance is initially displayed by baptism. Because in baptism you are dying with Christ. (Romans 6:3, baptized into His death)

6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 6:6–7.

Crucified with him... so we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ga 2:20.

Now at this point it's important to explain what we are saved from. So what are we saved from? Is it hell? In a sense, yes, but that's really not it. We are saved from sin, and the power it holds over us.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 1:21.

How did Jesus save us from our sins?

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 2:24.

God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 2:13–14.

Jesus death on the cross paid for our sins. Not only did it pay for our sins, but it forever broke the power that sin had over the rest of the world.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 2:14–15.

So when you get baptized into Jesus and baptized into His death, that is how you become free from the power of sin over you. Through faith, we believe that we are made free from sin and it's power, it no longer has the control over who we are or where our destiny will be. It's important to catch that distinction, by faith. Baptism without faith is useless. In fact, without faith, it is impossible to do anything that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).

So now that we've discussed the baptism into Jesus and into His death, we must be buried. The burial portion is easy enough to understand, it's the actual event of baptism itself, you are buried into a watery grave, so that your sins and the power of your sin may die.

Going back to where we started with the flood. The earth was a mess before the flood came. Sin was everywhere and it was the predominate force on the planet. Once the planet was buried under the water, sin died, and righteousness could then be brought forth upon the planet. Again this is a type a shadow for us to see what baptism does.

Lastly, we see that in baptism, through the death and burial of Jesus we rise to walk in newness of life.

Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 5:16–17.

If anyone is in Christ... If (condition set) anyone is IN Christ... that's the condition to being a new creation, being born again. You have to be IN Christ. Already established, that the only way to be IN Christ, is to be baptized into Him. (Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:26-27)

Now Paul here in 2 Corinthians makes an interesting statement that normally gets overlooked when quoting 2 Corinthians 5:17 in 2 Corinthians 5:16, he says that we regard Christ according to the flesh no longer... Why? Because he died of course, he died and when he resurrected he was someone completely different. He was glorified and we could see from how he interacted with the disciples after his resurrection that he was different, just appearing in the midst of a locked room and such. He was different.

Paul is making that same connection. If anyone is IN Christ, they are a new creation. Why? Because to be in Christ means you had to be baptized into Him. By being baptized into Jesus, you believe that you are being baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection, just so that as Christ rose from the dead to new life, so we too might have new life. (Romans 6:3-4) And just as Jesus rose, never to be subject to sin again we too might rise to new life with the power to live in holiness (Romans 6:6-11)

This is what Jesus meant when speaking to Nicodemus about the process of being born again.

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 3:3–5.

Born of water and spirit. Now this is not, as some would suggest, be referencing physical birth. Jesus in the very next sentence says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" NOT "That which is born of the water is flesh." Jesus is referencing birth in water.

16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 16:16.

5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Tt 3:5.

Jesus is clearly referencing the prophet Ezekiel when talking to Nicodemus. The prophet Ezekiel described what the new birth would look like 550 years or so before Jesus came to earth. He said:

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eze 36:25–27.

Being born of water and the Spirit results in being born again to newness of life.

There's still so much more to this:

1. What baptism means in terms of our priesthood
2. What baptism signifies in terms of the new covenant

But this is already way long. I'll stop here after one last point.

Some will quote Ephesians 2:8-9 at this point and say I'm wrong, salvation is by grace, or by grace through faith and NOT OF WORKS. Well I'd like to just real quick (I PROMISE!) cover that.

A work, as in what's in reference here, is something that I do. It is something that I of my own ability and power go out and do. I have money so I give to the poor. I have the ability so I help a person in need. etc. That is a work. Baptism is no such thing. I cannot baptize myself. Baptism is an act of submission. I submit myself to the church (the church meaning a body of believers) and the church baptizes me into Jesus. Baptism is not something I do of myself, it is something someone else does to me, and by faith I will be born again.

Ain't Zwinglian said:

Dunked?

Matthew 3:16 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him."

Coming out of the water is what Jesus did AFTER he was baptized. Not during being baptized. "He went up out of the water" simply means he went to the shore or bank of the river.

Futhermore, a quote from another member of CF elsewhere:

"In all of the narratives concerning the Baptism of Jesus it is reported that John the Baptist was the one who saw, and testified, that the Spirit descended upon Jesus. There is an improbability here: If John is busy pulling Jesus out from under the water, then how can he see the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus? Of all of the Immersions I have seen the one who is administering the Immersion (like John the Baptist) is looking down, not up.


"The Bible is emphatic that it was done immediately, "straightway" (eutheos) as Jesus is "coming up out of the water" the Spirit of God, "Descends upon Him like a dove." For the Immersionist picture to work John the Baptist would have to stop pulling Jesus out of the water, turn his head 180 degress, and look up, then watch the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus as he finishes pulling Jesus out of the water. The present tense "coming" makes the Immersionist view implausible."

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I tend to hold to the view that baptism is full immersion if only because Paul writes in Romans 6 (shared above) that we are buried in baptism.

Ain't Zwinglian said:

From my perspective, Romans 6:4 addresses what baptism accomplishes and not how baptism is to be administered.

The text in question:Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been BURIED with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was RAISED from the dead through the glory of the Father

Critical to how Credobaptists justify “immersion only baptism” is specifically the word “buried.” Normally immersionists will use the word “picture” to describe “burial” as going under the water. And from the analogy of the “picture” of burial, come to the conclusion of the mode of immersion baptism only.

“To bury” refers to any process in which we place human remains in their final resting place.

We have to make a distinction between modern western and ancient mid-eastern burial practices. In the ancient middle east, it was common for prominent people to be buried in a tomb. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried in their pyramids. Abraham was buried in a cave. King David was buried in a tomb in Jerusalem. John’s the Baptist headless body was “buried” in a tomb. The raising of Lazarus was from a tomb. And Jesus was buried a tomb.

Jesus was not buried in the ground and immersed with dirt. The women in the morning didn’t go to the tomb of Jesus with shovels, picks, and a wheel barrow to dig up the body of Jesus. This is not a picture of immersion baptism. When credo’s state this is a picture of immersion baptism, they are confusing modern burial practices with ancient burial practices.

We Americans interchange the words “buried” and “tomb” frequently. Remember Gaucho Marx famous question: Who was buried in Grant’s Tomb? Grant and his wife!

Resolving the tension between Romans 6:4 and immersion baptism:

A distinction must be made between what baptism accomplishes (Romans 6) and how baptism is to be administered (All the texts in the Book of Acts showing examples of baptism).

The plain text rule is we are united with Christ death, burial, crucifixion, and resurrection in each of our baptisms. This is God’s action to us. It is the benefit that God gives us in baptism and gives us the result of all of Christ’s work ….the forgiveness of sins. I don’t fully understand all of what Paul is communicating here. Scripture, being a supernatural document, calls us to believe difficult things. Romans 6 is one of them.

It is far more difficult for me to believe that we are united with Jesus in our baptism, than it is to believe the Genesis flood narrative. Genesis flood is hard, united with Christ in baptism is much harder.

United with Christ is the result of baptism, not the mode of it. How water is applied to the human body is not specifically addressed anywhere in Romans 6.

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Me personally I resolve the conflict of the how is it accomplished in Romans 6 with what Paul wrote in Colossians 2. In that passage Paul writes that in baptism Christ cuts away our sinful flesh, performing a spiritual circumcision, and by faith we rise to new life.

As far as the mode, I just feel when the text says we are buried, that means full submersion if only because you don’t sprinkle dirt on a corpse and call it buried. You put it completely in a tomb. Jesus was put in a tomb, then came out of it.

Shadowkat said:

The problem is that the play by play, step by step, instructions weren’t included in biblical references to baptism leaving room for people to argue over it. They do seem to enjoy arguing. All I see that is certain from the Bible is that baptism as part of the Christian process involves water and is to be done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, almost any dunk’ll do ya. If the Lord was concerned about the specific form and rite of baptism, he would’ve listed it for us. He’s not negligent. I myself had my baptism come into question after coming across folk who said it had to be done their way or I wasn’t saved. I listened to their view and went to the Bible and prayer in earnest. At the end of searching out the scriptures and finding nothing to invalidate my baptism I simply asked the Lord if I should let those folk baptize me again. He said, “You’ve already been baptized”. So, I’m good.

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I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over someone who may have been baptized in a different form than me and you are correct, if it was a big deal it would include specific how to instructions. As I’ve stated in other places, I just see the words “buried in baptism” as full immersion for we don’t sprinkle dirt on corpses, we bury them completely under the ground, Jesus was buried completely inside the tomb. So the term buried *to me* implies full submersion

Ain't Zwinglian said:

Jesus had no dirt sprinkled on his corpse, and it was called "buried."

How water is applied to the human body is not mentioned contextually in Roman 6:4.

Immersionists tend to find submersion baptism under every rock, branch or twig of Scripture. They claim it's there, when it is not there.

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I know Jesus wasn’t buried in dirt, the point of that reference is for modern times, we don’t sprinkle dirt on people when they are buried, they are completely put under the dirt.

Jesus was put completely inside the tomb, not partly so. He was so far in the tomb they sealed it. No one could see him. That’s the point here.