Which baptism is the "one baptism" of Christianity?

[Josheb]

He said to baptize those whom they brought to Christ. Yes, he did. That's called the Great Commission.

The Great Commission states nothing about water. I simply states the eleven were to baptize the nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

How big a tub do you think they used to baptize Greece? Was that tub bigger than the one they used to baptize Rome? If you're an adherent to toal immersion then those tubs are going to be huge.

So what other than water--which was used when Christ himself was baptized and water which was used in other NT baptisms--should we conclude was used instead?

The Holy Spirit; that which occurs in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 19:1-7
"1It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2He said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' And they said to him, 'No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.' 3And he said, 'Into what then were you baptized?' And they said, 'Into John’s baptism.' 4Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7There were in all about twelve men."​

No tub required .




.

 

[charsan]

Why would you be "glad" that I got water baptized into a cult?

You were baptized as Christ commanded not into a cult (of which SDA is not), no baptism no salvation but your covered

 

[TLSITD]

"For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
(Acts 1:5)

So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body---whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free---and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:12,13)

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"

"John's baptism," they replied.

Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, Jesus."

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were twelve men in all.
(Acts 19:1-7)

No water mentioned.

Water is just a symbol of the Spirit. There is only one baptism that saves, and that is the spiritual baptism that Christ baptizes with through the gospel.

"I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16,17)

"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' (John 1:32,33)

So here it says that Jesus baptizes. Yet Jesus never water baptizes a single person. So it is possible for one to baptize others without water baptizing them. Jesus commissioned His apostles to baptize people with His baptism, not John's, through the preaching of the gospel.

 

[TLSITD]

You were baptized as Christ commanded not into a cult (of which SDA is not), no baptism no salvation but your covered

The SDAs are the pseudo-Christian cult of the false prophetess Ellen G. White and are no more "Christian" than the Jehovah's Witnesses, although they portray themselves as Christian and hide their heretical teachings until you get into their "church", a typical practice of cults.

I know the exact moment when Christ saved me, and it wasn't when I came up out of the SDA baptismal pool.

 

[ViaCrucis]

The SDAs are the pseudo-Christian cult of the false prophetess Ellen G. White and are no more "Christian" than the Jehovah's Witnesses, although they portray themselves as Christian and hide their heretical teachings until you get into their "church", a typical practice of cults.

I know the exact moment when Christ saved me, and it wasn't when I came up out of the SDA baptismal pool.

Even if the SDA were heretical, and accusing them of not being Christian is forbidden on CF by the way, as long as it's a valid Christian baptism, it's a valid Christian baptism.

It is a valid Christian baptism if:

1) It is with water,
2) It is in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and
3) It is administered as Christian baptism for that purpose.

Baptism does not depend upon the person administering it, but instead upon God's own word and promise. As Donatism is heresy.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

"For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
(Acts 1:5)

When did this happen? On Pentecost. The fulfillment of this promise was the pouring out of the Spirit on Pentecost, and also on the household of Cornelius as a sign of the acceptance of the Gentiles.

Notice that these are the only two places in the Bible that are identified with baptism with the Holy Spirit.

So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body---whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free---and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

(1 Corinthians 12:12,13)

That's Christian Baptism.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"

"John's baptism," they replied.

Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, Jesus."

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were twelve men in all.

(Acts 19:1-7)

Exactly, they received John's baptism as they had not yet heard the fullness of the Gospel, which is why Paul points them to the fulfillment of John's ministry, Jesus, and thus administers Christian baptism.

No water mentioned.

It doesn't need to. For the same reason if I tell you I took a shower yesterday I don't need to stipulate that I showered with water. You can reasonably know that water is implied, because that's what "shower" means in its most usual context. I only need to add more information if I'm using a non-standard use, for example, "I was showered with praise yesterday" demonstrates that I'm not talking about an ordinary shower, but a figurative sense by the phrase "showered with praise".

Baptism just meant being washed with water, that's what it meant, and what anyone would know it to mean in the first century. It's when baptism is used in a different sense, in a figurative sense, such as baptism with the Holy Spirit, that it needs more information.

There's no reason to believe baptism ever means anything other than baptism unless it's expressly explained otherwise.

Water is just a symbol of the Spirit. There is only one baptism that saves, and that is the spiritual baptism that Christ baptizes with through the gospel.

"I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16,17)

"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' (John 1:32,33)

So here it says that Jesus baptizes. Yet Jesus never water baptizes a single person. So it is possible for one to baptize others without water baptizing them. Jesus commissioned His apostles to baptize people with His baptism, not John's, through the preaching of the gospel.

Water is water is water. We are born again of water and the Spirit. Water means water.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[DerSchweik]

If those who promote heresy will not listen to God or His Son, twisting as they do the Scriptures to their own destruction, perhaps they might listen to men who have obeyed the Son:

120-205 AD IRENAEUS "This class of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole faith." (Against Heresies, bk. 1, chap. 21, sec. 1, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg. 345.)

140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! A treatise on this matter will not be superfluous; instructing not only such as are just becoming formed in the faith... The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and serpents themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the example of our ikhthus, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water!" (On Baptism, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 669.)

200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Wherefore baptism cannot be common to us and to heretics, to whom neither God the Father, nor Christ the Son, nor the Holy Ghost, nor the faith, nor the Church itself, is common. And therefore it behooves those to be baptized who come from heresy to the Church, that so they who are prepared, in the lawful, and true, and only baptism of the holy Church, by divine regeneration, for the kingdom of God, may be born of both sacraments, because it is written, 'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'" (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 384)

323 AD Eusebius of Caesarea "We believe . . . each of these to be and to exist: the Father, truly Father, and the Son, truly Son, and the Holy Ghost, truly Holy Ghost, as also our Lord, sending forth His disciples for the preaching, said, "Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ." Concerning Whom we confidently affirm that so we hold, and so we think, and so we have held aforetime, and we maintain this faith unto the death, anathematizing every godless heresy" (Letter to the People of His Diocese 3).

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned..."

 

[TLSITD]

I've said all that I have to say on the subject of water baptism.

(I guess it's too bad for all those people who receive Christ as their Savior on their deathbeds and don't get water baptized.)

I'm sorry that that is CF's position on cults. It certainly wasn't the position of the apostles. They had no problem calling out and denouncing heresy.

 

[Albion]

You haven’t read history then ... but I digress

Go ahead, if you think that. TELL us of any verse in Scripture which refers to anyone, Apostle or other minister, baptizing a new believer by the use of fire.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Go ahead, if you think that. TELL us of any verse in Scripture which refers to anyone, Apostle or other minister, baptizing a new believer by the use of fire.

I was more referring to church history papers that you like to rely on.

 

[Danthemailman]

With all due respect, it is an unfortunate (and dangerous) travesty of interpretation to make the conclusions you have above, based solely on I Cor 12:13, lifting it as you have completely out of context.

Unfortunate and dangerous travesty of interpretation? How so? *1 Corinthians 12:13 is crystal clear. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. In context, we read about spiritual gifts and unity and diversity in the body of Christ.

Question - WHEN did/does this "Spirit baptism" take place, according to Scripture?

In the first place, water baptism and Spirit are two distinct baptisms. (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5; 11:16)
Spirit baptism takes place upon conversion when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ/believe the gospel.

Question - WHEN does Scripture say we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Receiving the Holy Spirit was prophesied in John 7:37-39 - On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. *In regards to drink and water, also see John 3:5; 4:10,14 and 1 Corinthians 12:13. *Perfect Harmony*

Acts 10:43 - Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

Acts 11:17 - If therefore God gave them the same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? Ephesians 1:13 - In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

And how does your unfortunate interpretation here comport with all the other Scriptures already shared about Christian baptism, if not nullify them entirely?

My interpretation is not unfortunate and is in perfect harmony with other Scriptures about Christian baptism. Do you subscribe to the heretical doctrine of baptismal regeneration? That would be unfortunate.

Ps 119:160 - "The SUM of Thy Word is truth."

All of God's Word is truth, yet we need to properly harmonize Scripture with Scripture before reaching our conclusion on doctrine. Otherwise you end up perverting the gospel.

 

[Danthemailman]

Actually that is not true. Acts 2:38 does not say that we receive either forgiveness or the Holy Spirit through baptism.

Firstly Acts 2:38 is not a formula for salvation. The question Peter is answering is "What should we do?". And he is right, being baptized is something all believers should do. The answer to the more specific question "What must I do to be saved?" is given in Acts 16:31, and there is no mention of baptism there. It is faith alone.

But does Acts 2:38 teach that water baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sins? No, "for the forgiveness of your sins" is not linked to "be baptized" as first appears, but rather to "Repent". In Greek, the "rule of concord" stipulates that a pronoun (in this case "your") must agree with its antecedent in gender, number and person. So, (and you can look this up on an interlinear) -

'Repent' (Μετανοήσατε) -- second person plural
'be baptized' (βαπτισθήτω) -- third person singular
”for the forgiveness of your (ὑμῶν) sins' -- second-person plural again.

Of course the English speaking layman would not be expected to know this. So we must also use one of the golden rules of hermeneutics, 'interpret scripture in the light of other scripture' ie use clearer passages to help interpret the less clear. In the very next chapter Peter clarifies and tells us plainly that forgiveness of sins is the result of repentance (not baptism).

Acts 3:19 "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away"​

As well as

Luke 24:47 "and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations"​

Does Acts 2:38 teach that the Holy Spirit is received at baptism? Again No, "you will receive [second person plural] the gift of the Holy Spirit" is linked to the command to "Repent" [second person plural], not "be baptized" [third person singular]. It is repentance that confers the Holy Spirit, not baptism. Again this is backed up by the rest of scripture. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin - we turn away from sin in repentance at the same time as turning to God in faith. And other scriptures tell us quite clearly that it is faith, not baptism, that results in the reception of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 3:2 "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Ephesians 1:13 " In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit"

Acts 19:2 "He [Paul] said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

Gal 3:14 "so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."

Acts 10:44 " While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word."

Acts 11:17 "If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ..."

John 7:38-39 "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive,​

Amen! Well said. In Acts 2:38, "for the remission of sins" does not refer back to both clauses, "you all repent" and "each one of you be baptized," but refers only to the first. Peter is saying "repent unto the remission of your sins," the same as in Acts 3:19. The clause "each one of you be baptized" is parenthetical. This is exactly what Acts 3:19 teaches except that Peter omits the parenthesis.

*Also compare the fact that these Gentiles in Acts 10:45 received the gift of the Holy Spirit (compare with Acts 2:38 - the gift of the Holy Spirit) and this was BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:47).

In Acts 10:43 we read ..whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins. Again, these Gentiles received the gift of the Holy Spirit - Acts 10:45 - when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ - Acts 11:17 - (compare with Acts 16:31 - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved) BEFORE water baptism - Acts 10:47. This is referred to as repentance unto life - Acts 11:18.

*So the only logical conclusion when properly harmonizing Scripture with Scripture is that faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9; 16:31; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*

 

[DerSchweik]

My interpretation is not unfortunate and is in perfect harmony with other Scriptures about Christian baptism. Do you subscribe to the heretical doctrine of baptismal regeneration? That would be unfortunate.

Well, let's talk heresy then.

From the late 1st century on we have heretics attempting to deny Christian baptism and early Christian leaders denouncing them as heretics. I've quoted some of them already - Irenaeus, Cyprian, Tertullian, Eusebius, et. al.

All, to a man, believed and attacked opponents of Christian baptism as heretics.
All, to a man, believed in the gospel and the part Christian baptism plays in it.
All, to a man, in fact glorified Christian baptism.

I'm not sure what you define as "baptismal regeneration" - some falsely define it as if the water in which people are baptized has the ability to regenerate the individual. They are liars. And if you are attempting to ascribe to those of us who believe in Christian baptism as believing in baptismal regeneration, you are flat out wrong. The water of Christian baptism has zero efficacy in and of itself.

The efficacy of Christian baptism lie solely in the power and the promise of God who, by His kindness and grace, forgives the faithful of his sins AND gifts him the gift of His [indwelling] Spirit.

"The faithful" - those individuals who humbly submitted to it - having heard (by God's grace), having believed (by God's grace), having confessed (by God's grace), having repented (by God's kindness/grace), having been led by God's grace to submit to Jesus' authority to obey His command.

Hear, believe, confess, repent, be baptized - this is the gospel. Any teaching that excludes any of those as necessary to salvation is NOT gospel and is out and out heresy.

The contemporary "church" has, sadly, a plethora of truly weird, supernatural, mystical beliefs about how one is supposed to become a Christian today. Most are gnostic in origin (as they were in the late 1st century and later), gnostic mysticism - mystical abominations that are more humanistic spiritism than anything else - and all deny Christian baptism as salvific This is arguably one of satan's greatest lies - Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and serpents themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places - Tertullian.