In Acts, converts to the new faith were baptized in water, and in the name of Jesus Christ no long after conversion.
Before his ascension,
Jesus commanded the disciples to “tarry in Jerusalem”
until they received the Holy Spirit, “for John indeed baptized with
water, but you will be baptized in
the Holy Spirit.” This echoes what
John said as he was ministering water baptism along the Jordan River:
- “I indeed baptize you with water, but there is coming he that is mightier than I… he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire” – (Luke 3:16, Acts 1:4-5, 11:16).
JOHN’S BAPTISM
From the start, the early church distinguished
between the baptism of John and the baptism administered to converts to the new
faith. John’s baptism prepared hearts for the arrival of the coming Messiah. And
Jesus contrasted John’s baptism with the baptism “in the Holy Spirit,”
and not with Christian water baptism. John immersed penitent men and women in
water, but the disciples of Christ would be “immersed” in the Spirit.
The Greek term rendered “baptize” is baptizô,
which means to “immerse, dip, wash” (Strong’s #G907). In
classical Greek, it meant “immerse,” to fully submerge something in water. The
verb is from a root that means to make something “fully wet.” When applied to
the Holy Spirit, “baptism” is used metaphorically to illustrate one’s full
“immersion” into the Spirit, no actual water is involved.
None of this means that the church abandoned the
practice of baptizing men and women in water just because believers were baptized
in the Spirit. The two things are not mutually exclusive but serve different
purposes.
PENTECOST
At the end of his sermon on the Day of Pentecost,
Peter summoned the crowd to repent and be “baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.” He associated
the gift of the Spirit closely with water baptism, though he also distinguished
between the two – (Acts 2:38).
The preceding passage does not mean the Spirit is dispensed by water baptism, but the early church expected every convert to be baptized in water, and to receive the gift of the Spirit.
It is going beyond Peter’s
words to claim he meant that one can only receive the Spirit after undergoing
water baptism.
Water baptism is “for the remission of sins,”
and it certainly affirms publicly that the convert has repented and believed the
gospel. Peter’s statement about “receiving the Spirit” reassured his
audience that if they repented and were baptized, God would certainly grant
them the Spirit. And according to Peter, water baptism was administered by the
early church “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
SAMARIA
The gospel was first preached in Samaria
by Philip, and many of the Samaritans believed his preaching “about the kingdom of
God and the name of Jesus Christ, and they were baptized, both men and women.” While the passage mentions the “name of Jesus Christ,” it does
not state that these converts were baptized in his name, or in any other name,
only that they were baptized. Noteworthy is that both “men and women”
underwent the same conversion process - (Acts 8:10-12).
Later, Philip shared the gospel with the
eunuch from Ethiopia. After hearing his words and seeing a source of water, the
eunuch asked for baptism. Upon hearing him confess that he “believed that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God,” Philip
baptized him in water. Nothing is stated about how it was administered to the
eunuch, nor does it discuss whether he received the Spirit. The story ends with
Philip whisked away by the Spirit, and the eunuch continuing his journey while “rejoicing”
– (Acts 8:5-39).
SAUL OF TARSUS
After his Damascus Road encounter with the
risen Jesus, God sent a brother named Ananias to minister to Saul of Tarsus. Ananias
laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus,
who appeared to you in the way has sent me, that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Saul was healed immediately and subsequently “baptized”
– (Acts 9:17-18).
This last passage does not provide any
details about Paul receiving the Spirit, and it provides minimal information
about his baptism in water. However, when Paul related this story some years
later, he added that Ananias had exhorted him to “be
baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
Once again, baptism is linked with the remission of sins, and the last clause
suggests Paul was baptized in the name of Jesus – (Acts 22:16).
THE GENTILES
In the next chapter, while Peter was still
preaching to the Gentiles gathered in the house of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit “fell on them that heard the word.” This was confirmed when Peter and his associates
heard the Gentiles “speak with tongues and magnify God.” In response, he had them all “baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ” – (Acts 10:44-48).
Although Peter’s summons on the Day of
Pentecost suggested that receipt of the Spirit came after water baptism, here
we find new believers receiving the Spirit BEFORE baptism. We must
be careful before we insist that one thing always precedes the other. Once
again, baptism was administered “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
When the jailer in Philippi asked what he must do,
Paul declared, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your house.” After speaking the “word of the Lord” to
the jailer and his household, the Apostle “baptized” them. In whose name
it was administered is not stated. The passage does stress that they were
baptized “immediately” – (Acts 16:31-33).
EPHESUS AND CORINTH
In Ephesus, Paul met several disciples of John the
Baptist. When he asked whether they had received the Holy Spirit, they replied
they had not even heard about the Holy Spirit. He next asked, “into what
were you baptized?” Upon hearing, “into John’s baptism,” he
immediately baptized them “into the name of the Lord
Jesus,” they laid hands on
them to receive the Spirit, and “they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”
Thus, at Ephesus, water baptism occurred in close
proximity to the receipt of the Holy Spirit, and in this case, it preceded the baptism
in the Spirit. The passage indicates no delay between the two events. And once
more, water baptism was administered in the name of “the Lord Jesus.”
Note well the slight change from “Jesus Christ” to “Lord Jesus.”
And in Corinth, Crispus, the “ruler
of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house, and many of the
Corinthians believed and were baptized.” Once again, a
simple statement is included about baptism. While no details are included,
there is an underlying assumption that water baptism occurred after conversion
as a matter of course – (Acts 18:8).
SUMMARY
The
book of Acts does demonstrate that new converts were routinely baptized
shortly after conversion. It was expected of all followers of Jesus. When a
rationale is given for doing so, baptism is administered “for the remission
of sins.” And in the more detailed descriptions, it is done in the “name
of Jesus.”
There
is no indication that initiates were given lengthy instructions before baptism,
or that there was any kind of probationary period. Once someone repented, he or
she was baptized in water, and in the name of Jesus.
Water baptism is usually paired with baptism in the Spirit. However, the two are distinct experiences. The Spirit was received by converts both before and after water baptism.
None
of the relevant passages states directly that converts were immersed completely
in water. The incident with Philip and the eunuch does indicate that the latter
was immersed since they stopped for his baptism when they found a pool of
water. If baptism only necessitated sprinkling a small amount of water on someone’s
head, there would be no need to seek out larger sources of water. The contents
of one’s canteen would suffice.
Having
said that, “immersion” is the meaning of the underlying Greek verb, not “sprinkle”
or “pour.” Without any contradictory evidence, the word should be given its
true and original sense.
Finally,
nowhere does the book of Acts claim or suggest that water baptism must
be administered by an apostle. While we find several of the apostles baptizing
converts, neither Philip the Evangelist nor Ananias were apostles, yet the
former baptized the eunuch, and the latter Saul of Tarsus.
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