For the most part the essays given here on baptism reference biblical texts. In interpreting Scripture, however, it is important to keep in mind that Scripture needs to be interpreted in light of the creeds. This was discussed in the essay, The Creeds and Biblical Interpretation. For that reason, this introduction to baptism will began with some creedal affirmations by which Christians understand baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and further, to make sense of the biblical passages that will appear in subsequent essays. First, however, let us quote a classic text on baptism, Matthew 28:19-20.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20).
Baptism is in the name (singular) of “the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This implies that believers are baptized into the one God who is only one as three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. How God is one-in-three and three-in-one was discussed in the essay, Trinity and Incarnation, and the ideas given there are presupposed here and only summarized.
Since there is only one God, there is only one baptism in the name of the one God. “There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). There are not, for example, two baptisms, one of water into Jesus and another of the Spirit. Theologically, this divides the Trinity into three Gods rather than one.
This one baptism introduces the baptized to the three persons, and further, these three persons are related by two issues, the eternal generation of the Son by the Father and the proceeding of the Spirit from the Father and the Son. Therefore, in baptism, the baptized is baptized into the three persons with their inner-triune relationships. The Son, eternally begotten yet appearing in time, reveals the transcendent Father as the words and deeds of the Son are enlivened by the Spirit. In this way the Father is known by the Son and the work of the Spirit. These two, the Son and the Spirit, reveal the living God. As a result, the next three essays on baptism will discuss baptism in regard to the Lord Jesus, God the Father, and then the Holy Spirit. These essays are entitled Baptism and the Lord Jesus, Baptism and God the Father, and Baptism and the Holy Spirit. Within the divine life God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit can be distinguished, and therefore, they will be discussed in distinct essays. They are, however, always related within God, and therefore, when discussing any one of the divine persons, the others must be kept in mind since there is only one God.
The baptismal command of Matthew 28 instructs the apostles to go and baptize, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” These essays are a part of that teaching, a teaching on baptism. One important aspect of that teaching is the recognition that baptism is entrance into a covenant. This will be discussed in the essay, Baptism and Covenant. Within the covenant relationship of baptism, the promises and grace of God come first. One sign of this is Christ’s statement, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” His presence is God’s grace and it is best to respond in obedience, observing “all that I have commanded you.” The essay on baptism and the covenant is followed by an essay, God's Baptismal Promises, which describes the promises and grace of God given in baptism. The obedient human response is described in the essay, The Believer’s Baptismal Promises. In regard to the believer’s baptismal promises, the emphasis will be on spiritual formation as that was the goal of baptismal preparation in the ancient church.
Christ commands his followers to “observe all that I have commanded you.” Many discussions of baptism tend to be theological and somewhat abstract, and they should be, but at the same time, it is important to take account of some of the commands of Christ, and therefore, in a practical sense, recognize what believers are called to actually do as baptized Christians. Further, Christ calls his church to “observe all that I have commanded you,” and this means recognizing the breadth of Christian teaching and practice that flows from Christian baptism. All of these essays will be informed by the call to be both comprehensive and obedient.
In that connection, Anglicanism is a reformed Catholicism, rooted in the teaching and practice of the ancient church, the church of the first five centuries. Taking account of Anglicanism’s roots, the essays will present some of the baptismal practice of the first five centuries as these provide significant guidance for baptism today.
Whether or not to baptize infants, as well as the question of confirmation, is a live issue in the churches today. Therefore one essay, Infant Baptism and Conformation, will be devoted to that subject.
The last essay, Baptismal Rites, will discuss three Anglican baptismal rites as a way of reflecting on baptismal services for today.
Finally, let us end with this beautiful prayer taken from the baptismal in the 1662 Anglican Book of Common Prayer. I have modernized the English slightly.
Almighty and everlasting God, who of your great mercy saved Noah and his family in the ark from perishing by water; and also safely led the children of Israel your people through the Red Sea, figuring thereby your holy Baptism; and by the Baptism of your well-beloved Son Jesus Christ, in the river Jordan, sanctified water to the mystical washing away of sin: We beseech you, of your infinite mercies, that you will mercifully look upon this Child; wash him and sanctify him with the Holy Spirit; that he, being delivered from your wrath, may be received into the ark of Christ's Church; and being steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted in charity, may so pass the waves of this troublesome world, that finally he may come to the land of everlasting life, there to reign with you, world without end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
August, 2012
Archbishop Eames, Evaluation and Critique
Barth - Economic Life and a History Chapter 5
Barth - Political Responsibility for Economic Life Chapter Four
Building Up the Ancient Ruins - A Response to the Present Crisis
Cranmer on Salvation - Introduction
How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?
Infant Baptism and Confirmation
Introduction to Anglican Theology
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Anglicanism and Scripture
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles One Through Five
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles Six Through Twenty
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles Twenty-One Through Thirty-Nine
It's Not Just Sex, It's Everything - The Virginia Guidelines
Judgment Begins at the Household of God
Jung, the Faith, and the New World Order
Justification, The Reformers, and Rome
Nicea and the Invasion of Bishops in Other Dioceses
Preface to the 1549 Prayer Book
Prefaces and Offertory Sentences
Reason and Revelation in Hooker
Richard Hooker and Homosexuality - Introduction
Richard Hooker and the Archbishop's Address
Richard Hooker and the Puritans
Richard Hooker and Universal Salvation
The Anglican Formularies are not Enough
The Creeds and Biblical Interpretation
The Creeds and Biblical Interpretation Continued
The House of Bishop's Pastoral Study on Human Sexuality - Theological and Scientific Consideration
