Baptism is a beautiful and sacred ordinance that the Lord has given to his church and it is something that every Christian loves and loves to see take place as God puts his mark upon the recipient of this sign.

The meaning of baptism:

Defining words:

The answer to this questions is not as easy as it may first appear. Baptism has many different definitions, or meanings. It can mean to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge, to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe, or to overwhelm. Wow…that sure is a lot of meanings. However we should not be so surprised by this. Even in the english we have many words that have an abundance of meanings. Without getting to deep in the weeds, we have words like “love” and “key” which have an abundance of meanings, to say the least, yet when we use these words as we have conversations, the people we are conversing with somehow (for the most part) know what meaning we have in mind when we use these particular words. How can this be? Well, it is because the context in which we use these words is what actually determines the definition of these words. It would, of course, be absurd to assume that if I were to say “play that in the key of C” you would think I were talking about the key to that new Kwikset door knob you purchased from your local hardware store. So, when we look at a word in scripture it may have a particular meaning, however the context surrounding that word will be what determines which definition we are to use.

This is a great time to alert you to of fallacy that ought to be avoided. It is called the overload fallacy. This assumes that every time a word is used, it carries with it every single meaning that the word possess regardless of its context. I think we are generally unlikely to be guilty of this fallacy in everyday life, yet when we get in to word studies it because a subtle possibility that we should try to avoid.

Defining baptism:

So, when we define baptism we must recognize that there is another fallacy that we need to avoid. It is called the etymological fallacy or sometimes called the root fallacy. This fallacy assumes that the origin of a particular word is its true meaning, when in fact, it is the current meaning of a word that is its true meaning. I bring this to mind because it is also important to understand that the etymology of a word, while important, cannot be the only thing to consider when we examine the meaning of a word, particularly when it is used in scripture. This is because when we look in scripture, we see many words being used that have a biblical meaning which departs from the true (historical or contemporary) etymology and meaning of that word. Sin, is a good example of this. Many believe that sin means “to miss the mark”. However, this is not exactly correct. The Greek word hamartia is a composition of two words, meaning “not” and “Mark” and therefore it is assumed that it means, “missing the mark.” However, this is not how the bible uses the word. The bible understands and describes sin to be anything that is against God’s law. The Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 24, in answering the question “what is sin?” says: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature (1 John 3:4, Galatians 3:10, 12). Biblically, sin is not just missing the mark. It isn’t as though you tried really hard, did all the hard work, mustered all your strength, and narrowly missed the bulls eye. No. Rather the bible understands sin to be the absolute defiance of God and disobedience of his law, wholesale. You didn’t narrowly miss, instead, its like you were aiming for the apple up in the tree and instead of shooting your arrow and grazing the skin of it, a child threw a rock at your back and you fell to the ground whimpering. Thats a more accurate understanding than you simply “missed the mark.”

Im going in to a long discussion here…lets get back to baptism…

Like I said above, baptism can have many different meanings. This is true and I believe must be considered, but how does the bible use the word baptism?

The Biblical Meaning of Baptism:

When we look to scripture we see the conception of the essential thing that baptism represents or symbolizes. Now, of course meaning and symbolism are differing terms that mean different things in regards to words, however, we are not concerned so much with the etymology of a word. We are chiefly concerned with how God has chosen to use a word in his holy and infallible word. So, in the scriptures we see God using a word that means various things to convey a particular meaning through a symbol. Baptism in the bible finds its meaning in the idea of purification. Heidelberg Catechism question 69 says:

Q. How does holy baptism remind and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross benefits you personally?

A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing1 and with it promised that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, that is, all my sins.2 (emphasis added)

1. Acts 2:38 2. Matthew 3:11, Romans 6:3-10, 1 Peter 3:21

Berkhof helps us here. He says, “This idea of purification was the pertinent thing in all the washings of the Old Testament, and also in the baptism of John, (Psalm 51:7, Ezekiel 36:25, John 3:25-26). And we may assume that in all respect the baptism of Jesus was entirely in line with previous baptisms…moreover scripture makes it abundantly clear that baptism symbolizes spiritual cleansing or purification: Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:4f, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 10:22, 1Peter 3:21, Revelation 1:5”

Seeing the significance of baptism, and how God has chosen to symbolize true cleansing by the Holy Spirit is a necessary thing for us to grasp because this helps us know how the Lord would want baptism to be utilized by his church and administered by those properly ordained as elders.

Proper Administration:

Because the biblical meaning and significance of baptism is purification and cleansing, the way (or mode) baptism is administered quickly because a non-issue, because baptism does not symbolize our death with Christ (ill give you a moment to get back up off the floor after reading that statement….)

…it rather symbolizes our cleansing from sin because of Christ death by the power of the Holy Spirit. When this is seen and understood, emersion is no longer the essential symbol of baptism. What is necessary is the fundamental idea of purification and as long as water is present then the symbol is there. We miss a great deal of the deep meaning and significance of baptism when the main idea shifts away from purification and cleansing to the need for a symbol that is foreign to the people of God in the scriptures.

So when we see baptism we see a sign and seal of the purification and cleansing that God does, and will do for his covenant people! His grace just keeps getting sweeter!