Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus is the founder and foundation of the Church. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s Messianic Prophecies. He is God the Son and as such is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He took on human flesh to rescue and consecrate the church for the Father. He is the head of the church and the object of the church’s worship. Individuals gain access to the Father, receive the Holy Spirit, and are granted membership into the church only through faith in Jesus. Jesus called Apostles to be uniquely authoritative teachers on His behalf.
The Apostle Peter: His personal name is Simon Barjona (Son of Jona), but his name given by Jesus is Peter meaning rock (Matthew 16:17). Peter was a fisherman by trade but was called to follow Jesus and serve as the leader of the twelve Apostles—that small group of leaders whom Jesus appointed to teach with His authority. Peter functioned as the Apostle to the Jews and was integral in guiding the early Jewish Christians in accepting Gentile believers. He died a martyr under Nero’s persecution. He authored two New Testament books and oversaw the writing of Mark’s Gospel.
The Apostle Paul: Paul’s Jewish name was Saul but he went by his Greek name most often because he served as the Apostle of the Gentiles (Acts 14). Paul was well-educated in both Greek and Jewish Philosophies. He was a Jew of the sect of the Pharisees from Tarsus who was born as a Roman Citizen. Before his conversion, He vehemently persecuted the church until Jesus appeared to him, called him to salvation, taught him, and appointed him to Apostleship. Paul traveled the Roman world preaching the gospel, planting churches, and building up churches. He died a martyr under Nero’s persecution. He authored at least thirteen New Testament books.
The Apostle John, the Son of Zebedee: John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee and Salome. He was possibly the first cousin of Jesus and among Jesus’ first followers. He was a fisherman by trade. John was among Jesus’ inner circle of disciples along with Peter and James. John was a key leader among the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9). John was exiled to the island of Patmos under Domitian’s persecution. He wrote five New Testament books and discipled some of the early church fathers of the Patristic Era such as Polycarp.
James, the Lord’s Brother: James was the half-brother of Jesus and the biological son of Mary and Joseph. He did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah during at least a portion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. However, the Lord appeared to his half brother after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). It appears that James, the Lord’s brother, became an Apostle when a position among the Twelve was vacated by the martyr of James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). The Lord’s brother became the lead elder in the church of Jerusalem and a key figure in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). He authored the New Testament book of James.
Luke: Luke was an unmarried Gentile physician who accompanied Paul during parts of his missionary journeys. Luke was originally from Antioch but settled in Philippi where he oversaw the young church there after it was planted (Acts 16:40). He tended to Paul during his imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke wrote two New Testament books under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. Luke, by his two books, wrote more in the New Testament than any other author.
Key Events
The Incarnation & Birth of Jesus: Jesus existed in eternity past. However, in the incarnation, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary in around 5 BC. Jesus taking on humanity was necessary for our salvation so He could represent us in the judgement. This is one of the most significant events and greatest miracles of all history. Jesus’ nature is fully God and fully man—a truth the early church would call the hypostatic union of Christ.
The Public Ministry of Jesus: Jesus’ public ministry began at His baptism by John in AD 29 and lasted about three and a half years. Jesus called people to repent of sin and believe on Him for salvation. He claimed to be the Messiah. He healed diseases, cast out demons, raised the dead, and taught the right understanding of God’s Word. He called and trained Apostles to teach with His authority after His ascension.
The Death of Jesus: Jesus was crucified by the Romans at the insistence of Jewish leadership on a Friday. In His death, Jesus served as both, the final High Priest and final sacrifice to make atonement for sins and bring about the salvation of all who would surrender to Him in faith.
The Resurrection of Jesus: Jesus’ physical resurrection happened on the Sunday morning after His crucifixion. The resurrection is necessary for salvation because it, through union with Christ, effects the future resurrection of every born-again Christian. Since Jesus rose on a Sunday, the early church called Sunday The Lord’s Day and began to gather for corporate worship on Sunday rather than on the Sabbath (Saturday) as the Jews who rejected Jesus continued to do.
The Ascension of Jesus: Jesus’ ascension has long been overlooked but is extremely significant. Forty days after His resurrection and after appearing to over 500 witnesses, Jesus ascended into Heaven, being seated at the right hand of the Father, where He remains physically to this day. Every Christian is spiritually seated with Him, giving us victory in the Spiritual realm (Ephesians 2:6). Jesus’ ascension served as an illustration for how He would return in the clouds (Acts 1:9-11).
Pentecost: Pentecost was an annual Jewish holy day held in Jerusalem and set aside to celebrate the grain harvest. At the Pentecost celebration after the Ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus’ disciples so they could speak languages they had never learned to share the gospel with Hellenistic Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the festival. Around 3,000 people trusted Christ for salvation that day and formed the church. This was the event in which the church was founded so that those who surrender to Jesus in faith now receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith and are eternally connected with God and with fellow Christians.
The Acts 8 Persecution of the Church: As Saul led an intense persecution against the church, the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were forced to scatter into Judea and Samaria. As they scattered, they shared the gospel with other Jews and even with Gentiles. This event marks the beginning of the expansion of the church beyond Jerusalem.
The Conversion of Saul: While seeking to persecute the church, Jesus appeared to Saul and called Him to salvation and in turn, Apostleship. The foremost persecutor of the church became the foremost missionary of the church, expanding Christianity all over the known Roman world.
The Jerusalem Council: When some Jews began to teach that faith in Jesus was not sufficient to receive salvation but that circumcision was also necessary, the church of Antioch sent messengers to the other Apostles and the Jerusalem church. The Apostles and the leaders of the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch addressed the concern by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and confirmed that circumcision was not necessary but directed the churches to abstain from certain acts in order to foster unity and purity between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Key Heresies
Judaizers: This heresy had Jewish roots and claimed that faith in Christ was insufficient for receiving salvation. Instead, faith must be combined by observing certain portions of the Law such as circumcision. This was the heresy addressed by the Jerusalem council and by the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians.
Pre-Gnosticism: This heresy had roots in Greek philosophy and taught that the physical world and the spiritual world were opposites with the physical world being evil while the spiritual world is good. It resulted in a denial of the physical resurrection of Christ and of the believer and was addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 as well as some of the gospel writers in their accounts of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ. It would later grow to result in a denial of the humanity of Christ.
The Nicolaitan Heresy: While we have little information about this heresy, it seemed to develop in the latter half of the first century and was present in Asia Minor (Revelation 2:6, 15). The early church fathers Hippolytus and Irenaeus tell us that the deacon Nicolas from Acts six went astray and led others with him. The Nicolaitans were known for encouraging and committing sexual immorality and for eating food sacrificed to idols against the direction of the Jerusalem council. Licentiousness seems to be the result of this false teaching. It is possible that the Thyatiran false prophetess Jezebel of Revelation 2:22 was a leader among the Nicolaitans.
Key Persecutions
Jewish Persecution: We see this persecution throughout the book of Acts. Jews who rejected Jesus often persecuted the early Christians because they welcomed Gentiles on the same footing before God as the Jews—all are sinners and all must repent, trusting in Jesus.
Nero’s Persecution: During the first half of the New Testament Era, the Christians were seen as a sect of Jews and as such were allowed to worship freely under an exception made for Jews. However, when the separation between Judaism and Christianity became clear, the Romans began to persecute the church. The Roman Emperor Nero reigned from AD 54-68. During his reign, a very damaging fire broke out in AD 64 lasting six days and seven nights with three days of flare ups afterwards. Many Romans suspected that Nero set the fire in order to rebuild Rome as he desired. In response he blamed the Christians for the fire and then began persecuting the church brutally. Peter and Paul died under this persecution.
Domitian’s Persecution: Roman Emperor Domitian ruled from AD 81-96. Domitian continued to persecute the Christians and John was exiled to Patmos under his persecution. It is likely that he persecuted the church due to an attempt to restore Roman tradition. Since the Christians did not worship the pagan gods, they stood in the way of his ambition.
As a Pastor, I often keep an eye on the spiritual and religious atmosphere and views of the community in which I serve. I have found that in every community I have served, differences of view regarding baptism have surfaced. While the mode of baptism is not the most important consideration for this ordinance of our Lord,[1] it is still a weighty matter. Discussions regarding the mode of baptism should be approached in a spirit of grace and charity as there are sincere followers of Jesus who commend each mode. While advocating that the Bible presents only one right mode of baptism, I hope my respect and Christian affection for believers who differ may be seen.
The deciding factor for Christians and local churches can never be convenience, tradition, sentiment, beauty, or preference. Instead, God’s will, as revealed through Holy Scripture, must determine how we obey the ordinance of baptism regarding mode. Therefore, I set out to make a brief argument for immersion as the only biblical mode of baptism to the exclusion of affusion (pouring), and aspersion (sprinkling). Scripture reveals four reasons to understand biblical baptism to mean immersion.
First, the word “baptize” used in the Greek New Testament communicates immersion. Since Jesus commanded His Apostles (a command which was passed down to local churches) to make disciples by going with the gospel and then, “baptizing [disciples] in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), we need to know what exactly Jesus was commanding local churches to do and disciples of Jesus to receive. Does the command to baptize mean to sprinkle someone? Does it mean to pour water over someone’s head? Or does it mean to submerge someone under water? The word Jesus used here was a form of the Greek verb βαπτίζω (baptizō).
G. Abbott-Smith’s Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament gives the meaning of the verb βαπτίζω (baptizō) as “to dip, immerse, sink” and explains that it was used in the 2nd Century BC by Polybius to describe soldiers wading breast-deep in water and of sinking ships.[2] Joseph Thayer provides “to dip repeatedly, to immerge, to submerge” as his first entry for βαπτίζω (baptizō) and “to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water” as his second entry.[3] Thayer explains, “In the N.T. it is used particularly of the rite of sacred ablution, first instituted by John the Baptist, afterwards by Christ’s command received by Christians and adjusted to the contents and nature of their religions…an immersion in water, performed as a sign of the removal of sin, and administered to those who, impelled by a desire for salvation, sought admission to the benefits of the Messiah’s kingdom.”[4] William Mounce says that βαπτίζω (baptizō) “literally means ‘to put or go under water.’”[5] Finally, the most trusted lexicon for contemporary New Testament scholarship gives the following two first entries, “wash ceremonially for purpose of purification, wash, purify” and “to use water in a rite for purpose of renewing or establish a relationship w. God, plunge, dip, wash, baptize.”[6] Even when the term baptize is used in a different sense than Christian baptism, such as ritual washing of the hands or utensils, the context implies that the entirety of the hands or eating utensils are being enveloped in the water (Mark 7:4).
The definitions, examples, and explanations provided by the aforementioned Greek New Testament scholars for βαπτίζω (baptizō) necessitate that the object of baptism be surrounded by or submerged under water. When Jesus gave the command in Matthew 28, He was giving the command to immerse disciples under water.
Second, the baptismal ministry of John the Baptist was one of immersion. All four gospels present John baptizing people in the Jordan River. Matthew describes John’s ministry this way, “in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea…Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River” (Mt 3:1, 5-6). Why did John set up the headquarters for his ministry in the wilderness?
If he was trying to reach the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea with his message of the Messiah’s coming, why not set up his ministry in the capital city of Jerusalem where there was a large population of Jews and where those Jews of the surrounding regions would frequent for holy days and business? These Jews of Jerusalem and Judea were, after all, those who were coming out to him in the wilderness. The answer to our question is that John set up in the wilderness at the Jordon so there would be water plenteous enough and deep enough to baptize people by immersing their entire bodies under the water. In his gospel, the Apostle John records that Jesus and His disciples went to Judea and were baptizing there and that John the Baptist was also “baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:22-23).
If John were merely sprinkling each person with water or pouring water over each person’s head, he could have used receptacles of some sort, even large ones such as those containing twenty or thirty gallons of water at the wedding of Cana (John 2:6). Such containers were used for ritual washings in which water was poured over the hands of the observer.[7] John could have used such containers to pour water over the heads of many people and to sprinkle even more with water. But instead, even though it limited his audience, John ministered in the wilderness at the Jordan so there would be plenty of water to immerse those who repented.
Third, Jesus set the example for us in being baptized by immersion. The baptism of Jesus by John is recorded in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-13, & Luke 3:21-22). Jesus was baptized in the Jordan because that is where the water was abundant for John to be baptizing, as mentioned above. When John baptized Jesus, Mark described Jesus as “[i]mmediately coming up out of the water.” To come up out of the water implies that Jesus, in the act of being baptized, had indeed been in and under the water from which He had to come up and out. This phrase would not have been used if Jesus had been sprinkled or poured over. As Christians seek to be conformed into the image of our eldest Brother (Romans 8:29), being baptized the way He was baptized, by immersion, is significant.
Fourth, the meaning baptism is to symbolize can only be rightly portrayed through immersion. Romans 6:1-13 is one of the key New Testament passages explaining the meaning of water baptism. In Romans 6, Paul makes the argument that Christians, though we were justified by faith and not by observing the Law, should resolutely avoid sin. One prong of his argument is that Christians have been baptized. He explains that when a Christian is baptized, we are baptized “into [Jesus’] death.” He describes this as being “buried with Him through baptism.” Immediately, Paul moves from the death and burial of Jesus to the resurrection of Jesus. He states, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead…we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
In this Romans passage, Paul uses the term “likeness” (ὁμοίωμα, homoioma; image, similitude, resemblance) to describe baptism, showing it to be a symbol. The symbol is meant to represent death, burial, and resurrection in three instances. The first instance is from the past in that the baptism of each believer is meant to be a reminder of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to the local church who is baptizing and the Christian who is being baptized. The second instance is contemporary in that the baptism of each believer represents the regeneration of the believer being baptized. Through faith, this believer has died to sin and is walking in newness of life according to the ways of God. The final instance is future in that the baptism of each believer represents his or her union with Christ. Since Christ died, was buried, and rose again, so too, the believer being baptized, even though he or she will physically die and be buried, he or she will also be physically raised unto eternal life.
The consistency and details of symbols are important because they convey an agreed upon meaning in a community or society. For instance, a wedding band on the ring finger of the left hand communicates that a person is not available romantically because he or she is already in a marriage covenant. If a person decided to replace his wedding band with a bracelet on his left wrist or even just move his wedding band to the index finger of his right hand, it would cease to function as a symbol because the rest of the community does not understand the meaning of the bracelet or the misplaced wedding band. It is similar with baptism. Aspersion and affusion do not convey symbolically the ideas of death, burial, and resurrection. There is no similitude of dying, of being buried, or of being raised through the acts of sprinkling or pouring. In neither does the person go down as into a grave nor come up as in resurrection. Yet, in immersion, the person goes down into and under the water, representing death and burial and comes up out of the water, representing resurrection.
While symbolic customs may change from culture to culture and age to age, with baptism, we are considering a divine ordinance of a God who does not change (James 1:17). In this brief article, I could have addressed the mode of baptism from a church history standpoint, but I felt that there was no need. The New Testament only portrays baptism, not just by immersion but as, in its very nature, the act of immersion under water. Church history shows that aspersion and affusion developed after the era of the New Testament for the sake of convenience and the ease of baptizing infants (another practice that cannot be found in or supported by the New Testament). But since God has given us the symbol of baptism by immersion and since He does not change, Scripture alone is sufficient to guide us in deciding the right mode of baptism.
As mentioned above, in the discussion of baptism, mode is not the most important concern. It is, indeed, an issue of secondary doctrinal importance. As such, I am grateful for many brothers and sisters I have in Christ even though they have not been baptized by immersion but have instead received aspersion or affusion. I enthusiastically look forward to worshipping Christ with them around His throne in heaven. I acknowledge that I have learned a great deal from fellow saints in the Lord who received aspersion or affusion instead of baptism by immersion. I do however, hope that each brother and sister in the Lord will allow the Word of God to be the sole guide in understanding the mode of baptism as a symbol that those who have not been immersed may partake in the blessing of Scriptural baptism.
[1] The nature, affect, and object of baptism are more important considerations. Baptism is not a sacrament but an ordinance and as such, it does not convey saving grace but instead symbolizes it. As the initiatory ordinance of the local church, baptism functions, not only to identify the believer with Christ’s death and resurrection, but to assimilate him into the church body. Holy Scripture gives no indication that anyone other than a born-again believer should receive baptism by Christ’s church (a view known as credobaptism or believer’s baptism). While pedobaptism (infant baptism) is well-meaning, the practice comes out of tradition rather than Scripture and it often brings spiritual harm by giving the unregenerate a false hope of salvation.
[2] G. Abbott-Smitt, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1922), 74.
[3] Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong’s Concordance Numbers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2017), 94.
[5] William D. Mounce, ed., Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 52.
[6] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, eds. Frederick William Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), 164.
[7] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition and Notes, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971), 182.
ericfannin.com 