A Bible History of Baptism

Section LXXVI. —The Prepositions

In the common English version of the New Testament, the translations which occur in connection with baptism are such as to show an evident bias on the part of the translators in favor of immersion. In fact they were, all of them, immersionists, if not by personal conviction, then, by constraint of law. They were members, and with a few exceptions clergymen of the church of England, by law established. That church had originally incorporated among its ordinances, baptism by trine immersion. By the parliamentary revision during the reign of Edward VI, the book of prayer was so altered as to require but one immersion. The rubric for baptism was and is to this day in these words: – “Then the priest shall take the child in his hands, and ask the name; and naming the child, shall dip it in the water, so it be discreetly and warily done, saying, ‘N., I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.’ And, if the child be weak, it shall suffice to pour water upon it, saying the aforesaid words.”105

As to the bearing of the prepositions on the present argument, a brief illustration may make it clear to the English reader. In the following citations, the words in italics answer to the Greek prepositions under which respectively they are cited.

1. En. “And were all baptized of him (en) in Jordan.” – Matt. iii, 6. “John did baptize in the wilderness.” – Mark i, 4. “John was baptizing in Enon.” – John iii, 23. “These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.” – John i, 28. “The tower in Siloam.” – Luke xiii, 4. “Elias is come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed.” – Matt. xvii, 12. “Turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.” – Luke i, 17. “Lest they trample them with their feet.” – Matt. vii, 6. “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” – John xvii, 17. “They that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” – Matt. xxvi, 52. “There is none other name … by which we must be saved.” – Acts iv, 12. “He will judge the world … by that man whom he hath ordained.” – Ib. xvii, 31. “Now revealed by the Spirit” – Eph. iii, 5. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” – Phil. ii, 10. From these illustrations two deductions are manifest (1.) En does not always mean in. It may mean with or by, instrumentally. “With the sword.” “The name by which,” etc. It may mean by a mediate agent. “Revealed by the Spirit.” “He will judge the world by that man.” It may mean at, by, or in, locally. “In Enon.” “At Siloam.” It may be used in a yet more general signification, as, “At the name.” Other meanings might be stated, but these are sufficient (2.) If, by reason of the phrase “in Jordan,” we must understand that John immersed his disciples into the Jordan, it of necessity follows that he also immersed them “into Enon,” and “into the wilderness.” In short, the expression indicates that the Jordan was the place at which the baptizing was done: – this, and this only. Why it was done there, we shall presently see.

2. Eis. “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John (eis) in Jordan.” – Mark i, 9. “They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch and he baptized him.” – Acts viii, 38. These passages mutually illustrate each other and show that the going into the water was not the baptizing. “He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth.” – Mat. ii, 23. “He cometh to a city of Samaria,” but he remained outside, at the well, while the apostles went “into the city,” whence the Samaritans “went out of the city and came to him.” – John iv, 5, 8, 28, 30. “He loved them to the end.” – Ib. xiii, 1. “I speak to the world.” Ib. viii, 26. “If thy brother trespass against thee.” – Matt, xviii, 15. “Therefore” (Literally, to this) “came I forth.” – Mark i, 38. “What are they among so many.” – John vi, 9. “The Son which is in (on) the bosom of the Father.” – John i, 18. “He went up into (to, or, on,) a mountain.” – Matt., v, 1. “Depart unto the other side.” – Ib. viii, 18. “Fell down at his feet.” – Ib. xviii, 29. Eis is even used in express contrast with entrance into. “The other disciple did outrun Peter, and first (ēlthen eis) came to the sepulchre, … yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him and (eis-ēlthen eis) entered into the sepulchre.” – John xx, 4-6. This illustrates a usage concerning eis. When entrance into is to be expressed by the mere force of the word, it must be doubled. See Matt. vi, 6; x, 5, 12; Luke ix, 34, etc. The same remark applies to ek, in the sense of out of. But neither of these words is ever used in duplicated form, with reference to baptism. It is evident that the word of itself determines no more as to the mode of the baptism of Jesus than does en. The ordinary office of eis is to point to the terminus of a preceding verb of motion. When it is said that Jesus came and dwelt (eis) in a city called Nazareth, en would have been the proper preposition to express the in-dwelling; but eis is preferred because the city was the terminus of the coming “He came (eis) to a city.” So Mark above uses the same word, not because of its appropriateness to the baptizing, which is always elsewhere expressed by en, but because the Jordan was the terminus (eis) to which he came from Galilee.

3. Ek. “And when they were come up (ek) out of the water.” – Acts viii, 39. In his gospel, Luke the author of this account thus uses the preposition. “Saved from our enemies.” – Luke i, 71. “Every tree is known by its own fruit, for of thorns men do not gather figs; nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes.” – Ib. vi, 44. “He cometh from the wedding.” – Ib. xii, 36. “All these have I kept from my youth up.” – Ib. xviii, 21. So far as this word determines, Philip and the eunuch may have come up from the water, without having been in it, at all.

4. Apo. “Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway (apo) out of the water.” – Matt. iii, 16. Apo never means, “out of,” as here translated; but, “from,” “away from.” “When Jesus was come down from the mountain.” – Matt. viii, 1. “From whom do kings take tribute?” – Ib. xvii, 25. “Cast them from thee.” – Ib. xviii, 8. “Beginning from the last unto the first.” – Ib. xx, 8.

From these illustrations, which might be multiplied indefinitely, it is evident that the prepositions will not bear the stress put upon them by the Baptist argument. Not only are they, in themselves, insufficient to constitute a reliable basis for the conclusions sought; but the statements to which they belong have respect, not to the mode of the baptism, but to the places of it. They are defined by the phrases, “in Jordan,” – “in Enon,” – “in Bethabara.” Recent Baptist writers have had the courage to follow their principles to the result of translating John’s words, – “I immerse you in water, but he shall immerse you in the Holy Ghost and in fire,” – a rendering from which the better taste, if not the better scholarship, of the translators of King James’s version revolted. The thorough consideration already given in these pages to the baptism of the Spirit justifies an imperative denial of the correctness of this translation. If any thing in the Bible is clear, it is that the baptism administered by the Lord Jesus is not an immersion, but an outpouring.

On the question of the prepositions in this connection, light is shed by an expression of the apostle Paul. “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, … and have been all made to drink one Spirit.” – 1 Cor. xii, 13. Of this passage we have already indicated that “into,” as found in the last clause, in the common version (“to drink into one Spirit”), is spurious, and that potizo (“made to drink”), properly signifies, to apply water or other fluid, whether externally or internally, to water, to cause to drink. In this passage, we have both the prepositions, en and eis, each dependent on the one verb, baptizo, but each having its own distinctive subject. “Baptized (en), in one Spirit (eis), into one body.” Into which of these media does the immersion take place? Shall we follow the Baptist interpretation of the words of John, “He shall immerse you in the Holy Ghost?” But in the first place, we have seen that this is false to the real manner of the baptism in question; which consists in a shedding down of the Spirit. In the second, how then, in harmony with Baptist principles, are we to understand the other clause of the passage, – “Immersed in one Spirit, into one body?“ Are there here two immersions by one act? the one subject put at one and the same time into two different media? Moreover, the language with which the apostle closes the passage, while it is in perfect accord with the true mode of the baptism of the Spirit, is altogether incongruous to the Baptist interpretation. If we are baptized with or by the Spirit, shed upon us, we may consistently be said to drink (or, to be watered with) the Spirit. For, the earth and its vegetation drink the rain that falls upon them. But if we must be immersed in the Spirit, Paul’s language implies that in order that men be caused to drink they are to be immersed in the water. “Immersed in one Spirit, and all made to drink one Spirit.”

But the phrase, en heni Pneumati, does not mean “in one Spirit.” As we have seen, the preposition may and often does mean “with,” or “by,” the Spirit, as the agent or instrument. Especially by Paul, the writer of the passage in question, is the phrase so used, – “Through Him we both have access (en heni Pneumati), by one Spirit unto the Father.” – Eph. ii, 18. Here is the very phrase in question. Through the Lord Jesus, the Mediator, by his Spirit as the instrument, who, being sent by him helpeth our infirmities, in prayer (Rom. viii, 26), we have access to the Father’s presence. Again, – “On whom,” as the chief corner stone, “we are builded together, for an habitation of God (en Pneumati), by the Spirit,” who is the efficient builder of the spiritual temple. Again, the apostle tells of the mystery which is “now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets (en Pneumati), by the Spirit” (Eph. iii, 5), and exhorts us, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled (en) with the Spirit” (Ib. v, 18), and to “pray with all prayer and supplication (en) by the Spirit.” – Ib. vi, 18. So in the text, – “With, or, by one Spirit,” the instrument and agent of grace shed on us abundantly by Jesus Christ “are we all baptized” – brought into a new state of incorporation “into one body,” which he pervades and controls as the Spirit of life. Into it we are not immersed; but, united by his common in-dwelling power, are made daily “to drink of that one Spirit,” which is in us, “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John iv, 14.

It is not necessary to the present purpose to dwell further on the signification and bearing of the prepositions. The moment baptizo ceases to mean, to dip, and nothing else, the prepositions lose all determining force upon the questions at issue. If John’s disciples were dipped or submerged in Jordan all is plain, and discussion is at an end. But if John baptized in Jordan, the question still remains, —How did he baptize? This is very clearly illustrated by the case of the Ethiopian eunuch, if we accept the immersion rendering of the prepositions. “They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” They have now reached the place, in the water, if you will. But the baptism is yet to be performed. – “And he baptized him.” But how did he do it? The baptism is now ended; but both are still in position “in the water;” out of which they are then stated to have come. (Acts viii, 38, 39.)

Section LXXVII. – “There was much Water there.”

Appeal is made to the fact that John baptized “in Enon, near to Salim, because there was much water there.” – John iii, 23. Enon (Aenōn), is the plural form, a word which means a spring or fountain. In a few places it is translated, a well of water. But it signifies a flowing spring. The name, therefore, means, The Springs near to Salim. All attempts to trace a town or city of that name have failed; and the whole manner of John’s ministry and statements of the evangelists indicate him to have selected a retired spot, rather than a town or city, as the place of his preaching and baptism.

The phrase, “much water,” is not a correct translation of the original (polla hudata), which means, many waters, – that is, many springs, or streams. The phrase occurs nine times in the Greek of the Old Testament, and four times in the New, beside the place in question. It is never used in the sense of unity, – “much water,” – but invariably expresses the conception of plurality. In several places, it designates the waves of the sea in a tumult. Thus, Psa. xciii, 3, 4, – “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” See, also, 2 Sam. xxii, 17; Psa. xviii, 16; xxix, 3; Isa. xvii, 12, 13; Ezek. xliii, 2; Rev. i, 15; xiv, 2; xix, 6. In these places the noise of many waters, is the sound of the waves, as they toss in the fury of a storm, or thunder upon the shore. Again, it is used to designate many streams, and even the rivulets which for the purposes of irrigation were carried through vineyards and gardens. Thus, “Thy mother was as a vine, and as a shoot planted by a stream, by waters; the fruit of which, and its sprouts were from many waters.” – Ezek. xix, 10. See, also, Num. xxiv, 7, and Jer. li, 13. In the last of these passages, Babylon is described as dwelling “upon many waters,” meaning, not the Euphrates, only; but the four rivers, Euphrates, Tigris, Chaboras and Ulai, and the many canals of irrigation, vestiges of which continue to this day, to which Babylonia was indebted for its fertility, and the city for its wealth and power. Compare Psalm cxxxvii, 1, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept, when we remembered Zion.” In the text of John, the phrase coincides with the name of Enon, to indicate that the peculiarity of the place was a number of flowing springs. The bearing of these upon the question as to the mode of John’s Baptism is inappreciable; as, for the purposes of immersion, he did not need more than one.

But, we recur to the challenge, so confidently urged. If John did not immerse, why his resort to the Jordan, and to the “much water” of Enon? We reply by another question. Why did the Lord Jesus concentrate his ministry upon the shore of the Sea of Galilee? Why did he, after the close of his labors in that part of the land, take up his abode at that very “place where John at first baptized?” – John x, 40. A comparison of the evangelists shows that, as did John (Luke iii, 3), so Jesus began his ministry by journeying through the country and villages preaching the gospel. But, as his fame spread abroad and the concourse of his hearers increased, he was accustomed to resort to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the slopes of the mountains which enclose it on the west. A comparison of the evangelists shows the sermon on the mount to have been uttered from one of those mountains. (Matt. v, 1; Mark iii, 7-13.) In the brief narrative of Mark, that sea is six times spoken of as the scene of his labors; and these are evidently mere illustrations of the habit of his ministry. Thus, the first such mention states that “he went forth again by the sea side, and all the multitude resorted unto him and he taught them.” – Mark ii, 13, and see iii, 7; iv, 1; v, 21; vi, 31-33; vii, 31; viii, 10. Here, he fed the five thousand men, beside women and children, with five barley loaves and two small fishes; and here, the four thousand, with seven barley loaves and a few small fishes. Afterward, when his ministry in Galilee was finished and he would preach in Judea, he found himself beset, before his time, by the machinations of the scribes and rulers. He therefore withdrew beyond Jordan, to “the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode, and many resorted to him, … and many believed on him there.” – John x, 39-42, and Mark x, 1. It is evident that the facts here referred to were not casual nor fortuitous. They constitute one of the most prominent features of the story of our Lord’s ministry. It is also manifest that these and the facts concerning the places of John’s ministry belong to the same category; so that no explanation can be sufficient which does not account for all alike.

The Baptist theory is not thus adequate. They will not pretend that it was to immerse his disciples, that Jesus resorted to the lake and to Bethabara. We may, therefore, conclude that the explanation of John’s places of baptism is to be sought upon some other principle. A candid consideration of the circumstances will discover it; and customs peculiar to this country may confirm the solution. The assemblies that attended on the ministry of John and of Jesus were essentially similar to our camp-meetings, with the only difference, that the simpler habits of the people of Judea and Galilee rendered any preparation of tents or booths unnecessary. On one occasion we casually learn that the people remained together three days (Mark viii, 2); and the circumstances indicate that generally they were “protracted meetings.” For example, at one time, Mark states that “Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea; and a great multitude from Galilee, followed him, and from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond Jordan, and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.” – Mark iii, 7, 8. Luke in one place speaks of “an innumerable multitude of people (tōn muriadōn tou ochlou, the tens of thousands of the throng) insomuch that they trode one upon another.” – Luke xii, 1. See, also, the descriptions of John’s audiences. In choosing the place for a camp-meeting, three things are recognized as of the first necessity. These are, retirement, accessibility, and abundance of water. Why these are essential, needs no explanation. As to the last, food may be brought from a distance; but if abundance of water, for the supply of man and beast, is not found on the spot, its use for such a purpose is manifestly and utterly impracticable.

The argument applies with double force to the thirsty climate of Judea. As heretofore stated, there are very few running streams in the land. The requisite supplies for the people in the towns and villages in which the population was concentrated were obtained from wells. There is scarcely a single perennial stream flowing from the west into the Jordan, in its whole course from the sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Its affluents are “mere winter torrents, rushing and foaming during the continuance of rain, and quickly drying up after the commencement of summer. For fully half the year, these ‘rivers,’ or ‘brooks,’ are often dry lanes of hot white or gray stones; or, tiny rills, working their way through heaps of parched boulders.”106 In a word, the banks of the Jordan, the shores of the sea of Tiberias, and some such exceptional spots as The Springs near Salim, presented the only sites in Palestine in which the three requisites above indicated were to be found united. Suppose the multitudes that were gathered to our Savior’s ministry, – four and five thousand men, beside women, children and cattle; and those of John’s preaching were, without doubt, as numerous, – to have been assembled with an improvident forgetfulness of the prime necessity of water! The alternative would have been a vast amount of suffering and the dispersion of the assembly, or miraculous interposition. But this does not meet the case of John’s congregations; for “John did no miracle.”

It is plain that we need no immersion theory, to account for the places chosen by John and Jesus for fulfilling their ministry. The necessities of their numerous audiences were decisive, and were in harmony with the requirement of the law that the sprinkled water of purifying should be living or running water.

Section LXXVIII. – “Buried with him by Baptism into Death.”

The principal remaining Baptist argument is derived from two expressions of the apostle Paul which are supposed to show by implication that baptism was administered by immersion. These are; – Rom. vi, 4, – “Buried with him by baptism into death;” and Col. ii, 12, – “Buried with him in baptism.” In our common English version as here quoted, there is a repeated neglect of the definite article, where it occurs in the original, which obscures the meaning. This defect being rectified, the first passage reads thus: – Rom. vi, 1-11. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead by sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by the baptism into the death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For, if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man (sunestaurōthē) was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For (ho apōthanōn) he that died is freed (dedikoiatai, is justified) from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him… For in that he died (tē hamartia) by sin he died once: but in that he liveth he liveth (tō theō) by God” (that is, “by the power of God.” – 2 Cor. xiii, 4.) “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed by sin, but alive by the power of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”