Part VI - FOURTH EVENING
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RITE OF BAPTISM
W.— “YOU treated our view of the significance of the rite of baptism in such a summary manner that I am anxious to hear what you have to say in favor of your own. It is easier to pull down than to build up.”
P.— “I promise you that I will not rest our view on a passage written thirty or forty years after Christ’s ascension, and in which baptism is only incidentally referred to, and that by way of illustrating a point having little connection, directly, with it.”
W.— “The promise is fair if the fulfilment is as good.”
P.— “A few words first, by way of introduction. Will you tell me how many persons of the Godhead have a part in the work of man’s redemption?”
W.— “All of them. The Father sent the Son. The Son came and made atonement for sin. The Holy Spirit applies the benefit of Christ’s work.”
P.— “Very good. Will you mention a few things included in the Spirit’s work.”
W.— “The Spirit convinces of sin; inclines us to go to Jesus; regenerates and sanctifies us.”
P.— “He has, then, a very important part to do in our salvation.”
W.— “Equal to either of the others. The sacred writers frequently refer to his work.
P.— “Do you think his work is sufficiently important to merit a rite to commemorate or symbolize it?”
W.— “I certainly think it does, and I have always supposed that baptism does that in part.”
P.— “And in a very small part according to your view; only in a very secondary manner.”
W.— “Yes, our view is that baptism chiefly refers to the burial of Christ. But I have often wondered, as the Lord’s Supper has exclusive reference to the work of Christ, why baptism did not have special reference to the work of the Spirit.”
P.— “And a pity it is that you had not been led to pursue such inquiries to the extent of enabling you to see the whole truth. Allow me to put this case to you. Suppose you could find language like this, uttered, say, by John the Baptist: ‘Christ shall be buried in the earth, but ye shall be buried by baptism in the water.’ How could I, as an opposer of immersion, meet such a statement?”
W.— “You could not meet it at all. I wish such a statement had been left on record; it would have settled this question, and put an end to all discussion. But why do you put such a question? No such statement can be found.”
P.— “I agree with you that it would have been conclusive. I ask the question that I may ask another. What would you say if you should find language like this: ‘I indeed baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.’ “
W.— “I remember that John did use this language, and I acknowledge that it points to an intimate connection between the work of the Spirit and water baptism.”
P.— “And so it does. The great work of the Spirit is to cleanse, purify, and sanctify. Shall I quote passages in proof of this statement?”
W.— “No, it is not necessary. I remember several such.”
P.— “On the other hand, water is the natural emblem of purifying, cleansing. Baptismal water is often so spoken of.”
W.— “Yes, sir, I recollect passages that show this. It was said to Paul, ‘Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.’ “
P.— “All such statements point us clearly to this fact, that the use of water in baptism is to commemorate or symbolize the work of the Spirit.”
W.— “They do seem to indicate this. But it is frequently said that we are cleansed by Christ’s blood. In the first Epistle of John it is said, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ “
P.— “I am very much obliged to you for that suggestion and quotation. It might have been overlooked by me. Please turn to that same Epistle, ch. 5:7, 8, and read.”
W.— “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one.”
P.—” Please emphasize that last clause.”
W.— AND THESE THREE AGREE IN ONE.
P.— “What shall I now say in reference to your quotation from the first chapter, where it is said, the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin?”
W.— “I see it. Both blood and water represent or symbolize the work of the Spirit. To all this I agree. But whither does it lead us?”
P.— “Wait and see. We must pause here to examine a few passages in which the work of the Spirit is spoken of. I will select a few passages from the Concordance, and ask you to read them. Here is one in Proverbs 1: 23.”
W.— “Behold, I will POUR OUT MY SPIRIT unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”
P.— “Isaiah 32:15.”
W.— “Until the SPIRIT BE POURED upon us from on high.”
P.— “Isaiah 44: 3.”
W.— “For I will POUR WATER upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will POUR MY SPIRIT upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” P.— “All such statements point us clearly to this fact, that the use of water in baptism is to commemorate or symbolize the work of the Spirit.”
P.— “Ezekiel 39:29.”
W.—”Neither will I hide my face any more from them. For I have POURED OUT MY SPIRIT upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.”
P.-- “Joel 2:28, 29.”
W.— “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will POUR OUT MY SPIRIT upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I POUR OUT MY SPIRIT.
P.—”John 1:33.”
W.— “And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said onto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”
P.— “Mark 1:10.”
W.— “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and ‘the SPIRIT like a dove DESCENDING upon him.”
P.— “Titus 3:6, and latter clause of 5th verse.”
W.— “ — and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he SHED ON US abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”
P.— “In Acts 2:16, you will find the passage from Joel quoted as fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, and remembering this will you please read the 33rd verse.”
W.— “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath SHED FORTH this which ye now see and hear.”
P.— “Will you now tell me the various words used to express the gift or work of the Spirit in the passages read?”
W.— “So far as I recollect them, they are ‘happen with,’ ‘poured upon,’ ‘shed,’ ‘descending on.’ “
P.— “Do you recollect any passage in which the work of the Spirit is represented by anything like immersion?”
W.— “I was hoping you would ask me such a question; because there is a passage of that kind in a chapter from which you have quoted. It is the second of Acts, where the writer is speaking of the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, he says: ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.’ Here it is stated, clearly, that they were entirely enveloped, or so to speak, buried.”
P.— “So, then, though the Spirit was poured upon them, or descended upon them, yet if it was sufficiently extensive to envelop them, it was a baptism.”
W.— “In a figurative sense.”
P.— “I am both sorry and glad that you have presented this case, and quoted this passage. Sorry, that one so intelligent should commit such a blunder. Glad, because others have done the same thing, and some notice should be taken of it. If you will examine the passage you will see that it says nothing about the Spirit filling the house. It was the sound that filled the house. In the third verse there is a description of the visible manifestation of the baptism by the Spirit. ‘And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.’ “
W.— (After looking at the passage.) “Well, well, I am ashamed of myself, and thank you for the gentleness of the rebuke so kindly administered and so richly merited. But I confess I never saw the passage in that light before. Many a time did I quote it as I did tonight, and regarded it as an excellent example of figurative immersion.”
P.— “You must keep before your mind the points of difference between us. This you seem inclined to ignore when it suits your convenience The whole question, as to the mode of baptism, is: Is the individual PUT INTO THE ELEMENT? or is the element APPLIED TO HIM? To call that baptism where the element is applied to the individual in a quantity sufficient to envelop, is to decide that the difference in our views is not in the action or mode, but simply a difference in quantity. In that case, sprinkling must meet the requirement, if, like dew, it can be so applied as to represent an envelopment. What think you, now, was baptism intended to commemorate or symbolize?”
W.— “Manifestly, the work of the Spirit.”
P.— “And what light does it throw on the question of mode?”
W.— “I confess it does not seem to be very favorable to immersion. It does seem to point to baptism as consisting in the application of water to the individual. But all this avails nothing for your side of the question, while the cases of its administration on record clearly point to the fact that immersion was the apostolic mode.”
P.— “Those cases are yet to be examined. Perhaps they are not as decisive in favor of immersion as they seem to be from your standpoint.”
W.— “The facts, the circumstances, are too plain to be mistaken. Could you succeed in convincing me to the contrary, it could only result in evil to me; for it would destroy my confidence in language. I would be compelled to believe that nothing can be stated in human language, but that it can be proved the writer meant no such thing.”
P.— “The very fact that you can so speak shows how completely prejudice has blinded your eyes. In so speaking, you declare that all Paedo-baptists are either knaves or fools; either that they lack enough common sense to see these cases of immersion; or seeing them, they lack honesty to concede that they are such.”
W.— “I Beg your pardon, sir; but I did not mean to bring either of these charges against them. But will you not acknowledge that some cases of immersion are recorded in the New Testament?”
P.— “I will not acknowledge that the rite of baptism was so administered in any case recorded.”
W.— “For you to attempt to prove such a statement to my satisfaction, is to undertake a task for which a dozen evenings would not suffice. But I am interested in the subject, and will come as often as need be to hear all you have to say.”
P.— “I think one evening will be sufficient to say all that is necessary on the cases of its administration that are recorded in the New Testament. Whenever it suits your convenience, I shall be happy to consider them.”
