One Baptism:: The Power of Water and the Spirit

By Patricia Gauthier

Paul, a highly educated, first-century Jewish rabbi teaches, “There is one baptism.” What does he mean by these words? Why was John the Baptist, a Jewish prophet of the inter-Testament period, baptizing people before Jesus had even a single follower-before the word “Christian” came into existence? Who is Elijah and will he return? “Is baptism only a Christian water ritual? Why be baptized? Who should be baptized? Should Christians be rebaptized? Are baptism and salvation connected? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in baptism?

These and other questions invite readers to explore the meaning, significance and power of baptism for their own lives.This book presents Jesus’ view of baptism through the lens of his own Jewish understanding, challenging traditional views of baptism on many fronts. It traces the development of baptismal theology through both Testaments to the present, examining the ways theology has muddled the meaning of baptism and the Trinity. One Baptism: The Power of Water and the Spirit, refreshes the soul, ignites the spirit, and offers the church a powerful path to unity through a biblical renewal of the meaning and practice of baptism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664261921

Patricia Gauthier

Patricia Gauthier is a retired teacher. She has served the church in teaching, church leadership, church planting and speaking. She holds an MA from Wesleyan University and a MTS from Regent University, School of Divinity. She has published a thesis with Proquest LLC. One Baptism: The Power of Water and the Spirit is her first book written for a wider readership.

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WestBow Press rev. date: 06/09/2022

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CONTENTS

Preface

Part 1 Introduction: Power and Unity Through Baptism

Chapter 1The Jewish Roots of Baptism

Chapter 2John the Baptist’s Background and Calling

Chapter 3The Prophet of Two Testaments

Chapter 4From OT to NT Kingdom through Baptism

Chapter 5Baptism with the Holy Spirit and with Fire

Chapter 6Why Was Jesus Baptized?

Chapter 7John the Baptist Passes his Mantle to Jesus

Part 2 The Anointing

Chapter 8Anointing, Jesus’ Empowerment and the Two Sacraments

Chapter 9The Holy Spirit and the Disciples Pre and Post-Resurrection

Chapter 10Baptism and Jesus’ Glorified Body

Chapter 11The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 12Male and Female Prophets and the Nature of Prophecy

Chapter 13Pentecost, the Gospel and Baptism

Chapter 14Baptisms in Acts: Comparisons and Contrasts

Chapter 15The Samaritan Conversion

Chapter 16Household and Outstanding Baptisms

Chapter 17The Holy Spirit: God’s Spiritual Life Package

Chapter 18The Development of Baptismal Theology: Part 1

Chapter 19The Development of Baptismal Theology: Part 2

Chapter 20Classic Pentecostalism and the Trinity

Chapter 21Conclusion: One Baptism

Chapter 22Questions and Answers about Baptism: A Call to Unity

Glossary

Bibliography

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to three: First, to the Holy Spirit: He gave me the ideas, the inspiration and the passion to write this book that I believe is a timely message for the church. Second, to my husband Royale who has always been my best friend through our many decades of marriage: He has encouraged me in all my endeavors and is the implementer of my vision. Without his technical skills, I could not produce the projects or write the many works I do. Third, I dedicate it to my dear friend, Cindy who has always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and goals.

PREFACE

Recently, I went up into my attic determined to do some purging that would clear out my top floors. I went through many cards and letters I had received over the years. My book, One Baptism: The Power of Water and the Spirit, by this time, was nearly complete. I came across a letter my dear friend Lynn had written me many years ago. Here is a paragraph from it:

You have always described being saved as plugging into the source of power (the Holy Spirit). From what I have read and believe in my heart, the Holy Spirit indwells us when we accept Christ as our Lord - the Lord of our lives and it isn’t until we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we are plugged into that source. This has been a little confusing to me sometimes as you seem to have a great power source without the baptism of the Holy Spirit and I seem to lack that power source and have received the baptism.

After reading this, the Holy Spirit spoke into my mind, This is the preface to your book. Lynn’s words perfectly describe the very reason I wrote this book – to clear up the confusion that swirls around the action of the Holy Spirit on our spirit from the time we hear the preaching of the gospel to the day we close our eyes in death.

PART 1

Introduction: Power and

Unity Through Baptism

Through one baptism, God has united the church and provided it with his power to overcome the powers of darkness that envelop us and the world we live in. Yet, God’s people do not fully experience this power or unity. If the church realizes that the theology and practice of baptism are in dire need of renewal and works to restore it, God can release his power in us to unify the church.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two sacraments that have been practiced in the church since it began. Whether we speak of first-century Judaism, Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, orthodoxy agrees that both ordinances were instituted and commanded by Jesus to be observed by all believers. On the topic of baptism, however, that is where agreement ends. The meaning, significance, mode and practice of baptism have caused divisions among believers since the early centuries of the church. While the church has outwardly agreed to disagree on baptismal doctrine, denominational and individual understandings of baptism have erected deep theological walls that hinder Christian unity. While the walls function to separate truth from error, their solidity often leaves no space for windows through which truth seekers can gaze to see the vistas in plain sight they have not before seen. Why is it important to seek truth?

Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (Jn 17:17, ESV). In the context of this chapter, he is praying that all his disciples may be one. Jesus prays that this oneness will be as solid as the oneness Jesus has with the Father, a unity that is a magnet God uses to bring people to faith in him (Jn 17: 21). So we see that in this context, truth and unity are vitally connected. We must, therefore, approach baptism with the conviction that Jesus’ command to baptize carries with it his intention to do it in a way that teaches the truth it signifies, while safeguarding the unity of the Body of Christ, his church. As it now stands, our divisions concerning the doctrine of baptism hinder church unity and whatever hinders church unity, obscures the gospel. Why is this?

Eastern Orthodox theologian Jonathan Morse has rightly noted that all theological discussions are soteriological.¹ They therefore go to the heart of the question - What has Christ accomplished on the cross? Another way to ask this question is: How are people forgiven of their sins and saved to eternal life with God Almighty? Theologians have probed this question since God called Abraham out of Babylonian paganism. This makes the next questions vital to Christian doctrinal belief: How is baptism connected to salvation and how can the answer to this question revitalize our faith and move the church closer to unity?

In Ephesians 4:4-5, (NIV) Paul writes: There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The one body is the worldwide Body of Christ. The one Lord is Jesus, God’s only Son, the Messiah of Jews and non-Jews. The one faith is faith in the gospel as defined by Paul:

Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Cor 15: 1-4, (NASB).

In verses 5-9, Paul then provides a list of people by name, in addition to more than 500 hundred believers at one time to whom Christ physically appeared after his resurrection from the dead. This passage in 1 Cor 15:1-4 is the most precise definition and summary of the one faith Paul refers to in Eph 4:5: Genuine heart belief in these facts and in their meaning, significance and life application, results in the salvation of our eternal spirits.

Now we come to Paul’s words, one baptism in Eph 4:5. While it has been more than two thousand years since Paul wrote these words, their meaning and application to individuals and to the church are still not fully understood. Baptism has been, and still is, one of the most controversial and contentious topics in Christian theology. How did this controversy come about?

In early Christianity evangelism was the primary goal and baptism was inextricably tied to conversion. Therefore, the theology of baptism consisted in the call to conversion. As the Early Church spread geographically and the NT was written and then more widely disseminated, further definitions and theologies of baptism emerged. This naturally resulted in doctrinal confusion until the differences in the interpretation, meaning and significance of baptism caused divisions within the church. The NT discusses several baptisms such as, "John’s baptism, Jesus’ baptism, the baptism of the dead and the baptism of the Holy Spirit." All of these will be discussed in this book.

My purpose in writing this book is to see baptism through fresh biblical lenses, looking through the NT to see its Jewish OT roots and following those back again to Jesus’ purpose for baptism in the New Covenant as expressed in the Apostle Paul’s highly developed, baptismal theology. As we explore Paul’s teaching of one baptism, it is my hope that God will bring a new revelation of the meaning, simplicity, and beauty of Eph 4:5. I pray also that the church will approach the present baptismal chasm with renewed commitment to carry out Jesus’ command in Matt 28:19-20 in the way and for the purposes he intends. The two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are powerful proclamations of the gospel, but both have been deprived of their power by theological dilution and distortion. This will become clearer through an examination of John the Baptist’s Jewish understanding of baptism and his prophecy that the Messiah would bring a different baptism.

CHAPTER 1

The Jewish Roots of Baptism

The Jewish roots of baptism are the foundation upon which one baptism rests. That is why I present them in depth and detail to Jewish and Christian readers both. We spring from the same root. About that Jewish root, we have this reminder to non-Jewish believers in Christ: You do not support the root but the root supports you (Rom 1:18, NIV).

Since John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ close disciples were Jewish, we view baptism first through the OT, first-century Jewish eyes through which they viewed it. John lived and died under the Old Covenant before Jesus established the New Covenant and completed the earthly inauguration of his kingdom. How will a reexamination of baptism enlighten us about this kingdom?

My belief is that God’s word is the most potent means of unlocking the mysteries of his kingdom and that baptism’s power lies in its simplicity as revealed in the Scriptures. Since Jesus himself established the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we can be sure they are designed to bring the kind of unity he prayed for in his last prayer spoken about his disciples before his arrest: … that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me (Jn 17:21, NIV).

This unity can only happen through God’s Spirit who always brings new revelation of Christ to the church. Our participation in one baptism brings us closer to Christ and to each other, and so promises to strengthen, renew and restore the soul of the church. So let’s dig into the roots of baptism.

Baptism in the First Century

Were Jews baptized in the first century? The answer is yes! Because John the Baptist, a Jewish rabbi, created a baptism that was similar to, but very different from all Jewish water rituals of his time, it is essential to investigate Jewish water rituals if we are to understand the Jewish origin and meaning of Christian baptism. Another consideration concerns circumcision. Since circumcision was the sign of Judaism under the Old Covenant, a good question is, "Did the early believers in Christ, all Jewish, continue this tradition in the New Covenant? Jesus and the early Jewish male believers were all circumcised. The question of whether non-Jewish converts to Christ should be required to be circumcised was decided at the first-century Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15). The decision was a unanimous no.

Circumcision in the First Century

I will briefly cover circumcision because it is vitally related to our study of baptism as it relates to God’s Covenants in both Testaments. First-century Judaism required all Jewish male babies and converts to Judaism to be circumcised. We must also probe into the lineage, background and life of John the Baptist to determine if his commitment to Judaism is solid and worthy of its proper place in Judaism. As it is, Judaism does not yet see him as a credible Jewish prophet but Christianity regards him as God’s chosen, messianic Jewish prophet. Hence, we begin with Jewish proselyte baptism because it is the most similar to the baptism John performed.

Jewish Proselyte Baptism

A proselyte is a person who has converted from one religion, philosophy or political ideology to another. A Jewish proselyte is a person who has converted to Judaism. Biblical scholarship is not in universal agreement on the question of whether Jewish proselyte baptism predates John the Baptist’s practice of baptism. About this question, however, H.H. Rawley states emphatically, It is in the highest degree improbable that Judaism adopted a practice which had already become dependent on the practice of Christianity. ² He further notes that many scholars such as Brandt, Heitmuller, Copens and Schurer, believe that Jewish proselyte baptism predated the time of Christ. Rawley points to Schurer’s opinion that since Jews could not be a part of the community of Israel unless they were first circumcised, and later participated in Levitical ritual baths, then certainly, no Gentiles (who were already considered unclean by Judaism’s definitions of that term) would be accepted into the Jewish community until they participated in ritual baths in keeping with Levitical purification requirements for entrance into the same community. ³ He insists the, general consideration that Jewish proselyte baptism predates John’s baptism is, strongly and compellingly conclusive. ⁴ Schurer further states that anyone who is familiar with Pharisaic Judaism knows about the many baths that were required of members of that sect in its zealous commitment to Levitical purification laws. Andreas Kostenberger also sheds light on Jewish ritual bathing.

He writes, the mishnaic [sic] passages such as m. Pesah.8.8 that discuss proselyte baptism in the context of Levitical cleansing in preparation for the Passover support the supposition that John’s baptism and Jewish proselyte baptism point back to Jewish ritual cleansing and bathing practices":

‘If a man becomes a proselyte on the day before Passover he may immerse himself and consume his Passover offering in the evening.’ ⁵ In reading this Mishnaic passage, our understanding of the Passover’s meaning is most instructive in making the connections between Judaism, the Atonement of Christ, and Christian baptism. (See Ex 12.)

Passover Preparations and Atonement

Only after circumcision and immersion in a ritual bath could proselytes consume their Passover offering the next day. So too, many Christian churches today require those who have converted to Christianity to be baptized in the church. They, like Jewish proselytes, may then observe the celebration of the Lord’s Supper right after their baptism if they choose. In so doing, they are consuming the Passover Lamb, Jesus, who has covered and passed over their sins, thus removing the death penalty they incur for them. This is because Christ, their Passover Lamb, by his crucifixion, has shed his own blood as atonement for their sins, fulfilling God’s requirement in Leviticus 17:11, (cf. Heb 9:22). In the case of churches that practice infant baptism, many have their own rules regarding when it is appropriate to receive Holy Communion. Now we turn to the requirements for Jewish women under the Old Covenant.

Circumcision and Gender in Judaism

While males were required to be circumcised before immersing themselves in what is known as a mikvah (a Jewish ritual bath), Jewish women were not required to be circumcised. Yet, Levitical laws did require women to perform mikvahs at various times for purification reasons. Why aren’t Jewish women required to be circumcised?

Writing on this topic, Mary R. D’Angelo reviews the work of Shaye J.D. Cohen, whose work encompasses a chronological study of the origins of circumcision. In considering this question, Cohen traces the Jewish origins of circumcision to its biblical roots in Genesis and connects it to the covenant God made with Abraham. It is best to read the entire chapter in Genesis, but especially note Gen 17:10 and Gen 17:14. While Cohen states that rabbinic texts allow Jewish males who have not been circumcised to grow to adulthood without being expelled from the Jewish community,⁶ the biblical text states otherwise:

This is my Covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised (Gen 17:10, NASB). But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My Covenant (Gen 17:10, NASB).

As for the possible assumption that women are not included in the Abrahamic Covenant, we can see for ourselves in the biblical text, that for Abram’s wife Sarai, (renamed Sarah by God) no sign of the Covenant is stated or required because God’s Covenant with Abram (renamed Abraham by God) includes his descendants through Isaac, Sarah’s son. It