Baptism in the Light of the Mikvah

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY


BAPTISM IN THE LIGHT OF THE MIKVAH



SUBMITTED TO DR. BONG CHOI AS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT OF
“INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT” - NBST522_B04_200920
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY


BY
ELKE B. SPELIOPOULOS
(STUDENT ID: 22542317)



FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009
DOWNINGTOWN, PA


i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THESIS ---------------------------------------------------------- 1
INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------- 1
BAPTISM AS ADMINISTERED BY JOHN -------------------------------------- 2
WATER AS THE OUTWARD SIGN OF BAPTISM --------------------------------- 4
THE REMISSION OF SIN SIGNIFIED BY BAPTISM -------------------------------- 7
THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE IN ASSOCIATION WITH BAPTISM ---------------------- 9
FAITH AS THE BASIS OF BAPTISM ---------------------------------------- 10
RECIPIENTS OF BAPTISM – ADULTS, CHILDREN, WHO? -------------------------- 11
SPRINKLING OR IMMERSION? ------------------------------------------- 13
BAPTISM IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ---------------- 15
CONCLUSION ----------------------------------------------------- 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY --------------------------------------------------- 18




1


THESIS
Baptism is one of the very symbols of Christianity, practiced through the ages as a
sign of a believer having entrusted his life in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, is this
alone true? Is baptism only associated with the Christian faith? Why then did the Jewish
converts so quickly understand their need to be baptized?
This paper will argue that the baptism described by Luke in the book of Acts had close
ties to the Jewish concept of mikvah, the ritual cleansing in practice before and during the
time of Jesus and to this day. It will also take a look at the relationship of baptism in the
Spirit as described by Luke and its tie to the physical act of water baptism.
INTRODUCTION
With the arrival of John the Baptizer on the scene of history and the capture of his
activities in the pages of the New Testament, baptism came into the collective consciousness
of adherents of the Christian faith. As will be discussed, John’s baptism was one calling for
repentance in order to prepare for the coming kingdom. In his words: "“I baptize you with
water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am
not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew 3:11, ESV)
1
.
While John clearly knew the mission he had to fulfill, he could not have understood
the entire message of the gospel, but soon Jesus would appear, not just to be baptized by John,
but to begin His public ministry. John never got to see the fulfillment of God’s plan for
salvation of mankind, as he died on the order of King Herod Antipas. Jesus’ apostles came to
realize a new understanding of baptism as a profession of faith, a faith that was coupled with

1

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001, Mat 3:11




2



the indwelling of the Holy Spirit rather than simply a baptism for repentance. The church
fathers quickly surrounded the act of baptism with traditions of many kinds, from modes of
baptism – sprinkling vs. immersion – to categories of those being eligible for baptism – adult
believers only or children and infants also – to baptismal formulas. Before we can understand
what we know today as baptism, we need to take a look at the background of baptism in
Jewish tradition. Only with this understanding internalized can we truly appreciate the
meaning of baptism and its continuity not just from the ritual bath, or mikvah, of the Jews, but
its continuity as a part of God’s plan for restored fellowship.
BAPTISM AS ADMINISTERED BY JOHN
The prophets had spoken about the coming of a forerunner of our Lord, a man who
would be the one that precedes and indicates the approach of another: Jesus Christ. Isaiah had
prophesied about John: "A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make
straight in the desert a highway for our God."
2
(Isaiah 40:3, ESV), and Malachi spoke of
John’s coming, "“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me."
3

(Malachi 3:1, ESV).
John, as described in all four of the canonical gospels, entered the scene as a rather
unusual individual, described by Matthew in Matthew 3:4: "Now John wore a garment of
camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey."
4

Despite his strange appearance, John very clearly understood that he was called to prepare the
way for the Lord, and his preaching drew repentant Israelites whom he baptized in preparation

2
Ibid., Isa 40:3

3
Ibid., Mal 3:1

4
Ibid., Mat 3:4




3



for the coming kingdom in a manner that very closely resembles the concept in the Hebrew
Scriptures of clean and unclean.
In their Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Kittel, Friedrich and Bromiley
offer that John’s baptism
is a powerful messianic awakening from which Christianity springs. As presented in
the Gospels it does not seem to be a child of Near Eastern syncretism. The nearest
analogies are in Judaism, especially proselyte baptism. Like this, John’s baptism
makes great demands on the elect people. Unlike it, it has a more urgent ethical and
eschatological thrust. John is preparing the people for God’s imminent coming. His
baptism is an initiatory rite for the gathering of the messianic community. He himself
actively baptizes, so that the passive use of baptízein now becomes more common
than the middle found elsewhere. Cleansing, connected with repentance, is the main
point, with a suggestion of purification for the coming aeon.
5


M. G. Easton adds that John’s baptism,

was not Christian baptism, nor was that which was practised by the disciples previous
to our Lord’s crucifixion. Till then the New Testament economy did not exist. John’s
baptism bound its subjects to repentance, and not to the faith of Christ. It was not
administered in the name of the Trinity, and those whom John baptized were
rebaptized by Paul.
6


As the apostle Paul later stated, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling
the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”" (Acts 19:4,
ESV)
7
. As such, John’s concept of baptism was undeveloped, yet it served its purpose of
preparing Jewish hearts and minds for the coming of the Messiah King.

5
Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament, Translation of: Theologisches Worterbuch Zum Neuen Testament. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B.
Eerdmans, 1995, c1985), 93.

6
M.G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996, c1897).

7
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Act 19:4




4



Josephus also attests to the historicity of John the Baptizer and his type of baptism in
his Antiquities of the Jews. However, Josephus gives us a slightly different perspective of
John’s perceived purpose in history in the minds of some of the Jews, focusing more on John
being seen as a rebel by Herod:
(118) Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from
God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called
the Baptist; (117) for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews
to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards
God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable
to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of
some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was
thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. (118) Now, when [many] others
came in crowds about him, for they were greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his
words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put
it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do
anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any
mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who
might make him repent of it when it should be too late. (119) Accordingly he was sent
a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before
mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the
destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God’s
displeasure against him.
8


It is interesting to note that Josephus understood John’s baptism as a cleansing of the
body, albeit in relationship to an already occurred purification of the soul. Josephus, similar to
John, did not fully understand what we can understand today as post-Pentecost believers, but
it is clear from this passage that the images of forgiven sin and immersion were parallel ideas.

WATER AS THE OUTWARD SIGN OF BAPTISM

The concept of immersion in a mikvah, or ritual bath, is well known in Judaism as a
form of cleansing, separating the unclean from the clean. God described many states of
uncleanness to the Israelites and most, if not all, required an immersion to return to a clean

8
Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus : Complete and Unabridged, Includes Index.
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1987), Ant 18.116-119.



5



state. The Mishnah describes the connection between water and cleansing, and more
importantly, it relates the physical cleaning by water to the spiritual cleaning from God:

Said R. Aqiba, “Happy are you, O Israel. Before whom are you made clean, and who
makes you clean? It is your Father who is in heaven,
H “as it says, And I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean (Ez.
36:25).
I “And it says, O Lord, the hope [miqweh = immersion pool] of Israel (Jer.
17:13)—Just as the immersion pool cleans the unclean, so the Holy One, blessed be
he, clean Israel.”
9


Apart from the ritual immersion baths of the Jews, which were described in the pages
of the Hebrew Scriptures, then further refined and tightly governed in the Talmud, converts to
Judaism likewise were required to immerse themselves into the waters of the mikvah, and this
holds true to this day:
People who have converted to Judaism also come to the mikvah, an immersion which
is the origin of baptism. . . .
. . . Physical purity is inextricably linked to spiritual purity and so the mikvah is
indispensible.
10


The Jews of John’s day were already familiar with a connection between water and the
Spirit of God (or Ruach HaKodesh). Scripture passages such as Zechariah 12:10: “And I will
pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and
pleas for mercy”
11
and Isaiah 44:3: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and
streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my
blessing on your descendants.”
12
, conveyed this connection.

9
Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah : A New Translation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 279.

10
Marc-Alain Ouaknin,. Symbols of Judaism (New York, NY: Assouline Publishing, 2000), 104.

11
Chip McDaniel and C. John Collins, The ESV English-Hebrew Reverse Interlinear Old Testament (Logos
Research Systems, Inc., 2006; 2006), Zec 12:10.

12
Ibid., Is 44:3.



6



In addition, the Scriptures had told the Jewish people about the concept of a national
purification of Israel, which Ezekiel describes in Ezekiel 36:25-36. Charles A. Briggs
summarizes this understanding:
Ezekiel here represents that the restoration is to be connected with a great purification.
The purification in the previous section was accomplished by a great national
discipline and through suffering. Here it is by the application of pure water. The
prophet uses the ceremonial purification of Israel as a great symbol to set forth the
great purification that is to transform the nation by transforming its heart and spirit.
This is to be accomplished not by any human priests through the use of rites and
ceremonies, but by God Himself, who makes a great national baptism. This baptism
cleanses the entire nation within and without. It removes all the external uncleanness
due to the worship of idols and the indulgence in corrupt practices. But it also removes
the deeper impurity of a hard, stubborn and rebellious heart, a reluctant disposition and
unruly temper. A new heart takes the place of the old heart, and it is a heart of flesh
responsive to the touch of the divine hand.
13


With water playing such an important symbolical role in the Jewish mind, the
passages describing the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philipp,
"And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said,
“See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”" (Acts 8:36, ESV)
14
,

and the expression by Peter when discussing the baptism of the first Gentiles,

"“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have?”" (Acts 10:47, ESV)
15
,

can be clearly understood as being based on the Jewish understanding by both Philipp
and Peter of ritual immersion. As such, they immediately discussed baptism as part of the
conversion experience of both the Ethiopian God-fearer and the Roman Gentile.


13
Charles A. Briggs, Messianic Prophecy (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1886. Reprint, Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.: 1988), 274-275.

14
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Act 8:36.

15
Ibid., Act 10:47




7



THE REMISSION OF SIN SIGNIFIED BY BAPTISM
Controversies have arisen in theological circles around Peter’s statement in Acts 2:38,
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38, ESV)
16
, but as John B.
Polhill points out:
The connection of baptism with the forgiveness of sins in v. 38 has often been a matter
of controversy. A literal rendering of the verse runs: “Repent, and let each of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for/on the basis of the forgiveness of your sins.”
The disputed word is the preposition eis, which could indicate purpose and thus be
taken to mean that baptism is the prerequisite for the forgiveness of sins. There is
ample evidence in the New Testament, however, that eis can also mean on the ground
of, on the basis of, which would indicate the opposite relationship—that the
forgiveness of sins is the basis, the grounds for being baptized
17


A second verse in Acts seems to point in the same direction, indicating that sins are
washed away by baptism, but again this can be seen in the light of already forgiven sins being
symbolically washed away: "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away
your sins, calling on his name.’" (Acts 22:16, ESV)
18
. Interestingly, Howard H. Stern sees a
connection in this verse to the mikvah:
Immerse yourself, Greek baptisai; the verb is in the middle voice, which means that it
has reflexive force. If the word were in the passive voice here, “be immersed” would
be appropriate. Jewish practice in the mikveh, for proselyte baptism as well as for
other ritual purifications, is self-immersion, in contrast with the common present-day
Christian baptismal practice of being immersed by someone else.
19



16
Ibid., Act 2:38

17
John B. Polhill, vol. 26, Acts, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1992), 117.

18

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Act 22:16.

19
David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary (Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications,
Inc., 1989), 307.



8



Regardless of any apparent linkage to Jewish tradition, much discussion among the
various Christian denominations centers on whether or not baptism actually imparts grace and
therefore the remission of sins. In one of the views on this topic, the Roman Catholic tradition
states:
Baptism should be administered to infants. The reason for this is that the Catholic
Church believes that baptism is necessary for salvation, and that the act of baptism
itself causes regeneration. Therefore, in this view, baptism is a means whereby the
church bestows saving grace on people.
20


The Protestant Paedobaptist view does not attach a saving grace to the child’s baptism,
but rather states that it is based on three key understandings from Scripture: 1) infants were
circumcised in the Old Covenant, 2) baptism is parallel to circumcision, and 3) household
baptisms are described in Scripture.
21

The final view, which is that of believer’s baptism administered to those of an age at
which it is evident that they are cognizant of the grace imparted on them with the remission of
their sins through their faith in the sacrificial and redeeming death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ, seems to satisfy the Scriptures by far the most. It also most clearly depicts baptism as
an outward symbol of the remission of sins. R. C. Sproul states the following about baptism:
It’s a sign of our participation in Jesus, of being partakers in his death and
resurrection, which are at the heart of the gospel. It’s also a sign of our cleansing from
sin and guilt by the work of Jesus and the washing of regeneration. What we do
outwardly with water, the Spirit does inwardly with his grace. So it’s a sign of our
cleansing. It’s also a sign of our sanctification. It’s a sign of our baptism of the Holy
Spirit. It’s a sign of our being set apart from the world and given the holy task to fulfill
the commission that Christ gives to his church.
22


20
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 971.

21
Grudem, 975.

22
R.C. Sproul, Now, That’s a Good Question (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996), 340.



9



Baptism as a sign for the remission of sins is probably best summarized with Norman
L. Geisler’s words who expresses a summary view of baptism in one concise sentence:
“Repent and be baptized with a view to the forgiveness of sins.”
23


THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE IN ASSOCIATION WITH BAPTISM
The call for repentance at the end of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost is coupling
repentance and baptism for the first time. Typically, repentance in the New Testament links to
faith. However, in this Pentecost message Peter reached back and quoted Joel, forming a
strong appeal to the Hebrew Scriptures his audience would have been familiar with, an appeal
that involved the element of repentance. John B. Polhill writes:
The dominant idea in 2:38 thus seems to be repentance, with the other elements
following. Repentance leads to baptism, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the
Spirit. The essential response Peter called from the Jewish crowd is the complete
turnabout that comprises true repentance, to turn away from their rejection of the
Messiah and to call upon his name, receive baptism into his community, and share the
gift of the Spirit they had just witnessed so powerfully at work in the Christians at
Pentecost.
24


A Jewish audience would have easily understood the call to repentance. Had not their
Scriptures told them in many places to repent and turn from their evil ways? The words of the
prophet Ezekiel were well known to them:
"“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,
declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be
your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and
make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

23
Norman, L Geisler, A Popular Survey of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), 132.

24
John B. Polhill, vol. 26, Acts, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1992), 117.




10



For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and
live.”" (Ezekiel 18:30-32, ESV OT Rev. Int.)
25


Again, the elements of Peter’s speech regarding repentance in the light of baptism can
thus only be understood in the cultural background of his Pentecost listeners. To them, the
connection to turn and be made clean after becoming spiritually unclean, was a clear one. As
Robert L. Webb states regarding practices of immersion described in the Qumran
community’s texts, “the candidate’s prior state of uncleanness caused by sin can be cleansed
only by an immersion accompanied by the proper spiritual virtues”.
26

FAITH AS THE BASIS OF BAPTISM
Two key passages in the book of Acts indicate that Luke’s understanding as depicted
in his writing connected faith very clearly to baptism. It should be added that the first passage
is not part of many of our translations, but rather delivers what “appears to be the oldest
extant instance of profession of faith in connection with baptism is provided by the so-called
Western text of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles”.
27
In Acts 8:37, Philip says “If you
believe with all your heart, you may”, to which the Ethiopian eunuch replies “I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
28
In Acts 18:8, we are told that Crispus, the ruler of the

25
Chip McDaniel and C. John Collins. The ESV English-Hebrew Reverse Interlinear Old Testament, Logos
Research Systems, Inc., 2006; 2006.

26
R.L. Webb, "John's Baptizing Activity in the Context of First-Century Judaism." Forum 2, no. 1 (/ 1999): 99-
123. New Testament Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed February 12, 2009), 107.

27
P. F. Bradshaw, "The Profession of Faith in Early Christian Baptism." Ecclesia Orans 23, no. 3 (/ 2006): 337-
355. New Testament Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed February 12, 2009), 102.

28
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982, Acts 8:37.




11



synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household and was then baptized
with many other Corinthians who had believed upon hearing Paul.
29

John Bligh states that “the rite does not simply complete the process of justification by
faith; it becomes in turn a part of the content of faith”.
30
Of course, this profession of faith
created problems for the neophyte from a Jewish background, as their newfound faith may
have had social implications, much similar to the experience of proselytes from Muslim
backgrounds who take their faith underground in order to avoid severe ramifications, even
ending in death for some who are found out. Regarding the Jewish converts, Bligh adds:
Jewish Christians in Paul’s day may have thought it sufficient to keep their Baptism
as a secret in their own hearts and to continue attendance at the synagogue as a social
obligation.
31


RECIPIENTS OF BAPTISM – ADULTS, CHILDREN, WHO?
Baptism, much like the mikvah for the Jews, was not limited to one gender or one
group of people. The mikvah requirement was placed on those in the community who had
reached the Bar Mitzvah age. However, upon examination of the text in Acts and in some
other passages of the New Testament, theologians arrive at one of two opinions on the topic
of infants and children who have not yet reached a level of spiritual consciousness and
understanding. Some of the various views have already been discussed above in the section
The Remission of Sin Signified by Baptism. However a look at some of the key verses of Acts
sheds additional lights on who the recipients of baptism were in the early church.

29
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Acts 18:8.

30
John Bligh, “Baptismal Transformation of the Gentile World.” The Heythrop Journal 37, no. 3 (/ 1996): 371-
381. University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2265.1996.tb00838.x (accessed
February 12, 2009), 374.

31
Ibid., 380.




12



In Acts 2:38, Peter addresses the men of Israel as the initial target of the gospel
message. Acts 8:38 finds Philip witnessing to an Ethiopian eunuch, certainly a God-fearer on
his way back from a pilgrimage. Interestingly, the eunuch would have fallen into two
categories of “unacceptable” in Jewish thinking. For one he was not a Jew but someone who
worshipped the God of Israel, and thus tolerated but not allowed beyond the Court of the
Gentiles at the temple in Jerusalem, but even more so because he was a castrated male, which
would have precluded him from temple service based on Deuteronomy 23:1. Yet, the fact that
Philip not only declares Jesus to be the Messiah based on the eunuch’s reading and
understanding of the book of Isaiah, but then baptizes him when he states his faith, shows that
God’s acceptance through Christ extends beyond the boundaries of being a Jew or, for that
matter, less than whole.
Acts 8:12 takes us into Samaria, home of a group of people who were despicable to
the Jews based on the intermarriage with Assyrian settlers after Shalmaneser laid siege against
the city of Samaria and conquered it. Yet also here the gospel is heard when Philip preaches
in Samaria, and both Samarian men and women are baptized.
In Acts 9:18, Saul’s change to Paul through the revelation of the risen Jesus Christ on
the road to Damascus culminates in Paul’s baptism. Again, the verse shows that God is
accepting even those that were deemed sinners before they put their faith in the God of Israel
and in the completed work of grace through Jesus.
Acts 10:47-48 points us to the conversion and baptism of Cornelius, a Roman
centurion who sought the Lord and in a vision was told to search for Peter. Peter’s testimony
of the gospel is literally interrupted by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the listening
Gentiles, who are then immediately baptized.



13



Acts 16:15 describes the baptism of Lydia of Thyatira, a woman and a God-fearer,
who hears Paul’s testimony and believes. She is baptized with her household, which could
indicate children as part of her household.
With regards to the question of infants being included in such household baptisms,
Wayne A. Grudem states:
The examples of household baptisms in the New Testament are really not decisive for
one position or another. When we look at the actual examples more closely, we see
that in a number of them there are indications of saving faith on the part of all of those
baptized. For example, it is true that the family of the Philippian jailer was baptized
(Acts 16:33), but it is also true that Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord to him
and to all that were in his house” (Acts 16:32). If the Word of the Lord was spoken to
all in the house, there is an assumption that all were old enough to understand the
word and believe it. Moreover, after the family had been baptized, we read that the
Philippian jailer “rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God” (Acts
16:34). So we have not only a household baptism but also a household reception of the
Word of God and a household rejoicing in faith in God. These facts suggest quite
strongly that the entire household had individually come to faith in Christ.
32


While a definitive consensus and position will not be achievable between the Christian
denominations, evidence seems to point to believer’s baptism, meaning a person has reached
an age at which he or she is able to express faith. More importantly, the texts referenced make
it clear that God has not excluded any member of the human family from coming to Him and
being baptized upon their profession of faith.

SPRINKLING OR IMMERSION?
In the example of the Ethiopian eunuch, baptism clearly involved immersion in a body
of water:
"And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water,
Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water,

32
Grudem, 978.



14



the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went
on his way rejoicing." (Acts 8:38-39, ESV)
33


Wayne A. Grudem again delivers key insights to us when he writes:
The practice of baptism in the New Testament was carried out in one way: the person
being baptized was immersed or put completely under the water and then brought back
up again. Baptism by immersion is therefore the “mode” of baptism or the way in
which baptism was carried out in the New Testament.
34


He continues to list several key reasons, for one, the Greek word used means in its
translation “to plunge, dip, immerse” an object in water. In addition, the language of several
key passages indicates that the baptism activities were in the water, not near the water.
Finally, the image of the believer’s union with Christ in death, burial and resurrection is best
understood in the symbolism of an immersion under water.
35

A look at ancient baptism practices also sheds light on the impact of immersion of the
believers to be baptized:
In the East, the baptized, having disrobed (that is, having put off the old human) was,
it seems, entirely immersed three times, while in the West candidates descended into
the basin to their knees and received a triple aspersion. . . .
. . . After emerging from the water naked and without shame, like Adam or Eve before
the Fall, and having been declared innocent, the newly-baptized put on a white-robe
that was worn until the following Sunday.
36


It is clear to see from this example how close this practice is to the Jewish practice of
mikvah immersions involving the various aspects of transitioning from an unclean to a clean
state. The similarities continue when comparing Jesus’ baptism as described in Mark 1:10,
where Jesus is described as “coming up out of the water” after his baptism.

33
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Act 8:38-39.

34
Grudem, 967.

35
Ibid..

36
Francois Bovon, "Baptism in the ancient church." Sewanee Theological Review
42, no. 4 (January 1, 1999): 429. http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed February 12, 2009), 433.



15



BAPTISM IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The final view of baptism as depicted in the book of Acts is the aspect of baptism in
the Holy Spirit. This is where indeed the strongest departure to the Old Testament practice of
mikvah is to be found. Jewish believers prior to Christ did not automatically receive the Holy
Spirit, but now all believers moving into the church age would receive the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit as they came to faith. Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort explain:
In the book of Acts the metaphor retains the initiatory significance given it by John the
Baptist. Acts 2:4 fulfills the promise of Acts 1:5. Since the outpouring of the Spirit
was seen as the mark of “the last days” (Is 44:3; Ez 39:29; Jl 2:28–29), it was by being
thus baptized in Spirit that the disciples began to experience the last days for
themselves (Acts 2:1–7, 18). Acts 11:17 speaks of Pentecost as the occasion when
they came to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Similarly the apostle Paul sees the gift of
the Spirit as the beginning of Christian experience (2 Cor 1:22; Gal 3:3), so that
“having the Spirit of Christ” is the defining mark of the Christian (Rom 8:9). By being
baptized in the Spirit, Cornelius and his friends received the forgiveness and salvation
that Peter promised them (Acts 10:43–45; 11:13–18).
37


The sequence of the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit begins with the promise of the
Holy Spirit by Jesus before his ascension in Acts 1:4-5:
"And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to
wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John
baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.”" (Acts 1:4-5, ESV)
38


This experience is described in Acts 2:1-4, when the disciples experienced tongues of
fire falling on them and giving them a supernatural ability to speak languages they were not
capable of speaking prior to Pentecost.

37
Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale reference library (Wheaton,
Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 147.

38
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version, Act 1:4-5.




16



On his travels to Ephesus, depicted in Acts 19:2-6, Paul met what he believed to be
fellow believers in Christ, but when he asked them about their conversion experience, he
quickly realized that they had been baptized by John and had not even heard about the Holy
Spirit yet. He re-baptized them in the name of Jesus, and as he was laying hands on them the
Holy Spirit indwelled them with a similar outcome as for the believers in Jerusalem.
As mentioned prior, in Acts 10: 44-48, Peter was still speaking to Cornelius and his
Gentile family and friends when the Holy Spirit came upon them. He then baptized them.
This indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all believers after Pentecost is what is truly new
in the church age. As R. C. Sproul states, referring to the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost:
He has not just poured out his Spirit upon the clergy, the priests, the prophets, or the
kings, but he has given his Spirit and gifted all one hundred and twenty. All of the
people of God now receive the Holy Spirit not only in regeneration, in rebirth, and in
indwelling but also in the gift of the ability to participate and function in the body of
Christ in Christ’s ministry.
39

CONCLUSION
Baptism, as depicted in the book of Acts, allowed the early believers, most of which
were Jews, to make a natural progression from the practices they knew from their ritualistic
mikvah immersions. The concept of clean and unclean was clearly established in the pages of
the Hebrew Scriptures and could easily be transferred to an understanding of sin and
forgiveness, especially since the Hebrew prophets had already spoken of these themes
centuries before this first century of the church age.
For 21
st
century believers, especially those who might seek to minister to Jewish
people, it is therefore critical to understand the background of Jewish traditions. As with most

39
Sproul, 64.




17



other Christian practices, baptism has its forerunner in a Jewish practice, the mikvah
observance.
It is equally important, however, to know the critical differences we now experience as
believers in the church age, in particular the Holy Spirit’s indwelling of every believer. We
need to be able to also convey this meaning clearly to those we seek to minister to.
To say it with Paul: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”



18



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The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.



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Ouaknin, Marc-Alain. Symbols of Judaism. New York, NY: Assouline Publishing, 2000.

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Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1992.

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