(Sunday, June 23, 2013, 1:04 PM)
Baptism of Neophytes by Masaccio, 15th century, Brancacci Chapel, Florence
Everybody knows (more or less) what Christian Baptism is ...
... or do they?
Let's see what the dictionary says, what Wikipedia says, and what the Catholic Encyclopedia says.
• Baptism: (n.) 1. A religious sacrament marked by the symbolic application of water to the head or immersion of the body into water and resulting in admission of the recipient into the community of Christians. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)
• Baptism: (from the Greek noun βάπτισμα baptisma; itself derived from βαπτισμός baptismos, washing[2]) is a Christian rite of admission (or adoption[3]), almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally[4] and also a particular church tradition. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. In some traditions, baptism is also called christening,[5][6] but for others the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants.[7] (Wikipedia)
• Baptism: "Holy Baptism holds the first place among the sacraments, because it is the door of the spiritual life; for by it we are made members of Christ and incorporated with the Church." (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Aspects of Baptism that are mentioned are "cleansing of sins", "following Jesus in his path of death and resurrection".
Does any of the above catch the essence? Not really. A much better approach is to look at the Greek origin of "to baptize".
Baptism of Neophytes by Masaccio, 15th century, Brancacci Chapel, Florence
Everybody knows (more or less) what Christian Baptism is ...
... or do they?
Let's see what the dictionary says, what Wikipedia says, and what the Catholic Encyclopedia says.
• Baptism: (n.) 1. A religious sacrament marked by the symbolic application of water to the head or immersion of the body into water and resulting in admission of the recipient into the community of Christians. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)
• Baptism: (from the Greek noun βάπτισμα baptisma; itself derived from βαπτισμός baptismos, washing[2]) is a Christian rite of admission (or adoption[3]), almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally[4] and also a particular church tradition. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. In some traditions, baptism is also called christening,[5][6] but for others the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants.[7] (Wikipedia)
• Baptism: "Holy Baptism holds the first place among the sacraments, because it is the door of the spiritual life; for by it we are made members of Christ and incorporated with the Church." (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Aspects of Baptism that are mentioned are "cleansing of sins", "following Jesus in his path of death and resurrection".
Does any of the above catch the essence? Not really. A much better approach is to look at the Greek origin of "to baptize".
βαπτίζω (baptizō - G907) 1) to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk) 2) to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe 3) to overwhelm
"This word should not be confused with baptô (911).
The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from
the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a
recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words.
Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first
be 'dipped' (baptô) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizô)
in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables
in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of
baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change."
We are now getting closer to the essence: to be baptized "into the name" (Greek: eis to onoma) of the Lord Jesus Christ means to become essentially his, part of his body, his Church.
But there is another important aspect, about the expression "into the name":
• "(5) The phrase eis (to) onoma tinos is frequent in the papyri with reference to payments made "to the account of any one" ... (J.H. Moulton and George Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, 1914, page 451)
• "Through baptism eis to onoma tinos
those who are baptized become the possession of and come under the
dedicated protection of the one whose name they bear."
(Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000, page 713)
In conclusion, to be baptized "into the name of the Lord Jesus" (see Acts, e.g. Acts 19:5)
means to chose him as Lord of one's life. This must be seen, in
particular, in the context of the baptism of heathens, who, through
baptism, renounced any allegiance to demons, and chose Jesus instead.
How about the "trinitarian baptismal formula" ("... baptizing them in the name [eis to onoma] of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ...", Matt 28:19)?
Well, NOWHERE in the NT do we find any example of its application ...
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