What is Baptism?
Baptism is a religious ceremony that was first administered by John the Baptist, approved by Christ’s submission to it, and established as an ordinance of the Christian Church. Baptism is administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19) and symbolizes the regeneration of the believer and the washing away of their sins through their identification with Christ’s saving work. (1 Peter 3:21) It is a public profession of faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and the first step of faith and obedience for a convert.
Connection to the Jewish Custom of Tvilah
Christian baptism is a revision of Tvilah customs. The Tvilah were ritual washings that were done by Jews to remove ritual impurity. The Tvilah was preferred to be done in sources of fresh water such as springs, or what the Jews referred to in Hebrew as “Living Waters.” (ie flowing freshwater) If no spring water was accessible at the moment then one could be immersed in a clean river, stream, or tub filled with clean water. The Tvilah was also to be performed when one converted to Judaism.
How Christ Gave New Meaning to the Tvilah
This custom was eventually adopted by Christianity because the Tvilah and ritual purity ultimately were reflections of Christ’s future work on the cross. Ritual impurity was instated as a reminder that we are impure because of sin. Although Tvilah immersion could remove the physical filth and ritual impurities such as touching a carcass or interacting with blood, it could never remove the filth of sin. The removal of a person’s physical filth was a foreshadowing of how Christ would eventually remove their spiritual filth. A truth of this image is this, you can never truly clean something, you can only make something else dirty. The springs of “living water” brought fresh clean water that would wash away the literal dirt of an individual at the expense of the waters becoming dirty themselves. This image pictures Christ, our living water, who, through His death, washed away our sins by taking them on Himself.
The Instruction to Baptize.
The command to baptize was given by Jesus alongside His command to preach the Gospel to all nations. (Matt 28:19) Apollos emphasizes the distinction between John’s baptism and Christian baptism. From this, we are able to more clearly define the spiritual significance of Christian baptism. (Acts 18:24-19:5)
The Meaning of the Word “Baptism”
The Greek verb used in the New Testament for baptize is (baptizo), which means “to immerse or dip.” In Greek, baptize can be used metaphorically, similar to English phrases such as “He was immersed in his cares,” or “He plunged into grief,” etc. However, in English the word is exclusively used in reference to the baptismal ceremony and its meaning outside of religion has been lost to the average individual.