How did the first Christians understand Baptism?

The grilled salmon smoldered on his plate as Andy and his family sat down for dinner. Not before they crossed themselves to bless the food, the bell rang. Andrew got up himself to answer the door as the family began to eat.

Two smiling faces appeared in the doorway. “Good evening, we hope not to interrupt your dinner.” Rolling his eyes, Andy replied, “Can I help you?The first smiling face said, “We are from the local Baptist Church and we are stopping by to see if you have been born again.”

Andy had been Catholic all his life and remembered hearing the phrase somewhere in the past, but at that moment he hesitated. “Well, hmm! I’m Catholic.” The second smiling face showed a sign of joviality. “Can you come and share the Gospel with us?” Andy exclaimed, “Right now we’re in the middle of dinner maybe another time.” “Okay,” the Baptists said delightedly, “how about next Tuesday night?” Andy took a breath and said “okay.”

Sitting down with the cold salmon, he realized he had a lot of work to do. After dinner he retired to his home, took his Bible and his catechism and got to work. Take a few minutes and study alongside Andy as he prepares for Tuesday’s visit and the inevitable debate of the well-worn phrase “born again.” Andy began by reading the third chapter of the gospel of Saint John. Open your Bible and read alongside Andy.

Andy began his mission with a barrage of questions. Is the phrase “born again” found in the Bible (John 3:3)? Does the Catechism mention the “new birth” (CCC 720, 591)? To understand this, Andy thought about Nicodemus. What does Nicodemus and his legalistic system represent (Rom. 7:5-6; CCC 1963)? Can Jewish law bring a new birth and salvation? Will being born from Abram’s seed be enough for salvation (Matt. 3:8-9; John 8:33-47)? What is Jesus bringing to humanity (Hebr. 9:15; 12:24, Luke 22:20; CCC 292)?

After thinking about Abram, Andy concluded that Jesus’ teachings were obviously based on the pages of the Old Testament which Nicodemus must have known well. How did the Old Testament explain the approach of the New Covenant (Ez 35:25-27; Jer 31:31-34)? How might Ez 37:1-10 have described the New Covenant (CCC 71 5)?

Afterwards, Andy searched for the origin of this new birth and what it meant. Who effects this birth from above (John 1:12-13; CCC 505, 526)? The Greek word for “born again” is “anothen” which can be defined as “born from above.” How did Nicodemus misunderstand Jesus’ use of the word “anothen” in verse 4? What two elements are necessary to “enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5)? Is faith necessary (CCC 505)? Does Jesus proclaim “faith alone” as the means of bringing about the new birth? What does Jesus mean by “born of water and the Spirit”? (Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 3:20-21; CCC 720, 1215, 1225, 1257; see also Acts 2:38; 22:16). What was the result of this birth from above (2 Cor. 5:17; CCC 1214)?

Who was the father of the Jewish leaders (John 8:44; CCC 2852)? Did our first parents incur death by acting on the word of Satan; we are begotten again by listening to which word (1 Pet. 1:23; CCC 1228, 2769)? What is our natural state (Eph. 2:1-4)? What does God provide for us (John 1:12-13; 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:17; CCC 1214)? What different births does Jesus contrast in verse 6? Why is the Church called our Mother (CCC 507)? Is baptism necessary for salvation (1 Pet. 3:21; CCC 846; 1257)? Andy knew that the Baptists would ask about the thief on the cross – was the thief not baptized?” (Luke 23:39-43; CCC 1258-1260) Did the Jews circumcise their infants as a sign and entry into the Old Covenant (Gen. 17:6-14; Luke 2:21; CCC 1150)? In the New Covenant, what takes the place of circumcision (Col. 2:11-13; CCC 527)?

Andy wondered if context would help explain Jesus’ words about “the water and the Spirit.” He discovered that being “born from above” clearly referred to baptism by the very context and structure of the text. What had just happened to Jesus—something still fresh in everyone’s minds (Matt. 3:16; Jn 1:31-32)? How were “the water” and “the Spirit” involved in this recent event (Gen. 1:1-2). Andy discovered something at the end of the dialogue that confirmed his intuition about the context. What did Jesus do immediately after speaking with Nicodemus (John 3:22-26; 4:1)? How did Andy conclude that this structure confirmed the new birth that came through baptism?

Andy expected Baptists to resist the historic, Catholic teaching of baptismal regeneration. He wondered how Protestants re-interpreted this passage. The study showed that some reduce “water” to semen, or the amniotic fluids that accompany natural birth. Andy chuckled, admittedly this was wishful thinking with no biblical basis or precedent in Jewish thought. Others claim that “the water” and “the Spirit” are synonyms, as in “the water, equal to the Spirit.” These novel interpretations seemed like recent attempts to reject Catholic conclusions.

He found that the Protestant commentator RVG Tasker agreed, “In light of the reference to Jesus’ practice of water baptism in verse 22, it is difficult to explain the words “of water and of the Spirit” together, and to consider them as a description of Christian baptism, in which purification and the obtaining of the gifts are essential elements” (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to Saint John [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publ., 1977], 4:71).

Because Martin Luther had initiated the Protestant break with the Catholic Church, Andy took a look at Luther. What he found surprised him. “Here [John 3:5] Christ is speaking of baptism, of real, natural water like that which the cow drinks…. Here Christ also speaks of the Holy Spirit and teaches us to see baptism as spiritual water, yes, water filled with the Spirit, in which the Holy Spirit is present and active…And then the person who has been baptized is said to be born again…..In this passage Christ declares that anyone who is not born again of water and the Holy Spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God. This is why God’s words defy any attempt at alteration. Of course, we know well that baptism is natural water. But that the Holy Spirit is added to it, we have more than just water. It becomes a true bath of rejuvenation, a living bath that washes and purges man from sin and death, that washes him from all sin” (“Sermons on the Gospel of St. John”, Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan [St. Louis, MO:Concordia Publ. House, 1957], 22:283).

Andy looked back at his notes and felt he was ready to share his discovery with his Baptist visitors. Would I be nervous? No, with proper preparation he was confident. For the first time he understood that “being born again” was the result of baptism. From now on, when a friendly Baptist asked Andy if he was born again, he would smile and confidently exclaim, “You can be sure of that!” He would then ask them to open their Bibles to John 3:5 and then…

* * *

Finally, let’s see what the first Christians, recognized as teachers throughout the Church of antiquity, thought:

Saint Justin Martyr (c. 100-c. 165), “They have then been brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same way in which we ourselves are regenerated [reborn]: in the name of God the Father…and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing of water. Christ said, ‘Unless you are born again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven’…The reason for doing this, we have learned from the apostles.” (The First Apology 1:61) (Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson [Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdmans, 1985], 1:183).

Saint Theophilus of Antioch (died c. 185 AD), who first coined the word “Trinity,” writes, “Those things that were created from water [Gen. 1] were blessed by God, so this may be a sign that man would at a future time receive repentance and absolution of his sins through water and the bath of regeneration.” (A Autolycus 2, 16) (William Jurgens, The Faith of the First Fathers [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1970], 1:175).

Origen (c. 185-c. 254) “The Church received from the apostles the tradition [custom] of giving baptism even to infants. For the apostles, to whom the secrets of the divine mysteries were entrusted, knew that there is in each one the innate stain of sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit.” (Commentary on Romans 5:9) (Jurgens, The Faith of the First Fathers, 1:209).

Saint Augustine (AD 354-430) “Who is so evil to want to exclude infants from the kingdom of heaven by prohibiting them from being baptized and being born again in Christ?”(Pecc. Merit. 3, 6, 12)(Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publ., 1971], 5:244).“This [infant Baptism] the Church has always had, maintained; this she received through the faith of our ancestors; this she perseveringly defends to the end.” (Sermon 11, De Verb Apost) (Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Charles Herbermann, et al, [New York: Robert Appleton, 1907], 2:270).

Author: Steve Ray

Translator: Roberto Linares

Source: Apologetica.org