There are two main sources that shed light on the meaning or meanings of baptism for the early church: the New Testament (first century) and the writings of the First Fathers from the second and third centuries. These two sources enable us to know how the ancients understood baptism and how they practiced it. In the following topic, we will mention infant baptism in particular.
In the New Testament, we find that Christian baptism is baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire,” in which the Holy Spirit descends on the baptized person (Acts 1:8); While the baptism of John the Baptist is baptism with water for repentance (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; Acts 2:39). Christian baptism is “birth of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3,5), “birth from above,” without which no one can see the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). It is “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). In Christian baptism, we are buried with Christ, until we are raised with him just as the ancient was raised with Christ in baptism (Romans 6: 3-6), because through baptism “we put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27), it is the entrance to a new life or “newness of life” (Romans 6: 3-6). 6: 3-6).
Also, through Christian baptism, we become members of the body of Christ, which is the church (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:4), so all Christians become equal brothers in Christ and members of one body by one spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Christian baptism replaced Jewish circumcision, as it is the circumcision of Christ, not made by hands, which takes off the body (sins) of humanity (Col 2:11).
Christian baptism brings salvation (1 Peter 3:18), and the washing and forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16; Acts 2:38). This is why Christian baptism is an article of faith, and it is one and not repeated: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:4).
From here we understand the necessity of Christian baptism for Christians: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). That is why baptism was performed as soon as possible after acceptance of the faith by adults (Acts 8:36; 9:18; 10:44; 16:33; 18:8). It was not limited to adults only, but rather to “all the household” of adults who accept the Christian faith (Acts 11:14; 16:15; 16:33; 18:8), because the promise is to all believers and to their children (Acts 2:29). (1).
Regarding the writings of the first fathers about baptism and its meanings, we mention here Saint Justin Martyr (second century AD), who mentions a description of Christian baptism that has become famous. He finds authority for its use in Isaiah 1:16-20, “Wash yourselves, purify yourself, etc.,” and in John 3:5, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, etc.” The main points he makes are that baptism is a washing with water in the name of the Trinity and has the effects of being born again for the forgiveness of sins; It is enlightenment (First Defense, Chapter 61). In his dialogue with the Jew Tryphon, he says that Christian baptism is “the bath of repentance and knowledge of God.” (2)And living water, which alone can purify the repentant, and which, being baptism with the Holy Spirit, is parallel in a way to the washing of the Jews. Baptism is a ritualization not only of the body but also of the soul (Dialogue with Tryphon, Chapter 14). He points out that baptism is circumcision (*) Spiritual, and the unique gateway to the forgiveness of sins prophesied by Isaiah (Dialogue with Tryphon, Chapter 43).
The Document of the Twelve Men (beginning of the second century) states that Christian baptism takes place in the name of the Holy Trinity (7:1), and that the Holy Eucharist is only offered to the baptized (9:5), indicating that baptism is the sacrament of becoming members of the body of Christ, i.e. the Church. Also in baptism there is “one Spirit of grace poured out upon us” according to Clement (30-100?), and this clearly lies behind the description of baptism as “the seal” or “the seal of the Son of God,” which the baptized must keep unstained according to the Epistle of Clement. The second and the work of the Shepherd of Hermas (end of the first century - second century). According to Hermas, we go into the water “dead” and emerge “alive”; We receive a white robe, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The Epistle of Barnabas (circa 100 AD) mentions the presence of silhouettes of Christian baptism and the Holy Cross in the Old Testament, and that Christian baptism leads to the forgiveness of sins (Chapter 11). It emphasizes the forgiveness of sins; We enter the waters burdened and polluted by our transgressions, and we emerge “bearing fruits in our hearts, and having fear and hope in Jesus in the spirit.” The Spirit is God Himself residing in the believer, and the resulting life is a re-creation. He says before baptism, our heart was inhabited by demons. Saint Ignatius of Antioch (1st-2nd century) adopted this idea, pointing out that baptism gives us weapons for our spiritual warfare. (3).
Theophilus of Antioch (4) Baptism is presented as granting forgiveness of sins and being born again; It is believed that the creation of living creatures from water on the fifth day of creation is only a symbol of it. As for Saint Irenaeus (120-202), Bishop of Lyons, he describes baptism as “the seal of eternal life and our rebirth in God, so that we are no longer only children of mortal men, but also children of the immortal and eternal God.” (5). It nourishes the soul and body together and bestows the spirit (holiness) as a pledge of resurrection. He says: “We were baptized into forgiveness in the name of God the Father, and in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was incarnate, died, and rose again, and (in the name of) the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, baptism is the seal of eternal life and new birth in God.” Through it we are washed, the Spirit is given to us, and we receive “the image of the heavenly.”
In the third century, Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215) spoke of baptism as a grantor of rebirth, enlightenment, divine sonship, immortality, and forgiveness of sins. And he explains (6) That sonship is the result of rebirth brought about by the Holy Spirit. Baptism imprints a seal that is in fact the Holy Spirit, the image of God; The indwelling Holy Spirit is the “shining seal” of the Christian’s membership in Christ (7). As for the scholar Origen (185-254), he says: (8) In baptism, the Christian is united with Christ in his death and resurrection (9). It is the unique means of obtaining forgiveness of sins. It frees us from the power of Satan and makes us members of the Church, the body of Christ (10). He stresses the necessity of infant baptism.
Tertullian (160-220) describes the effects of baptism: “When the soul comes to faith and becomes transformed by being born again by water and by power from above, it reveals, after casting off the old veil of corruption, its full light. and is accepted into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; The body follows the soul, which is united with the Holy Spirit.”
This is the theology of baptism and its meanings in the New Testament and the Church Fathers of the second and third centuries. As for the Church Fathers in the following centuries, especially the fourth (John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, etc.), they expanded in explaining the theology of baptism, its meanings, and its effects mentioned above (there is no room for expansion here). So, the theology of baptism in the New Testament and among the Church Fathers is the same as the theology of baptism in the Orthodox and Catholic churches. While the concept of baptism among the Protestant groups in its forms and colors is, unfortunately, very far from the previous vision and contradicts baptism as the Church knew it in the days of the New Testament. For Protestants, baptism is merely a symbol of accepting Christ and the believer becoming a Christian. It has nothing to do with the second, new, or spiritual birth, nor with the forgiveness of sins, or with the Holy Spirit descending upon the baptized person. Therefore, Protestant baptism in the Orthodox sense is a baptism of water and not a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. The Protestant concept betrays the New Testament first and the faith of the Church second and has no biblical, patristic, historical, scientific, or, or, basis. Unfortunately, Protestant Bible scholars are trying to analyze the New Testament verses regarding baptism in a way that is consistent with their theology and not in an objective way. (11). Faith is their foundation and the sacraments are symbols, as if Christ took on a human soul without a body, and as if the Church is a spiritual, non-human body of which we are members. It is a theoretical rejection of the reality of the incarnation. Christ took on a body and established the sacraments in which were water, bread, wine, oil, and…. Why do they reject the material that was sanctified in the body of Jesus? Despite this, how do these people explain the correctness of their interpretation of baptism in the Protestant sense and make the New Testament and the Church Fathers wrong throughout the ages?! Who among the Church Fathers said that Christian baptism is merely symbols and that it is not the second birth and does not forgive sins, etc.?! If someone says something close to this, the Church rejects his teaching because it is not the teaching of the Church that is accepted in every place and time by everyone.
Therefore, when examining the studies of biblical scholars on baptism, we must distinguish between the ecclesiastical background of each of them and compare the results of his studies with the theology of baptism in the early church. For example, but not limited to, there are two books before me, each entitled “Baptism in the New Testament.” The author of the first book is a very respected Bible scholar and Protestant, Oscar Coleman (12). Author of the second book (13) A very eminent Bible scholar and Protestant (Baptist), GR Beasley-Murray. Therefore, the first and second are equal in terms of scientific and faith classification in principle. But whoever reads the two books will easily conclude that infant baptism, according to the New Testament, was practiced in the days of the New Testament according to the study of Professor Coleman, and was not practiced in the days of the New Testament according to the study of the second author! Both studies are based on the Bible. From here we conclude that the texts of the Bible alone are often not enough, and one must resort to the teachings of the Church throughout the ages. And the study of the history of church doctrines in the early ages of the church at the hands of distinguished Protestant historians such as Philip Schaff. (14) And JND Kelly (mentioned above) and others show that the theology of baptism as understood by the early, subsequent and current Church and as it was practiced and as understood in the New Testament is the same theology that we find in the Orthodox and Catholic Church. Any teaching that contradicts this teaching is human teaching that is contrary to the Bible and to the Church of Christ, his holy body. The apostles founded a church, handed down teachings to it, and imitated its uses. The use of the church is what explains the New Testament. Unity in Orthodoxy is based on the march of history. Protestant evangelism is based on the omission of history and freedom of interpretation. Everyone sings on Layla because the Holy Spirit does not exist in them as it exists in the continuity of Orthodoxy. The church is one Orthodox. While every Protestant considers himself the church, they have become millions of churches. They dispersed, dispersed, melted, and are not a church.
A final word before concluding with references. We mentioned that baptism is an article of the Christian faith (and there is only one baptism for the absolution of sins), and it is one and not repeated (just like physical birth). Therefore, the apostolic churches do not re-baptize those coming to them from non-apostolic church groups as long as their baptism takes place in the name of the Holy Trinity. This is the general rule with exceptions (even in the Orthodox Church). What concerns me is not the discussion of the necessity or non-re-baptism of non-Orthodox Christians and those coming to the Orthodox Church, but rather the necessity of paying attention to a very important element in evaluating re-baptism. The condition of baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity alone is never sufficient to accept such baptism, because there are quite a few religious groups that believe in the Trinity in a way different from the Christian apostolic faith. For example: Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but they do not believe in the Holy Trinity, one God in three persons (see the heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses). It's the same with Mormons. Also, the last point for discussion here is: If baptism is a matter of faith, and not just a symbolic ritual, then the nature of the faith of those performing it must be taken into account, which is very necessary in evaluating its validity.
Finally, for further expansion on this topic, I refer the honorable reader here to the previously mentioned references, in addition to two studies on infant baptism. (15)This is in addition to the writings of the Church Fathers on baptism (John Chrysostom, for example), which are very abundant.
About the book: You asked me and I answered you
Q 106
Dr.. Adnan Trabelsi
(1) See also the Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Dar Al-Mashreq Publications, item “Baptism,” p. 754.
(2) Dialogue with Tryphon 14:1 and 29:1.
(*) See also the book “Baptism of Infants” by Father Munif Homsi... (the network)
(3) JND Kelly: Early Christian Doctrines; Harper San Francisco, 1978, pp. 193-4.
(4) Ad Autol. 2, 16.
(5) Dem. 3.
(6) Excerpta Theod. 86, 2.
(7) Strom. 4, 18, 116.
(8) Home. In Ierem. 19, 14.
(9) Exhort. Ad Mart. 30.
(10) Home. In exodus, 5m 5; 8, 5.
(11) In the “Dictionary of the Bible,” written by “an elite of specialized professors and theologians,” as the book says, under the supervision of the Association of Evangelical Churches in the Middle East (sixth edition, 1981, Beirut), and under the letter “Ayn” by Professor Anis Sayegh, we find this “dictionary” talking about Baptism is as follows: “He (Jesus) made baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity a sign of cleansing from sin and impurity and of officially belonging to the Church of Christ... However, baptism is not in itself a reason for regeneration, rebirth, and salvation. For example, Neilius, for example, had the Holy Spirit descend upon him and he accepted faith before he was baptized (Acts 10:44-48). Simon the sorcerer was baptized, yet he remained an old man and sinned in the eyes of the Lord (Acts 8:13, 21-22). Unfortunately, we find such false talk. In a book that is supposed to be a “dictionary of the Bible,” it contains a dictionary of Protestant theology that has no relation to either the Bible or the New Testament Apostolic Church. What is more dangerous than this is that this dictionary suggests to the reader that what he is reading in it is the teaching of the Bible and the teaching of the Christian Church, while it is completely contrary to them. It is no wonder since the writer of this section of the dictionary imagines baptism as a magical act after which a person cannot make a mistake!
(12) Oscar Cullmann: Baptism in the New Testament, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1950.
(13) GRBeasley-Murray: Baptism in the New Testament, Eerdmans Publication Co,. Michigan, USA, 1990.
(14) Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Eerdmans Co., Michigan.
(15) Joachim Jeremias: Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries, The Westminster Press, 1960 & Kurt Aland: Did the Early Church Baptize?, The Westminster Press, 1963.
