House Church Talk - Baptising with water Baptized with Christ

[Ross J Purdy]

The thread subject says "Baptising with water" but seems to be more about
"meetings" instead. Anyway, the gist of the Baptism part implies that
Baptism was done only with water. I have a book listing twelve different
baptisms in Scripture of which most but not all involved water, and in
Noah's case, he was baptized in the flood but never got wet! In the New
Testament we have John the Baptist baptizing with water for the remission of
sins, as well as, both his and Christ's disciples baptizing. Then we have
the coming of the Comforter/HS with which saints were baptized and we could
say that Christ was the baptizer. Then there is the baptism of fire along
with the HS at pentecost. Then we learn from Paul of the HS baptizing the
new believer and thereby sealing the saint into Christ. This last baptism is
not experienced by us and is fully accomplished by God. The HS is the
baptizer and identification with Christ is the medium. This is the "one
baptism" of Eph 4 and it is my conviction that it is the only valid baptism
for this present dispensation/administration of God.

In Christ,
Ross Purdy


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Woodford" <bwood4d at hotmail.com>
To: <House Church Talk  at housechurch.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 11:13 PM
Subject: RE: House Church Talk -  Baptising with water


> Hi Ted,
> You wrote:"Brother Bruce, I am a little puzzled by your comment:That
> Christians meet in homes is certainly never commanded, but neither is
water
> as the medium for baptism of believers! But there are more scriptural
> examples of the former than the latter!
> I will have to agree that nowhere in the new testament have I read "Thou
> must use water for baptising believers", however there are several
instances
> where water was the medium used, and I have noted no other medium being
used
> such as wine or olive oil.  Although the Greek word baptizo means to dip,
> plunge, submerge or immerse, it does not specify water.  However in my
> limited studies, all instances of baptism that I have noted in the New
> Testament involved a body of water large enough to submerge a human body."
>
> You then cited: Mat thew 3:13-16; Acts 10:47; Mark 1:8; John:1:26,33; and
> Acts 8:36-38
>
> Then you concluded:"It appears that the frequent use of the word water,
and
> no reference (to my knowledge) to the use of any other fluid medium for
> baptism, leaves little doubt in my mind that the Lord intended for us to
use
> water. I humbly yeild to your greater knowledge of the scriptures.  Please
> enlighten me a little more for the basis of your statement so that I might
> have a better understanding."
>
> O.K. but I think you have already explained pretty well where I was coming
> from!
>
> Just as the medium of baptism is not mentioned in every case of baptism in
> scripture, the meeting place of Christians is not mentioned in every
> reference to church gatherings.
>
> Just as water is often mentioned as the medium of baptisms performed by
men,
> houses are often mentioned as the meeting place of churches when believers
> gather together.
>
> You have also noted that for baptisms performed by men, no other medium
but
> water is ever recorded in scripture.
>
> But there are other venues for church gatherings mentioned in scripture:
the
> temple court in Jerusalem, a school in Ephesus.  The reason why these
larger
> venues were used is because there are two distinct kinds of church
meetings
> in scripture:
> (1)The most common kind of church meeting is the small group meeting
> together for personal, face-to-face interaction and mutual ministry one to
> another. This is the kind of gatherings that met in homes.
> (2)The other kind of church meeting which was common in the first century
> but is almost non-existent today because of denominationalism and
> sectarianism, is the large city-wide "whole church together in one place"
> kind of gathering.
>
> Both kinds are seen in Acts 2:46, but other examples of whole church
> gatherings in one place are found in Acts 6:1-7; Acts 15; Romans 16:23 and
I
> Cor.14:23-40 (the regulations for whole church gatherings in one place)
>
> Just as you have rightly concluded that there is little doubt that God
> intends people to be baptized in water, you can also conclude on the same
> basis that there is little doubt that God intends for churches (the small
> church gatherings in which believers  break bread, fellowship with one
> another, pray for one another, bear one another's burdens, provoke one
> another unto love and good works, exhort one another and edify one another
> etc) to gather in peoples' homes.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Your brother in Christ,
> Bruce
>
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