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Everything We Need to Know about Water Baptism - Part Three of Four
Introduction
In this article we'll examine Ephesians 5:26, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 10:22, Galatians 3:27, 1 Peter 3:21, and John 3:5, which are often used for supporting the view that water baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. As we'll see, these passages do not support that view at all. Update on 07/06/2024: If everything at my website (VividChristianity.com) says what God wants it to say then He will confirm that for you by doing a miracle (if you're a Christian). When you see the miracle, it means that He wants you to believe everything in all of the articles at my website (including this article) and in my book. See my home page for the details. Ephesians 5:26, Titus 3:5, and Hebrews 10:22
Notice that these verses make a reference to "washing": "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:26)Sometimes people use the above verses to argue that the "washing" of baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. One problem with this view is that Bible scholars can't determine, and don't agree on, whether or not the above verses are referring to Christian water baptism, as in these examples: "With the washing of water - Baptism, accompanied by the purifying influences of the Holy Spirit." (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Ephesians 5:26, emphasis added)As two of the above quotes point out, the New Testament passages that refer to water baptism never describe baptism as a "washing" (in Part Two we saw that the apostle Peter specifically said that baptism is not about washing or removing dirt from the body). In fact, the idea of "washing" does not always imply the use of water. For example, notice how salvation is pictured in this verse: "I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14)In the above verse, people's robes were "washed" in the blood of Jesus (meaning that those people received forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus). Notice that the same thing is implied in the following verse: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:14)The following verse says that we were washed, sanctified, and justified by the Holy Spirit: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11)The above verse specifically says that we are washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit (not by water baptism). Notice that there's no mention of water and no mention of baptism in the above verses. With that in mind, take another look at Ephesians 5:26 in context: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)Notice that the above passage doesn't say that individual Christians have been baptized with water, but instead it says that the church has been cleansed "through the Word." The "washing with water" is not physical, but instead it's done by the living water of the Holy Spirit (John 4:9-14, 7:37-39). The above passage also says that all of the "stains," etc., have been washed away from the church. These stains and wrinkles and blemishes are not referring to our human bodies, but instead they are spiritual stains and wrinkles and blemishes. This is indicated by the fact that when these things are washed away by the Holy Spirit (through the process of sanctification), then the church is left "radiant" and "holy and blameless" (verse 27, above). The "washing" in the above passage is not external and physical; it's internal and spiritual. Similarly, in Titus 3:5 we can see that the "washing" is not external and physical; it's internal and spiritual: "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:4-6)In the above passage, notice that we receive the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (not by water baptism). It's a spiritual "washing," not a physical washing. Now notice Hebrews 10:22: "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)In Part Two we looked at the purpose for being baptized in water, which has nothing to do with washing our bodies, and throughout this series we'll see that we're never told that baptism must be done with pure water. Therefore, the above passage cannot be referring to water baptism because it doesn't correspond to any passage on baptism, as various Bible commentaries describe: "(having our bodies washed with pure water). The writer's words are probably an exhortation to lay hold consciously of the cleansing benefits of Christ's Cross and to draw near to God in enjoying them, putting away inward guilt and outward impurity. These verses approximate 1Jn 1:9." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, Hebrews 10:19-22)In Hebrews 10:22 (above), the Greek word for "washed" is the same word that's used when we're told that Jesus "washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Revelation 1:5 NKJV). This refers to a spiritual "washing" and not a physical washing, just as Ephesians 5:26 (above) and Titus 3:5 (above) are referring to a spiritual "washing" and not a physical washing. There's not a shred of scriptural evidence that any of those passages are referring to water baptism. Galatians 3:27
Some people say that we have not been "clothed with Christ" until we've been baptized in water, based on this verse: "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." (Galatians 3:27)Sometimes people assume that this verse is referring to water baptism, but Bible scholars are not in agreement on this point. Some scholars believe that Paul was talking about water baptism, and other scholars believe that he was referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as in these examples: "Gal 3:27 - As many of you as have been baptized into Christ - All of you who have believed in Christ as the promised Messiah, and received baptism as a public proof that ye had received Christ as your Lord and Savior, have put on Christ" (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Galatians 3:27, emphasis added)So Bible scholars have different opinions about whether Paul was referring to water baptism or whether he was referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and there's nothing in the context of Galatians 3:27 (above) that proves the issue one way or the other. Therefore, we can't honestly use this verse to prove that water baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation if we can't even prove that this verse is talking about water baptism in the first place. For the sake of discussion, let's assume that Galatians 3:27 (above) is referring to water baptism. When Paul spoke of being "clothed" with Christ in Galatians 3:27, some people make the assumption that this refers to salvation. But is that an accurate assumption? The Greek word for "clothed" in Galatians 3:27 is enduo, and Paul used this same Greek word when he told Christians to "clothe" themselves with Christ in Romans 13:14: "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves [enduo] with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Romans 13:12-14)The context of the above passage shows that Paul was writing to Christians, which means that he was writing to people who had already received salvation. In verse 14 (above), Paul told them to "clothe" themselves with Christ, using the same Greek word that he used in Galatians 3:27 (above). Since Paul was writing to people who had already received salvation, clearly being "clothed" with Christ does not mean receiving salvation. So we can't prove that Galatians 3:27 (above) is referring to water baptism, and we can't prove that it's referring to receiving salvation. Therefore, Galatians 3:27 (above) does not prove that water baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. 1 Peter 3:21
In this passage, the apostle Peter seems to be saying that baptism saves us: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:18-21)Peter said that Noah and his family were "saved through water" (1 Peter 3:20, above), so people sometimes argue that the water of baptism saves us just as the water of the Flood saved Noah (by lifting up the ark). But did the water of the Flood really save Noah? In Genesis 5:28-7:16 we find that Noah was not in any direct danger before the Flood. Therefore, he didn't need to be saved by the water of the Flood. The reason why God told him to build an ark was because he needed to be saved from the water of the Flood. The water of the Flood was not instrumental in saving Noah (as people sometimes claim) because the water was the very thing that Noah needed protection from. Noah was saved by being in the ark to escape the penalty for humankind's sins (Genesis 6:5-22). Notice that Noah was righteous and in the ark before the water of the Flood came: "The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation."" (Genesis 7:1)In a parallel way, a person is saved by being righteous and in Christ to escape the penalty for his or her sins: "and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:9)As we've seen throughout this series, we must be righteous and in Christ (i.e., we must be saved) before water baptism, just as Noah was righteous and in the ark before the water of the Flood came. So why did Peter say that Noah and his family were "saved through water" (1 Peter 3:20, above)? The word "through" in 1 Peter 3:20 comes from the Greek word dia, which means "after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause)...fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through (-out), to, wherefore, with (-in)" (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary). Because of the different meanings for this Greek word, Bible scholars have come up with various ways of translating 1 Peter 3:20. Most English Bibles use the word "through," but other Bible versions have tried to capture Peter's intended meaning in these ways: "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:20 KJV)We've seen that the water of the Flood was not the instrument of Noah's salvation because Noah needed to be saved from the water of the Flood. Therefore, it's more likely that Peter's meaning was that Noah was "brought safely through the water," as some of the above Bible versions have understood that verse. After all, no one can dispute that Noah was brought safely through the water of the Flood (Genesis 8:13-19). This is further confirmed when we closely examine the meaning of the word "saved" in 1 Peter 3:20 (above). Did Peter mean that Noah was "saved through water," or that Noah was "brought safely through the water"? The Greek word is diasozo, which means "bring safe, escape (safe), heal, make perfectly whole, save" (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary). Apart from 1 Peter 3:20, here's every place in the New Testament that uses this Greek word: "and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed [diasozo]." (Matthew 14:36)In the first two verses above, the Greek word diasozo is used in the sense of "heal." But in all of the other uses of this Greek word throughout the New Testament (above), it's used in the sense of being kept safe or brought safely somewhere. Therefore, Peter meant that Noah was "brought safely through the water" because this perfectly fits the typical usage of the Greek word diasozo throughout the New Testament. Another point of confusion is that when Peter said, "baptism that now saves you" in 1 Peter 3:21 (below), this sometimes gives people the impression that baptism saves us. However, Peter quickly explained that it's not the water of baptism that saves us, because the water simply removes some dirt from the body. He went on to explain that it's "the pledge of a good conscience" that saves us: "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge [eperotema] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21)As we saw in Part One, there was a question and answer process that was performed at the time of baptism in the first century, such as in this example: "So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him." (Acts 8:34-38 NKJV)Notice what happened in the above passage. Philip preached the Gospel to the eunuch, and then the eunuch asked to be baptized, so Philip prompted him for a confession of faith. The eunuch made a good response, then Philip baptized him. This is why water baptisms were done immediately after people believed in Jesus in the New Testament, because their belief and their pledge (that Peter mentioned in 1 Peter 3:21) fulfill the two conditions that Paul summarized in Romans 10:9-10: "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)Again, it's not the water of baptism that saves people. As my article called How to Receive Salvation explains in detail, what saves people is having proper faith in Jesus, which includes being willing to profess our faith in Him (as in the highlighted parts in the above passage), both of which took place just before a person was baptized in the New Testament. For all of these reasons, 1 Peter 3:21 does not support the view that baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. John 3:5
A Pharisee named Nicodemus visited Jesus one night. Here's what Jesus said to him: "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."" (John 3:5)What does "born of water" mean? One possibility is that it refers to the living water of the Holy Spirit (e.g., John 4:9-14, 7:37-39). However, this would mean that John 3:5 (above) says, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit," which is redundant. Another possibility is that it's a reference to our physical birth, because when a pregnant wife tells her husband, "My water has broken," this indicates that the process of birth has begun. A third possibility is that it's a reference to baptism, indicating that water baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. Here's John 3:5 in context: "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."" (John 3:1-18)Look carefully at Jesus' remarks to Nicodemus. In verse 3 (above), Jesus said that we need to be "born again" (or "born from above," according to the NIV footnote). Jesus was referring to a second birth, which means that having a first birth is not enough for us to be able to go to heaven. The first birth is when we come out through the water in the womb, and Nicodemus had trouble believing that there would be a second birth out of the womb (verse 4). Jesus replied by saying that in order to enter the kingdom of God we need to be born "of water and the Spirit." Based on the evidence that we'll see in a moment, this describes two types of births that are important in a person's life, a flesh birth (in which we're birthed out of the water in the womb) and a spirit birth (at the time of our salvation). After Jesus said that we need to be born of water and the Spirit (verse 5, above), He explained this by saying that "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (verse 6). Once again we see Jesus describing two different types of births, and this time He was very specific that He meant a flesh birth as well as a spirit birth. Then He repeated the fact that we must be born a second time (verse 7). Jesus repeatedly emphasized that there are two important births in a person's life, and He specifically described our flesh birth as well as our spirit birth. All of the evidence points to our flesh birth as the meaning of "born of water" in verse 5. There's not a shred of evidence to suggest that Jesus was talking about baptism. Then Jesus said in verse 12 that He had spoken to Nicodemus of "earthly things," and the primary earthly thing that Jesus mentioned in this conversation was the fact that "flesh gives birth to flesh." So once again Jesus referred to our flesh birth (an earthly thing) and contrasted it with our spirit birth (a heavenly thing). Continuing on, Jesus said that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life (verse 15), and that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life (verse 16), and that whoever believes in Him is not condemned (verse 18), and that whoever does not believe stands condemned already (verse 18). Over and over, Jesus told Nicodemus that our spirit birth is based on believing in Him. Notice in these verses that Jesus said nothing at all about water baptism. The original Greek provides us with another way to show that "born of water" does not refer to baptism. Notice the difference in meaning between the Greek word ek and the Greek word en: "eis implies motion into, and ek motion out of, while en, in means remaining in place." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, en, emphasis added)So the Greek word en means "in," and the Greek word ek means "motion out of." Notice that when people were baptized "in" (or "with") water, the Greek word en is used rather than the Greek word ek: "I baptize you with [en] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with [en] the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)These are all of the passages that mention both water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they show that the Greek word en ("in") is used when describing baptisms. On the other hand, the Greek word ek ("motion out of") is used when describing birth out of the womb: "For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [ek] their mother's womb" (Matthew 19:12 KJV)So the Greek word en ("in") is always used when describing baptism (i.e., we're baptized in water), and the Greek word ek ("out of") is always used when describing birth (i.e., we're born out of the womb). In John 3:5 (above), when Jesus said that we're born of water He used the Greek word ek (literally, born "out of" water). Once again we can see that in John 3:5 (above) Jesus was referring to our flesh birth (being born out of the bag of waters 
in the womb), not our water baptism.
But in John 3:5, why would Jesus say that we must have a physical birth before we can receive salvation? It might seem obvious that we can't receive salvation unless we've been born physically, but remember that we're not the only conscious, intelligent beings here on earth. The devil and his demons do not meet the requirement of having a physical birth, and Scripture shows that salvation is not available to them (see my article called Cheat Sheet #32). Jesus did not die for the devil or his demons, Jesus only died for humans. As Jesus said, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he or she first has a flesh birth ("out of water") and then has a spirit birth. For all of these reasons, John 3:5 does not support the view that baptism is a requirement for receiving salvation. Back to Part Two. Continue on to Part Four. For the glory of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh, was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification. Dave Root home page and email: https://www.vividchristianity.com "Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3) "Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist - denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:22-23) "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God." (1 John 4:15) "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3) "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." (2 John 1:6-7) "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:25) |
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| All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (R). NIV (R). Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. (Emphasis added.) |