Christians, despite their differences, acknowledge that the doctrine of baptism is built on key texts from the New Testament. Passages in Acts record the
fact of baptism. Other passages in the New Testament, while perhaps not addressing Christian baptism directly, have been marshaled as evidence for the
effect of baptism, or what baptism accomplishes.[1] Some of these passages include John 3:5, Titus 3:5, and the accounts of Jesus’ baptism. In John 3:5, Jesus says that unless someone is born by water and spirit he will not enter into the Kingdom of God. In Titus 3:5, Paul writes that God saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. In all the synoptic accounts of Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends upon him as he comes out of the water. These New Testament passages connect water, spirit, and a divine order, which can be seen as re-creation (2 Cor 5:17).[2] The connection between these three terms assumes an Old Testament background, for these three terms occur at key places in the Old Testament narrative. If this Old Testament background is not understood, then these passages can and will be misinterpreted.[3] Such misinterpretations have negative consequences for the doctrine of baptism.
I intend to explore The Old Testament background for the concepts of water, spirit, and divine order. The Old Testament juxtaposes these 3 words at critical junctures in salvation history. Specifically, I explore Genesis 1, Genesis 8, Exodus 14—15, and Ezekiel 36. After exploring these passages, I tender some conclusions about how the background of these passages informs these key New Testament texts and the doctrine of baptism. I will not attempt a full exegesis of each passage, nor will I attempt to resolve the entirety of the baptism debate within the small scope of this paper. Instead, I will limit myself to some observations that are pertinent to the discussion.
Genesis 1 and Genesis 8
The creation account of Genesis 1—2 sets the stage for the entire Bible. These chapters set forth God’s created order, which is the goal toward which redemption moves.[4] Genesis 1 and Genesis 8 read parallel to each other. They begin with the earth covered in water. The Spirit/wind moves over the waters.[5] The result is creation: in Genesis 1, light is created, initiating the ordering of the cosmos. The rest of this chapter shows God bringing order to the primeval forces of chaos.[6] Genesis 1 does not contain the background of divine judgment since humanity has not yet fallen into sin, but it still shows God imposing order on the cosmos. In each passage, water and spirit appear together, followed by a creative act of God. Since order suggests sovereignty, we may say that creation is the domain of God’s rule.
Genesis 8 contains parallels with Gen 1. In 8:2, land appears as the waters subside due to the wind passing over the waters. Genesis 8 follows divine judgment. The parallels suggest that God’s redemptive acts signify a re-creation, that is, a re-ordering of a world thrown into chaos through human sin. Noah and his family escape to God’s restored order by passing through the waters of death and judgment over which the wind blows. Deliverance to God’s restored order is redemption. Through this deliverance, God upholds His covenant with creation and with Noah.[7]
Exodus 14—15
Exodus 14 contains the crossing of the Red Sea. This event serves as the culmination of God’s redemption of Israel from Egypt. This redemptive act becomes the standard by which God’s future redemptive acts will be measured, especially during the time of the exile (cf. Isaiah 43:16–20; Jeremiah 16:14–15; 23:7–8). At this key moment, we find the juxtaposition of water, wind, and divine order.
In Exodus 14:21, Moses stretches out his hand over the Red Sea. A strong wind blows and parts the sea, revealing dry ground. Israel is able to pass through on dry ground, sundering their connection to the Egyptians, who are drowned in the waters (14:28–29). The Song of Moses makes God’s agency more explicit, stating that God blew with His wind (15:10). The possessive element in this verse connects Exodus 15:10 to Genesis 1:2, where the wind/spirit of God hovers over the waters.
Like Genesis 1, these passages in Exodus connect water (the Red Sea), wind, and divine order. In this case, the new order is the birth of the nation of Israel. Like Genesis 8, judgment is in the background: the Egyptians are drowned in the waters. The juxtaposition of wind and water results in the redemption of Israel. The result of this redemptive act is entrance into the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 19—24). Through redemption Israel was brought into God’s order. As Noah was delivered to God’s domain through the waters of judgment, so also Israel is redeemed for God through the waters of the Exodus.
Ezekiel 36
The next significant passage is Ezekiel 36:22–32. In this passage Ezekiel prophesies Israel’s return from exile. The return from exile results in a new covenant. The parallels between Ezekiel 36:26–27 and Jeremiah 31:33 make this connection clear. For Jeremiah, the New Covenant includes the internalization of God’s law. Ezekiel states that God will give Israel a heart of flesh and cause her to walk in His statutes. God promises to sprinkle clean water on the people (36:25). He also promises to put His spirit within the people (36:26–27). As a result, they will forsake their idols and the disorder brought about by their sin (36:25, 29). Within the near context, water, Spirit, and a restored divine order are in view.
In the subsequent chapter the nature of the new divine order is pictured. While water is not present in Ezekiel 37, the Spirit is, resulting in the restoration of Israel. The absence of water should not be seen as a concern since it appeared previously in Ezekiel 36. The restoration in view is the resurrection of the dead. As God imposed order on chaos in Genesis 1, so God restores what was lost through the chaos of sin and judgment in Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel continues the juxtaposition of water, wind, and divine order.
Conclusion
The Old Testament juxtaposes water, wind, and divine order at key junctures in salvation history. This juxtaposition first occurs in Genesis 1:2, inaugurating God’s reign and the creation covenant. In each subsequent occurrence the co-occurrence of these words signals God’s redemptive acts. In these occurrences salvation occurs through judgment as God re-orders what was thrown into chaos by human sin.
With the Old Testament background in view, the significance of the New Testament passages becomes clearer. In John 3:5 Ezekiel 36 is likely in view.[8] While Jesus would not have been speaking to Nicodemus about Christian baptism, His words serve as a basis for the significance of Christian baptism.[9] With Ezekiel 36 as the background, we realize that God brings the baptizand through judgment into God’s New Covenant order. Additionally the question of “regeneration” (παλιγγενεσία) is partially answered by the Old Testament background. The word definitely refers to the new creation in Matt 19:28, since personal ontological change is nowhere mentioned in the context. This fits with what is seen in the Old Testament. The new creation is the place where Christ sits on His throne and brings divine order to fruition. In the key passage of Titus 3:5, it appears best to read παλιγγενεσία in the same sense as in Matthew 19:28: baptism effects a change in status by bringing the baptizand through the waters of God’s judgment into the safety of the New Covenant in Christ. Therefore, a personal ontological change is less in view than an objective, covenantal status change.[10] Baptismal regeneration, then, is entrance into the God’s New Covenant order by water and the Holy Spirit. Membership in the New Covenant, confirmed by faith in Christ, results in union with Christ in His death and resurrection (Rom 6:1–11).
The Old Testament background of these terms informs New Testament discussions of these terms when they are juxtaposed. As a result, the Old Testament background should inform the discussion of Christian baptism. Such a brief survey will by no means resolve the nuances of the baptism debate. But, if we are properly informed and agree on the terms and their significance, discussion will be more fruitful.
[1] The Nicene Creed alludes to Acts 2:38 respecting the remission of sins as one of the effects of baptism.
The Book of Common Prayer (Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019), 162, includes references to Ephesians 2:1, 8–9; John 3:5, and Matt 28:18–20. The Eastern Church cites John 3:5 when discussing the effects of baptism. See Philip Schaff,
The Creeds of Christendom (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007), 376. At the other end of the spectrum, Baptists do not view baptism as conveying any effects, emphasizing instead that it is the proper response to salvation. See Millard Erickson,
Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2006), 1106. Both sides, however, build their doctrine of baptism on passages other than those recording the mere
fact of baptism.
[2] Jesus’ baptism was not for His redemption, as the context makes clear. Rather, Jesus identifies with those who are being baptized by John and confessing their sins.
[3] As an initial example, some take John 3:5 as referring to natural birth and subsequent spiritual birth, viewing "water" as amniotic fluid in contrast to spiritual birth. D. A. Carson,
The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), 191.
[4] O. Palmer Robertson,
The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1980), 67–87. I am setting aside questions of composition history, such as the Documentary Hypothesis, and basing my conclusions on the received canonical text.
[5] In Hebrew, as in Greek, spirit and wind are represented by the same word. Hamilton rightly argues that, since a creative act is in view, Gen 1:2 should be translated with spirit rather than wind. Victor Hamilton,
Genesis 1—17, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 114.
[6] Hamilton,
Genesis, 108–9. Hamilton notes parallels between the Hebrew words תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ in Isaiah 34:13 and Jeremiah 4:23. In Jeremiah 4:23–28, the judgment on the land takes the shape of an un-creation, a return from order to chaos. See John Thompson,
Jeremiah, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 230. Hamilton also notes the use of תֹּהוּ in Isaiah 45:18 to refer to chaos.
[7] Robertson,
Christ of the Covenants, 110. Also William Dumbrell,
Covenant and Creation: A Theology of Old Testament Covenants (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1984), 15–26. Dumbrell notes that the covenant with Noah presupposes a previous covenant with Adam.
[8] Carson,
John, 195.
[9]
Contra Carson,
John, 196. Carson places a division between baptism and the radical transformation in view in John 3. This distinction begs the question which is at the center of the baptism debate: does baptism effect a change or is it an outward token of a change effected? It would appear, with Ezekiel 36—37 as the background of John 3, that baptism does effect a radical change in the baptizand. The question then becomes what sort of change baptism effects. It is also worth noting that Jesus changes from the second person singular pronoun to the second person plural while speaking to Nicodemus. This change from singular to plural places Nicodemus as the representative of the whole nation. It also demonstrates a canonical consciousness on the part of John. While the original conversation would not necessarily pertain to Christian baptism, by the time John was written Christian baptism could easily be in view.
[10] Personal ontological change is not necessarily excluded here, and the word itself can suggest a break with the past and the beginning of a new life. See Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, with a Revised Supplement. 9th edition, revised by Henry Stuart Jones and Frederick McKenzie (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 1291. It is simply that the background of the Old Testament does not speak directly to an ontological change.
