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| Volume 25 Number 8 August 2023 |
Page 16 |
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| Volume 25 Number 8 August 2023 |
Page 16 |
Louis Rushmore, Editor
These two questions are related: “Were the apostles baptized?” and “Was Apollos baptized a second time?” The New Testament neither records the instances of the apostles being baptized nor of a second baptism of Apollos. However, Scripture implies that neither the apostles nor Apollos needed to be baptized after the establishment of the Lord’s church, about which one reads in Acts 2.
The baptism administered by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-6), his disciples and the disciples of Jesus (John 4:1-2) – before the establishment of the church – involved repentance (Matthew 3:2) “for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). “…The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:2-3). Jesus Christ preached the same message as John upon the beginning of His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:17). It is reasonable to conclude that the disciples of John and the apostles of Jesus Christ were themselves baptized in John the Baptist’s baptism since (1) they baptized others, and (2) our Lord Jesus was also baptized (Matthew 3:13-17).
Regarding Apollos, since he was baptizing others in John’s baptism, it is reasonable to conclude that he himself had already been baptized in John’s baptism. He was unaware of the baptism of the Great Commission (Acts 18:24-25; Mark 16:15-16). “This man [Apollos] had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:25-26).
On the birthday of the Lord’s church in Acts 2, the 3,000 converts (Acts 2:41) “were added to them” – “added to the church” (Acts 2:47). The apostles and all the disciples who had been baptized in John’s baptism before the establishment of the church comprised the “them” and “the church” to which the 3,000 new converts were added. John’s baptism was valid prior to the establishment of the church, whereas the Great Commission baptism was valid after the establishment of the church. There is no indication whatsoever that anyone who was baptized in John’s baptism while it was valid – before the establishment of the church – was called upon to be baptized anew in the Great Commission baptism after the establishment of the church. The only reason for which 12 believers were rebaptized in the Great Commission baptism is because John’s baptism was no longer valid at the time it was administered to them (Acts 19:1-7).
John’s baptism pointed souls forward to Jesus Christ as the Messiah, whereas the baptism of the Great Commission points souls backward to Jesus Christ (Acts 19:4). The directional significance regarding Jesus Christ was sufficient reason for the twelve men of Acts 19:7 to be rebaptized. Therefore, denominational baptisms whose purposes vary from the purpose of the Great Commission baptism (e.g., to become a member of a denominational church, because one thinks he or she is already saved, etc.) are suspect and no more valid than John’s baptism after it was no longer valid and had been replaced with the baptism of the Great Commission.
The soul-saving blood of our Lord Jesus Christ flows forward from Calvary’s cross to the present, as well as backward all the way to the time of Adam and Eve. It was no more needful for the apostles (and other disciples) to whom John’s baptism had been administered prior to the beginning of the church to be immersed in the Great Commission baptism than would it somehow, were it possible, for Adam and Eve, Noah, Joshua or others who lived under Patriarchy and Judaism to be baptized in the Great Commission baptism. The righteous who obeyed God under Patriarchy and Judaism are members of the eternal kingdom as are also those who have obeyed and those today who obey God respecting Christianity via the New Testament. Both John’s baptism and the baptism of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38) were preached respecting repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The latter replaced the former, but the Great Commission baptism did not invalidate John’s baptism concerning those who were baptized in it when it was valid or in force.
