• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

What say the scriptures?

Skwim

Veteran Member
Ok, thank you. Please pick from this list of scriptures, and some of them do, that speak of the purpose of baptism in Jesus's name (not the baptism of John).
Nah, In as much as you're the one seeking the answer and there's only a couple of dozen verses to look over I'll leave that project to you.

.
 

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
Romans 6:4

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

As I said, it symbolized a commitment to a new life. It symbolizes our own death, burial, and resurrection.
The verse doesn't say "symbolize". What does it say? And what are any other verses that say the purpose?
 

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
Nah, In as much as you're the one seeking the answer and there's only a couple of dozen verses to look over I'll leave that project to you.
I didn't say I was seeking the answer. I said this might be a difficult question to answer. Thank you for participating though.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The verse doesn't say "symbolize". What does it say? And what are any other verses that say the purpose?
Ro. 6:5 "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection". That is the very meaning of symbolic.

Col. 2:12 "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." This is symbolic again. We literally are not raised corpses. It symbolic, "in the likeness of", in other words.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
I didn't say I was seeking the answer. I said this might be a difficult question to answer. Thank you for participating though.
You ask a question "

"What say the scriptures?"

but now say you're not seeking an answer to it. Is this a game?

.
 

leov

Well-Known Member
I'm asking for written verses that state a purpose in the text, not an interpretation or commentary.
21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;c with you I am well pleased.”...
1"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness "
 

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
Ro. 6:5 "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection". That is the very meaning of symbolic.
No, it only says there's a likeness. It didn't say why they got baptized. You're inferring the rest, what does the text Romans 6 or any other passage say is a purpose?

Col. 2:12 "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." This is symbolic again. We literally are not raised corpses. It symbolic, "in the likeness of", in other words.
It is a verse which states purpose, but again, symbolic is not in the text. The verse does, however, say "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

That is a "stated" purpose. You're welcome to look anywhere in the New Testament that does state that one is baptized in order to symbolize... or "you were baptized to symbolize..." or "be baptized to symbolize...".

If you can't find such a verse, you can look for any more passages that state a purpose.

-------------------------------------------------------------

When Paul said

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


was he being symbolic?
 
Last edited:

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
You ask a question "

"What say the scriptures?"

but now say you're not seeking an answer to it. Is this a game.
Fair enough. This calls for a bit of clarification. I'm not approaching this question as someone who has never read the scriptures and is asking others to fill me in where I lack knowledge. But it is for the purpose of discussion. I believe that the christian community needs to be able to answer this question. Since there are millions of baptisms in Jesus's name that go on in this world, it should be known what the stated purpose or purposes in the scriptures are. Someone should be able to answer that.
 
Last edited:

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
Please show me an example of "Baptism in the name of Jesus"
Acts 19:5. That verse doesn't State the purpose, but it is an example of baptism in the name of Jesus. You can also look at my last post on page one for a more full description.
 

Brickjectivity

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
This might be a difficult question to answer:

What do the written scriptures say is the purpose of baptism in Jesus's name? Specifically, what do the texts say?
The usage is not perfectly explained, however there are illustrations, usages and allusions. I suggest starting with John 15 with the famous "I am the vine, and you are the branches" plus two other passages: Ezekiel 17 the parable of the 2 eagles and the vine plus a cedar and Matthew 13:19-20 the explanation of the sower and the seed. The sower and the seed parable probably borrows from Ezekiel 17 and is related. Its got the snatching eagle, whereas Jesus parable has the deceiver who steals the seed. There are some parallels to the stories. Ezekiel plainly states that the eagle story is a parable. The point of it is similar to what John the Baptist preaches: that the high will be made low and the low will be raised up. John preaches this and quotes from Isaiah's passage about a Voice calling for the low places to be raised and the high places made low. The new baptized people are the by product of this raising and lowering. The imagery is that it is a path in the wilderness, however you can easily also see a stream or a vine running parallel to said path. They are shared meanings perhaps. In the parable of the two eagles, the new baptized are the birds 'Of every kind' which nest in the cedar. Jesus through Matthew brings this no doubt popular parable to recall with his own parable and shows a unity between John the Baptist's preaching and Jesus preaching.

Jesus says he is this 'Vine' that we all must be in, and he is also the soil which produces good fruit. The parable has other levels, because anyone can be good soil, and each person receives the Logos. Its a parable with facets. The symbol of the vine has many sources, however look at Genesis 49:11 and 49:22. Its often referred to as 'The branch' which prophets like to refer to when they are talking about the direction that Israel must go as well as a symbol of other things which I'll leave out partly for brevity but mostly because I'm not the person who'd know them all.

How this ties into being baptized into his name is that he is the vine, aka the head of a family. He is also the final cedar with birds of all kinds in its branches (Not all eagles but all kinds) when we place him into the eagles parable which carries that same message of John the Baptist, and he is the good soil in his parable about seed.

Baptism then is joining a family but not a physical family or a family that is defined through adoption or human inheritance but inheritance from a heavenly Father, and the Logos gives the person the power (according to John 1) to become a son of God, not requiring adoption by a Jewish family or some special teaching method or school of thought or system. So 'Birds of all kinds' not 'Birds of a feather', twelve very different disciples, joining this choicest vine, this most fruitful vine not by the will of any person, not talked into it or married into it or joined to it for social advantages. It is a very mixed, very diverse family that one is supposedly baptized into.

From this we can guess at the purpose, but Matthew recounts that its 'Glory reserved for God in the highest heaven, Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men' (slight paraphrase to emphasize that the glory is reserved for God only). The glory here is the essence of truth, and its shining from heaven not from the ground is what enables people of different opinions to be baptized into the same vine. It is because glory belongs to God in heaven and shines on us, much like we are a stained glass artwork and the light shines through it onto a floor somewhat distorted in the process but still beautiful and bright.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
No, it only says there's a likeness.
Which is what the meaning of the word symbolic is: "a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.". In the "likeness" of is the same thing. It stand in for something else, without it being that actual thing. So yes, it is symbolic. They don't have to use that specific word, to understand its meaning. "In the likeness of", for Paul, in today's vocabulary is "symbolically". I cannot imagine he could disagree.

It didn't say why they got baptized. You're inferring the rest, what does the text Romans 6 or any other passage say is a purpose?
It states its purpose very clearly. It represents our own passage of death to the old self, burial through a symbolic ritual, and resurrection to a spirit guided life.

It is a verse which states purpose, but again, symbolic is not in the text.
Yes it is. "In the likeness of", is the meaning of our word symbolic in how we use it.

I don't think you really understand the nature of symbolism. If you mean to say, "merely" or "only a symbol", then you do not have an understanding of what religious symbolism actually is. It is deeply significant. There is no "just" or a "simply" to it.

The verse does, however, say "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

That is a "stated" purpose. Are there any more that state the purpose?
I don't think there is. It very clearly symbolizes, or represents our own transformation path of death, burial, and resurrection. If it is not symbolic, then are we to be literally put to death, literally put into the ground, on plunged with stones tied to our feet in a lake, and then literally brought back from literal physical death? Of course not, the whole ritual symbolizes that. That's why it's symbolic, because it is not literal death physically.

When Paul said

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


was he being symbolic?
Yes, he was speaking metaphorically with those symbols. That does not mean however, that it was not real. If you understood what symbolism was, then you'd know it represents or symbolizes some realty. It does not mean fictional. You would be very mistaken to think that.
 

leov

Well-Known Member
Acts 19:5. That verse doesn't State the purpose, but it is an example of baptism in the name of Jesus. You can also look at my last post on page one for a more full description.
Thank you. Technically it says "Lord Jesus" not "Jesus".
 

e.r.m.

Church of Christ
I'm off to work, thank you all for your participation. I will answer as soon as I get my next chance.
 

Redemptionsong

Well-Known Member
This might be a difficult question to answer:

What do the written scriptures say is the (or a) purpose of baptism in Jesus's name? Specifically, what do the texts say?

Mark 1:8, John said, 'I indeed have baptized you with water: but he [Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'
 

leov

Well-Known Member
remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
1"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. "
 
Top