Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 22
October 1, 1970
NUMBER 21, PAGE 8-9b

Questions And Answers

Send All Questions To: Eugene Britnell, P.O. Box 3012, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203

From Wickett, Texas:

"We have had some discussion in our mid-week Bible studies concerning the baptism of the twelve disciples of Ephesus. Some believe that all of John's and Christ's disciples were baptized again after Pentecost.

"We had this same discussion while I was at Lubbock. A brother was teaching a class of young married men and women. He contended that all who were baptized by John had to be baptized again after Pentecost. They asked him for scriptural proof and he gave John 3:3-5 and said that was all he needed. But the class did not agree with him. Some think that the expounding to Apollos the way of God more perfectly by Aquila and Priscilla included the baptism of Apollos. But no scripture is given to indicate that Apollos was baptized at that time. Neither is there scripture given which would indicate that the disciples of John and Christ were baptized after Pentecost.

"My reasonings are: John came to prepare a people for Christ, and if they must do something else other than believe on Christ as John had said they were to do, they were not prepared.

"I would like your comments on this in the Gospel Guardian or by letter."

As the letter indicates, this is a controversial subject and will continue to be after I have stated what I believe to be the truth about it.

Like the baptism of Christ under the great commission, the baptism of John required water (Matt. 3:6; John 3:23), faith (Acts 19:4), repentance (Matt. 3:8), and was for (unto) the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). But the two baptisms were not parallel in every respect. For example, John's baptism was not in the name of Christ (cf. Acts 19:5).

John told those baptized by him that he was baptizing them for the remission of sins, but the validity of that baptism was made dependent upon their believing on Christ when he came. Paul says, "John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus" (Acts 19:4). It is my conviction that those who obeyed this teaching and accepted Jesus Christ did not have to be baptized again. All others were commanded to "repent and be baptized. . . for the remission of sins" — just as John's baptism required. Peter did not say, "All of you, who were not baptized by John, must now be baptized." No such offer was made; and the reason was, those to whom he spoke on Pentecost had forfeited the pardon of their sins by not believing on Christ when he came. But there were those who had validated their baptism by John by believing on Christ resurrected.

From reading such passages as Matthew 3:5, 6 we infer that thousands of people were baptized of John. But not all of these remained faithful to his teaching. Just how many did, I'm not sure that we can know. The number would certainly include the apostles and the others of the 120 mentioned in Acts 1:15, and possibly the "five hundred brethren" referred to in I Corinthians 15:6.

Everything which is of divine origin began by a miracle and was then given a natural law of reproduction or procreation. The church is no exception. To speak of the new birth or the fact that baptism for today is into Christ and the body, is to miss the point when speaking of those with whom the Lord formed the church. As I have indicated, there are examples which were exceptions to the rule (e.g. Christ's baptism and the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius). So it was with those whom the Lord took to form the nucleus of the church. (See Acts 2:41 and I Cor. 12:28).

I, too, find no evidence that Apollos was baptized again. It is obvious that he knew and had received the baptism of John, but he did not reject Christ when he came. He accepted him, and convinced many Jews, "showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." For some reason, he had failed to learn the difference between the baptism of John and the baptism of the great commission, and therefore was continuing to teach the baptism of John. In this he was wrong, and the two Christians corrected him.

Why were the twelve disciples at Ephesus baptized again? The only explanation is that their baptism took place after John's baptism had been superseded by that of Christ. In other words, it was received on the wrong side of the cross, for Paul made it clear that John's baptism looked in one direction and Christ's baptism the other. (Acts 19:4).