Another passage that falls into this category that is essential to understand the essence of the error today regarding water baptism is in the mistranslation of the Greek word eis in Matthew 28:19. It is important to see that because of wrong notions about water baptism (who it was for and what it symbolized) many translators have rendered eis "in" instead of "into" in this very significant verse of Scripture.
There are, however, many translations that correctly render eis "into" in this verse, e.g., Revised Version (1881), American Bible Union Version (1890), American Standard Version (1901), Alford, Beck, Twentieth Century New Testament, King James II Version, New American Standard Bible (Reference Edition, 1971, margin), Wuest Expanded Translation, The Amplified New Testament, and New International Version (margin).
The word eis is rendered "into" more than 500 times in the New Testament of the King James Version. The rendition of Matthew 28:19 in the American Standard Version is: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The apostles were not commissioned to baptize with water. There are longstanding traditional practices and beliefs concerning water baptism. But regardless of the longevity of tradition, what does the Word of God say?
The apostles ("ones sent"), after being commissioned and told to wait to be endued with power (Lk. 24:49), were instruments by which the elect would be baptized into Christ in whom "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9) namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The commission to baptize them into the name of the Trinity was not a formula for the apostles to use. They already had in their minds the symbolism of spiritual baptism. Now Jesus is telling them that they will be used to baptize into Him. Paul wrote, "Ye are washed...by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:11).
The writer to the Hebrews penned: "Let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of...the doctrine of baptisms [baptismos]" (Heb. 6:1-2). And, "While as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him [the priest in the Old Dispensation] that did the service perfect, as pertaining to conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings [baptismos], and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of [the Messianic] reformation" (Heb. 9:9-10).
Water baptism was for the Jews under the old order, which included the transitional period during the ministry of John the Baptizer. In none of the scriptures that pertain to the commission given to the apostles did Jesus tell them to baptize with water (Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-19; Lk. 24:44-49; Acts 1:4-8). In Mark 16:16 where it reads "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," it is speaking of spiritual baptism into Christ, not water baptism. Baptism into Christ is the only baptism that saves. There is "one body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism."
When John the Baptizer told Jesus that he (John) needed to be baptized by Him, our Lord refused to do it. Early in Jesus' ministry He allowed His disciples to baptize Jews. Later, when He sent out the Twelve, He did not tell them to baptize (Mt. 10:1-11; Mk. 6:7-13; Lk. 9:1-6). And still later, when He sent out the Seventy, He did not commission them to baptize (Lk. 10:1-17). And when Jesus saved the Gentile woman at the well He did not have her to get baptized (Jn. 4:7-42); neither did He tell the Gentile demoniac of Gadara to get baptized after he was saved (Mk. 5:1-20; Lk. 8:26-39). Some others whom Jesus saved and did not have water-baptized were: the Apostles Peter, James, and John (Lk. 5:8-11), the other Apostles, the man with palsy (Lk. 5:20-25), the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears (Lk. 7:37-50), the blind man in Jericho (Lk. 18:35-43), and Zacchaeus (Lk. 19:1-10). In fact, nowhere in Scripture is it recorded that Jesus told anyone, Jew or Gentile, to be water-baptized.
Concerning the apostle Paul, Jesus told Ananias, "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). Paul's ministry included the Jews (even though later he primarily ministered to the Gentiles), but his commission from our Lord did not include the baptizing of Jews or Gentiles. He said, "For Christ sent me not to baptize [with water], but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor. 1:17).
Even though he was not commissioned to baptize with water (as well as not obligated to participate in purification rites, Acts 21:20-26), the Jewish believers were all "zealous of the Law" (Acts 21:20). Paul, being "all things to all men that he might by all means save some" did, in fact, baptize a few (1 Cor. 1:14-16). One of those Jews was Crispus, the leader of the synagogue (1 Cor. 1:14; Acts 18:8). Paul said, "And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews" (1 Cor. 9:20). Paul knew that water baptism (and purification rites) was nothing.
In the commission to the eleven apostles ("Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into [eis] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Mat. 28:19 ASV), if the Greek word eis was rendered "in" instead of "into," then without comparing this scripture with others in their context, this verse, isolated, could be construed to be a formula for water baptism. But, this is not the case. Nowhere in the New Testament is this used as a formula. The apostles and others (for example, Philip) baptized Jews or Jewish proselytes with water, but Matthew 28:19 was not used by them as a formula.
Water baptism is mentioned five times after the Gospels and the Book of Acts which is a book depicting the transition from Judaism to Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 1:13-17 Paul expressed his thanks to God that he water-baptized none of the Corinthians except the few that he mentioned (Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas), for Christ did not send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:24 Paul mentioned the heretical baptisms on behalf of the dead. In the epistle to the Hebrews (Jewish Christians) in 6:1-2 the writer urged them to leave the principle or elementary teaching concerning baptisms (baptismos, plural). Three chapters later in Hebrews 9:10 we can see what that teaching was---that divers washings (baptismos, plural) were imposed until the time of (the Messianic) reformation.
Also, Paul wrote that there is now only one baptism which is the spiritual baptism into Christ. And the fifth allusion to water baptism after the Gospels and the Book of Acts is by the apostle Peter. He wrote, "Where unto even baptism [into Christ] doth now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh [that is, not water baptism]" (1 Peter 3:21).
Absolutely nothing in the thread above advances your argument against the continuation of water baptism as a symbolic ordnance to be practice in the church today.
You seem to believe that bare statements about something are the same thing as supporting statements of evidence.
