Subject: When did God change "mode" of baptism? |
Bible Note: Romans 6:4 'Whether the mode of baptism by immersion be alluded to in this verse, as a kind of symbolical burial and resurrection, does not seem to us of much consequence. Many interpreters think it is, and it may be so. But as it is not clear that baptism in apostolic times was exclusively by immersion so sprinkling and washing are indifferently used in the New Testament to express the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Jesus. And just as the woman with the issue of blood got virtue out of Christ by simply touching Him, so the essence of baptism seems to lie in the simple contact of the element (water) with the body, symbolizing living contact with Christ crucified; the mode and extent of suffusion being indifferent and variable with climate and circumstances.' Brown, David, D.D. "Commentary on Romans 6". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible". (http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/JamiesonFaussetBrown) |