The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-03-17


mere ritual service, but the more solen
and important duty of Repentance towaI
God, and Faith toward Jesus Christ" who
he pointed out to the multitudes who focke
to hear him. as "the Lamb of God WI
taketh away the sin of the world" Paul
explanation of Johns work as given, Ac
xix 3, 4, confirms this view. Asking cel
tain Disciples at Ephesus "unto /" into,
better) what were ye baptized?" they replie
"unto Johns Baptism" "Then said Pau
John verify baptized with according toy tn
Baptism of repentance, saying unto the pee
pie that they should believe on HIM, whic
should come after him, that is on Chris
Jesus. s0
Farther, these views fully sustain the posi-
ton that Johns preaching was for spiritua
benefit to his hearers, and that we shoul
not emphasize, as many do, the ritual part o
his work. All that is said of "John's Bap
tism," the baptism of repentance AM
G. into remission of SIM" is in accordanc
with his own testimony of the nature of hi
mission, John i: 20 81, Substantially. y
"That the Lamb Of God which taketh away
the sin of the world should be made mani
fest to Israel, therefore am / come baptzine
with water" In this, the great object o.
his preaching is set forth. The rite used
"baptiziug with water" is the symbol, set
ting forth the true baptism with the Holy
Spirit. As water puri6es, 80 the Holy
Ghost parifes, and the blood of Christ
cleanseS from all SIM" The symbol only
sets forth the reality, and is subordinate tc
it, as Flag is symbol of nations power
but not the power. "John's baptism" the
Doctrine or System of truth he set forth was
independent of any rite for its efficiency.
The ritual could he received and yet what
it manifested, the baptism of the Holy Spirit
be wanting, and the subject left with Simon
Magus, Gin the gall of bitterness and bonds
of iniquity." Or the baptism of the Holy
Spirit might be experienced without the use
of the ritual manifestation of it, and so the
soul pass "to day into Paradise" Johns
field of service was strictly limited to one
particular, preparation for Christ's coming
by spiritual repentance and "faith in Him
that was to come" As in the Lords Sup
per, bread and wine are appointed to "shew
forth" Christs death, so ritual baptism by
water is to shesO forth the baptism by the
Holy Spirit" And as this baptism of the
soul was set forth in Johns preaching, in
words, so the same was set forth by sOater in
the rite.
But while there is no such connection in
the real and ritual Baptism that effects de-
pendence of either on the other, the terms
employed, the similar forms of speech and
the history of the administration of these
baptisms, raise presumption that they are
mutually explanatory as well as to the mode
of administration, as the purifying power,
really resident in the one and symbolically
in the other. Into this part of the discus
sion no steps can be here taken. 1t does
not admit of ineligible analysis and cannot
be produced except by long induction of
the particulars, which form the elements of
opinion. 1t is enough to say, a. Our au-
thor has fully established the sense of the
Greek proposition en- to be "6y," not only
by an extended examination of its usage
generally, and especially when preceding the
words, "The Hsly Spirit" when His rela-
ton to the souls spiritual renovation is the
subject of discourse, but equally as conclu-
sively by pointing to the evidences of pa
rallel passages in which Dative without en-
and Dative with en-, are used in the same
force. (2.) The text Mark i: 8, Sand it
came to pass. Jesus came from Naz-
areth, of Galilee, and was baptized of John
IN (into) Jordan" has long been the alledged
conclusive proof of immersion in the river of
Jordan. The parallel passage in Matthew
iii: 13, is to the same effect, but with a
marked difference in the order and the pre-
position used, "Then cometh Jesus from
Galilee to Jordan, unto John, to be baptized
of him." a. In the latter passage, good
authorities, Baptists as well as others, ac-
cept the proposition of the Greek, here
translated "to" (the Jordan as having a
local meaning and not necessarily implying
ingress into the river or that Jordan itself
denotes any thing more than region, just
as we say, to or on "the Potomac, /" the
Hudson" "the James" (2) Accepting the
texts as describing the same event, however
the language of that from Mark il: 9, as
here read, would seem to imply John bap,
tized Jesus into the Jordan and to Baptist
views, the "river" is understood though moi
expressed. The proposition here translated
in is that more accurately rendered into, al
"into remission of sins" unto repentance,
'into Christ" and following the word bap
tie, is generally now conceded by the bes
authority, to denote the intus. position OF al
object in an element, as water or any othe
permeable liquid-or an ideal element, ant
80, as has been shewn in this treatise, boil
Classic Baptism" "Judaic Baptism" ant
"Johannic Baptism" to mean that the OBJ
ject is thus denoted to be subjected to a con
trolling and changing influence. But her
is the difficulty. This sense will not do 70
Ssintn the (Riuerl Jordan" the normal effac