Matt. xxviii. 10, 20. “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
The first question that naturally arises from reading this important passage, is, What is the power given to Christ in heaven and in earth. Before we answer this we remark, that there are two Greek words, dunamis and exousia though of very different signification, yet are translated frequentlv in our English Testament by the word power. This has caused considerable confusion to the English reader. The word dunamis literally signifies physical power or strength; as Matt. xxii, 29, “Jesus answered and said unto them. Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Luke v, 17, “The power of the Lord was present to heal them.” Acts iii, 12. “Peter answered the people, Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness, we had made this man to walk?” The word exousia signifies authority; as Matt. xxi, 23. The chief priests asked the Saviour, when teaching in the temple, “By, what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?”Acts ix, 14, “And here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all that call on thy name.” The different significations of these two words are seen in the same verses.Rev. xiii, 2, “And the dragon gave him his powers (dunamin), and his great authority (exousion.)” I. Cor. xv. 20. “When he shall have put down all authority (exousian), and power (dunamin).
We are now prepared to answer the enquiry, What is that power given to Christ. The word translated power in the text is exousia, which means authority. It literally should he read, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” This language is intelligible. A minister sent by our government to a foreign court, goes with full power to execute the business for which he was sent. We all understand this power to be not physical strength, but authority. So Jesus the great ambassador, the great and only Apostle of God, come to our world, with full authority to execute the important work of salvation. He has all authority in heaven. “Angels, principalities, and powers, are subject to him.” They wait the orders of his throne, and willingly fly to execute them. He has authority over all the treasures of grace, of wisdom and knowledge, the unsearchable riches of heaven, to distribute and give them to such as obey him. Not only has he all authority in heaven, but also in earth. Thus he addresses his father, John xvii, 2, “As thou hast given authority (exousian) over all flesh, that he might give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. All flesh, all the human race, the heathen and uttermost parts of the earth are under his authority. For what purpose is authority over them given him? It is, that he might give eternal life to as many as the Father had given him. As all mankind are given to him, we can unhesitatingly say, that he has authority, full authority to give to each and every one of the human family eternal life. But this authority he will execute according to his own plan, which is, that he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved—shall have everlasting life: and be that believeth not shall be damned—shall not see life. The poor lost sinner can never justly blame the Saviour, because he has not eternal life; but forever will curse his own folly for neglecting the means to obtain it.
“The son of man hath authority (exousian) on earth to forgive sins.” Matt. ix, 6. This authority is also exercised by him according to his prescribed plan, repent for the remission of sins. His authority to forgive sins is limited to this world. It is no where said that he has authority in heaven to forgive sins, because there is no sin in that abode of bliss. It is no where said in the bible that he has authority to forgive sins in hell; but on earth only is this authority exercised. “For if ye die in your sins, where I am ye cannot come.” In the end of the world, he will put down all rule and all authority and be subject to the father, that God may be all in all. I. Cor. xv, 24. If all his authority is then given up, or put down, then his authority to forgive sins will forever cease. The wicked, impenitent part of mankind, then condemned, have never forgiveness, but must realize that, of which they were through life in danger, eternal damnation.
Jesus “hath authority given him to execute judgment also, because he is the son of man.” John v, 27. The last act of his mediation is to adjudicate upon the world, and assign to each his everlasting portion of life or punishment.
On this authority, given by the Father to the Son, Jesus Christ, is predicated the commission to his disciples, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations,” &c. This the evangelist Mark explains by, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The gospel is the glad tidings of salvation, an epitome of which is, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The next part of the apostles’ commission is, to baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The enquiry is, who are to be baptized? We answer, all those who believe the gospel preached to them; for thus says Mark, “He that believeth, and is baptized shall be saved.” It would indeed be a hard commission, binding the apostles to baptize all the nations whom they taught, or to whom they
preached the gospel; for many of those people blasphemed and opposed the gospel taught or preached to them—many were infidels and abominable in vice of every name—nor had the apostles power and authority to compel them to submit to baptism, had they been so disposed. We have never heard of such compulsion in the apostles’ day; though we are not ignorant that it was used by their pretended successors; for nations have been taught by priests, and compelled by the drawn sword to be baptized, when they hated the religion, its authors, and its ministers. The apostles baptized none but such as believed and received the gospel, and voluntarily submitted to its ordinances.
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. From this expression, some, who should know better, having a little learning, and a little common sense, have inferred that the language “is baptized” signifies has been baptized. This is done in order to induct people into the Church, who had been baptized in infancy. Were this the meaning of the commission, then must we conclude that the apostles had no commission to baptize any, seeing the nations to whom they preached the gospel were previously baptized, according to this hypothesis. By whom could they have been baptized? If baptized, were they baptized into those names of which they had never heard? It is a fact, that the apostles did baptize all that believed, and this is a sufficient refutation of the opinion.
Faith and baptism are the divinely instituted means of salvation. The apostles preached the gospel, the people believed, and were baptized; and through these, means they were saved. This is the plan of heaven; but from this plan the Christian world has almost entirely departed; and has invented and practiced plans subversive of that instituted by Christ. Some contend that a person must be saved, pardoned, and regenerated, and be enabled to give to the Church a satisfactory experience of having passed from death unto life, before they should be baptized. Had they, instead of Christ, given the commission to the apostles, they would thus
have ordered. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is saved, shall be baptized.” This is mere human device, and stands in direct opposition to the plan of infinite wisdom. Is it not inverting the order of God, by putting the end, which is salvation, before the means, which is baptism?
Others more completely pervert the plan of Christ. They contend that none can believe, till they are made alive or regenerated by some mysterious physical divine power, extraneous from the word, and independent of it as a means; their plan is, that the sinner is as dead as Lazarus in the grave; that God mysteriously infuses divine life into them, and regenerates and saves them; then, and not till then, they are enabled to believe—and then they are to be baptized. We cannot possibly conceive of a plan more directly in opposition to the plan of Christ than this; and had all the wisdom of the world been combined to have invented one more opposite, it could not have been done. Future generations will wonder at the ignorance and presumption of the present race of Christians. And yet nothing can turn them from their course. Had they given the Commission to the apostles, it would have been this: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to—not every creature, for they are all as dead as Lazarus, it is not for them— but preach it to such as are divinely made alive, regenerated and saved by the almighty power of God—they will and can then believe; and when they are saved and believe, then baptize them.” Thus they have completely perverted the truth, and have put the end, which is salvation, before, the means of salvation, which are faith and baptism. Can such men expect the smiles of God, or his plaudit, Well done good and faithful servant?
Others have substituted another plan, which is to baptize the subjects before they believe, and are saved. They baptize infants, which cannot believe; this they (the infants) are left to do, or not to do, at some future period of life. Why is it that all have so universally, and for so long a time, departed from Christ’s plan? It cannot be that it is difficult to be understood; for nothing can be plainer. “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.” On this plan the apostles acted. Peter preached the gospel—the Jews heard it, and believed, for faith, in those days, came by hearing—they say, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter answers, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.’’ Acts, 2. Had one of our orthodox divines been present, would he not have said, ‛Peter you are wrong: these people must have the remission of their sins, and they must have the gift of the Holy Ghost, before they shall be baptized’? Would not Peter have replied, ‘I was taught and commissioned thus to act, by my Lord, Jesus Christ; and, pray sir, who taught you the contrary?’ What could he answer? Shame must have made him hang his head in silence.
Saul believed and was praying in agony, yet his sins cleaved fast to him. The Lord takes his own plan to save him. He sent Ananias to him, who said, “Why tarriest thou? arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.” Saul obeyed, and was baptized; his sins were washed away, and he saved. How would a modern doctor have acted in this case? Something like this would have been his language: ‘Poor Saul, you are in a pitiable condition; I cannot help you; pray on; it may be you shall be heard, and God in his own time will send his spirit to cleanse you from your sins, and save you; after you have experienced this, I advise you to be baptized.’ Oh! how different, and how far from truth!
Philip went down to Samaria. There he preached the gospel—the people believed, and were baptized, both men and women. It is not said that these men and women brought their infants to Philip, and had them baptized too, according to modern custom—a custom we hear nothing about in apostolic practice, or indeed in the commission of the Saviour. These Samaritans were baptized previous to their reception of the Holy Ghost; for this they received afterwards, when the apostles prayed for them, Philip in the mean-time was sent by
the spirit after a poor distressed Ethiopian eunuch, to shew to him the way of life. He preaches to him the gospel; the eunuch believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; Philip required no more, but baptized him: he received the Holy Ghost according to promise, for he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8.
It will be objected. ‛Ah, you make baptism a saving Ordinance. I have not made it such; for I have proved that it was made so eighteen hundred years ago by the great Head of the Church, and practiced as such by his inspired apostles and evangelists. But do people think the water itself, into which a believer is immersed, washes away sins? I ask, did the waters of Jordan, into which Naaman dipt himself at the command of Elisha, —did these waters literally wash away his leprosy? or was it not the power of God through this act of obedience? So baptism saves us, and washes away our sins; not the water, but the grace and power of God through this act of obedience.
It is again said, God has saved myriads of souls, who have never been baptized according to the order instituted by Christ, and therefore that order is not essential to salvation. It is granted, that from this order the institutor himself departed at first, when the Gentiles at the house of Cornelius, were filled with the Holy Ghost before they were baptized. This was necessary; for had not this been done, Peter and the Christian Jews with him, could not have been prevailed upon to baptize them, and induct them into the church. This reason they assigned for their justification before the Church in Jerusalem. But if God has long borne with our ignorance, and has shewn his saving mercy to those who have departed from his plan, shall we still presume, and continue in our error, when it is now plainly made known? If any man, like the eunuch profess to believe with all his heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and like him, apply for baptism, who dare refuse it? He is to believe with all his heart, that is, with the full determination and purpose of the heart to follow and obey him through life.
We hope to receive from our brethren communications on this important subject. Let the free spirit of the meekness and wisdom of Christ be ever exercised in all our attempts to restore the primitive order of Christ in his church. EDITOR.