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The Washing of Regeneration

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The Washing of Regeneration: An Examination of Baptism in Paul and a Reconsideration of Baptismal Regeneration

Although the subject of baptism is found throughout Scripture, it is concentrated in the Pauline epistles. Paul's writing on the subject of baptism may be divided into two categories: verses that mention baptism explicitly and those that mention it implicitly. Such verses have given rise to many questions about the nature of the relationship between baptism and salvation. We shall undertake to examine what Paul wrote concerning baptism and how we may resolve problems these verses might pose. Ultimately, we shall see that there is a close relationship between baptism and salvation and we shall discover that a high view of water baptism is required by Scripture.

Explicit Passages
In this category, we shall begin by looking at 1 Corinthians 12. In verse 13, Paul writes: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized¹ into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”² Note that Paul says that “we were all baptized.” Since he is addressing the epistle to the church in Corinth, it must be granted that Paul's intended audience includes those who are not individually elect. Nevertheless, he says that “we were all baptized into one body” and that “we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” So then we clearly see baptism here as an entrance into one body, the body of Christ (which we shall discuss later) and as the drinking of the Spirit.

In his letter to the Galatians, which was written several years earlier, Paul included a similar discussion of baptism:


Baptism is “into Christ” and results in the baptized man clothing himself with Christ. The latter phrase is particularly interesting because the “clothing” language is reminiscent of those passages which speak of being clothed in righteousness.⁴ In addition, Paul uses strong covenantal language in verse 29. Not only is the baptized man clothed in Christ, but he is also heir to the promise of Christ, reckoned a descendant of Abraham. This designation, assigned to those baptized, is very important because, as we shall see later, this promise includes salvation.

In Ephesians, Paul exhorts his readers in chapter 4 to walk worthy of their calling. In verses 4-6 he says, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” As a means of explaining the depth of God's calling of the Ephesians, Paul appeals to their baptisms. Clearly, Christ's lordship, the faith of the saints, and the sovereignty of God are bound to the sacrament of baptism. Paul speaks of them together.

The verses on baptism in Colossians 2 are some of the most descriptive in Scripture. In verses 11-14, Paul offers this:


Making use of strong death and resurrection language, Paul gives us many insights in this passage. First, note how Paul connects Christian baptism with Christ's death. The idea here is that in the waters of baptism, man is connected to the death and burial of Christ and is consequently raised with him. The latter verses employ beautiful imagery and serve as the most pointed description of justification in all of Scripture. The forensic nature of the atonement is clearly illustrated, God forgiving our sins and taking the “certificate of debt” and nailing it to the cross. Note that Paul treats this justification as a corollary of baptism. Again, the two are seen together.

A second observation in these verses surrounds Paul's direct comparison of baptism and circumcision. Baptism is described as the “circumcision of Christ” and the covenant impact of such a description should not be overlooked. We shall see that just as circumcision was the sign and seal of the Old Covenant, so baptism is the sign and seal of the New.

The final passage under consideration in this category, Romans 6:3-11 is likely the definitive passage on baptism:


Here again is striking death and resurrection language and the point could not be made any clearer: the man baptized is united with Christ not only in the likeness of His death but in the likeness of His resurrection. The aim of baptism, as Paul states in verse 6, is the washing away of sins.⁵ In verse 8, Paul encourages his audience to hope in Christ for eternal life, this hope being grounded in Christ's death and our baptism into it.

Implicit Verses
The latter half of Ephesians 5 is perhaps best known for its important role in a proper Christian understanding of marriage. But since Christian marriage is modeled after the ultimate marriage between Christ and His Bride, it is not surprising that we find baptismal language here. Verses 25-27 read:


This passage is invaluable to the discussion of baptism because we see here that Christ's atoning work on the cross was done out of love for, and in order to sanctify, the Church. The way in which this sanctification is applied, Paul says, is through “the washing of water with the word.” This is a clear allusion to the sacrament of baptism on a covenant level and we see that the eschatological result is a holy and blameless bride.

Returning to 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to water baptism in verse 11 of chapter 6 when he says, “such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Paul uses ἀπολούω (washed) which is the reflexive form of λούω, used to describe a whole body washing: a bath.⁶

The immediately preceding verses describe immortal and godless lifestyles out of which the Corinthians had come. What is striking here is that Paul chooses the ἀπολούω first to explain how the Corinthians came from a worldly state to a godly one. He follows this washing with sanctification and justification. Yet again, we see these themes inseparable in Paul's mind.

Finally, we turn to the book of Titus. Here, in verses 4-6 of chapter 3, Paul writes:


While referring to baptism, Paul uses the word παλινγενεσία, which, in English is “regeneration.” It must be pointed out here that this is the only place in Scripture where παλινγενεσία is used to refer to the renewed life in Christ.

Justification and Election
Current debates rage over Paul's use of the word “justification”. Some believe that he uses it in an exclusively individual sense to describe the event in the lives of the elect wherein God imputes Christ's righteousness to the sinner, expiates the sinner's sin, and declares him to be righteous. Others, proponents of the academic arm of the “New Perspective” on Paul maintain that Paul's use of the “justification” was limited to a corporate, collective sense in which it referred to the relationship between God's people.⁷ Naturally, the answer is found in the balance. Paul does not restrict his understanding of justification to only one sense but applies it individually at times and corporately at others.

The systematic theology of individual justification is well documented. It is a classic Protestant doctrine and the above description is a good summary. The Westminster Confession aptly describes individual justification in this way:

Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely justifies; not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.⁸

Justification is by faith alone. No actions of man are required to earn or merit such justification as it is the free gift of God. On the other hand, justification must also be understood in a corporate, covenantal sense.⁹ This can be demonstrated in Scripture by recalling Paul's description of the Church in Ephesians 5. The Bride of Christ is justified and her justification is reckoned by her Husband, her covenant Head.¹⁰ Jesus was justified,¹¹ not in the individual sense described in section XI of the Westminster Confession, but in this covenantal sense. His obedience was perfect and acceptable to God. Therefore, the Father declared Him just. Not because He was made righteous but because He perfectly kept the Law and was without sin. Consequently, this justification is appropriated by His bride though “the washing of water with the word (Eph. 5:26).” However, it must be noted that although the Bride is justified, she presently contains “spots and wrinkles”. That is to say, although the justified Bride has members who are not individually justified, she is still declared righteous.¹²

The doctrine of election must be seen in a similar light. Without denying that God has sovereignly elected a fixed number of individuals unto salvation, we may affirm that He has elected a people to be His bride, the church. The church is wholly elect and we are not to understand it as being partially elect, given the fact that some of its members are not individually elect.

This is demonstrated in the fact that Paul ordinarily refers to the church as “saints,” holy ones.¹³ Even more compelling is the fact that he also refers to the church outright as “the elect.”¹⁴ Peter also espoused this understanding in his epistles as both letters are addressed to “the elect,” a designation for a group which, in a strictly individual sense, can never be known by man, not even an apostle. From this we are to understand election to have both individual and corporate aspects.

The New Israel
The language of Paul says that “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” and that “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death...” The Romans 6 passage employs strong salvation language and never mentions faith or personal belief in the process. That said, this is not an argument to diminish or remove faith as the mode of individual salvation. The point here is merely that Paul assumes and assigns an efficaciousness to baptism that is not dependent upon any condition in the one baptized. Put another way, the effect (whatever it may be) of baptism is always brought about.

So then what is the effect? We have observed above what effects Paul ascribes to baptism. They are listed here for reference:

• Entrance into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13)
• Clothing with Christ and made sons of Abraham, heirs to the promise (Gal.3:26-29)
• Burial and resurrection with Christ (Col. 2:12)
• Unity with Christ “in the likeness” of His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:5)
• Conversion from godless life to Christian life (1 Cor. 6:11)

The Scriptures are filled with descriptions of the mercy and grace God exhibits toward men through the medium of covenantal union with Him. Space precluding a discussion of covenant theology versus dispensationalism, it must suffice here to assume a continuity between the Old and New Covenants to such a degree that the Christian church identify itself with Old Covenant Israel. Operating by this dichotomy, we may see God's covenantal blessing and curses delivered under the Old Covenant to apply to us under the New.¹⁵

Under the Old Covenant, that which kept the covenant together and which preserved the individual members of the covenant was the faithfulness of God (cf. Deut. 7:9). If the terms of the covenant were kept, the people would be blessed; if they were transgressed, the people would be cursed. We have examples of those who kept the covenant by God's grace (David), those who grievously transgressed and were cursed, only to repent and be restored by God (Manasseh), and those who grievously transgressed and were cursed, finally apostatizing and being cut off from the people of God (Achan).

We mention these distinctions because they are the same today. Note, however, that whatever the final destiny of the souls of the aforementioned men, they were all in the same covenant and subject to the same blessings and graces of God. All Israel was delivered out of Egypt, even the ones who grumbled and complained and even the ones who were ultimately faithless and damned. Therefore, since we have seen baptism as the entrance to the covenant, as described by Paul, we now turn to the practical ramifications of this for the individual believer.

In Romans 6:11, Paul urges his readers to “consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus,” the grounds of which exhortation is their baptism, which he has just finished describing. The understanding is that the covenant member is to live in the light of his baptism. I live like Christ because I am an heir of the promise; I am an heir of the promise because I am in Christ; I am in Christ because He is my covenant head; He is my head because I have been baptized into His body. Therefore, baptism obligates the one baptized to be wholly subject to God and His commands.¹⁶

Looking at the Israel/Church dichotomy, many differences are immediately apparent. These differences often cause us to miss some of the continuity. For instance, in the Old Testament, God's salvific workings in the hearts of men were almost exclusively carried out within the confines of the Covenant. God's grace and regard for the nations is seen in His occasional salvation of those outside the covenant (one thinks particularly of Rahab and Ruth), but nevertheless, God's ordinary vehicle for individual salvation was the Covenant.

However, since God's chosen people are no longer concentrated in a physical or ethnic container, it is altogether tempting to being understanding the “true” people of God as some sort of “invisible” church with which God has established a “real” covenant. But as we have seen, Paul consistently reckons the covenant in terms of profession and baptism and just as was the case under the Old Covenant, the outworking of God's plan of salvation in history normally takes place within the covenant.¹⁷

We shall pause here to clarify what we mean when we speak of God's “ordinary” or “normal” operations. We must deny a view of water baptism that obligates God to ultimately preserve the one baptized. Water is simply not that powerful. Nonetheless, through the Word and through God's testimony in historical experience, we may understand that God usually confines His work of salvation to the covenant. That said, we do have extraordinary examples both of those in the covenant falling away (cf. Acts 8:23-24) and those outside the covenant being saved (cf. Luke 23:43).

So then, since baptism into Christ is the entrance to God's covenant, and since covenant faithfulness and obedience is rewarded by God in the form of blessings, and since the ultimate blessing of God is eternal salvation, all faithful covenant members can realistically look to God for their salvation. However, even as not all covenant members were ultimately saved under the Old Covenant, neither shall all covenant members be ultimately saved under the New.

The Bible presents is reader with a double exhortation. On the one hand, he is encouraged by God's faithfulness, knowing that nothing can separate him from God's love (cf. Rom. 8:35). On the other hand, he is warned warned to persevere in obedience lest he fall away (cf. Heb. 6:4-6). Which is it then? Are we eternally secure or can we fall from grace?

To answer this question, we must begin with the overall covenant picture, which we have established: The Church of Christ is a visible, objective entity, the entrance to which is through the waters of baptism. How this interacts with the Reformation doctrine of “justification by faith alone” is essential to our discussion.

Baptismal Regeneration?
The term “baptismal regeneration” has come to have negative theological connotations and those who espouse the concept are readily considered heretics. However, in light of Titus 3:5, it would seem that we must be willing to speak of a sort of baptismal regeneration as this is the only type of regeneration the Bible speaks of. However, it has been suggested that the term “baptismal efficacy” be used to describe the result of Christian baptism, since the term “baptismal regeneration” has such a negative import.¹⁸ We shall bear this in mind as we turn now to discuss that effect which baptism accomplishes.

All individuals baptized into Christ are ushered into covenant union with Christ, whether they are elect or not, whether they are faithful or not, whether they even meant their profession of faith or not. Regardless of all internal conditions, the man baptized is a child of God. His baptism signifies the end of an old life and the beginning of a new, godly life (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11). This is precisely what Paul means in Titus 3:5 when he refers to the “washing of regeneration;” since the man has been washed, he is clean. He has been changed and he is therefore obligated to live like a clean man. If he does, he may therefore look to God for his final salvation. As Herman Ridderbos wrote, “the washing with water of baptism represents the new birth as the transition from the old mode of existence dominated and qualified by sin to that which derives its character from the Spirit as the eschatological gift of salvation.”¹⁹

However, once baptized, he is also bound to keep the terms of the covenant. If he despises the ordinances of God, refuses to repent, and is put outside the church, he is effectively “cut off” from the covenant and no longer has any claim to God's promises, including that of salvation.

These things make many of us uncomfortable. We are conditioned to defend against anything that sounds like a Roman Catholic merit-based salvation. We would prefer to approach salvation from an individualistic standpoint, saying that the only thing that matters for salvation is faith. We conclude that a doctrine of baptismal efficacy is therefore contradictory to justification by faith alone. Those, however, who are honest to the thrust of Scripture will at least concede the two doctrines as in need of reconciliation. However, as C.H. Spurgeon once said on another subject, “I do not attempt to reconcile friends.”

We have established that God ordinarily works out salvation within the covenant, that those faithful covenant members who persevere will be saved, and that those who apostatize will be damned. Yet we also affirm that salvation is “through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9).” The proponent of baptismal efficacy must show that these two ideas are indeed friends, lest he find himself labeled a heretic. We shall now see the nature of that friendship.

Perseverance
We have said that final salvation is conditioned upon perseverance yet we do not say that man earns salvation. This is because perseverance may rightly be considered a gift of God to those covenant members who are individually elect from the foundations of the earth (cf. Eph. 1:4). Reformed Christians are used to saying that God has chosen a fixed number of individuals unto salvation and that in each case, the Spirit of God will come upon them to regenerate them, impute Christ's righteousness to them, and enable them to respond to God in faith. This number, then, “can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved (WCF XVII.i).” All of this is certainly true. Notice, however, that their perseverance is the fruit of their effectual calling and sanctification. It is because of God's individual election and calling that perseverance is possible and it is on the grounds of this perseverance that God allows His children to enter into His rest (cf. Heb. 4:11).

In order to avoid confusion, it is necessary to clarify possible misconceptions at this point. Saying that ultimate salvation is grounded in perseverance is not saying that there are those who are individually elect who will not be given the gift of perseverance and will fall away from grace, losing their salvation. It is also not saying that there are those who can “trick” God by not being individually elect and managing to persevere within the covenant anyway. Furthermore, those covenant members who do fall away “cannot blame God for their falling away. It is their own fault, since God's overtures of love towards them in the context of the covenant were sincere. Conversely, those who do persevere to the end cannot claim any credit or make any boast. All they have done has been because of God's grace at work in them to keep them faithful.”²⁰

Therefore, when taken together, baptismal efficacy and justification by faith alone are indeed complimentary. The end result is a high view of water baptism that is true to what Scripture says of it. Paul is right to consider baptism and justification together because the one is normally found with the other. This union is the grounds for the Westminster Confession's strong statement on baptism:

Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the newness of life. Which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world.²²