Did Paul cease baptizing after Corinth?
Romans 6:4-6. Paul takes Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and makes it analogous to the new birth of the believer. Crucifying and dying to the old-self; burying the old-self in the tomb with Christ; and finally the regenerated new-self, rising into a newness of life by the quickening of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave.
The double-minded faith of the old-self is crucified as vain religious effort, when the righteousness-of-faith is given by grace in the miracle of repentance which changes remorse into godly sorrow: 2 Corinthians 7:10.
In Romans 6:3 Paul uses the word baptism figuratively, as also in First Corinthians 10:2, and Colossians 2:12. Though Christ did not baptize in water he nevertheless, used baptism figuratively in Matthew 20:22-23; Mark 10:38-39; and Luke 12:50.
Furthermore, Peter spoke of baptism figuratively in First Peter 3:20-22, a significant change from his previously borrowed the Old Testament’s priestly water of separation.
Though John the Baptist, (whom Peter quoted at Pentecost) belonged to the era of the Law, John the Prophet did not apply water as remission to those he baptized, it was the confession of sins evidencing heartfelt repentance. Albeit, those sins were to be re-confessed by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement each year until the blood of the new testament was shed on Calvary by Christ, the paschal lamb. Peter suddenly without warning reinstituted John’s water rite (Acts 2:38) and with it the same call to be baptized for repentance, but not remission, for in his second sermon (Acts 3) he makes quite clear that the blood alone cleanses sin. Neither he, nor Paul propounded the old covenant’s water rite as sin’s cleansing.
In a Roman trial (Acts 22:16) Paul told the Jews that Ananias of Damascus had uniquely used the unmodified old water rite, which ceremonially cleansed sin’s contamination: Deuteronomy 19:9.
Water washing away sin is found in the KJ Version & twenty three other English Old Testament versions.
KEY SCRIPTURES: biblegateway.com
Ephesians 4:5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
1 Corinthians 12:13.
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Galatians 3:27.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Further study on the new birth
Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:3; Ephesians 2:8.
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