{"id":261,"date":"2021-05-12T16:45:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/angelobiblestudy.com\/?page_id=261"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:46:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:46:37","slug":"what-is-the-purpose-of-baptism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/angelobiblestudy.com\/?page_id=261","title":{"rendered":"What is The Purpose of Baptism"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"261\" class=\"elementor elementor-261\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6c9490ac elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6c9490ac\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3a50b8a0\" data-id=\"3a50b8a0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ef5a26c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4ef5a26c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What is the Purpose of Baptism <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d41ba56 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4d41ba56\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>by Dave Miller Ph.D<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3dd181c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3dd181c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote><p>[<strong>Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong>: This article is the first installment in a two-part series taken from AP\u2019s soon-to-be released book\u00a0<em>Baptism &amp; the Greek Made Simple<\/em>.]<\/p><\/blockquote><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen&#8221; (Matthew 28:19-20).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><p>This declaration of Jesus just prior to His exit from the Earth constitutes the \u201cmarching orders\u201d for the apostles in promulgating the spread of Christianity in the first century. Embedded within this \u201cGreat Commission\u201d is one of the key prerequisites to being saved: water baptism. The precise wording expressed by Jesus provides clarification in ascertaining the essentiality of baptism.<\/p><h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Greek Present Participles<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\"><\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\"><\/a><\/h3><p>Consider Matthew\u2019s use of participles in this passage. In Greek, a participle indicates action as it relates to the main verb.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\">1<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\"><\/a>\u00a0<strong>Present<\/strong>\u00a0participles indicate action that occurs\u00a0<strong>at the same time<\/strong>\u00a0as the action of the main verb. Consider the following affirmations of this important point by prominent Greek grammarians:<\/p><ul><li><strong>J. Gresham Machen\u00a0<\/strong>[early 20<sup>th<\/sup>-century Presbyterian theologian, professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary, founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, author of the Greek grammar\u00a0<em>New Testament Greek for Beginners<\/em>]\u2014\u201cThe present participle, therefore, is used if the action denoted by the participle is represented as taking place\u00a0<strong>at the same time as the action denoted by the leading verb<\/strong>, no matter whether the action denoted by the leading verb is past, present or future.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\">2<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>Ray Summers\u00a0<\/strong>[20<sup>th<\/sup>-century professor of New Testament and Greek at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Baylor University, author of the Greek grammar\u00a0<em>Essentials of New Testament Greek<\/em>]\u2014\u201cThe time of action in participles is indicated in the relation of the action of the participle to the action of the main verb\u2026. The present participle indicates action which is\u00a0<strong>contemporaneous with the action of the main verb<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\">3<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>H.E. Dana and Julius Mantey [<\/strong>20<sup>th<\/sup>-century Baptist seminary professors of New Testament Interpretation, authors of the Greek grammar\u00a0<em>A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament<\/em>]\u2014\u201c<strong>Simultaneous action relative to the main verb<\/strong>\u00a0is ordinarily expressed by the present.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\">4<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>A.T. Robertson [<\/strong>early 20<sup>th<\/sup>-century eminent professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, author of\u00a0<em>Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament<\/em>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<em>A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research<\/em>]\u2014\u201cThe present participle gets its time from the principal verb.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\">5<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>James Hadley [<\/strong>19<sup>th<\/sup>-century professor of Greek at Yale, member of the American Committee for the revision of the New Testament and president of the American Oriental Society; first rate linguist, with knowledge of Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Armenian, and several Celtic languages]\u2014\u201cThe participles denote\u00a0<strong>time relatively to that of the verb on which they depend<\/strong>. The present and perfect participles denote time relatively\u00a0<em>present<\/em>, the aorist participle time relatively\u00a0<em>past<\/em>, the future participle time relatively\u00a0<em>future<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\">6<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>William Goodwin [<\/strong>19<sup>th<\/sup>-century classical scholar and Eliot professor of Greek at Harvard University, first director of the American School for Classical Studies at Athens, president of the American Philological Association]\u2014\u201cThe tenses of the participle\u2026are present, past, or future\u00a0<em>relatively<\/em>\u00a0to the time of the verb with which they are connected.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\">7<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>William Mounce\u00a0<\/strong>[21<sup>st<\/sup>-century New Testament Greek scholar, chaired the ESV translation committee, directed the Greek Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and author of<em>Basics of Biblical Greek<\/em>]\u2014\u201c[T]he time of the participle is relative to the time of the main verb. The present participle describes an action occurring\u00a0<strong>at the same time as the main verb<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\">8<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>Raphael Kuhner\u00a0<\/strong>[19<sup>th<\/sup>-century German classical scholar educated at the University of G\u00f6ttingen, taught in the Hanover Lyceum, produced a large, two-volume Greek grammar translated by William Jelf, with an enlarged third edition in four volumes produced by Friedrich Blass and Bernhard Gerth]\u2014\u201cThe action or state denoted by the participle is, therefore,\u00a0<strong>usually\u00a0<em>prior<\/em>\u00a0to that denoted by the verb<\/strong>\u00a0with which it is connected,\u00a0<strong>sometimes coincident<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\">9<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\"><\/a><\/li><li><strong>James Moulton\u00a0<\/strong>[early 20<sup>th<\/sup>-century philologist and Greek scholar, Tutor at Didsbury College, Fellow of King\u2019s College, Cambridge, Greenwood Professor of Hellenistic Greek and Indo-European Philology at Manchester University, Doctor of Letters, University of London. Produced\u00a0<em>Prolegomena<\/em>, the first volume in the highly acclaimed series\u00a0<em>A Grammar of New Testament Greek<\/em>]\u2014\u201cthe linear action in a participle, connected with a finite verb in past or present time,\u00a0<strong>partakes in the time of its principal<\/strong>.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\">10<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\"><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>While many more could be cited,<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\">11<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\"><\/a>\u00a0these observations from respected Greek grammarians of the last two centuries demonstrate a simple but certain truth regarding the use of participles in the Greek language of the New Testament. Robison demonstrated the same usage among the apostolic fathers.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\">12<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\"><\/a><\/p><p>Before turning to the Greek grammar of Matthew 28:19-20, consider the following examples in English that illustrate the function of the present participle as it relates to the main verb:<\/p><blockquote><p><strong>Example #1<\/strong>: \u201cGo make pancakes, mixing the batter in the porcelain bowl, pouring it on the griddle.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><p>\u201cMake (pancakes)\u201d serves as the main verb of the sentence. \u201cMixing\u201d and \u201cpouring\u201d are present participles. They refer to action that occurs at the same time as the main verb. In other words, \u201cmixing the batter\u201d and \u201cpouring it on the griddle\u201d describe\u00a0<strong>how<\/strong>\u00a0to achieve the action of the main verb. Mixing the batter and pouring it on the griddle do not refer to action that is\u00a0<strong>subsequent<\/strong>\u00a0to the action of the main verb. They do not occur\u00a0<strong>after<\/strong>\u00a0the pancakes are made. Rather, they represent actions that are contemporaneous with the action of the main verb.<\/p><blockquote><p><strong>Example #2<\/strong>: \u201cGo clean the yard, mowing the lawn, raking the leaves.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><p>The main verb of this sentence is \u201cclean (the yard)\u201d followed by the two present participles \u201cmowing\u201d and \u201craking.\u201d Being present participles, \u201cmowing\u201d and \u201craking\u201d represent action that occurs\u00a0<strong>simultaneous<\/strong>\u00a0with the action of the main verb. The father is not instructing his son to clean the yard, and then after doing so, to subsequently mow the yard and rake the leaves. Rather, mowing the yard and raking the leaves indicate how the action of the main verb (clean the yard) is to be achieved.<\/p><p>Turning now to the Greek grammar of Matthew 28:19-20, our Lord uttered an imperative directive couched in the main verb\u00a0<em>matheteusate<\/em>\u00a0from<em>matheteuo<\/em>\u2014\u201cto make disciples.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\">13<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\"><\/a>\u00a0The apostles were to go throughout the world and \u201cmake disciples.\u201d Jesus clarified this directive with two\u00a0<strong>present<\/strong>\u00a0participles: \u201cteaching\u201d and \u201cbaptizing.\u201d Southern Baptist scholar of New Testament Greek A.T. Robertson says these two participles in this passage are \u201cmodal participles,\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn15\" name=\"_ednref15\">14<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn15\" name=\"_ednref15\"><\/a>\u00a0i.e., they identify the manner, means, or method by which the action of the main verb is accomplished. Samuel Green agreed, listing Matthew 28:19 as an example of the \u201cmodal\u201d use, \u201csetting forth the manner in which the given action was performed.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn16\" name=\"_ednref16\">15<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn16\" name=\"_ednref16\"><\/a>\u00a0Dana and Mantey state that the \u201cModal Participle\u201d \u201cmay signify the manner in which the action of the main verb is accomplished.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn17\" name=\"_ednref17\">16<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn17\" name=\"_ednref17\"><\/a>\u00a0Hence, they pinpoint the mode by which the action of the main verb is achieved (also \u201cmanner or means\u201d).<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn18\" name=\"_ednref18\">17<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn18\" name=\"_ednref18\"><\/a><\/p><p>Observe that the English reader might be tempted to interpret Jesus\u2019 command to mean that the apostles were\u00a0<strong>first<\/strong>\u00a0to make disciples, i.e., convert people to Christianity, and\u00a0<strong>then<\/strong>baptize them, and then\u00a0<strong>after<\/strong>\u00a0baptizing them to teach them additional Christian doctrine. However, the Greek grammar of the passage, i.e., Matthew\u2019s inspired Greek translation of Jesus\u2019 (perhaps Aramaic) remarks, weighs heavily against this interpretation and clarifies succinctly Jesus\u2019 intended meaning.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn19\" name=\"_ednref19\">18<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn19\" name=\"_ednref19\"><\/a><\/p><p>The main verb of the sentence, \u201cmake disciples,\u201d is followed by two present participles that represent actions that occur\u00a0<strong>at the same time<\/strong>\u00a0as the action of the main verb. \u201cTeaching\u201d (<em>didaskontes<\/em>) and \u201cbaptizing\u201d (<em>baptidzontes<\/em>) are actions that occur simultaneous with \u201cmaking disciples,\u201d i.e., they indicate what Jesus meant when He directed the apostles to go throughout the nations and convert people. To make disciples, the apostles were required to teach people the Gospel, including the necessity of observing all of Jesus\u2019 commands, and then to baptize them in water. Those individuals who complied with these two actions were thereby made disciples.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn20\" name=\"_ednref20\">19<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn20\" name=\"_ednref20\"><\/a>\u00a0Alexander Bruce, 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century Scottish theologian and chair of Apologetics and New Testament Exegesis in the Free Church Hall in Glasgow, who authored the commentary on Matthew in Nicoll\u2019s series\u00a0<em>The Expositor\u2019s Greek Testament<\/em>, wrote: \u201cbaptism the condition of discipleship = make disciples by baptizing.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn21\" name=\"_ednref21\">20<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn21\" name=\"_ednref21\"><\/a>\u00a0In his commentaries on the Greek Testament, another 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century scholar, English churchman, theologian, and textual critic, Henry Alford, specifically noted concerning Matthew 28:19-20: \u201cBoth these present participles are the\u00a0<strong>conditioning components<\/strong>\u00a0of the imperative aor. preceding.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn22\" name=\"_ednref22\">21<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn22\" name=\"_ednref22\"><\/a>\u00a0In other words, being taught and baptized are\u00a0<strong>the conditions<\/strong>\u00a0for becoming a disciple. As Matthew Poole explained: \u201cmake disciples\u2026must be first by preaching and instructing them in the principles of the Christian faith\u2026. I cannot be of their mind, who think that persons may be baptized before they are taught\u2026. They were first to preach and to baptize amongst the Jews, and then thus to disciple all nations.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn23\" name=\"_ednref23\">22<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn23\" name=\"_ednref23\"><\/a>\u00a0Hence, John Lightfoot explained: \u201c<em>Make disciples<\/em>: Bring them in by baptism\u2026. When they are under baptism, they are no longer under heathenism; [baptism] puts a difference between those who are under the discipleship of Christ, and those who are not.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn24\" name=\"_ednref24\">23<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn24\" name=\"_ednref24\"><\/a>\u00a0Or as British Baptist scholar and professor of New Testament Interpretation G.R. Beasley-Murray noted: \u201cthe participles describe the manner in which a disciple is made\u2026. It is when a hearer believes and is baptized that he becomes a full disciple; which is the same as saying that a disciple is made such\u00a0<em>in baptism by faith<\/em>\u2026. Baptizing belongs to the means by which a disciple is made.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn25\" name=\"_ednref25\">24<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn25\" name=\"_ednref25\"><\/a><\/p><p>American theologian, ordained Presbyterian minister, and graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Albert Barnes, explained the import of the participles in his commentary: \u201cThis word properly means\u00a0<em>disciple<\/em>, or\u00a0<em>make disciples of<\/em>. This was to be done, however, by teaching, and by administering the rite of baptism.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn26\" name=\"_ednref26\">25<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn26\" name=\"_ednref26\"><\/a>\u00a0R.C.H. Lenski, Lutheran scholar whose 12-volume series of commentaries on the New Testament (from a traditional Lutheran perspective) contains a literal translation of the Greek texts, observes: \u201cTwo participles of means then state how all nations are to be made into disciples: by baptizing them and by teaching them.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn27\" name=\"_ednref27\">26<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn27\" name=\"_ednref27\"><\/a>\u00a0Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, Daniel Wallace, insists that the two participles (baptizing and teaching)<\/p><blockquote><p>should not be taken as attendant circumstance. First, they do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles (they are present tense and follow the main verb). And second, they obviously make good sense as participles of\u00a0<em>means<\/em>: i.e.,\u00a0<strong>the means by which the disciples were to make disciples<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn28\" name=\"_ednref28\">27<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn28\" name=\"_ednref28\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>R.T. France, New Testament scholar and Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, explains that \u201c<em>Baptizing<\/em>\u00a0and \u2018teaching\u2019 (v. 20) are participles dependent on the main verb,\u00a0<em>make disciples<\/em>; they further specify what is involved in discipleship.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn29\" name=\"_ednref29\">28<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn29\" name=\"_ednref29\"><\/a>\u00a0And A. Lukyn Williams insightfully observes: \u201cThe imperative aorist\u00a0<em>matheteusate<\/em>\u00a0is, as it were, decomposed by the two following present participles, \u2018baptizing\u2019 and \u2018teaching\u2019\u2026. The present participle denotes\u00a0<strong>the mode of initiation<\/strong>\u00a0into discipleship.\u00a0<strong>Make them disciples by baptizing them<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn30\" name=\"_ednref30\">29<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn30\" name=\"_ednref30\"><\/a>\u00a0Or as Norrisian Professor of Divinity at Cambridge and Lord Bishop of Winchester, Edward Harold Browne, explained in the well-respected\u00a0<em>Smith\u2019s Dictionary of the Bible<\/em>: \u201cMake disciples of all nations\u00a0<strong>by baptizing them<\/strong>\u2026[T]hey were to be made disciples, admitted into the fellowship of Christ\u2019s religion,\u00a0<strong>by baptism<\/strong>.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn31\" name=\"_ednref31\">30<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn31\" name=\"_ednref31\"><\/a>\u00a0And Heinrich Meyer, noted German Protestant theologian, in his\u00a0<em>Kritisch-ex-egetischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament<\/em>, observed that it is in the \u201cbaptizing\u201d where \u201cdiscipling\u201d \u201cis to be\u00a0<em>consummated<\/em>, not something that must be done\u00a0<em>after<\/em>\u00a0the\u00a0<em>matheteusate<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn32\" name=\"_ednref32\">31<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn32\" name=\"_ednref32\"><\/a><\/p><p>In view of these decisive linguistic considerations, examine the following three sentences together:<\/p><ul><li>\u201cGo make pancakes, mixing the batter in the porcelain bowl, pouring it on the griddle.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201cGo clean the yard, mowing the lawn, raking the leaves.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201cGo make disciples\u2026, baptizing them\u2026, teaching them\u2026.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><p>Now ask and answer three questions based solely on the grammar:<\/p><ul><li>Can pancakes be made without mixing batter and pouring the batter on the griddle? Answer: No.<\/li><li>Can the yard be cleaned without mowing the lawn and raking the leaves? Answer: No.<\/li><li>Can disciples of Christ be made without teaching and baptizing them? Answer: No.<\/li><\/ul><div><div id=\"edn20\"><h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">THE GREEK PREPOSITION EIS<\/h2><p>Another grammatical factor in Matthew 28:19-20 concerns the occurrence of the preposition <em>eis<\/em>\u00a0in the phrase \u201cbaptizing them in (<em>eis<\/em>) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit\u201d (ESV). The standard meaning of the underlying Greek preposition connotes \u201cinto\u201d and is generally distinguished from the preposition\u00a0<em>en<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cin\u201d). The translation of \u201cinto\u201d is given in the American Standard Version, the margin of the English Standard Version, and others (e.g., Beck, Weymouth, et al.).<\/p><p>While it is true that\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>en<\/em>\u00a0are etymologically related and sometimes even interchanged,<sup>1<\/sup>they are not synonymous. In his classic work on the Greek idiom of the New Testament, C.F.D. Moule (leading scholar of the New Testament, Professor of Divinity at Cambridge for 25 years) noted that \u201cwhere\u00a0<em>en<\/em>\u00a0=\u00a0<em>in<\/em>,\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0would rather =\u00a0<em>into<\/em>,\u201d and contrasted with\u00a0<em>pros<\/em>, \u201c<em>eis<\/em>tends to include the idea of\u00a0<em>entry<\/em>.\u201d<sup>2<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\"><\/a>\u00a0Nigel Turner observed that Matthew \u201cis more careful than any NT author to preserve the distinction between\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>en<\/em>.\u201d<sup>3<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\"><\/a>\u00a0A.T. Robertson insisted that in its use of\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0in Matthew 28:19, \u201cthe notion of sphere is the true one.\u201d<sup>4<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\"><\/a>\u00a0In his volume on Greek syntax, Nigel Turner insists that even with potential confusion between the two prepositions, \u201cin Mt\u2026we can always presume that\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0has its full sense even where one might suspect that it stood for\u00a0<em>en<\/em>\u00a0(e.g., Mt 28\u00a0<sup>19<\/sup>\u00a0baptism\u00a0<em>into<\/em>\u00a0the name, i.e.\u00a0<strong>a relationship as the goal of baptism<\/strong>).\u201d<sup>5<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\"><\/a>\u00a0R.T. France agrees: \u201cThe\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0which introduces the baptismal formula in Matt 28:19 and in most of the other NT baptism texts is perhaps to be understood as drawing attention to\u00a0<strong>the new relationship and allegiance into which the one baptized is thus introduced<\/strong>\u201d<sup>6<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\"><\/a>\u2014\u201cimplying entrance into an allegiance.\u201d<sup>7<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\"><\/a><\/p><p>Marvin Vincent was a Presbyterian minister and professor of New Testament Exegesis and Criticism at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In his multi-volume work\u00a0<em>Word Studies in the New Testament<\/em>, Vincent provides this somewhat lengthy commentary on\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0in Matthew 28:19\u2014<\/p><blockquote><p>Rev., correctly, \u201c<em>into<\/em>\u00a0the name.\u201d Baptizing into the name has a twofold meaning. 1.\u00a0<em>Unto<\/em>, denoting\u00a0<em>object<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<em>purpose<\/em>\u2026. 2.\u00a0<em>Into<\/em>, denoting\u00a0<em>union<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<em>communion<\/em>\u00a0<em>with<\/em>\u2026. Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him\u2026. When one is baptized into the name of the Trinity, he professes to acknowledge and appropriate God in all that he is and in all that he does for man.<sup>8<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>The\u00a0<em>Abingdon Bible Commentary<\/em>\u00a0notes: \u201c<em>Baptizing into the name of<\/em>\u00a0means baptizing them so that they are\u00a0<strong>entered as the possession of the Father<\/strong>.\u201d<sup>9<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\"><\/a>\u00a0Alford offers a comparable assessment: \u201cIt is unfortunate again here that our English Bibles do not give us the force of this ei)$. It should have been\u00a0<strong>into<\/strong>\u2026. It imports, not only a\u00a0<em>subjective recognition<\/em>\u00a0hereafter by the child of the truth implied in\u00a0<em>to onoma\u00a0<\/em>[\u201cthe name\u201d\u2014DM]<em>&#8230;<\/em>, but\u00a0<strong>an\u00a0<em>objective admission<\/em>\u00a0into the covenant of Redemption\u2014<em>a putting on of Christ<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<sup>10<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\"><\/a>\u00a0Milligan described the shift as \u201cour transfer from the kingdom of darkness\u00a0<strong>into<\/strong>\u00a0the Kingdom or Church of Christ.\u201d<sup>11<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\"><\/a><\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/apologeticspress.org\/user_images\/image\/rr\/2018\/1810a01w.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p><p><strong>Summary<\/strong>: Though these linguistic experts vary in their terminology, they are unanimous in their recognition of the significance of\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0in Matthew 28:19 as it relates to the\u00a0<strong>design<\/strong>\u00a0of baptism. A person has not entered into a new relationship and allegiance with God, or come into union or communion with God, or gained admission into the covenant of redemption, or put on Christ, and is not a possession of the Father (different ways to say the same thing)\u00a0<strong>until<\/strong>\u00a0the act of baptism. [See graphic above.] Use of the Greek preposition \u201cinto\u201d indicates that when one is baptized in water, the individual is being transferred from one sphere or realm into another, from not having a relationship with deity into having one. Hence, water immersion is unmistakably the dividing line between the lost and the saved, the unforgiven and the forgiven, the non-Christian and the Christian.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">THE GREEK NOUN ONOMA<\/h2><p>Another nuance in Matthew 28:19-20 to be considered is the occurrence of the term\u00a0<em>onoma<\/em>(\u201cname\u201d) in the phrase \u201cbaptizing them in the name (<em>onoma<\/em>) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit\u201d (ESV). While the term has a variety of shades of meaning in usage, \u201cin the name of\u201d frequently is used in Scripture as a parallel expression to \u201cby\u00a0<strong>the power or authority<\/strong>\u00a0of\u201d (e.g., Act 4:7). Hans Bietenhard, Swiss Reformed theologian and Professor of New Testament at the University of Bern, noted that the formula \u201cin the name of Jesus\u201d means \u201caccording to his will and instruction.\u201d<sup>12<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\"><\/a>\u00a0Specifically, in Matthew 28:19, \u201cThe literal meaning is that baptism symbolically<sup>13<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\"><\/a>\u00a0assigns the person baptized to Christ\u00a0<strong>for forgiveness of sins<\/strong>.\u201d<sup>14<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\"><\/a>\u00a0W.E. Vine, English biblical scholar and theologian, defined\u00a0<em>onoma<\/em>\u00a0in its use in Matthew 28:19 as \u201cin recognition\u00a0<strong>of the authority of<\/strong>\u00a0(sometimes combined with the thought of relying or resting on).\u201d<sup>15<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn15\" name=\"_ednref15\"><\/a>\u00a0A.T. Robertson cited the use of\u00a0<em>onoma<\/em>\u00a0in Matthew 28:19 as another example where \u201cname\u201d has \u201cthe idea of \u2018<strong>the authority of<\/strong>\u2019\u201d<sup>16<\/sup>\u2014\u201ca common one in the Septuagint and the papyri for\u00a0<strong>power or authority<\/strong>.\u201d<sup>17<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn17\" name=\"_ednref17\"><\/a>\u00a0Joseph Thayer was a biblical scholar, late Professor of sacred literature at Andover Seminary and Professor of New Testament Criticism in the Harvard Divinity School, who served as a member of the American Bible Revision Committee resulting in the American Standard Version, and also produced an influential Greek lexicon at the time. Delineating one usage of\u00a0<em>onoma<\/em>\u00a0as \u201cchiefly Hebraistic,\u201d Thayer explains the meaning of Matthew 28:19 as, \u201cby baptism to bind any one to recognize and publicly acknowledgethe<strong>dignity and authority<\/strong>\u00a0of one.\u201d<sup>18<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn18\" name=\"_ednref18\"><\/a>\u00a0He defines\u00a0<em>baptidzo<\/em>\u00a0with\u00a0<em>eis onoma<\/em>\u00a0as \u201cto profess the name of one whose follower we become.\u201d<sup>19<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn19\" name=\"_ednref19\"><\/a>\u00a0Referring back to verse 18, Meyer keys into this notion of authority and notes that \u201c<em>all nations<\/em>\u00a0should be\u00a0<em>brought under\u00a0<strong>His government<\/strong><\/em>, and made subject to His sway.\u201d<sup>20<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn20\" name=\"_ednref20\"><\/a>\u00a0Boles well notes the significance of \u201cname\u201d:<\/p><blockquote><p>The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means\u00a0<strong>the combined authority of the Godhead<\/strong>. To be baptized into this is to be brought by baptism into\u00a0<strong>actual subjection to the combined authority of heaven<\/strong>. To be baptized into the name of these three\u00a0<strong>brings one into covenant relation<\/strong>\u00a0with the Godhead.<sup>21<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn21\" name=\"_ednref21\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Submitting to authority is closely related to the notion of submitting one\u2019s self to the ownership of another in order to become his possession, as noted by Crain: \u201cThe phrase \u2018into the name of\u2019 indicates becoming the possession of the triune God.\u201d<sup>22<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn22\" name=\"_ednref22\"><\/a>\u00a0F.F. Bruce agrees:<\/p><blockquote><p>I suggest that\u00a0<em>eis to onoma<\/em>\u00a0implies\u00a0<strong>a transference of ownership<\/strong>\u2026. This is noteworthy in the baptismal formulae of the New Testament: baptism \u201cinto the name\u201d of the Triune God (Matt. 28.19), or \u201cinto the name of the Lord Jesus\u201d (Acts 8.16; 19.5; cf. I Cor. I.13,15), is the sign [indicator\u2014DM] that He is Lord and that\u00a0<strong>the baptized person belongs to Him<\/strong>.<sup>23<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn23\" name=\"_ednref23\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Similarly, James Moulton, British philologist and professor of Classical Greek and other languages at the University of Manchester, and George Milligan, biblical scholar and Kimmer at Warwick University, made the following remarks concerning Matthew 28:19\u2014<\/p><blockquote><p>The phrase\u00a0<strong>eis (to) onoma tinos<\/strong>\u00a0is frequent in the papyri with reference to payments made \u201cto the account of any one\u201d\u2026. The usage is of interest in connexion with Mt 28:19, where the meaning would seem to be \u201cbaptized into\u00a0<strong>the possession of the Father<\/strong>, etc.\u201d<sup>24<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn24\" name=\"_ednref24\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Likewise Alexander Souter similarly explained: \u201cWhen the preposition ei)$ with a noun in the accus. follows, it appears to indicate that through this ceremony the baptized person\u00a0<strong>becomes the property<\/strong>\u00a0of the person indicated after ei)$.\u201d<sup>25<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn25\" name=\"_ednref25\"><\/a>\u00a0The classic lexicon most recently revised by Frederick Danker says that \u201cinto the name\u201d means that \u201c[t]hrough baptism\u2026those who are baptized become the possession of and come under the dedicated protection of the one whose name they bear.\u201d<sup>26<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn26\" name=\"_ednref26\"><\/a><\/p><p>A. Lukyn Williams, English New Testament scholar at Cambridge and Principal of Moore Theological College in New South Wales, explained that the translation of \u201cin\u201d came from the influence of the Latin Vulgate \u201cwhich does not give the right force to the expression.\u201d<sup>27<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn27\" name=\"_ednref27\"><\/a>Instead, the use of\u00a0<em>eis<\/em><\/p><blockquote><p>signifies into\u00a0<strong>the power and influence of the Holy Trinity<\/strong>, into faith in the three Persons of God, and the duties and privileges consequent on that faith, into the family of God and obedience unto its Head. The \u201cinto\u201d shows the end and aim of the consecration of baptism\u2026. So being baptized into the Name of God implies\u00a0<strong>being placed in subjection to and communion with God himself, admitted into covenant with him<\/strong>.<sup>28<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn28\" name=\"_ednref28\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Seventeenth-century biblical commentator Matthew Poole explained \u201cin the name\u201d as meaning \u201cin the\u00a0<strong>authority<\/strong>, or\u2026into the\u00a0<strong>profession<\/strong>\u00a0of the trinity of the persons in the one Divine Being\u2026obliging them to worship and serve God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.\u201d<sup>29<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn29\" name=\"_ednref29\"><\/a>Meyer explains:<\/p><blockquote><p>Here, where the\u00a0<em>baptidzein eis to onoma<\/em>\u00a0is regarded as that through which the\u00a0<em>matheteuein<\/em>\u00a0is operated, and through which, accordingly, the\u00a0<strong>introduction into spiritual fellowship with<\/strong>, and ethical dependence upon Christ is brought about, it must be understood as denoting that by baptism the believer passes into that new phase of life in which he accepts the\u00a0<em>name of the Father (of Christ) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as the sum of his creed and confession<\/em>.<sup>30<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn30\" name=\"_ednref30\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Observe, again, that all of these scholars are in essential agreement as to the\u00a0<strong>design<\/strong>\u00a0of baptism as it relates to the use of \u201cname\u201d in Matthew 28:19. Whether the significance pertains to transference of\u00a0<strong>ownership<\/strong>\u00a0of the baptized individual, or thereby becoming a\u00a0<strong>possession<\/strong>\u00a0of God, or being placed in\u00a0<strong>subjection<\/strong>\u00a0to and\u00a0<strong>communion<\/strong>\u00a0with God, or being\u00a0<strong>admitted<\/strong>\u00a0to His covenant, or being introduced into spiritual\u00a0<strong>fellowship<\/strong>\u00a0with Him, the design of baptism remains the same. Barnes summarizes:<\/p><blockquote><p>So to be baptized in the name of the Father, or unto the Father, means publicly, by a significant rite, to receive his system of religion; to bind the soul to obey his laws; to be devoted to him; to receive, as the guide and comforter of the life, his instructions, and to trust to his promises. To be baptized unto the Son, in like manner, is to receive him as the Messiah\u2014our Prophet, Priest, and King\u2014to submit to his laws, and to receive him as a Saviour.<sup>31<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn31\" name=\"_ednref31\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">SUMMARY<\/h2><p>Drawing together the linguistic insights generated by these two features of the Greek, observe that \u201cbaptizing them in (<em>eis<\/em>\/into) the name (<em>onoma<\/em>\/authority) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit\u201d refers to the transference of the individual into the sphere of the authority of deity. As McGarvey observed:<\/p><blockquote><p>The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means the\u00a0<strong>combined<em>authority<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0of all the manifestations of God. To be baptized into this, is to be\u00a0<strong>brought by baptism into actual subjection to it<\/strong>. He that is baptized is brought into subjection\u00a0<strong>by that act<\/strong>\u00a0to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.<sup>32<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn32\" name=\"_ednref32\"><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p>While deity actually wields authority over the entire Universe (cf. vs. 18; Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 1:15ff.), no human has willingly placed himself under that jurisdiction or submitted to that authority\u00a0<strong>until<\/strong>\u00a0he submits to water immersion. A person submits himself to the authority of the Godhead when, having been taught the Gospel generating faith, repentance, and oral confession, he then is baptized into that sphere of authority. Conversely, until a person enacts the divinely designated means by which a person places himself under God\u2019s authority, he remains under the authority and power of Satan. Ownership has not been transferred to deity.<\/p><h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">CONCLUSION<\/h2><p>Matthew 28:19-20 teaches that a person is neither a\u00a0<strong>disciple<\/strong>\u00a0of Christ, nor in submission to the\u00a0<strong>authority<\/strong>\u00a0of God,\u00a0<strong>until\u00a0<\/strong>that person has been baptized in water. The unsaved person\u00a0<strong>must<\/strong>\u00a0pass through the waters of baptism in order to become a disciple of Christ and submit himself to the authority of deity. As British Baptist G.R. Beasley-Murray stated emphatically: \u201cIn the New Testament\u2026 baptism is conversion-baptism. Conversion was\u00a0<strong>fulfilled<\/strong>\u00a0and expressed in baptism.\u00a0<strong>Baptism was conversion<\/strong>\u2026assumed in the Missionary Commission of Matt. xxviii. 18-20.\u201d<sup>33<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn33\" name=\"_ednref33\"><\/a>\u00a0Or as Schlatter explained: \u201cThe apostolic preaching\u00a0<strong>culminated<\/strong>\u00a0in the offer of baptism; the primitive sermon was a baptismal sermon. Its purpose was not merely the acceptance of an idea:\u00a0<strong>it demanded a definite act<\/strong>.\u201d<sup>34<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn34\" name=\"_ednref34\"><\/a>\u00a0The person who thinks he became a Christian,<sup>35<\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_edn35\" name=\"_ednref35\"><\/a>\u00a0a disciple of Christ, and was saved the moment he \u201cbelieved\u201d in Jesus\u2014before and without being baptized\u2014was mistaken and did not become a disciple of Christ in accordance with Jesus\u2019 own directive.<\/p><div><h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">ENDNOTES<\/h2><div id=\"edn1\"><p><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\"><\/a><\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn2\"><p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\"><\/a>\u201cThe participle has not time in itself. Time with the participle is purely relative; it gets its time from the verb with which it is used\u201d\u2014William Davis (1923),\u00a0<em>Beginner\u2019s Grammar of the Greek New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Harper &amp; Row), p. 99; cf. John Huddilston (1961),\u00a0<em>Essentials of New Testament Greek<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Macmillan), p. 73.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn3\"><p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\"><\/a>J. Gresham Machen (1923),\u00a0<em>New Testament Greek for Beginners<\/em>\u00a0(Toronto: Macmillan), pp. 105-106, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn4\"><p><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref4\" name=\"_edn4\"><\/a>Ray Summers (1950),\u00a0<em>Essentials of New Testament Greek<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Broadman Press), pp. 89-90, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn5\"><p><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\"><\/a>H.E. Dana and Julius Mantey (1955),\u00a0<em>A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament<\/em>(Toronto: Macmillan), p. 230, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn6\"><p><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\"><\/a>A.T. Robertson (1909),\u00a0<em>Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament\u00a0<\/em>(New York: A.C. Armstrong &amp; Son), p. 197.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn7\"><p><sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref7\" name=\"_edn7\"><\/a>James Hadley (1885),\u00a0<em>A Greek Grammar for Schools and Colleges<\/em>\u00a0(New York: D. Appleton), p. 272, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn8\"><p><sup>7<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref8\" name=\"_edn8\"><\/a>William Goodwin (1893),\u00a0<em>A Greek Grammar<\/em>\u00a0(Boston: Ginn &amp; Company), p. 275, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn9\"><p><sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref9\" name=\"_edn9\"><\/a>William Mounce (2003),\u00a0<em>Basics of Biblical Greek<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), p. 255, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn10\"><p><sup>9<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref10\" name=\"_edn10\"><\/a>Raphael Kuhner (1872),\u00a0<em>Grammar of the Greek Language<\/em>, trans. B.B. Edwards &amp; S.H. Taylor (New York: D. Appleton &amp; Co.), p. 471, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn11\"><p><sup>10<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref11\" name=\"_edn11\"><\/a>James H. Moulton (1906),\u00a0<em>A Grammar of New Testament Greek: Prolegomena<\/em>\u00a0(Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), second edition, p. 126, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn12\"><p><sup>11<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref12\" name=\"_edn12\"><\/a>e.g., Ernest Burton (1898),\u00a0<em>Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek<\/em>(Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), p. 54; H.P.V. Nunn (1973 reprint),\u00a0<em>A Short Syntax of New Testament Greek<\/em>\u00a0(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), p. 123; Jeremy Duff (2005),\u00a0<em>The Elements of New Testament Greek<\/em>\u00a0(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), p. 85.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn13\"><p><sup>12<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref13\" name=\"_edn13\"><\/a>Henry Robison (1913),\u00a0<em>Syntax of the Participle in the Apostolic Fathers<\/em>\u00a0(Chicago: University of Chicago), pp. 11ff.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn14\"><p><sup>13<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref14\" name=\"_edn14\"><\/a>James Moulton (1919),\u00a0<em>A Grammar of New Testament Greek: Accidence and Word Formation<\/em>\u00a0(Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), 2:400.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn15\"><p><sup>14<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref15\" name=\"_edn15\"><\/a>A.T. Robertson (1934),\u00a0<em>A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Broadman), p. 1128.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn16\"><p><sup>15<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref16\" name=\"_edn16\"><\/a>Samuel Green (1886),\u00a0<em>Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Fleming H. Revell), p. 332.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn17\"><p><sup>16<\/sup>\u00a0p. 228. Also Curtis Vaughan and Virtus Gideon (1979),\u00a0<em>A Greek Grammar of the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Broadman), pp. 157,160\u2014\u201cThe circumstantial participle (sometimes called \u2018adverbial\u2019) defines\u00a0<strong>the circumstances under which the action of a verb takes place<\/strong>\u2026. The circumstantial participle may be\u00a0<strong>modal<\/strong>, denoting\u00a0<strong>the manner in which the action of the main verb is effected<\/strong>.\u201d Classical scholar Herbert Weir Smyth agreed: \u201cThe circumstantial participle expresses simply circumstance or manner in general. It may imply various other relations, such as time, manner, means, cause, purpose, concession, condition, etc\u2026. The time denoted by the participle is\u00a0<strong>only relative to that of the governing verb<\/strong>;\u201d \u201cThe action set forth by the present participle is generally coincident (rarely antecedent or subsequent) to that of the leading verb\u201d\u2014(1963),\u00a0<em>Greek Grammar\u00a0<\/em>(Cambridge: Harvard University Press), pp. 457,419.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn18\"><p><sup>17<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref18\" name=\"_edn18\"><\/a>See also Burton, p. 172\u2014\u201cThe participle expressing manner or means often denotes the same action as that of the principal verb\u2026. [A]s respects its modal function it is a participle of manner or means.\u201d Also Cleon Rogers Jr. and Cleon Rogers III (1998),\u00a0<em>The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), p. 66.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn19\"><p><sup>18<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cTwo or more participles\u2026unconnected by kaiv, are frequently\u2026joined to one principal verb\u201d\u2014George Winer (1870),<em>A Treatise on the Grammar of the New Testament Greek<\/em>, trans. W.F. Moulton (Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), p. 433. Lange notes that \u201cthere is no kaiv before didavskonte$, so that\u00a0<em>baptizing<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>teaching<\/em>\u00a0are not strictly coordinate, as two successive acts\u201d\u2014John Lange (1884),\u00a0<em>A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons), 1:558. Again, in other words, both occur coincident with \u201cmake disciples.\u201d<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn20\"><p><sup>19<\/sup>\u00a0Word order in Greek is far more flexible than in English (\u201cThe freedom of the Greek from artificial rules and its response to the play of the mind is never seen better than in the order of words in the sentence\u201d\u2014Robertson, 1934, p. 417), which explains the sequence of the participle \u201cbaptizing\u201d occurring before the participle \u201cteaching,\u201d even though in actual point of time a person logically would have to be taught before he could be baptized. One beauty of Koine Greek is the way participles minimize this confusion by deriving their \u201ctime\u201d from the action of the principal verb. Again, Robertson noted concerning aorist participles: \u201cIt is needless to press the point\u2026that the order of the participle is immaterial\u201d (p. 861). Since both participles in this instance are\u00a0<strong>present<\/strong>\u00a0participles,\u00a0<strong>both<\/strong>\u00a0refer to activity that must be associated with the action of the main verb. Though they\u00a0<strong>follow<\/strong>\u00a0the verb, their action cannot occur\u00a0<strong>after<\/strong>\u00a0the action of the main verb. (A future participle would more appropriately serve that function).\u00a0<strong>Both<\/strong>\u00a0actions must occur in concert with \u201cmake disciples.\u201d No linguistic justification exists for assigning the action of one of the present participles (\u201cbaptizing\u201d) as occurring concurrently with the leading verb while assigning the action of the other present participle (\u201cteaching\u201d) as occurring subsequent to the action of the leading verb. Note further, as a point of clarification, that the two present participles do not indicate simultaneous action with\u00a0<strong>each other<\/strong>\u2014but rather both are contemporaneous with\u00a0<strong>the leading verb<\/strong>. Some writers demonstrate confusion on this point by assigning the \u201cteaching\u201d to post-baptism indoctrination. While the New Testament certainly requires new converts to continue their study and instruction\u00a0<strong>after<\/strong>\u00a0their conversion, Jesus\u2019 use of\u00a0<strong>present<\/strong>\u00a0participles demonstrates that He was referring to the teaching that is initially necessary to enable a person to become His disciple. Both \u201cbaptizing\u201d and \u201cteaching\u201d are necessary in order to become a disciple of Christ. New Testament scholar William Hendriksen succinctly summarized the point: \u201cIn such a construction it would be completely wrong to say that because the word\u00a0<em>baptizing<\/em>\u00a0precedes the word\u00a0<em>teaching<\/em>, therefore people must be baptized before they are taught\u2026. The concepts \u2018baptizing\u2019 and \u2018teaching\u2019 are simply two activities, in co-ordination with each other, but both subordinate to \u2018make disciples.\u2019 In other words, by means of being baptized and being taught a person becomes a disciple\u201d\u2014William Hendriksen (1973),\u00a0<em>Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 1000, italics in orig. Though Carson sends mixed signals in this regard, he at least states plainly that \u201c<em>matheteuo<\/em>\u00a0entails both preaching and response\u2026. The NT can scarcely conceive of a disciple who is not baptized or is not instructed. Indeed, the force of this command is to make Jesus\u2019 disciples responsible for making disciples of others,\u00a0<strong>a task characterized by baptism and instruction<\/strong>\u201d\u2014D.A. Carson (1984),\u00a0<em>Matthew<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0<em>The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary<\/em>, ed. Frank Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), 8:597. Stanley Porter explains that \u201cthe syntax probably indicates that the action of the two participles is logically concurrent in that the two actions of baptizing and teaching indicate, at least in part, what it means to make disciples,\u201d and so inserts into his \u201cinterpretative translation\u201d just before \u201cbaptizing\u201d the word \u201cincluding\u201d (pp. 251-252). Though he ends up applying \u201cteaching\u201d to post-baptism instruction in obedience, he rightly concludes: \u201cThe command to make disciples is defined by two further prominent concepts, grammaticalized by two participles: baptism and teaching\u201d\u2014(2015),\u00a0<em>Linguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 253. Note further that Mark\u2019s wording of the \u201cGreat Commission\u201d places \u201cpreach the Gospel\u201d parallel to Matthew\u2019s \u201cmake disciples.\u201d So where Matthew has make disciples by teaching and baptizing, Mark has save people by preaching the Gospel to them, causing them to believe and be baptized. Matthew and Mark intended to say the same thing.\u00a0<strong>Observe in summary<\/strong>: Even if a solid linguistic case could be made proving that \u201cteaching\u201d refers to post-conversion teaching that follows baptism, nevertheless,\u00a0<strong>the design of baptism remains the same<\/strong>, since the \u201cbaptizing\u201d occurs simultaneous with \u201cmake disciples,\u201d i.e., baptism is essential to salvation, pinpointing the moment when a penitent believer becomes a disciple of Christ.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn1\"><p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0Scholars have debated endlessly the nuances of meaning to be found in the parallel expressions \u201cin the name,\u201d \u201con the name,\u201d and \u201cinto the name.\u201d While it makes sense to permit each preposition to maintain its own usual, central thrust and thereby convey a variety of nuances, so far as this study is concerned, it is enough to note that the\u00a0<strong>design<\/strong>\u00a0of each is the same, i.e., to demonstrate the altered status of the individual from lost to saved, from non-Christian to Christian.\u00a0<em>Eis<\/em>\u00a0vividly portrays this transference. Cf. C.F.D. Moule (1977 reprint),\u00a0<em>An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Cambridge University Press), second edition, p. 50; F.J. Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp Lake (1933),\u00a0<em>The Beginnings of Christianity: The Acts of the Apostles<\/em>\u00a0(London: Macmillan), p. 124\u2014\u201cA convert knew perfectly well that when he said that he had been baptized in the name of Jesus he meant that someone had said \u2018I baptize you in the name of Jesus\u2019 or something similar, and that\u00a0<strong>in consequence he had attained the way of Salvation<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn2\"><p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\"><\/a>p. 67, italics in orig.; cf. Nigel Turner (1963),\u00a0<em>Syntax<\/em>, in\u00a0<em>A Grammar of New Testament Greek<\/em>, ed. James Moulton (Edinburgh: T. &amp; T. Clark), 3:254.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn3\"><p><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\"><\/a>Nigel Turner (1976),\u00a0<em>Style<\/em>, in\u00a0<em>A Grammar of New Testament Greek<\/em>, ed. James Moulton (Edinburgh: T. &amp; T. Clark), 4:42. Carson agrees with this observation: \u201cMatthew\u2026apparently avoids the confusion of\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0(strictly \u2018into\u2019) and\u00a0<em>en<\/em>\u00a0(strictly \u2018in\u2019) common in Hellenistic Greek; and if so, the preposition \u2018into\u2019 strongly suggests\u00a0<strong>a coming-into-relationship-with or a coming-under-the-Lordship-of<\/strong>\u2026. It is a sign both of\u00a0<strong>entrance into Messiah\u2019s covenant community<\/strong>\u00a0and of pledged\u00a0<strong>submission to his lordship<\/strong>\u201d (p. 597, emp. added).<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn4\"><p><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a01934, p. 592.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn5\"><p><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a01963, 3:255, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn6\"><p><sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\"><\/a>R.T. France (2007),\u00a0<em>The Gospel of Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 1116, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn7\"><p><sup>7<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref7\" name=\"_edn7\"><\/a>France, 1985, p. 414.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn8\"><p><sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref8\" name=\"_edn8\"><\/a>Marvin Vincent (1946 reprint),\u00a0<em>Word Studies in the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1:149-150, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn9\"><p><sup>9<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref9\" name=\"_edn9\"><\/a>Eiselen, p. 995, italics in orig., emp. added; also Alan M\u2019Neile (1965),\u00a0<em>The Gospel According to St. Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(New York: St. Martin\u2019s Press), p. 436.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn10\"><p><sup>10<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref10\" name=\"_edn10\"><\/a>Alford, 1:307, italics in orig., 2<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn11\"><p><sup>11<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref11\" name=\"_edn11\"><\/a>Robert Milligan (1975),\u00a0<em>Exposition and Defense of the Scheme of Redemption<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate), p. 405.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn12\"><p><sup>12<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref12\" name=\"_edn12\"><\/a>Hans Bietenhard (1976), \u201c<em>onoma<\/em>,\u201d\u00a0<em>The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology<\/em>, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), 2:654.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn13\"><p><sup>13<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref13\" name=\"_edn13\"><\/a>Observe that the insertion of the word \u201csymbolically\u201d constitutes subjective interpretation rather than objective linguistic analysis. The same may be said for the theory that maintains\u00a0that, since a person already has received the saving grace of God by which sins have been cleansed the moment he believes, then baptism serves the purpose of providing an\u00a0<strong>outward<\/strong>\u00a0demonstration or public declaration that the person has\u00a0<strong>already<\/strong>\u00a0been saved. The claim is that baptism is a\u00a0<strong>symbol<\/strong>\u2014a visible expression of the forgiveness already received at the point of faith. Hence, baptism is \u201can outward sign of an inward grace,\u201d a post-conversion \u201ctestimony\u201d or \u201cpublic profession\u201d that the person is already saved, like a \u201cbadge\u201d or \u201cuniform\u201d worn by a policeman\u2014merely an outward indication of what the wearer has already become. For example, after praising Mantey\u2019s \u201ccausal\u201d\u00a0<em>eis<\/em>\u00a0concept, Kenneth Wuest states: \u201cThus, we have the scriptural meaning of water baptism.\u00a0<strong>It is the testimony of the person to the fact of his salvation<\/strong>. The only proper recipient of water baptism therefore is one who has received the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour, and is trusting in His precious blood for salvation from sin\u201d\u2014(1943),\u00a0<em>Treasures from the Greek New Testament for the English Reader<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 78, emp. added. The only problem with such theologizing is that the New Testament makes no distinction between\u00a0<strong>actual<\/strong>\u00a0forgiveness and an alleged post-salvation \u201c<strong>symbolical<\/strong>\u201d forgiveness. If a person is forgiven, it would be superfluous to \u201csymbolize\u201d that forgiveness after-the-fact. Once a person dismisses the plain and self-evident import of the New Testament\u2019s repetitive declaration that baptism is for the remission of sins, it follows that he must invent an alternative purpose for baptism. The \u201csymbol,\u201d \u201ctestimony,\u201d \u201cpicture,\u201d and \u201cbadge\u201d concepts are undoubtedly creative and as good as any that might be fabricated to avoid the obvious fact that the New Testament posits remission of sin\u00a0<strong>coincident<\/strong>\u00a0with water baptism and not before. The only problem is that no shred of biblical evidence, grammatical or otherwise, exists to substantiate them. Baptist scholar J.W. Willmarth rightly asked: \u201cWhere is the example of the use of ei)$ to denote a relation between an act as a symbol and some past event or accomplished fact, which such symbol is intended to set forth as emblem or declaration or commemoration?\u201d \u201cIf it be but a MERE symbol, or object lesson, or a profession of accomplished facts, what meaning is there in language? or how shall we ever hope to understand the Gospel, as it fell from inspired lips, clothed with human words?\u201d\u2014J.W. Willmarth (1877), \u201cBaptism and Remission,\u201d\u00a0<em>The Baptist Quarterly<\/em>, ed. Henry Weston (Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society), July, 11:299,317, capitals in orig. Or as J.W. McGarvey explained: \u201cIt is a common assumption that Saul\u2019s sins had been\u00a0<em>really<\/em>forgiven before his immersion, and Ananias required him only to\u00a0<em>formally<\/em>\u00a0wash them away. But this is a mere combination of words to hide the absence of an idea. How can a man\u00a0<em>formally<\/em>\u00a0do a thing which has already been\u00a0<em>really<\/em>\u00a0done, unless it be by going through a\u00a0<em>form<\/em>\u00a0which is empty and deceptive? If Saul\u2019s sins were already washed away, then he\u00a0<em>did not<\/em>wash them away in immersion, and the language of Ananias was deceptive. But it is an indisputable fact, that at the time Ananias gave him this command he was still unhappy, and, therefore, unforgiven. Immediately after he was immersed, he was happy; and the change took place in the mean time, which connects it with his immersion\u201d\u2014(1872),\u00a0<em>Commentary on Acts of Apostles<\/em>\u00a0(Lexington, KY: Transylvania Printing &amp; Publishing), seventh edition, p. 135, italics in orig. Albrecht Oepke, associate professor and New Testament Chair at the University of Leipzig, in his discussion of \u201cthe saving significance of baptism\u201d and its \u201cconnection with purification from the guilt of sin,\u201d debunks the \u201csymbol\u201d idea: \u201cThe significance of baptism thus depends on the fact that it is\u00a0<strong>a real action<\/strong>\u00a0of the holy God in relation to sinful man. Hence both a superstitious and also\u00a0<strong>a purely symbolical understanding<\/strong>\u00a0are excluded\u2026. To baptism as a mere rite or realistically developed symbol no such incomparable efficacy could be ascribed in the NT world of thought\u201d\u2014from his article \u201c\ua7b5\u1f71\u03c0\u03c4\u03c9, \ua7b5\u03b1\u03c0\u03c4\u1f77\u03b6\u03c9\u201d in Gerhard Kittel, ed. (1964),\u00a0<em>Theological Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1:540. Or as J.J. Van Oosterzee explained: \u201cBaptism is styled \u2018laver of regeneration,\u2019 not because it\u00a0<em>obligates<\/em>\u00a0to regeneration, nor because it is the\u00a0<em>symbol<\/em>\u00a0of regeneration, but because it is really the\u00a0<em>means<\/em>\u00a0of regeneration, if truly desired and received in faith (which is tacitly assumed in respect to those adult Christians who by their own free act were baptized)\u201d\u2014(1870),\u00a0<em>The Epistle of Paul to Titus<\/em>(New York: Charles Scribner), p. 20, italics in orig.<\/p><p>The premiere passages in the New Testament that assign symbolic value to baptism simply do not expound the post-conversion concept. True, baptism is, indeed, a symbol.\u00a0<strong>But what does baptism symbolize?<\/strong>\u00a0It symbolizes: (1) Christ\u2019s death, burial, and resurrection, as per Romans 6:3-4; (2) the act of \u201ccutting off\u201d as in circumcision (sin vs. skin), as per Colossians 2:11; and (3) the waters of the Noahic Flood, as per 1 Peter 3:20-21. How could anyone get out of these explicitly stated symbolic meanings that\u00a0<strong>baptism symbolizes past forgiveness\u00a0<\/strong>that was achieved\u00a0<strong>prior<\/strong>\u00a0to being immersed? Jettisoning theological presuppositions enables the honest exegete to conclude that the Bible nowhere expounds a post-forgiveness role for baptism. Quite the contrary, the symbolism which the New Testament explicitly associates with water baptism (i.e., Christ\u2019s burial, cutting of skin, and Flood waters) further verifies the\u00a0<strong>essentiality<\/strong>\u00a0of immersion as a mandatory\u00a0<strong>prerequisite<\/strong>\u00a0to forgiveness. See Dave Miller (2003), \u201cIs Baptism a Symbol?\u201d Apologetics Press,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/APContent.aspx?category=11&amp;article=1232&amp;topic=379\">http:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/APContent.aspx?category=11&amp;article=1232&amp;topic=379<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn14\"><p><sup>14<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref14\" name=\"_edn14\"><\/a>Bietenhard, 2:655, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn15\"><p><sup>15<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref15\" name=\"_edn15\"><\/a>W.E. Vine (1966 reprint),\u00a0<em>An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words<\/em>\u00a0(Old Tappan, NJ: Revell), p. 100, emp. added; cf. Wesley Perschbacher, ed. (1990),\u00a0<em>The New Analytical Greek Lexicon<\/em>\u00a0(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson), p. 294.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn16\"><p><sup>16<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref16\" name=\"_edn16\"><\/a>1934, p. 649, emp. added. Paul undoubtedly intended to key into this concept when he chided the Corinthians for their divisive ways by posing three critical questions, the third of which was: \u201cOr were you baptized in (<em>eis<\/em>-into) the name of Paul?\u201d (1 Corinthians 1:13). The question obviously echos Matthew 28:19. Paul sought to prick the Corinthians with the fact that when they were baptized in water, they were placing themselves under (<em>eis<\/em>-into) the authority of Christ\u2014not Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or anyone else.<\/p><p>Observe also that his remarks in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 further underscore the absolute essentiality of water baptism to salvation: \u201cFor it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe\u2019s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, \u2018I am of Paul,\u2019 or \u2018I am of Apollos,\u2019 or \u2018I am of Cephas,\u2019 or \u2018I am of Christ.\u2019\u00a0<strong>Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?<\/strong>\u201d (vss. 11-13). What did Paul mean when he used the expression to be \u201cof\u201d someone (\u201cI\u201d [ \u1f18\u03b3\u1f7c] with the genitive of the person)? He alluded to an authoritative positioning of a person beneath another. To be \u201cof\u201d another means to have been saved by and come under the jurisdiction of that other and, hence, to \u201cbelong to\u201d (R.C.H. Lenski [1943],\u00a0<em>The Interpretation of St. Matthew\u2019s Gospel<\/em>\u00a0[Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg], p. 42; cf. ISV,NRSV,RSV) or \u201cfollow\u201d (NIV,CJB,CEV,ESV, GNT,NCV,WEB) that person. This relationship is inherent in the three questions Paul asks the Corinthians\u2014questions that pinpoint\u00a0<strong>essential<\/strong><strong>prerequisites<\/strong>\u00a0to being counted \u201cof\u201d someone. First, in order to be \u201cof\u201d someone, that someone must accordingly be qualified for others to follow him, devote themselves to him, and place themselves under his exclusive rule, Lordship, and control. That person must be \u201cundivided.\u201d To be undivided means that he must have no rivals (e.g., Paul, Apollos, etc.), or competing factions, he must be your sole Savior Who is singular, unique, and unsurpassed by all others. His followers constitute a single body, of which He is the only Head. Hence, the indivisible Christ makes no allowance for other heads, lords, or bodies. He possesses \u201cright over all\u201d (Henry Alford [1874],\u00a0<em>Alford\u2019s Greek Testament<\/em>\u00a0[Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980 reprint], 2:477). Your loyalty must be directed to Christ alone. Second, that person must be\u00a0<strong>crucified<\/strong>\u00a0for you. Third, you must be\u00a0<strong>baptized into his name<\/strong>. As discussed in the section on\u00a0<em>onoma<\/em>, to be baptized into the name entails submitting oneself to the authority of the one named, or as explained by John Locke, \u201cto enter himself a Disciple of him into whose Name he was baptized, with Profession to receive his Doctrine and Rules, and\u00a0<strong>submit to his Authority<\/strong>\u201d\u2014(1751),\u00a0<em>A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians, I&amp;II Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians<\/em>\u00a0(London: S. Birt, J. Walthoe, et al.), p. 94, emp. added. (Also Macknight, p. 144; Robertson,\u00a0<em>Word Pictures<\/em>, 4:75).<\/p><p>In view of these realizations, three additional questions are in order: (1) Is Jesus\u2019 unique, indivisible status(i.e., His divine identity)\u00a0<strong>essential<\/strong>\u00a0to salvation? Certainly. (2) Is Jesus\u2019 crucifixion<strong>essential<\/strong>\u00a0to salvation? Absolutely. (3) Is baptism in His name\u00a0<strong>essential<\/strong>\u00a0to salvation? If the answer to the first two questions is \u201cyes,\u201d the third must be as well. Since the text, by implication, answers all three of these questions in the affirmative, it further follows that a person is not \u201cof Christ\u201d unless and until he is baptized into His name. Baptism is\u00a0<strong>so<\/strong>\u00a0important to salvation, Paul was glad he had baptized so few,\u00a0<strong>so that he did not contribute to the division afflicting the Corinthian church<\/strong>. Due to the divisive climate in the church at Corinth, Paul ran the risk of leaving the impression that baptism was disconnected from salvation in Christ. As Willmarth explained: \u201clest the faith and reverence due to Christ might be \u2018divided\u2019\u2014and a part transferred to the distinguished administrator\u201d (p. 313). \u201cWe should note how inseparably connected in Paul\u2019s thought were the sacrifice of the cross and the baptism which makes us partakers in its benefits\u201d\u2014J.W. McGarvey (1916),\u00a0<em>Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians and Romans<\/em>\u00a0(Cincinnati, OH: Standard), p. 54. Indeed, as Paul stressed later in the same epistle, the Corinthians had been\u00a0<strong>baptized<\/strong>\u00a0into one body\u2014<strong>the body of Christ<\/strong>\u00a0(12:13). Chapter 12:12 is a virtual commentary on the \u201cschisms\u201d (1:10\u2014\u03a3\uab53\u1f77\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1): \u201cFor as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.\u201d Even as Christ is undivided, so His body (the church) is to be undivided. Far from minimizing the importance of baptism, or proving that baptism is unessential to salvation, quite the opposite is the case. 1 Corinthians 1:13 proves the\u00a0<strong>essentiality<\/strong>\u00a0of baptism. Without a divine Lord, His crucifixion, and water baptism,\u00a0<strong>there could be no Christians<\/strong>. No one could be \u201cof Christ.\u201d<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn17\"><p><sup>17<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref17\" name=\"_edn17\"><\/a>A.T. Robertson (1930),\u00a0<em>Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Broadman Press), 1:245, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn18\"><p><sup>18<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref18\" name=\"_edn18\"><\/a>Joseph Thayer (1977 reprint),\u00a0<em>A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 447, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn19\"><p><sup>19<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref19\" name=\"_edn19\"><\/a>Ibid., p. 94.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn20\"><p><sup>20<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref20\" name=\"_edn20\"><\/a>p. 301, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn21\"><p><sup>21<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref21\" name=\"_edn21\"><\/a>H. Leo Boles (1952),\u00a0<em>The Gospel According to Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate), pp. 564-565, emp. added. See also Lange (1884), 1:557\u2014\u201ca baptism under\u00a0<strong>the authority of<\/strong>, and unto\u00a0<strong>the authority of<\/strong>\u00a0the triune God.\u201d Also G.G. Findlay (no date),\u00a0<em>St. Paul\u2019s First Epistle to the Corinthians in The Expositor\u2019s Greek Testament<\/em>, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 766\u2014\u201c\u2018The name\u2019 connotes the nature and\u00a0<strong>authority<\/strong>\u00a0of the bearer.\u201d For more discussion of the concept of authority, see Dave Miller (2012),\u00a0<em>Surrendering to His Lordship<\/em>\u00a0(Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn22\"><p><sup>22<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref22\" name=\"_edn22\"><\/a>Sellers Crain (2011),\u00a0<em>Truth for Today Commentary:<\/em>\u00a0<em>Matthew 14-28<\/em>\u00a0(Searcy, AR: Resource Publications), p. 484.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn23\"><p><sup>23<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref23\" name=\"_edn23\"><\/a>F.F. Bruce (1963),\u00a0<em>The Books and the Parchments<\/em>\u00a0(Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell), p. 66, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn24\"><p><sup>24<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref24\" name=\"_edn24\"><\/a>James Moulton and George Milligan (1930),\u00a0<em>Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non-literary Sources<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982 reprint), p. 451, first emp. in orig., second emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn25\"><p><sup>25<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref25\" name=\"_edn25\"><\/a>Alexander Souter (1917),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ref.ly\/logosres\/pcktlxcngrknwts?ref=Page.p+46&amp;off=969&amp;ctx=fusion)%2c+I+baptize%3b+~when+the+preposition\"><em>A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Oxford: Clarendon Press), p. 46. Souter served as professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at Mansfield College, Oxford, and later succeeded William Ramsay as Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen. He published an edition of the New Testament Greek text on which the English Revised Version of 1881 was based (the British precursor to the ASV).<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn26\"><p><sup>26<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref26\" name=\"_edn26\"><\/a>Frederick Danker, rev. and ed. (2000), \u201c\u1f44\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1,\u201d\u00a0<em>A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature<\/em>\u00a0(Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press), p. 713.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn27\"><p><sup>27<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref27\" name=\"_edn27\"><\/a>p. 645.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn28\"><p><sup>28<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref28\" name=\"_edn28\"><\/a>Ibid., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn29\"><p><sup>29<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref29\" name=\"_edn29\"><\/a>|3:146, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn30\"><p><sup>30<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref30\" name=\"_edn30\"><\/a>p. 302, italics in orig., emp. added. Cf. David Schneider (2017), \u201cReconsidering the Greek Preposition \u2018EIS\u2019 in the Baptismal Theology of Matthew 28 and Romans 6,\u201d\u00a0<em>Concordia Theology<\/em>, https:\/\/goo.gl\/6dDhgW\u2014\u201cBaptized \u2018into the name\u2019 pictures the person being transferred from outside God\u2019s name to inside the name\u2014God\u2019s family\u2014with all of the family blessings and responsibilities.\u201d<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn31\"><p><sup>31<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref31\" name=\"_edn31\"><\/a>p. 323. Cf. Lars Hartman (2013),\u00a0<em>Approaching New Testament Texts and Contexts: Collected Essays II<\/em>\u00a0(Tubingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck), pp. 145ff. See also Murray Harris (1978), \u201cPrepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament,\u201d in Colin Brown, ed.,\u00a0<em>The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), 3:1209, who summarizes three views: \u201cit may denote a transference of ownership\u201d in which \u201cthe person being baptized passes into the possession of the Triune God,\u201d or it can denote \u201cto endow a person, through baptism, with the benefits of the salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ,\u201d or \u201cdenoting the fundamental reference or purpose of some thing, rite or action.\u201d Observe that all three of these views presuppose that baptism precedes salvation. Cf. Wilhelm Heitmuller (1903),\u00a0<em>Im Namen Jesu\u00a0<\/em>(Gottingen: Vandenhoeck &amp; Ruprecht).<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn32\"><p><sup>32<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref32\" name=\"_edn32\"><\/a>J.W. McGarvey (1875),\u00a0<em>The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark<\/em>\u00a0(Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing), p. 254, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn33\"><p><sup>33<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref33\" name=\"_edn33\"><\/a>G.R. Beasley-Murray (1966),\u00a0<em>Baptism Today and Tomorrow<\/em>\u00a0(New York: St. Martin\u2019s Press), pp. 93-94.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn34\"><p><sup>34<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref34\" name=\"_edn34\"><\/a>Adolf von Schlatter (1955),\u00a0<em>The Church in the New Testament Period<\/em>, trans. Paul Levertoff (London: SPCK Publishing), p. 26.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn35\"><p><sup>35<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref35\" name=\"_edn35\"><\/a>Johannes Lindblom believed that maqhteuvsate (\u201cmake disciples\u201d\u2014DM) could just as rightly be rendered \u0425\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u1f75\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u00a0 (\u201cmake Christians\u201d\u2014DM) in (1919),\u00a0<em>Jesu missions-och dopbefallning, Matt. 28:18-20,<\/em>\u00a0<em>tillika en studie\u00a0<\/em>\u00f6ver<em>det kristna dopets ursprung<\/em>(Stockholm: Svenska Kyrkans Diakonistyrelses Bokf\u00f6rlag), p. 132.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"edn21\"><p><sup>20<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref21\" name=\"_edn21\"><\/a>Alexander Bruce (no date),\u00a0<em>The Expositor\u2019s Greek Testament<\/em>, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1:339.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn22\"><p><sup>21<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref22\" name=\"_edn22\"><\/a>Henry Alford (1874),\u00a0<em>Alford\u2019s Greek Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980 reprint), 1:306, emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn23\"><p><sup>22<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref23\" name=\"_edn23\"><\/a>Matthew Poole (no date),\u00a0<em>A Commentary on the Holy Bible: Matthew-Revelation<\/em>\u00a0(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson), 3:146.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn24\"><p><sup>23<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref24\" name=\"_edn24\"><\/a>John Lightfoot (1979 reprint),\u00a0<em>A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica: Matthew-Mark<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), pp. 379-380, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn25\"><p><sup>24<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref25\" name=\"_edn25\"><\/a>G.R. Beasley-Murray (1976 reprint),\u00a0<em>Baptism in the New Testament<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), pp. 88-89, italics in orig. It is surely eye-opening for renowned Baptist pastor and President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the late 19<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century, John Broadus, to acknowledge the undeniable grammatical function of the present participles in this passage (\u201c\u2018disciple by baptizing\u2026by teaching\u2019; and so many understand it\u201d) only to dismiss the clear import of the language in order to evade the contradiction between his personal doctrinal belief and the words of our Lord. John Broadus (1886),\u00a0<em>Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society), p. 594.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn26\"><p><sup>25<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref26\" name=\"_edn26\"><\/a>Albert Barnes (1956 reprint),\u00a0<em>Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 323, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn27\"><p><sup>26<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref27\" name=\"_edn27\"><\/a>R.C.H. Lenski (1943),\u00a0<em>The Interpretation of St. Matthew\u2019s Gospel\u00a0<\/em>(Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg), p. 1173. Or as Johann Albrecht Bengel noted: \u201cThe verb, maqhteuvein, signifies\u00a0<em>to make disciples<\/em>; it\u00a0<strong>includes<\/strong>\u00a0<em>baptism<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>teaching<\/em>\u201d\u2014(1858),\u00a0<em>Gnomon of the New Testament<\/em>(Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), 1:489, italics in orig., emp. added. Commenting on \u201cmake disciples,\u201d Eiselen notes: \u201c<em>Make disciples<\/em>. This describes a comprehensive duty of which baptizing and teaching form a part\u201d\u2014Frederick Eiselen, ed. (1929),\u00a0<em>The Abingdon Bible Commentary\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press), p. 995, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn28\"><p><sup>27<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref28\" name=\"_edn28\"><\/a>Daniel Wallace (1996),\u00a0<em>Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), p. 645, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn29\"><p><sup>28<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref29\" name=\"_edn29\"><\/a>R.T. France (1985),\u00a0<em>The Gospel According to Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 2002 reprint, p. 414, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn30\"><p><sup>29<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref30\" name=\"_edn30\"><\/a>A. Lukyn Williams (1961 reprint), \u201cMatthew,\u201d\u00a0<em>The Pulpit Commentary<\/em>, ed. H.D.M. Spence and J.S. Exell (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 645, italics in orig., emp. added.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn31\"><p><sup>30<\/sup>\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/admin.apologeticspress.org\/PubsManager\/EditPubArticleContent.aspx#_ednref31\" name=\"_edn31\"><\/a>Frederick Meyrick (1868), \u201cBaptism,\u201d in\u00a0<em>William Smith\u2019s Dictionary of the Bible<\/em>, rev. and ed. H.B. Hackett (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1971 reprint), 1:236,240, emp. added. Also A.J. Maas (1898),\u00a0<em>The Gospel According to Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(St. Louis, MO: B. Herder), p. 315.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"edn32\"><p><sup>31<\/sup>\u00a0Heinrich Meyer (1881),\u00a0<em>Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of St. Matthew<\/em>\u00a0(Edinburgh: T.&amp;T. Clark), p. 301, italics in orig.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the Purpose of Baptism by Dave Miller Ph.D [Editor\u2019s Note: This article is the first installment in a two-part series taken from AP\u2019s soon-to-be released book\u00a0Baptism &amp; the Greek Made Simple.] &#8220;Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-261","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","wpbf-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.1.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta 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