# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 02 20_S99
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

99

God to perform the holy act of Baptism, so that the LORD Himself is the baptizer, but the baptizing minister, as it were, His hand, as in the preaching of the Gospel he is His mouth. (2 Cor. 5, 19.) In the third place, finally, "in the name" means also to baptize with confession and invocation of the triune God; for how would one otherwise know that baptism is performed in the name of God, if His name were not named, confessed and invoked?

Thus, then, according to John 3, 5., holy Baptism, where the person baptized receives this Word in faith, is the deliverance from the power of darkness and the translation out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of the dear Son; and since in truth the triune God is the true Baptizer, the believing person baptized is thereby so transplanted into the life-fellowship of the Holy Trinity, or the same is so implanted in him, that there falls to him essentially and truly the grace of the Father, the merit of the Son, and the power of the Holy Ghost, or, in other words, that he becomes the child of the Father, the brother or sister of the Son, the temple and dwelling of the Holy Ghost. This leads us, however, to the answering of the second question:

II. What does holy Baptism work?

We say, according to God's Word, Acts 2, 38. and 22, 16.:

1. Forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

When Peter, namely, on the day of Pentecost boldly and powerfully raised his testimony of Christ and especially of His resurrection, it is reported to us, Acts 2, 37.: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Had holy Peter now been a Methodist apostle, he would have said: Let us fall together upon our knees, cry unto the LORD and do violence to the kingdom of heaven, and so the Holy Ghost will be poured out upon you just as immediately as upon us.

But Peter's words sound quite otherwise; for thus he answers, verse 38.: "Repent (change your mind), and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Compare Acts 22, 16.)

Over such and like passages, indeed, which have real power of proof for the efficacy of holy Baptism and which expound more closely the word of institution and promise of the LORD Christ, reported above, over such passages the Baptist fanatics, in their favorite way, gladly skip, and bring forward instead other passages which do not fit at all, but before unknowing hearers seem to support their delusion. So also our Methodist. There he promptly brings up Acts 8, 14—17., where it is thus written: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost; for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." There you see, says he, how Baptism does not impart the Holy Ghost, but prayer does it (for the laying on of hands of the Apostles he gladly leaves behind).

How, then? Does this passage stand in actual contradiction with the one above? Not so; but here is not meant the Holy Ghost whom every person baptized, if he believes, receives by virtue of holy Baptism for abiding indwelling, and therein forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, as that passage above, Acts 2, 38., testifies; but in this latter passage the discourse is of the Holy Ghost insofar as He, in the beginning of the Christian Church, distributed to certain persons baptized special gifts of miracles and of grace, for example the speaking with tongues, that is, in foreign languages never learned, and prophesying, which for the most part took place through the laying on of hands of the holy Apostles. This distribution took place, by exception, even without Baptism and laying on of hands of Peter, upon his preaching, to Cornelius and his household, as Acts 10, 43—46. shows. But in order that precisely these firstfruits from among the Gentiles might not set their hearts on these gifts and remain stuck in the sweet feelings which they had in their speaking with tongues, Peter said, verse 47.: "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."

Thus precisely in the water-baptism so highly despised by the fanatics, Cornelius and his household, who yet had the miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost, which our fanatics do not have, were to receive the firm and certain sealing of their being graciously accepted and of the forgiveness of sins.

How, however, forgiveness of sins is appropriated in holy Baptism, Gal. 3, 27. testifies: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." The merit of Christ, therefore, is so imparted to the person baptized in this holy washing of water that the guilt of original (and, if he be an adult) also of actual sin is washed away, and he is clothed with the righteousness of the LORD and Savior as with a garment, and wholly and entirely covered. It is, however, the same whether we say: our sins are forgiven us, or: we are declared righteous before God. But where this is, there is also:

2. The covenant of a good conscience with God; for thus it is written, 1 Pet. 3, 21.: "which (namely the water) now also saves us in Baptism, which is signified by that (the water of the flood), not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the covenant of a good conscience with God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Here it is expressly testified that the water, understood as comprehended in the Word, accomplishes so great a thing. But this covenant consists in this, that on the part of God, God's grace and Christ's merit are appropriated to man through holy Baptism, which man in turn on his part lays hold of and appropriates through faith, laying his hand of faith in God's extended hand of grace, and from this gains forgiveness of sins and a good conscience toward God.

3. In sum, the new birth. For thus it is written, Tit. 3, 5—7.: "He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Here, then, there is ascribed to holy Baptism plainly and roundly:

a.) The new birth, by virtue of which the deathblow is dealt to the old birth out of the flesh (John 3, 6.) and the new creature is implanted in man, as to its germ. But since nevertheless, although the guilt of original sin is fully forgiven, original sin itself still remains and in thoughts, words and works often becomes actual sin, there is need of a constant mortifying of original sin and a constant quickening of the grace of Baptism, or, in other words, there flows from holy Baptism also:

b.) The renewing of the Holy Ghost, namely, that the Holy Ghost received in holy Baptism continually cleanses and renews the baptized from the defilement of daily sin, and thus ever more strengthens and furthers the new man, the divine image lost in Adam but regained in Christ and implanted again by means of holy Baptism, of which more later. But that it stands written: "which, namely the Holy Ghost, God shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour," this means as much as that the bloody sacrifice of atonement and merit of Christ, and after it His glorious going to the Father, was the cause that the Holy Ghost is poured out in holy Baptism upon man and the new birth and constant renewal is imparted to him; for without the going to the Father and the glorification of Christ with the Father the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, could not come down from the glorified Son of God and of Mary, in order to bring Him again through Word and Sacrament into the hearts of believers and there to glorify Him. But the purpose of this washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost is contained in verse 7., where it says: "that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

From this it is, however, sufficiently clear that also the completion of the new birth in the blessed and glorious resurrection of the righteous in Christ, that their inheriting of the kingdom, their eternal and blessed beholding of the majestic glorious God