The Didache now moves into what brings one into the community (communion) of Christ: Baptism. To understand this New-Covenant act, we need to look at its Old-Covenant predecessor, which baptism superseded and replaced. As God used an act of His choosing to bring someone into His Old Covenant, it’s easy to see how He would use another act of His choosing to bring someone into His New Covenant.
Colossians 2:11-14:
In Jesus, you were also circumcised with a circumcision not done with human hands. Instead, this was a stripping off the corrupt nature, by the circumcision done by Christ when You were buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ, having forgiven us all our offenses. He erased the charges that were against us and opposed to us. He took those charges away when He nailed them to the cross.
– What is the New Covenant’s “circumcision”?
Baptism
7:1 As for baptism, baptize in this way: After explaining all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living [moving] water.
- 7:2 But if you [sg] do not have living water, baptize in other water.
- And if you do not have cold water, then use warm water.
- 7:3 But if you have neither, pour water on the head three times in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Based on the Didache’s grammar, it could seem that someone is supposed to baptize himself. But that is not the case. In Acts, where Scripture records the first New-Covenant baptisms, the Apostle Peter preached using the passive voice: “be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Also, Ignatius, a student of the Apostle John, wrote: “It is not permissible either to baptize or to hold a love feast [agape meal, where the Lord’s Supper took place] without the bishop” [Smyrneans 8:2]. So from the beginning, in Scripture and Church practice, one was always baptized by the pastor (bishop).
Matthew 28:18-20: [Jesus speaking to His Apostles, the “Eleven” on the mountain,] “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, after you go, disciple all peoples [or Gentiles, ethnee in the Greek] by baptizing them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I have commissioned you.”
Justin Martyr wrote about those being baptized: “Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are born from above in the same manner of birth by which we ourselves were born from above. For they then receive washing in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For Christ also said, ‘Unless you are born from above, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” (1st Apology, 61)
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Excursus on Living Water: Why “Living” Water?
The Old Testament refers to living (moving) water in many places. In Leviticus 14:5-6, 50-52, and 15:13, living water was used in leprosy-cleansing rituals. Ezekiel described a river of life flowing from the altar of the Temple through the desert to the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.
This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down to the Arabah. When the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that moves will live. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows, everything will live. (Ezekiel 47:8-10).
The New Testament repeats this imagery in Revelation 22:1-2, where a river of living water flows from the throne of God. Revelation further shows the Lamb [who is also the Shepherd] leading His flock to the “springs of living water” (7:17) and God will “without cost, give to the thirsty from the spring of living water” (21:6). These passages in Revelation simply affirm the truths taught in Isaiah, where God promises to give His people springs of water (Isaiah 49:10).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of those who drink the water He gives. For them, it will be a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). For the one who believes in Him, “rivers of living water [will] flow from deep within him” (John 7:38).
What is the point of living water? Life and movement go together. Someone who is alive moves and breathes; someone who is dead does not. Moving water testifies to the movement of life. Although the New Testament does not command that living water must be used in baptism, it’s easy to see why the Didache teaches that living water is preferred.
Living, moving water testifies to the life that God gives in baptism. That’s why even when only a little water is available for a baptism, water is poured on the head of the one being baptized. For the water being poured is also moving, symbolizing the life God gives in baptism.
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– What advantage does “living” water have over motionless water when it comes to cleaning?
1 Peter 3:21: “Corresponding to that [Noah and his family being saved in the waters of the flood], baptism now saves you–not because it removes dirt from your body but because it is an appeal to God for a clean conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Titus 3:5: “[God our Savior] saved us, not because of righteous deeds we had done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”
– Tie the idea of living, moving water with the spiritual cleaning that God does in and through baptism?
– The Didache uses the same Trinitarian formula as Matthew 28:19. Why such precision? [Note this is also the time the teacher would go into the Trinitarian nature of God]
– What does the Didache show about the 1st-century, koiné Greek meaning for baptism?
– Does baptism only mean “immerse”? Discuss.
7:4 Before the baptism, let the one baptizing and the one being baptized fast, as well as any others that are able. The one being baptized is to fast for one or two days before the baptism.
Excursus on Fasting and Repentance
To make sense of the link between baptism and fasting, we first need to understand fasting. In the Old Testament, someone often fasted as a way to show repentance, both individual and corporate (national). We see David and Ahab fasting in repentance because of their sins. Righteous leaders mourned over, and identified with, the sins of their people, as shown by Nehemiah and Daniel:
- 2 Samuel 12:16: “David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and spent the night lying on the ground.”
- 1 Kings 21:27: “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted.”
- Nehemiah 1:4: “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
- Daniel 9:3: “So I turned to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.”
In the New Testament, Jesus gives us a serious example of fasting. After John baptized Him, He withdrew into the wilderness, where He spent 40 days in prayer and fasting. Jesus also taught His disciples and followers to fast. He told them not to fast like the Pharisees, but when they did fast, they should be natural in their behavior–humble and repentant.
And when you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. They disfigure their faces so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They have their reward! Instead, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Then, it won’t be obvious to others that you are fasting, but [it will] to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)
Fasting and repentance have always been linked for God’s people. However, the tie in with adult Gentile converts being baptized into the Christian faith with fasting does not become obvious until we see the tie-in between baptism and repentance.
Acts 2:38: [Peter preaching on Pentecost Day,] “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
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– What then is the purpose of fasting before being baptized?
