Beveridge on Article XXVII: Of Baptism

S it was by circumcision that the Jews were distin- guished from all other people in the world, so is it by baptism that Christians are distinguished both from Jews and others: for all that are baptized are Christians, and none are Christians but such as be baptized. And so bap- tism is a mark of difference whereby Christians are discerned from such as are not christened. But though this be one effect of baptism, it is not all. For it is not only a sign of our profession, but also of our regeneration, and therefore it is called the washing of regeneration, Tit. iii. 5, So that by it we are grafted into the church, and made members of that body whereof Christ is the head; for we are baptized into one body, 1 Cor. xii. 13, and have a promise from God of the forgive- ness of those sins we have committed against him. And therefore Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, Acts ii. 38; that so, being justified by his grace, we should be ‘made (not only sons but) heirs according to the hope of eternal

456 Of Baptism. Art.

life, Tit. iii. 5. And so in baptism our faith is confirmed, and grace increased ; not by virtue of the water itself, but by yirtue of prayer, whereby God is prevailed with to purify our souls by his Spirit, as our bodies are washed with the water: that as the water washeth off the pollutions of our bodies, so his Spirit purgeth away the corruptions of our souls.

But all these things will be made more clear and firm by the testimonies of the Fathers; and therefore I shal] imme- diately pass on to them.

And truly, if we consult the Fathers in this case, they will unanimously tell us, that we are not only distinguished from others, but regenerated by God in baptism; yea, that in baptism our sins are pardoned to us, and our corruptions subdued under us. Thus Origen: 2‘ Thou descendedst into the water dead in sin; thou ascendedst quickened in right- eousness.” And presently : “ And @ because by the sacrament of baptism the filth of our nativity is purged away.” St. Chry- sostom saith, “> But our circumcision, I mean the grace of baptism, hath cure without pain, and brings us innumerable good things, and fills us with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and hath not a set time as it was there under the law; but it is lawful for any man in his infancy, middle age, or old age, to receive this circumcision made without’ hands, wherein we do not undergo labour, but lay aside the burden of our sins, and find the forgiveness of our faults committed at all times.” For, as the same Father elsewhere, °“‘ As the body of Christ being buried in the earth brought forth the ‘fruit, even the

2 Mortuus in peccatis descendisti, et ascendis vivificatus in justitia, Origen. in Luc. 2. hom. 14.

a Kt quia per baptismi sacramen- tum nativitatis sordes deponuntur. Ibid. (vol. III. p. 948.]

[…]

4 MS. fruits, and a little below, bodies and bring for body and brought.

XXVII. Of Baptism. 457

salvation of the world, so also our body being buried in bap- tism brought forth fruit, even righteousness, sanctification, adoption, and innumerable other good things.” St. Augustine saith, °** That renovation in baptism is made in a moment, by the forgiveness of sins; for there is not so much as one, be it never so small, that remains, but may be pardoned.” Yea, St. Gregory saith, ‘* He that saith sins are not quite forgiven in baptism, may as well say the Egyptians were not truly dead in the Red sea.” And St. Augustine again, “That in the baptismal washing, not only the pardon of such sins as are committed, but of such as shall be afterwards committed, is granted to such as believe in Christ.” And presently, >“ It is so, I say, to be taken, that by the same washing of regene- ration, and the word of sanctification, all the sins of regenerate men are cleansed and healed, not only the sins which are now pardoned in baptism already, but also those which afterwards by human ignorance or frailty shall be contracted.” And the council of Nice, ‘*‘He that is baptized descends indeed ob- noxious to sins, and held with the corruption of slavery, but he ascends free from that slavery and sins, the son of God, heir, yea, co-heir with Christ, having put on Christ, as it is written, If ye be baptized into Christ, ye have put on Christ.” But because it is here said that baptism is the sign of regeneration, and the word regenerated is so much carped at in our order for the administration of baptism, I shall

e Sicut in momento uno fit illa in sanctificationis omnia prorsus mala baptismo renovatio remissione omhominum regeneratorum mundentur

nium peccatorum; neque enim vel unum quantulumcunque remanet quod non remittatur. Aug. de Trinit. 1. 14. [23. vol. VIII, ]

f Qui dicit peccata in baptismate funditus non dimitti, dicat in mari rubro Augyptios non veraciter mor- tuos. Greg. epist. 1. [xi. ep. 45. vol.

I

& Quod baptismali lavacro non solum patratorum, verum etiam pos- teriorum peccatorum venia Christi fidelibus impetretur. Aug. de nuptiis et concupis. ad Val. 1.1. [ 38. vol. X.]

h Sic inquam accipiendum est, ut eodem lavacroregenerationis et verbo

atque sanentur, non solum peccata quee omnia nunc-remittuntur in bap- tismo, sed etiam que posterius hu- mana ignorantia vel infirmitate con- trahuntur. Ibid.

i Descendit quidem is qui bapti- zatur peccatis obnoxius et servitutis corruptione detentus; ascendit au- - tem ab ea servitute et peccatis liber, factus filius Dei, et heres, gratia ipsius factus, cohzeres autem Christi, indutus ipsum Christum sicut scrip- tum est, Quicunque in Christum bap- tizati estis Christum induistis. Con- cil. Nic. de S. baptismo apud Gelas.

Cyzicen. 1. 3. c. 31. [p. 173-]

458 Of Baptism. Art. next shew how the primitive church did long ago not only hold the same assertion, but also use the same. expression. So saith St. Chrysostome, *“ By water we are regenerated, by blood and flesh we are nourished.” Athanasius, ’“ He that is baptized puts off the old man, and is renewed, as being regenerated by the grace of the Spirit.” ™“ And so,” saith St. Basil, “being baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost, we are regenerated.” The second council at Milevi or Milenum, ”“ Infants, who cannot commit any sin as yet of themselves, are therefore truly baptized into the remission of sins, that what they contracted by generation might be cleansed in them by regeneration.” To name no more, Justin Martyr himself, long before any of these, said expressly ; ° « Afterwards they be brought by us to a place where there is water, and after the same manner of regeneration that we are regenerated by, are they also regenerated.” fore let such as carp at that word in our liturgy hereafter know, it is the primitive church itself, and the most ancient and renowned Fathers they carp at.

But we must know withal, that though the ancient Fathers do give so much as we do to baptism, yet not so much as the papists do. For they say baptism itself doth all these things for us; whereas what the Fathers still averred was, that it is the grace and Spirit of God in baptism that doth them. For, saith St. Basil, P “If there be any grace in the water, it is not from the nature of the water, but from the presence of the Spirit.” 4 “For remission of sins,” saith St. Cyprian, “‘ whether

K Av Udaros pev dvayervopevor, SC torum veraciter baptizantur, ut in

And there-”

[…]

» Parvuli, qui nihil peccatorum in semetipsis adhuc committere po- tuerunt, ideo in remissionem pecca-

[…]

4 Remissio peccatorum sive per

ail

XXVIL Of Baptism. 459

it be given by baptism or other sacraments, it is properly from the Holy Ghost; for it is to him only the privilege of this work belongs.” *‘ And the water,” saith Cyril of Hieru- salem, “purges the body, but it is the Spirit that signs the soul.” And presently, 8“ When therefore thou art descending into the water, do not look upon the bare water, but lay hold upon salvation by the working of the Holy Ghost.” *“ But this benefit,” saith Gregory Nyssen, “the water itself doth not afford us, for it is the weakest of all creatures; but the command-of God, and the coming of the Holy Ghost, coming mystically to our redemption.” And to name no more, St. Augustine, ’“ The water of the sacrament,” saith he, “is visible, but the water of the Spirit is invisible; that washeth the body, and signifieth what is done in the soul; by the Spirit the soul itself is cleansed and fatted.” So that it is not to the water itself, but to the Spirit in the water we are to ascribe these glorious effects; and therefore it is. here said, that in baptism faith is confirmed, and grace increased by prayer to God. We must pray for God’s presence in the sacrament; for without that we can receive no blessing from it; but with that there is no blessing but we may have in it.

The baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.

Ever since it pleased God to enter into covenant with man, he hath been pleased also to seal that covenant to him by sacraments, outwardly representing what was spiritually pro-

baptismum, sive per alia sacramenta donetur, proprie Spiritus Sancti est, et ipsi soli hujus efficientize privile- gium manet. Cyprian. de baptis. Christi, [p. 30. ad calc. Cypr. oper. |

[…]

u Aqua sacramenti visibilis est, aqua Spiritus invisibilis ; ista abluit corpus, et significat quod fit in“ani- ma; per illum Spiritum ipsa anima mundatur et saginatur. Aug. in epist. Joh. tract. 6. [11. vol. III. par, ii. |} :

ART.

460 Of Baptism.

mised. The covenant of works had a double sacrament an- nexed to it, the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the covenant of grace, according to the various dispensations of it, it hath had various sacraments also annexed to it. Under the law, or the more imperfect expres- sures of the said covenant, the sacraments were circumcision and the passover; under the gospel, or the more perfect expressures of it, they be baptism and the Lord’s supper. Which several sacraments, though they do differ in several things, yet as in other things, so in this they agree, that both under the law and gospel still one of them is an initiating, and the other a confirming sacrament, And so these of the gospel do exactly answer those under the law, not only in being instituted by the same Lord, and representing the same grace, but also in entitling us to the actual enjoyment of covenant privileges, and then in confirming the same privileges to us. By circumcision then, and baptism now, are we made members of the church of God; and by the Lord’s supper now, as by the paschal lamb then, the benefits of church- membership are sealed and confirmed to us. And the evan- gelical thus coming into the place of the legal sacraments, the same persons that were to participate of the legal are to par- ticipate also of the evangelical. :

Now under the law it is plain, that not only proselytes, but the children of Jewish parents, even of eight days old, were to be circumcised; that is, by circumcision were to be W initiated into the church of God; and so God commanding children to be circumcised, or initiated into the church, the same com- mand may well be looked upon as reaching to baptism too ; for it is by this we are initiated into the church now, as it was

w That by circumcision children were initiated into the church, and brought as it were into the cove- nant, the Jews themselves acknow- ledge and observe, as we may note from what is said at the circumci- sion of a child. The father saith, Sw maa ywsaom> ape TON ORI 118 DANI, i.e. “* Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who hast sancti- fied us with thy precepts, and com-

manded us to initiate him (this child) into the covenant of Abraham our father.” And then the people that stand by say, InD22Nw ows ABW WIN ADAM. yD nad 10 Drwyn, “As thou hast ini- tiated or brought him into the cove- nant, so bring him to the law, to matrimony, and to good works.” V. Buxt. synag. Jud. c. [4. p.99.]

XXVII. Of Baptism. 461

by circumcision they were initiated then. So that whosoever doth not baptize his children * whilst children seems to me to transgress the command of God, in not initiating them into the church according to his precepts.

For though circumcision be only mentioned, yet it was therefore mentioned because the initiating sacrament where- by children were invested with church-membership ; and the same reason holds good still for baptism. And as where the reason of a law fails, the law itself is abrogated, so where the reason of a law remains, the law seems still to be in force, though some circumstances of it be changed.

But I would not be thought to speak this as if I supposed there was no law commanding infant-baptism in the New Tes- tament, but only that for infant-circumcision in the Old; for questionless the words of our Saviour are a law, when he saith, Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Matt. xxvill. 19. Where, though it be translated teach, yet the word in the original properly imports Y disciple, and make

[…]

Y To find out that this is the true purport and meaning of the word, the best way will be to compare the places where it occurs, as Matt. xiii. 52. Ata Tov Tomas ypapypareds paby- revels els THv BactAElay THY ovpayar, where the Syriac renders the word padnrevbeis by po dZhe) , “dmeth- talmad,” qui discipulus factus est, qui discipulum se prebet, it being the passive of rer Vay to make a disciple, from’ the Hebrew word spbn, a scholar, a disciple, 1 Par. xxy. 8: and it doth not only signify a scholar or learner, but a follower and professor of such a doctrine or tenet, in which sense 8°7°9?N is oft used in the Targum, as Num. XXXil. 14, Onk. and likewise in the Tal- mud, Berach. [fol.] 43. 2. And in this sense doth our Saviour always call his disciples |-a’a\Z, “ tal- mide,” and so the Syriac word

eolZ, “ talmed,” to disciple, comes from […] as the Greek paénrevo from pabn- 7s, (whence we may also observe, that the very notation of the word doth properly denote, to disciple, and not, to teach,) and this is the sense and the only sense which the Syriac word bears wheresoever it comes, and that not only in the scripture, but other authors, as (Zanm\ aX o-oSZZI, “ ethtalmad loh lasbarto,’’ Offic. Maron. p. 394, 1. e. are become pro- fessors or disciples of the gospel. And thus also is it taken in the place before cited, Matt. xill. 52. The Arabic also, not only following the same sense, but using the same

word too, even dXohizy “ yattal- mido,”’ is made a disciple: and so the Persic renders it by © yolks, ‘‘ shakird,” a disciple. And indeed

the scope of the place cannot admit of any other interpretation of the

ART.

462 Of Baptism.

disciples; as if he should have said, Go ye and disciple all nations, or bring them over to be my disciples, and baptize them. So that all that are disciples are here commanded to be baptized; nay, they are therefore commanded to be bap- tized because disciples. And seeing all disciples are to be baptized, infants, the children of believing parents, amongst the rest, must be baptized too; for that they are disciples is clear, from their being circumcised under the law: for that argued they were in covenant with God, otherwise they could not have had the seal of the covenant administered to them; and if they were in covenant with God, they must needs be disciples; to be a disciple, and to be in covenant with God, being one and the same thing. So that all that are in cove- nant with God are his disciples; and all that are his disciples are in covenant with him. And again, of children our Saviour saith, Of such is the kingdom of God, Mark x.14. And there- fore they must needs be disciples, unless such as are not dis- ciples should be thought to belong unto the kingdom of God. But I need not insist any longer upon this, to prove little

a.

word there. Another place where it comes is Matt. xxvii. 57, ds Kal avros euabnrevoe TO “Inoov, that is, as the Syriac hath it, on @)? Nomads fon -oXZZI, “doph hu ethtalmad vaw lejeshuah,’’ who also was himself a disciple of Jesus, or, because he also was discipled to Jesus. And so both the Arabic and Persic likewise; which the Ethiopic

explains MOA’EY,: FOPVL: “‘wawatuhi tazamdo,” for he also followed the Lord Jesus as a dis- ciple. The third place where the word occurs is Acts xiv. 21, kal pabnretcayres tkavods, that is, as the Syriac renders it, com o,a. XZ

aos, “talmed vaw lesagiye,”

and had made many disciples ; and so the Arabic renders it too by

VXehS4 « watalmada,” and they discipled many, as the words both in the Syriac and Arabic imply ; though they be translated in both

very improperly, Et docuerunt multos, (where we may see what little use the, Latin translations are of if we have not skill in the lan- guages themselves.) But the Ethi- opic not having one word to express the full meaning of the place by, it puts another to it; for immediately

after it saith (DGDUG: < wama- haru,” and they taught, it adds, OANA 2 “ waabu,” and they

brought in, viz., to the church; shewing that it was not a bare teaching which the original word implied, but such a teaching as brought many into the church, and made them disciples of Christ. And these are all the places in the New Testament (the text under hand, Matt. xxviii. 19. excepted) wherein the Greek pa@nrevo, the Syriac podZ, “ talmed,” and the Arabic

HelS, “talmada,” are used, always answering one another. Only the

XX VII. Of Baptism. 463

children to be disciples, if their parents be. For so long as children they are looked upon as parts of their parents, and therefore what their parents are they must needs be: if their parents be heathens, the children are heathens; if their parents be Christians, the children are Christians too. And truly unless this be granted, the children of believing parents under the gospel will be brought into a worse condition than they were under the law; for under the law children were still acknowledged to be within the covenant, and therefore had always the seal of the covenant administered to them: and if the children of believing parents, I mean outward professors of faith, should be denied the same privilege now under the gospel, the gospel must be necessarily supposed to be more strait and narrow than the law itself. But seeing both law and gospel contain one and the same covenant, and seeing under the law children were accounted disciples, and therefore circumcised as well as adult proselytes, it must needs follow, that children are in the same capacity still as they were then; and seeing they were then admitted into the church by cir- eumcision, they are now to be invested with the same privilege by baptism.

Syriac […] is used Luke i. 4, and oSZ/x,

“ methtalmad,” Acts xviii. 25, both answering to the Greek xatnyéopat, which also doth not signify a bare teaching, but such a teaching as one learneth by, and becomes a pro- fessor of. And the word thus sig- nifying not to teach, but disciple, and make disciples, in all other places, it would be strange if it did not denote the same here too, viz., Matt. xxviii. 19. I am sure the Syriac (in which this commission for baptizing was first given to the disciples, our Saviour speaking that in Syriac which St. Matthew after- wards wrote in Greek) and Arabic translate it by the selfsame words here that they do in the other places,

the Syriac by oad, “* talmed,” and the Arabic by Jgdh5, « tal- midu,” make disciples; and it is observable that neither of them use

the same word for dvddoxovres in the next verse, but the one .2a| aad};

[…]

Ethiopic renders both by GDUG:

but that is because they have no one word that signifies such a kind of teaching as pa@nrevo doth, and therefore we may well understand here what the same translation adds to express the full meaning of the word by Acts xiv. 20, as the Persic also doth, “Ite ac totum mundum

docete (3 costs eles) 99

aS) shag et ad fidem et religionem meam reducite.”’ And thus we see how all the ancient translations agree in the expounding of the word padyrevo in this as well as other places, not teach, but disciple: and therefore cannot but wonder how any one can brand that exposition with novelty.

464 Of Baptism. Art.

Only we shall take notice of the doctrine and practice of the primitive church in this particular ; and surely the nearer to the fountain head, the clearer the streams. Whether the apostles baptized children or no is nowhere expressly delivered in scripture; but howsoever it may be gathered from their successors: for certainly the apostles’ successors durst never have done it unless they had seen the apostles themselves doing it before them.

Now Origen saith, z“‘ Young children are baptized into the remission of sins.” And presently, 4“ And because that by the sacrament of baptism the filth of our nativity is laid aside, therefore are little children baptized.” And elsewhere, >To this may that also be added, that it should be inquired into what is the cause, that seeing baptism is given to the church for the remission of sins, according to the observance or custom of the church, baptism is given also to little children ; whereas if there was nothing in little children that ought to belong to pardon and forgiveness, the grace of baptism would be superfluous.”

In St. Cyprian’s time there were some that thought indeed that children ought not to be baptized till the eighth day, according to the time appointed for circumcision; but none that held they ought not to be baptized at-all whilst children. And to one that supposed they ought not to be baptized till the eighth day, St. Cyprian writes, saying, °“ But as to the cause of infants, which thou sayest before the second or third day after they are born ought not to be baptized, and that the

a Et quia per baptismi sacra- mentum nativitatis sordes deponun- tur baptizantur et parvuli. Ibid.

» Addi his etiam illud potest ut requiratur, quid cause sit, cum bap- tisma ecclesiz in remissionem pec- catorum detur, secundum ecclesiz observantiam etiam parvulis baptis- mum dari, cum utique si nihil esset in parvulis quod ad remissionem de- beret et indulgentiam pertinere, gra- tia baptismi superflua videretur. Id. in Ley. hom. 8. [3. vol. II.]

© Quantum vero ad causam in- fantium pertinet, quos dixisti intra secundum vel tertium diem quo nati sunt constitutos baptizari non opor- tere, et considerandam legem esse circumcisionis antique, ut intra oc- tavum diem eum qui natus est bap- tizandum et sanctificandum non pu- tares, longe aliud in concilio nostro omnibus visum est. In hoe enim quod tu putabas esse faciendum nemo consensit, sed universi potius judicavimus nulli hominum nato misericordiam Dei et gratiam dene- gandam. Cyprian. epist. 1. 3. [ep. 64. init. |

XXVII.

Of Baptism. 465

law of the ancient circumcision is to be observed, that thou shouldst think that any one that is born ought not to be bap- tized or sanctified before the eighth day, it seemed far other- wise to all in our council ; for in this which thou thoughtest should be done, none agreed ; but rather all of us judged that the mercy and grace of God (in baptism) should be denied to no one born of men.” So that it seems a whole council then determined that children ought to be baptized.

St. Augustine spends a whole chapter in proving, 4“ That by the price of the blood of Christ in baptism, children are washed, freed, and saved from original sin propagated from the first parents.” And elsewhere he saith plainly, ° “ Seeing therefore children do not begin to be of the sheep of Christ but only by baptism, truly if they do not receive that, they will perish.”

But to leave private persons, and to come to councils. The second council at Milevum determined, saying, ‘It pleaseth also that whosoever shall deny that children newly come from their mothers’ wombs should be baptized, let him be ac- cursed.” And the council at Gerundia, ¢ “ Concerning infants which are lately brought forth from their mother’s womb, it pleaseth that it should be appointed, that if they be infirm, (as usually they are,) and do not desire their mother’s milk, if they be offered, they may be baptized even the same day they are born.” Yea, and the sixth general council, called the Trullan, saith, »‘* We, following the canonical constitutions of the

4 Quod pretio sanguinis Christi stitui, ut si infirmi (ut assolet) fue-

in baptismo abluuntur parvuli, libe- rantur et salvantur a peccato origi- nali a primis propagato parentibus. Aug. contra Jul. Pelag. 1. 3. c. 3.

€ Quoniam ergo de ovibus ejus non incipiunt esse parvuli nisi per baptismum, profecto si hoc non accipiunt, peribunt. Id. de peccat. merit. et remis. 1. 1. [40. vol. X.]

[…]

& De parvulis qui nuper a ma- terno utero editi sunt, placuit con-

rint, et lac maternum non appetunt, etiam eadem die qua nati sunt, si oblati fuerint, baptizentur. Concil. Gerund. can. 5. [Concil. Hard, vol. II. p. 1044. |

[…]

Hh

466 Of Baptism. Arr. XXVII.

Fathers, determine also concerning infants, that as often as

there shall not be found sufficient witnesses which will say that

they were undoubtedly baptized, and themselves, by reason of

their infancy, cannot aptly answer for the mysteries being

delivered to them, without any scandal such ought to be bap-

tized.” So that it is not only the opinion of private persons,

or particular synods, but of a general council itself, that the

baptism of infants ought in any wise to be retained in the church.

Notes

• Parvuli baptizantur in temis- sionem peccatorum. Origen. in Luc. hom. 14. [p. 948. vol. III.]