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Wash in the Waters Again · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome back to the Deep Dive, where we take a stack of
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specialized sources and extract the information you need to be
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thoroughly and thoughtfully informed, Reformed thinking.
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Today we're undertaking a really focused analysis.
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We got a set of sources here dealing with those central
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public practices in the Christian Church.
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You know what some call ordinances, other sacraments.
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We've laid out material looking specifically at the post
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reformation sort of covenantal understanding of baptism in the
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Lord's Supper. And our mission really for you
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the listener, is to get past maybe the simpler definitions
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you might have heard and understand why the reformer saw
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these not just as rituals but as well essential active ways God
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shows favor and gives assurance. Exactly.
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And this deep dive it really revolves around 2 connected
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ideas. First is understanding these
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quin rhythms of the church when it gathers baptism in the Lord's
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Supper, seeing them not just as actions but as well the source
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is called them, visible words, visible words, and as genuine,
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active means of God's grace. Then second, we want to pull out
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the practical, lifelong thing connected specifically to
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baptism, the initiation part. Our sources talk about this
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continuous responsibility of improving our baptism, A
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discipline they saw as central for spiritual health.
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But honestly, one that's often forgotten today.
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Yeah, I think that's maybe the big surprise here, just how much
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theological weight the reformers put behind these practices.
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They really wanted to make sure people didn't see them as
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either, you know, automatic magic on one hand or just empty
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symbols on the other. That's the tension.
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So let's start with that phrase they came up with.
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OK, so let's unpack this key term that really came out of the
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16th century. Protestants, especially in the
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Calvinistic line, started calling baptism in the Lord's
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Supper visible words. What was really at stake when
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they chose that specific label? Well, visible words was, you
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could say, a very precise tool. It was designed to fight on 2
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fronts at the same time theologically.
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On one side you had the Roman Catholic view, ex opera oparato,
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the idea that the sacrament just works automatically because the
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ACT is done. Right, regardless of the person.
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'S faith exactly. The grace was sort of in the ACT
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itself, and the reformers strongly pushed back against
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that. They insisted Grace always,
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always needs faith from the recipient.
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OK, so that explains why they didn't like the automatic idea,
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but why not just call them signs?
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I mean, wasn't that term around Zwingli for instance?
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Right, and that's the other side of the battle.
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If they only said signs, or especially mere signs, they
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risked sounding like Zwingli who basically saw them as well,
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almost purely memorial like. A badge of membership.
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Mostly pretty much just a human action, a way to remember an
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external marker. So visible word.
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That phrase was meant to bridge the gap.
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The word part means they carry the actual authority, the
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content of the gospel, just like preaching does.
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Ah. OK, so it has real content, real
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message. Yes, but the visible part means
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they're acted out. They're dramatizations of God's
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grace. They act as a physical
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compliment to the message you hear preached.
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You could call them tangible promises.
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So they have authority like the preached word, but they require
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faith to be received properly. It's like God speaking, but
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through water, bread, wine. Absolutely.
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And this authoritative, visible speaking is also how they
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function to mark out the church. You know, they make the church
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distinct. They draw a line between the
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community of believers and the, well, the unbelieving world.
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They make the boundaries of this new covenant relationship
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tangible. Physical baptism is the clear
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entry point. Re initiation.
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And the Supper is the regular sign, the marker of continuing
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in that covenant relationship. OK, let's think about how they
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work as these visible words. In practice, we often hear face
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comes by hearing, right? But these ordinances, they seem
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to engage us differently than just listening to a sermon.
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They use the senses. They really do.
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They activate the whole person. Preaching relies mainly on
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sound. The ear hears the promise, but
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these visible words, they bring in all 5 senses to rehearse over
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and over. The very center of Christian
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belief. Just think about the actual
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experience. OK, yeah, you've got sight.
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You see the water being poured or maybe the bread being broken.
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That visually shows cleansing sacrifice.
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You've got sound. You hear the minister speak the
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words of institution, the authoritative words that connect
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the physical action to God's promise.
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Then there's touch, the actual feeling of the water or holding
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the bread. It's a tangible sensation of
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being apart or nourished. And especially with the Lord's
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Supper, that immediate physical sense of taste and sometimes
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even smell the bread, the wine actually entering your body.
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Right. And the whole point of involving
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all these senses is, well, it's mnemonic.
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It helps you remember. It grounds these big abstract
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spiritual truth like forgiveness, union with Christ,
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and physical tactile memories. It makes the gospel something
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you can almost, well, touch and feel.
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Exactly. It makes it tactile.
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When a doctrine like, say, union with Christ, gets acted out
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through washing or through sharing food together, the
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believer gets this memorable, repeatable experience.
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It anchors their understanding. It's not just an idea anymore.
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Yeah, that makes sense. And This is why the sources
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really stress that these two practices define the twin
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rhythms of the gathered church. They cover the believer's whole
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life initiation with baptism, the beginning, and then the
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ongoing fellowship and renewal through the Lord's Supper.
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What happens just once the other is repeated, cyclical, and they
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work together, You're saying to keep the life of the church, the
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covenant community going? That's the idea.
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They sustain it. OK, so if visible words tells us
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about their authoritative nature, the next layer we need
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to understand is about their effect.
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They function as both signs and seals, and getting the
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difference between these two roles is really important,
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especially for understanding personal assurance.
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Right. I often hear them just called
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signs, but the sources you're drawing on, they really push
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back on that being the whole story.
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They say if they were only signs, it wouldn't be enough.
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So let's start with the sign part.
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What does that mean? As signs, they're like pointers,
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general pointers. They are actions, enacted signs
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that point to spiritual realities bigger than
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themselves. The washing with water points
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towards cleansing forgiveness. The shared meal points to
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spiritual nourishment, fellowship with Christ and each
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other. So they show the world generally
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what God's salvation work is about.
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Yeah, objective truth acted out. Exactly.
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Objective truth dramatized. But the seal function, that's
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where it gets really personal, because the seal pivots the
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meaning from that general objective truth to a specific
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subjective application. OK, Seal, That sounds official.
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It is. And to really get the weight of
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that word seal, we need to think historically for a second.
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Back in the 16th, 17th centuries, a seal wasn't just,
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you know, a pretty stamp and whack.
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Lily binding. Totally.
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It was the official confirmation on a deed, a contract, a royal
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decree. The seal authenticated the
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document. It guaranteed that the specific
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terms written in it applied to the person named on it.
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OK, so when the ordinances act as seals, they're confirming
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that God saving grace isn't just a general truth, but it has
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actually come to the individual believer in particular.
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Absolutely. That's the core of it.
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The ordinances as Seals testify that the gospel isn't just true
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out there for the world, or even true generally for believers.
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They confirm it's true specifically for me, for the
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individual receiving it. The outward visible action
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confirms the inward invisible reality in that person.
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Wow, OK, that makes the connection to assurance really
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clear because if I'm struggling, maybe doubting if I'm really
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saved, then receiving a seal, this tangible church authorized
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confirmation that gives well great grounds of assurance as
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the sources say it does. It tells me yes, you are
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included among Christ's rescue people.
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It's like an official validation that the interchange, the new
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birth, has actually happened. Exactly, and the sources are
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quite clear. The validity of that seal from
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the Church's side depends on them recognizing A credible
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profession of faith in the person.
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Right, the church has to be involved.
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Yes. When a church that holds to the
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Bible, cherishes the gospel, observes someone's sincere
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faith, and then authorizes that seal, they are publicly stating
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we believe this person is truly born again.
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That's a powerful, authoritative counter voice against the
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whispers of doubt or temptation. And baptism specifically, being
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that first act, that initiation, it serves as that initial
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public, visible marker. It confirms not just, you know,
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future potential, but the present reality of new life.
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And this connects directly to that lifelong duty we'll get to
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later. When believers are told to
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improve their baptism, they're specifically instructed to
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reflect on the blessings sealed to them.
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Then the Westminster Larger Catechism explicitly says
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reflecting on this helps us in growing up to assurance of
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pardon of sin. So the seal function is what
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makes baptism not just a past event, but a kind of living
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assurance document we can keep referring back to throughout our
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lives. It really does sound like God's
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personal signature on the Gospel promise delivered through and
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witnessed by the gathered church.
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That's a good way to put it. So if they're visible words,
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meaning they're authoritative, and they're seals, meaning they
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give personal confirmation, we then arrive at the central
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theological claim about how they actually work.
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The ordinances are means of God's grace.
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They aren't just signs about grace.
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There are actual ways grace is given, conveyed.
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OK, this is where we really need to be precise, especially for
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listeners familiar with these debates.
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If they are, as you said, Christ instituted channels of God's
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power, how do we talk about that channeling without falling back
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into that automatic works based idea the reformers rejected?
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That is the absolute key distinction.
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They are Christ instituted channels of God's power, but
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that power is delivered by the Holy Spirit.
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We mentioned the theologian John Frame earlier.
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He puts it helpfully. The ordinances, just like
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preaching or prayer, serve to bring God's presence near to his
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people. They are vehicles, tools the God
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has appointed and promised to use to give out his favor and
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spiritual strength. Think of them as ordinary
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established methods used by an extraordinary God.
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So the ordinances themselves, the water, the bread, the wine,
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they aren't inherently magical, but they are guaranteed
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channels, places where the Holy Spirit has promised to meet and
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bless his people, provided the recipient is in the right
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posture. Precisely that condition is
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everything, and understanding this helps us steer clear of
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those common misunderstandings the sources warn about.
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First, like we said, they're not just signs or mere symbols.
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They are spiritually active means.
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But second, and this is so crucial, they do not work
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automatically apart from faith. The grace isn't contained in the
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physical elements themselves. It's in the power of the Spirit
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accompanying the ordinance, and it's received by faith.
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So the means of grace operate through the power of the Holy
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Spirit by Christian faith in the participants.
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Without faith, the outward act might happen, but it's
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spiritually empty. Maybe even, as Paul warns,
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harmful. That's the critical difference.
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If faith is missing, there's no spiritual strengthening
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happening, no real communion, no assurance given the physical
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motions might occur, but the spiritual transaction fails.
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This is also why the Church has that responsibility to assess
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the credibility of someone's profession before administering
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the seal. We can see this need for faith
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really clearly when Paul talks about the Lord's Supper.
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Even though we're focusing on baptism today.
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His words there illustrate the principle for both ordinances.
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In 1st Corinthians 10.1 steep. He calls the bread and cup a
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participation in Christ's body and blood.
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What does that participation involve when it's done by faith?
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It's an act of spiritual thing. Participation here means
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communing, actually sharing in the benefits won by Christ's
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sacrifice. So when believers come to the
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table with genuine faith, the Supper acts to renew and
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strengthen their sense of being united by faith to the risen
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Christ. It's a refreshing of that
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connection. Yes, it's a moment where the
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Holy Spirit applies the spiritual benefits of Jesus's
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finished work right to the believer's soul.
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It nourishes them, strengthens them for the life ahead.
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It helps them grow in grace. But there's a warning attached
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to, isn't there? The flip side of that blessing?
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Yes, definitely Paul's stark warning in the next chapter,
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First Corinthians 11, verses 27 to 30.
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He says that those who partake without genuine faith, or maybe
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while cherishing unrepentant sin, they don't receive grace.
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Instead, they actually invite judgement upon themselves.
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It shows that these means of grace are serious business.
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They're direct encounters with God through his appointed ways.
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They build up the faithful, but they implicitly condemn the
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unbelieving or the hypocritical who tried to presume on God's
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kindness without genuine heart change.
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So the spiritual outcome is absolutely tied to the spiritual
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condition, like the posture of the persons heart.
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Couldn't be clear. OK, let's narrow the lens now.
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Specifically, end of baptism. It's the first of those twin
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rhythms we talked about and it has this unique role because
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it's a one time event. It marks that new covenant
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initiation. It's not repeatable.
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That non repeatability is really significant.
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This specific act is applied just once to a person after
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they've shown a credible profession of faith that
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satisfies the local church leadership and congregation,
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right. It serves as the official
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outward physical act that secures their entrance into the
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full fellowship of the visible church community.
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It's like a doorway you walk through once to enter the house.
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You don't keep going back through the front door every
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day. And the ceremony itself, the
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action, it's like a little play, isn't it?
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A piece of gospel theater? The water, the washing or
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immersion, It acts out the spiritual reality of conversion.
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It's a drama of death and resurrection.
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It really is the whole gospel story condensed into one
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powerful physical action. The act of being baptized
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corresponds directly to that whole package of graces someone
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receives when they're converted. The initial forgiveness of sins,
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the cleansing from guilt, the gift of faith itself, the
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turning away from sin and repentance, the brand new life
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that comes with the new birth. And this is foundational union
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with Christ. Yeah, we often hear Romans 6.3
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to 5 quoted here. Maybe we should unpack that a
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bit. What exactly is Paul saying
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happens in baptism according to that passage?
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It's easy to just focus on the cleansing part, washing away
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sins. But Romans 6 goes much deeper.
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It's about our profound identification with Jesus's own
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history, his death and resurrection.
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Paul asks rhetorically. Don't you know that all of us
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who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
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death? The main point isn't just
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forgiveness, it's that the person being baptized is
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symbolically buried with Jesus in death.
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Buried. That's a strong image.
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It is, and being buried with him signifies more than just past
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sins being forgiven. It represents the death of the
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old life, the crucifixion of the old self that was dominated by
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sin. That old self is declared dead,
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executed by the authority of this visible word.
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And then comes the rising from the water that symbolizes the
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resurrection part, a pledge of a new way of living.
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Exactly. It's the initiation into the
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life of sanctification, of growing in holiness.
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We get the spiritual power, the fuel to walk in that newness of
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life from identifying with Christ's resurrection, which is
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pictured right there. The old life, which was enslaved
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to sin, is symbolically drowned and left behind, and the new
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life, empowered now by Christ's spirit living in the believer,
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begins its conscious journey towards godliness and obedience.
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So for the person actually being baptized, this whole experience
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creates this unique one time memory of the gospel grace being
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acted out just for them. It becomes a personal touchstone
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they can always look back to. It's a source of joy and a
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really valuable church authorized confirmation that
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they truly are united to Christ. It gives them an anchor.
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Point precisely. And that unique foundational
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nature is exactly why the duty that follows baptism, the
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lifelong application, is so important.
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If we just treat baptism as a nice memory of something that
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happened way back then, we completely missed the point that
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it's meant to be a continuing source of spiritual power drawn
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from that initial union, sealed in the water.
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Right, it's not just a past event, but a present reality to
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draw. From that's the key.
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OK, so this is where the theology really hits the
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pavement, doesn't it? If baptism is a one time thing,
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how do we keep drawing spiritual life from a day after day?
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The sources use this phrase improving our baptism.
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It sounds a bit, well, old fashioned or maybe even obscure
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today. It definitely sounds archaic to
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our ears, but the meaning behind it is incredibly practical and
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spiritually rich. This idea is formally laid out,
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quite detailed actually, in the Westminster Larger Catechism.
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Specifically, you'd look at question 167 in Chapter 28.
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In the Larger Catechism, that wasn't just for kids, right?
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This was serious theological instruction.
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Oh absolutely. It was written for ministers,
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for educated adults, to teach the deep structure of covenant
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theology back in the 17 century. And the Catechism itself calls
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this duty improving our Baptism, the needful but much neglected
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duty. Needful but neglected.
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Why needful? Why did they see it as so
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essential? Well, because the spiritual
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battle doesn't end when you come up out of the water.
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We forget who we are in Christ. We slip back into old sinful
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patterns. We face temptations daily.
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So improving our baptism is the active, conscious spiritual
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discipline of going back to the grace that was promised and
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sealed to us in that moment and drawing strength from it for our
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current obedience and struggles. OK, it's about actively
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remembering and applying, and the Catechism points out when we
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should especially do this. Yes, it says believers should
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practice this all their lifelong, but it highlights 2
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specific times. First, during times of
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temptation when we feel the pool of sin, and 2nd when present at
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the administration of it to others when we are watching
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someone else get baptized. OK, that second was really
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interesting. So watching a baptism isn't just
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about being supportive of the new person, it's actually meant
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to be an act of spiritual renewal for me, the observer.
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That's exactly what the sources teach.
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Baptism is understood as a means of grace, not only for the
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person physically in the water at that moment, but also for all
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the believers who are watching with faith.
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So it's a corporate event in more ways than one, yes.
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Wayne Grudem, commenting on this tradition, points out that when
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the faith of the watching church is stirred up and encouraged by
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witnessing the ceremony, the Holy Spirit uses that moment to
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work, bringing blessing to the whole church as well.
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It's like the church is collectively rehearsing its
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identity, remembering its shared union with Christ through this
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one person's initiation. Every time we see someone
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baptized, we're being prompted to remember and reaffirm our own
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baptism. Exactly.
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Which implies that watching a baptism should involve some
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specific spiritual actions on our part.
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It's not supposed to be passive spectating.
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Can we break down the steps the Westminster Larger Catechism
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outlines for this duty of improving our baptism?
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It starts with thinking about it, right?
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Yes, the very first step is serious and thankful
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consideration. We're meant to consciously think
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about the nature of baptism, the incredible privileges and
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benefits that were sealed to us then, and also the solemn vow we
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made. So intellectual and emotional
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engagement, stopping to actually ponder what did God promised me
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in that visible word, What commitment that I make
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remembering the sheer gift of being rescued, cleansed,
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adopted, named in Christ. Right then, the second step
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moves from consideration to self-assessment.
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Humility. Yes, that reflection should lead
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to humbling oneself for our quote, sinful defilement,
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recognizing how we failed to live up to the grace signified
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and sealed in our baptism. So acknowledging that even
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though we were baptized into Christ's death to sin's power,
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we still sin, we still fall short.
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Exactly. It involves confessing those
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specific failures and consciously returning to that
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original promise of cleansing that was sealed to us in the
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water, admitting where we've broken the commitments we made
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back then. OK, so consideration then?
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Humbling confession. What's the third step?
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It seems to turn towards building us up again.
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It does. The third step is about growing
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up to assurance, specifically assurance of the pardon of sin
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and assurance of all the other blessings that were sealed to us
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in that sacrament. So the assurance isn't
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automatic, but something we grow into, partly by reflecting on
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our baptism. That's right, it's renewed by
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rehearsing that initial act of God's justifying grace towards
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us. When doubt starts whispering
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that maybe we're not really forgiven, maybe we're not really
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his, we actively point back to the seal, that visible word,
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that objective event authorized by the church, which declared us
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forgiven and united to Christ. This conscious reflection
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becomes a weapon, a lifeline during spiritual attacks.
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You mentioned earlier that technical term the mortifying of
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sin. That sounds pretty intense.
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How does improving our baptism give us strengths for that?
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The WLC connects it to Christ's death and resurrection, right?
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Yes, mortifying just means putting to death.
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It's about actively fighting against sin in our lives.
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Since we as believers were baptized into Christ's death.
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The idea is we can continually draw strength from the death and
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resurrection of Christ, the very realities pictured in our
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baptism for this daily battle for the mortifying of sin and
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the quickening of grace. OK, quickening of grace.
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What does that mean practically? Can you give an example of how
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remembering my baptism helps me fight a specific sin?
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Sure, let's say a believer really struggles with impatience
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or anger. The process of improving their
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baptism would involve actively remember it.
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The old self, the me that was enslaved to that anger, that
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impatience, that self was symbolically buried with Christ
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in the waters of baptism. I died to that sins dominating
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power. Now I draw on the new
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resurrection life I was raised into with Christ, so I seek to
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apply his resurrection power, and not just to believe I'm
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forgiven, but to actually obey him in this area, to cultivate
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patience. That's the quickening of grace.
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It's invigorating the new nature, the new desires he's
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given me. It's applying the doctrine of
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our union with Christ directly to our daily ethical choices.
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So it fuels the fight for holiness.
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And does this internal strengthening have outward
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implications for community life? Oh, absolutely, the Catechism
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concludes by saying. The outcome of this whole duty
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is endeavoring to live by faith. Yes, but also to maintain a
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conduct reflecting holiness and righteousness, living out our
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new identity in Christ. And crucially, it includes
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striving to walk in brotherly love with fellow believers,
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recognizing we were all baptized by the one Spirit into this one
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body, right? Our theological union with
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Christ has to result in practical unity and love within
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the Church family. It really paints a picture of
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the baptism ceremony as something designed to be like an
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active spiritual reset, something we revisit mentally
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and spiritually, even though the physical event only happens
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once. So when I stand there watching
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someone else get baptized, the real command for me as an
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observer is something like watching faith and wash your
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soul again in the good news of being joined to Jesus.
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That's a great summary of it. The event becomes this potent
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rehearsal of the gospel, a vital means of grace that renews my
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own identity in Christ right then and there.
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It really ensures that our initiation isn't just some faded
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memory, but a continually accessible spring of spiritual
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strength for the whole covenant community.
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Well, we've covered a lot of ground in this deep dive.
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We've seen how this particular Protestant tradition, especially
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drawing from that covenantal framework in the Westminster
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Standards, views these physical acts, baptism in the Lord's
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Supper, as far more than symbols.
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They are visible words, actual means of grace.
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We traced their function being both general signs pointing to
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salvation and personal seals confirming it for the
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individual. And we spent significant time on
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this often overlooked ongoing responsibility for every
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believer to turn the one time event of baptism into a
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continuous source of spiritual strength by actively practicing
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this discipline of improving our baptism.
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And the key take away really, is that the effectiveness of these
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means the continuity of spiritual life they offer
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depends entirely on our active engagement with them.
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The graces offered, God has promised to meet us there, but
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receiving it requires faith and diligence on our part.
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Yeah, that focus on ongoing spiritual discipline, the duty
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to reflect, to humble ourselves, to grow, an assurance that feels
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absolutely central. So here's a final thought to
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leave you with building on that idea.
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If watching a baptism is meant to be this conscious act of
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washing your soul again in the gospel story, requiring a
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serious, thankful consideration of our vows and God's promises,
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what sort of active, conscious disciplines might this call you
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to practice when you approach the other visible word, the
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Lord's Supper, How do you prepare to receive that as an
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ongoing, recurring means of grace?
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Thanks for diving deep with us today.
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We'll see you next time.