To this preparatory stage is also to be assigned the baptism of Jesus by John ; it was not the institution of Christian baptism, though it paved the way for it, and in some sense our Lord may be said to have thereby sanctified ' water to the mystical washing away of sin.' Such also was the baptizing by Jesus' disciples during His earthly ministry ( Jn 322 42) ; we note that our Lord carried on the Baptist's teaching about the approach of the kingdom and about repentance (Mk P^ ; cf. Mt 3'-), though in His teaching the Good Tidings pre- dominated, while in that of John repentance was the chief note (Swete, Com. in loc.).
3. Preparation for baptism. — Instruction in Christian doctrine before baptism is to some extent necessary, because otherwise there cannot be faith and repentance. Our Lord commanded the dis- ciples to teach (Mt 282", 5t5dcr«:o»'Tes) as well as to baptize. St. Peter instructed the people and Cor- nelius before he commanded them to be baptized (Ac 21^-28 l034-«- 48). Philip instructed the Samari- tans and the Eunuch before baptism (8*'- ^- ^). The instruction of Theophilus (Lk P) was probably, at least La part, before baptism. Lydia's baptism followed a preaching (Ac 16'^j, as did that of the Corinthians (18*). But in most of these cases the
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teaching was very short, in some of them not last- ing more than one day. And no instruction that can be properly so called is mentioned in the case of Saul (Ac 9"* 22^6), or the Philippian jailer (IS**; note ' immediately '), or the twelve Ephesians (19^). ApoUos had been instructed (rjy KaT7ixviJ-^''os) in the way of the Lord, but only imperfectly, and Pris- cilla and Aquila taught him more carefully (aKpi- ^euTepov, Ac 18-"). The allusions to the instruction of Christians in 1 Co 14", Gal 6« {Karrixiu), Ro 12^ Col 1''' etc. (5i5d(r/cw), have no special reference to baptism. In Ho 2'* kutt^x^w is used of Jewish instruction.
At a later period, persons under instruction for baptism were called catechumens (KaTH)xovix€voi, ' those in a state of being taught ' ; cf. Gal 6^), and their preparation was called catcchesis (/i-aTTj^'jo'ts ; cf. our word ' catechism ' from KaT7]xi-(T/j.6s, through Latin). The catechumens were taught the Creed, or Christian doctrine, during their catechumenate, and their instruction was called the ' traditio symboli ' ; they professed their faith at baptism, and this profession was called the ' redditio symboli ' (see below, 5). The baptism in later times norm- ally took place in the early morning of Easter Day, and the selection of candidates for baptism took place on the 40th day before (Cyr. Jer., Cat., Introd. § 4 ; it was called the ' inscribing of names,' ovofxa- Toypa(pia) ; tlienceforward the selected candidates were called ' competentes,' (TwaiTodfTes. In the 4tli cent, the catechumenate lasted two years (Elvira, can. 42) or three years {Ap. Const, viii. 32, and several Clmrch Orders) ; but this was never a hard and fast rule. Catechumens were not allowed to be present at the main part of the Eucharist or at the Agape (Didache, 9, and often in the Church Orders). See, further, A. J. Maclean, op. cit. pp. 16-19, 97 ; DC A, art. ' Catechumens.'
i. Formula of baptism. — It is not quite clear what words were used for baptism in NT times. In Mt 28"' our Lord bids His followers make disciples of all the nations, b.aptizing {^airTii^ovres, present part.) them into the name (et's t6 bvofxa, AV ' in the name,' see 8) of the P'atlier, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. These words are in all iNISS and VSS, but F. C. Conybeare {ZNTJV, 1901, p. 275ft'. ; HJ i. [Oct. 1902] 102 ft".) and K. Lake (Inaug. Lect. at Leyden, 17th Jan. 1904) dis- pute their authenticity, because Eusebius often quotes the text without them or with ' make dis- ciples of all the nations in my name.' The careful refutation of this view by Chase (JThSt vi. 483 ft'. ) and Kiggenbach (' Der trinitar. Taufbefehl Mattli. 28'^,' in Beitrdge zur Forderiing christl. Theol., Giitersloh, 1903) has made this position untenable, and we can with confidence assert that the full text is part of the First Gospel. It has, however, been denied that the words were spoken by our Lord. But the view that He made some such utterance, of which the words in Mt 28'^ are doubtless a much aljbreviated record, is the only way in which we can comprehend how such a Trinitarian passage as 2 Co 13'** could have been written, or understand the numerous passages in the NT which affirm the Godhead of the Son and of the Holy Ghost (Chase, JThSt vi. 509 f. ; see also art. ' God ' in SDB).
In Acts we read of people being baptized (almost alwaj's in t he passive) ' in (iv) the name of the Lord Jesus' (2''* {v I. iiri]), or ' into (et's) the name of the Lord Jesus' (8^^ 19^), or ' in (^j*) tlie name of Jesus ("lirisf (10^*). In the Pauline Epistles we read of baptism into Christ Jesus, into His death (Ko 6''), into Christ (Gal S'-'') ; with these j^assages cf. 1 Co 113. i» ('into the name of Paul,' ' into my name'), W ('into Mo.ses'), 12'=* (' into one body '), Ac ID^ ('into what?' — 'into John's baptism'); all these passages also have the passive ' to be baptized,'