Before baptizing Paul, it is worth reflecting for a moment on why we baptize babies in this church. Fittingly, since Paul’s name begins with P, this reflection follows three Ps: the promise of baptism, the pattern of baptism, and the practice of baptism.
The Promise of Baptism
The promise of baptism is rooted in the gospel itself. On the day of Pentecost, after Peter preached his sermon, he said to the people: “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.” He then added, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
The promise Peter speaks of concerns the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The sign of that promise is baptism—a washing with water that symbolizes cleansing from sin and being washed by the Holy Spirit in regeneration.
Notice who Peter says this promise is for: adult believers and their children. If the promise of the gospel is for believers and for their children, and if baptism is the sign of that promise, then the promise of baptism is also for believers and their children. That promise is for Alex and Danielle, and it is also for Sam and Gabby, and this morning it is for little Paul. This is the first P: the promise of baptism.
The Pattern of Baptism
That raises an important question: how should Paul be baptized? Should he be fully immersed in a font of water, as in the Eastern Orthodox tradition? Or should he be sprinkled with water, as Presbyterians typically do? Should baptism be practiced by dipping, or by pouring?
The answer comes from the pattern of baptism found in Scripture. In Mark chapter one, John the Baptist compares his baptism with water to the baptism Jesus brings with the Holy Spirit. John says, “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
What is striking about Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit is the pattern that emerges in the book of Acts. Again and again, the Holy Spirit is said to fill people, fall upon people, come upon people, or be poured out upon people. In this pattern, the material agent of the baptism—in this case, the Holy Spirit—is placed upon the person. The person is not placed into the Spirit. People in Acts are not immersed into the Holy Spirit; rather, the Spirit is placed into them. He fills them, comes upon them, falls upon them, and is poured out upon them.
This is the biblical pattern of baptism: the material agent is placed upon the person.
The Practice of Baptism
That pattern helps us understand the proper practice of baptism. Since water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and since the pattern of Jesus’ baptism is that the agent is poured out upon the person, the best practice of baptism is the pouring or sprinkling of water. In baptism, the water symbolizes the Holy Spirit coming upon the child.
Given the pattern of Jesus’ baptism by the Holy Spirit, and given that water symbolizes the Spirit, baptism is most fittingly practiced by placing the water upon the person. This morning, that means sprinkling water upon little Paul.
This is what is about to happen. Paul will be sprinkled with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the promise of the gospel—and therefore the sign of the gospel—is as much for Paul as it is for his parents. And our prayer is that what is placed on the outside of Paul—a washing, a cleansing—will become a means of grace, so that the same reality becomes true on the inside as well: a clean heart.