LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

16 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX
Membership in this common life therefore means at the same time being
set within the sphere of operation of the sole Founder … being drawn …
into the fellowship of believers, having a share in the Holy Spirit, and
being drawn into living fellowship with Christ—must simply mean one
and the same thing. 10
As the channel of the divine justifying activity, Baptism is first of all
founded on the command of Christ. The church baptises with confidence
only because it does so because Christ commanded (angeordnet) Baptism,
and is assured that its reception of a person is Christ’s reception of that
person “if performed in the manner He enjoined and according to His
command”. 11
Schleiermacher next examines Baptism as the channel of the divine
justifying activity by comparing Christian Baptism with that of John.
Though he notes the historical connection between the Baptism of John and
Christian Baptism, he denies that they are identical. For how could John’s
Baptism be identical with Christian Baptism when he himself testifies that
he did not know the Redeemer before he baptised Him Furthermore, John
did not baptise in Jesus’ name. Of course, this is not to say that those who
had been baptised by John needed to be rebaptised. As long as they
recognised that Jesus was the Christ, His call to them gave them everything
that Baptism gives. In their case, Baptism would have been an unnecessary
supplement to the call of Christ. The corollary to this understanding is that
Baptism now takes the place of Jesus’ personal call and gives to the
individual both of Baptism’s blessings, “the application of the divine decree
of redemption to the individual, and the placing of the individual in
fellowship with all who already believe …”. 12
Because Baptism is founded on the command of Christ, and takes the
place of His personal choice, it is thirdly a source of assurance for the
Christian in times when doubts of salvation arise. Here Schleiermacher
quotes approvingly from Luther’s Large Catechism, section 44 on Baptism,
where Luther makes this very point. 13 Significantly, however,
Schleiermacher derives this comfort from a different place than Luther:
10 Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith 575.
11 Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith 620. Note here also the emphasis on Baptism as
a command of Christ, a common Reformed emphasis as opposed to the Lutheran emphasis on
the promissory nature of Baptism, its character as Gospel.
12 Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith 622.
13 Concordia Triglotta: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church (St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1921) 743: “Thus we must regard Baptism and make it
profitable to ourselves, that when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen
ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptized ... .”