More and Less
pour water on the head three times in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Didache 7:3
In the name of – Previously we investigated the verse in the last chapter of Matthew that includes instructions to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We found that there are no extant fragments containing this instruction prior to the fourth century. This led to the suspicion that this phrase, totally out of character with first century Jewish thinking, was added to the text sometime after Christianity separated from Jewish practices (i.e., approximately 150 CE). Freed from the background of Jewish baptism, Christian theologians created another ritual practice that justified their anti-Semitic theology.
But when we find the same phrase in the Didache, things get more complicated. The Didache is perhaps the oldest instructional manual of the separated assemblies later called “Christian.” Among its instructions is a chapter concerning baptism and in that chapter we find the idea of baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If this is indeed a document from the first century, then it would appear that the idea of a Trinity was a very early consideration of the “Church,” perhaps not in its developed form but at least in some rudimentary construct.
The problem is the dating of the Didache. There is plenty of controversy about this (click here). It is unlikely that scholars will ever really know its point of origin unless some startling new discovery is made. If the dating is early (50-70 CE), then the implications for Trinitarian development are formidable. If the dating is late (mid-second century), then the impact is far less of a problem. No one knows. The oldest copy of the Didache was discovered in 1883 and fragments can be dated no earlier than the fourth century, so dating the origin is guesswork. Not “shot-in-the-dark” guesswork, but certainly not the kind of confidence that is attached to the gospels or the letters of Paul. What is certain is that at some point between the end of the first century and the third or fourth century, an instruction manual that contains Christian formulations as well as some Jewish perspective was being used in assemblies. Who authored it, how it was used, who used it and where it was used are mysteries.[1]
So the Didache offers us more—more about what some group or groups in the earliest centuries did about rituals and practices. And the Didache offers us less—less hope that we will uncover the shift in rituals that occurred when Christianity separated itself from its Jewish ethos. Whatever occurred in those early years remains hidden from us. We are left to struggle with phrases like “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” knowing that these words are entirely foreign to Jewish thought and yet recognizing that at some time they became part of a baptismal ritual that was decidedly not Jewish. Ah, if we only knew when.
Topical Index: baptism, in the name of, Trinity, Didache 7:3
[1]D. T. Lancaster’s claim that the Didache was “well-known in the early church,” composed by “apostolic authorities” to address “Gentile disciples” and “a distillation of the teachings of Jesus” cannot be historically justified (Lancaster, Elementary Principles, p. 67).
The *Nestea Plunge
And how does “pour water on the head of” equate with “to immerse?” “See? “Here is water..- what does hinder thee from being (sprinkled?). Brother, when I’m dead and gone..- don’t be sprinkling my head with dirt!- Bury me.. immerse me- plunge me- deep beneath the good earth!
Baptism is a silent sermon “preached” (proclaimed) by each “newborn” believer. Friend, we are “buried with Him by baptism” in the likeness of His death! And?? (is this “the end?”) lol! Nooooo! We are raised together (Hallelujah!) in “newness of life!”
Shall we go over the gospel one more time? Who needs “good news?”
It is the death-burial- and resurrection of Yeshua MaShiach, – Jesus, (the One) who is the Christ!
~ Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.. ~
To lay a foundation for what I am about to say I need to explain I have been drawn to and loved God from my earliest childhood memories. From talking with my siblings, seeing early family pictures, and putting together timelines of my life, my memories go back to within the first 12 months of my life. I remember clearly, sitting on my mother’s lap in church (yes, one of those stiff religious organizational things 🙂 !) I also have a very clear and strong – one of those-“seems like it was yesterday” memories from when I was about 2 years old. I was turning the pages of the “Family Bible” on the coffee table and came to an art print of Samson pulling down the Philistine temple. It was like….my breath was taken away! Why or how I came to think this I don’t know for sure, but I thought, “That must be Jesus because He is stronger than anyone!” I studied all the detail in the print and as I did another thought came through my mind and understanding. “Once I was “bad”- but Jesus died for me and now I can be good!” I was SO THRILLED! Like the feeling at getting special presents-it seemed my heart swelled with happiness. There was no sense of condemnation that I had been “bad” – that seemed a normal progression. From that day to this (and now I’m old!) I am still overjoyed in all He has done for me. The sense of His care over me has never wavered….even when I ignorantly chose paths that only seemed His best but proved to be otherwise….He didn’t give up on me.
I love hearing and having a clearer understanding of the words used by those who have gone before us and did their best to leave a path to understand. For that reason, Skip, I so appreciate the work you have put into helping us have that understanding-you have given us a wonderful gift.
I also can see…that much like the progression I have made in knowing and understanding His ways – all of mankind is growing into the knowledge of His Reality. Although the Reality I experienced at 2 years old was pretty grand – it was only a part of His Wholeness. Should I have remained forever, with only those original words I would have missed more than I can express…because I still don’t have a grasp of His complete Reality. He is much too big for my words then or now. If my words were capable of encompassing all He IS – then I could give Him a run for His money – I would be quite powerful….if my words could capture His totality. Gratefully, He evidently gave me, at two, just enough words to make clear to my heart what He wanted me to know…..but there was and is – so much more……and He relies on puny men to open that to us…..how gracious is His Power and Understanding.
I, fear, actually….building a “box” with my words in which He will neatly fit…not going to happen….the resulting explosion of Who He really is could be pretty devastating! I have learned to measure my decisions, steps, life path, etc. with His foundational instruction-that is my balance. I have learned more as I have grown…what I couldn’t grasp because I had not yet experienced much of life at an early age….I have since experienced and much has become a lot clearer-I can advance with a broader understanding of the whole- I no longer communicate with a limited verbiage. Maybe…maybe, it is just this way between the created and the Creator….as we advance we come to greater understandings and He is free to fill that with Himself as we give Him the freedom to do so-not deviating from the foundation but fulfilling it. He has blessed you as a wonderful teacher Skip – thank you.
And so we do the best we can with what we know.
Does He require anything more than that of us?
He Being Merciful
Has forgiveness for sin, and does not put an end to man:
He frequently turns back His wrath, and does not arouse His violent anger.
For He keeps in mind that we are only flesh;
A breath which is quickly gone, and will not come again. Ps.78:38
And yet He certainly doesn’t expect anything less.
I was wondering if you could answer a question for me.
My husband and I who have both grown up going to church faithfully ‘every time the doors are open”
We have been discussing our walk with the Lord and my question of Sabbath , The Law , Old Convenat & New Covenat .My husband response to it all is “we are not Jews therefore we don’t have to …we are Gentiles .You mentioned in your Word for today ” Jewish practice ”
My question is how do we know what is for the Jews and what is for us today ?
Since I am currently traveling (in Patmos today), it might take a bit of time for me to answer. But generally the Bible is a Jewish document. “Jesus” was a Jew. So was everyone else who wrote the New Testament. And they never abandoned the idea that Gentiles are grafted into Israel, with all the same responsibilities and benefits. I have written extensively about this. Search my web site under “Acts 15.”
Anyone else wish to comment to help Linda?
That’s a really big question and actually involves much more than only keeping Shabbat. Perhaps we can get you started, while Skip is away, by encouraging you to go back and read some of the older posts. The search window on the left side, just under the calendar, is a great way to find specific answers. Try putting in “Sabbath” and you will find a “whole bunch” of TW’s (Today’s Word) with which to start!
One of things I remember discussing with my husband was that we as Christians say we follow the ten commandments, but we are very silent about the 4th one, except to say we moved the Sabbath to the first day as if somehow God told us that was our option. I haven’t found that scripture yet. 🙂
God said some very specific things about Shabbat. First, it is the only day with a name given by God. It is defined as sundown to sundown. The day Shabbat was set aside by God as different than the other 6 days and we are told to keep it set aside (holy). That doesn’t mean that we can’t worship God on other days, but the worship on other days cannot be considered to have met the requirement of Shabbat. Shabbat still stands alone. My favorite scripture on this is Isa 58:13-14 CJB: “If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in Adonai — I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya`akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
I know that it makes no logical sense, but I have discovered that the resting that occurs on Shabbat is exactly what I need every week. If something happens and I’m not keeping Shabbat, it doesn’t matter if I try to do so on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, et al., it simply doesn’t meet the needs of my nephesh (another word to look up in Skip’s search engine :)) God specified that we need this particular day and all I can say is “try it, you’ll like it.”
We started by changing our Friday night routine. We used to attend a Friday night “erev Shabbat” service, but now we have started to use that night to have friends over for dinner who are not necessarily followers of the Way. We don’t make a big production of it being Shabbat, we just sit down to dinner, I light the candles and say a Shabbat blessing. Then we don’t say anymore more about it unless they do. And usually they have questions. The other big change was rearranging chores so that they are done through the week rather than all day Saturday. That was hard to grasp mentally before I retired. But while working, I found if I did just one extra thing each evening, my housekeeping chores were done without Saturday. We try not to plan things to do on Saturdays, but there are disruptions for us. My husband teaches at a local university and often has classes scheduled on Saturday mornings. Nevertheless, our commitment is to keep Shabbat even with the interruptions, meaning that when the day starts to go off track, we don’t just give up our commitment and do a load of wash, we work to restore the day with what is left of the day. We eat leftovers on Saturday or cold cuts, cheese, fruit and challah (if I made it on Friday) — anything that doesn’t take any preparation except pulling it from the refrigerator. We spend time in the Word without the urgency of “there’s something else I need to be doing,” because there isn’t. It’s Shabbat. I don’t wear a watch beginning on Friday night because I was impressed that “time” was not relevant on this day. For me, that has helped.
Often we eat out with friends on Saturday night, after Shabbat. We no longer attend a Sunday church — but some people choose to continue on Sunday, which is not a problem to me.
Try making a deal with your husband. Make a sincere effort to keep Shabbat for one month. Perhaps for you that will include a Sunday church, but my guess is that you will find the weekend suddenly seems longer and you will have more spring in your step all week long.
Linda,
Simply, we have so much to learn to get away from the indoctrination we have been subjected to due to agendas of translators of the Bible. So many versions from so many different translators :- ( of the original Hebrew texts of Scriptures, causing confusion among followers and seekers of truth. Thankfully there are sound committed teachers such as Skip’s TWs and Bob Gorelik guiding us through from their Israeli tours.
It is a paradigm, a mindset we need to change from, the translation agendas/doctrines.
We are worshiping/lifting up the Name/character of YHWH, the Elohim of Israel in our lives.
Israel is a Hebrew speaking country, and so are the Scriptures faithfully copied by Hebrew speaking Scribes, of whom we are thankful for.
The Old Covenant has not been done away with, they still are YHWH the Creator’s Words and commandments, instructions/Torah for walking in His ways. They are great examples of showing us the consequences of obedience, or disobedience.
The Feasts we are commanded to keep are still YHWH’s and NOT ‘Jewish Feasts’. And they great times for folks to gather to celebrate, to seek Him,to inspire each other, in contrast to the feasts rooted in idolatry, which is an abomination to YHWH.
The New Covenant is also Hebraic and need to be read in context as to whom they are written and under certain circumstances which MAY not be applicable to everyone.
We are grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel, and as Skip said we are entrusted with the
“same responsibilities and benefits.” That is a priviledge.
It is the same YHWH Who blesses those who obey and walk in His ways, and Who will cast off those who disobey and not turn back to His ways.
I hope this will help a little in your understanding? Shalom to you and your husband!