Baptism

Water symbolic Christian baptism could be classified into two interrelated categories.

Making Disciples: Every believer is commanded to make disciples. Baptism is one of three commands given to each believer to be observed through the functioning church as part of making disciples (i.e. the command commonly known as the Great Commission). Thus, every obedient believer should strive to become a discipler and baptize a disciple of Christ. They are also commanded to go and teach Disciples of Christ to obey all the commands of the Bible. In order for someone to be recognized as a Disciple of Christ by the church, they must have received the gift of grace through faith (i.e. go), have been biblically baptized (i.e. baptize), and have a heart of submission to be taught to obey all the commands of the Bible (i.e. teach).

An Ordinance: An ordinance is a physical action that pictures a spiritual reality that is to be repeatedly performed. Water baptism is also an ordinance to be repeatedly performed by every disciple and discipler. Every believer can and should baptize Disciples of Christ in order to be obedient to God’s command given to each and every individual believer, but only under and through the God-ordained authority of the functioning church. The emphasis of baptism is on the one in which the command was given (i.e. the one who is to baptize) – not the recipient of baptism.

Because of these understandings it should be common for the Disciples of Christ in a functioning Church to baptize one another over and over. This gives the disciples the opportunity to be obedient to the command to baptize as a part of fulfilling the great commission whenever this ordinance is observed by the church.