Is it necessary that baptism come before communion?
The Lord Jesus left his church with two rituals that we call ordinances. These ordinances are meant to SHOW the Gospel in all of their pictorial meaning. It has long been understood in the church of Christ that the right administration of these ordinances are just as important as the right preaching of the Word. By them both we believe.
I would argue that the right preaching of the Word has continued to bring us back to the right observance of the ordinances. Our German and Swiss anabaptist brethren of the 16th century radical reformation would attest to this. Many of them, having discovered God’s Word, died for the correct administration of believers baptism.
Today at CCC we’ll celebrate our first baptism since I became pastor. It seems reasonable, then, that I share with the congregation my deeply held conviction that baptism should come before communion. This will be most helpful to parents of children who are in that stage where they have believed but are waiting for their faith to be confirmed by the church body in baptism. My hope is that this post will help you to educate your own children at home about why they are being asked to refrain from taking the communion bread and wine until they are baptized.
Here are our four reasons for consideration:
#1. The Biblical Reason: Baptism before communion is the natural order observed in Scripture.
Acts 2:41-42 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The order here is clear: faith. Then baptism. Then communion. The order of baptism being the first step of obedience for the new believer confirmed by the local church. This is confirmed in the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you.” Part of the “all things” that baptized congregants should be instructed in is the right observance of the communion table.
#2. The Theological Reason: The order represents the correct meaning of the Gospel.
Baptism is meant to represent faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that has taken hold in the individual giving the fruit of new life in him or her. The Lord’s Supper (or communion or the eucharist) represents the fellowship (communion) that Christians have with one another as they remember the death of Christ and look forward to his return. If the ordinances are meant to show the Gospel, doing them in order is important.
#3. The Historic Reason: The Apostles taught that we should do them in order.
We are an apostolic church. Meaning we follow the teaching of the apostles as the first church did. So what did the Apostles teach their disciples in the early church about the observance of the ordinances? Consider two texts, one written by direct disciples of the Apostles and the other written a bit later, yet close to the source:
The Didache (written between 50-75 AD): “But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist (the communion table) except those who have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for the Lord has also spoken concerning this: ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs.’”
Justin Martyr, First Apology (written between 160-170 AD): “And this food is called among us [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing.”
These are just two of the many early church writings that show us that the church strictly taught that a congregant should not partake in communion until they have submitted to baptism. The church has always taught since the earliest days that baptism is the door to the church and communion is the table you sit at once you’ve entered the door.
#4. The Ecclesiastical Reason: Baptism before communion has remained the position of the faithful (and not-so-faithful) church until today.
It is not often that you get Methodists, Catholics, Orthodox, Presbyterians, and Baptists to agree on something when it comes to the finer points of theology. One thing they all agree on? That baptism should precede the Lord’s Supper for an individual. Granted, some baptize babies while we credo-baptists do not. But the point remains, there is so much historical and theological clarity on this fact that it is not even a point that causes any debate between churches and denominations.
Conclusion:
“But the Bible does not say expressly that baptism should come before the communion table!”, one might say. Let’s consider a few other things the Bible doesn’t say in such an obtuse manner but we are smart enough to understand the overwhelming meaning of Scripture:
eg #1: “Baptism is only for humans. Don’t baptize your dog or your donkey.”
eg #2: “and Jesus said, ‘I am God. Worship me.’”
This second omission from Holy Scripture about Jesus will be recognized about the most common Muslim arguments for why Jesus isn’t God in human flesh: It doesn’t say it in exactly that wording. But, we who know the Scriptures know that it was not given to us in such a manner like an Ikea instruction booklet with “step 1” then turn the page “step 2” or 200 page manual for a simple hammer that is written to avoid any potential law suites and foresee any silly argument that might come. It is not a book that makes an air tight case for a court of law. It is a covenant letter wrapped in historical narrative between God and his people.
No, we children of the new covenant, who have been given a soft heart to submit to the Lord and the Apostle’s teaching, don’t need beaten over the head with something that He has already been made obvious. We will gladly and thankfully submit to baptism and communion …in that order.