Custom essays on The Apostolic Teaching

It proves beyond a doubt that Jesus Christ had played an important part in the development of Baptism as an integral element of Christianity. Nevertheless, his work was incomplete and his death and resurrection could have marked the end of the practice of baptizing if his disciples, twelve apostles failed to fulfill his request concerning the continuation of baptizing even after his death and resurrection. Jesus Chris insisted on the necessity to carry on the practice of baptizing because it was a symbol of conversion of believers to Christianity. This rite was very effective because, on the one hand, it offered forgiveness to sinners as well as other believers, who had sins a priori, whereas, on the other hand, Baptism offered believers an opportunity to start a new, virtuous life. At this point, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that Jesus Christ taught his disciples and revealed the essence of Christian religion and philosophy to apostles. He asked them to use Baptism as a tool to convert people to Christianity and to spread Christian ideas worldwide. This aim became the primary aim of apostles and they used Baptism abundantly to expand the scope of Christianity and to involve a larger number of people teaching them the virtuous lifestyle and religion as Jesus Christ taught them. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that baptism complemented the teaching of Jesus Christ because it became the tool with the help of which apostles could convey Jesus Christ’s believes and ideas to other people. Using his name in the course of baptizing, they brought in the additional authority to their actions. To put it in simple words, the name of Jesus increased the authority of apostles and made them closer to him as the Son of God.
At the same time, apostles had their own vision and understanding of their role and functions after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, apostles understood the importance of Baptism but they also understood that Jesus Christ’s name would have a great impact on people and believers would follow their lead if they used his name. In such a way, while using the name of Jesus Christ, their actions were sanctioned by the name of Jesus Christ and, taking into consideration the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, by God Himself.
Furthermore, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that Jesus Christ asked his disciples to spread Christianity among all nations and they could use his name among all nations. In such a way, his name along with baptizing became the unifying factors that could consolidate believers and true Christians worldwide. In such a way, Jesus Christ and apostles laid the foundation to Christianity as a truly universal, world religion. The great impact the power of Jesus name and baptizing had on the audience could be traced through the analysis of Biblical texts depicting the experience of Peter. For instance, Acts reveal how Peter gained the attention and approval of the audience when he started to preach and used the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore, apostles could use the name of Jesus Christ in baptizing to attract believers and increase the authority of their actions. In such a way, Baptism became a truly sacred rite. As for experience of Peter, it is worth mentioning the fact that he, to a certain extent, manipulated with his audience because he used the name of Jesus Christ to baptize them and stressing the fact that it was Jesus Christ who insisted on Baptism of true Christians.
In fact, the evidence of the use of Jesus Christ’s name could be traced in other Biblical texts. For instance, Mathew proves that Peter used the name of Jesus in his preaches and in the course of baptizing, namely on the Day of Pentecost. The latter is quite symbolic because the Day of Pentecost means the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. In such a context, baptizing turns out to be quite symbolic and it shows the rebirth of believers, who should believe in the unity of God as the only power that determine the life of people. Basically, the meaning of the Pentecost is very important for Christians and Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost turns out to be quite symbolic. In this regard, the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost implied by the Day of Pentecost is backed up by the rite of baptizing, which is based on the formula of the unity of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost.
Other apostles carried on the rite of Baptism as well as Peter did. For instance, the Samaritans reveals the process of baptizing conducted by Phillip. Similarly to Peter, Phillip used the name of Jesus Christ as the highest authority to persuade his audience and to undergo the rite of baptizing as a symbol of joining the Christian faith. The Samaritans were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ but, at this point, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the formula of baptizing used by apostles contributed to the formation of the view on God as the unity of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost. The book of Acts describes in details the actions of Phillip and the impact of the name of Jesus on his audience, which agreed to undergo the procedure of baptizing.
Another prominent figure in early Christianity and one of the major apostles of Jesus Christ was Paul, who also carried on the idea of Jesus Christ to baptize all nations. Paul worked on the change of the traditional view of early Christians on Baptism. He attempted to explain them that Baptism should be grounded on the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Traditionally, Christians, especially followers of John the Baptist, accepted the idea that Baptism is a sacred act sanction by God. Paul promoted the idea that Baptism is the concept and sacred rite which was sanctioned by Jesus Christ and implied the unity of the Father (God), the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost.
However, some researchers argue that Paul changed the mode of baptism but there are a few, if any evidence that he did change the mode of baptism. Basically, researchers arguing that Paul changed the mode of baptism refer to indirect evidences and secondary sources. However, such evidences and sources do not provide researchers with the reliable information. Instead, the analysis of the primary sources, especially Biblical texts, reveals the fact that Paul did not change the mode of baptism. At this point, it is possible to refer to Acts which depict in details the rite of baptizing conducted by Paul in relation to Lydia and the baptizing of the Philippian jailer. Both cases of baptizing conducted by Paul meet the traditional rite of baptizing described in the earlier Biblical texts, including the baptizing depicted by Jesus Christ and his followers, such as Peter. To put it more precisely, Paul used the formula of baptizing which included the words “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”. Therefore, it is possible to speak about the traditional formula or mode used in baptizing, which did not change in the course of time and persists since the time of Jesus Christ, at least.