By Marc W. Gibson
Synopsis: The washing that sinners receive today is the one baptism that is commanded in the name of Jesus Christ and is a significant part of the elementary teaching of the gospel. We must continue to teach its essential place in God’s plan of salvation today.
“Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity. . . .” Thus begins the sixth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews (NASV) and the text of the theme of Laying a Solid Foundation. Laying a solid, scriptural foundation is critical to faithfully serving God in a world given over to immorality and human philosophies. Of the six aspects of the “elementary” teaching about the Christ that are listed by the writer, the “instruction about washings” is the topic of this article.
The introductory “therefore” hearkens us back to what was said in the final verses of chapter 5, where the writer chastises his brethren who have not progressed in their growth beyond the “elementary principles” of God’s word—thus needing milk and not being able to consume solid food (vv. 12-13).
Failing to move on from spiritual infancy to maturity, these Christians are admonished to “leave” the elementary teaching and “press on” (6:1). All Christians would do well to hear and heed this admonition today. Our spiritual faith must not remain in infancy indefinitely, but we must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
The phrase used by the author is baptismon didachen and is translated “instruction about washings [baptisms, ablutions].” Baptismon is a general plural noun and not the more common specific word baptisma that is transliterated “baptism” in the New Testament, meaning to immerse, dip, or submerge.
Baptismon is also used in Hebrews 9:10 about the various washings found in the Mosaic covenant, as well as in Mark 7:4 about the washings of various items practiced by the Pharisees and all the Jews (v. 3). Interestingly, it can be found in several manuscripts of Colossians 2:12, which is an indisputable reference to New Testament baptism.
The word didachen is the usual word for teaching, doctrine, instruction. It is used here to indicate that these washings were known and practiced under specific teaching and instruction. This instruction originated with God and, as we will see, would include such basic matters as the difference between various baptisms (cf. Acts 19:1-5), along with the purpose and meaning of the “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5; Acts 2:38).
This matter of washings was one of six aspects of elementary teaching that the Hebrew Christians were to leave to press on to “maturity” (6:1). This elementary teaching formed a foundation of knowledge and obedience that would propel them forward to greater knowledge and service in Christ.
It is important to note that these six items are said to be elementary teaching “about the Christ,” not teaching about Abraham, Moses, David, or any other person or covenant. This is important in identifying the true nature of these items in general, and the “instruction about washings” in particular.
The pressing on to “maturity,” or perfection, is what a Christian should do after the solid foundation of elementary teaching about Jesus Christ has been laid. This maturity/perfection (Gk. teleiotes) is a theme found elsewhere in the New Testament (Eph. 4:13; Phil. 3:15; Col. 1:28; 1 Cor. 14:20; Heb. 12:23). It is significant that this word is used in Hebrews 5:14 just prior to our text in chapter 6 to describe Christians who are able to partake of “solid food” and have their “senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.” The writer’s desire to give a more detailed explanation about Melchizedek and the priesthood of Christ is frustrated by his recipients’ lack of progress to an expected level of understanding (vv. 9-13). The need to press on to maturity after having laid the foundation of elementary teaching is clearly dealing in this context with the knowledge and application of the gospel/doctrine of Christ.
“Washing” is used in Scripture as a metaphor to describe the grace and power of God to cleanse man from that which afflicts his soul, namely sin. David wrote, “Wash me thoroughly from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps. 51:2; cp. Ezek. 36:25, 33). The seven-time washing by Naaman in the Jordan, from which he emerged cured of his leprosy, is a type of the cleansing that God provides for those afflicted with sin (2 Kgs. 5:1-14). Jesus foreshadowed His own provision of spiritual cleansing and healing by telling the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam after which his sight was restored (John 9:1-11).
Those today whose souls are afflicted with the cancer of sin must come to God through Christ Jesus to obtain the cure of His cleansing blood. We who are saved can rejoice in “Him who loves us and released (washed NKJV) us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5). Those who seek first the kingdom of God will turn from sin in obedience to God and be counted among those who are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
It is our view that this elementary teaching about washings refers primarily to New Testament baptism as an alien sinner’s initial cleansing and entrance into the body of Christ. Concerning the unique use of the plural word “washings,” some suggest that it refers to the multiplicity of baptisms in the early church. It may also refer to various other baptisms mentioned in the New Testament (i.e., the baptism of John, of fire, of the Holy Spirit) that had their specific part in the coming, establishment, and growth of the Messianic kingdom.
Instruction concerning the nature and need for New Testament baptism would necessarily involve making a clear distinction between “washings” under the Law of Moses, as well as these other baptisms mentioned in the New Testament. The one baptism that is authorized today in the name of Christ does not stand in historical or scriptural isolation—it was preceded and foreshadowed by “washings” in the Mosaic covenant that involved the rites of purification required under that law (Heb. 9:10). When Aaron and his sons were consecrated to service of the Levitical priesthood, they were washed with water (Lev. 8:6). The bronze laver that sat outside the temple was designed and constructed for washings of purification (Exod. 30:17-21). The day of atonement involved washings (Lev. 16:23-28), and purifications were necessary after becoming unclean (15:1-22). These washings ended with the taking away of the Mosaic covenant and establishment of the covenant of Christ (Col. 2:13-17; Heb. 10:9). John the Baptist preached and practiced a baptism of repentance unto remission of sins in anticipation of the coming Messiah and His kingdom (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:3; Acts 19:4), but it ceased with the coming of Christ and the New Covenant (John 3:30; Acts 19:1-5). The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire was a promise (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:4-8; 11:16) that were fulfilled in the first century (Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-45; 11:15-17). The “washing” that now remains is the one baptism commanded by God of all men in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Eph. 4:5; Acts 2:38).
The power of the present “washing” of purification from sin is found in the shed blood and sacrificial death of Jesus. Our access to this cleansing comes by our being baptized “into His death” (Rom. 6:3). In doing so, we are “buried with Him through baptism into death” so that we may be “raised from the dead” to “walk in newness of life” (v. 4). One cannot be raised to life unless they first die and are buried, thus the necessity of immersion in water unto salvation. Paul reiterated this point when he wrote that we were “buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:12).
The one baptism, or washing, by which we are cleansed from sin, is water baptism described and exemplified in the New Testament. In obedience to the gospel, we are said to have had our bodies “washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22). We are saved “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) which is a parallel to an earlier statement of Jesus that “unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The church, or people of God, is sanctified and cleansed “by the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26). The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized when he and Philip “both went down into the water” and afterward “came up out of the water” (Acts 8:38, 39). Peter exclaimed concerning Cornelius and his company, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized. . .” (10:47).
All of what we are saying is summed up in the exhortation of Ananias to Saul of Tarsus: “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name” (22:16). Water baptism now saves us (1 Pet. 3:21) because it is commanded by God of all alien sinners in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38). It is a significant part of the foundation of our faith in Jesus and salvation from sin. This is the “instruction about washings” that all men must hear and obey today to be added to the one body, the church of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13).
The “leaving” of this elementary teaching is not a forgetful disregard of the washing of regeneration and cleansing that we receive when we are baptized into Christ. It is rather a pressing on in building on this foundation. In speaking of the growth that should be evident in a Christian, the apostle Peter warns that if one should lack the qualities of maturity, it is because he is “blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins” (2 Pet. 1:9). This blindness will cause us to be carried away by error, thus the constant need to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (3:17-18).
We must not remain babes in “elementary school” where the foundation of our spiritual lives was laid. Besides our present text of Hebrews 5:12-6:2, exhortations abound in the New Testament concerning the need to grow unto spiritual maturity (1 Pet. 2:1-2; 3:18; Eph. 4:14-15; Phil. 1:9; 3:12-14; Col. 1:9-10; 2:6-7; Rom. 5:3-5; John 15:5; Jas. 1:2-4). It is vital to take in the solid food of truth to have our “senses trained to distinguish between good and evil” (Heb. 5:14).
Going on to maturity, we understand that if one sins and seeks God’s forgiveness, the blood of Christ will cleanse the growing Christian from all sin and unrighteousness (1 John 1:7, 9). We must continually draw near to our God who provides the purification that we need from time to time (Jas. 4:8; Rom. 3:23). In this way we can be a cleansed “vessel of honor” prepared for good works in our master’s house (2 Tim. 2:20-21). This wondrous fount of cleansing is a spiritual blessing for all those who continually set their minds on things above and their hope on eternal life (Zech. 13:1; Heb. 9:14).
