The Transformative Presence of Jesus in Baptism and Communion

SBC’s Leadership Conference topic this year was The Transformative Presence of Jesus in Baptism and Communion. Patrick Franklin, associate professor of theology at Tyndale University, was the main speaker for this weekend and assumed the monumental task of walking through a perspective on baptism and communion that is not very familiar in our churches. This perspective is the presence of Jesus in Baptism and Communion. To explain how Jesus is present in these church practices Franklin introduced a definition of sacrament that transcends church denominations. Franklin defined sacramental as “God’s presence in all things”. Franklin then moved on to show the grand story of God’s presence in the story of God’s people from the garden to Jesus to the Holy Spirit and the Church. Franklin finally showed us how two Church practices, Baptism and Communion, are the embodiment of the Gospel story and how Jesus is present with us in these practices.

When we hear the words “Sacrament” or “Sacramental” we might have a negative reaction to these words initially. We might have a reaction against them being “too catholic.” We might immediately protest the idea of a works-based salvation in our minds. But this is not a true picture of what sacramental means in the life of the church. Sacramental, as described by Franklin, is the “presence of God in and through his creation.” Something sacramental is the physical representation of a spiritual reality that is happening within. We believe that God created the world, and we believe that “through him all things were made” (John 1:3). We also believe that God is ever present in all of creation because “in him all things hold together.” We believe that God is present everywhere. Surely then we believe that God is present in our churches too.

This idea of sacramental is articulated by the Anabaptist scholar John D. Rempel in his book Recapturing an Enchanted Worldview. Rempel explains that sacramentality is the hiddenness of Christ becoming visible. In the life of the church, we act out this spiritual presence with rituals and ceremonies symbolically and then literally bring the presence of God out into the world within us. In this definition “symbolically” doesn’t mean that God is not present when we are performing these actions. God is very present in creation, in our churches and in our lives. God’s presence works through his creation. With these definitions of sacramentality, we can see that all things that are created are sacramental. All of creation shows that God is present.

Practically we know this is true. In our church services we believe that the Spirit is at work. When we are singing worship songs to God in our services, we know that the Holy Spirit is present. When we pray as a church body together, we know that Jesus is present. When our pastors are preaching, we know the Holy Spirit is working through them as they deliver their sermon. When we share our praises and prayer requests with each other, we know that Jesus is present and hears our prayers. Beyond this if we believe the claim in Colossians that “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) When we go on hikes in nature and witness a beautiful sunset, we see God’s presence all around us. Christ is present in all things.

A helpful way to visualize this presence is in the image of a temple. In the ancient world people would build temples as places for the Pegan gods to inhabit and to then encounter the presence of these Pegan gods. Franklin uses the biblical imagery of the garden being a temple to show how God is present in our world. The garden in the creation account is God’s temple. We see in the creation account that the garden is where humans encounter God. It is in this temple of creation that humans are experiencing the presence of God constantly and clearly. This does eventually become distorted through the fall in Genesis 3 where humans try to be like God and this separates us from God. This distorts our ability from experiencing God’s presence through the curse. Humanity has been separated from God through our own actions and sinfulness causes humanity to hide from the presence of God. Through sin and separation from God it becomes difficult to truly experience God’s presence.

This separation significantly hinders the role that humans were created for. Franklin explains that humans are special creatures of creation that are meant to be God’s representatives on earth. Humans inhabit this special place as priests to the world. In other words, doing things on behalf of God in the world. But the distortion of sin prevents humans from accomplishing this task. Instead, you can see throughout the biblical narrative an attempt to fulfill this calling that never comes to be. First with Adam, Moses, David the Bible is full of humans falling short of this priestly calling.

However, God in his ultimate wisdom sends his own son, Jesus, into the world to become the perfect mediating priest on our behalf. It is through Jesus that the world experiences the literal presence of God. Jesus is the Word of God become a human. Fully God and fully Human. Jesus is the perfect priest that is the mediator of God’s grace and presence to creation. If a temple is where we experience God’s presence; Franklin asserts that first the garden was the temple, then Jesus became the temple. Jesus is where we are able to meet God’s presence because Jesus is God. It’s then after Jesus’ death and at Pentecost that Jesus sends out God’s Spirit to live among and within the disciples. Jesus’ followers then become the temple of God, the place where you can encounter God. It is through the Holy Spirit that the church becomes the temple where you can encounter God. The church is the body of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

So, what does this have to do with Baptism and Communion? This is a good question. After all, we believe that God is present in all of creation. This means he is present in our lives and when we pray. We are also fed spiritually when we participate in our worship services and listen to the word being preached. We encounter God in all these practices. But there is a difference between creation and these practices specifically. While the whole world is sacramental, Jesus’ presence in and through all things, sacraments are specific and special practices that reveal Christs’ grace to us. Sacraments are specific church practices that directly embody the gospel narrative. This is a subtle difference between sacramental and sacrament that must be made. While creation is sacramental not everything is a sacrament. In the wider protestant tradition, we believe there are two sacraments, Baptism and Communion. These are the specific and special parts of creation that Jesus reveals His presence to us. When we witness and participate in these sacraments we are encountering Jesus’ presence.

Baptism and Communion are different because they were given to us by Jesus. In other words, Jesus has ordered us to do these things. The word Ordinance reflects this reality. An Ordinance is a rule or an order that is meant to be followed. Jesus commanded us to baptize and to take communion and so we follow the instruction. While obeying Jesus is enough to communicate to us that Baptism and Communion is different, this is not the only reason they are set apart. Baptism and communion proclaim the gospel. If the entirety of creation is proclaiming God’s presence, baptism and communion proclaim the gospel message specifically. These two church Sacraments are specially proclaiming Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Baptism we die with Jesus and we are raised to life with Jesus. We are joining in the gospel message and committing ourselves to Jesus. Similarly in communion, as Paul summarizes “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23). Participating in communion reveals what Jesus did on our behalf and is a continual reminder of that sacrifice. Both sacraments are ways that creation can proclaim the gospel story continually through humanity. Humans are physical beings and experience the world through physical interaction with it. There is a common phrase in musical theatre that I think summarizes the that Baptism and Communion play as sacraments in our churches. We begin to understand the rich and deep ways that Jesus meets us with his presence. Jesus commanded us to be baptized and baptize others. When we do so we are dying with Jesus and being raised with Jesus in new life. Jesus commanded us to partake in communion. When we do so we are proclaiming Jesus’ death and resurrection. Both are physical ways we encounter the gospel message in our churches and experience the special sacramentality in those two sacraments. We should treat them with respect and understand the wonderful gift that they are from Jesus. A gift where we can encounter Jesus continually.

Nathan Bartel is the former admissions counsellor at SBC. Nathan loves hiking and seeing God’s wonderful creation. Nathan lives in Steinbach with his wife Abby where you can find them walking, cycling and playing pickle ball on summer afternoons.

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This article is was originally published in the Recorder, Vol 63, No. 2