28th October 2025
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Part of a series on the Nicene Creed
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIVUK)
Behind this confession in the Creed is Paul’s statement in our header scripture, and it brings a change in the Creed’s terminology from belief to acknowledgement. We don’t believe in baptism itself: we believe in one God, the Father Almighty, in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life. Our confession about baptism and forgiveness is part of the confession of the triune God. One baptism is the way in which we enter into the life of the Church, and it is foundational to our unity as we are baptised in the name of the one Father, and of the one Son and of the one Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
When we are baptised, we are reminded that God the Father is the source of all life. In the act of baptism, we see the generosity of the Father, who delights in us, calls us his children and welcomes us into his household. Baptism points us to the Father’s initiative – his grace and love are what invite us to new life.
Baptism points directly to Jesus as the one Lord of the church. In baptism we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6) and it was through Jesus’s vicarious life, death and resurrection that the church came into being. According to T.F. Torrance, ‘baptism in [Jesus’s] name signified incorporation of the baptized into Christ as members of his Body.’1 Through baptism, we are marked as those who belong to Jesus, cleansed by his sacrifice, and called to walk in his footsteps.
The Holy Spirit is central to the meaning of baptism. The Spirit makes us new creations, and a new community. He is our helper, guide, and the one who equips us for a life of faith. In this way baptism is not just a sign of what God has done, but also of what he continues to do by the Spirit in us and through us, both individually and communally.
When the Creed states that ‘We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins’ it is not implying that we are forgiven by the act of baptism. Rather, through baptism we experience subjectively (personally) all that Jesus accomplished for humanity objectively (universally): what is true objectively, is personally experienced in our baptism. It’s one thing to be forgiven, it’s another to experience that forgiveness and thus have it become effective in our personal lives. In baptism, we go experientially from being ‘in Adam’ to being ‘in Christ’. As a result, we receive all the blessings Christ has to offer. Most importantly, we have God as Father: Christ shares his sonship with us, his very own being with God, and the Holy Spirit enables us to experience these new relationships. As Torrance says, ‘baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit initiates people into the sphere in which all the divine blessings [including forgiveness of sins] …are bestowed and become effective’. 2
In our acknowledgement of one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, we confess something true about ourselves: that we are sinners and need forgiveness, and in the same breath confess what is most true about God: that he is the God who loves us and gave up his life for us, forgiving our sins, and he comes to live his life in us. In doing this we are made one with the Father, in his beloved Son, through the Spirit. This is very good news indeed.
Prayer
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, may we ever cherish the unity we share through this one baptism, and may we live lives characterised by the forgiveness we have received through your grace. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
1 Torrance, T.F. The Trinitarian Faith, p 291.
2 Ibid., p 292.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church