Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus is qualified to be baptized, because the Word says, “He who believes and is baptized...” (Mark 16:16). This is an unchangeable principle. One who does not believe or has not yet believed is not qualified to be baptized.
When those in Samaria believed Philip, bringing the good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12). They believed not only in the gospel but also in the name of the Lord. Because of their faith, they could be baptized and were all baptized.
When Philip preached the gospel to the eunuch from Ethiopia, he also said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may [be baptized]” (Acts 8:37). Hence, a person may be baptized as long as he believes with all his heart. It is not necessary to wait until he understands a great number of doctrines, nor is it necessary to require of him other things. We must take note, however, that this verse says that a person must believe with all his heart, not halfheartedly, that is, not half believing and half doubting. Only when a person believes with all his heart can he be baptized.
Furthermore, in the early days many Corinthians also believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8). Their case also illustrates that faith, and faith alone, precedes baptism. Nothing less than faith is acceptable, and nothing more than faith is necessary.
When He was on earth, the Lord Jesus did not baptize people personally; He asked His disciples to do it (John 4:2). Although there were some apostles among the disciples, they did not baptize by their apostleship; rather, they baptized as disciples. This tells us that the Lord did not ask those who had official duties among the disciples to baptize people; rather He told the disciples, those who believed in Him, to baptize people. Therefore, a person is qualified to baptize as long as he is a believer in the Lord, a disciple of the Lord. The teaching that only those who have official duties in the church are qualified to baptize people is neither scriptural nor according to the Lord’s will. It is not the Lord’s intention that only those who have official duties in the church may baptize, nor is it that those who baptize do so in an official capacity; rather, it is that all the saved ones may baptize people in their capacity as believers.
Although the Lord chose Paul to be His apostle, He sent a disciple, not an apostle, to baptize him. The name of that disciple was Ananias (Acts 9:10, 17-18). The Bible does not tell us that he had any official position in the church; it only says that he was a disciple. This indicates that a person may baptize as long as he is a disciple; he does not need to be someone with official duties in the church. Of course, those who baptize must take the matter seriously and seek the Lord’s leading.
It was to the disciples, not the apostles, that the Lord gave the ultimate commission of preaching the gospel to all the nations and baptizing them (Matt. 28:16, 19). Eleven of those who received the commission were apostles, yet here in Matthew 28:16 they were not called the eleven apostles but the eleven disciples. The Lord commissioned them not as apostles, but as disciples. If the Lord had given them the commission because He considered them to be apostles, then it would mean that He required only a small number of apostles to preach the gospel to all the nations, and that He did not require all the disciples to do it. This was not the Lord’s intention. The Lord intended that all His disciples who believed in Him would go to preach the gospel to people and baptize them. Anyone who was a disciple of the Lord should preach the gospel and baptize people. It was the mission of His disciples to preach the gospel, and it was also their obligation to baptize people. Baptizing and preaching were the two aspects of His charge to His disciples. His disciples had both the responsibility and the authority to carry out both aspects. Hence, whoever has the authority to preach the gospel has the authority to baptize.
Philip was not an apostle but an evangelist (Acts 21:8), yet he not only preached the gospel to the eunuch but also baptized him. This shows that anyone who has the authority to preach the gospel may baptize. Furthermore, Philip baptized the eunuch by himself along the road in a place where there was no church. This also proves that, in a place where there is no church, a believer may baptize people on his own after he has preached the gospel to them. Of course, in principle this is true, but in specific cases one must have the leading of the Holy Spirit to do this, as Philip did.
When Paul preached the gospel in Corinth, many were saved and baptized. He, however, baptized only a small number of them (1 Cor. 1:14-17). The rest of them were baptized by the other believers. This shows that those who baptize people do not necessarily have to be the sent apostles or those with official duties. Of course, the sent apostles and those with official duties may baptize people as Paul did, but in places where there are other brothers, it is best if they do as Paul also did by letting the brothers do more and doing less themselves.
Some, however, have taken 1 Corinthians 1:17 as their ground to merely preach the gospel without baptizing people. This thought is also inaccurate. Although the apostle said that he was not sent to baptize but to preach the gospel, he also baptized if necessary. However, in places where there were brothers, he would try to do less himself. The principle is that whoever preaches the gospel should baptize. It is best if there are brothers who can share in this together; otherwise, you must do it yourself.