Who has the authority to baptize?
We first see baptism in the New Testament when John the Baptist came on the scene. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah had prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 that John would come to prepare the way of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. When people would come and hear John preach and would confess their sin in repentance, John would baptize them.
One day, Jesus came and was baptized by John. John had done his job and prepared the way for Jesus! After His baptism, as Jesus came out of the water, the Holy Spirt descended upon Him like a dove, and God the Father was heard from Heaven, “…saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).
Thus began Jesus’ public ministry on earth. That ministry was all about establishing the very first church (Matthew 16:18). As Jesus and the Apostles whom He ordained would preach the way to salvation, they would baptize those who trusted Christ as their Saviour (John 4:1-2). By the time He went to Calvary to die for our sin, the first church was well-established. After His death burial, and resurrection, Jesus put all power in Heaven and Earth behind the Great Commission of the Local Church (Matthew 28:18-20) and gave the authority and responsibility to the Local Church to see people saved, and baptized, and discipled.
As the next several hundred years passed, churches begat churches. That first church in Jerusalem sent out preachers to start other churches, and passed on the Great Commission as churches have sought to take the Gospel of Christ around the world. It is these Baptist churches who strive to be just like Christ’s example in their doctrine and practice, who have the authority to baptize.