John Calvin Commentary Acts 22:16

"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name." — Acts 22:16 (ASV)

And now, why are you delaying? It is not to be doubted that Ananias faithfully instructed Paul in the principles of godliness, for he would not have baptized him if he had been void of true faith.

But Luke passes over many things and briefly gathers the main points. Therefore, since Paul understands that the promised redemption is now given in Christ, Ananias says, for good reason, that nothing should prevent him from being baptized.

But when he says, Why are you delaying? he does not scold Paul, nor does he accuse him of slackness; rather, he amplifies the grace of God by adding baptism. We had a similar statement in the tenth chapter (Acts 10:47):

Can any man prevent those from being baptized with water who have the Holy Ghost given them even as we?

But when he says, Wash away your sins, by this statement he expresses the force and fruit of baptism, as if he were saying, "Wash away your sins by baptism." But because it may seem that by this means more is attributed to the outward and corruptible element than is appropriate, the question is whether baptism is the cause of our cleansing.

Surely, since the blood of Christ is the only means by which our sins are washed away, and as it was once shed for this purpose, so the Holy Ghost, by its sprinkling through faith, makes us clean continually. This honor cannot be transferred to the sign of water without doing open injustice to Christ and the Holy Ghost; and experience teaches how earnestly people are inclined toward this superstition.

Therefore, many godly people, so that they do not put confidence in the outward sign, overly diminish the power of baptism. But they must maintain a balance, so that the sacraments are kept within their limits, lest they obscure the glory of Christ; and yet they must not lack their power and use.

Therefore, we must hold this: first, that it is God alone who washes us from our sins by the blood of His Son; and so that this washing may be effective in us, He works by the hidden power of His Spirit. Therefore, when the question concerns the remission of sins, we must seek no other source for it than the heavenly Father; we must imagine no other material cause than the blood of Christ; and when we come to the formal cause, the Holy Ghost is the chief.

But there is a subordinate instrument, and that is the preaching of the word and baptism itself. Although God alone works by the inward power of His Spirit, this does not prevent Him from using, at His pleasure, such instruments and means as He knows to be suitable. This is not because He includes in the element anything He takes either from His Spirit or from the blood of Christ, but because He intends the sign itself to be a help for our weakness.

Therefore, since baptism helps our faith so that it may reap forgiveness of sins by the blood of Christ alone, it is called the washing of the soul. Thus, the washing spoken of by Luke does not indicate the cause but is referred to the understanding of Paul, who, having received the sign, knew more clearly that his sins were taken away.

However, we must also note this: no mere symbol is set before us in baptism, but the giving of the reality is joined to it, because God promises nothing deceitfully but does indeed fulfill what He signifies under the signs. Nevertheless, we must again be careful not to tie the grace of God to the sacraments, for the external administration of baptism profits nothing, except where God is pleased for it to be so.

This also answers another question that may be raised. For since Paul had the testimony of the grace of God, his sins were already forgiven. Therefore, he was not only washed by baptism, but he received a new confirmation of the grace he had obtained.

In calling upon the name of the Lord. It is beyond question that he means Christ—not because the name of Christ alone is called upon in baptism, but because the Father commands us to ask of Him whatever is symbolized in baptism. Nor does the operation of the Spirit tend to any other end, except that it may make us partakers of His death and resurrection.

Therefore, Christ is appointed to be preeminent in baptism, yet inasmuch as He is given to us by the Father, and inasmuch as He pours out His graces upon us by the Holy Ghost. Thus it happens that invoking the name of Christ contains both the Father and the Son.

Therefore, Ananias does not mean that the name of Christ must only be spoken, but he speaks of prayer, by which the faithful testify that the effect of the outward sign is in Christ's power alone. For the sacraments have no power of salvation included in them, nor are they of any value in themselves.

Therefore, this part is, so to speak, a correction of the former statement, because Ananias, in plain words, directs Paul away from placing confidence in the external sign to Christ.

It is well known how much the Papists differ from this rule, who tie the cause of grace to their exorcisms and enchantments. They are so far from endeavoring to direct the miserable people to Christ that they rather drown Christ in baptism and pollute His sacred name by their enchantments.