Logos has done a responsible job of integrating AI into their Bible study software. Their AI isn’t trained on whatever can be found on the internet. It is trained on the Logos Library of 300k books or, if you specify, on your specific library.
The new feature is called Study assistant. It allows you to have a ChatGPT like conversation that will give you referenced responses to your prompts.
Easy to Access
Study assistant is very easy to access. You simply:
1 – Go to search (desktop) and do your search (make sure it says “Smart” to the left of your search and not “Precise”. Here is a search for Baptism
2 – Look at the Synopsis – Tap/Click – More
3 – Tap/Click – Continue in Study Assistant
This opens a new panel with a *conversation* box at the bottom. This is not a search box. You type prompts in this box and the AI will continue to converse with you on the topic you searched for.
The second way to access it is through the Tools Menu – Smart Assistant
You will see that on the bottom row of your tools on desktop. I believe using this in mobile is coming in a month or so.
Example – Topic Search
Let’s say you did a search for baptism in Logos. Logos returns results with an AI summary as the first result. At the bottom of the AI Summary you click to go to Smart assistant and now you can ask more questions and get more clarity.
Prompt – Give a list of all the baptisms in the New Testament
Here is the output it gave me (at the bottom of the results is a thumbs up, thumbs down and copy button),
Here’s a comprehensive list of baptisms in the New Testament:
1. John’s Baptism of Jesus
- Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. During this baptism, “heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove” and a voice from heaven proclaimed, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:13–17)
2. Baptisms at Pentecost
- After Peter’s sermon, about three thousand people were baptized. Peter instructed them to “Repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of your sins” and emphasized that “the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off”. (Acts 2:37–41)
3. Samaritan Baptisms
- Philip baptized men and women in Samaria who believed the good news, including Simon himself. (Acts 8:12–13)
4. Ethiopian Eunuch’s Baptism
- Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch after he expressed desire, with both of them going down into the water. (Acts 8:36–38)
5. Paul’s Baptisms
- Saul (Paul) was baptized after his conversion, symbolically washing away his sins. (Acts 9:18; 22:16)
6. Gentile Baptisms
- Peter baptized Gentiles after the Holy Spirit was poured out on them, recognizing that they had “received the Holy Spirit just as we have”. (Acts 10:44–48)
7. Household Baptisms
- Several households were baptized, including Lydia’s, the Philippian jailer’s, and Crispus’s entire household. (Acts 16:14–15, 30–33; 18:8)
8. Disciples in Ephesus
- Paul rebaptized disciples who had only received John’s baptism, baptizing them in Jesus’ name and seeing the Holy Spirit come upon them. (Acts 19:1–7)
9. Theological Baptisms
- Paul describes baptism as being “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “buried with him through baptism into death” to live a new life. (Rom 6:3–4)
Interestingly, Paul himself emphasized that Christ sent him “not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor 1:13–17), suggesting baptism’s significance lies not in the act itself, but in its spiritual meaning.
Now, it did miss a few like Paul baptizing Crispus and Gaius (1 Cor 1:14) and Stephanus’s household (1 Cor 1:16) so let’s continue the conversation with a new prompt – are you missing anyone who was mentioned as baptized in the new testament including Paul’s letters?
Here is the output this prompt resulted in,
Based on the sources, here’s a comprehensive list of individuals mentioned as baptized in the New Testament, with some additional context:
Specifically Named Individuals:
- Crispus and Gaius (explicitly mentioned by Paul as those he baptized)
- The household of Stephanas[1]
Additional Context for These Individuals:
- Crispus was the leader of the Corinthian synagogue before his conversion
- Gaius was likely the host of Paul and a Corinthian house-church[2]
Broader Baptismal Groups:
- Luke’s accounts in Acts describe baptisms as spontaneous and simple, occurring in various locations such as:
- Jerusalem (Acts 2:41)
- Samaria (Acts 8:12)
- Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36–38)
- Cornelius’s household (Acts 10:47–48)
- Philippian converts (Acts 16:14–15, 31–33)
- Corinth (Acts 18:8)
- Ephesus (Acts 19:3–5)[1]
Interesting Theological Nuance:
While Paul didn’t baptize everyone, he implied that all Corinthian believers were baptized. These baptisms were public events, likely accompanied by:
- A public confession that “Jesus is Lord”
- Invoking Jesus’s name[1]
Intriguingly, while Paul spent up to two years in Corinth and made many converts, he personally baptized very few. He assumed baptism was a common Christian experience, even if he wasn’t the one performing the rite.[2]
The diversity of baptismal accounts suggests the early church’s practice was flexible and contextual, focusing on the spiritual significance of the act rather than a rigid ceremonial approach.
[1] Eckhard J. Schnabel, New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2023), 591.
[2] Gary Steven Shogren, First Corinthians: An Exegetical-Pastoral Commentary (Gary Shogren, 2012), 90.
Now it is getting better…and you can click the links to the resources referenced since I was searching my library.
Third prompt on baptism – should someone actually be baptized in water or is it all purely symbolic and not essential?
Here is the output on that one,
The question of baptism’s necessity is nuanced and involves several theological perspectives. The sacramental view considers God as the primary actor in baptism, where both the calling and bestowal are understood as actions of God’s grace[1].
While baptism is not considered essential for salvation, Pentecostal theology suggests that “refusal to follow the Lord’s example in baptism when provided with the opportunity causes doubt that the person will be an obedient, faithful Christian”[2]. Biblically, baptism symbolizes multiple profound concepts: spiritual washing, and a form of redemptive judgment drawing on Old Testament imagery like the flood and the Red Sea crossing[3]. While the sacraments are deeply symbolic, they carry an “efficacy that goes far beyond a mere visual aid,” and an exclusively symbolic interpretation risks a dualistic view of spirit and matter that is “foreign to the Bible”[4].
Theologians debate whether baptism represents grace in “symbolic parallelism” (where water and spiritual grace are parallel) or “symbolic instrumentalism” (where the Spirit actually effects grace through baptism)[4]. For the Apostle Paul, baptism symbolized an internal cleansing and incorporation into Christ, with a specific moral implication: dying to sin and continually reckoning oneself dead to sin—essentially living out an “already—not yet” state of sanctification[3]. The diversity of theological perspectives suggests baptism is far more than a mere ritual, but its precise spiritual mechanics remain a matter of ongoing theological reflection.
[1] Constance M. Cherry, The Special Service Worship Architect: Blueprints for Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms, Holy Communion, and Other Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2013), 100.
[2] Robert Webber, The Sacred Actions of Christian Worship, The Complete Library of Christian Worship (Nashville, TN: Star Song Pub. Group, 1994), 6:144–145.
[3] Ben Witherington III, Troubled Waters: The Real New Testament Theology of Baptism (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007), 116–117.
[4] Robert Letham, A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Baptism (Scotland, UK: Christian Focus, 2012), 51–52.
What you see here is an attempt to be balanced and present some views without telling you a definitive answer and I appreciate that. It looks like it handles the data well. It would be nice to get a few more perspectives. So I gave it this prompt…
Prompt #4 – you mentioned pentecostal perspective. can you give a few other denominational perspectives on this question?
Here is the output it gave me,
Here’s a comprehensive overview of baptismal perspectives across different Christian traditions:
Catholic Perspective:
Baptism is the first sacrament that gives access to other sacraments, forgives sins, grants spiritual rebirth, and makes one a member of the church[1]. It accomplishes two key things: purification of sins and regeneration, making the baptized “a new creature,” an adopted child of God, and a member of Christ’s body[2].
Reformed/Protestant Perspectives:
Reformed traditions view baptism as a signification and representation of spiritual washing, where water symbolizes the cleansing of sins through Christ’s blood. The water signifies an inward spiritual process[3].
Conversionist Christians (Baptists, Pentecostals, etc.) typically:
- Place justification and regeneration at the moment of personal conversion
- Reject infant baptism
- Only baptize those who have consciously decided to repent and trust in Christ[4]
Lutheran Perspective:
Lutherans tend to locate justification and regeneration at the moment of water baptism received by faith. Sanctification grows from this baptismal justification and continues until glorification[4].
Anglican/Methodist Views:
Methodists hold a mediating position, rejecting both purely symbolic and ritualistic interpretations. They see baptism as both a sign and a seal, carrying accompanying grace for those who meet covenant conditions[5].
Theological Nuance:
Calvin emphasized distinguishing between the sign (water) and the signified spiritual reality. He warned against two extremes:
1. Separating the sign from its spiritual meaning
2. Attributing salvific power to the water itself, rather than to Christ’s blood and the Spirit’s grace[6]
What most Protestant traditions share is:
- Justification as a complete, unearned gift of God’s grace
- Sanctification as a ongoing process of spiritual growth
- Varying emphases on human decision versus God’s sovereign election[4]
[1] Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013). [See here.]
[2] Sam Storms, Studies in Roman Catholicism (Oklahoma City, OK: Sam Storms, 2006). [See here.]
[3] Nancy A. Almodovar and Craig Kellerman, The Accidental Lutheran: The Journey from Heidelberg to Wittenberg (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2019). [See here.]
[4] Roger E. Olson, The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 313–315.
[5] H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1940–1952), 3:170–171.
[6] John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Romans (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 206.
I Re-Ran My Test
I asked it once again for a list of baptisms in the New Testament and this time it caught the ones it missed the first time! Impressive! I believe the more this gets used the better the quality of the output will be. There is a thumbs up/thumbs down option when it gives you output as well as a copy option to make copy/paste of the output far quicker.
My Recommendation
This new feature is helpful in that it uses AI to give you helpful summaries of your content (which would take hours and hours to comb through and do the same thing) and then allows you to refine it through conversational prompts. I believe it still has room for improvement, like how it missed some baptisms above until it receive further prompting but is off on the right foot.
The key here is going to be: 1) having some baseline knowledge to inform your prompts and 2) being persistent in your followup prompts. This means, as always, don’t depend on AI to do the work for you but it can save you a lot of time and give some helpful references to specific positions that could take you a very long time to find.
Would you like a 60 day free Trial of Logos to try all of this out?
