So let's talk about baptism a little here today

So let's talk about baptism a little here today. I had an interesting discussion with some very fine folks a few days ago on this topic, and I've been fueled by the holy Ghost about it since then. First of all let me just say plainly that the apostle Paul told us unequivocally that there is "one baptism" (Eph. 4:5). So why did he even bother to tell us this interesting little fact? There must have been a reason, and it must be the same reason that he told us about six other 'ones' in the same passage. Just for reference sake allow me to copy that passage here for your reading: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph. 4:4-6). I contend that all seven of these 'ones' are utterly integral to the faith of Christ, and that is why they were given to us. It's also very interesting what was written immediately before these seven ones were stated: "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). I believe that the concrete knowledge of these seven ones are highly integral to God's people being in one mind and one accord. After all, the apostle listed these powerful points of doctrine immediately after stating that we must strive to be in one mind in the Spirit, and all of these 'ones' listed here are, well, one. So there is 'one body' of Christ which is made up of all true believers world wide, and the Bible also tells us who is in that body, and how we get there: "For BY ONE SPIRIT are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Cor. 12:13). You may note that this one verse covers three of the 'ones' mentioned in Ephesians 4:4-6. One Spirit, one baptism, and one body. What this verse clearly tells us is that everyone who has been baptized by Jesus with the holy Ghost is in the one body of Christ, which also means that everyone who has not experienced the Spirit baptism is NOT in the body of Christ.

Now I have to tell you that is very, very important stuff to be aware of. Note that the apostle Paul stated clearly that it is the baptism of the holy Ghost, NOT water baptism, that puts believers into Christ. In turn what that tells us is that the holy Ghost baptism that is administered by Jesus IS the ONE baptism that Paul listed in Ephesians 4:5. And what that tells us is that water baptism is no longer in effect, because the scripture plainly tells us that there is only ONE baptism. I might note here that the Spirit baptism is always accompanied by the sign of speaking in other tongues, even as it was when it first came from heaven (Acts 2:4). Now I believe it is of utmost importance that we understand concretely that there is only 'one body' of Christ, because if we believe there is MORE than one body, we cannot attain unto "the unity of the Spirit" among ourselves. If there is more than 'one body' then that automatically constitutes division among us, which is contrary to "the unity of the Spirit" that Paul said we must endeavor to have and keep. Likewise if we believe that there is more than 'one Spirit,' then again that creates division among us automatically. Even as we can't be in the unity of the Spirit while believing we are in separate 'bodies' of Christ, so we cannot be unified while believing we have separate 'Spirits' of Christ. Nor can we be unified while believing that we have more than 'one hope' of the Gospel, because it divides our minds from one another to believe that there are multiple choice 'hopes' of our calling. Incidentally that one hope of the Gospel is in fact the resurrection of the dead at Christ's coming, which is the fulfillment of eternal life (Acts 23:6; I Thess. 4:16,17). If our hope of the Gospel is anything other than that then we are already divided from the mind of Christ, because that resurrection is the only thing in his mind that we can be hoping for. That brings us to the 'one Lord,' and I don't think anyone would differ on the fact that we cannot be in one mind in the body of Christ if we are of the mindset that there are more Lord's than one, that being Jesus Christ.

Then there is the 'one faith,' and the same goes for that 'one.' I've actually been asked the question by 'Christian' ministers, "Which faith are you of?" Well, the one thing that told me is that we were already divided from one another because there is only ONE faith TO BE of. If we believe there are multiple faiths of Christ, then we simply cannot attain to the unity of the Spirit mentioned by the apostle Paul. That should be clearly evident. The point I'm making here is that there cannot be unity among God's people as long as we believe there are multiple choices of beliefs about the elements of the Gospel. That is simply disunity and it will eventually find us out as not being unified. But to finish the round-robin of the whole thing, the next 'one' in line is the 'one baptism.' If we believe there is more than one baptism, then like the other items on the menu that I've covered, we simply will not be unified, regardless of how hard we 'try.' This Gospel is not about 'trying,' but rather it is about us getting ourselves out of God's way and letting Christ dwell in us fully. One of the ways we get out of God's way is to stop having our own interpretation of the scriptures, and our own ideas about the Gospel. The scriptures says what it means and the Gospel is what it is, that being "the power of God unto salvation," as the scripture says (Rom. 1:16). Anyway the last 'one' mentioned in Eph. 4:4-6 is the "One God and Father of all, who is above all..." As far as God being 'above all,' Jesus clearly stated, "My Father is greater than I" (Jn. 14:28). If we believe there is more than one Father of Jesus, and of us all, then again we are going to be dwelling in confusion, not unity. I've gone to all of this just to show that the reality that there is only 'one baptism,' is every bit as integral to our faith and unity as the fact that there is 'one Lord,' etc.

Now I'm going to give some reasons for that particular truth, to demonstrate why and how I can say this. We need only look to the message that God himself gave to the one forerunner of Jesus, whose job it was to tell who Jesus was, and why he was coming. That would be John the Baptist, and he himself gave us the exact knowledge of what God revealed to him ahead of time, about Jesus and the purpose of his coming to the earth: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" (Jn. 1:32,33). So the one thing that God told John about Jesus was that he was going to "baptize with the holy Ghost." It's no wonder that John's message was so short, concise, and to the point: "And [John] preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mk. 1:7,8). You may note that John blatantly mentioned 'two' baptisms in one breath, one of water, which he administered; and one of the holy Ghost, which Jesus would administer. Seeing that God saw fit to tell John one particular thing about what Jesus was going to do, and seeing that John preached only that one thing that God told him; I must conclude that Jesus baptizing with the holy Ghost is A REALLY BIG DEAL!! Well, John thought it was a big enough deal that he made it clear that his work was going to be phased out so that the work of Christ could become all in all: "He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all" (Jn. 3:30,31).

Somehow John's words have been lost in the long transition of time, and men are still honoring his work equal to and above the work that Jesus has done and still does. John's baptism was 'of the earth,' but the baptism that Jesus had to die, raise from the dead, and ascend back to heaven to be able to minister; is of heaven and from above. Now Jesus made it clear that when he was baptized of John in water, he was doing it to fulfill the law, even as he had with every other aspect of the law, such as being circumcised and keeping the Passover, the feast of Tabernacles, etc. (Mat. 3:15). In fact Jesus said plainly that he came here to fulfill the law (Mat. 5:17). So water baptism was an ordinance of the law, even though it was given at the end of the old covenant dispensation. It was carnal, and it was symbolic of something that Jesus was going to establish after a spiritual order, even as he did with the animal sacrifices, the tabernacle, etc. All of these things were fulfilled by Jesus, and are no longer in effect because the truth of the matter is that the only thing that IS in effect IS JESUS AND WHAT HE DOES FROM HEAVEN!! Come on folks, if there is now only 'one baptism,' do you think it is John's, who said he "must decrease;" or Jesus,' whom John said "he must increase?" Is it the baptism that is of the earth, that we should continue with, or is it the baptism that comes from heaven? Is it the baptism administered by men, or the baptism which can only be administered by Jesus, that we should uphold as that 'one baptism?' Some even try to turn these two baptisms into one baptism so that they can hold onto the earthly baptism. But like John, Jesus clarified that there were in fact two baptisms, and he made it clear which one is the crescendo, when he left his followers with one final instruction before ascending to heaven in their sight: "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts 1:4,5).

Same message as John, with the emphasis on the same baptism, that being the one that Jesus died and rose to give us. That also being the one that washes not the outer man, but the inner man from the very nature of sin. That also being the one that is received by faith in Jesus, unto the "purifying of [our] hearts" (Acts 15:8,9; Acts 10:44-46). Water baptism is not of faith because it is a work administered by man, and man is not invisible. It is also not of faith because it is of the law, and the scripture plainly states that "the law is not of faith" (Gal. 3:12). The only thing that is of faith is Jesus, because it is Jesus who died and rose for us, and it is Jesus of whom Peter said, "Whom having NOT SEEN, ye love; in whom, though now ye SEE HIM NOT, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pet. 1:8). Faith is "the evidence of things NOT SEEN," and whatever is able to be seen is simply not of faith (Heb. 11:1). Many make the argument that we go through water baptism in order to make a show of our faith for others to see. Well, the very statement itself undoes itself, admitting that it is something earthly that can be seen and shown; which means it has nothing to do with faith. I'm aware that many have been baptized with the holy Ghost upon being water baptized, including in the early body of Christ; but that is because of faith in Jesus, and not the water baptism. The fact that the ordinance is recognized as being of God at this point, and as an element of the Gospel; is actually something that is an obstruction to the way of Christ, not a help. The apostle Paul told us that when we as Gentiles go back to the ordinances of the law, we are NOT being led by the Spirit of God (Gal. 5:18). The same apostle told us, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14).

Those who have been baptized with the Spirit when they were water baptized, have no doubt taken the stance that water baptism is certainly still an element of the Gospel. That is understandable, seeing that in most cases they are not going to recognize that the water baptism had nothing to do with the matter, but only their faith and expectation toward Jesus. And while it is understandable, it is nonetheless damaging to their faith because it has caused them to honor something that is not of Christ; but is rather something he died and rose to fulfill. As long as water baptism is revered by God's people, it serves as a distraction and diminishing of the faith of Christ; because it is NOT the 'one baptism' that the heavenly mediator ministers from the heavenly tabernacle. Jesus is all and all in this covenant, and his baptism is the only baptism that is to be honored and revered by those who believe on him. Realizing this can only 'increase' the work that Jesus has died for us to be a part of, even as his forerunner said. We need to 'decrease' the baptism that was originally given to John to lead the way to Jesus, so that Jesus can be honored as who and what he is. He is truly "all we need," and his baptism alone can wash the inner man and purify the heart from sin, even as the scriptures declare. And as the scriptures also declare: "And ye are COMPLETE IN HIM, who is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:10). As long as we are of the mindset that there is more than one baptism, we are already divided from the mind of Christ; who KNOWS there is only one baptism, and who knows that baptism is his. So if we want to follow the instruction of the apostle Paul, and "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, " we need to be in the same mind that Jesus is in. We need to be bold and decry the traditions of men that cause us to weaken the effect of Christ among us, by dividing our minds and diminishing our honor and reverence for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who like John said, "baptizeth with the holy Ghost." Amen.