"Church of Christ" and 1 Cor. 12:13

I did a brief overview of what "baptism into Christ" is in this post http://av1611studyblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-is-baptism-into-christ.html

And in that post I throughly proved that baptism into Christ is simply being put into Christ by God (1 Cor. 12:12-18). That is why it says "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" in 1 Corinthians 12:13. That is why it says "God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him" in 1 Corinthians 12:18. That is why it says "Buried with him in baptism....through the faith of the operation of God" in Colossians 2:12.

Ignoring these infallible truths, the so called "Church of Christ" denomination puts a private interpretation on 1 Corinthians 12:13.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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.

Every Church of Christ elder in the world will tell you that "by one Spirit are we all baptized" means that the Holy Spirit led you to get water baptized into Christ. That is what all Campbellites believe and if they say they don't really believe that then they're lying, cause they DO. They believe that if you are not baptized into water then you have not been baptized into Christ. The official teaching of the Church of Christ is that baptism into water performed by a man is the SAME THING AS baptism into Christ performed by God (1 Cor. 12:13-18, Col. 2:12). They believe that their water baptistery mystically becomes Christ and that when an elder immerses you in that  baptistery that you have been put into Jesus Christ. ALL cambellites believe that and if they say they don't then they're lying to you. They do believe that. This is the same teaching that the Roman Catholic Church has been promoting about the Lord's Supper for years. The so called "Church of Christ" just adopted it for their water baptism.

No Church of Christ elder believes that you are a son of God, born again, a member of Christ, saved, etc. until you get put in their Jesus water. You have to confess your faith before a COC elder and then he'll put you in Christ by dipping you in a tank of water. That is Roman Catholicism to the core. No COC honestly believes that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:4-6). They believe that if there is not a man around for you to confess to and baptize you, then you are condemned to hell. You cannot just pick up a Bible and believe the gospel to be saved. Every COC believes that you need MAN PLUS CHRIST in order to be saved.

But the Church of Christ elder breaks his religious neck here at 1 Corinthians 12:13. Our priestly elder cannot admit that you get into Christ "by one Spirit" rather than by his wicked man-made religion and therefore he has to put a wild private interpretation on the verse (2 Pet. 1:20).

1 Corinthians 12:12-13  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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.

The COC priest will tell you that the meaning of the verse (he'll give the meaning while ignoring what it said) is that the Holy Spirit "influences" and "leads" a person to get water baptized. Did you get that? "The Holy Spirit "influences" and "leads" a person to get water baptized". That is some wild interpretation!

WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAID: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.....But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him."

WHAT THE COC TELLS YOU IT "MEANS": "The Holy Spirit "influences" and "leads" a person to get water baptized"

But that's not even the funny part. The funny part is that with the COC private interpretation, they have completely blown themselves out of the water. Because if the Holy Spirit "led" you and "influenced" you to get water baptized by the COC elder/priest, then you were saved before water baptism!

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

If the Holy Spirit led you to get water baptized then you were a son of God BEFORE water baptism! Did you get that? The priestly elders of the Church of Christ never got it. If you want to know why the COC never got it you can check out 1 Corinthians 2:12-16.

I told this to a COC elder one time and he said, "Well in the English Standard Version, which is more accurate than King James, it says "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body". We were baptized in one Spirit, not by one Spirit."

Uh oh! Somebody can't handle the Book! That's how these lying religious goofs will do. They're resemble snakes, worms, and wads of snot. If you grab them in one place, they slide off somewhere else! If a man can't find his false doctrine in the Book (KJB) he will always look for it in a different book. That is the philosophy of Bible "correctors". The ESV is not more accurate than the KJB, they aren't even translated from the same Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. The ESV New Testament is based mainly on the VATICAN manuscript of the VATICAN library, Vaticanus. (now you know what the COC priest likes it so much!)

The ESV is the same book that told you that Joseph was Christ's "father" in Luke 2:33. It told you that it was not God that was manifest in the flesh but only "he" in 1 Tim. 3:16. The ESV does not say that Christ is "from everlasting" in Micah 5:2. There are hundreds more errors which I have dealt with throughly under the "KJB Believer" page, but here is one more that the COC will love. The ESV says in James 5:16 to "confess your sins" to MAN. The KJB simply says to confess your "faults". The Church of Christ, the Vatican manuscript, and the ESV are Roman Catholic to the core.

But even if the ESV was the preserved word of God rather than the KJB (which it isn't), the COC priest has just sunk his own battleship AGAIN.

"Well in the English Standard Version, which is more accurate than King James, it says "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body". We were baptized in one Spirit, not by one Spirit."

Question: if you are unsaved until you get water baptized, what in the world is a lost man doing "in one Spirit"? A lost man can't be "in the Spirit"!

Romans 8:
[5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
[6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
[8] So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

If you are "in the Spirit" then you are "out of the flesh". A lost man cannot be "in the Spirit" when he gets water baptized! What is a lost man doing "in the Spirit", ain't he suppose to be "in the flesh"?

If you were "in one Spirit" when you were baptized then you were saved and out of the flesh BEFORE that water baptism.

So there you have the God appointed Campbellite mouse-trap. When a Campbellite hits 1 Corinthians 12:13 he is forced to submit to one of the following:

1.) Baptism into Christ is done by the Spirit and not by man.

2.) The Spirit led and influences you to get water baptized which means you are a son of God before water baptism (Rom. 8:14, John 1:12-13).

3.) You were "in one Spirit" when you got water baptized which means you were already saved before you got baptized (Romans 8:5-9).

The Campbellite is trapped like a rat no matter which option he takes. You do not get into Christ by water, it is by the Spirit.

This is the only gospel that saves in the present dispensation:


1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Ephesians 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

John 1:
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

2 Corinthians 5:
[14] For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
[15] And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
[16] Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
[18] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
[19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
[20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
[21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

Titus 3:
[4] But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
[5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
[6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
[7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Acts 16:30-31 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

"...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

--Eli Caldwell