Thursday, February 12, 2015

What is "baptism into Christ"?

Baptism into Christ

What is “baptism into Christ”? Well I believe in taking the Bible literally for what it says, and so I believe that baptism “into Christ” is what it says: a baptism that puts you “into Christ”.

How could a person be in Christ? Well it is difficult to explain, but the Bible plainly says that you can be “joined to the Lord” in a SPIRITUAL relationship and be made “one spirit” with Him. When this happens you are considered a member of Christ, of His flesh, and of His bones.

1 Corinthians 6:
[15] Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
[16] What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
[17] But
he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

You get into Christ's body by being “baptized into Christ”. Who baptizes you into Christ? Is it something you do, your own operation? NO! It is an “operation of God”.

1 Corinthians 12:
[12] 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.
[13] 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.
[14] For the body is not one member, but many.
[15] If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
[16] And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
[17] If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
[18] But now hath
God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

The Holy Spirit is the one that baptizes us into Christ, God sets the members in the body. Look at Colossians 2:10-12, the baptism into Christ is said to be “through the faith of the operation of God”.

Colossians 2:
[10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
[11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
[12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

We see this baptism again in Romans and Galatians.

Romans 6:
[3] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
[4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life
.

Galatians 3:
[26] For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
[27] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
[28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus
.

Some people over complicate this issue of baptism into Christ. They say “Well could baptism into Christ actually be water baptism?”

Now let's think about this: is Christ a baptistery full of water? Answer—NO. So could baptism into a baptistery really be baptism into Christ? Answer—NO.

Christ was water baptized in Matthew chapter 3, was He baptized into Himself? I would kind of doubt it!

If words mean anything, “baptism into Christ” cannot be baptism into water! A baptism “by one Spirit” cannot be done by man. A baptism that is an “operation of God” cannot be done by man. Man does not set the members into Christ, it is God (the Spirit) that does that. (1 Cor. 12:12-18, Col. 2:10-12)

Is there even a reference anywhere in the Bible to somebody being water baptized into Christ? No! There is not a verse in the entire Bible that says anything about water baptism done by man putting you into Christ.

But let's look at Colossians 2:10-12 closely and see if it could be a reference to water and man's work.

Colossians 2:
[10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Okay, here we have the beginning of the sentence and context of the baptism into Christ (vs. 12). So what is our context talking about? COMPLETETION IN CHRIST. Can a person be made complete in Christ by works such as water baptism done by man? Not according to the Bible!

Galatians 3:1-3 says, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

The obvious answer to Paul's question, “are ye now made perfect by the flesh” is no! You are made perfect by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2:
[11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

The next verse (same sentence) is continuing to speak of our completion in Christ. More specifically it is speaking of the removal of our sins. To describe this action (the removal of sins), the Bible calls this a “circumcision made without hands” “by the circumcision of Christ”...which means that this action was spiritual and not a physical act of man. This was done by Christ, not human works.

Colossians 2:
[12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

So now we have our baptism into Christ (still the same sentence as verses 10-11). Even without reading the verse we know from the context that this baptism has to be spiritual and not a physical act of man. The completeion of verse 10 is spiritual and not by man's works, the removal of sins in the circumcision of verse 11 is spiritual and not by man's works, so contextually the baptism of verse 12 is also spiritual and not done by man's works. This baptism is done “through the faith of the operation of God” and is not an operation of man. It is done “by one Spirit” according to 1 Corinthians 12:12-18.


There is no basis for saying that baptism into Christ is actually baptism into water and an operation of man rather than God!

--Eli Caldwell

2 comments:

  1. Baptism is represented by Paul as a "LIKENESS" of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – Romans 6:3-5. There is no other thing that is so represented like this baptism.

    Not faith.
    Not repentance.
    Not confession.
    Only (water) baptism.

    In (water) baptism, the old man of sin within us is buried, just as Christ was buried, and is transformed and resurrected by God as a new creature. It is then, and not until then, that we are "free from sin." Only then are we fit to be called "servants of righteousness" (Rom. 6:17-18).

    This text, Romans 6:3-5, also presents a serious problem for those who teach that salvation precedes any baptism (water OR HS). These people have Paul “burying” people that are ALIVE. Where I live, that is a bit backward – we usually bury the DEAD people!! But this is not the problem I will address for this thread – I just want to examine and see that the baptism that Paul describes here in Romans 6 MUST be WATER BAPTISM and cannot be Holy Spirit baptism.

    Paul describes baptism as a "burial" and likens it to the death and burial of Christ. Yet all the HS baptism pundits fail to illustrate HOW HS baptism is “LIKE” unto the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ that Paul clearly, plainly, and succinctly states that this baptism IS here in Romans 6. Why is that? Well, we know why that is – only WATER baptism can be “likened” unto a death, burial, and resurrection – HS baptism cannot !

    Do not miss another important point Paul makes here. Paul tells us that this (water) baptism is OUR death, burial, and resurrection (D/B/R). WE die to sin / that is, we "put off" sin in our lives - the old sinful man – WE are buried (in water) like as Christ was buried, and then WE are resurrected (like Christ was resurrected) to walk in a new life! Paul is describing WATER baptism in Romans chapter 6 – not any other baptism !!!

    (The purpose of HS baptism was never to do this !!! If fact, HS baptism was never for the remission of sins, and no one was ever told to baptize anyone with the HS - this was never commanded or authorized !)

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    Replies
    1. The key distinction you are missing is that the people in Acts were baptized with the Holy Spirit not by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Where does Paul ever say you would be baptized with the Holy Spirit with gifts following?

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