Baptism into Christ: operation of God or man?

I recently received this feedback regarding Romans 6:1-4 on my post "Baptism into Christ". 

"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 !)"

1.) Nobody is made "free from sin" through water baptism. Paul just stated in Romans 1:16-17, 3:19-31, 4:1-8, 5:1. Salvation is "to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5). Romans 6:3-4 refers to baptism INTO Christ. Water is not in the whole chapter. 

2.) If words mean anything, baptism into Christ and baptism with water unto repentance are different things.  Water baptism is always said to be done by a man, but baptism into Christ is always said to be done by the Holy Spirit...

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.

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. 

Water baptism is a physical water ceremony. Being in the church which is the body of Christ is a spiritual relationship where we are joined to the Lord and made one spirit with Him. Spiritually we are crucified, buried, risen, and seated with Christ in heaven because we are "joined" with Him and "one spirit" with Him. 

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 2:
[5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
[6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
[7] That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Dunking someone in a tank of water does not resemble being buried. We do not grab dead bodies and push them down into dirt. How does grabbing someone and pushing them down into a tank of water picture a burial? And where is the likeness of us sitting in heavenly places with Christ? 

Clearly baptism into Christ is spiritual. In this baptism into Christ there is neither male/female, Jew/Gentile, bond/free (Gal. 3:26-28, Col. 3:10-11). That can only be spiritual. When you physically put someone in water and raise them back up, they are still male/female and Jew/Gentile.

3.) Water baptism has nothing to do with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. John the Baptist and the 12 apostles baptized for years without knowing anything about the death, burial, and resurrection...

John 4:1-2  When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 

Luke 18:
[31] Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
[32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
[33] And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
[34] And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. 

Obviously the apostles were not baptizing people saying "this symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection". They did not even know about it! The Bible tells us why they baptized, to manifest Christ to Israel (John 1:31). It was a symbolic purification (John 3:25-27, Acts 22:16).

4.) Under grace we do not have priests. There is nobody that has to do anything for us in order for us to come to God and be saved (contrast with the law--Lev. 16:30). Under grace, there is one mediator between us and God, Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"). We do not have to go to a man and get him to baptize us so that we can be saved. Salvation is by faith in Christ. "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," (Eph. 1:13).

5.) Paul said that Christ sent him "not to baptize". 

1 Corinthians 1:
[13] Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
[14] I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
[15] Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
[16] And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
[17] For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

What was Paul sent to do?

Acts 26:
[15] And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
[16] But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
[17] Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
[18] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

If Paul was sent to the Gentiles to "open their eyes", "turn them from darkness to light", "from the power of Satan unto God", "that they may receive forgiveness of sins" but was sent NOT to baptize....then water baptism does not have anything to do with any of those things. In fact, water baptism is not even a work meet for repentance under grace, since Paul was sent to shew them works meet for repentance but not to baptize (1 Cor. 1:17, Acts 26:19-20). 

6.) The comment says, "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 !". There is no such thing as "Holy Spirit baptism". That phrase never appears in the Bible. There is "baptism with the Holy Spirit" and then there is baptism into Christ that is done "by one Spirit". But there is no generic "Holy Spirit baptism". 

But is is true that "no one was ever told to baptize anyone with the Holy Spirit"...only Christ can baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11). Man cannot do this (obviously). This baptism was not for salvation, it was for power (Acts 1:8). Those signs and powers were for the Jews and apostles and no longer in use today (1 Cor. 1:22, 13:8-13). After the book of Acts ended, there became only "one baptism" for the present age (Eph. 4:1-6) and that is baptism into Christ (Col. 2:10-12). 

7.) The "likeness" of Romans 6 is not the death, burial, and resurrection compared to a water ceremony...the verse tells us what the likeness is. "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". When we get saved we are dead to sin, then we should walk in newness of life reflecting that spiritual truth.