The One Baptism

[shag]

Eph. 4:5 -
Is it speaking of the same baptism as 1 Cor. 12:13?

[shag]

The One baptism of Two baptisms?

[Amanah]

The subject of the Ephesians 4 is unity in the Spirit, so I think Spirit baptism.
Same as 1 Cor 12:13

Ephesians 4
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

[Esaias]

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
(Eph 4:3-7)

There are seven "ones" here: body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, God.

The first six seem to form a couplet made of three elements each: 1 body-Spirit-hope, and 2 Lord-faith-baptism, with God being the crowning headstone if you will Who is above all, through all, and in us all.

The subject is keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that is to say, maintaining the unity of the brethren as the one people of the one God. So then Paul expresses the basis for this unity by identifying seven things which we all share in: we are part of one united body, having experienced the same Spirit, giving us the same hope or expectation. We serve one Lord, with one united faith, expressed by one baptism that we all share. And all of this points to the fact we all have one God and Father in common.

So looking at it this way, it seems to me that "Spirit" in the first grouping would refer to the presence and operation of the Spirit. As members of one body it is one Spirit which operates in and through each and all of us, which is the earnest or down payment of the life to come (our expectation or hope of eternal life).

We all serve one and the same Lord, we are all recipients of the one true apostolic faith of Jesus Christ, we have all been baptised into His Name as expressions of that faith. Thus, we all share not just one God, but one Father (making us all brethren of the same household of faith). In this second grouping it would seem that "baptism" would refer to water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. At the time there were various baptisms such as John's, the various mikvahs or baptisms of the various sects of Judaism, and the Christian baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus. That baptism is where we enter into the remission of sins and are identified with Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection, thus expressing the Biblical apostolic faith in the Lord.

Baptism usually refers to water baptism. In reference to receiving the Spirit, such is called a "baptism" as a metaphor taken from water baptism. The Holy Ghost baptism is an initial entrance into the eternal life of the Son. The term "Spirit" however implies more than just the initial reception of the Spirit, but the ongoing operations of the Spirit as well as the Life of God Himself operating in an ongoing regenerative transformative way. Baptism, however, not only seems to imply the initial act of water baptism but all of its effects - remission of sins, identification with Christ, the ongoing justification we enjoy with God, etc.

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. For the body is not one member, but many.
(1Co 12:12-14)

Here, Paul is stressing the unity of the body, but emphasising the fact that the various and different members are all partakers of the same Holy Ghost Not merely in the initial reception of the Spirit, but especially in the ongoing operations or charisms or "gifts" of the Spirit. He points out we have all been placed, literally immersed, into one body. This has occurred by the mechanism or the means or instrumentality of the Spirit. While water baptism serves as the means of being identified with Christ, water baptism only succeeds in doing that because of the working of the Spirit. As the case of Simon of Samaria shows, one can be baptised in water yet never actually joined to the Lord in a real, experiential sense.

I am not convinced that Paul here is directly referring exclusively to the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but refers to the working of the Spirit in a wider sense as being the means by which God moves a sinner to repent, have faith, submit to Christ, confess Christ, and indeed to receive the Spirit in that new covenant enduement of power and regeneration. The same, one Spirit that operates through all of us in various charisms or gifts is the same Spirit that drew us out of darkness and into the faith of Jesus and placed us into His church. I do not necessarily agree with the charismatics and trinitarian Pentecostals that Paul here is refering to a distinct special "baptism". They say there is water baptism into the name of the Lord, Holy Spirit baptism into empowerment for service, and then this that Paul refers to as being baptised BY the Spirit (as opposed to being baptised WITH the Spirit) into the church. Instead, I think Paul is saying that the same Spirit that we have all received and which operates in and through us is the self same Spirit that placed us into the body of Christ (the church) to begin with.

[Amanah]

Bro Esaias, thank you for taking time to give such an in depth beautifully written response.

[coksiw]

Edifying good points from Esaias, with very good observations.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by shag

Eph. 4:5 -
Is it speaking of the same baptism as 1 Cor. 12:13?

Yes. It is a mistake to think that there are two baptisms, one of water, and another one of Spirit.

Rather, water and Spirit make up one baptism. They are two aspects of one thing, like the two sides of a single coin, or the two legs of a pair of pants.

When we are immersed in water, we are placed into Christ. With the baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit is immersed into us.

When both events take place, you have a baptism.

Think of it like this. A husband and wife are made one flesh in the marriage bed, correct? The physical act of copulation joins them together. Without trying to be too graphic here, at the main point of contact, the woman and the man are immersed into each other. Theologically, it is called perichoresis (Granted, that term is technical term most often used by Trinitarian scholars and believers, but the idea is very much the same).

The Biblical sex act cannot therefore, be completed by one person alone.

If either the husband or the wife is not present, it is not sex, and it is not the uniting of the two into one flesh.

If either the water or the Spirit is not present, it is not baptism, and it is not the uniting of the believer with the Believed.

[Amanah]

Brings to mind what some refer to as one steppers vs three steppers in regards to repentance and baptism. Confusion comes from compartmentalizing rather than seeing an organic whole process.

[shag]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

Yes. It is a mistake to think that there are two baptisms, one of water, and another one of Spirit.

Rather, water and Spirit make up one baptism. They are two aspects of one thing, like the two sides of a single coin, or the two legs of a pair of pants.

When we are immersed in water, we are placed into Christ.
How can we be placed in Christ, without having His Spirit? (Rom. 8:9)

With the baptism of the Spirit, the Spirit is immersed into us.

When both events take place, you have a baptism.
If only one takes place, there was no baptism?

I can see the possibility that when both take place, THEN you have a “birth”, but I have trouble seeing baptisms and births as “one and the same”.

Think of it like this. A husband and wife are made one flesh in the marriage bed, correct? The physical act of copulation joins them together. Without trying to be too graphic here, at the main point of contact, the woman and the man are immersed into each other. Theologically, it is called perichoresis (Granted, that term is technical term most often used by Trinitarian scholars and believers, but the idea is very much the same).

The Biblical sex act cannot therefore, be completed by one person alone.

If either the husband or the wife is not present, it is not sex, and it is not the uniting of the two into one flesh.

If either the water or the Spirit is not present, it is not baptism, and it is not the uniting of the believer with the Believed.

.

[votivesoul]

Shag asked:

How can we be placed in Christ, without having His Spirit? (Rom. 8:9)

As many of as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:28).

The believer who is immersed into water in the name of the Lord Jesus, is placed in Christ, and when the Spirit comes upon them, and enters into them, the baptism is complete/fulfilled.

So, as it reads in Acts 8 regarding the Samaritans, "only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus". The Spirit had not come upon them, not until Simon and John arrived. Then in Acts 8:16, the Spirit fell upon them and they received It, and their baptism was then consummated.

shag asked:

If only one takes place, there was no baptism?

I can see the possibility that when both take place, THEN you have a “birth”, but I have trouble seeing baptisms and births as “one and the same”.

In terms of the physical act of being placed into water and being immersed under the surface of that water as the Lord Jesus is invoked, is, by definition a baptism, because of what the word means, from the Greek. But the baptism is not consummated until and unless the Spirit descends upon the believer and he or she receives It.

Now, as regarding Cornelius and others who received the Spirit first, it is clear they are then commanded to be immersed into water in the name of the Lord Jesus, so that their reception of the Spirit may be sealed by the Lord when they receive remission of sins.