(Ephesians 4:1-6)
'I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
.. beseech you
.... that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
...... With all lowliness and meekness,
........ with longsuffering,
.......... forbearing one another in love;
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.'
Praise God!
* These instructions were given following the revelation of The Mystery, given by God to Paul, concerning the church which is His Body,' the fullness of Him that filleth all in all' (Ephesians 1:22-23): Of which Paul was made Steward.
* The One Baptism is believers baptism, which is, like the calling to which it belongs, of the Spirit: in which the flesh has no part. It bears no resemblance to the baptism of repentance of John the Baptist, or to the baptisms which followed, for it is entirely of the Spirit.
Praise His Holy Name!
In Christ Jesus
Chris
GINOLJC, charity you're on point. I been trying to stay out of this conversation, (being occupied by another topic), but now catching up on some of the post. well finally someone is hitting the target, I commend you. in earlier post someone posted many baptism.
but if we look at a dead give away then we can understand the topic clearly. THE EXAMPLE, and then the STANDARD.
THE EXAMPLE to understand.
John 3:5 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
John 3:6 "
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit".
#1. "
be born of water and of the Spirit" this is NOT two different baptism, only ONE Baptism. let's explain it. born of Water is born of the Spirit. because the water is the word of God the Spirit that gives birth to the believer. scripture, Scripture, 1Cor 4:15 "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ,
yet have ye not many fathers:
for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel". well what is the Gospel called? water, scripture,
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word.
see, our Lord clearly distinguish the two Birth. Birth of Flesh vs Birth of Spirit/water, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit", there you have it, two different "BIRTH". so one have a Natural birth, and a spiritual Birth. so the water here is not speaking of a mother water in her womb, nor of Water baptism, but the Spiritual birth, as said the "Water" is the Spirit, the Gospel that many thirst for. for it is the Gospel, the word, the everlasting well of Water that spring up in you.
let be sure that being born of Water is the same as being born of Spirit.
Now,
THE STANDARD to Follow. Matt 3:11 I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire:
one poster listed, this as two different baptism, no it's one in the same, as with born of water and Spirit. notice the conjuction "and" between Holy Ghost and Fire. and indicate the same thing, before it and after. the Holy Ghost is God who is a consuming "Fire". and his words the Gospel is a fire, scripture, Jer 5:14 "Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words
in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them". the words of God is a fire. let' see the Holy Ghost and the FIRE. Acts 2:3 "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them". Acts 2:4 "And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance". notice the "with" here as with John saying that "WITH" the Holy Ghosy and "WITH" Fire. there it is, the Manifestation of God, the Holy Spirit as Fire, why use the symbolism "FIRE?". because
Fire spreads, as with God who is everywhere. he is in many believers at one time. and these men spake the words of God, the "GOOD" news the Gospel to the people. this one of the many Gift of the Gospel.
so the baptism of the believer is one Baptism. and the Baptism of the hearer is another. for John's baptism, (water), was unto "REPENTANCE". once repented, one dies, hence the water baptism, (that's whay the Lord said, that which is flesh is flesh, and that which is spirit is Spirit. now from death to life a new BIRTH takes place, which is "of" the Spirit. other words, the baptism "of" the Spirit. when one is empowered, it is called the Baptism "with" the Spirit. the baptism "of" the Spirit, Christ places one in his body. the Baptism "with" the Spirit, Christ enables one to do a task or work. but it's the same Spirit that Baptize. "One" Baptism, but many "manifestation" of the same one baptism.
so knowing this, there is one Baptism, of the body of believers, because the Baptizer is the same one person who dose the baptizing.
EXAMPLE:
1Cor 12:7 But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1Cor 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge
by the same Spirit;
1Cor 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing
by the same Spirit;
1Cor 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1Cor 12:11
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
well unregenerated people don't speak in tongues, nor give prophecy, or preach and pastor, nor do miracles that are of God.
Hope this helped.
PICJAG.
