Calling
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group
Chapter
20
We now come to this next phrase. ONE
Spirit. We are told in chapter 2 that this Spirit, after telling us
that we have been reconciled into one body unto God in verse 16 by the
cross, And that he might reconcile both to God in one body by the
cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace
to you which were afar off, ... That was the Gentiles. ... and to them
that were near. ... That was the Jew. ... 18 For through him we both
have access by one Spirit to the Father. ... The work of the Holy
Spirit is to seal us. We have been told that. And to give us access to
God, who is Our Father. Access by, or in, one Spirit to the Father.
This word Spirit is another word that is stamped with the figure of
seven. For it occurs 14 times in this letter. Twice, seven. Starting
off in chapter 1:13 In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, ...
God, the Holy Spirit, puts His seal on the transaction of redemption.
And once He has put His seal on, then the whole thing is finished. You
thank God that He has put His seal on through the work of the Holy
Ghost. If He hadn't of done that then you would have no security. You
might go and break it. You might go and do something foolish and un
save yourself. And make all the work of Christ of none effect. But you
can't. Because He has put this seal on the transaction. A seal that can
not be broken.
In verse 1:17, Paul is praying that God would give these saints the
spirit of wisdom and revelation. A wise and revealing spirit. In
chapter 2, here is the opposite. This is what once happened to us as we
walked as un saved men and women. 2:2 Wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of
disobedience: ... Now that is satan. He is called a spirit. He isn't a
human being obviously. He is a spiritual being. The spirit that now
works in, energizes, the children of disobedience.
We have access by one spirit in verse 2:18. And in verse 22, this
building that God is making, every member of His body being fit
together so that they might be a holy temple for the Lord. In whom you
also are built together for an habitation ... A dwelling place. ... of
God through the Spirit. ...
In Chapter 3:5, this mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made
known to the son's of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy Apostles
and prophets by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the great revealer of
truth. We should keep that one in our minds. Do we want to know and
have light on the word, then here is the way He is going to give it to
us. We may go to other Christians, or we may go to ministers, or we may
go to all sorts of people, and they maybe able to help us considerably,
we thank God for them, but don't forget it is all subservient to the
work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who opens the eyes of
understanding. And without that, no human being is can give light upon
God's truth. The Holy Spirit is the great revealer of truth.
Verse 3:16, the secondary prayer of Ephesians, That he would grant you,
... Or give you. ... according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ... The Spirit
strengthens us and makes us strong.
Then there is Chapter 4:3, which this book is currently going through.
So then verse 24, And be renewed ... After putting off the old man. ...
in the spirit of your mind; ... All these things will cause great
consideration when these verses are happened upon. But for now, it is
just bringing them all together.
Verse 30, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed
to the day of redemption. ... In chapter one, the Holy Spirit seals us.
In Chapter 4 we are warned not to grieve Him.
Chapter 5:18 is a very difficult verse that shall be in need of careful
handling. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled
with the Spirit; ... Be filled to the brim.
Chapter 6:17 , after giving us some parts of the armor he finally says,
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God: ... The scriptures, God word, is the sword that we can
use, and satan will be defeated if we can use it carefully. If we can
wield it well and truly. But we have got to get to know it. You can't
use any weapon without practice. None of us will ever use this sword
effectively if we don't get to know it, and get it into our hearts and
minds.
Verse 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints; ... The Spirit is linked with prayer.
These all will make a tremendous study by itself. If you took all of
these and weighed up the context, the full and rich meaning of each of
these occurrences, what great things that you shall learn. What lies
behind it all but one Spirit. It is all wrapped up in that little
phrase. One Spirit.
Now, the next part of this Unity of the Spirit is. Ephesians 4:4 ...
even as you are called in one hope of your calling; ... In the
scriptures, hope and calling go together. God has called. He has
chosen. He has saved. He has called His people. Romans 8 gives that
great chain of His wonderful purpose. Predestination, election,
calling, justification, and so on, ending in a wonderful way with
glorification. This is God's work. This is nothing that we have to do.
We can't call ourselves. The Lord had to say to His own during the days
of His flesh, You haven't chosen Me, I have chosen you. If He had never
chosen men, they would never have chosen Him. That is perfectly
certain.
God's calling is His salvation, His choosing of sinners. In connection
with the various callings of God's children revealed in scriptures each
has its own particular hope. Because all hope will be the consummation,
the finish, the climax of that calling that God has made. We have seen
things about His earthly people Israel. So lets think of that for a
moment. Looking at the 26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles where
the Apostle Paul uses the word hope in connection with the twelve
tribes and with connection of Israel.
Paul is standing before Agrippa and giving his defense. He says in
verse 6, And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made
of God, to our fathers: ... Here is the very thing. God has made
promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And the hope was when these
promises would be realized. It would be a hope no longer then, it would
be an actual reality. Hope is a fulfillment of a promise. 7 To which
promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to
come. ... When we are dealing with a question of hope and calling in
scripture, the first thing that we have got to do is get a clear
conception of our calling. And then we shall know what the hope is. The
hope corresponds with it. Israel's hope was an earthly hope. They are
earthly people and God has promised to work an earthly purpose through
them. In thy seed, He said to Abraham, shall all families of the earth
be blessed. And, according to that covenant that God make with that
people, they are going to be the principle nation of the earth. A
peculiar treasure above all people, God said.
If that is part of God's plan Israel's hope will not be fulfilled until
that is true. It has never has been true yet. But Romans chapter 11
lets in a flood of light upon this and tells us that all Israel will
finally be saved. Now, there is blindness upon them. They can't see.
Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles be come in. When God has completed this Gentile purpose and it
has reached it's fullness of it's conclusion, then the second Advent of
Christ takes place. He is coming back to them. He is coming back to the
Mount of Olives. He is coming back to Palestine. He is coming back and
when they look upon Him, says the scripture, they are going to be
saved. They shall look upon Me whom they've pierced. One of the most
wonderful prophecies, God speaking. Jehovah speaking. Think about it.
Jehovah saying in Old Testament days that He was going to be pierced.
Saying this before Christ ever came. That they are going to look upon
Me whom they have pierced and then they are going to mourn over Me.
They are going to repent. They haven't done that yet. They are still
Christ rejecting. What a day that will be when at last they do look
upon Him and repent and they are saved. And they are converted. And
they are usable by God. And finally will be the premier nation of the
earth as the prophecies of the Old Testament makes so clear and
abundant. Then their hope will be realized.
Is this the hope that Ephesians chapter 4 is talking about? Obviously
not. We are not part of the nation of Israel. In this Church, Israel
nationally has no place. God may have saved individual Jews, and He
has, but they have got to come into this Church just like us as
Gentiles. Merely saved sinners. They have got know precedence because
they belong to Abraham. What is the hope and the calling for this
Church? Why, it is a heavenly one. Just as Israel had an earthly hope,
this calling most certainly has a heavenly hope. Philippians says, Our
citizenship exists in heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the
Lord Jesus. It's a present fact. Our citizenship isn't a earthly one.
We are only Pilgrims and Strangers now. We are going home to glory.
This isn't our home. Not if we are right at all by the scriptures. It
is a tragedy when any child of God so looks on earthly things that he
settles down and imagines this is going to be his final abode. Oh no.
When the Apostle writes to the church at Colossians what does he say?
He says, set your minds on things above where Christ sits because that
is where your sitting in Christ. Ephesians 2, seated together with Him
in the heavenly places. Set your mind on that and not on things on the
earth. If our hope was an earthly hope that would be rather strange
wouldn't it. We ought to be thing about things upon the earth. But oh
no, you think about things where you are going to. Your going to glory.
Your going to heaven. Your a heavenly body. Your a heavenly people.
The hope of this calling is to be taken to glory where God plans it
shall be. If our citizenship exist in heaven, well, our hope will be
realized when we are in heaven then, and every member of this glorious
calling with Him. That is the hope that we await. It is a blessed hope.
And the manifesting of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Of course, the Lord Jesus is the center of all the hopes of
scripture. We need to have that abundantly clear. He is the center of
Israel's hope. He is the center of the Churches hope. Because, all
God's children, whether it be an earthly calling or a heavenly one find
their center in Christ. And that must be so. That is why He comes next
in this seven fold unity of the Spirit. That is why He comes right in
the center, ONE LORD. If He didn't come there the rest of the items
might not be true. For it is only the Lord Jesus that makes the rest of
the items possible. If you eliminated the one Lord it would be
fruitless to think about one body, and one Spirit, and any hope. We
would be all most miserable, scripture says. If He is not raised from
the dead, He is not occupying the central place in the planned purpose
of God.
This is where God puts Him. Right in the center of this sevenfold
unity. ONE LORD. If we look back to the book of Deuteronomy we would
find that in chapter 6 verse 4 this, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God
is one LORD: ... Any Jew will certainly subscribe to that. The LORD our
GOD is one LORD. Israel's Lord. Israel's God. The Great God. There can
be no thought that there is two God's can there. There can be no
thought that there is a lesser God. Oh, no, there is only one God in
scriptures. ONE God. And He is called the ONE LORD. And when we come to
Ephesians here He is. ONE LORD. And He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you
see how important this question of the Deity of Christ is. As you look
around at the various movements that exist today, who deny the deity of
Christ, can you see behind it the hand of satan trying to dethrone
Christ from His rightful place. You can't have two ONE LORD'S can you.
Because that would make nonsense. If the ONE LORD in Deuteronomy is God
in the fuller sense, surely the ONE LORD in Ephesians must be the same
person. ONE LORD. There He is, the Great God of the Old Testament
manifested in Christ in the New Testament.
1Timothy 3:16 tells us, And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen
of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory. ... A secret. Difficult to comprehend. In fact,
impossible to fully comprehend. Can we know the mystery of the
incarnation and all it means? It is beyond the scope that any book
could ever proclaim. And it's beyond everybody. How could God stoop so
low to become a helpless baby and take upon Himself human form. Can we
truly understand that? But the scriptures says that He done it. And it
is not a matter of argument! It is a matter of faith. It's a matter to
believe what God has revealed concerning Himself. For us man, and for
our salvation, He has stooped so low. And for this grand purpose that
scriptures revealed, He stooped so low, here He is. ONE LORD. The
Lordship of Christ is a tremendous thing. Today, all though He is the
ONE LORD, He is still rejected of men. But aren't you glad to read in
the epistle to the Philippians that there shall be a day coming that
every knee shall bow down and every tongue shall confess, things in
heaven, all heavenly beings, things on the earth, and things under the
earth, what ever that means. Every tongue is going to confess that
Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God. He won't be rejected forever.
This word One, is a very interesting word. There are two Hebrew words
for one. One of them means just a single unit. The other means
composite. A group. For instance, when you read in the Old Testament
that the spy's went ahead into the promise land they brought back the
first fruits of the land. They brought back a bunch of grapes. The
grapes of Eshcol. Numbers 13:23 And they came to the brook of Eshcol,
and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they
bore it between two on a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates,
and of the figs. ... One cluster of grapes. Now that word one wasn't
just one grape they brought back, it was a lot of grapes. Do you see
that. That word is 'echad {ekh-awd'}, which is also translated in ONE
LORD. Not just one because your coming up to this great mystery of the
Godhead.
When you open the bible you read, In the beginning, or, In beginning
God, the Hebrew is plural. Gods. Created, the abode in the singular.
Heaven and earth. The rules of grammar are broken straight away. How
can Gods create. And in that same chapter God speaks and says, let us
make man in our image, after our likeness. But it is the ONE God
speaking, yet it is us after our likeness, our image. We are dealing
with a tremendous revelation aren't we. The ONE God who has been
pleased and found it necessary to express Himself in three different
ways. In order to bring this plan of redemption to a most glorious
finish. And so in the scriptures you find that He has brought before us
the ONE God as the Father, as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit. And we
shall be very careful with this. Never, even though some talk about the
trinity, deal with it as ministering three Gods. That is very easily
done, but that is erroneous. Remember the Old Testament says there is
ONE LORD, not three, One. And if you read the prophecy of Isaiah you
will find it is as a majestic declaration for He says, I am God, there
is none else. besides Me there is no God. Beside Me there is no
Saviour. There is none else.
You read the number of times that God speaks, there is none else. There
aren't two Gods. There aren't three Gods. There is only One. And yet,
somehow, there He is as the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Don't let our eyes be blinded to the fullness of what the scriptures
reveals. There is ONE LORD. This ONE God who comes before us in this
threefold way, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ... One faith. This
word faith, in the scriptures is used in more than one way. Sometimes
it used of the sinner believing the Saviour. For the word belief and
the word faith are one in the same in the Greek. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. That is the verbal form of the
word faith. If a person has faith in Christ, it is the same as having
belief in Christ isn't it. And if we have faith in Christ we are saved.
It is the same for the word trust. We have three different words for
one word in the Greek. Faith, belief, and trust. There is only one word
in the Greek. We can render it three different ways, but they really
mean the same thing. Faith, belief, and trust. If you have a person
that you respect, you can trust them. You believe them. And you have
faith in them. You can say it in three ways, can't you, because they
are very reliable. And you know them. So now God wants to lead all to
that great position of putting their faith, their belief, their trust,
which every way you look at it, in Christ. That is where we start.
But, there is another way that faith is used. Sometimes it is used in
the scriptures as being the same as the word truth. Faith and truth.
Because those two things are like a coin. A coin has two sides, heads
and tales. So this is two sides of the same feature. Looking at Acts of
the Apostles chapter 6, verse 7, And the word of God increased; and the
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great
company of the priests were obedient to the faith. ... Obedient to the
faith. Now if you substituted the word truth for faith, it would be
just the same. They were obedient to the truth. Faith and truth are
parallel.
Okay, now chapter 16:5, And so were the churches established in the
faith, and increased in number daily. ... Established in the truth.
Faith and truth. They weren't merely established in believing in
Christ. They were established in the body of truth, which is called the
faith.
How about Galatians chapter 1:20, Now the things which I write unto
you, behold, before God, I lie not. 21 Afterwards I came into the
regions of Syria and Cilicia; 22 And was unknown by face unto the
churches of Judaea which were in Christ: 23 But they had heard only,
That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which
once he destroyed. ... Preacheth the truth which once he destroyed.
That is what Paul did. Paul once went against the truth, but now is
preaching the truth. Faith and truth are expressing the same thing.
In the Old Testament the word amen is the Hebrew word for truth. Truth.
And that is one of the titles of Christ. He is the Amen! He is the
truth. He even says so, I am the way, the truth.
We have this question then of faith brought into our view. One Faith.
One item to guard in this great seven fold spiritual unity. We have a
body of truth that has been committed to us. You can call it faith or
truth, which ever you would prefer. That body of truth has been made
known through Paul the prisoner. And he received it from the ascended
Christ which he tells us, by special revelation, and has come down to
us as a precious treasure to guard. You've got one body. You've got one
Spirit. He gives you access to the Father at all times. You've got one
hope to your calling which is to take you to glory. You've got ONE LORD
who holds it all together. And now you've got this body of truth. ONE
FAITH.
Jude, also uses it a very similar way. He called upon those to
earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
If you read it earnestly contend for the truth that was once delivered
to the saints, it would be parallel.
Here is the truth. Here is the faith that has been committed to our
charge. We must be very specific. Very definite about this so that we
know and understand what is being committed. Other wise how do we know
what is to be guarded. It is the truth made known to us Gentiles
through the one who is sent by Christ, and he is called the Apostle of
the Gentiles through this man who is called the Apostle Paul. One LORD.
ONE Faith, and ONE Baptism.
Now considering One Baptism, which is a controversial subject in it
self. And this book is not to make it controversial. But if we are
going to get truth here we have got to look at all of the scriptures
teaches concerning this great subject. You know, it is very easy to
over simplify things isn't it. It is so very easy to turn up one
chapter and one verse, read what it says, and say well now you've got
it. But that isn't the way of getting the full truth of course. We've
got to look at this subject with ability to be taught. Because what we
find may not exactly square with all that we have been brought up to
believe. So what do we do? It is a challenging question isn't it. What
do we do when we go to the word of truth and find that what we always
thought was the word of truth is on the side of not truth? Well of
course, what we ought to do is one thing. And that is to reject. But
that is not easy to do that it is it. Because some things cling so
tightly to the mind. Any way, ask the Lord to keep us very teachable.
Lets ask the Lord, if need be, to be willing to unlearn as well as to
learn, because we know that it is terribly hard to unlearn. You get
wrong ideas concerning any subject, and you go and study the subject.
Well you know, you come to a stop, and you can't go any further if you
don't throw out the ideas that are wrong. They will act like a block.
And that is certainly true in connection to spiritual things as well.
The first thing we must realize about baptism that it is not
specifically a New Testament ordinance. Some seam to imagine that it
is. So they start their studies of baptism with the gospels, and that
is a pity. They should have gone back earlier than that. You can say
that baptism and its teaching is grouped in two ways. One is before the
tabernacle and all its typical ritual was given to Moses to Israel. And
the other is after it. Because you have it in both those connections.
Looking at the epistle to the Hebrews in chapter 6. We can't get deeply
in to this epistle so we want to look very carefully at the opening
verses of teaching. 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, ... That is a little bit upsetting to some people. But of
course, it is the fault of the English translation. No one is ever
asked to give up Christian principles. That would be a strange way of
growing in grace wouldn't it. To give up your Christian principles?
Never! It is because our English has changed since the Authorized
version was made. Principles, in the original means A B C, beginnings.
This is not asking you to give up your principles but the things that
you started with, the milk. The beginning. The elementary truth you let
go of because there is something better lying a head. So that you may
grow up. It is very much like expecting a child to give up his picture
book for the more serious literature instead of an illustrated one. We
can understand that can't we. Leaving the beginnings of the doctrine of
Christ, so lets go on to full growth. Now you've got it. That is the
work of maturity. Adulthood.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles (A. B. Cs) of the doctrine
of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, ...
Now note very closely. ... 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying
on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit. ... That is a rather difficult
reading isn't it. But at least you will sense this. That baptism are
one of the things that are asked to be left so that you may go on. But
also note, as well, that it is not in the singular. It is plural.
Baptisms. And it is writing to Hebrew believers who would understand
fully what is meant. They were Jews. Did the Jew in the Old Testament
rituals have baptisms? Yes, of course he did. These were the washings,
or the cleansings, of the divine teaching given through Moses. The
parts of the sacrifices were washed. And the High priest was washed.
And typically this was going on again and again, and hey, again. The
labor that the priest had to wash before he attempted anything for the
Lord was telling forth the great truth of cleanliness. Be clean ye that
bare the vessels of the Lord. Here were the washings of the Old
Testament.
Baptisms, when you link it with the typical teaching given through
Moses, dealt with cleansing and with washing. But did you know there is
a baptism that pre dates that. But before we look at that, if you have
your bible open, verifying what your reading in this book, on you way
through from the epistle to the Hebrews stop and look at Matthew's
gospel chapter 3 which should be very familiar to you. Here is, what is
called, the ministry of John the baptist. John the baptizer is what he
is really called because normally in the Old Testament ritual the
person normally baptized themselves. They weren't baptized by anybody
else. It was exceptional when Moses baptized Aaron the high priest.
Usually you will find in the Old Testament that each one did their own
washing, or their own baptizing. But here is an outstanding difference.
John himself baptized.
You remember that the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to his baptism.
In verse 7 he had some real strong words to say to them. He said, O
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet... Suitable. ... for
repentance: ... And then John says in verse 11, I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance: ... So this was a baptism unto repentance.
A change of mind. ... but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with ...
Water. No! This is another baptism. We've got two baptisms in this
chapter. ... he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
... A fire baptism. 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly
purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire. ... Can you realize something that
is solemn about this baptism from the Holy Spirit? Here is God doing
the severing between the true and the false. Between the true seed and
the tares. One, He is going to thoroughly cleanse. The rest, the tares,
He is going to burn up like chaff with unquenchable fire.
In our conception of baptism have we ever thought of this? Have we ever
thought of this baptism of the Holy Spirit being something that is
linked with judgement? Separating. Cleansing. You can understand that
this a very great subject. And it is not quite so simple as some people
seem to think.
Lets look at John chapter 1. It may have happened to you, or you may
have come across an argument that goes like this. If the Lord Jesus did
anything in the days of His flesh well those who profess to follow Him
should do the same. This argument has been said many times. That the
Lord Jesus Christ went through the waters of baptism and therefore it
is right for anyone who professes His name to do likewise. That might
be true. And if it is true the scriptures will make it quite clear that
it is true. But then we should take great care because if that is a
scriptural principal how far do we have got to go with it? The Lord
Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath, the seventh day, as you remember they
pulled Him up for not doing it. Never the less, He really kept it, and
He told them that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the
Sabbath. And He Himself was LORD of the Sabbath day. The Son of Man. A
tremendous statement. Well, He did it. Do we have to keep the seventh
day? Most of us then are a disobedient child of God then for hardly any
of us keep the Saturday. Many are keeping Sunday instead. He never kept
it on Sunday. He never kept the first day. He attended the synagog.
Shall we do that? He kept the feasts and the law. He kept the passover.
Are we to keep all these things to the LORD. You see, there is
something that has gone wrong with this argument. And we have got to be
terribly careful lest what seems to be right, when we judge it in the
light of the scripture we find that it is not true.
But we should be very thankful that we find in the first chapter of
John God has given the reason the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized. John
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he
of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for
he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: ... Now Note. ... but that he
should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with
water. ... The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ was His open public
manifestation to the nation of whom He has come. To Israel. He came to
Israel after the flesh. He was born a Jew in the line of Abraham and
David, as the genealogies of Matthew and Luke show. He even said one
day to a poor Gentile woman, I am only sent to the lost sheep of the
House of Israel. And when He commissioned the twelve in Matthew chapter
10 He said, Go not into the way of the Gentiles. You minister not to
the Gentiles. You go around to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
So the Lord's ministry, on His own declaration, the ministry of the
twelve was Jewish and Jewish exclusively. And His public baptism was so
that He was made manifest to His people.
If we keep to what the scriptures says we are on safe grounds. But if
we stray away we may have thought that we have got truth, seemingly so.
But the acid test is to make sure we can back it up with clear
declarations of scripture. So when the Lord Jesus Christ went through
the waters, it was the beginning of His public ministry to His people
Israel. He was made manifest to Israel of the declaration of this fore
runner John the Baptist.
Lets take a good look at Peter's ministry in the Acts of the Apostles.
Because Peter baptized likewise. With a baptism of water. At the
conclusion of this great speech of his to the people of Israel, his own
fellow countrymen, He being energized by the Holy Spirit, being filled
with the Holy Ghost as he was, he said, Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the
house of Israel ... So Peter is talking to the whole of the Jewish
nation. All the house of Israel. ... know assuredly, that God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we
do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ ... What for? ... for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the
promise is unto you, ... Israel had the promises. ... and to your
children, ... First and foremost to Israel. And so Peter is the same as
John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the baptism unto repentance. And
so Peter says the same thing. Your baptized so that you may get the
remission of sins. And he puts it first, to repent, to get this changed
attitude of mind.
And so we find during the Acts period two baptisms that went hand in
hand. The baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism in water. For that
there should be no doubt what soever. The teaching of the earlier
epistles were that they were baptized by one Spirit into this company.
Baptized by the Holy Spirit. So there is two going together. In John
the Baptist, there was one. I baptize you in water. But there shall
come later on this other baptism, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This
came on the day of Pentecost. It was the fiery tongues resting upon
each one of them. And with that baptism of the Holy Spirit came this
miraculous inducement for this earthly kingdom. They had the gift of
tongues. They had the gift of interpretation. They had the gift of
healing. They had the gift of prophecy. All those gifts made so clear
in 1Corinthians chapter 12. Miraculous signs and wonders. God confirmed
the earthly ministry.
What do we have so far? We have water baptism, John the Baptist. We
have Holy Ghost baptism promised of a future coming on this day of
Pentecost. Now lets look at Luke chapter 12. The Lord says in verse 49,
I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already
kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I
straitened till it be accomplished! ... Now that wasn't water baptism.
That was the baptism of Calgary. That was a death baptism. Oh He says,
How I am straightened. How I am compressed held in until it be
accomplished! He was held in, as it were, limited to the people of
Israel in His earthly ministry. There was no Gentile blessing until, in
its fullness, until after Calgary. Until Peter is commissioned to turn
the key and open the door of faith to the Gentiles. And certainly in
any full sense, not until the great Apostle of the Gentiles is called.
So here is a baptism that we must also consider in the subject being a
death baptism of Calgary. So there is three that we see.
Now to where we were going before we stopped off in Matthew. It was
stated that there was a baptism that was in scripture prior to even the
tabernacle. 1Corinthians 10:1, Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye
should be ignorant, ... When the Apostle Paul says that he is saying,
that there is something that you must know. Here is something that you
must not be ignorant of. ... how that all our fathers were under the
cloud, and all passed through the sea; ... That is the Red Sea. ... 2
And were all baptized ... Here is a baptism. All Israel was baptized
... unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ... When your are
considering the topic of baptism this is one that is often neglected.
But this is a tremendously important one. And do your realize this is
the first baptism in scriptures? In point and time it is. And one that
is practically never considered. You ask practically any Christian,
tell me, what is the first baptism of scriptures? Nearly all of them
will go to John the Baptist. But they would be wrong. When God saved
His people out of Egypt. When He miraculously opened the Red Sea and
took His people through it, all of them were baptized. And they were
baptized to Moses and all that Moses stood for in typical teaching.
Can we go back and see this for ourselves? Sure we can. More
importantly there is a feature about it that you should take note of.
You remember the terrible condition that Israel was in. They've got the
Red Sea in front. They've got the Mountains on either side. And they've
got Pharaoh and his host behind. They were trapped! Now what is going
to happen? Unless God steps they would be annihilated. But God knows.
He said in Exodus 14:14, The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall
hold your peace. ... You keep quiet. The LORD is going to accomplish
your salvation. He will be there for you. He will fight for you. Oh
when God fights for His people aren't they safe. ... 15 And the LORD
said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children
of Israel, that they go forward: ... But how can they go forward? The
Red Sea is in front of them. God said, you go forward. Oh, God calls
for utter trust doesn't He. Even asking us to do what seems to be
impossible. And yet, if He asks us to do it, the impossible becomes the
possible. Because He isn't a God that ask the impossible really.
And so He tells them to go forward. 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and
stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of
Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ... Go
through water and yet the ground is going to be dry. Now down to verse
22, And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the
dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand,
and on their left. ... So coming to the next chapter when they are
singing their praise after God's redemption that has taken place,
taking them through and saving. Note what chapter 15 says in your mind.
15:19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his
horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea
upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of
the sea. ... Again on dry land is stressed. Now then Psalm 66:5, Come
and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the
children of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through
the flood on foot: ... Yet going through the flood. the Red Sea, they
went through on dry land. Well perhaps the New Testament will tell us
something different. Hebrews 11:29 By faith they ... That is Israel.
... passed through the Red sea as by dry land: ... Again it is
stressed. ... which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. ... But
that isn't the finished. The deliverance through the Red Sea was the
beginning of Israel's redemption.
Now lets go to the finish, where Israel is 40 years wondering to come
to the promise land. They've got to cross another flood to go in. This
time it is Jordan. At the beginning it was the Red Sea. Now it is the
River Jordan. Joshua 3:13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the
soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the
Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the
waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from
above; and they shall stand upon an heap. 14 And it came to pass, when
the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the
priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15 And as
they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the
priests that bare the ark were dipped ... Dipped in the Greek is the
word baptized. ... in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth
all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came
down from above stood and rose up upon an heap ... That is just like
the waters of the Red Sea did. Walls on either side. God does this
miracle a second time. ... very far from the city Adam, that is beside
Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the
salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right
against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant
of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, ... Dry
ground in the middle of Jordan. ... and all the Israelites passed over
on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. ...
So they all passed through again on dry ground.
You have to look again in the next chapter. Joshua 4:22 Then ye shall
let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry
land. ... That doesn't happen by chance. Look, they had a dry baptism
at the beginning. And they have a dry baptism at the end. And the
scriptures is insisting that water never touched them. It was a dry
one. I don't know whether you have allowed in your scheme of things to
have a dry baptism. So many times is baptism linked with water by
Christians that they don't realize that they have only got one part of
the picture. And now that 1Corinthians 10 is referring to this, when
they went through the Red Sea they were baptized said the Apostle Paul.
But not a speck of water touched them. They were baptized unto Moses.
Now this shows us that now we are getting to the root meaning of what
baptism really is. And that is what we want because Ephesians 4 says
that there is only one now. Which one is it going to be? Baptism is a
linking in identification with somebody or something. In Israel's case
it was standing for all that Moses stood for. Well now, what did Moses
stand for. Well, the Law, in type and shadow and ceremony. All the Law
was headed up in one word, and that word was Moses. And that baptism
linked Israel with Law and all that it stood for. At the end, when they
come into the promise land, it baptizes them and links them with
Joshua. He is the great one that leads in to the promise land. Now you
may know that the name Joshua is simply the Hebrew for the word Jesus.
Jesus is Greek. Joshua is Hebrew. And Joshua is a picture of the
captain of our salvation. And the epistle of the Hebrews actually tells
you so. That the word Jesus is the word Joshua. In chapter 4 the margin
tells you so. And so Moses in the beginning, they are baptized under
Moses. And they are baptized at the end in Joshua. So you have Moses
Law and Joshua Christ. A picture of our salvation baptized in Him and
all that He stands for. Jesus Christ is the great captain of our
salvation of which Joshua was only a picture of course in the Old
Testament. But in both cases it was dry land and yet it was a baptism.
So keep that in your mind because when you deal with this, or if you do
with other Christians, they are just so many that are just amazed that
you can be called baptized if you haven't had water on you, by having
it sprinkled on you, or being dipped in water. But that isn't true.
One more little thing before we can go back to Ephesians chapter 4
again. Looking at 1Corinthians because the Apostle Paul again refers to
baptism. Paul says, 1:12 ... that every one of you saith, I am of Paul;
and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; ... Peter. They were all split into
sections that were all wrong. ... and I of Christ. ... That is just as
much wrong. Which is a shocker isn't it. 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, ... Now Christ sent this
great man to us who was definitely stating in a clear way that he was
not sent to baptize. But someone will say, well Paul did baptize. Oh
yes, he baptized during the Acts period. Corinthians is written during
the Acts period where it is that we have seen water baptism and Spirit
baptism that go side by side. But, he said, I don't know, I baptized
some of you but I don't remember if I baptized anymore. And I am not
concerned about that. Jesus didn't send me to baptize. But He did
certainly did send me to preach the gospel. So it looks as though
gospel preaching can be faithful without necessarily preaching
immersion in water. Here is a faithful man of God. A man who could say,
I've kept back nothing! I have made known on to you all the council of
God. That is what he said.
Now understand, in the big subject, we have got water baptism. We've
got Spirit baptism. We've got the death baptism of Calvary. We have the
baptism that link the whole of Israel with Moses which was a dry
baptism which was at the beginning. And at the end of their wilderness
journey you have another dry baptism. Then you've got the man who was
sent to us saying, Christ sent me not to baptize, but He did send me to
preach the gospel.
So now we can come back to Ephesians chapter 4 and ask ourselves which
one of those baptisms does the Apostle mean when he says, One baptism?
This is stressed for you. Because ONE means ONE. No one that is around
today is at liberty to make it two. Of course if someone could make it
two, it would get us out of a difficulty wouldn't it. By making it two
then we could pick out of this number two of them which appeal to us
and say, well here they are, here is the two. But, no, it is one. You
see, we can not have two hopes. We can not have two Spirits. We can not
have two bodies. We can not have two Lords. We can not have two
Fathers. So we can not have two baptisms. There is one in every case
that is stressed. So we have got to do some choosing. Now this book can
not choose for you. Every child of God has to stand on their own feet
before the Lord. That is true with everything. Not only on the
discretion of baptism. But with all truth. ONE LORD. ONE MASTER. EVEN
CHRIST. And He is the only one we are answerable to. We must all stand
before the judgement throne of Christ.
So here is the final thing. We stand before Him. So we must come to
some decision that will be pleasing to Him. When we consider the
question of immersion in water, and understand completely that this
book is not getting into any arguments about sprinkling, or dunking, or
christening because that is just a side track. It is understood that
there are some Christians that very strongly stress christening that
think it is scripturally right. There are other believers who think
immersion is warranted. So we are not going to deal with that at all.
What is emphasized is this. Do you believe in what is known as baptism
of regeneration? That is this. That in order to be saved and be
regenerated and be born of the Holy Spirit, you must be immersed in
water. Now some people even teach that. That unless a person has been
immersed in water they are not saved. And the Holy Spirit hasn't dealt
with them. Well, the hope is that there is no need to deal with that
because that is absolutely unscriptural.
So where do we come to now. We come to this. At the very best, if
christening is true, or if immersion is true, that is only a type or a
picture of something deeper. It has no virtue in and of itself. It is
only a symbol of something deeper. What is this that is something
deeper? Well it is the very thought of identification. This time, not
with Moses, thank God. Not with Joshua, thank God. But with Christ. Now
then lets look at it. It is expressed in the epistle to the Romans and
you will find that you have gone right to the heart of this very
subject of baptism and we can be sure of what we can put into Ephesians
chapter 4. Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ ... Now what does that mean? Well it means this says
the Apostle. ... were baptized into his death? ... That is fact number
1. You were linked with Christ when He died. ... 4 Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism ... Again it is stressed. ... into death:
... What we are going to see is this. That all the great doctrinal
teaching that links the believer with Christ, it is death. It is
burial. It is quickening, made alive. It is raising. It is seating. It
is manifestation. It is all the very kernel of the substance of
baptism. It is identification of God of His children with Christ. This
time the picture is gone. The external symbol may go, but the reality
has still got. That is the great thing thing that matters. So we read
verse 5, For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his
death, ... Who does that but God. No minister ever did that. It was
God's work. ... we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
... No man can link anyone with the resurrection. This is God's doing.
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, ... Well we
didn't do that. No minister ever did that. God did that.
The next thing is if we begin with Christ, 8 ... we shall also live
with him: ... We are identified with His life. 9 Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion
over him. ... It means to say that when He was raised, so are we. You
are alive on to God through Jesus Christ our LORD. Because He is alive.
So we come to Ephesians chapter 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for
his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ, ... Made us alive with Christ.
Romans 6 says that we have been planted in the likeness of Christ's
death. Dead with Him. Well Paul said that, I have been crucified with
Christ.
Now then, your quickened, made alive with Christ. Now look at
resurrection. Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ... And Colossians
chapter 1 says, we wait just to be manifested with Christ. If you have
got the real baptism is what matters. The baptism of the God Spirit
links you and identifies you with Christ. You have got everything. And
whether you are immersed in water after that is a matter that is
between you and the LORD. But don't forget, the all important thing is
whether you have got this one. If you haven't got this one all your
immersing in the water in the world will never get you in. If a man has
not this Spirit of Christ, this Unity with Him, he is not His the
scripture says. Many times this happens. That believers have been
immersed. Apparently they imagine that they have been born again or
saved by the very fact that they have been through the waters of
baptism are saved. But they will come out of that water as unsaved, as
dead as they went in to it. This is God's working! This is God's doing.
God is identifying His children with His Son. We haven't got a finger
in to what God has done. If you got this baptism, then you have got
everything.
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. 10 And ye are complete ... Literally filled to the full. ... in
him, ... You've got everything that all the type ever stood for. For
instance, circumcision, all that circumcision ever stood for you have
got. 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made
without hands, ... You've got the spiritual equivalent. Even so, 12
Buried with him in baptism, ... Just by parity of reason this isn't the
water baptism, this is the reality that baptism ever stood for. It is
God's doing. ... wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith
of the operation of God, ... There it is, Operation of God. ... who
hath raised him from the dead... He has given you all that circumcision
stands for. He has given you all that baptism stands for. Because He
has united you with His Son. In every aspect, what happened with Christ
has happened to you.
Then later on in verse 16 some could argue using this verse. 2:16 Let
no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an
holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: ... Look! ... 17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. ...
You've got the reality! You've got the body! You can let the shadows
go! And when you read the epistle to the Hebrews it says the same
thing. They were all shadows of the good things to come, but not the
very image. You see, all the types of the Old Testament, which included
water, were only shadows, fore shadowing the deep spiritual truths that
were yet to come. Now, we have got them. And you are complete in
Christ. You've got everything that all the shadows ever fore shadowed.
So, now, can't you let them go? Most, have the shadow, as well as the
substance. And supposing you had all the types, and you tried to add
them, would it make you more complete in Christ than you already are?
Well it says you are complete. You can't add to God's completion.
Nothing can be added to something that is perfect. It is full. In all
this we can rest with this glorious spiritual position that God has put
everyone in His body. We've got one baptism. And this is the baptism
that He has done. And that is the only baptism that really matters. The
baptism that has linked us with the LORD JESUS.