Baptism unraveled (2)

In my previous post about baptism(s) I mentioned the fact that the Bible says there is only one baptism, but at the same time speaks about a doctrine of baptisms, plural. Is the Bible contradicting itself? How do we read this?

When I was a few weeks old my parents had me baptized. It took me nearly forty years before I was able and willing to confirm the promise they had made to God before the church. I was baptized in 2001 after I gave my life to Christ. Was one baptism not enough and did I have to do it all over again?

Of course not! To be honest, I don't think the baptisms the Bible speaks about have anything to do with age, with being a child or an adult. The more I study Gods Word about this subject, the more I am convinced that there is indeed one baptism that is important for ALL people, and that is the baptism into the body of Christ. The other baptisms mentioned in the Bible are a result of this one, as we will see in the upcoming posts. I have made a very simple chart.

Everything starts with that one baptism, the baptism into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. I have noticed two things. 1) We were all baptized by one Spirit (and thus not by men, as in water baptism) and 2) we were baptized into one body, that is the body of Christ, the universal church of all believers.

My first reaction when I read this scripture was: Okay, so this is obviously not about water baptism, but about the baptism into the body of Christ. How does someone become a part of the body/the church of Christ? Well, not by signing a membership paper, not through study, status or family tradition... although quite often we have made it to be like that. No, we become a member of that one body through rebirth. Titus 3:4-5 explains this pretty well, But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

I love that, the washing of rebirth... that is not about baptism in water, but about the moment we surrender our life to Christ, a decision He seals by giving us the Holy Spirit to be in us and with us forever. There is no water present at rebirth, or it has to be our tears :) Through rebirth we are being baptized into the body of Christ, into the family of God. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul tells the believers, Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

The most important choice we can ever make is the choice to invite Jesus into our heart. That is a matter of life and death... a step from darkness into light. Personally I believe this is the ONE baptism the Bible speaks about in Ephesians 4:5 (one Lord, one faith, one baptism). Jesus as our foundation... from there on out we will look at the other baptisms mentioned in the Bible.