"By One Spirit"

     Sometimes scripture attributes an action to one person when someone else is
intended. This is clearly taught in John 4:1-2. "Now when the Lord knew that the
Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and immersing more disciples than
John (although Jesus himself did not immerse, but only his disciples)." Please
notice again what the passage affirms, "Jesus was making and immersing more
disciples than John." Though the text says Jesus was doing it, we understand
that he did not personally make and immerse disciples because the parenthetical
statement says, "although Jesus himself did not immerse." If he himself did not
immerse how can it be said that he was "making and immersing more disciples
than John?" He was working through agents. His disciples were the ones actually
making and immersing disciples.

     The same principle is to be understood in 1 Cor. 12:13. Paul wrote, "For by
one Spirit we were all immersed into one body---Jews or Greeks, slaves or free---
and all were made to drink of one Spirit." The Holy Spirit himself did not immerse
the believers in Corinth into the one body. He revealed the instructions through
the apostles and prophets that mandated immersion in order to receive the
forgiveness of sins and enter the one body of Christ. (Acts 2:38; 10:48;  22:16;
Gal. 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21)

     We read about the conversion of the Corinthians in Acts 18:1-11. "Many of
the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were immersed." (v.8)  They heard
Paul preaching the word of God. (verses 5,11) The Holy Spirit did not personally
immerse the Corinthians. They were immersed by human hands. We know this
because Paul said, "I thank God that I immersed none of you except Crispus and
Gaius...I did also immerse the household of Stephanas." (1 Cor. 1:14,16) The
others were immersed by someone else. The Corinthians were immersed according
to the word that the Holy Spirit revealed through Paul and others. So, they were
immersed by one Spirit when the Spirit's agents immersed them. This tells us four
things:

     (1) The Corinthians were not recipients of the "immersion in the Holy Spirit."
They had been immersed in water by men. (2) They were "immersed into one body"
not many bodies. No denominations existed during the days of the apostles and none
should exist now. The Lord has one spiritual body and in it he is glorified.
(Ephesians 3:8-11, 21) (3) They entered into one body through the immersion they
had received. The immersion in the Holy Spirit was not designed to save and it was 
not the means of entering "into one body." Immersion in water was in order to be
saved from sin and it was the "door" into one body. (Jno. 3:5; Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:4-7)
(4) All people "whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free" are subject to the same terms
of obedience and are sharers in the same blessings that emanate from the Spirit of God.
                                                                                                              RD

Copyright 2011