What does Paul mean by this verse?
1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)
13 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.
To ask such a question reflects a total lack of understanding concerning baptism...
I may lack understanding, but I do have Wisdom. The former comes from the reasoning of men and the religious, the latter comes from God via His Word.
Christian Faith is still insulting the Christian Faith.
If your "Christian faith" contradicts with God's Truth, it is religion. I will never cease from studying God's Word, BECAUSE most of what is popularly called Christianity is nothing more than religious tradition. I would encourage everyone not to rely on theologians and the reasoning of men. There is no excuse for not knowing God's Truth. You can take people out of religion, but its much harder to get the religion out of the people. Thank God there is an antidote which you kindly mentioned - Ephesians 5:26. Thanks for the segue.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (KJV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Believers are sanctified, or set apart, by the washing of the WORD. Not religion, not ceremonies, not rituals, but by God's Word. Literal water cleans the flesh, but never touches the spirit. How do we KNOW that the water refers to the Word - Water = Word - see (John 3:5, 15:3; Ephesians 5:26, James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:23, and also John 4, 7:37-39, 17:17-19)
Matthew 28 doesn’t apply to Christians is just bizarre.
Its only "bizarre" to those who do not know God's Word, or fail to rightly divide it. I gave a very brief explanation which obviously you ignored. The Apostles NEVER baptized using the three names commanded in the third commission recorded in Matthew 28 in Acts. Centuries later, the religious started doing it. Did the Apostles disobey Jesus? Once you answer that question, you are on your way to understanding why they did not use the three names, and what was the purpose of the 3rd commission.
Once one abandons historical orthodox Christian beliefs, all kind of weird and bizarre interpretations can be invented.
When people fail to rightly divide the Word they get weird and bizarre ideas like replacement theology, that has led to the persecution, torture, and genocide of millions of Jews. Yep, those "historical orthodox Christian beliefs" are something special.
You place more faith in "historical orthodox Christian beliefs" than you do God's Word! The devolution of Christianity was well underway while Paul was still writing his letters. Paul told Timothy to preach the Word, and warned of the coming time when - For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4) This was happening in both their lifetimes. (2 Timothy 1:15, 4:10) By the end of the 1st century, Paul's revelation of the Mystery was largely abandoned and forgotten. Revelation was replaced by the reasoning of men. Preaching became a profession, instead of answering the Call of God and teaching under His Anointing. Christianity became religion, with all of its associated challenges, traditions, and failures. God's Word became secondary to the reasoning of theologians, who often failed to rightly divide the Word, allowing the enemy to sow confusion, strife, and division into the Body.
What emerged in subsequent centuries was something very different than what the Holy Spirit teaches in Paul's letters to the Body of Christ. Carefully compare even the Didache, Clement, Shepherd of Hermas, Ignatious - to Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians and its night and day. They teach Salvation by works, failing to understand Paul's Revelation and God's Wonderful Grace! It should be no surprise that after putting tradition ahead of God's Word for so long, that Believers who finally received Paul's Revelation and attempted to share the Good news with others, were tortured and murdered by the religious leadership who claimed THEY were the ones who followed Christ! If "historical orthodox Christian beliefs" breeds heresy hunting, simony, torture, genocide, and murder, you can have it. You'll know them by their fruit, right? I'll stick with God's Word and dump every shred of religious nonsense I can. I would advise you to do the same.
You speak of a vibrant overcoming Body of Christ. Yet if one took your beliefs and tried to find anyone in history that would have agreed with you, it would be the same number as references to water baptism in the Bible. ZERO. So much for vibrant overcoming Body of Christ. But hey, it’s so much more fun to make of Christianity than it is to actually believe and practice it, right?
Romans 3:3-4 (KJV)
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
If it weren't for God's Word and a handful of Believers who kept the Light on through the centuries, some paying the ultimate price for their desire to know the Truth, there would be no Christianity. It would have been long ago dumped on the scrapheap of history the way most pagan religions have been abandoned. The last 2,000 years of Christendom, sure does not in anyway resemble the Body of Christ as Paul taught now does it? Even a casual scanning of history shows something went really catawampus after Jesus was replaced as the Head of the Body by religious monarchs in smart outfits.
Jesus made it so easy for people to be set free, to give spiritual life to folks and place them in the family of God. And then there is the religious among us, who continue to set up barriers, rituals, ceremonies, denominations, doubt, unbelief, and religious bondage to make it harder for someone to enjoy this freedom in Christ. Do you think your "historical orthodox Christian beliefs" make it easier to know Christ, or harder? And, do they ALL agree with His Word when it is rightly divided?
You might be projecting the sense that liberty means license. I don't think you want to encourage that, do you?
I don't care of one is highly educated college professor or very adept and successful businessman in world affairs before yielding to Christ. When one is taught of the Faith of Christ that saves and accepts it, one does not immediately become a mature Christian. One must become as, and becomes, a babe in Christ and God to become saved. Yieldjng to Him regarding cancelling one's sins, believing in His righteousness and gracious love, and understanding Him as a disciplinarian of both just and unjust, yes. But as to knowing Him intimately, no. That takes many years, and is not a smooth path in this world.
The newly born-again one is a babe in Christ, and without being led by discipleship into greater maturity by others who have themselves been discipled, one stays behind as a "crib Christian," feeding on the milk of the Gospel (salvation), but missing the meat of the Gospel (taking up one's Cross) through intimate experience of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, and His mature saints who have walked the Blood-soaked path with Him.
When saved, one becomes free from the penalty of sin, but freed only to love, serve, and obey Him through learning to discard sinful attitudes and habits, now having been freed from the power of sin before which we had no ability to abandon the claims of Sin and Satan as masters, depraved self as the governor, and the world system as the intruding environment. Think of Pinnochio.
Gaining spiritual maturity is not a boot-strapping operation of "Just me, God, and the Bible." That is not God's plan. And that is why Christ has given us the local autonomous faithful, Bible-preaching, disciplining, evangelizing assembly of regenerated disciple-priests to--with Him the Church's Head--oversee and improve our experience in the culture of Christ.
And the rules of its conduct are not the world's rules. For the believer to grow in grace and conduct, the commands of Christ and His Apostles must be taught, understood, and followed. One is not "free" as a bondslave of Christ, to just behave and do as the old nature desires.
Do you think your "historical orthodox Christian beliefs" make it easier to know Christ, or harder?
If these are truly Biblical standards, yes, much more so than trying to make your way in the Christian culture by just setting up your own rules as they occur to you. Is this liberty in Christ? No, it is refusing His Plan A for one's nurture. There is no Plan B, the only alternative is anarchy and is the way our old man responds to Satan's way of undermining the pillar and foundation of God's work on earth.
If it is the rules of the Roman denomination, no, it is full of extra-biblical practices that bear little or no relation to the fifty command of Christ recorded in the New Testament.
And, do they ALL agree with His Word when it is rightly divided?
No, they don't ALL agree. That's why the local church, not some broad-flung denominational band of associated churches who can never get it right throughout never was and is not of God's plan, IMHO after almost eighty years of observing them. But that's why we have the Bible, and why the Bible's authority, sola Scriptura, is the only doctrine that spiritually bonds, though physically separate, all local autonomous assemblies that remain healthy and productive in evangelizing enlisting, enabling, employing, and enriching true, mature, blood-washed, serving saints of God. With minor but non-disabling differences people from these assemblies throughout the world know of their fellowship and unity of mind and purpose in advancing the interests of the Kingdom of The God, Rick Warren not withstanding.<
If you think this is done without applying Christian discipline, through systems already demonstrated to be Biblically planned and effective, you would be wrong. But if you are thinking of assembly environments that emphasize relationships to Christ and each other rather than rules and rituals, and reliability of Scripture more than citations from past and current religious leaders, you would be right.
Respectfully --
1 Corinthians 12:13
When Ananias healed Paul’s eyesight by laying hands on him, who healed the eyesight Ananias or the Holy Spirit?
When the Church baptized someone into Christ, are they regenerated by the Church or the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians is not teaching there are two baptisms, one spirit and one water. No the Scriptures are clear there is only one baptism, it is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and has been going on in obedience to Jesus’s command for almost 2,000 years now.
The Bible doesn’t say it will take 2,000 years for someone to figure out how to “ rightly divide the Word”, but it does say in the latter days many false prophets will arise. Hmm....
I do agree no one baptized using three names. Go read Matthew 28:19 again carefully, you will notice the word name is singular not plural.
You do mention there were some faithful Christians “tortured and put to death” after the first century........I hear that a lot but they never have any names. Can you name some faithful Christians in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries that rightly divided the word and were tortured and killed? Not asking for 1,000, just one would do. Any???
Finally, is there some teacher that has written a book in the last 50 years that you could recommend to,me to learn more about why the three names weren’t used in baptism and what the third commission is? I am fascinated by this rightly dividing the word.