One Baptism | Ephesians 4:5

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When we do the Lord's Supper, this is a time of unity, a time of unity with the triune

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God, as Pastor Nathan said. It's a time of unity with the saints, and something that we got to celebrate last night was something tremendous, the unity of 12 .5.

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We were able to ordain 12 .5's first set of deacons, and so this is just a time of celebration, a time where we have come together and God has blessed the body of 12 .5

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in such a tremendous way. So I'm excited to just announce that this morning, and I want to invite you to turn with me in your copy of God's Word to Ephesians chapter 4.

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We are continuing our expositional preaching series that we've titled, There is No I in One.

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And so here in Ephesians chapter 4, Paul has used seven declarations about the unity of the body of Christ, and it's no accident that the

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Apostle Paul chose to repeat this theme seven times, because the number seven in Scripture is often used to identify with something being completely finished, right?

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This oftentimes refers to divine accomplishment, the perfection of God as he is performing a task.

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And so Paul decides to use one proclamation, and he uses the phrase one baptism.

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He uses this as one of the proclamations that the perfect unity that God is working in his body.

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And so I think this is ironic, because there has been so much division and discussion about the topic of baptism, and yet that is the phrase that Paul uses to talk about some work of perfection.

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It is a notorious fact that the whole question of baptism all throughout church history and continues today is a point of disunity.

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So I want us to talk about this. How can Paul talk about the phrase one baptism in a way of perfect unity, and yet it causes so much division?

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So if you would, look with me at Ephesians chapter 4, starting in verse 1. The Apostle Paul says,

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I therefore a prisoner of the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain unity of the

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Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, there is one spirit, just as you were called into one hope that belongs to your call, one

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Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

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Let's pray this morning. Heavenly Father, I just want to praise your holy name.

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God, oftentimes we flippantly go about our days without giving reverence, honor, and thanks to your holy name, and it is you that gives us breath in our lungs.

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So this morning, God, I pray that we would think deeply about what unity in the Spirit looks like as we live our lives to glorify you.

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God, you're the only one worthy of our worship and our praise. Lord, we love you. We praise things in your name,

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Jesus. Amen. So we're gonna be looking at that phrase back in verse 5 where Paul says, one baptism.

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There has been much spilled ink riding over what in the world does this baptism refer to?

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Some people say, well how hard can it be? He says there's only one! It's so obvious. And I'm just like, well,

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Paul is talking about one baptism, but if you are familiar with the New Testament, there's so many different kinds of baptism.

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For example, you have the baptism of John the Baptist, the baptism into Moses, baptism of fire, baptism of suffering, the baptism of Jesus that fulfills all righteousness, the baptism of the

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Holy Spirit, and then you have the ceremonial baptism that Jesus commanded in the

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Great Commission. And so we have to ask the question, what is the one baptism that the

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Apostle Paul has in mind here in verse 5? And so looking through all these different options,

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I really think there's only two options that rise to the table that fit the context really well.

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This could be referring to water baptism, the ceremony that Jesus commanded for all

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Christians back in Matthew 28. He said, go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

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Father, the Son, and the Spirit. That is a legitimate option. Another option is the baptism of the

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Holy Spirit. This is the moment of regeneration when a person is born again.

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John the Baptist famously said, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he,

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Jesus Christ, who is coming after me, he is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry, and he will baptize you with the

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Holy Spirit and with fire. Okay? So an important note

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I want to make here as we're looking through these two options, I want to say these two baptisms are not the same.

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You got the baptism of the Spirit, and then you have the ceremony of water baptism, because there are many groups that want to say, ah, that is one baptism.

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The Holy Spirit has worked through these waters, and that is not right. Advocates of this view that combines these two baptisms, they teach the heresy called baptismal regeneration.

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There's all different kinds of groups that teach this explicitly and call it baptismal regeneration, or they just merely do it in practice.

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Many groups such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, Mormons, the

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Latter -day Saints, and the Church of Christ, all of these explicitly or in function teach baptismal regeneration.

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And what that means is that these advocates teach that during the sacrament of coming into contact with the waters of baptism, a person's sins are washed away and they are thereby born again by the power of the

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Spirit. This is wrong. We cannot control the work of the

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Holy Spirit. That is God's prerogative to move and operate in somebody's heart.

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Jesus himself refutes this idea in John chapter 3 when he's talking to Nicodemus. He says, that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the

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Spirit is spirit. Then he says to Nicodemus, don't marvel at this truth. You must be born again, yes, but think about this,

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Nicodemus. The wind blows where it wishes and you can hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

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So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Jesus's point is the

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Holy Spirit cannot be contained and manipulated by man, especially during a ceremony.

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He talks about the rebirth, being We had no control in our first birth, right?

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We have no control in our second birth either. And Jesus says, just as we cannot see or control the wind, we can however see the effects of the wind, right?

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We see the flag, right? We know the winds at work, we see the branches on the trees move, the wind is over there.

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And Jesus is pointing in the same way, we cannot control when a person is regenerated and born again by the work of the

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Spirit because it's just like the We can see the effects of the Spirit at work in someone's life.

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When someone is convicted over sin and they're broken over and they see Jesus for the first time as a perfect Savior and put their faith in Him, well then that person is born again.

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We are seeing the effects of the Holy Spirit. And so we cannot combine these two different baptisms.

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The ceremony of water baptism is different than the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A new believer who is born again is justified by faith alone, and this person seeks to obey the commands of Christ in their sanctification, in discipleship.

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They want to participate in the ceremonial work of baptism as an act of faith, right?

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Because we understand our right standing, our justification before God is by faith alone.

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And we say that meaning faith apart from works. The Apostle Paul clearly says in Ephesians 2, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing.

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It is a gift of God, not a result of works because we could boast about it. We get peace with God by faith in King Jesus.

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Romans 5 .1 Paul says, therefore we have been justified by faith and have peace with God through our

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Lord Jesus Christ, right? It's a ceasefire. There's no longer enmity. We're no longer at war with our

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Creator, who is our judge. Why? Because our perfect Savior. Our faith in Him is admitting we can't do it ourselves.

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No baptism is going to aid in that faith. Not faith plus works of the Mosaic law.

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Not faith plus a sinner's prayer. Not faith plus walking down an aisle. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and glory be to God alone.

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So this will actually help us in the context of Ephesians chapter 4 because we are asking the question, what is the one baptism that Paul is referring to?

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If you would look back with me at verse 1. Paul says, I therefore a prisoner for the

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Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling. Let me pause there.

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Paul is exhorting Christians. He is saying daily walk in a manner that reflects Christ.

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He is saying present your bodies, your entire life, as a sweet -smelling aroma to God.

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Live for His glory. Your whole life is your spiritual worship to Him. Worship is not just once a week on a

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Sunday when we sing. Worship is a Christian's whole life saying, God, it's yours. Use it as you will.

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And so Paul has been exhorting the Christian's mind for three chapters in Ephesians, okay?

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Three chapters of deep doctrine pointing us back to the sovereign triune God. Look to Him.

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That changes how you live your life. Paul has been saying that this sovereign triune God works all things together after the counsel of His will, who in love

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He predestined to us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, all to the praise of His glorious grace.

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And as we look at God, we see the mystery of Christ unfolding throughout time.

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The mystery of Christ is His body reconciling two people from the world's perspective that could not come together.

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Jew and Gentile coming together in one new man, and that is the church. That is the church body that the powerful working of God is putting on display.

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Ephesians chapter 3, this church, and it's through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be shown to the world.

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And so Paul for three chapters is just driving us back to who God is and what He is doing throughout all of history.

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In light of this amazing work of redemption, God that He's accomplishing, Paul says, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that you have been called.

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And look with me at verse 2. He says, we do this with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the

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Spirit in the bond of peace. And so we are talking about unity this morning, right?

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We've been talking about unity throughout this whole mini -series, talking about all these ones, all these decorations that Paul is saying that God is doing in salvation.

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And so he's telling us to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. This is referring to a believer's sanctification, where the

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Holy Spirit is making us more and more like Christ. If you've ever thought about this, the

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Holy Spirit is making us holy. In fact, our sanctification is not dependent on our faithfulness, as Pastor Nathan said.

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This is the faithfulness of God at work in us, and we experience that. We desire to be obedient, but it's a work of the

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Spirit. 1 Peter 1 -2 says, in sanctification of the Spirit works in us for the obedience to Jesus Christ.

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And so sanctification is a believer's participation, and we desire to obey Christ in all that he has commanded us.

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So from our perspective, we strive to live obediently to honor the Lord. And so we're talking about maintaining unity in the

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Spirit. Later in Ephesians, I believe it's Ephesians 5 -18, Paul says this another way.

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He commands Christians to be filled with the Spirit. That means to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

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As you're being obedient in your walk, you will be blessed. Not a prosperity gospel, but there is inherent blessing when you're living your life to the glory of God and you're walking in obedience.

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And so as the fruit of the Spirit permeates your life, you will also bless others.

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And so here in verses 2 and 3, Paul mentions about half of the fruit of the Spirit. Humility, gentleness, patience, love, peace.

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These are things that Christians strive after. But when a Christian deliberately sins and disobeys the

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Lord, this brings disunity. And so later here in Ephesians chapter 4, this is referred to as quenching the

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Spirit. Or as Paul says elsewhere, grieving the Spirit or quenching the Spirit. Look with me at Ephesians 4 at verse 30.

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This brings disunity. Paul says, Our church family is that.

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We are a family, so sometimes we're gonna rub each other the wrong way. If you've stayed around for our coin in EFE, someone's gonna say something that offends you.

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It's okay. Forgive them, right? And this person, by God's grace, will season their speech with love and grace too, but we are a family dynamic.

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When somebody offends us, be kind to one another, tender -hearted, forgiving them as Christ has forgiven us.

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Christians strive for unity, to be filled with the Spirit. Not to grieve the Spirit, but to walk in unity with one another.

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So verse 3, the unity of the Spirit, is believers being filled with the Spirit as we strive to live in obedience to glorify

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God. Then look with me at verse 4. There is one body and one

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Spirit. So notice Paul mentions the Spirit again, but in a slightly different way.

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Paul shifts from exhorting Christians to walk in a manner worthy to maintain unity in the Spirit in the opening three verses.

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Now he's emphasizing the sevenfold unity in the perfection of God working in salvation in verses 4, 5, and 6.

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Right? We talked about this. One body. This refers to the one people of God, the elect, who

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God will perfectly save in His timing. The one Spirit is the Holy Spirit who indwells the people of God by sealing them to the day of redemption.

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The one hope. This is not a hope as the world hopes in things that may or may not come true, but this is an unwavering hope in the unchanging promises of God in salvation.

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One Lord. This is referring to Jesus Christ, the one perfect Lord and perfect Savior.

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And as last week, Pastor Nathan preached on one faith, this is God's all -sufficient Word that reveals to us truth that has been once delivered to the saints and is able to make us wise unto salvation.

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So we ask the question, what is the one baptism that saves and is accomplished by God perfectly?

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I believe that this would be the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the powerful working of God. And so much of the context is already in relation to the

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Spirit. Back in verse 3, maintain unity in the Spirit. We know that is to be filled with the Spirit. Verse 4, there is one

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Spirit who indwells the church. And now in verse 5, there is one baptism that is the work of the

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Spirit who regenerates a person who is dead in their sins and causes them to be born again so that they may see the kingdom of God.

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Okay, this is a theme that Paul has already touched on in Ephesians. Back in chapter 2, we read that we were once dead in our trespasses and our sins, following the prince of the power of the air, who is

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Satan, and we were by nature children of wrath. And then

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Paul says, But God, being rich in mercy, with a great love in which he loved us, even as we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ, for by grace you have been saved.

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So he's been talking about this perfect union that the Spirit has already begun in our life.

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When we look at the mercy, the grace, and the love of God that brought us into that perfect union, that is us being immersed or baptized into Christ by the

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Holy Spirit. So the Apostle Paul, when he mentions the word baptism, I want to talk about this word a little bit in the

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Greek. It's baptizma. The root of this is baptizo, which means to dip or immerse.

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But you will hear Pastor Nathan and I say this all the time, context is king, because many people say baptism always means a wet immersion.

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Well, not if the context says that you're being immersed into something else. Baptizo means you could be immersed into suffering, you could be immersed into one's authority, or you could be immersed into water.

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And so I'd like to invite you for a moment, please turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

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I want us to explore three different ways the Apostle Paul uses the word baptize, baptizo, and we're always going to look at context.

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So 1 Corinthians chapter 1, starting in verse 10. The Apostle Paul says,

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I appeal to you brothers, this could easily be translated, now I urge you brothers and sister. I just want to pause real quick, because this is the same point of unity that he's exhorting the believers at Corinth to, the same way he's doing in Ephesians chapter 4, right?

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Remember, Paul says, I urge you, or I appeal to you, to walk in a manner worthy of your calling, to be eager to maintain unity of the

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Spirit. That's what he's doing here with the believers at Corinth. He's telling them, strive for unity.

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Verse 10 again, he says, I urge, or appeal to you brothers, by the name of our

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Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

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For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. And what

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I mean is, each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, or I follow

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Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

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I thank God I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.

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I did baptize also in the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.

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For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

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Okay, so we're gonna explore three usages of the word baptized. So major point number one,

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I want us to look at baptism by ceremony into water, okay?

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And so the first major clue that that's what the Apostle Paul is talking about is back in verse 16, if you look with me.

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Paul says, I did baptize also in the household of Stephanas. And so when we see a baptism in a household, this would be administered and commanded to be baptized into water.

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And so when we look out through the book of Acts, this is the theme that we see, all echoing the

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Great Commission in Matthew 28. A good example of this comes from Acts chapter 10, where the

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Apostle Peter was preaching the gospel in Cornelius's household, and he said, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the

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Holy Spirit just as we have? And so he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

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Okay, have you ever thought about why do Christians get baptized to begin with? What is the importance of a ceremony being dipped and immersed into water?

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Well, one really good document that explains this really well is the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.

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I want to read this to you. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ in the

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New Testament. To those who are being baptized, it is a sign of their fellowship with him in his death, in his resurrection, of being grafted into him for the forgiveness of sins, and submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.

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Okay, there's a lot of good things touched on there, right? Baptism is a sign. When you look at the word baptizo in the

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Greek and you understand it's talking about a ceremony, it literally means a ceremonial rite signifying a relationship with God.

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So have you ever heard someone say, well, baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality? That's true because it's a ceremony.

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The next time someone asks you, well, you're gonna have to give me book, chapter, and verse for that, you'd be like, oh, well, that's a ceremony. That's literally the definition.

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A ceremony signifies a spiritual truth and a spiritual reality. Baptism is a perfect picture of a work that God has already begun and in your heart and in your life, and you are declaring this to the world.

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So it's a ceremony. All throughout Scripture, ceremonies are signs for purification.

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In the Old Testament, Levitical priests were fully bathed in water to signify ceremonial cleansing.

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The ceremony of circumcision signified a covenant that God made with Abraham, and so the ceremony of baptism is a sign of the new covenant.

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And this is only to be administered to those who confess Jesus as Lord, for those who are walking with him in faith, and for those who already have their sins forgiven.

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Amen? So when we're looking back in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, we see that this ceremonial baptism is playing a major part in dividing and causing strife because they're not understanding the importance of what this signifies.

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Look with me back in verse 11. Paul says, For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

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And what I mean is that each one of you says, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow

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Cephas, or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

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Were you baptized in the name of Paul? So Paul is highlighting factions in the church, major disagreement where these people are pledging their allegiance to certain men, and it's causing major division in the body.

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No doubt many of these individuals were saved under the preaching of Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, or perhaps even baptized by them.

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Now these believers are claiming some kind of special status. Well, I was baptized by Paul. That somehow makes me holier than thou.

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And I want to draw a special focus on this fourth group. I don't know if you caught it.

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It's a special group of people that are causing division by saying, I follow Christ.

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Doesn't that sound like a good thing? You notice that? These people are causing just as much division as those people that claim to be of Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas.

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That is because that these people are the most pious and self -righteous that think that they have some special claim on Christ, and this kind of comes out in groups that say, well,

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I'm not a part of any church, I'm not a part of any denomination, I just follow Christ. It's just me, my

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Bible, under a tree, and these people say, no creed but Christ. And you know what I say?

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Congratulations, that's a creed. No creed but Christ is a creed. But these are the kinds of people that want to divorce themselves from the body of Christ.

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They are causing division. They do not want to be united together with the body, okay?

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And so when they say, well, I'm not a part of any denomination, I just want to say, what is a denomination?

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These are like -minded churches that unify on first -tier gospel issues, okay?

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But then another denomination that affirms the gospel of grace, that Jesus is Lord, that he is the second person, the triune

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God, we may differ on secondary and tertiary matters. Denominations are a really good thing, but not all denominations believe the right gospel, so we have to be discerning.

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But these are the kind of people, those people that say, I belong to Christ, but I'm not going to be a part of his bride.

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I'm doing my own thing. I can have church in a deer stand, right? Do you see the division, the mentality that they are having with saying that they follow

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Christ? Paul goes on to say in verse 14, I thank

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God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius so that no one may say that you were baptized into my name.

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Paul is explaining, I did not die for you. You weren't baptized into my name. The only name that carries authority to forgive sins is

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Jesus, not Paul. And so I want you to make special note of this. You don't have to turn there, but maybe write down Acts 2 .38.

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These are some people's favorite verse in all of Scripture, and I want to read that. It's so fitting here.

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The Apostle Peter says, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

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I hope you caught that. In the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh, amen?

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And so Jesus is Yahweh. He has all authority in heaven on earth. We are baptized into his name, his authority.

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How did he command us to be baptized? In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is the only name given among men under heaven by which we must be saved.

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And so when Peter says repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, he also says for the forgiveness of sins.

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Okay, and what does that mean? It's so clear that this means to repent and turn to Jesus in faith and demonstrate that faith in baptism, identifying to the world that I belong to him.

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Must I remind you, this is a ceremony. This verse has been abused by so many people that say your participation in this ceremonial work of baptism somehow regenerates and washes away your past sins.

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That is impossible because Peter would understand that salvation is by faith apart from works.

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Our forgiveness of sins and our justification does not rest on our work of obedience. We receive forgiveness of our sins by repentant faith in Christ alone.

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Peter preached his first sermon at Pentecost, and then in Acts chapter 3 he preached the second sermon.

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And so he agrees with himself in chapter 3. He says Jesus is the author of life, and it's by his name, by faith in his name, the faith that is through Jesus, he says repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be blotted out.

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Clearly the forgiveness of sins assumes the finished work of Jesus back at Calvary, but we receive that forgiveness by repentant faith in the sweet name of Jesus.

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So look back with me at 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 17. Paul says for Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel and not with words of eloquent wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

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Can I tell you something that's gonna upset a lot of people? Baptism is not the gospel. Baptism declares the gospel.

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I'm up here declaring the gospel, but I'm not the gospel. Jesus, he's the good news, right?

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His finished work, receiving him by faith alone, that is the gospel. Baptism is not the gospel.

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Baptism is a visible declaration of the gospel, but understand this, if baptism truly washed away your sin and regenerated you, it would have to be a part of the gospel.

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Paul is clearly making a distinction. He's saying, I've been called to preach the gospel, not necessarily to baptize everybody, right?

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Because he understands it's a ceremony. Baptism is a gift to God's people.

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It is a sanctifying means of grace, but baptism is something that we participate in in obedience, and that's a beautiful picture of the work of God in our lives.

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Baptism is a ceremony. It is not the gospel. So the gospel, once again, is the good news that Jesus died for sinners, and we receive that by faith alone.

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This is the gospel that Paul always preached. Good example of this comes out of Acts chapter 13.

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Paul said, we preach to you the good news, the gospel, that God promised through this man, Jesus, that the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is justified.

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This is the gospel that Paul always preached, that the Apostle Peter preached, that our Lord preached during his earthly ministry, and this is the same gospel that the

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Hebrew Scriptures foretold about. And so back here in 1st Corinthians chapter 1,

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Paul uses the word baptize to refer to our first major point, baptism by ceremony into water.

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We understand that this ceremonial baptism was a part of the means that caused division and quarreling, because so many people cared more about the one who baptized them than realizing the ceremony signified pointing back to Jesus Christ.

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So that's major point number one. Now turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 10. 1st

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Corinthians chapter 10, I want us to see how Paul uses the word baptize in a different context.

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Look with me at 1st Corinthians chapter 10, starting in verse 1. Paul says,

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For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate of the same spiritual food and drank of the same spiritual drink.

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For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. So our second major point is baptism into one's authority.

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Like I said, some people, every time that they read the word baptize, they say, what immersion, Jeremiah? It has to be talking about the ceremony of baptism.

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I'm like, okay, let's turn to 1st Corinthians 10, and they say, hold on, I already know what you're gonna say. There's sea there, there's water involved, so you have to give that to me.

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I'm like, well, last time I read my Old Testament, the sea was parted in two, and Moses and the

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Israelites walked safely through. This was not immersion, this was the exact opposite.

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But who was immersed by water? It was a form of judgment and not salvation. Does anybody remember?

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The Egyptians, they were consumed by the water, they were not saved by it.

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And so when we look back at verse 2, we read that all passed through the sea and were baptized into Moses.

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This means that the Israelites were immersed into Moses's leadership and to his authority.

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God appointed Moses to lead his people out of the bondage of Egypt. Now this is a key principle because all throughout the

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New Testament, the Apostle Paul uses this principle and applies it to Christians. Romans chapter 6 talks about Christians' union with Christ.

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In Romans 6, Paul says, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

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And so when we ask the question, how are Christians united and immersed into Christ? Well, Paul spends

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Romans 1 through 5 saying that we are immersed into Christ by faith apart from works, right?

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We are immersed into Christ's authority, into his leadership, into his death, and into his resurrection.

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That's what he goes on to say in Romans 6, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the

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Father, that we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him by death like his, we shall certainly be united with a resurrection like him.

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So how have we been united and immersed into Christ? By faith, right?

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We are immersed into the leadership and the headship of Jesus by faith. Galatians 3,

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Paul says this question, let me ask you only this, did you receive the Spirit by works of law or by hearing with faith?

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Paul is explaining that the indwelling work of the Spirit is a seal for all of us who have received Jesus by faith, and then he gives the answer in Galatians chapter 3.

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He says, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you were baptized, immersed into Christ, and have put on Christ.

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Okay, so our two major points so far is baptism by ceremony into water, think that would be by works.

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Major point number two, baptism into one's authority, this would be by faith.

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And so major point number three, baptism into one body by the Holy Spirit.

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If you would turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 12, and so here Paul is informing believers that the unity that we have with one another is by the work of the

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Holy Spirit within them. 1st Corinthians chapter 12, look with me starting at verse 12.

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Paul says, for just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.

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For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit.

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Now verse 13 is a parallel to Ephesians chapter 4.

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You probably caught it, one spirit, and then here he says all baptized, or one baptism, and then he mentions one body.

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Believers union as Christ's body is a work of the Holy Spirit. This is the baptism of the

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Holy Spirit which causes a person to be born again. Remember, we referenced that conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

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Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again, but the wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, but you don't know where it's coming or where it's going, so it is with everyone who is born of the

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Spirit. And then someone will say, Jeremiah, you didn't read far enough back in the context with Nicodemus, because you must be born of water and the

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Spirit. Jeremiah, you're trying to take the water out. And I want to say, well, he tells us what he's getting at.

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He's talking about a spiritual cleansing. He's telling Nicodemus, you're a ruler of Israel and you don't understand the truths that I'm talking about.

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Jesus was holding him accountable to truths he should already know. In Ezekiel 36, a promise of the new covenant,

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God says, I will cause you to walk in my statutes. I will take out that heart of flesh,

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I'll take out that heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. That means I will change you from the inside out and I will cause you to obey all of my commandments.

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And so being born of the water and the Spirit is a spiritual cleansing. This is baptism of the

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Holy Spirit. So we have to keep this in mind that this is a perfect work of God.

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That is the one baptism that brings perfect unity back in our main text in Ephesians 4 verse 5.

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This is not the ceremony of baptism which has caused many divisions amongst Christians, disagreements all throughout church history, even today.

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But the Holy Spirit perfectly regenerates us and brings us into union into the body of Christ.

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And from our experience, we do that by faith. But that faith is a gift from God working in us.

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That is why the Apostle Paul can say in 1 Peter 3 21, baptism now saves you.

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Did y 'all catch that earlier in the liturgy? I was on purpose, right? We believe in the whole counsel of God. So as Baptists, we don't shy away from saying, of course, there is a context in which baptism now saves you.

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We have to ask the question, what baptism are you talking about, Peter? Immersed into what context?

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Because it goes on to say baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body.

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He is saying, not the ceremony of washing with water. That cannot wash away sins.

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The only thing that a ceremonial bath can wash away is if you have a little dirt on you, it might come off of you.

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That's all a ceremony can do because it's picturing a spiritual reality. The rest of the context,

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Peter says, baptism now saves you as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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So how do we earnestly seek to have a forgiven conscience that gives us peace in Christ? Peter earlier said, sanctify

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Christ as Lord in your hearts. That'll give you a good conscience. The baptism that now saves is trusting in King Jesus and his finished work, being immersed into Christ by faith through the regenerating work of the

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Holy Spirit. The regenerating work of the Spirit is one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is us being convicted of our sin and seeing

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Jesus as a Savior and putting our faith in Him. Those go together. We got to start laying in this plane.

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So if we would, one last time, don't be mad at me, turn back with me to Ephesians chapter 4. Our conclusion is where we began in unity of the

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Spirit. Back in verse 1, Paul exhorts Christians, I therefore a prisoner of the

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Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness and patience bearing with one another in love eager to maintain unity in the

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Spirit in the bond of peace. What I've really enjoyed about this teaching series, that there is no

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I in one, is we get to constantly go back to the principle of unity. But do you know what destroys unity?

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Sin. Sin always leads to division and discord. The moment that man sinned and fell, discord and disunity came into the world.

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Early in Genesis we see that Cain even murdered his brother because that's the effect of sin.

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Sin always divides because it is selfish. Dear Saint, we have been delivered from the bondage of sin.

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We have been saved by amazing grace and we as Christians have a special love for unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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First John says we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.

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We belong to one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. So I want to challenge us this morning.

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Maybe you're somebody that is desiring to be obedient and to live in this kind of unity that Paul is clearly calling all

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Christians to do. So maybe you're somebody that says, I love Jesus.

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I am trusting in Him as my Savior but I've actually never been baptized. All of us in our testimony and our walk, that was us at one time.

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I want to encourage you. Come to me. Come to Pastor Nathan and let's do this. Jesus commanded us to go into the world baptizing in the name of the

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Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and He told us to be obedient to all that He has commanded us. Maybe you are somebody that desires to live in unity the way that we see here in Ephesians 4 but you're not a part of a church.

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Maybe you're not a member of a church. I pray that you would get on your hands and knees and your face before God and pray that He would bring you to a healthy church so you can flourish in your walk with Christ.

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We need one another. Remember what Paul referred to the church as? The manifold wisdom of God.

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If you're trying to live your Christian walk just with you and Jesus, your Bible, and you under a tree and no creed but Christ, you're doing it wrong.

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Your Christian walk was meant to be individual but also corporate. Paul is exhorting

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Christians to live the Christian walk together for in one spirit we have all been baptized into one body.

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That means that Christ perfectly builds His church in His timing. God has arranged the members of the body, each one of them as He chose, and all of these members are empowered by the one and same

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Spirit who apportions to each one individually as He wills. I pray that you could join me this morning and in your heart sing this beautiful truth that is no longer

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I who live but Christ who lives in me. And only then can we live in the spiritual unity together with one another to the glory of God.

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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this time of being able to examine and explore your

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Word. Lord, I pray that we would be obedient to strive to walk in unity of the

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Spirit. God, I pray that you would convict the hearts of many that have not been obedient to being baptized the way that you have commanded, that they have looked down upon that and try to tell themselves that, well, it doesn't really save me, so it doesn't really matter.

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No, it matters. God, you call us to live life differently, distinct from the world, and to live in such a way where people ask us, why do we do the things that we do?

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And we get to say, because we want to live to the glory of our Heavenly Father. Lord, I pray that you would convict the hearts of many that for years and years and years have not been members of a healthy church.

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God, we can make all the excuses in the world, but God, just pray by the Spirit that you would reveal to them the truth of your words so that we can walk together in unity in the