In the meantime, are there any further insights on the OP??? We can go down many rabbit trails and subtopics about the ministry of the Spirit, but how does the Spirit's uniting us into the Body of Christ (ultimately a spiritual action - even if using the word for immersion) in 1 Corinthians 12:13 relate to the joyful promise of the Baptism with the Spirit in Acts which Jesus gave to the disciples for empowerment in their ministry?
Surely with all the believers on this board someone has some insight through the illumination of the Holy Spirit and a careful reading of Scripture to even simply suggest how they are related, as being performed by the one and same Holy Spirit who is still at work in us today, even if it is not a "surefire" or "infallible" interpretation. Any even general directions along which to think about it? What about purpose and intent for the baptism in each? I want to stay on topic if at all possible!
And perhaps, really, discussion is not the answer on this matter and more personal prayer is in order, on all our parts!
God Bless,
~Josh
The subject matter is always problematic as the diversity of beliefs and practices amongst sects is obvious.
Post my salvation experience I sought to understand i.e. source these variants, initially stemming from the desire to please God for what I had received. But also to understand why believers, mainly in my own family and in the world at large divided over these matters.
There are 'many' reasons behind every variant.
A simplistic and consistent observation would be that some believe the external action is the fulcrum as opposed to others who believe the matters of baptism to be an external sign of an internal belief. This could apply to baptism by water or Spirit. Some might insist on 'speaking in tongues' for example as an external sign of Spirit baptism.
As it pertains to the one baptism of 1 Cor. 12:13 that baptism
is not an external or 'seen' baptism as it is obvious that it is via the Spirit:
1 Cor. 12:
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.
Obviously the Spirit itself is not a physical tangible person performing any of the above nor handing us a cup of wine.
The baptism itself is Spiritual in nature and as such it is invisible and internal. Same with the drink we are called into. It is not a physical drink. It is internal.
Paul in
1 Corinthians 10, precedent to chapter 12 for example references these same matters of baptism for the
Congregation
Of
Israel having the same 'spiritual' baptism as N.T. believers and we know for the most part that
there was no similarity of practice with them as we see in the N.T. in the external actions and signs. There were no 'commands' to externally water baptize or to drink wine after some fashion:
1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that
all our fathers were
under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; 2 And
were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And
did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did
all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ.
By nature these matters are in fact Spiritual and as Spiritual they are in fact also INTERNAL by nature. No unbeliever for example is going to benefit by merely exercising 'external actions' of water immersion or mimicking verbal gibberish as there is no Spiritual accompaniment.
The external actions in and of themselves does not equate to 'an internal automatic change.'
I might even say that if the Spiritual or internal action has already transpired,
then the external emphasis takes a vastly secondary seat to the internal matters. This too was shown
in Acts 10 by the household of Cornelius, a non Jew, and the initial expression of the extension of salvation unto the Gentiles.
The actual 'internal change'
had long prior transpired within Cornelius:
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2
A devout man, and one
that feared God with all his house, which
gave much alms to the people,
and prayed to God alway.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
Peter even showed his own prior ignorance of the matters of legal adherence
being relegated solely to 'external' or fleshly Jews via the Law:
28 And he said unto them,
Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but
God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Peter recognized that these matters were INTERNAL regardless of the nationality of man and that these folk of the Cornelius household had been internally touched by God in Christ, and did so by report of their actions and statements, showing they had already in fact been 'internally changed' by Gods Spirit, though they did not know Christ as the external Image and Expression of God Himself.
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said,
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35
But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
If any person has been led internally by God to fear/revere Him, and to work righteousness, they are in fact already ACCEPTED by God Himself having been DRAWN IN by the Spirit of God in Christ within them.
The external actions are at that point expressions of this internal change, but internally they were already JOINED to God via God Himself lighting them within.
Before Cornelius had hands laid on him, before baptism in tongues and in water,
he was ALREADY ACCEPTED into the household of faith in God in Christ by the direct actions of The Spirit within him.
At that point of understanding all of these 'external actions' should not diminish what the Spirit has already done and in fact can NOT diminish what God in them has done as it has in fact already been DONE by God in them.
Those who then go past this fact and divide believers based on their required 'external action sets' would seem in my eyes to be going against the grain (speaking allegorically) by turning these matters into
mere 'customs' of external exercises not dissimilar to fleshly circumcision.
enjoy!
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