Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Does the Apostle refer to baptism in water or baptism in the Spirit here?

One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Eph. 4:5 (NKJV)

Many credible scholars claim that "baptism" in the Eph. 4:5 text is referring to water baptism. Though most of their arguments are sound, I want to take the opposite view in which "baptism" in this specific text is not referring to water but to the Spirit baptism. If Paul meant "water baptism," one of the church sacraments, why did he not also mention the other sacrament, "The Lord's Table?" Why didn't he say, "One baptism, one cup, one bread?"

This text of scripture occurs in the context of supernatural "unities." The context speaks to unity in the Body of Christ. He is talking in the context of supernatural or immaterial things. Water baptism is not supernatural, but material. It is done by one man to another.

Water baptism does not unify but has historically divided many Christians as to mode and meaning. Paul addressed the disunity concerning baptism in 1 Corinthians 1:13. Ephesians was written after First Corinthians. This would not be contextually consistent with the "unities" theme of the Eph. 4:1-6 text.

If the sacrament of water baptism were the point in this text, why exactly would Paul have ignored the other sacrament? I suggest it is that the sacraments, both baptism and the Lord's Table, do not fall within the "unities" emphasis of the passage.

There is the absence in this text of any baptismal prescription. Water baptism in the Gospel of Matthew 28:19 clearly prescribes that we are to be water baptized in the "name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." This is obviously missing from the Eph. 4:5 text in its immediate and remote context.

Lastly, the one ministry of the Holy Spirit that brings us into an organic unity with Christ and His body is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This would be consistent with the theme of the Eph. 4 text referring to the unity in Christ's body. It is also consistent with 1 Corinthians 12: 1-13 in which Paul wrote, "we are all baptized into one body by one Spirit." Here, Paul uses the same language as in Eph. 4:1-6: the word "one" signifying unity.