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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one [Holy] Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [spiritually transformed--united together] whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one [Holy] Spirit [since the same Holy Spirit fills each life]. [Rom 3:22; Gal 3:28] |
Bible Question: I'm not sure I agree that: "The watery baptism is something that is fairly clear and easy to understand, straight forward from the many verses in God's Word describing it." If that were true, why are the denominations so divided over it? Some believe in sprinkling an infant for its eternal salvation, others believe baptism is necessary for salvation, still others that baptism is not necessary but certainly advisable after a statement of faith. God is not a God of confusion and yet the very people who profess faith in Him seem to have so much confusion. I've already read the discussions over the indwelling and baptism of the Holy Spirit. Could it, just maybe, be that we are "wrangling about words" (1 Tim 2:14) Perhaps we need to remember only that we are to "first love God with all your heart, strength, mind and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27 Matt 37 - 40) |
Bible Answer: You bring up a perfectly valid point: Why is there so much disunity in the christianity we see in our world when there was perfect unity and harmony in the christianity we see in the NT? Copied from your post for reference: "If that were true, why are the denominations so divided over it? Some believe in sprinkling an infant for its eternal salvation, others believe baptism is necessary for salvation, still others that baptism is not necessary but certainly advisable after a statement of faith. God is not a God of confusion and yet the very people who profess faith in Him seem to have so much confusion." I'm slightly biased toward water baptism, I guess I've already shown that BUT I'll attempt to be truly objective and look at this matter with an open mind. First of all, to be truly objective, we have to admit even in the first century, the christians there didn't have absolute 100 percent unity as shown in Acts 11 with the controversy about "to circumcise or not" in order to be a christian. We see Peter get a special revelation and thus christianity is forced out of the Jews' hands and given out throughout the whole world and Peter has to be reminded of this fact afterwards as recorded by Paul in Gal 2. But now to deal with the controversy at hand, your question. First of all, let's look at the history of sin and this art of deception as perpetrated by Satan. We all know he is the master at deceiving human beings as we see in the Garden of Eden. He took the statement from God Himself "Eat of the fruit from the tree and you'll die," and inserted one single word NOT. He sold this crock of lies to Eve and then to Adam through Eve, and thus got mankind kicked out of the Garden for all time. So he is the perfect opposite of our Lord and Savior, the perfect teacher, taking a simple command from God to abstain and perverting it to something so horribe. So here's my point, the devil tempts mankind to accept God's Salvation on man's terms. We want to worship on a day of our choice. We don't want to submit ourselves to God's Plan in every detail so we just modernize it. Then we modernize the elements of worship with all kinds of innovations and we walk away feeling great about our worship assembly because we have praised and glorified God. BUT have we? Does a son honor his earthly father's wishes when he looks for loopholes in his father's last will and testament? Does he the son really fulfill the actual intent of the father when the son skillfully dodges the intended milestones and standards of measuring that fulfillment? I would humbly submit to you that is not my idea of true love and devotion to that father. Why would we think differently of our Heavenly Father? He offers the gift of salvation but as I understand His Word, our Bible, we should comply to the best of our ability with His terms and conditions. Now, true enough many people sincerely study God's Word and conclude their own particular interpretation of that guidance. And then they follow that guidance to the best of their ability. For that I would commend them except they must continue to study God's Word. We must see ourselves as the Ethopian enuch, study with an open mind and pray for guidance. We should read God's Word with the idea that It does speak plainly to our hearts as much as possible, especially about elementary subjects like those as salvation and elements in worship. To do anything less can be compared to idol worship, fashioning the church we read about in the Bible to our liking in this modern age. Please understand, I write this post for the vast majority of those participating on the Forum so that's why I bring in so many tie-ins. It all boils down to whether or not we're going to submit ourselves to the authority of God's Word or dare we to think we can alter just a little bit, to modernize it. We must see Perfection can't be improved upon; we can only strive to match it. As human beings, we can never hope to match what we see in our Bibles, happening in the first century. But God expects us to strive for that and "draw closer to Him so He can draw closer to us." I sincerely do hope this helps in your study and understanding. I'd be interested in your response. God bless. --Rowdy |