One of Seven

You are about to read one of the greatest passages of the Bible. On par with the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and John’s indominable statement ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8) is the list of the Christian seven realities. It's Ephesians 4:4-6, the unity of the spirit--seven Truths all Christians share.

Would the great apostle Paul include baptism on such an important list if it were not an essential Truth of Christianity? Of course he wouldn’t. Paul put the one Baptism on the list because every Christian shares one Baptism with every other Christian. One of the seven foundational Truths upon which Christian fellowship is based is this Baptism.

Being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body, and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one Hope of your calling; one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all… (Ephesians 4:4-6; NASB)

Which Baptism?

Great, we have read the passage. Now we have to interpret it. We must ask: What baptism is Paul singling out? Of the seven different kinds of baptism mentioned in the New Testament, which is the one Baptism?

1. It’s not baptism by fire.

... after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11).

2. It’s not baptism in blood—that is, the baptism of martyrdom.

‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’

‘We can,’ they answered.

Jesus said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with’ (Mark 10:38-39).

3. It’s not John’s baptism.

Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’

‘John’s baptism,’ they replied.

Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance’ (Acts 19:2-4).

[John the Baptist said] I baptize you with water for repentance (Matthew 3:11).

[Jesus asked] John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from Heaven, or of human origin (Matthew 21:25)?

4. Neither is it baptism for the Dead.

Now if there is no Resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the Dead? If the Dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? (1 Corinthians 15:29)

5. It’s not being baptized into Moses either.

I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).

6-7. That leaves us with just two other baptisms: The one Baptism of Ephesians 4 is either: (6) water baptism in the name of Jesus or (7) Spirit baptism. Which is it?

Since water baptism in Jesus' name is the means to reach the goal of Spirit baptism, we can safely conclude that Spirit baptism is the superior of the two. Therefore Spirit baptism is the one Baptism.

Other names for Spirit baptism are: baptism in the Holy Spirit or the new birth. Jesus called it being born of the Spirit, and he called it being born again. He said that we need to be born of water and the Spirit—so both are vitally important for anyone who pretends to enter the Kingdom of God. However, Jesus put the highest importance on the Baptism of the Spirit, and he told us why: it's because only the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:5-8).

The Foundation of Fellowship

Throughout Church history every generation has held Ephesians 4:4-6 dear to their hearts. It is a perennial passage of Scripture. These verses contain the precious definition of the unity of the spirit—that is, the grounds of genuine Christian fellowship.

What does unity of the spirit mean? The word unity refers to that which binds believers together. The expression of the spirit refers to the dimension in which we share such unity. Not the material dimension but the spiritual dimension is where Christians may become truly united. The spiritual dimension must be our focus as we work towards Christian unity.

Christian unity must not be based on the way we dress, our social strata, or the fact that we live in the same housing complex. Our unity is not simply sharing a culture, or holidays, or the same language. It’s not because we sing the same songs. Now, these things are all nice to share, and they can make us feel comfortable with one another, binding our souls together—but then cannot unite us in spirit. They will not bind us together spiritually. Only when we share the one Body, the one Spirit, the one Hope, the one Lord, the one Faith, the one Baptism, and the one God can we be one spiritually.

The seven realities are Truths that all Christians share with one another. They are universal. Every single child of God throughout history, be they today in Heaven, on Earth, or under the Earth, is bound together with every other child of God by these Truths. For example, today you can call Abraham your father (although he's in Hades), because you share the one Faith with him, and one God, and you share the same Lord with him, Jesus. Observe that you have the same Hope as Abraham too--the Resurrection unto life in the Kingdom.

Bound Together in One Baptism

Only essential Truths figure on this list of the unity of the spirit, and one of those Truths is that there is one Baptism. Baptism in the Spirit is essential for eternal life.

Only one Baptism can make someone a member of the Church. There is only one Baptism which unites people from different ethnic, cultural, linguistic, economic, and social backgrounds together into the one Body. And there’s only one Spirit who baptizes us in that one Baptism!

For we were all baptized by One Spirit so as to form one Body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free (1 Corinthians 12:13).

If you have experienced the baptism of the Spirit, you will recall how it transformed your life. Indeed, it was the beginning of your life—it was your new birth. If you haven't been born again yet, it's because you need the Baptism of the Spirit.

We just read above that we’ve all been baptized so as to form one Body. The one Body is the Body of Christ, the Church. So, you become a member of the Body of Christ through the baptism of the Spirit.

You might look around and feel uncertain about who the real members of the Church are. Don't worry. The true members of the Church are those who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will testify!

Certified by the Holy Spirit

What does God give to every person to make them a member of the Church? It’s not a certificate and not a plastic ID card. It’s not a t-shirt or a mark on our right hand. It’s not a number. Rather, God gives us his Spirit.

And what does the Spirit give us? He gives us at least one spiritual gift—a permanent supernatural anointing! Note this: That gift comes from the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.

Only the gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to be functioning members of the Church. Being a talented musician cannot make you a worship leader and being an eloquent speaker does not make you a preacher. Only an authentic Spirit-given spiritual gift grants you a role in the Body of Christ. No college degree, training program, mechanical skill, or artistic talent can be a substitute for the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit grants at least one gift to each believer the instant we are baptized in the Spirit. Any supernatural power you had earlier was a temporary anointing. From the one Baptism onward, you have something permanent. Later on, the Spirit may very well give other gifts through the laying on of hands, but the initial reception of your spiritual gift(s) is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Have you experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit yet? If not, then we encourage you to seek it with all your heart.