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This study was originally written in book form by Mr G.W. North (1913
2003). It is copyrighted, but reproduced on this site by permission of the
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Original Copyright details: © 1978 G.W. North.
Book details: ISBN 0950624500 (no longer in print).
One Baptism
Chapter 1 - The End Of All Flesh
There is one
baptism.
'I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with
long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as
ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one
God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all.'
(Ephesians 4:1-6)
Reading the above words from the pen of Tychicus under the dictation of the
apostle Paul, we acquaint ourselves with the title and thematic ground of this
book. The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation declares with one voice that
there is only one Baptism, although the privilege of actually saying so is given
exclusively to the apostle Paul. Within these pages, an attempt is made to
arrive at a clear assessment of the truth expressed in the phrase, 'One
Baptism', by examining it in:
- Type, as it is illustrated in the Old Testament;
- The immediate context in which the phrase is found;
- The wider background of the book in which that context and the passage itself are set;
- The whole revelation of the New Testament of which that book is a part.
There could hardly be found a more simple and straightforward, yet profound,
statement of truth than the above passage. Perhaps one of the most surprising
features of it to modern minds is that the apostle makes no attempt to explain
or expound it to his readers; it must therefore be assumed that they knew
exactly what he meant.
When a direct categorical statement on any subject is made in the Bible by any
man under inspiration of God, it is absolutely true; nothing said anywhere else
in scripture on that subject can be in any way contrary to it, either in word or
in spirit. Other things may be and often are said, additional to or explanatory
of it, but never contradictory to it. God says that there is 'One Baptism'; that
is precisely what He means. He does not mean that there are two or three
baptisms when He says that there is one. He says what He means, and He expects
us to believe what He says. Moreover, having once said that there is one
baptism, He does not say anything anywhere else that in any degree contradicts
that statement. It is either true or false.
This one baptism is fully illustrated in scripture by four outstanding types,
all to be found in the Old Testament. At first reading these may appear to have
very little in common with the One Baptism spoken of by Paul, but closer
examination discloses their usefulness in this connection. Although each is to
be found in the Old Testament, it is the New Testament which informs us that the
first and second of them were indeed of the nature of a baptism. This procedure
may seem a little surprising, but it is not unusual with God; indeed it was very
necessary that He should employ this method, and for the following reason:
primitive historical facts recorded in ancient times, even though given under
inspiration, were not always at the time of writing accorded their fullest
spiritual meaning. This was simply because:
- Their true spiritual value, proper meaning and fullest implications were not
at the time of writing properly assessed and appreciated.
- Their necessary place and function in the overall plan of God was not then
fully revealed and so could not be known by those who wrote of them.
- The recording of the facts was controlled by God with a view to the future
when other men, under the same inspiration and control, yet in a better position
to understand, would recognize their true significance and be able to correlate
them into a whole, thus giving them their greatest meaning.
In I Corinthians 15:46, Paul states a principle which is most helpful to us at
this point. To gain fullest benefit from it we will momentarily alter the word
'natural' to 'material'; doing so will not harm the sacred text we love, but
will demonstrate more easily the truth we seek. The apostle says, 'that was not
first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterwards that which
is spiritual'. Altering the word in thought for our immediate purposes has in no
way strained the truth; in fact it has enhanced it, for the principle is true of
both. In addition to what is so simply stated here, God has supplied vital
information about a key factor which underlies all His works of creation.
Whether they be vegetable, mineral or abstract, everything physical or material
reveals this same principle. To quote Hebrews 11:3, things which are seen 'were
not made of things which do appear', but 'from the creation of the world, the
invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made', Romans 1:20. So although throughout the whole universe the first
thing to strike the eye, or by any means impress itself on the sense of the
observer may be that which is natural or material, we understand afterwards that
all is quite secondary to the spiritual. The spiritual is always first and can
be no other, although it is never seen or understood first. The text is dealing
with the order of human understanding and approach to reality, not the order of
logic and eternal truth.
In fact, there is no order of truth in God in this respect, for in Him natural
and spiritual are one. Nevertheless, to us who belong to a lower order, that
which is first is natural (physical or material) and can be no other. We always
understand that which is spiritual afterwards or lastly, and only through and
because of its manifestation. But scripture clearly reveals that firstly it is
God: 'In the beginning God', and 'all things were made by Him and without Him
was not anything made that was made'. It was God who created the whole of this
material, physical and natural world in which we live, and underlying all that
God does is God Himself; because this is so, there is spiritual meaning and
significance in everything. Even though since the fall of Lucifer and man his
victim everything may be evil affected: in the beginning the earth was formed
and the ages fitted together by the Word of God. Originally everything is a
manifestation of or a projection from spiritual reality. It is God's intention
that His material creation should lead us to an awareness, if not an
understanding of Himself, the original Spiritual Life from whence it came.
Because of this, historical biblical events have a typical value and hold
spiritual meaning for modern man. We may learn spiritual lessons from all
things; as the seraphim said in Isaiah's hearing, 'the whole earth is full of
Thy glory'. God had these records made, that by them He may set forth the
principles and ways from which He never deviates in any age. As we pursue our
theme through the Bible, we shall discover this to be true of all the
illustrations we shall examine. Each is a historical event of such importance
that it is totally impossible to exaggerate any one of them. Yet true as this
is, it is doubtful that any but God Himself has ever correctly evaluated them or
understands their fullest spiritual meaning. Certainly, in the physical or
national or personal lives of those who were involved in them, they were
absolutely miraculous. However, although they were real happenings of tremendous
magnitude when they took place, they are of even greater import in typical
meaning. At the conclusion, when we gather all together into the relative
positions they hold within the eternal plan of God, we shall be amazed at such
an overwhelming revelation of His grace and wisdom.
The first of these illustrations is the well-known story of the Flood, found in
the book of Genesis. At first glance this event may seem to have no connection
with baptism whatsoever. However, Peter in his first epistle, chapter 3, verses
20 and 21, leaves us in no doubt about it at all 'the like figure whereunto
baptism doth also now save us'. He majors chiefly on the Ark (of salvation) and
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and proceeds to draw lessons from the historic
event relative to the ordinance; he also arrives at certain basic conclusions. A
study of Peter's whole ministry, taking special note of his sayings on the
subject of water baptism, is most rewarding. It reveals that his reason for
insisting on the ordinance was based on his appreciation of that work Christ
wrought at Calvary, which finds particular illustration by the miracle of the
Flood.
The apostle was a primitive man, elemental in nature, fundamental in beliefs,
and simple and radical in all that he said and did. He did not have a formal
education, and had no opportunity to gain the cultural and social finesse of a
Saul of Tarsus; his background and training was Galilee, his companions the
fishing community. He had not sat at the feet of Gamaliel, nor had he known the
student body of Tarsus University. Nevertheless he was among the chiefest of the
apostles, if not the very chief, and from the day of his regeneration he lived
and moved with tremendous power and authority in rugged primal things. Both in
his writings and in his speakings he dealt with simple basic truths in a manner
thoroughly consistent with his personality. He was the natural leader among the
twelve apostles. He also held the foremost place among the 'chosen three', as
did the Tachmonite among David's three mighty men (II Samuel 23:8). It is
therefore only to be expected that in the matter of baptism Peter should adduce
fundamental truths from the elemental facts of the Flood, and authoritatively
apply them to us with forthrightness.
The story of the Flood is important. It is recorded in Genesis 6,7 and 8, and
also referred to in other parts of scripture. It all began when God warned Noah
that He was about to destroy the earth with a flood, and instructed him to build
an Ark. Strange as it may seem, although God told him about it and what to do,
He never told him when it should happen. The only indication Noah had about the
time of the event was bound up in the meaning of a name borne by one of his
blood-relations. Noah came of a very distinguished family; his great-grandfather
was Enoch, a man who walked with God. He was a prophet in close communion with
his Lord, and when his wife gave birth to their first son, he named him
Methuselah, which meant 'when he is dead it shall be sent', or 'when he is dead
it shall come to pass'.
It was a prophetic name, but nobody, it seems, knew exactly what it indicated.
Was it a pointer to Enoch? Did it refer to Enoch's death? God answered that
problem by removing Enoch from the scene; he did not die, God took him; so
everyone knew that name was not a hidden reference to the father's death: it
must be the living son. This man Methuselah lived longer on earth than any other
man before or since, and by his longevity God showed forth His grace in a most
remarkable way. As the name indicates, the year that Methuselah died the Flood
came. All the while he was alive, people had warning from God that something was
impending, though for much of the time they knew not what.
Noah, Methuselah's great grandson, was a 'preacher of righteousness' during an
age, or day (nearly a millennium) of grace. This is very wonderful and appears
so much more wonderful to us than to them, for we know the much more glorious
truth that our blessed Lord was actually 'The Word made flesh'. The importance
of Methuselah is that he in his day was also a word in flesh; all he had to do
to declare God's word was live. He was Enoch's great prophecy to all mankind. In
him mercy and judgement were met together; mercy in that all the while he lived
the flood of judgement was withheld; judgement in that shortly after his death
the Flood came. He outlived his son Lamech, Noah's father, by five years, thus
continuing the testimony right up to the actual time of the Flood. Of course as
soon as God warned Noah of the coming deluge, he knew immediately why his great
grandfather received his name.
It was during the last century of this man's life that Noah, being moved with
fear, prepared the Ark for the time to come. His reason for doing so was
twofold: 1. saving his house; 2. preservation of life for the unknown future. He
built the House of salvation according to God's specifications on a large, yet
limited, scale; it was large enough to hold all those God intended to save from
that creation, yet its human occupants were limited to one family, and the
reason for this was plainly stated by God: Noah was just, perfect in his
generation, and he walked with God, righteous among the men of his day. His
family was the last surviving family unit which was perfect in its generation,
and represented to God His original design in marriage. In common with his
forebears, Noah had preserved the godly line, keeping the righteous seed
unmixed.
In his day Sons of God were marrying daughters of men, with the result that all
sorts of abominations were taking place on the earth. The pure line had been
preserved, but Noah was the last of it, so to prevent its extermination God
determined to save him. God's Spirit had long striven with man in an effort to
save him from himself, but despite all God's efforts, original sin had erupted
into unrestrained sexual lust, and carried away all flesh to total depravity.
'Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually';
corruption and violence reigned throughout the whole race of men. Repentance and
grief gripped the heart of God that He had ever created man on the earth, so
with reluctance He took the decision to destroy them. When there remains not
even one good imagination in the thought of any heart, there is only one course
to take utter destruction so the Lord took it.
There is always an intrinsic rightness about the way God does things. This is
strikingly revealed by the particular form of judgement wherewith He finally
closed that antediluvian era. The Flood was an absolutely perfect portrayal of
God's repentance. True repentance, in whomsoever it is found, is always
accompanied by uttermost grief, and the insight afforded us here into God's
terrible grief is amazing beyond words. How truly Paul speaks when he says,
'godly sorrow worketh repentance not to be repented of', godly sorrow is
immeasurable; it is the foundation of all true repentance. This account of the
Flood provides us with an insight into the mystery of the sorrow which caused
God to pass sentence and execute judgement upon the world of the ungodly. If the
enormity of the Flood is anything to go by, God was broken-hearted, and if its
intensity is likewise an indication of His feelings, then He was very angry
also. Who can imagine what the breaking up of the fountains of the deep and the
openings of the windows of heaven betokened? If God intended to give us a
revelation of the great flood of grief and indignation welling up in His
stricken heart, He has certainly succeeded. Elements of wrath and judgement are
always present in the truth of the Baptism, and inescapably so, for besides
being principles affecting moral action, they are also fundamental and necessary
to the truth of salvation. What was blessing and deliverance to Noah's family,
was curse and destruction to multitudes of others. Even so, God never judges
with impunity, nor pours out punishment with pleasure. As witnessed by this
story, destruction, when executed by Him, is accompanied by an unparalleled and
overwhelming testimony to His heart-brokenness. All of God is always in all that
He does.
How graphically the basic principles of salvation are woven into the factual
information given us by the Spirit concerning the Flood. The persons around whom
the story revolves, and the method of salvation used, as well as the Flood
itself, have much to teach us. But even though we seek to gain maximum benefit
from the story, we can only briefly touch upon it here. When Noah had completed
the Ark, God's moment for putting salvation into effect for the righteous family
had arrived, so this He proceeded to do. At this point we find a surprising
illustration of a well-loved New Testament statement recorded for us by Paul in
II Corinthians 5.19, 'God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself', for
the invitation to enter the Ark seems to have come from within the Ark: 'Come
thou .... into the Ark'. God did not direct or command them to go into the Ark,
but called them into it as though He were already inside.
Noah had built the Ark for God: he was God's representative. He did it by faith,
that is as though it were God doing it. But although he had worked upon it and
in it, he never attempted to go and take up residence therein until he was
invited to do so by God. From the moment this call came to Noah and his family,
to the time they were finally shut in, seven days elapsed. During that period,
under God's instructions, Noah gathered into the Ark many pairs of selected
animals and birds and 'creeping things' from the lower orders of creation. Upon
completion of this, 'the Lord shut him in, and the Flood was forty days upon the
earth, and the waters increased', until the old creation was entirely blotted
out.
Making allowance for the fact that all types have their shortcomings, and
therefore cannot possibly be absolutely exact, we may see that in a very real
sense Noah and his family were baptized into the Ark. More than that also, the
type shows that Noah's family were baptized unto him in the Ark, for had the
Flood not come, they would not have been with him in the Ark of salvation. This
is the first Biblical hint of the truth of baptismal-regeneration. All Noah's
sons had previously been born to him upon the earth; now, by the Flood, in the
Ark, they were in a figure born again to him. All the floods of God's judgement
beat upon that vessel, but all within were safe, whereas had they stayed outside
they would have been but dead men. Instead, by God's grace, they were being
preserved alive in order to populate the 'new earth' that should appear when the
judgement was past. To use a New Testament quotation, and suiting it to the
type, by God's will they alone were predestined to be the eight new people 'in
the regeneration', that is the regenerated earth.
The figure is plain, its teaching simple, its logic powerful, its force
primitive. If we are to be saved, we must be baptized into Christ. As then,
there was no place of safety or life outside the Ark, so now there is no place
or hope of safety and life outside of Christ. To understand properly what God is
seeking to teach us by the figure, it is necessary to observe that neither the
thought of forgiveness of sins nor of atonement is referred to in this whole
passage. There is no talk of blood and sacrifice, or of worship and praise; God
is not dealing here with sin, but with its evil results and manifestations. He
is judging the flesh; that is men and women in whom sin had run its uncontrolled
course to the full. It is in contrast with such condition that God pronounced
Noah's family to be the perfect generation.
Looking at that latest generation, now safe within the Ark, and tracing back
their lineage through Noah, Lamech, Methuselah and Enoch, we come to Jared,
Mahaleel, Cainan, Enos, Seth and eventually Adam. This is the spiritual line
perfectly preserved from fleshly sin, kept and approved of God from the
beginning of creation. But parallel with this there runs another genealogy also;
this line in all its generations is traced with great precision in Genesis 4.
Glancing at it we see that this is a much shorter record indeed. Proceeding from
Adam through Cain to Enoch, it continues via Irad to Mehujael, and then to
Methusael and Lamech; there the lineage stops. This is very strange: it is cut
off dead; there is no continuation beyond that point. By this God has made known
to us something of great magnitude, through which He intends to teach us an
unforgettable lesson. This genealogy represents the line of 'the flesh', coming
down from Adam through Cain; upon examining it we find some names exactly the
same as those in the spiritual line. One is so surprisingly like Methuselah,
that we are driven to the conclusion that it is almost an exact copy of its
spiritual counterpart.
What we have discovered provides us with a striking illustration of the parable
of the wheat and the tares, spoken by the Lord in Matthew 13. We note that
directly preceding His exposition of the parable to the disciples, the Lord
says, 'I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been
kept secret from the foundation of the world'. This quotation in itself is an
adaptation and amplification of David's statement in Psalm 78:2, in which psalm
he briefly interprets to Israel their history. The psalmist writes purposely to
exhibit to the nation their inherent Jacobean qualities; commencing with Jacob,
he says, 'I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old'.
He then proceeds to point out to them the tragic failures of the flesh as
contrasted with the unfailing grace and mercy of God shown to the nation. On the
other hand the Lord Jesus deals with the flesh in another way; He traces
everything back to satan, for He is not, as David, just dealing with dark
sayings of old, but with things which have been kept secret from the foundation
of the world. Jesus did not come to deal with nationalistic Jacobean
manifestations of flesh only, but with 'Flesh' in its entirety. The 'Flesh' in
its ethically bad sense did not originate with Jacob, but with Adam; it is a
demonstration in human flesh and blood of the original sin of Lucifer. Sin was
introduced and reproduced by satan in Adam by means of the temptation through
Eve, with the intention of degenerating the whole human race. When speaking in
Matthew, the Lord deals with what we have found in the type we are studying.
From Adam downwards the fleshly line, as opposed to the spiritual seed,
descended to utter destruction through Cain in the way set out above.
The Lord in His parable said, 'Let both grow together until the harvest',
(Matthew 13:30). 'The harvest is the end of the age', verse 39. Different ages
run different courses and have different beginnings and gospels and endings. The
Lord is speaking of this present age and future consummation when fire is to be
the medium of judgement, but basic spiritual elements never vary in any age this
side of 'the regeneration'. Although media of judgement may vary from age to
age, basic principles of judgement can never alter. God frequently changes
interim means, but never eternal principles or ultimate ends. Nor is this
surprising, for eternal principles cannot be changed, and neither can ultimate
ends. Destinies are not decided in an arbitrary manner; they result from the
outworkings of principles; these in turn become laws governing and producing the
succession of events that unavoidably proceeds to an inescapable destination. We
have an example of these things set before us in the history of Sodom and
Gomorrah. In those twin cities of sin, men burned in their lust one toward
another and reaped the due reward of their sin. Their end could not be other
than fire; they had burned, so they must be burned.
Thus in the parable we find that, as to the inexpert eye, darnel while in growth
is practically indistinguishable from wheat, and must grow together with it
undisturbed until harvest and the judgement of fire, so does the fleshly line of
Cain appear similar in many respects to the spiritual line of Seth; they
developed together until the Flood. The man of the fleshly line has many
features seemingly identical with the spiritual man, having both an Enoch and a
Lamech of whom to boast, but there the similarity ends. Enoch of Cain's line did
not beget a Methuselah, but a Methusael, for unlike his spiritual namesake,
carnal Enoch was not in the habit of walking with God. Through the spiritual
prophet Enoch (to adapt a precious New Testament phrase) 'God spake unto us
(that age) through a son', Methuselah. But not so with Enoch of the fleshly
line; because his progeny proved to be so vastly different from those of his
spiritual namesake, the line is cut short and destroyed. It goes as far as
Lamech, the man of wild power that is savagery and violence and then to
death; and there it is left. That is the end of all flesh it is unforgivable,
there is no resurrection for it. The baptismal judgement, as the Flood so
graphically indicates, is epochal, age-abiding, eternal. But Lamech of the godly
line produced a Noah and an Ark of salvation and a generation ready for a new
heaven and a new earth.
As we have earlier seen, this type of the One Baptism is not set forth as a
treatise upon forgiveness and atonement, but as something far greater. By it God
is not teaching forgiveness because of imputed righteousness through atonement;
there is no mention of blood here. Not until the Flood has subsided, the Ark
vacated and the 'new earth' entered and occupied, is there any hint of sacrifice
in connection with this event. The Saving-Ark typifies unto us salvation from
the old (man) creation into the new (man) creation. When at the invitation of
God that family first crossed the threshold of the Ark, they stepped out of the
old world of the flesh; when they stepped back over that same threshold nearly a
year later they were in the new order of the Spirit. Of course, all is highly
figurative to us, but then everything connected with actual water baptism is as
surely figurative to this day; the spiritual truth is what we seek.
Turning back in our Bibles to Genesis 1:6 and 7, and reading of God's activities
on the second day of creation, we find that they included the making of a
firmament. His purpose in so doing was to divide the waters upon which His
Spirit was moving. He called the firmament heaven. Apparently its function at
that early stage of God's preparation for the advent of man was to divide the
waters which were above the firmament from the waters which were under it, later
called seas. We may not know all God's purposes in doing this, but upon reading
the story of the Flood, we can see one very clear reason for it: those waters
were stored up above the firmament in the beginning that they should later be
poured out through the opened windows of heaven to deluge and inundate the whole
earth.
Peter, writing in his second epistle, leaves little room for doubt that the
Flood effected unimagined changes in this planet; indeed, perhaps in the whole
universe also, for he speaks of the heavens as well. So great is the change,
that he refers to the antediluvian state as 'the world that then was', and to
this present order of things as 'the heavens and the earth which are now'. Just
as the existing heaven and earth are being kept in store, reserved unto fiery
judgement at the end of the age, so surely those waters which God had gathered
up above the firmament were kept in store for use in the judgement that
overflowed the world of the ungodly then. All of this lends weight to the
probability that it was in much more than a figurative sense, though certainly
in that, that the righteous generation went forth from the Ark at last to
inhabit the (new) earth.
What is at least as wonderful, if not more wonderful still, is the miracle that
appears to have taken place within the Ark itself. We know that previously there
had never been any such vessel in existence, for it had been constructed at
God's command, to God's specifications. But beyond that, although in a limited
sense, both it and all within it represented a new creation. The whole company
of men and animals and birds within that peculiar vessel lived together as
though they were one new family. This is a wondrous illustration of the truth
that 'if any man be in Christ he is a new creature', or as it could as well be
rendered, 'if any man be in Christ there is a new creation'. In a manner also it
sets forth an illustration of the answer to Christ's prayer 'that they all may
be one'; this is the first and deepest reason for the Baptism in the Spirit.
It was a most fascinatingly novel and miraculous experience, for by God's
command a remnant of the whole animate air-breathing creation was gathered
within that floating 'world'. In a sense it was Paradise regained, or the
millennium anticipated. Inside there the curse and sin and death were
non-existent (although as we know they were only held in abeyance). 'In all that
holy mountain' nothing harmed or hurt, or stung, and none preyed upon another;
it floated serenely above earth's highest hills in perfect peace and rest. God
and Noah, and the righteous family, together with restored creation, were in
perfect harmony within that new creation, the Ark. For them it was a kind of
predestination in there a conforming to the original pattern and state of
creation 'as it was in the beginning'. Not a great deal of imagination is
required for us to realize the degree of amazement with which the family of God
lived in such close contact with the animals. Perfect in its generations under
its head, Noah, it enjoyed absolute liberty and safety, although confined with
beasts that in their natural environment would have rent and torn and devoured
them. Instead of enmity and bloodshed, all within the Ark was peace and rest and
love and enjoyment. The law of the jungle was non-existent. What a heaven on
earth!
The type is suggestive rather than comprehensive, limited rather than expansive,
but what a wealth of instruction it holds for us concerning the truth of the
Baptism. It is beautifully expressive of the limited comprehensions of the mind
that first listens to the gospel, and responds from the heart to the drawings of
the Spirit to Christ for salvation. In the initial stages of its response to the
gospel, mansoul does not generally grasp all the great riches of the fullness of
Christ. Generally a need is felt, a desire is acknowledged, a door is open, a
call heard, then a decision is taken, entrance is made and salvation is assured
to the penitent heart. The first realizations gained in the initial experience
of the One Baptism are rescue and preservation from death, and life begun in
Christ. Much of the truth typically set before us above will not at first be
known; exploration and understanding of that will be a later achievement; to get
into Christ is the major concern. The Baptism in the Spirit must be plainly
understood to be regeneration. As Noah and his family responded to God's
invitation, entered the Ark and were brought ultimately to the discovery of a
new world, so also must we all go on to discover, become partakers of, and taste
the powers of the world to come.
The New Testament furnishes us with many instances of truth within truth. As we
know, much more lies beyond primary impressions or initial understanding than we
can at once grasp. The words of the famous text in Matthew 11:28, as well as
being linked with our theme, are also a good example of this very thing 'Come
unto me all ye ....'. Whilst He was visibly manifest on earth, our straitened
Lord at times perforce used limited statements when speaking to people. But even
when He did speak plainly, the things He said could only be understood by His
hearers according to known standards of interpretation and their ability to
apply them. For instance, when He said 'come unto me', they could easily respond
and come to Him; they knew what He meant; they could see Him, touch Him, believe
and follow Him, and many did just that. They comprehended all they understood
Him to mean by His words, but deeper than everything they could be expected to
understand, there lay a greater meaning and a higher invitation awaiting clearer
understanding.
The Lord used a word here which means both 'Unto' and 'Into'. To those who first
heard the invitation it could only mean 'come unto me'. Their minds just could
not interpret it to mean anything else; but to men of spiritual enlightenment
who know eternal truth, it means 'come into me' a far greater thing. So also
with the word in John 14:1. To us He is saying (and it makes complete sense),
'believe also into me'. He is not just setting God and Himself forth here as the
object of faith, someone upon whom faith can finally rest, as the limitation of
the word 'in' would suggest; He is saying something vastly greater than that.
The power of the word 'into' used here makes clear that He is inviting people to
enter Him; 'Ye believe in God, believe also into me'. He is revealing God and
Himself as the eternal life and abiding-place of mansoul into which we can and
must enter.
It is almost certain that the apostles at that time could not begin to
understand the things implicit in His speech. Indeed the whole of this section
of John is a revelation of their abysmal ignorance of both their Lord and His
sayings. It was not that He deliberately used words which they could not
understand; He spoke to them simply and plainly in language which they normally
used, but He could not convey to them the things He meant. How could they come
into Him, or believe into Him? Only by the Baptism in the Spirit, but at that
time this was not available to them. The Lord had not undergone it Himself, so
as yet it had not been created for them; He dared not minimize the truth though.
He just had to express it in ways acceptable to their minds, even though He knew
that only later would they enter in and understand with their spirits.
Before closing this chapter, we should note something further from Peter's use
of the story of the Flood. He impresses upon us that baptism in water should be
a man's spontaneous response to the gospel. At the same time he is careful to
make clear that baptism in water must not be construed to mean something God
never intended. The act of water baptism does not mean that thereby a man's sins
are forgiven and his filth washed away. Even though in the great prototype of
the Flood, the end of all flesh with its corruption and filthiness and violence
came before God, He never dealt with it there, nor could He. What took place
there was a judgement representing both the final judgement wherein God ends all
His judgements upon the world, and the judgement which took place at the cross.
The eternal judgement dealing with flesh and sin took place at Calvary; God
dealt with everything there in the death of Christ. But this is not generally
the first thing that engages the mind of the newly-converted person. He is
usually taken up with an overwhelming sense of thankfulness to God for His
exceeding grace in saving him from the ultimate penalty of his sins.
Whilst this great sense of gratitude is still upon him, the believer should be
impressed with the need for immediate baptism. There is a very real link between
salvation and baptism, and it is stated for us by no less a person than the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, Mark 16:16, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved'. This is a remarkably plain and ungarnished statement which cannot be
disregarded if we, like Him, are going to fulfil all righteousness. Now while it
is quite true that he that believeth not shall not be saved, it is not true that
he who is not baptized in water shall not be saved. Salvation does not rest upon
water baptism, but the salvation / regeneration which we preach does rest upon
being baptized into Christ. Seeing then that baptism in water is used by the
Lord as a symbol and picture of that Spiritual Baptism, it can hardly be
expected that sincere persons who experience the latter would or should quibble
about submitting to the former. Moreover, as we are informed in Acts 2 that
those who gladly received Peter's word on the day of Pentecost were baptized, it
cannot be said that anyone refusing such baptism is one spirit with the early
Church.
It is obvious that from John Baptist onwards into the commencement of the Church
age, it was normal practice that when a person received the word, he or she also
received baptism. In fact baptism is so identified with heart-faith that in some
cases it is spoken of as though it were that faith; repentance and baptism are
linked together in scripture as one would normally link repentance and faith.
This is most enlightening, and upon reflection it is most natural; repentance,
faith, baptism are three progressive steps in a natural progress. Not that
baptism is to be regarded or in any way made to be a substitute for faith, it is
an expression of heart-obedience to faith. This is very sweetly shown to us by
the uncomplicated person of Lydia of Philippi. That lady, responding to the
preached word of Paul immediately desired to be baptized as an expression of her
faithfulness to the Lord.
At this point the question ought to be asked should faithfulness be judged in
beginners today, how many new converts would be found faithful in God's eyes
upon the same basis. This raises another issue, best faced at this juncture, for
it is the answer to the question begged above, namely this: baptism should be
regarded as the first step in true discipleship, and urged upon people as the
immediate response of the obedient heart to the Lord. The idea that converts
should not be baptized until they have been catechized or indoctrinated is quite
a modern innovation; it finds neither precedent in scripture, nor support from
the apostles. Under the apostles' ministry all believers were either commanded
or exhorted, certainly they were expected, to be baptized immediately upon
salvation.
It appears that this principle and practice of immediacy was first instituted in
Jewry by John Baptist. It was afterwards given a degree of permanence by the
Lord Himself, when baptism was conducted in His name during the period of His
personal ministry among men. The disciples administered the rite under the
authority of His anointing as an ordinance of His kingdom on earth, and
continued the same tradition of immediacy which they had learned originally from
His forerunner. It is not surprising then, that after the Lord's return to
heaven, His apostles continued the ordinance in the same way, as an
authoritative ordinance divinely established in the Church; it became common
practice. The apostles perfectly understood the words of the Lord Jesus recorded
in Matthew 28:18-20, and applied them literally and liberally to all men. From
their acts it is plainly to be seen that these men fulfilled the commission in
the order Jesus set forth. Still under His authority and in His presence they
went and preached, made disciples, baptized and taught them.
Now both in the nature of things, as also in scriptural order, this is shown to
be exactly right. The Lord places baptism before teaching, and does so in order
to teach us that obedience is better esteemed with God than acquired knowledge,
indeed it is the most important lesson of all, and fundamental to the gaining of
all spiritual knowledge from God. Baptism must be a thing of the heart rather
than of the intellect, a provoked response rather than a studiously considered
step. The fact that occasionally one may hear such remarks as, 'I wish I had
waited until I understood more about it before I was baptized', does not mean
that the person saying so was wrong to have been baptized. The fact that he or
she spontaneously responded to this word of the Lord is a commendation to that
heart and not a cause for criticism. As long as a person is truly the Lord's, he
or she is absolutely correct in desiring to be baptized immediately. It is a
good thing in beginners that affections and emotions and desires should outstrip
the intellect; that is just the response God wants. The answer of a good
conscience towards God is eagerly watched for in heaven, for it is not the mind
but the spirit of man that moves his conscience. This is of prime importance
when considering water baptism.
A desire to obey the primary urge when moving in the things of God is a most
commendable thing. It is as correct as the desire which urged and moved the Lord
Jesus Himself to be baptized in His day, and thus fulfil all righteousness at
that time. To know and move in such a way is to be in the true experience of
faith and at that stage nothing better could be desired or required of any man.
All the evidences of the reconstituted heart are being exhibited by the burning
desire to be baptized. It has been made righteous, and without intelligently
knowing it is so, the heart is instinctively desiring to act like Jesus and
fulfil all the righteousness it knows which is to be obedient.
It is significant that Paul, when dealing with baptism in Romans 6, speaks of
'obeying from the heart that form (type, mould) of doctrine which was delivered
you, or unto which you were delivered' (Gk.). Then and thereby a man is made
free from sin and becomes a servant of righteousness, and finds no reason why he
should not be immersed in water. The form into which we are delivered is Jesus
Christ in His death and resurrection (His baptism, Luke 12:50), which form He
typified and exhibited to us by His baptism in water at His first public
appearance. Until that baptism He was not known or identified before men, and
had no public recognition. Apparently this kind of spontaneous response is what
had taken place in the lives of the Roman saints to whom Paul wrote saying that
their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. In common with all the
saints of their day, they had heard, believed and been baptized, but it seems
that it was only when Paul wrote to them concerning it that the full
intellectual grasp of the spiritual meaning of the rite became clear to their
understanding.
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