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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 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.

In today's passage Paul begins his teaching with the fact that the local church is the body of Christ, and that the members of the church are to function like the members of the human body. He starts in verse 12 with the illustration that the human body is one unit. My arm or my kidney is not a "body"; both of them are parts or "members" of my body. There are many different parts that make up the human body: limbs, organs, muscles, etc, but they all comprise one unique body, and their existence is for the benefit of that body. Paul uses that obvious fact to show how the local church is supposed to function. It is one assembly, but it has many different "members". Each one has his or her own personal gifts, responsibilities, and energies, but they are there for the benefit of the body as a whole. We saw in verse 7 that the purpose of the gifts and ministries was for the profit of the other members of the body, and when the members of the body profit the body as a whole profits as well.

I Corinthians 12:13 is a verse that has been misunderstood by many. This confusion has given rise to much of the ecumenism that exists in Christianity today, and has also opened the door for a lack of commitment to the local church. The incorrect understanding is that this verse teaches that the Holy Spirit baptizes all Christians into a spiritual "body of Christ" at the point of salvation. This is not the case, for reasons that we will show in a moment. This verse is teaching the unity of the local church and the importance of each member by stating that under the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Who is the Giver of the gifts) every member of the local church was brought into its membership by immersion. There are several reasons why this is the proper interpretation. First, the Corinthian church itself is called the body of Christ in I Corinthians 12:27. Second, Ephesians 1:22-23 says,

"And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body."

There are other theological reasons why the baptism in this verse must be a water baptism and not a Spirit baptism. Ephesians 4:5 tells us that there is only "one baptism". Since we know that water baptism by immersion for believers is taught throughout the New Testament, and since there is only one baptism, there cannot be any Spirit baptism. Ephesians 4:4 teaches that there is only "one body". Therefore, since we know that the local assembly is the body of Christ, there cannot be a second, "universal invisible" body to which all believers belong. Third, the Bible does speak of believers being baptized with the Holy Ghost five different times prior to Pentecost. Four of these were said by John the Baptist and the fifth was spoken by Jesus in Acts 1:5 immediately before His ascension. Let's use Matthew 3:11 as the example. It says

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."

Tomorrow we will continue to look at this topic.