Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
‘Of repentance’ Six first principles of Christianity (continues): [3] Baptisms – there are seven baptisms in Scripture (continues): To summarize, there are three baptisms for believers in Christ, they are the Christian water baptism, the baptism into Christ and His body and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Note the following facts concerning the three baptisms: The three agents who administer the three baptisms are: the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and the minister. The three elements are Christ, the Holy Spirit, and water. The candidates in all three baptisms are the believers of the gospel.
The Holy Spirit is the agent that baptizes the believer “into Christ” and “into one body,” (1Cor. 12:13). This is called being baptized “into Christ,” not into water or into the Holy Spirit, and refers to the saving of the soul by the Spirit and the Word of God and of making one a member of Christ and His Body (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12). This is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5 for it is the only one of the three baptisms for believers that saves the soul and brings us into the one body of Christ that Paul is speaking of in Ephesians 4. This baptism “into Christ” by the Spirit is the only one essential to the salvation of the soul. A person must obtain this baptism before he is a fit candidate for the other two baptisms, the baptism into the Spirit and the baptism into water. This baptism is solely a work of God by the Spirit and by the water of the Word of God, and not of man. It is the same as the new birth of John 3:5.
Christ is the agent that baptizes the believer into the Holy Spirit who is the element (Matt. 3:11; John 1:31-34). Ministers are the agents who baptize believers into water (Matt. 28:19). This kind of baptism is solely a work of man, and not of God.
The purpose of the baptism into Christ and the body of Christ is to save the soul. It is the only baptism essential to salvation. The purpose of baptism into water is to witness the reality of salvation and is essential only to obedience and testimony after one is truly saved. The sole purpose of the Spirit baptism is to endue men fully with power to do the works of Christ, and even greater works than He did (John 14:12; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8).
To be continued…
Living the Word 