Galatians 3:26-27 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
The first baptism that each believer experiences, is their baptism into Christ Jesus. Every Christian partakes of this baptism, because everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and is born-again is at that moment baptized into Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit; and so this baptism takes place by default as it were. When we are born-again we have no concept of what has actually transpired and it is only after we are taught as new believers, that we begin to understand what has actually taken place in our lives. One of the truths that we come to understand is that when we accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, that we in that instant were baptized into Christ. And so because this baptism is directly linked to our salvation, it is obviously the most important of the three baptisms. Also, it must be noted that this particular baptism always takes place first, for the other two baptisms cannot take place unless one has been baptized into Christ. Once this baptism has taken place i.e. once one is born-again, then and only then, can the other two take place, and as we will see later in this teaching, there is no particular order in scripture in which the other two baptisms are to take place. So what does it mean to be baptized into Christ? The concept of baptism was never taught under the Old Covenant. It was first introduced just before the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, when John the Baptist began to baptize the children of Israel. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the remission of the sins; in preparation for the coming Messiah. When John baptized the people, he did it in the Jordan River and he fully immersed them in the river in the act of baptizing them; for that is what the term baptism means, it means to be fully immersed. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul teaches us that every born-again believer has been baptized into Christ, which by definition therefore means that every believer has been fully immersed into Christ. Paul goes on in this passage to teach us that as believers that we have put on Christ. So what does that mean? The following analogy helps us to understand that concept. When someone puts on some item of clothing, then those who look at them only see that item of clothing. In the case of our putting on Christ, because we have been fully immersed in Him, it means that we are completely covered with Christ. And so that which we have put on, which is Christ, is all that those around us can see. Obviously Paul is referring to our spirits when He says that we have put on Christ, for our bodies have not yet been redeemed.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.
And so the point is that as we learn to walk more in the spirit, then Christ in us becomes more visible to those around us, as they look upon our changed lifestyles. For as is revealed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, not only have we put on Christ, but it is Christ who is living in and through us as well. And so as believers, we need to meditate on the truth that we have been fully immersed in Christ and that Christ is in us. In fact the apostle Paul stated that after he was baptized into Christ that it was no longer he that lived, but rather it was Christ who lived in him. This is the reason why the apostle John could say that the one, who abides in Christ, ought to walk even as He walked (1 John 2:6). That is a very profound statement if we think of how Jesus walked when He was in the flesh. And yet scripture teaches us that each one of us has the potential within us, to walk just like that. Why does scripture say this? Because we have been baptized into Christ and we have put on Christ, and it is no longer we who are living, but it is Christ who is living in and through us.
Colossians 1:26-27 “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. (27) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
As quoted in the above passage of scripture, the mystery of the gospel that was revealed to the apostle Paul is Christ, our hope of glory, dwelling in us. Clearly it is because the saints have been baptized into Christ, that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. The apostle Paul referred to this truth as a mystery, and like all mysteries, unless someone explains it to us it remains just that, a mystery. Fortunately for the church, the Lord gave the apostle Paul full understanding of this particular mystery and he in turn has revealed it to us in his writings. Sadly however, this mystery is not clearly understood or taught in the church, because of which very few believers experience in this life, the full benefit of this biblical truth.
2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
So what is the mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory? It is the will of God the Father that each one of His saints be transformed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Most believers’ think that this transformation will only take place when they go to be with the Lord in heaven, and while that viewpoint is partly true it is not however entirely true, for as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture, the apostle Paul teaches us that we as believers are “present tense”, being transformed into the image of Christ in this life. In explaining this truth to us in the rest of the chapter, the apostle Paul uses the example of Moses body being transformed because of his prolonged exposure to the glory of God. Scripture reveals to us that Moses spent a total of eighty days on top of the mountain in the presence of God. God had only intended for Moses to be there for forty days, but because Moses broke the tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments, Moses had to go back up the mountain for another forty days to get a second copy. And so the result of such a prolonged exposure to God’s glory was that Moses body was physically altered, in that his body began to radiate the glory of God, and the children of Israel could no longer look at him. And so in order to solve the problem, Moses had to put a veil over his face when he spoke to the Jews, otherwise they couldn’t approach him because of the glory shining from his body. And so Paul teaches us that we, as believers, should have a similar transformative experience as we are exposed to God’s glory. The difference being that our transformation takes place in the spirit and not in our physical bodies. So how is the believer exposed to the glory of God, for we don’t sit on top of mountains for eighty days in God’s presence? Paul teaches us that we are exposed as we behold God’s glory that is already within us, and Paul tells us that we do that by looking into a mirror. So what mirror is Paul referring to in this passage? He is referring to the mirror of God’s word (James 1:23-25). When one looks into a mirror then one sees the reflection of themselves, and so the Holy Spirit in the above quoted passage of scripture, is teaching us that when we see Jesus in the scriptures that in fact we are looking at a reflection of ourselves. What that means is that every believer should reflect more of Christ through their changed lifestyles each and every passing day. The key is to look into the mirror of God’s word, and so the more we mediate on this truth, and in faith, confess it over our lives, the more we will be transformed into the very image of Christ. As we act on this truth in faith, then God by His Spirit in us works the miracle of transforming our lives from glory to glory, even into the image of His glory. To the degree that we believe that, and walk in it by faith, He then is able to transform us by His power that works in us, for it is the Holy Spirit that works in us to transform us into the image of Jesus.
Acts 11:25-26 “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. (26) And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So, it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Because of his understanding of the mystery of Christ in us, Paul taught that truth in all the churches. And so as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture, it was as a result of Paul teaching that mystery in the church at Antioch, that the believers there became known as Christians for the very first time. The reason those believers became known as Christians was because they understood that it was no longer they who were living, but that rather since they had been baptized (fully immersed) into Christ that it was in fact Christ who was living in and through them. For that is what the term Christian means, it means “little Christ”.
Michael E.B. Maher
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