1 Corinthians 10:1-2 “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, (2) all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
Firstly, let me say that the scripture plainly calls this doctrine the doctrine of “baptisms” – plural. It is not the doctrine of “baptism” – singular. The Holy Spirit thus indicating very clearly to us that there is more than one baptism under the New Covenant. Someone said, but I thought that Paul taught us that there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). That is correct, but just as there is one God, consisting of three in one, i.e. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, so there is more than one baptism. In fact, there are three distinct baptisms taught in the New Testament, and all three are different facets of our being baptized into Christ. The first baptism we experience is when we are baptized into Christ Himself (Galatians 3:27). The second baptism we experience is when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). And the third baptism we experience is when we are baptized in water (Acts 8:38). By using the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, the apostle Paul alludes to all three baptisms in the above quoted passage of scripture, for in this passage Paul speaks of the children of Israel being baptized into Moses, which is a type of the church being baptized into Christ. Paul then goes on to say that the children were baptized into Moses in the cloud, which is a type of the church being baptized in the Spirit. And then Paul refers to the children of Israel being baptized into Moses in the sea, which is a type of the church being baptized in water. And so we see that each one of these baptisms is a separate event in our walk as believers, and just as each baptism is a separate event, so each baptism also fulfils a different role in our Christian walk. It is impossible for believers to grow to full maturity in Christ without firstly, experiencing each one of these baptisms, and secondly, without understanding each one of these baptisms and how they impact on the life of the believer. And so in this series we want to look at each baptism in more detail so that we can fully understand each one.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comentarios