Baptized by the Spirit Part 1

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

A Little Explanation About My Method:

I am a firm believer in Biblical exposition. Cornelius Van Til said that, “The Bible is God's
Word in all that it addresses...and it addresses every thing”. The way we unlock what the
Bible teaches on any issue is dig into the Bible, considering themes and comparing
Scripture with Scripture to get to the bottom of the issue.

Why this subject?

• A lot of damage has been done because of bad teaching on this subject
• Rightly understood, this subject can lead to a glorious understanding of the
Christian life

What is at stake here?

Dr John MacArthur: If this truth is removed, then a part of the doctrine of

salvation is destroyed because that would mean Christians are saved but
don't have all there is in salvation. => It's a big deal

Presuppositions:

1. The Bible does treat this issue:

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the
man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

2. The Bible governs what we believe about this issue, and any other issue for that
matter

3. One can have a faulty understanding of this teaching and still be a believer.

Perspectives:

What do Christians believe about this?

1. Some say that this happens in water baptism – our traditional Roman Catholic
friends would argue this, as well as members of what is called the “church of Christ”
movement.

Part 1: Big Issues and the Bible

A Wired4Truth Teaching Outline – http://www.wired4truth.info
 2. Some say this happens at the point of conversion. This is a widely-held position in
conservative evangelical churches.

3. Some say that the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is a post-conversion experience:

◦ Cessationist: traditional conservative Methodism emphasises this as held by

groups like the Church of the Nazarene. This experience is said to be when
the Adamic root of sin is removed and

◦ Charismatic: this we are all familiar with. This baptism is said to be

accompanied by the gift of speaking of tongues (another topic for another
time)

My aim tonight is very simple: what does the Bible teach on the issue of the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit?

I'll state my thesis up-front: the popular teaching that the Baptism is post-conversion is
nonsense and actually dangerous when chased to its logical end.

Now that I've angered half the folks and scared the rest with my bluntness, let's dig into the
Bible.

Biblical Facts We Can All Agree On:

1. The New Testament talks about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit seven times – Matt
3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5, 11:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

2. Only one text actually teaches what the baptism actually is – five just say it and
move on. The one solitary text that does teach it is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – and
that's the focus of the study tonight.

Putting 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 in Its Context:

Paul is writing to a church under the tyranny of a vocal minority who are wild and loose in
so many way. In order to chastise the error and comfort the elect, the Apostle writes on a
number of themes. A major problem was that there was a huge case of the “small U and
big I” - you see Paul lash out at 1:10-17 and 3:1-9 in the context of their following of God-
ordained servants as they were God. He also deals with that in the context of gifts – 4:6-8.

But like any good doctor, surgery is no good if you don't put a recovery plan in place and in
the area of gifts, Paul's recovery plan is outlined in 1 Cor 12-14. Chapter 12 deals with the
Spirit's work in general, chapter 13 deals with the comparative uselessness of gifts without
love for God and love for God's people and chapter 14 deals with order with the use of the
gifts.

Part 1: Big Issues and the Bible

A Wired4Truth Teaching Outline – http://www.wired4truth.info
My focus tonight isn't on spiritual gifts as such – it's on the foundation of Paul's teaching in
the second half of chapter 12. Here Paul shows that all spiritual gifts are needed to build
up the body – not just a sensational few. That foundation answers the question, “What
does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?”

[12] For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body,
though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For in one Spirit we were all baptized
into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
(1 Corinthians 12:12-13 ESV)

Exposition:

I have two main points to draw out from our text:

I. The Human Body as the Illustration (v.12)

II. The Body of Christ as the Reality(v.13)

I. The Human Body as the Illustration (v.12)

The Unity in the Body:

• A common designation: Paul, whenever he discusses the issue of spiritual gifts,

always reverts to a body picture to explain the relationship between the various gifts
(cf. Romans 12:4-5)

• A creative design: The body's unity isn't just for the sake of it – it is highly creative

• A contrast in duplication: even when the body has duplicate parts, they are still
unique. You have ten fingers with ten unique prints, two feet which looks the same
but are very different (brothers who play football know that all too well). As I type
this, I still have two eyes – one perfectly fine, one with astigmatism, so I wear
glasses. Even when they look the same, they are completely different.

• A culminating diversity: “There is one organic whole that makes up the body. The
body is the most perfect illustration of diversity and unity in perfect combination and
function. You can see that this is true in anyone who does something with dexterity
(e.g., an athlete or an artist who has a beautiful touch with a brush or chisel). There
is a common life principle that ties all this diversity together so that it becomes a
unit. And the church is no different. Basically, it is one organic whole -- a plurality of
members with a common life principle” - Dr John MacArthur

Part 1: Big Issues and the Bible

A Wired4Truth Teaching Outline – http://www.wired4truth.info
The Universality of the Members:

There is ONE body of believers who share ONE salvation. There is no Christian caste
system. Paul looks at the major divisions in the Jewish world – Jew and Gentile – and one
of the major divisions in Roman life – bond or free – and has the gall to say “They don't
exist in the divine system of things”. More on that in verse 13.

There is Unity is Christ:

The illustration kicks up a gear with those four or five words at the end of verse 12 - “so it
is with Christ”:

There's one life in Christ – all human beings have biological life but only believers
have spiritual and abundant life (cf. John 10:10, 14:19b, 1 Jn 5:12)

There's one body in Christ – Dr MacArthur again: Christ became incarnate

once in a single body. He has become incarnate once again in all of our
bodies, making us the one body that is Christ in the world. Paul is
emphasizing the fact of the incarnation of Jesus in His church -- in His
body. It is a living incarnation. Christ is alive in me; He is alive in you. He is
alive in every believer. That is what salvation means. All of us are one in
Christ Jesus.

There is one life source in Christ – Galatians 2:20, Phil 1:21 all point this out.
With the body illustration firmly in view, the Apostle deals with the body of Christ –
the real body - and now we answer our question about baptism.

II. The Body of Christ as the Reality (v.13)

[13] For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13
ESV)

Follow me because this is gonna be a lot of work through. Verse 12 gave us the analogy –
verse 13 gives us some reality with which to work. The thrust of this verse fires on two
cylinders:

• The formation of the body: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one
body”

• There's a significant translation in the text: we are baptized into the Spirit.
Often you will hear talk of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – as though the Spirit
is the one baptizing. Wrong! Christ is the Baptizer as we'll see in the moment,
the Spirit is what we baptized into. I hear Christians talk like this, "We have
been baptized by Christ in conversion, but the baptism of the Spirit comes
later." Dear friend, nothing could be further from the truth of your Bible. Why?

Part 1: Big Issues and the Bible

A Wired4Truth Teaching Outline – http://www.wired4truth.info
 • There's a significant transformation that comes with this baptism: to bear
this out, consider one of the other “Spirit baptism” texts with me:

Matthew 3:11-12: A lot of terrible songs about Holy Ghost fire have stemmed
from this passage, but let's actually read the text. John the Baptist says that
he baptized with water but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Ghost
and with fire. The mistake is to read those two things as the same thing.
What's the fire? Hint: it's not good! Verse 12 makes it clear – it's hell! So,
either you are baptized with the Spirit or you're off to hell – now I ask, does
that sound like pre-conversion or post-conversion?

Tie that in with what the text says and we come to a very clear conclusion:
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit has something to do with our conversion
– not some event afterwards.

Hold that thought – because we're gonna pick it up in a big way in the next lesson.

Part 1: Big Issues and the Bible

A Wired4Truth Teaching Outline – http://www.wired4truth.info