“one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5, NKJ)
Jesus continually placed much emphasis on the importance of unity. In John 17:20-23 He prayed to His Father: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me … that they may be one just as We are one. I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me …”
There must not only be a visible unity between the disciples of Christ, they must also be one in terms of their convictions. This is the only way in which the world will know that God sent Jesus. In Eph 4:3-6 Paul spells out that there must be “… endeavouring to keep the unity … There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
This unity is the original intention of God, His perfect will, the unforged original.
The evil one’s primary function is to deceive (2 Thess 2:10), because by means of ignorance (Eph 4:18) and a lack of knowledge many people are lost (Hos 4:6). If Satan can succeed in deceiving people and they begin to present and follow this deception as truth, then they have strayed (1 Tim 6:21).
Paul knew that the truth is warped when people make it tradition (Col 2:8). Christ pointed this out strongly – in Matt 15:6 He says: “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” He asks the valid question: “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (verse 3).
For centuries people have accepted the traditions of their predecessors as truth and confess it as the “prefect doctrine of salvation”. Why don’t we examine the Scripture more to determine if what we are taught and believe is actually the truth, or not?
God is busy removing the Bride’s hand-me-down traditions (her wrinkles) and her iniquities (the blemishes) (Eph 5:27) by purifying us with the washing of water by the word (verse 26). In this way the Baals are removed from our mouths (Hos 2:16-17).
One of the most important traditions of the centuries that seriously tears at the unity of believers is teaching about baptism. After the Reformation millions of people were killed because they believed in the baptism of believers rather than the sprinkling of infants – a teaching that Protestantism to a large degree uncritically took over from the Roman Catholic Church, which in turn was taken over from the pagan religious rituals of Baal worship. There is no Biblical ground for this pagan practice.
Eph 4:5 says it explicitly: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”.
We have already seen clearly in Day 12 that rebirth is the only way in which you can enter the kingdom of God. Rebirth follows conversion, something that is impossible for babies. To sprinkle a baby is thus totally senseless and a whole theology has been produced in order to justify it.
Rebirth occurs in two ‘processes’ (for lack of a better word). In John 3:5 Jesus says: “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”. The water does not refer to something natural (like amniotic fluid) (see John 3:6). Conversion is followed by baptism in/with water – submersion (according to the Greek word baptizó (“fully wet” – Strongs). The act of obedience of baptism is a process in which you are buried by God with Christ by baptism into death (Rom 6:4) and, by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 8:11), you will be raised up from the water in the resurrection power of Christ. With baptism you die and you are resurrected in Christ. Thus it is not strange that in Tit 3:5 it says that we are saved “through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit”.
1 John 5:8 states unequivocally that “there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one”. All three of these “baptisms” are seals of your rebirth: blood, water and Spirit.
We cannot underestimate the importance of the baptism of the believer. For this reason baptism is perhaps the biggest dividing factor in the history of Christianity. Mark 16:16 states it very clearly: “He who believes and is baptised will be saved.” If you have not yet reached that point of obedience, then today is the day on which you should become obedient. “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Heb 4:7).
- Sela: For a historical perspective on infant baptism study the attached article: “Infant baptism” (from gospelcenterchurch.org/Infantbaptism.html). For a bit of a theological challenge, think of how one should understand 1 Cor 15:49 as well as 1 Pet 3:21in the light of the above teaching.
- Read: Gen 20 & 21: Ps 20 & 21; John 20 & 21.
- Memorise: John 20:29.
