2-17 Days of Praise

Baptism in the Holy Spirit
by Henry Morris, Ph.D. | Feb. 17, 2009
"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13)

This is a definitive verse on one of the great themes of the Bible. The preposition "by" is the Greek en, which can take many meanings (by, with, through, etc.) depending on context, but is most frequently and most naturally rendered simply as "in." The baptism in one Spirit is the theme of this passage, teaching us that every one of the "brethren" (v. 1)--those who "speaking by the Spirit of God" have acknowledged Jesus to be their Lord (v. 3)--have been "baptized into one body," the body of Christ Himself.

This baptism is accomplished in the Spirit for every genuine believer, Jew or Gentile, slave or master, male or female, young or old. Furthermore, the passage is actually in the past tense: "|In| one Spirit |were| we all baptized into one body." This baptism does not take place repeatedly in one's life, as may be true of the "filling" of the Spirit, but once, at the time of true conversion. There are only seven explicit references in ... This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.