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Baptism that counts?



1 Corinthians 12:13 [King James Version]:  "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."

Scripture is in bold print:

"For by one [revealed in three persons i.e. "trinity"] one Spirit [Father, Son [as Jesus of Nazareth] and Holy Spirit] are we all [those who have believed Paul's gospel given in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4] baptized [Strong's # 911, immersed, whelmed i.e. engulfed completely, into His Body, the Church]  into one body [Ephesians 4:4-6, that one body explained. Also further explained in Ephesians 5:30-33], whether we be Jews or Gentiles [Galatians 3:23; Ephesians 2:13-16; Colossians 3:11], whether we be bond or free; and have been all [again by believing the gospel] all made [made to; forced into that body, we have nothing to do with entering into the "body" of Christ] made to drink [enter] into one Spirit [His Spirit is joined to our dead spirit making us believers alive eternally in Him].  It's all His work: "For it is God which worketh in you [by one's faith in believing what God has said/revealed] both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13.  Acts 14:27, 16:14;  Romans 8:28, 9:28, 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Ephesians 1:11, 2:8-10, Philippians 1:6, Colossians 1:29.  Whereas this verse of 1 Corinthians 1:13 also speaks of baptism being His work at belief and continuing for the rest of our physical life.     In all this it is our responsibility to believe, God only expects us to believe what has been revealed:  "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" Colossians 1:27  

This concept of Gentile salvation was "according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" Ephesians 1:4.  "For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." Hebrews 4:3   "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you," 1 Peter 1:20

Sidebar:  I do not hold with Calvinism in election as their understanding goes.  But that God knew/knows who will believe before the world was created.  It is a misnomer to think that God had to plan this and that before He created anything.  Think on this, God was outside time before time was.  "In the beginning God" Genesis 1:1; to have a beginning there must be a way to count that beginning, thus "time".  "And swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:"
Revelation 10:6.  For there to be time no longer there surly was a beginning to that time and so "In the beginning God,".  The first thing created wasn't light but time.  In it's truest since God is light and is, has always been and will be.  That light wasn't created but is!  The book of Genesis reads that the objects that produce light that we can see was created on the forth day.  Don't stand on what you have been taught but read and prayfully ask God to rival truth to you, if then asking in faith with thanksgiving He will when He knows you are ready to grow in Him:  Faith plus nothing, taking God at His Word.

This thought is for free.  "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:8.  "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."   Revelation 17:8

Sidebar:  How does one rationalize a "bottomless pit" although it is mentioned seven times in Revelation;  Revelation 9:1, 2 and 11;  11:7; 17:8; 20:1-3.  To me, the bottomless pit isn't as most always defined but is weightlessness.  They then didn't understand gravity and such like so the Holy Spirit inspired them to write [2 Timothy 3:15-16] what they may have a hard time to understand but could still possibly relate to although but by faith.  This is seen especially in the Prophets.  That's why verses like Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:13 are essential to one's walk in Christ.   


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