The first step of the believers’ living in the Body of Christ is to be baptized in one Spirit into one Body. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” As the Spirit is the sphere and element of our spiritual baptism and in such a Spirit we were all baptized into one organic entity, the Body of Christ, so we should all, regardless of our races, nationalities, and social ranks, be this one Body. Christ is the life and constituent of this Body, and the Spirit is the reality of Christ. It is in this one Spirit that we were all baptized into this one living Body to express Christ.
The believers of Christ are baptized through water and in the Spirit into Christ, the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3), the name-the Person of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and the Body of Christ. Baptism ushers the believers into an organic union with Christ and the Triune God, making them living members of the Body of Christ.
We may talk a great deal about the baptism in the Spirit but not nearly as much about being baptized into the Body. The baptism of the Spirit is not for individuals; it is for the Body. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul clearly says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” This Body is an organic entity. We know from Matthew 28:19 and Galatians 3:27 that we have been baptized into the Triune God and into Christ. The Triune God and Christ are organic and living. From Romans 6:3 we know that we have been baptized not only into Christ but also into His death. Positively, we have been baptized into the Triune God and into Christ; negatively, we have been baptized into the death of Christ. This negative aspect of baptism clears away such negative things as sin, the flesh, the self, and the old creation. The ultimate issue of baptism is that we are put into the Body.
We have been baptized into the Triune God, into Christ, into the death of Christ, and into the Body of Christ. The destination of such a baptism is not the Triune God, Christ, or the death of Christ; the destination is the Body of Christ. Our baptism begins with bringing us into the Triune God, but it ultimately leads us into the Body of Christ. Since the Body of Christ is the destination of baptism, we should remain in this destination. Today we are not only in the Triune God, in Christ, and in the death of Christ-we are in the Body of Christ, the church. The Body of Christ is our destination, and in the Body we should live, move, serve, worship, grow, act, work, and have our being.
In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul tells us not only that in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body but also that we “were all given to drink one Spirit.” To be baptized in the Spirit is to get into the Spirit and be lost in Him. To drink the Spirit is to take the Spirit in and have our being saturated with Him. By these two procedures we are mingled with the Spirit. To be baptized in the Spirit is the initiation of the mingling and is once for all. To drink the Spirit is the continuation and accomplishment of the mingling and is perpetual, forever.
After being baptized in one Spirit, we need to drink of one Spirit. Let us all be immersed in this Spirit. We need to be saturated, permeated, and soaked in this Spirit. We should always live in this reality-whatever is outside of us is the Spirit, and whatever is inside of us is the Spirit. We should all be wrapped up with the Spirit in the Body.
First Corinthians 12:13 shows us where we can drink one Spirit. We drink the Spirit in the Body. If we were not in the Body, there would not be any flow, and there would not be anything to drink. The flow is in the Body. According to the book of Revelation, in eternity the flow will be in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1-2). Today, the flow, the river, is in the Body. In one Spirit we have all been baptized into one Body to drink one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in the Body of Christ. As long as we stay in the Body, the destination of our baptism, we may drink the Spirit. Those who are seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit should come into the Body of Christ, for here, in the Body, we drink the one Spirit who is in the Body.
To be baptized in the one Body is to experience something once for all, but to drink one Spirit is a continuing experience. We may compare baptism to a wedding and drinking to married life. The real experience of married life does not take place at the wedding. The wedding is a procedure to acknowledge the fact of marriage. The experience of married life continues day by day. The same is true of baptism and drinking. Many Christians have only the “wedding”-baptism; they do not have the “married life”-the daily drinking of one Spirit. In the Lord’s recovery we have both baptism and drinking, both the wedding and the daily married life. We have the procedure to receive and accept the fact, and we have the moment-by-moment experience. Now we are in the Body to drink. In one Spirit we have all been baptized, and now we are in the Body drinking of one Spirit.
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