In Galatians 3:27 Paul says that as many as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ. To put on Christ is to clothe ourselves with Christ, to put on Christ as a garment. On the one hand, in baptism we are immersed into Christ; on the other hand, in baptism we put on Christ. Christ, the living Spirit, is the water of life. Hence, to be baptized into Christ is to be immersed into Him as the Spirit. When a person is immersed into Christ, he automatically puts on Christ as his clothing. This means that the baptized one has become one with Christ, having been immersed into Him and having become clothed with Him.
If Christ were not the life-giving Spirit, there would be no way for us to be baptized into Christ. How could we be baptized into Christ if, according to the traditional teaching of the Trinity, He were only sitting in the heavens? For us to be baptized into Christ, Christ must be the pneuma, the air, the Spirit all around us. If we consider Christ simply as One in the heavens far away, we can practice baptism as a ritual. People can be baptized without any realization of the significance of baptism. However, we cannot be baptized into a Christ who is only in the heavens. But we can be baptized into the Christ who is the pneuma, the Spirit. This is proved by 1 Corinthians 12:13, where we are told that in one Spirit we were baptized into one Body. The Spirit here is the all-inclusive, processed Triune God. In the Spirit, the processed Triune God, we have been baptized into one Body. Therefore, for us to be baptized into such a divine reality, Christ must be the life-giving Spirit. Whenever we baptize others, we should tell them that the Triune God as the processed life-giving Spirit is all around them, and that they need to be baptized, immersed, into the reality of this divine Person.
It is significant that at the end of chapter three of Galatians Paul concludes with a word about being baptized into Christ and putting on Christ. The fact that Paul concludes with a word about baptism indicates that what he has covered in this chapter can be experienced only if we have been baptized into Christ and have put on Christ. We should not be concerned with whether or not we have spoken in tongues, but with whether or not we have been baptized into Christ and have put on Christ. Our concern should be that we have become one with Christ. I can testify strongly that I have been baptized into Christ and that I am wearing Him as my clothing, my covering. I have the full assurance that I am one with Him and that He is one with me. I have the divine life, I am in the divine Person, and the divine Person is one with me.
In verse 28 Paul says that in Christ there “cannot be Jew nor Greek, there cannot be slave nor free man, there cannot be male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This indicates that in Christ there is no place for the natural man. Because we have been baptized, the natural man has been terminated, buried, and is now in the tomb. All the differences among races and nationalities, in social rank, and between the sexes have been abolished, and we are all one in Christ Jesus.
The word “one” in 3:28 is of great significance. However, for the most part, today’s Christians in their experience are not one. The reason for this lack of oneness is that so many have not experienced the proper and genuine baptism in which they are immersed into the Person of the Triune God, into Christ as the life-giving Spirit, into the death of Christ, and into the Body of Christ. Through baptism, we, the baptized ones, are one in Christ. If we take in such a word about baptism with the hearing of faith, we shall have the assurance to say that we are in the Triune God, in Christ, and in the Body of Christ. Furthermore, we shall know that we are one with all those who have been baptized into Christ.
By faith we reflect the divine scenery of grace. Our living has become a photograph in which others can see the heavenly things. Through us and in us, they can behold the heavenly reality. What we are reflecting today is not the law; it is Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit, the blessing of God’s promise to Abraham. We are a reflection of the fact that we, the believers in Christ, are all one in Him.