We were not only baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into the name of the Lord Jesus, into Christ, and into the death of Christ; we were also baptized into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), into one organic entity, with Christ as its life and constituent, to express Christ. All the believers in Christ, regardless of our races, nationalities, and social ranks, have been baptized in one Spirit into one Body. Christ is the life and constituent of this Body, and the Spirit is the reality of Christ. It is in this one living Body that we express Christ.
Baptism has two aspects: the visible aspect is the baptism in water; the invisible aspect, the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 10:47; 9:17-18; John 3:5). Water is the symbol of baptism, and the Holy Spirit is the reality of baptism. The visible aspect is the expression, the testimony, of the invisible aspect, whereas the invisible aspect is the reality of the visible aspect. Without the invisible aspect by the Spirit, the visible aspect by the water is vain; and without the visible aspect by water, the invisible aspect by the Spirit is abstract and impractical, without an expression. Both are needed.
The water and the Holy Spirit in which we were baptized are typified by the sea and the cloud in which the children of Israel were baptized (1 Cor. 10:2). Their crossing of the Red Sea in the cloud and in the sea signifies that our baptism should be in the Holy Spirit and in water. Their passing through the Red Sea, on the negative side, delivered them from Pharaoh and Egypt, and on the positive side, brought them unto Moses. This signifies that, on the one hand, baptism delivers us from Satan and the world under him, and on the other hand, it brings us into Christ. Furthermore, Pharaoh and his army could only pursue them to the midst of the Red Sea, but not beyond it. Moreover, once the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they were delivered out of Egypt and could no longer go back to live the Egyptian life. This indicates that Satan and the power of his world can only pursue us to the midst of the water of baptism, but not beyond it. Furthermore, once we are baptized and have been delivered from the world, we can no longer go back to live a worldly life. The water of the Red Sea, on the one hand, destroyed Pharaoh and his army for the children of Israel, and on the other hand, it saved the children of Israel from Egypt that they might follow Moses to serve God. Similarly, on the one hand, the water of baptism destroys Satan and his worldly power for us, and on the other hand, it saves us from the world that we may follow Christ to serve God.
Although the children of Israel applied the blood of the lamb that God’s smiting in His wrath might pass over them, it was not until they walked into the Red Sea that Pharaoh’s power over them was destroyed. Although they had kept the Passover and were saved from God’s judgment, they were not delivered from Pharaoh and Egypt’s tyranny until they crossed the Red Sea. This indicates that although we have received the Lord’s redemption through His shed blood and God’s wrath has thus departed from us, it is not until we walk into the water of baptism that Satan and his worldly power can be destroyed. We have believed in the Lord and have thus been saved from God’s judgment, but we must be baptized that we may be delivered from the usurpation of Satan and the world. Therefore, baptism delivers us from Satan and the world, just as the crossing of the Red Sea delivered the children of Israel from Pharaoh and Egypt. Just as Pharaoh and his army followed the children of Israel into the Red Sea and were drowned in it, so Satan and his worldly power were also brought into the water of our baptism and destroyed there. Although Pharaoh and his army were destroyed in the Red Sea, the children of Israel were able to come out of its midst and follow Moses to serve God. In like manner, although Satan and his worldly power were buried in the water of baptism, we were able to rise up from the water together with Christ that we may follow Him to serve God. Therefore, what the Red Sea did for the children of Israel, baptism does for us. It delivers us from the world and its power, and it brings us into another realm in resurrection.
First Peter 3:20-21 says, “...while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were brought safely through by water: which figure also now saves you, baptism,...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The words “brought safely through by water” here indicate that water was the means of salvation. In Noah’s age, it was by the ark that God saved Noah and his family from His judgment, that is, the destruction of the world by the flood. But it was by the water as a separating power that God saved them from the corrupted generation and brought them into a new age. Thus, water is not only the symbol of baptism; it is also the means of salvation.