217 - THIS BAPTISM IS NECESSARYMarch 20, 1960
Henry F. Kulp
Ephesians 4: 1 - 6 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We have come now to a new section in the book of Ephesians – we are studying the practical part—and the practical part is made up of two different sections. Chapters 4 and 5 have the believers’ walk, Chapter 6 has the believer’s warfare. And so now we have left the doctrinal part, and are now bound for the practical part. We are exhorted to walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called. In other words, we should walk as a heavenly people, living in an earthly atmosphere.
1/ Ephesians 4: 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Here is a verse that I spent quite a bit of time thinking about. It went to my heart as very few verses have gone to my heart, for every word in it, every expression in it is a challenge to the believer. I couldn’t help keep asking myself the question—to what extent have I lived up to the standard that is set forth here.
2/ When we examine this portion of Scripture in the original Greek, we come even more humiliated and ashamed before the Lord than if we just looked at it in English, for the Greek truth drives it home right in our hearts.
3/ Then, see last week, March 13th message, on the “Fine Art of Walking” page 4, 5, 6.
4/ Ephesians 4: 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Now we are told that all of these virtues contribute toward keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. First of all, please notice what we are asked to do. We are not asked to make unity. God has made unity already, within the church, which is His Body, we have differences in wealth, education, color, social standing but God warns His people to guard the unity which He provided.
A. C. Gaebelein says, “We keep the unity when we recognize every true believer is a member of His Body”. The way to have this unity that is already provided, is to be altogether lowly and humble as verse 2 teaches. Then we will not look down upon everyone, but recognize everyone that believes is a member of His Body and we will have unity.
5/ Endeavoring in the Greek means to make haste—a determined effort. It has the idea of exertion in it—we are to guard, keep a watchful-care over this unity, and guard it as something which is in our possession.
6/ I Thessalonians 4: 16, 17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Here at the rapture of the Church, when Jesus Christ shall snatch His Body up to be with Him, this is the same time when we shall have real unity—we shall be caught up together and in our new bodies, we will have unity, such as we have never had before.
7/ Then we come to a seven-fold unity in verse 4. The first three are important. One body, one Spirit, one hope.
First of all, let us look at the one body. That is the body of Christ that is called the church. The body is composed only of people who have been washed of their sins in the blood of Jesus Christ. There are many denominations, many churches, but only one true church—His Body—the members of this body may differ in color, nationality, ability, mentality, but through faith in Jesus Christ are made members of His body which is His church.
8/ Romans 12: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
9/ Then we have one Spirit—and, of course, this refers to the Holy Spirit, Who is a Person, Who is God. And by the Holy Spirit’s operation, we are part of the body. That is why He is mentioned with the one body. Some folks say that we are made members of this body by a Holy Spirit baptism—I do not accept that at all. We are made members of this body, by the Builder, Who is the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2: 21, 22 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
10/ We have told you and brought messages before on the Holy Spirit in the book of Ephesians, and it is a beautiful picture. You remember, first of all He is the Seal, then the Earnest, then He is the Guide, then He is the Builder. In the third chapter He is the Revealer. But the one we are interested in this morning is the Builder. He is erecting the Temple of God, the habitation of God upon this earth, and it is by His work, by His operation we are saved and placed into this body, into this church. So we have just one body, and One Spirit.
11/ Then we have one hope—the third great truth—the one hope of your calling. A Christian does not have a thousand hopes—he only has one. An unsaved person may have a multitude of hopes, which are never realized. He never really comes to experience them. But a believer has the one hope, which he will realize in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavens for us.
12/ What is that hope? It is that someday we shall behold the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, and shall be transformed into His image.
I Corinthians 15: 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Philippians 3: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Tells us we shall be changed like into His glorious body.
Titus 2: 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Says it is the blessed, prosperous hope.
I Thessalonians 4: 14 - 18 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
He calls it the comforting hope, and here it is the hope of our calling.
13/ One Lord. The one Lord, of course, is God’s eternal Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians we have already known Him as Saviour and He is pictured as Lord. Not only does He give life as Saviour, but He governs over us as our Lord.
14/ Many believers do not know Christ as Lord of their Life. A Bible-scholar said to his professor in Bible school, “I have been fighting with the Lord. He wants me to go to India as a missionary, and I do not want to go.” The professor said, “You have been fighting with the Lord, for you have not recognized Jesus Christ as Lord, or you would not fight with Him. It is impossible to recognize Him as Lord, and then fight with Him.”
15/ Do you recognize how many times the expression, Yea, Lord, occurs in the Bible? These two words are very significant. “Yea, Lord.” One should never say, “No, Lord,” for when you say, “no” you are not recognizing Him as Lord of your life. It must always be “Yea, Lord”—you must rule out the word, “no”.
16/ Even under the law, when Jesus Christ was here telling the people that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand. He had just finished telling the people the Sermon on the Mount, and as a fitting climax to the Sermon on the Mount we have
Matthew 7: 21 - 23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, have we not cast out demons in Thy Name, have we not done many wonderful works in Thy name. In other words, they say, Lord, we recognize your Lordship. But Jesus Christ will say to them—depart from Me, I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.
In other words, they said, we have done this as we have recognized You as Lord of our lives. But He says, you have not recognized Me as Lord of your lives, you have not recognized My Lordship, so therefore, you will depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity.
17/ Philippians 2: 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He tells us that every knee and tongue will be bent to Jesus Christ. Even the millions of lost who have scoffed at Him, and the swearer who has taken His Name in vain, will confess that He is Lord. All the ungodly infidels will confess that He is Lord. All the ungodly infidels will confess that He is Lord. Even we Christians who have had Him as Saviour, it is true. We have trusted Him, we have recognized that He paid the price of our redemption, but actually He has not been the Lord of our lives. We have not obeyed Him. We have not listened to Him. Just take in verse 2 here.
If you have not done what He says here, then He is not the Lord of your life. If you are not altogether lowly, if you are not modest, if you are not one who is willing to put up with indignities from others, then you have not obeyed Him, and you have not confessed Him as Lord of Your life.
18/ Then the word, faith, is not the Christian’s faith as a system of doctrine, and its respective responsibilities. I am sure it refers to the principles of faith by which all saints enter into salvation.
19/ Then we come to a very important section. One baptism. What is the one baptism? Many say it is water baptism. Every one of these seven is supernatural. Every one of the seven is necessary. And so, if it is water baptism, then water baptism is supernatural, and it also essential to salvation. I cannot understand how anyone can possibly believe this is water baptism.
20/ Then, of course, this cannot be Holy Spirit baptism, because we already have the Holy Spirit here. And if we have the Holy Spirit, then it will be a duplication. What Baptism is it talking about here?
21/ First of all, Kenneth Wuest has something to say that is very important here. He says, the Greek words for “one Baptism” are words that are transliterated. For, he says, why should all the other words in this passage be translated, and this alone by transliterated? Why should the commentators transliterate the Word, when the other words are not handled the same way? The words translated should be “one placing into.” So this can only mean that is a death baptism.
22/ Luke 12: 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Here Jesus Christ gives us the principle that is so important. He gives us the principle of death baptism, for He says, I have a baptism to be baptized with. He is not talking here about water baptism, nor is He talking about Spirit Baptism, but rather He is talking about His death baptism when He was made the penalty for our sin.
23/ All other modes that are brought in here, they have to be stretched to meet this point. But this does not have to be stretched, it makes sense right off the bat. We know that we have to be crucified into the death of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
And this thought also makes Romans 6: 3, 4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
We are baptized into His death, we are placed into His death. And that is an absolute necessity.
Romans 6 cannot possibly be talking about water baptism, how can anyone say that he walks in the newness of life, just because he has been water baptized? That doesn’t make sense. But after he has been placed into the death of Jesus Christ and been made a new creation, has the indwelling Holy Spirit, then he has the ability, and the know-how to walk in newness of life.
AMEN
Ref: 03/20/1960 / 217 - THIS BAPTISM IS NECESSARY / 11/12/2020
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