Divine ordinance into a party cry, and had gathered around those who had baptized them,

and made them into party leaders. This Paul abominated.

There is, however, in verse 17, a statement which demands most careful attention. We

do not deny that the Apostle means, by the words "Christ sent me not to baptize but to

preach the Gospel" that the Lord desires faith in Himself and not faction over ordinances;

but we venture to say that, with even this thought in mind, not one of the Apostles who

had received the commission to "Go preach . . . . . baptize" could ever have so definitely

said "Christ SENT ME NOT to baptize BUT to preach the Gospel".

The Apostle Paul hereby makes another statement which helps us to see that he was

not to be reckoned among the twelve Apostles. For, although he laboured in conjunction

with them during the proclamation of the Kingdom (which was always accompanied by

baptism) yet such was his commission that, when the Kingdom was no more, and baptism

came naturally into disuse, his Apostleship only took upon itself its higher and greater

meaning. It is abundantly clear that during the Pentecostal dispensation there were two

baptisms.

Eph. 4: as definitely tells us that, in the Unity of the Spirit which we are called to

"keep" there is "ONE BAPTISM". The one baptism whereby a believer of the present

dispensation is made a member of the One Body is the work of the Holy Spirit, which not

only united him on Resurrection ground to the Risen Saviour, but has buried his old

nature together with Christ--the Baptism wherewith Christ was baptized in death, an

aspect of baptism often ignored (Matt. 20: 22, 23).

The Epistles to Timothy and Titus contain explicit directions to the leaders in the

churches "that they may know how they ought to behave in the House of God", but we

look in vain for any direction as to baptism--not a word of instruction or caution as to

administration, as to the fit candidates for it, as to any of the many things that it is

continually necessary to be told and taught wherever baptism is practiced.

Linked with the subject of baptism is that of the Lord's Supper.  In I Cor. 11: the

Apostle declares how he received instructions from the Lord on this important subject,

and in other parts of this Epistle he refers to the Lord's Supper.  In I Cor. 10: 17, he

draws a lesson of Unity from the fact of there being one loaf, just as he does in I Cor. 12:

by the fact that the diverse gifts were given by the one Spirit. Water Baptism, the Lord's

Supper, and gifts, were all closely connected with the Kingdom, and when the Kingdom

became in abeyance, these consistently became in abeyance too. Hence, we read through

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Timothy and Titus in vain to find the

SLIGHTEST reference to ordinances of any kind whatever.  Timothy needed no

instruction as to ordinances, neither do we; for we are in a dispensation where ordinances

are not commanded. It is very remarkable, and worthy of notice, that those Christians

who have brought to light most prominently during the past century the subject of the

One Body are those who have caused more divisions than any others; and have stumbled

more enquiring believers as to this very subject, by their tyrannical conception of the

Lord's Supper.