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baptized into (eis) Christ and identified with, baptized into (eis) His death.
Thus the believer is "united with Him in His death" and "will certainly be
united with Him in His resurrection" (Rom. 6: 5, N.I.V.). That identification,
that union with Him in death and resurrection is as essential for believers in
this dispensation as it was for those during the Acts period. Thus Eph. 4: 5
must be referring to this baptism.
Weighing up the whole ministry and writings of Paul one can but conclude that to the
Apostle of the Gentiles, water baptism was not essential during the Acts period. To Paul,
"the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" (Eph. 3: 1), there was only one baptism
permitted after the rejection of Israel at the end of the Acts period and that was the one in
which the believer was baptized with (en) the Holy Ghost.
Colossians 2: 10, 11 is the only other passage, written after the setting aside of the
Jewish nation, which mentions baptism:
"And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power: in
Whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with Him in (en)
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God,
Who hath raised Him from the dead."
To try and make this passage refer to the ritual of being baptized with (en) water is
simply not possible. To attempt to do so would show failure to appreciate that Colossians
is parallel to Ephesians and in the latter there is but one baptism and that must be the
baptism with (en) the Spirit. Also the context of Col. 2: is suggestive. Verse 11
mentions "the circumcision made without hands" and the reference, in the same verse, to
"the circumcision of Christ" cannot refer to the rite performed on the eighth day old baby
but to His death, to Him being cut off (Dan. 9: 26). Also Col. 2: 14 refers to "blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances" and verse 16 gives freedom concerning food, drink,
holy days, new moons, and sabbaths. Col. 2: 17 states that all these were but "a shadow
of things to come; but the body (i.e. the reality) is of Christ". In the light of all this, to
insist that Col. 2: 12 refers to baptism with (en) water not only ignores the context, it
actually breaks with it.
As mentioned above, the second half of Col. 2: 11 "putting off the body of the sins of
the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" is referring to the Lord's crucifixion and this
verse has similarities to Rom. 6: 6. In fact Col. 2: 12 is saying much the same as
Rom. 6: 3-5 and the expression "buried with Him" occurs in both. This does refer to the
work of the Holy Spirit and is the result of being baptized by the Lord Jesus Christ with
(en) the Holy Spirit into (eis) His death. Thus the conclusion is the same. Water baptism
has no place after the Jewish nation was set aside at Acts 28: 26-28. The baptism for
today is the one with (en) the Spirit which identifies the believer with His Lord and His
crucifixion and His resurrection. This baptism is essential to eternal life but when does it
take place?
In Luke 24: 29 the Lord told the disciples to "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until
ye be endued with power from on high" and in Acts 1: 4, 5 the Lord's command was: