Search
Scripture Reading: Matt. 3:11a; 28:19-20b; Rom. 6:3-4a; Gal. 3:27-28; 1 Cor. 12:13a
We have seen that God took two steps in order to work Himself into us to be our life. He became flesh, and He became the life-giving Spirit. Jesus was the last Adam in the flesh, but through death and resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit. He became flesh for our redemption, and He became the life-giving Spirit to impart His life into us.
Christianity stresses very much the part of redemption, but they miss the main goal of life. We have heard many messages about redemption in Christianity, but we have never heard that Jesus as the last Adam became the life-giving Spirit in order to impart Himself into us as life. We had sin, but we did not have life. So Jesus became flesh to take away our sin, and He became the life-giving Spirit to impart to us His life.
Altogether, the Lord took seven steps in seven stages. There was the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, the baptism, the indwelling, and the advent. The incarnation means the mingling of God with man. The crucifixion means the termination of all the old creation. The resurrection means the germination of new life with a new start in the new creation. The ascension means that Jesus as a man was inaugurated into the new position of King of kings and Lord of lords to be the Head over all things. Then on the day of Pentecost and at the house of Cornelius, He came as the Baptizer to put all His people into Himself. Following this, He began to indwell all His members for transformation. By His transformation we will be made mature, and He will come back. The advent will mean the transfiguration of our physical body. Then we all will be fully, wholly, and thoroughly the same as He is, both inwardly and outwardly. Hallelujah! This will be the New Jerusalem, which is a consummate expression of all that God has been working out in these seven steps.
In this chapter we must see something more concerning the relationship between the indwelling and the baptism. These stages are closely related to one another. The baptism was to put us into Him, and the indwelling is to put Him into us. Baptism means that we are in Christ, and the indwelling means that Christ is in us. Many times in the New Testament we have these two phrases, in Christ and Christ in us. We were baptized into Christ, and then Christ came into us.
Of the four Gospels, the first is Matthew and the last is John. This is quite meaningful. Why was the Gospel of John not first, and why was Matthew not last? This would be like putting the head under the feet, and the feet on the neck. It would not fit. To have Matthew first and John last is really fitting. But many Christians have not seen the preciousness of these two books.
No other books in the Bible reveal as much of the Triune God as these two books. The name of the Triune God is clearly revealed in Matthew. There is not one verse in the Old Testament that tells us so clearly about the Trinity as Matthew 28:19. Of course Genesis and Isaiah give us some hint, because they both use the pronoun Us for God. But Matthew 28 makes it so clear and definite: “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
However, we should realize that this clear word did not come until the Lord Jesus was resurrected. This is in the very last part of the last chapter of the book. Chapter 1 tells us that Jesus was born of a virgin, and His name was called Emmanuel, God with us. He was just a little, despised man, but He was God with us. After living for some thirty-three years, He was crucified, buried, and resurrected. Then He became the life-giving Spirit, who is the all-inclusive realization, reality, and embodiment of the Triune God. He came back to His disciples as such a one, One who includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then He told them, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19).
In chapter 1 we have Emmanuel, but in the last chapter God with us becomes the Triune God. We could never be baptized into Emmanuel. He was just a little man called Jesus. We could never get into Him. John the Baptist prophesied in Matthew 3 that He is the One who will baptize us in the Holy Spirit. But where is the Holy Spirit? It was not until His resurrection that He came back in another wonderful form. He became the life-giving Spirit, and He came back in such a wonderful way. He had a body that could be touched, yet He came through closed doors! Then He told the disciples to go and disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Triune God. When He was in the flesh as a man, He could not put people into Himself. But after He was resurrected, He became the life-giving Spirit. He was no more simply the man Jesus. He was now the ultimate, all-inclusive realization, reality, and embodiment of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
After speaking of putting people into the Triune God, the Lord told His disciples that He would be with them unto the consummation of the age. We are baptized into the Triune God, yet Jesus is with us. So who is Jesus? Jesus is just the Triune God. The proper interpretation of this verse has been completely missed by Christianity.
I would like to quote something from Marvin R. Vincent’s book entitled, Word Studies of the New Testament. “Baptizing them INTO the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ‘Into’ denotes union or communion with. Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with Him. The name is the sum total of the divine being. It is equivalent to His person. His name is of no avail detached from His nature. When one is baptized into the name of the Trinity, he professes to acknowledge and appropriate God in all that he is and in all that he does for man.”
I believe we are clear. To baptize people into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means to put them into the Triune God. According to Mr. Vincent, this is to put them into the sum total of the Divine Being, and this is a kind of spiritual and mystical union.
Christianity tells us that Jesus was born simply to save sinners. But Matthew does not end that way. Matthew ends with Jesus as the life-giving Spirit, embodying the Triune God, putting all God’s chosen people into Himself. And His presence is with all the baptized ones. Matthew tells us far more than just the saving of Jesus. Matthew ends with Jesus baptizing all God’s people into the Triune God. And He is the ever-present One with all those He has put into Himself. This is simply the church life. It is not merely the saving of Jesus. It is being put into Jesus as the life-giving Spirit, embodying the Triune God, that we may enjoy His indwelling presence in the church life.
Matthew 28 speaks of the baptizing into the name of the Triune God, but Romans 6 speaks of being baptized into Christ: “Are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (v. 3). And Galatians 3:27 says the same thing: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Then 1 Corinthians 12:13a says that we have been baptized into one Body: “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body.” So from these verses we can see that we are baptized into the Triune God, baptized into Christ, and baptized into one Body.
Now we have some trouble. Are these three baptisms, or are they one? If they are one, how could one baptism put us into three categories of beings? We have been put into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the one Body. Are we in three, or are we in one? We have been put into one because the Triune God is Christ, and Christ is the one Body. To be baptized into the Triune God is simply to be put into Christ, and to be put into Christ is to be put into His Body. Hallelujah! We have been baptized into the Triune God, we have been baptized into Christ, and both Jews and Gentiles have been baptized into one Body. These are not three categories of separate beings. They are one. The Triune God is simply Christ, and Christ today is His Body. “As the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ” (v. 12). Christ in many members is one Body, and in one Spirit we have all been baptized into one Body.
I have the deep conviction that this is all very new to us. But on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius, Christ as the baptizing Spirit, embodying the Triune God, put all God’s chosen people into the Triune God. To be put into the Triune God simply means to be put into Christ Himself, and to be put into Christ Himself is to be put into the one Body.
Now we know why Matthew mentions the Triune God in such a clear and emphatic way. It is because Matthew shows us how God became incarnated, born of a virgin to be Emmanuel, God with us. But we could not be put into Emmanuel. He had to go through some thirty-three years of process. He was processed through death and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit. And the life-giving Spirit is the last person of the Triune God, being His full embodiment and realization. Now Christ is such a Spirit, into whom we all have been baptized.
Whenever the church baptizes new believers, we must have the faith and realization that Jesus is baptizing with us. For us to baptize others means nothing. But in our baptizing, the Lord Jesus is putting people into the Triune God. That really is something. He is the Baptizer, and as the life-giving Spirit He embodies the very Triune God, into whom they are baptized. They are baptized into the Triune God, into Himself, and into His one Body.
By baptism we have been put into the Triune God, but this putting in also includes termination. We need to read Romans 6 again: “Are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death” (vv. 3-4). We were baptized into His death, and we have seen that His death means termination. So to be baptized into Christ means to be baptized into termination.
When we were baptized into Christ, we were terminated in Him and buried in Him. We are happy to hear that we were baptized into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the one Body, but we must realize what baptism means. Baptism means termination and burial. To be baptized into Christ is to be terminated in Christ. We are even buried in Christ. So many people think that to be put into Christ means to be put into the heavens, but it really means to be put into a tomb. This is why Galatians 2:20 says, “No longer I.” The “I” is terminated and buried. As many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death. This is not so pleasant. We like to stay in Christ, but we do not like to stay in the tomb. But if we take Christ, surely we must also take His death. And His death means termination and burial.
Nearly all Christians know that Matthew is a book concerning the kingdom. But this book also shows us that to enter into the kingdom is really simple. We only have to be buried into Christ, and then we are in the kingdom. If we would be buried in Christ, we are in the kingdom. To go and disciple all nations, baptizing them into the Triune God means to put people into the kingdom. And to put people into the kingdom means to terminate them and bury them.
Today the real meaning of baptism has been completely lost. People only know the form as a kind of ritual. They simply cannot understand that baptism means to be put into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the one Body. And it means to be terminated and buried in Christ. All my history, my natural life, my self, my nature, and my whole being is now terminated in Christ and is buried. By this I am in the Triune God, I am in Christ, I am in the one Body, and I am in the kingdom. There is no other way but to be buried into Christ. It is not simply to be buried in the water. That means little. We have to be buried into Christ.
We must learn to put these four verses together. Matthew 28:19 says that we have been baptized into the Triune God. Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27 say that we have been baptized into Christ. And 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that we have been baptized into the one Body. The Triune God is the very Christ, and the very Christ is the one Body. When we are buried into these three things, which are really one, we are really terminated. Then we are in the proper church life, the kingdom, and the Body.
If God did not become the life-giving Spirit, it would be really difficult for Him to put people into Himself. In the first place, we would still have sin. Sin would not be dealt with. Besides this, we are mere human beings. How could human beings be put into God? But praise the Lord that He became flesh to accomplish redemption and take away the sin of man. After this, He became the life-giving Spirit, making it possible for His chosen ones to be baptized into Him. So when we are baptizing others, we should not do it by ourselves. We must do it with Him, by being one with Him. We put them into the water, but He is putting them into Himself. On the one hand, He is the Baptizer, and on the other hand, He is the available Spirit, making it possible for Him to put people into Himself.
If we would know the indwelling of Christ, we must see the proper meaning of baptism. We have been baptized into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the one Body. And this baptism means our termination and our burial. We have been fully ended. All the Americans are fully ended, and all the Chinese are terminated. All the natural human beings have been terminated and buried. Hallelujah! Now it is no more I but Christ. “I” have been terminated and buried into the Triune God, into Christ, and into the one Body. This is the meaning of baptism.
Now we are clear concerning the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew tells us that Christ was a little child, born of a virgin. And this little child was Emmanuel, God with us. After living on this earth He was processed through death and resurrection to become the wonderful life-giving Spirit, who is the full realization, reality, and embodiment of the Triune God. He is the Baptizer, and He is also the very One into whom people are baptized. This is the baptism that forms the one Body, and this Body today is just Christ, and Christ is the Triune God. Praise the Lord!
