"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment" (I Cor. 1:10). When we preach and teach the same thing it does not cause division.
Some members of the church at Corinth were calling themselves after men: "...I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ" (I Cor. 1:12). To be "of Paul" would mean to belong to Paul; to be "of Apollos" would mean to belong to Apollos; to be "of Cephas" would mean to belong to Cephas; and to be "of Christ" would mean to belong to Christ.
Paul shows that in order for one to be of Paul there were two things that were necessary. "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul" (I Cor. 1:13)? Men were saying "I am of Paul" and Paul was showing them that they could not be of him because these two things were not true. He says, "was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized into the name of Paul?" Thus showing that in order for a man to be of Paul, or belong to Paul, Paul must first, have been crucified for him; and in the second place, he must be baptized into the name of Paul.
That same principle comes down to those who said, "I am of Christ," or I belong to Christ. The same two things are necessary. In order to be "of Christ," Christ must be crucified for you. In the second place, you must be baptized into the name of Christ in order to belong to Christ.
It is true that Christ has been crucified for us. "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left" (Luke 23:33). But it is just as true that we must be baptized into his name or we do not belong to him. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Those that HAVE BEEN baptized into Christ are the ones who have PUT ON CHRIST.
Those passages show beyond any doubt that baptism is an essential element in the plan of salvation. "Repent and be baptized for (in order to receive) the remission of sins..." (Acts 2:38). They also show that those who belong to Christ have been saved from their sins. And that applies to those for whom Christ has been crucified and those who have been baptized into His name. It is not possible that one is "in Christ" before he has been baptized "into Christ." II Tim. 2:10 teaches that salvation is “in Christ Jesus.” If salvation is “in Christ,” there are none saved outside of Christ. We must conclude that, since none are saved outside of Christ and one must be baptized in order to get into Christ, then it is not possible for one to be saved before he is baptized into Christ.
Be as the Berean's who "searched the scriptures daily, whether these things be so" (Acts 17:11). And not as those who wrest the scriptures to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:15-16).
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (I Pet. 4:11).
Don H. Noblin
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