For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given one Spirit to drink (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Be careful.
Taken out of context, this can look like Paul is preaching that all people are part of the Body. That he’s advocating a Brotherhood of Man, we are all God’s children, many roads lead to God kind of business.
Nope
Thank God for context.
Paul is talking–as he has been all along–about Christ-following, Gospel-preaching, Spirit-filled believers. And within that context, we have the joy of knowing that we are one body. The things that sometimes so often divide us–race, socioeconomic status, cultural background–are nothing when placed against the One who unites us. Keep that in mind as you head into your day.
Happy Wednesday, Beloved
Gloriously true. But this baptism isn’t this perhaps the one we resist the most? It’s true that Christ on the cross has broken down all the barriers exactly as you put it so well. But removal of the barriers is simply the prelude. For us to allow the Spirit to end our preoccupation (mine…proud son of a very independently minded Republican US Army Colonel) with the individualism and self-autonomy so highly prized in our Western culture and actually form us and our congregations into knowing we are the body of Christ…that our bodies are mere metaphors for the real thing…Christ. That work of the Spirit is hard graft but that’s where the joy is, yielding our independence to Him.