1 Corinthians 12:11-14
11But one and the same Spirit works all these [gifts], distributing to each one individually as He wills. 12For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14For in fact the body is not one member but many.
Later in the service we have the privilege of baptizing the children of JJ and Mel Turbin – Remi, Ruby, and Molly. As we baptize them, they will join their parents as members of Trinity Church. So why do we unite baptism with membership in the Church? The answer is implied in our text from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Recall that Christianity is an incarnational faith – it is based on God’s acts of salvation throughout history which culminated in sending His Son to be born of the Virgin Mary, to suffer under Pontius Pilate, to die on the cross for our sins, to rise again bodily from the grave, and to ascend into heaven where He now rules and reigns over all things as God’s Messiah. In other words, Christianity is not principally a collection of ideas, but a declaration of God’s historical acts – God’s intrusions into human history to save His people and His creation from sin and death.
What this means, therefore, is that while Christianity is incredibly personal it is not private. Christianity makes public, objective claims about the nature and history of the world and, therefore, about the duties of men and nations. And these public claims are furthered by the Holy Spirit whom the risen Christ has poured out to continue His public, historical work in the world. So note that in our text today, the Spirit of God not only unites us with Christ – we are baptized into Christ’s Name, united to Him by faith – He also unites us to one another. To be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into His body, the Church – a body that consists, as Paul writes in our text, of many members, each with unique gifts to give to others.
Note, therefore, that being a member of a local, visible church is not optional – it is a necessity. The Spirit who unites us to Christ also unites us with the Church. As I’ve said before, my friend Gene Helsel likens holding church via livestream to going on your honeymoon through a screen. Yikes! Newlyweds want to be with one another not just see one another. Like that, Christianity is personal not private; it is incarnational not ethereal. It is physical and spiritual, touching us body and soul.
As proof of the incarnational, physical, historical, public character of Christianity, the Spirit signifies and seals our ingrafting into Christ and His Church by baptizing us with water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t just speak a word over those who believe in Jesus; He commands us to baptize them with water, touching their bodies. He uses a physical, tangible rite because we are physical, tangible creatures. And as we baptize them with water, we pray that God of His grace and mercy would baptize them with the Spirit, would touch their souls, making them living members of that same body – something none of us can do.
As we baptize the Turbin girls later today, therefore, let us receive them as members of Christ’s body, love them as such, and eagerly anticipate the gifts that they will bring to this body. Reminded that in baptism God claims us as His own and unites us to His Church, let us confess that we often take His Church for granted, often neglect those who have been united to us through baptism, and often horde the gifts that the Spirit has given us to ourselves rather than use them to bless the body. As you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.