of course must claim precedence, and our endeavour will be to ascertain
I. What is the inward and spiritual blessing connected with the sacrament of baptism in Scripture?
II. What is the nature of the connexion?
I. That there are certain high and rich gifts connected with baptism in sacred Scripture must be acknowledged by all who study it in a childlike spirit. Men may entertain different opinions as to the connexion, and even as to the nature of the gifts, but that there are such gifts it is surely impossible to deny. Few words may suffice to shew that the sum and substance of these gifts is a saving union with our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Cor. xii. 13, it is written, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” That these words apply to the inward and spiritual grace of which baptism is a sign and means, lies on their very surface. They are plainly speaking of an inward and spiritual work, for they ascribe it to the agency of the Holy Ghost himself—“By one Spirit are ye all baptized;” while the use of the word “baptized” is proof of a connexion between this inward change and the outward sacrament. The inward grace is the subject of the passage, and this grace is connected by the language with the outward sign. We are, therefore, fully warranted in employing this text as a description of that blessing with which baptism is connected. It does not teach us the nature of the connection, but it does teach us the nature of the gift. And what is this blessing? The formation of a union with Christ Jesus; an engrafting into the living vine; an incorporation amongst the members of His body. The agent who forms this union is the Holy Ghost. “By one Spirit.” And the body with which the union is established is the mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ; the body of which the Apostle speaks when he says, “And gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body.” (Eph. i. 22, 23.)
It is of the utmost importance that all should bear in mind that this is the great, grand gift to be sought in baptism. The Bible says not a word of the implanting of a principle which may or may not grow in after life; it speaks of nothing short of a union with our Lord in its highest, holiest, and most efficacious sense. If the grace be really given, in the fullest sense in which the words can be used we are made members of the body of our Lord. The same appears from many other passages. In Gal. iii. 26, 27, we read, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” And again, Rom. vi 3, 4, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death.” These words are sometimes thought to apply simply to the profession made. As we are not now inquiring into the nature of the connexion, we need not pause to discuss that question: our only object at present is to shew that a union with Christ is the inward blessing with which baptism is connected in Scripture. And this appears plainly in both passages, for the words are, “Ye have put on Christ.” “Ye are baptized into Jesus Christ.”
If this be plain, the remainder of our present inquiry will be easy: for there are two changes immediately produced when this union with Christ is formed, viz., a change of condition and a change of heart.
CHANGE OF CONDITION.
No sooner is a union with Christ established, than there is a complete change in our position before God. When a man is not in Christ, he stands alone, and bears the whole weight of sin, both original and actual. He is like the manslayer outside the city of refuge, or like those who saw the waters of the flood arising, but were themselves outside the ark. Those that are “without Christ” are “without hope,” for it is written, (Eph. ii. 12,) “That at that time ye were without Christ” (separate from Christ, not in union with Him), “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Nothing can be plainer than the contrast here drawn between men without Christ and men in Christ. Those without Him are strangers from the covenant; but those in Him are reconciled, or made nigh by His blood. In Christ they are justified from all things. They are no longer under the curse, because His atonement has removed it from their head. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Coloss. i. 14.) They are no more regarded as sinners, for as their sin has been laid on Christ, so His righteousness is imputed unto them. “He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
CHANGE OF HEART.
But there will also be a change of heart. It is wholly impossible that there should be a union so close, so intimate, so rich in gifts as this is, without the likeness of our Lord being formed in the heart of Him that is so united to him. The member of Christ must be like Him. This seems so obvious as scarcely to require proof. If we be so made one with Christ as to be accepted in Him, to share the love shewn Him, to be regarded in all respects as members of His body, we must be moulded after His likeness, and changed by the Holy Ghost after His image. The words of St. Paul, “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,” set this question at rest at once. They shew that there must be a change of heart whenever there is a union with the Lord. The same appears from 2 Cor. v, 17, 18, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, &c.” The change here spoken of is not one of condition, or of covenant relationship with God; but a new creation of the soul, a renovation of the habit of the mind, of the thoughts, of the affections, of the whole bearing of the new created spirit. “Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.”