Monthly Archives: May 2024

Dios por nosotros

Posted on by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Mucha gente, incluso religiosa, supone que Dios está en contra de los pecadores. “Haz lo correcto”, piensan, “y Dios te amará y te bendecirá, pero haz lo incorrecto y se enojará contigo y te maldecirá”.

Quizás esta visión de Dios proviene del hecho de que muchos pasajes de las Escrituras, especialmente en el Antiguo Testamento, revelan a Dios como el enemigo de los obradores de iniquidad. Pero Él es el enemigo de los hacedores de iniquidad como tales, como hacedores de iniquidad, no como personas individuales.

En Ezek. 18:23 Dios pregunta: “¿Tengo en absoluto placer en que mueran los impíos…?” Y en II Pedro. 3:9 aprendemos que cuando Dios pudo haber juzgado a este mundo por la crucifixión de Cristo, retrasó el juicio porque es “paciente” y “no quiere que ninguno perezca, sino que todos procedan al arrepentimiento”.

El apóstol Pablo, refiriéndose a la crucifixión, declara que “Dios estaba en Cristo, reconciliando consigo al mundo, sin imputarles sus transgresiones; y nos ha encomendado la palabra de reconciliación” (II Cor. 5:19).

¿Cómo podría haber mostrado a los pecadores de manera más concluyente que desea su bien que imputando sus pecados a Cristo y diciéndoles que no les está imputando sus transgresiones? Sus transgresiones les serán imputadas, por supuesto, si rechazan la provisión de salvación de Dios a través de Cristo, pero por el momento es un hecho maravilloso que podemos acudir a cualquier pecador y decirle con la autoridad de la Palabra escrita de Dios: “Tus pecados han sido pagados; Dios no los tiene en contra de usted. ¿Aceptarás Su amor y recibirás a Cristo como tu Salvador?”

No, amigo no salvo, Dios no está en tu contra. Él te ama y proporcionó abundantemente para tu salvación al pagar Él mismo por tus pecados en el Calvario. Esta es la esencia del “evangelio de la gracia de Dios” (ver 1 Tim. 2:4-7). ¿Lo creerás? ¿Confiarás en Cristo ahora, reconociéndolo como tu Señor y Salvador?

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Rare Air

Posted on by Pastor Kevin Sadler

“And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
“And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more…” (2 Kings 2:11-12).

Elijah and his protégé, Elisha, had just crossed the Jordan River in dramatic fashion: “Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground” (v. 8). From there, these two godly men walked and talked on the east side of the Jordan.

Then, in one of the most dramatic scenes in the Bible, the spiritual realm suddenly opened, and a fiery chariot with fiery horses appeared. This chariot and horses immediately separated Elijah from Elisha. The chariot of fire was a literal chariot, and the horses of fire were literal horses from God’s heavenly army in the spiritual realm (6:17). Speaking of fire and God’s angelic host, Psalm 104:4 reads, “Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire.”

The chariot and horses are military images. They are ancient symbols of battle, and further, are symbols of God’s supreme power in battle. Horses and chariots were the mightiest means and weapons of warfare in that day. But fiery horses and fiery chariots demonstrate that God’s power is far greater than any earthly, military might.

The text does not tell us that Elijah got onto the chariot of fire and rode off into heaven. Rather we read that the fiery chariot and horses appeared, separating Elijah from Elisha, and then “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” By a mighty, whirling, rushing wind, the prophet of God was swept off the earth up into heaven, never to be seen by Elisha again.

In this verse, “heaven” refers to the first heaven of the upper atmosphere, where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The whirlwind caught Elijah high up into the sky and then he disappeared and Elisha “saw him no more” (2 Kings 2:12).

When Abraham died, he “was gathered to his people” (Gen. 25:8). Likewise, all believers in the Old Testament were gathered to the people of God in paradise in the center of the earth when they died. They were not gathered in the third heaven above. Our Lord made it very clear at the time of His earthly ministry that “no man hath ascended up to heaven” (John 3:13), meaning the third heaven of God’s throne and domain. Thus, we know that Elijah did not go to the third heaven when he disappeared from this world, but rather he went to the paradise section of hades called “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22).

However, now that the price for sin has been paid, believers today in the Church, the Body of Christ, are welcome in God’s presence in the third heaven. And according to the hope afforded us by the gospel of the grace of God, that is where our spirits go when we depart from this world in death (2 Cor. 5:8; Col. 1:5). The third heaven is our eternal home.

The Lord’s presence is associated with a whirlwind in Scripture. For example, in Job 38:1, we read, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind….” The whirlwind tells that the Lord was present at Elijah’s departure, lifting Elijah from this earth and catching him away to paradise.

In response to seeing Elijah’s translation, Elisha “cried, My father, my father.” Elijah had been Elisha’s spiritual father and mentor, and this title expressed Elisha’s respect and admiration for Elijah. Elisha also called Elijah, “the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” This title describes what Elijah had been to the nation as a prophet of God: a spiritual warrior, a powerful instrument in God’s hand, a oneman army whom God had used to wage war against idolatry in Israel. Therefore, it was fitting that a fiery chariot and fiery horses from God’s heavenly host should appear at his departure.

Missing death puts Elijah in a very rare category in Scripture. Only two people in recorded history have exited earth without dying: Enoch and Elijah. However, we who are alive at the time of Christ’s return at the Rapture of the Church will enjoy this same hope. Every day is a possible day that the Lord could return and catch us up to be with Him in the air.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:16-17).

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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Héroes de la fe

Posted on by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

En Rom. 4:12 el apóstol Pablo declara que Abraham fue padre, no sólo de su descendencia física, sino también de aquellos que “andan en las pisadas de la fe” que Abraham tuvo.

¿Alguna vez has notado que Dios no nos presenta a los grandes hombres de las Escrituras por sus virtudes personales? Casi invariablemente sus antecedentes están empañados por el fracaso y el pecado. Pero Dios nos pide que observemos su fe y lo que su fe les ganó (Ver Romanos 4:3,9,11,12).

Hay un capítulo completo sobre este tema en el Libro de Hebreos. A Hebreos 11 se le llama propiamente “el capítulo de la gran fe”, y a los “héroes de la fe”, porque cuenta cómo Abel, Enoc, Noé, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob y muchos otros “obtuvieron buen informe” ante Dios. Todos ellos tambalearon y fracasaron una y otra vez, pero Heb. 11:39 declara que “todos éstos… obtuvieron buen testimonio POR LA FE”.

Por eso Rom. 4:9-12 afirma que la bendición de Dios se otorga a aquellos que “andan en las pisadas de la fe” que Abraham exhibió, tal como le fue otorgada al mismo Abraham.

Esta verdad se resalta en los versículos 3 al 5 del mismo capítulo:

“¿Porque qué dice la Escritura? Abraham creyó a Dios, y le fue contado por justicia.

“Pero al que obra, la recompensa no se le cuenta como gracia, sino como deuda.

“Pero al que no obra, sino que cree en el que justifica al impío, su fe le es contada por justicia” (Romanos 4:3-5).

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¿Es usted un creyente simbólico de la gracia?

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Nosotros mismos nos gloriamos en vosotros en las iglesias de Dios por vuestra paciencia y fe en todas vuestras persecuciones y tribulaciones que soportáis:

“Lo cual es señal manifiesta del justo juicio de Dios” (II Tes. 1:4,5).

En 32 años de ministerio pastoral, este escritor ha tenido el privilegio de oficiar en muchas ceremonias de boda. Cuando llega el momento de que el novio diga “Sí, quiero”, iniciamos esta respuesta preguntándole: “¿Das tu anillo y aceptas el anillo de tu novia como muestra de que cumplirás la promesa y cumplirás los votos que has hecho este día?” Dado que la palabra símbolo se ha definido como “algo que sirve como indicación o expresión de algo más”, concluimos la ceremonia del anillo diciendo: “Estos anillos de oro servirán como recordatorios continuos de la fe duradera e imperecedera que tienen prometida el uno al otro en este día”.

En la Biblia, leemos que Dios dio el arco iris como “muestra” de su promesa de nunca más destruir el mundo con un diluvio universal (Génesis 9:11-13). De manera similar, se dice que la circuncisión es una “señal” del pacto que Dios hizo con Abraham (Gén. 17:11), y se dice que la sangre del cordero de la Pascua es una “señal” de la promesa de Dios a Israel de perdonar a sus primogénitos. (Éxodo 12:13).

Aquí en nuestro texto, el apóstol Pablo dice que la manera paciente en que los tesalonicenses soportaban la persecución era “una señal manifiesta del justo juicio de Dios”. Es decir, su paciente resistencia a la tribulación fue una señal de que, cuando Dios finalmente juzgue al mundo, “juzgará al mundo con justicia” (Hechos 17:31), porque Él le pagará al mundo por perseguir a Su pueblo. Como Pablo continúa diciendo en el versículo que sigue a nuestro texto,

“Porque es justo delante de Dios pagar tribulación a los que os afligen” (II Tes. 1:6).

Verás, cuando un cristiano es perseguido por su fe, se ha producido una injusticia; ha ocurrido algo injusto. En el perfecto sistema de justicia de Dios, que no puede dejar sin saldar la deuda de ningún pecado, esta injusticia debe ser pagada, y Dios promete solemnemente corregir este mal “cuando el Señor Jesús se manifieste desde el cielo con sus ángeles poderosos,

“En llama de fuego para vengarse de los que no conocen a Dios y no obedecen el evangelio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo:

“Quienes serán castigados con destrucción eterna delante de la presencia del Señor” (II Tes. 1:7-9).

Aquí Dios promete que algún día vengará a los tesalonicenses por las tribulaciones que les dieron sus perseguidores, comenzando con la destrucción que traerá sobre el mundo en Su Segunda Venida. Por supuesto, Dios sabe que será acusado de injusticia, como siempre lo es cuando se le obliga a juzgar a los hombres. Es por eso que el Libro del Apocalipsis está salpicado de afirmaciones de que los juicios de la Tribulación de Dios no son injustos, sino más bien “justos y verdaderos” (Apocalipsis 15:3) y “justos” (16:5-7; 19:2). De manera similar, aquí en nuestro texto, Pablo defiende la justicia de Dios, juicios venideros en su segunda venida.

Luego, Pablo dice que el justo juicio de Dios sobre estos perseguidores del pueblo de Dios continuará en el lago de fuego, cuya “destrucción eterna” continúa hablando aquí en II Tesalonicenses 1:9. Aquí vemos evidencia clara de que todos aquellos en cualquier época que rechacen la provisión de Dios para sus pecados morirán en sus pecados (cf. Juan 8:24), y ellos mismos deben pagar por sus pecados.

Por supuesto, los propios tesalonicenses podrían haber tomado represalias contra sus perseguidores y obligarlos a pagar por los crímenes que cometieron contra ellos. Seguramente hubo momentos en los que sintieron ganas de igualar el marcador. Sin embargo, si lo hubieran hecho, sería injusto que Dios algún día recompensara con tribulación a sus perseguidores, y Dios no sería culpable de doble incriminación. Tal como estaban las cosas, Pablo pudo decirles a los tesalonicenses que la “paciencia y la fe en todas vuestras persecuciones y tribulaciones que soportáis… es una señal manifiesta del justo juicio de Dios”. Si algún día el mundo preguntara por qué Dios los está perturbando, Él puede responder: “Bueno, ustedes solían molestar a Mi pueblo, así que ahora, de la misma manera, ¡Yo los estoy molestando a ustedes!”

Hay una lección que podemos aprender de esto. Si nos vengamos de quienes nos molestan, eso significa que Dios no puede hacerlo. ¡Qué incentivo para dejar la venganza en manos de Aquel cuyos juicios son siempre justos y equitativos! Cuando tomamos venganza, a menudo tomamos muy pocas represalias, dejando nuestro sentido de justicia insatisfecho. O tomamos demasiadas represalias, creando un desequilibrio adicional de justicia que hace que nuestro adversario sienta la necesidad de atacarnos nuevamente. “Pero estamos seguros de que el juicio de Dios es conforme a verdad contra los que practican tales cosas” (Romanos 2:2). Dios juzgará a todos los hombres con justicia, porque su juicio será conforme a la verdad. No es de extrañar que se llame el día del juicio final.
No es de extrañar que el Día del Juicio sea llamado “el día de la ira y de la revelación del justo juicio de Dios” (2:5).

¿Es usted un creyente simbólico de la gracia? ¿Es vuestra paciencia con aquellos que os perturban una señal de que, cuando Dios juzgue a vuestros perseguidores, lo hará con justicia? Ninguno de nosotros jamás le quitaría a Dios, a sabiendas y a propósito, algo que Él dice que le pertenece y, sin embargo, esto es lo que hacemos cuando tomamos venganza de Aquel que ha dicho: “Mía es la venganza, yo pagaré” (Rom. 12:19). Si estás pensando en hacer que alguien pague por lo que te hizo, ¿por qué no decides ahora dejarlo todo en manos de Él?

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El propósito de Dios ante el obstáculo de Satanás

Posted on by Pastor Kevin Sadler

“Por lo cual, yo Pablo, hubiésemos venido a vosotros una y otra vez; pero Satanás nos lo impidió” (1 Tes. 2:18).

Dios tiene un plan para cada una de nuestras vidas, un plan que es para nuestro bien y Su gloria. Sin embargo, no debemos olvidar que Satanás también tiene un plan para la vida del creyente. Sus diseños son destruir nuestras vidas y nuestro testimonio de Cristo a través del pecado, las falsas creencias y las malas decisiones. La mención que hace Pablo de “las artimañas del diablo” en Efesios 6:11 nos enseña que Satanás tiene estrategias, métodos y planes para hacernos caer o huir en la batalla espiritual. Satanás no puede quitarte la salvación (Colosenses 3:3), pero puede destruir tu testimonio. Como un ladrón, también puede robarte tu gozo en Cristo y tu seguridad de salvación.

Después de establecer la iglesia en Tesalónica, Pablo había intentado “una y otra vez” reconectarse y visitarlos, pero no había funcionado. La razón, escribió Pablo, fue que “Satanás nos estorbó”. La palabra griega para “obstaculizado” se usa para hacer intransitable un camino. En el contexto del atletismo, significaba interrumpir a alguien durante una carrera. En un contexto militar, se refería a cortar una trinchera frente a un ejército que avanzaba para impedir el avance del enemigo. Satanás hace lo mismo en nuestra vida cristiana: bloquea el camino, nos interrumpe a mitad de camino para hacernos tropezar o impide nuestro progreso espiritual.

No sabemos específicamente qué hizo Satanás para impedir que Pablo regresara a Tesalónica, pero sí sabemos que Pablo atribuyó la obstrucción al mismo Satanás. Sin embargo, ahora vemos cómo incluso el obstáculo de Satanás fue parte de la providencia de Dios para la vida de Pablo. Dios permitió y utilizó la oposición de Satanás y sacó algo bueno de este obstáculo que Pablo percibía como malo. Como lo hizo con la Cruz, Dios cumplió Sus propios propósitos, usando al diablo para hacerlo.

La consecuencia de que Pablo no pudiera ir a Tesalónica fue que escribió una carta, una carta que pasó a formar parte de nuestra Biblia. Esta carta, a su vez, ha resultado en gloria para Dios y, durante los últimos 2000 años, innumerables multitudes se han beneficiado de la Primera Epístola de Pablo a los Tesalonicenses y han sido bendecidas por sus verdades divinas: nuestra bendita esperanza del Rapto (4:13-18), por nombrar sólo uno. Debido a que Pablo enfrentó un obstáculo satánico en su vida, tenemos 1 Tesalonicenses. Hacemos bien en recordar esto cada vez que enfrentamos un camino bloqueado o una barrera en la vida que percibimos como mala, porque Dios puede obrar para sacar algo bueno de ello para Su gloria y nuestra bendición.

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One [Unifying] Baptism

Posted on by Pastor Kevin Sadler

“Three boys are in the schoolyard bragging of how great their fathers are.
“The first one says, ‘Well, my father runs the fastest. He can fire an arrow, and start to run, I tell you, he gets there before the arrow.’
“The second boy says, ‘Ha! You think that’s fast! My father is a hunter. He can shoot his gun and be there before the bullet!’
“The third one listens to the other two and shakes his head. He then says, ‘You two know nothing about speed. My father works in the government department. He stops working at 5:00 and he is home by 3:45!!’ ”1

Speaking of something to boast in, a truth that all of us can and should glory in, is our spiritual baptism. It is an unspeakable blessing of God to be baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. This baptism unites us with our Savior and His death, burial, and resurrection, and it further unites us with one another in the Church, the Body of Christ.

Not More than One Baptism

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

These verses contain “the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3), and these seven truths are to unite believers, members of the Church.

First, there is “one Body.” There is one singular Church for this current dispensation of grace. Though there are many different denominations and countless local assemblies in the world, there is only one Body. The one Body is the one true Church, the universal body of believers of this present age. It is made up of anyone and everyone who has trusted the gospel of the grace of God, that Christ died for our sins and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:12-13).

Second, there is “one Spirit.” There are not separate Spirits or different Spirits that indwell the many members of the one Body, but the same Spirit. One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, indwells the Church as a whole and every individual in it (Eph. 2:22).

Third, there is “one hope of your calling.” We who are in the Church do not have different hopes; we all have the same hope of heaven (Eph. 2:6). There is a different hope held out in the Bible for Israel: an everlasting kingdom on the earth. However, our one hope and eternal calling in Christ is heaven.

Fourth, there is “one Lord.” The same Lord over you is the same Lord over me and all of us in the Church: the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Head of the Body (Eph. 1:22-23), and we are each called to submit to Him and His loving Lordship.

Fifth, there is “one faith.” We do not follow multiple or different faiths. There is not one faith for one part of the Body and another faith for a different part of the Body. There are other faiths to be found in the Bible that were to be followed and obeyed in the past, however. For example, for 1500 years, in order to be accepted of God, Israel was required to trust and obey the law. However, in the dispensation of grace, there is one faith, one body of truth for us to trust and follow: the faith that was committed to the Apostle Paul for the Church under grace (Eph. 3:1-9).

Sixth, there is “one baptism.” There are multiple baptisms taught in the Bible: the baptisms and washings required under the law, the water baptism of John the Baptist, the water baptism of Peter at Pentecost, and numerous spiritual baptisms. However, in the dispensation of grace, there is one baptism, the baptism that the Holy Spirit performs at our salvation (1 Cor. 12:13).

Seventh, there is “one God and Father of all” of the Body. There is one God in three Persons—all three Members of the Godhead being mentioned in this passage—and we all worship and serve the same God. God the Father is “above all” the Body, works “through all” the Body, and is “in…all” the Body.

It is important to look at the “one baptism” in light of the other six ones in the list, because there obviously are not multiple Bodies, various Holy Spirits, nor several hopes of our calling; there are not lots of Lords, numerous faiths for us to follow under grace, or more than one God the Father. There is only one of each of these for us. Likewise, there are not multiple or two different baptisms, but only one for the Church today. And this baptism is spiritual; it is a Spirit baptism.

“In Christ” is a blessed prepositional phrase and is stated frequently in Ephesians (Eph. 1:1,3; 2:6; etc.) and throughout Paul’s epistles. How does one get “in Christ”? The answer: by the Holy Spirit’s baptism. The Holy Spirit identifies, unites, and places us into Christ the instant we trust the gospel of grace.

We firmly believe in baptism. However, there is only “one baptism” today; Ephesians 4:3,5 teaches that the spiritual baptism is what is to unite us as the one Body of the Church today. The one baptism is to be what it stands for, proclaims, and causes us to rejoice in continually, because the truth of this baptism is an extraordinary blessing.

A Spiritual Circumcision

“In Whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11).

Colossians 2:10 states the wonderful truth that “ye are complete in Him [Christ].” In Christ, we are made whole. By faith alone in Christ, trusting His finished work, we lack nothing for salvation. Nothing is missing and nothing can be added. We are not saved by Christ plus something or plus anything. It is not Christ plus water baptism. Christ is all we need, and salvation is in Him alone.

However, our completeness in Christ which Paul teaches here in Colossians 2 is dependent upon baptism—the one spiritual baptism, that is. Having stated that we are complete in Christ in verse 10, Paul then expounded on that completeness.

In verse 11, Paul wrote, “In Whom,” meaning in Christ, we “are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands.” Being in Christ by way of our spiritual baptism means that we share in what was accomplished through His death. We are joined to His death and resurrection by the Spirit and receive the eternal benefits of His finished work, for example, “In Whom [Christ] we have redemption through His
blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14).

In our union with Christ and being identified with His death, we are “circumcised,” and this circumcision is “made without hands.” This is teaching that the moment we were joined to Christ by the Spirit’s baptism, a spiritual circumcision also took place. Paul’s explanation of this circumcision is found in the second half of Colossians 2:11: “in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”

“The body of the sins of the flesh” refers to the old, sinful, fallen human nature which dominates and reigns over the unbeliever. But the “putting off” of this old nature takes place “by the circumcision of Christ,” or as the result of Christ’s death on the Cross and our union with it when we believed.

Paul is giving us positional truth of our salvation and completeness in Christ. When we believe the gospel of grace, before God, our old, fleshly, sin nature is crucified and put off by Christ’s death on the Cross. Having been baptized by the Spirit into Christ’s death and triumph over sin (Rom. 6:3), we have been freed from the old, sin nature and its dominion over us.

The Holy Spirit baptizes us, places us in union with Christ and His death, and the death of Christ puts off and removes the body of the sins of the flesh in the sight of God. Thus, by virtue of our union with Christ and His Cross, we are now a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), we are wholly God’s, and we are complete in Christ.

A Spiritual Baptism

“Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:12).

Verse 12 does not refer to physical water baptism any more than verse 11 is referring to physical circumcision. When Paul states in verse 12 that the believer is “Buried with Him in baptism,” this baptism does not refer to water, and water baptism does not bring about this truth. To add water to these verses is to rob the Church of the blessed spiritual realities that the Holy Spirit affords us and intends to convey in Scripture.

The word baptism does not mean water. It means identification and union. Paul used the word baptized in this way in 1 Corinthians 10:2 when he wrote that Israel was “all baptized unto Moses.” That is, Israel was identified with Moses and the law.

There is only one baptism today, so when Paul teaches the Church that we are “Buried with [Christ] in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him,” he is pointing out a spiritual reality of our being joined, not only to Christ’s death (Col. 2:11), but also to His burial and resurrection (v. 12). Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish such a work as this, to transcend time and space and supernaturally, spiritually, eternally place one who lives in the 21st century in the tomb of Christ and unite us with His burial and glorious resurrection.

The word “with” describes our connection to Christ. With is a word of connection and union; it is our lifeline to Christ by the Spirit. The Bible says that when Christ died, we died with Him. When Christ was buried, we were buried with Him. And when Christ was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him. Our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ is no less a reality than His own physical death, burial, and resurrection.

Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is the complete, all-sufficient payment for sin. And, by the Spirit, the moment we believe, we have been spiritually baptized and joined to His victorious finished work, and thus, we are complete in Him.

All of this, as Paul puts it, is “through the faith [faithfulness] of the operation of God” (v. 12). Under grace, baptism is not by the operation or instrumentality of man; it’s entirely the operation of God. God performs it. God is faithful to carry out our baptism for us when we believe Christ died for our sins and rose again. Man does not have anything to do with it. Baptism is like salvation today: entirely of God, entirely by His grace, and received entirely by faith alone.

We walk by faith and not by sight under grace (2 Cor. 5:7). Our spiritual baptism is not something we can see, but it does take place instantaneously at the moment of our salvation. It is something the Spirit has revealed to us in His Word, and we are called to trust that God, Who does not fail, did our baptism for us when we believed. And when we rest in this baptism, grow in our understanding of it, and rejoice in it, we give honor to God and His work of one baptism in the dispensation of grace.

How Am I Crucified with Christ?

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” (Gal. 2:20).

Every believer can say, “I am crucified with Christ,” and it is due to the one baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This statement has past, present, and future ramifications.

First, the believer being crucified with Christ is a past event. By the Spirit’s baptism, when Christ was crucified, we were crucified with Him. The “I” in “I am crucified with Christ” is the old self, the evil “I,” you could say. This “I” was crucified with Christ, and it no longer has a valid claim on us. Now, by the one baptism, we are no longer in Adam but in Christ, and we are “alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).

In the eyes of God, there was a decisive crucifixion of the old, sinful self with Christ. We know from Romans 6:6 that God wants us to move forward by faith with the knowledge of this past event: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” The old man, which still remains with us (Eph. 4:22), does not have dominion over us because it has been defeated and rendered powerless by the Cross. By faith, we can now allow Christ to reign over us so that we live a life of “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Tim. 6:11).

Second, the believer being crucified with Christ is a present experience. In the original Greek, “I am crucified with Christ” is in the perfect tense, indicating a past event with present, ongoing effects. Christ’s death and our death with Him via baptism is to have an abiding effect on our daily life.

The positional death of the old man and the stripping of its power by the Cross allows the believer in daily practice to “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). Living in light of our power over sin and the old man by our new life in Christ is what it means to be crucified with Christ as a present experience.

Third, the believer being crucified with Christ has a consequence on our future. As Romans 6:8 reminds us, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” Having been crucified with Christ, we are free from sin’s condemnation, we are complete in Christ, and we will live with Him eternally. Being crucified with Christ, our salvation and hope of glory is secure.

By our baptism into Christ, the old, sinful “I” is crucified with Christ, but as Paul went on to write, “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20). The old, rebellious “I” is crucified and dead in God’s eyes, and now the new, righteous “I” lives. God desires this truth of the exchange of the old life for the new life in Christ, which takes place at salvation, to redirect the entire course of our lives, so that we live in our new life and leave the old behind.

As a result of our uniting baptism into Christ, we are in Christ and Christ is in us, and “Christ liveth in me.” We are one with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). As Paul wrote in Colossians, we have “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). And now that we live in Christ and Christ lives in us, our lives as believers are about the life of Christ being lived out through us.

One Baptism Makes Us One

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:27-28).

Having trusted Christ as our Savior, we “have been baptized into Christ.” This is not water baptism. Only the Holy Spirit can baptize a person into Christ. Paul is referring to the one spiritual baptism by which we are placed into a permanent union with Christ and are forever identified with Him.

The baptizing work of the Spirit unites us to Christ, and it also places us into the Church, the Body of Christ. As 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free….”

In Christ, Galatians 3:28 tells us that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female.” Paul wrote of the most well-defined distinctions in the social structure of his day, where sharp lines of distinction and walls of separation were set up between groups of people. He wrote of these sharp distinctions to contrast how these things are of no consequence in Christ.

In Christ, none is superior or inferior to another. In the Church, a believing Jew is not more privileged than a believing Gentile, a believing slave is not inferior to a believing free person, and a believing man is not superior to a believing woman.

Instead, as Paul wrote, “for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The one spiritual baptism binds together all the members of Christ’s Body and makes us one in Him. At salvation, we are brought into a blessed unity in the Church—the saved with the Savior and the saints with the saints. The person who becomes one with Christ through the one baptism becomes one with every other believer in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). And this oneness will never end.

God’s revelation concerning baptism today is that there is “one baptism” and that it is spiritual and performed by the Holy Spirit. May we glory in this uniting baptism and tell others of its glory!

1. Jokes, One, accessed April 5, 2024, https://jokes.one/joke/three-boys-are-in-the-schoolyardbragging-of-how-great-their-fathers-are.

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Ánimo para un soldado cansado

Posted on by Pastor Cornelius R Stam

Durante su ministerio en Corinto, la tensión de la batalla comenzó a afectar al apóstol Pablo. Se encontró atormentado por el miedo y la depresión. Más tarde escribió sobre ello.

“Estuve con vosotros en debilidad, en temor y en mucho temblor” (I Cor. 2:3).

No se debe suponer que la valentía fuera característica de una naturaleza tan sensible como la de Pablo. Al contrario, muchas veces tenía miedo. Suyo, por la gracia de Dios, fue más bien el denuedo que siguió desafiando los peligros a pesar de sus temores.

Después de haber abandonado la sinagoga de Corinto, la tensión de la reunión, semana tras semana, justo al lado, con todas las situaciones embarazosas inevitablemente presentes, bien pudo haber causado que algunos de sus seguidores, y posiblemente él mismo, cuestionaran la sabiduría y lo correcto del paso que había dado, aumentando su depresión mental (aunque este paso, mudarse a la casa de Justo, al lado, era el más apropiado dadas las circunstancias). Pero el Señor volvería a respaldar el paso de manera inequívoca.

De varios pasajes de la Segunda Epístola a los Tesalonicenses (especialmente II Tesalonicenses 3:1,2) parecería que esta carta fue escrita mientras Pablo estaba temiendo la obra en Corinto y que fue después de esto que el Señor se le apareció en una visión para animarlo.

Que el lector intente ponerse en el lugar de Pablo al leer los versículos 9,10 de Hechos 18 para apreciar más plenamente su fuerza:

“Entonces el Señor habló a Pablo en visión de noche: NO TENGAS MIEDO, SINO HABLA, Y NO CALLES, PORQUE YO ESTOY CONTIGO, Y NADIE PONDRÁ SOBRE TI LA MANO PARA HACERTE MAL; PORQUE TENGO MUCHA GENTE EN ESTA CIUDAD”.

¡Ah, mañana podría empezar de nuevo el trabajo, seguro de antemano del resultado! Quizás sea imposible determinar si “continuó” en Corinto (versículo 11) un año y seis meses más o todos juntos, pero sabemos que su ministerio allí fue sumamente fructífero.

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De un padre a su hijo

Posted on by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

Mientras Pablo se preparaba para dejar esta vida, anhelaba dejar a Timoteo con algunas instrucciones de despedida para animarlo en la fe. El apóstol sabía que su joven amigo se desanimaba fácilmente. Por supuesto, algunas de las circunstancias que enfrentó Timoteo mientras defendía la fe serían suficientes para desanimar al veterano más experimentado de la Cruz hoy (Hechos 19:23-41 cf. 1 Tim. 1:2,3).

Pablo se refiere afectuosamente a Timoteo como “mi hijo”. Aunque Timoteo no era el hijo de Pablo en la carne, el anciano apóstol lo había guiado al Señor; por tanto, era su hijo en la fe. Como resultado, surgió una relación muy especial entre ellos. Timoteo pudo haber tenido diez mil instructores en Cristo, pero solo tuvo un padre espiritual que lo amaba como a un hijo. Por eso, Pablo lo desafía a ser fuerte en la gracia. La gracia es el favor inmerecido de Dios hacia aquellos que no lo merecen.

Timoteo, “sé fuerte”, no dejes que otros te roben la gracia que has recibido gratuitamente. Y el legalismo hará precisamente eso si lo permitimos. Es el enemigo de la gracia. Como los fariseos, el legalista quiere fijar la norma, que decreta que sea la medida de la espiritualidad. A los legalistas les encanta desarrollar una lista tácita de lo que se debe y no se debe hacer para que otros la sigan. Debes ajustarte a lo que han establecido como comportamiento aceptable con respecto a cómo debes vestirte o actuar, o qué Biblia de referencia debes llevar, o a cuántos servicios religiosos debes asistir durante la semana. No conformarte es una indicación segura de que no tienes una mentalidad muy espiritual.

Amados, Dios nos ha dado la norma que debemos seguir en Su Palabra; ¡Se llama GRACIA! Hoy, no estamos bajo la Ley, ni debemos someternos a aquellos que creen que son la autoridad final en cuanto a cómo se debe vivir la vida cristiana. La gracia nos enseña a vivir; es paciente, comprensiva y tolerante. La gracia siempre deja espacio para las diferencias. Nunca es crítica (1 Cor. 4:5). Entonces, Timoteo no debía permitir que nadie le robara la libertad que disfrutaba en Cristo, ni nosotros tampoco. “Estad firmes en la gracia que es en Cristo Jesús”.

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