Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE BODY OF CHRIST:
Metaphor Not Myth” Part 8
We will briefly examine the book’s final addendum before I leave you with my concluding observations and opinions about its message and significance.
Please turn to Addendum II, the final portion of the book.
Let us begin.
Addendum II
A DOCTRINAL MODEL FOR FURTHER STUDY
Another doctrinal model could be developed by examining the three predominate views within Christendom concerning baptism and comparing each to its respective ecclesiology. [I take this as the author’s invitation to his readers for someone to develop a book focused on this topic, which Classical Baptist Press would be eager to publish.] The Catholics believe water baptism actually places you in Christ. The Protestants believe the Spirit baptizes you into the universal, invisible body of Christ, conveniently ignoring that Spirit baptism, as introduced by John the Baptist in Matthew 3.11, was to be accompanied by signs, and in the New Testament, is accompanied by signs. I would ask my Protestant friends where the signs are associated with your claim of Spirit baptism, or where is your justification for there being no associated signs? Baptists correctly believe that believers, already in Christ by a work of God’s salvation, are baptized (by immersion according to the consistent meaning of the Greek term) in water representing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are thereby brought into membership of a body of Christ. Obviously if ideas differ on what the church is, how believers enter it will differ.
Catholicism, ignoring that baptism is never in Greek accomplished but by immersion, teaches that baptism of water is a sacrament bringing salvation, so much for salvation by faith alone, and is propagated as the physical means whereby one can in reality be placed in Christ, resulting in one becoming a member of the universal visible body of Christ in a real way. The physical work of baptism initiates the Spirit’s power to place the participant in union with Christ. This changes one’s physical reality because mystically and in a real way one becomes a member of the universal visible body of Christ.
In what they call Spirit baptism, though without any associated signs, Protestantism has the Holy Spirit immersing believers at salvation into the universal invisible body of Christ. Hence, passages that should clearly teach water baptism are taught as referring to Spirit baptism. Baptism is said by Protestants to be spiritual and the body of Christ is said by Protestants to be spiritual. Being placed into the body of Christ is said by Protestants to be equivalent to salvation.
The Baptists once again see baptism in water as the one baptism of which Scripture speaks in Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” And if the baptism of Ephesians 4.5 is Spirit baptism as the Protestants insist, does that mean water baptism called for in the Great Commission is no more? Because by the time Paul wrote Ephesians there was only one baptism.
This work is a symbolic declaration of the work of God’s salvation when He placed us in Jesus Christ. Baptism in water is the work of sanctification which brings us into association with Christ’ metaphoric body, His assembly. Baptism in water is a metaphoric picture of our union with Jesus Christ and brings us into union with His metaphoric body, His Church.
In the book’s Introduction, the author presents two figures. Figure one [See figures above], on the left, portrays a single body with Jesus Christ shown as the head and the body from the neck down representing The Church, illustrating the Protestant understanding of the body of Christ metaphor, including all Christians. Figure two [on the right] portrays two complete bodies, with the position of leadership occupied by the entire figure of Jesus Christ and the subordinate position occupied by the full figure of The Church, including members of a single congregation’s membership. In the Introduction, the author asserts. In Paul’s writings, Figure 1 does not illustrate the Body of Christ metaphor. At the same time, Figure 2 accurately represents the Body of Christ metaphor in Paul’s writings and the husband-and-wife relationship in marriage. First Corinthians 11.3.
Chapter One of the book acknowledges that the Body of Christ metaphor is very popular but incorrectly held by many good Protestants and Baptists, such as T. Croskey, W. F. Adeney, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Matthew Poole, and John Thornbury. He also points out the fallacies they each fell prey to.
Chapter Two introduces the correct view of the Body of Christ metaphor, introduces us to scholars whose comments reflect the correct view, and points out that not only does the Body of Christ metaphor reflect the same head-to-body relationship that is found in Paul’s description of husbands to wives in marriage, but is also careful to note that the relation in the Body of Christ to the Church is not a relationship of union, but one of sanctification. Thus, one’s salvation is not accomplished by being incorporated into the Body of Christ, as Protestants wrongly believe. The Body of Christ relationship comes after conversion to Christ and is instrumental in the sanctification of one who is already a believer.
What happened to Bill this morning [when he was baptized] did not save him. He was qualified for what happened this morning by having a credible testimony and us [the Church’s membership] believing that he is likely a believer in Christ, with time being the ultimate test.
Chapter Three is devoted to the “in Christ” relationship of the believer to the Savior, as found in First and Second Corinthians, Romans, First Thessalonians, and First John. This relationship is established when a sinner comes to faith in Christ, and only subsequently does a Christian become a member of the Body of Christ, the local congregation, via believer baptism after conversion and not at the moment of conversion.
Chapter Four expands on sanctification in the Body of Christ, the Church member’s growth and maturation as a congregation member after conversion and baptism. In the chapter, the author clears up confusion about the meaning of First Corinthians 12.13,
“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.”
This verse cannot possibly refer to Spirit baptism for two reasons: First, the context of First Corinthians chapter 12 deals with sanctification and not salvation. Second, Spirit baptism is performed by the Lord Jesus Christ, according to John the Baptist, Matthew 3.11, which is most certainly not the case here. Ergo, the baptism of First Corinthians 12.13 can only be water baptism, not Spirit baptism. There is more to the chapter, including supporting comments from the great Greek scholar A. T. Robertson.
Chapter Five supports the correct view of the Body of Christ metaphor in passages in First Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians.
Chapter Six is where the author summarizes and concludes. Among his remarks is the observation that nowhere in the New Testament is the word ἐkklhsίa used metaphorically, and there are no cases in which the bodies, plural, appear concerning the Body of Christ metaphor, which would confuse the metaphor. Finally, he restates in this chapter that entering the Body of Christ does not depict one’s salvation, but one’s sanctification.
Addendum I was new terrain for me. I had never before reflected on the three views of the communion of the Lord’s Supper and the correlation of the three views of the Church held by Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and the view held only by Baptists. The author’s content in the first addendum bears reading and rereading and rereading. I promise you will benefit from your repeated readings.
As previously stated, the second appendix argues the benefit of someone writing a book to elaborate the relationship between one’s view of baptism and one’s understanding of ecclesiology, the doctrine of the Church.
Let me leave you with several vital quotes from this book well worth highlighting and remembering:
Quotation #1
“To picture our union with Jesus Christ organically in a head-body metaphor seriously denigrates Christ.”
He is pointing out here that if you understand the Body of Christ [metaphor] the way the Protestants understand the Body of Christ [metaphor], you are theologically denigrating the Lord Jesus Christ in ways you probably don’t realize. You need to be careful about that. It [the Protestant view of the Church] slams Him [the Lord Jesus Christ]. The Protestant view of the Church slams the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the figure on the left [above]. If the Protestants are correct, the head’s health and welfare depend upon the body’s health and welfare. Does Christ depend upon anything or anyone? No. He is God! The figure on the left cannot possibly be correct.
Quote #2, which is the quote Charles Hunt’s pastor said to him as a young preacher:
Quotation #2
“Chuck, always separate ecclesiology and soteriology and you’ll go in the right direction toward understanding the biblical teaching of the church.”
And then #3 quote,
Quotation #3
“There is no universal, invisible body that we instantly become a member of at the moment of salvation.”
Let me say that again:
“There is no universal, invisible body that we instantly become a member of at the moment of salvation.”
“Pastor, don’t you believe that every Christian will end up a member of the Body of Christ?” My response? “Not yet.” “Not yet.” “In heaven? Yes. Here? No.”
Finally, if you misinterpret the Body of Christ metaphor, your ecclesiology will be wrong. You get the metaphor wrong; you get the whole doctrine wrong. You cannot be right on the Biblical doctrine of the Church if you misunderstand Paul’s body of Christ metaphor.
Question? Comment?
Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Fill out the form below to send him an email. Thank you.