The Ordinance of Baptism
The ordinance of baptism was given by Jesus Christ to the Local Church, and pictures the gospel of Christ, by immersion in water. A scriptural candidate is a person who has a public profession of repentance and faith in the gospel. The authority for baptism resides in the Local Church and is a prerequisite for membership in a local assembly, which must be administered by a properly authorized New Testament Church. Baptism has a threefold purpose: To create an outward picture of our inward change that happened at Salvation; as a guard to the church by keeping out false doctrine; and to demonstrate the submission of the believer to Biblical authority. Matthew 3:2,5-9; 28:18-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41; 8:12,36-38; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:5; II Peter 3:21.
I Corinthians 12:13
There is one Holy Spirit that seals each of us on the day of Salvation until the day of redemption (Eph 4:13), and fills us as much as we are willing to give him control in our lives. That same Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth (John 6:13). That Spirit leads us to the truth of the necessity for baptism. In literal interpretation of this passage, the Holy Spirit was leading the professing believers to be baptized into the local assembly at Corinth. I do not believe in a “baptism of the spirit” which makes us all members of some universal “church”.