11施浸者约翰引荐的职事,开始于初步的水浸。如今,属天的王既已完成祂在地上的职事,经过死而复活的过程,并成了赐生命的灵,祂就吩咐门徒,将作祂门徒的人,浸入三一神里面。……主凭这浸吩咐门徒以后不久,就将他们和全召会都浸在圣灵里(林前十二13);犹太部分在五旬节那天(徒一5,二4),外邦部分在哥尼流家里(十一15~17)。以后,基于这事实,门徒将新悔改的人(二38)不仅浸入水里,也浸入基督的死(罗六3~4)、基督自己(加三27)、三一神(太二八19)以及基督的身体里(林前十二13)。水,象征基督的死和埋葬,可以看作了结受浸者老旧历史的坟墓。因为基督的死包含在基督里面,又因为基督是三一神的具体化身(西二9),并且三一神最终与基督的身体是一;所以将初信的人浸入基督的死、基督自己、三一神并基督的身体里,乃是作一件事:在消极方面,了结他们老旧的生命;在积极方面,为着基督的身体,用新生命,就是三一神永远的生命重生他们。因此,这里主所命定的浸,乃是为着诸天的国,把人从自己的生命浸出来,而浸入基督身体的生命里(马太福音生命读经,九一六至九一七页)。 11John the Baptist’s recommending ministry began with the preliminary baptism, a baptism by water only. Now, after the heavenly King accomplished His ministry on earth, had passed through the process of death and resurrection, and became the life-giving Spirit, He charged His disciples to baptize the discipled people into the Triune God…Not long after the Lord charged the disciples with this baptism, He baptized them and the entire church in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), the Jewish part on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:4) and the Gentile part in the house of Cornelius (11:15-17). Then, based on this, the disciples baptized the new converts (2:38) not only into water but also into the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4), into Christ Himself (Gal. 3:27), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). The water, signifying the death of Christ with His burial, may be considered a tomb in which the baptized ones’ old history is ended. Since the death of Christ is included in Christ, and since Christ is the very embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9) and the Triune God eventually is one with the Body of Christ, to baptize new believers into the death of Christ, into Christ Himself, into the Triune God, and into the Body of Christ is to do just one thing: on the negative side, to terminate their old life, and on the positive side, to germinate them with new life, the eternal life of the Triune God, for the Body of Christ. Hence, the baptism ordained by the Lord here baptizes people out of their life into the Body life for the kingdom of the heavens. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 787-788)