BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF CHRIST

ow this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; And I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 1:14-17).

ome have argued that, since Christ sent Paul "not to baptize, but to preach the gospel," baptism must not be a part of the gospel. But this does not follow, for when the gospel was preached, people were told about baptism, and those who believed were baptized (Acts 2:38; 8:12,13; 10:34-48; 16:14,15; 16:31-33; 18:8; 19:1-5; 22:12-16). It does, of course, follow that "to baptize" is not "to preach," which is the point Paul was making. In the first century only inspired men could preach the gospel. But anyone could baptize a penitent believer. Therefore, Paul spent his time preaching rather than baptizing.

aul thanked God that he had not baptized many of the Corinthians simply because he did not want anyone to think he had baptized in his own name or by his own authority.

lien sinners are to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38; 10:48; 19:5). Since some of the Corinthians were saying, "I am of Paul,” he was reminding them that they had not been baptized in his name. And it was to prevent their thinking this that he had not baptized many of them.

hus, those who said they were "of Paul" were not "of Paul" for Paul had not been crucified for them and they had not been baptized in his name. It must also be true that those who said they were "of Cephas" or "of Apollos" were not of Cephas or Apollos, because neither man had been crucified for them nor had they been baptized in the name of either man. Rather, they were all "of Christ" because Christ had been crucified for them and they had been baptized in the name of Christ. It follows from this that, if we want to be "of Christ,” we must be baptized in His name. Therefore, not merely baptism, but baptism “in the name of Christ” is essential to being "of Christ." &

SINGING WITH THE UNDERSTANDING

By Randy Cavender

inging is an important part of our worship services. However, too many do not understand the songs that we sing. No, I am not talking about notes, note values, measures, clefs, and staffs. I am speaking about the words that we sing. Paul instructed the Corinthians, "What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15). 1 would like to pose the question, what does it mean to sing with the understanding?

he term “understanding,” here, means: “The intellect, i.e., mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will)." Therefore to sing properly we must use our intellect or our minds. I dare say that too many of us very rarely look at the words of the songs we sing. We use our emotions to judge whether a song might be spiritual or not. As Christians, we must look at the words and understand what they mean to understand them. Several years ago, the preacher where I grew up asked the question, "What does the word 'Ebenezer' mean?" Hey, I didn't know. Most of the brethren present did not know. However, in the song, "O Thou Fount of Every Blessing," we sing, "Here I raise my Ebenezer." If I don't know what the word means, was I singing with the understanding? (Do you know what "Ebenezer" means?) Thus, I must use my intellect to sing with the understanding.

re the songs we sing scriptural? We must decide if the words, phrases and thoughts are according to what the Bible teaches. Many like to sing songs like "It Won't Be Very Long" and "Jesus is Coming Soon." When denominational preachers preach that Jesus is coming soon and that his coming is near or not very long, I believe they are teaching the doctrine of premillennialism, a doctrine contrary to the scriptures. One might object and say, "We don't know when Christ is coming." That is exactly right. The reason we don't know is that the scriptures have not revealed it. We cannot say that it won't be long or soon. We can't say that it will be many, many years from now. The Scriptures teach: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matt. 24:36).

gain, the danger is that we don’t look at the words of the songs we sing. I dare say that as Christians we hardly look at any of the words. Sometimes we sing songs that make liars out of us. We sing "Toiling On" while we do nothing. We sing "I Surrender All" while not giving up a thing. We sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers” as we turn and run at the first sign of danger.

o you see my point? I hope SO! The Lord taught that we must worship God "in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24). Our spirits or minds must be in our worship. We must understand the prayers being prayed, the sermons being preached, we must understand the purpose of the Lord's Supper and, my brethren, we must "sing with the spirit, and…also sing with the understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15)

WE TEACH WHAT WE SING

By Bob Myhan

et the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

nasmuch as we teach what we sing, we should certainly be careful of both the songs we sing and the songs we listen to. Consider, again, the point made in the previous article: “Are the songs we sing scriptural? We must decide if the words, phrases and thoughts are according to what the Bible teaches.” If a song we are singing teaches error, then we teach error by singing it. The fact that a song, hymn or spiritual song is pretty or easy to sing is not, of itself, a valid reason for singing it. We must consider whether or not the ideas conveyed by its words are scriptural. If, for example, a particular song teaches the second coming of Jesus Christ will be premillennial [that is, prior to the setting up of a thousand-year-long kingdom on earth], then we are teaching premillennialism when we sing that song.

owever, some songs may be thought by one person to teach one thing and thought by another person to teach something different. The song, “Into My Heart,” may sound to some like an alien sinner praying for salvation. Others may not think this. And, while one may link “Jesus Is Coming Soon” and “It Won’t Be Very Long” with the error of premillennialism, another may not. “Soon” and “long” are relative terms. Jesus’ coming is sooner now that it was in the first century. Thus, it won’t be very long now as compared to then.

hus, singing some songs may be like the eating of meats (Rom. 14:1-23). If one cannot sing a particular song “by faith” he should not sing it. But neither should he judge as a sinner his brother who can sing it! &