CROSS Spirit-and Water-Baptism 135
broader theological context of both the Pauline letters and the rest of the
New Testament.
Fee also discusses Paul's soteriological metaphors—adoption, washing/
rebirth/life-giving, sanctification and anointing, seal, down payment and
first fruits—from which he concludes that '[t]he wide variety of metaphors
in itself indicates that no single one will do. The work of Christ, appro-
priated by the Spirit in Christian conversion, is simply too multifaceted to
be captured by a single metaphor.'^50 Precisely: but given that he accepts
the metaphorical use of baptism in 1 Cor. 12.13, it is puzzling why he does
not include it in this list. Later he adds: 'The metaphors tend to be used in
keeping with the emphasis of the moment, thus the point in context is what
is at issue not the precise timing or relationships in conversion.'
The context of Paul's use of baptism in 1 Cor. 12 is the unity of the
Church which is referred to by the use of the metaphor of the body. Fee's
discussion of v. 13 begins with the statement, 'The present sentence
explains the presupposition "the body is one'".^51 From this he correctly
emphasizes that Paul's concern here is how believers from very diverse
sociological contexts (v. 13b) form the one body of Christ, not how peoplebecome believers.^52 Lars Hartman criticizes the claim that 'baptize' in
12.13 is figurative and that the reference is to conversion, on the basis of
the recognition that the theme of unity is central to Paul's thoughts here.
He observes that Paul naturally employs baptismal terminology when
arguing for the unity of the Church (cf. 1 Cor. 1.13; Eph. 4.4-6: 'It seems
that baptism represented an objective sign of the unity in Christ'), a posi-
tion he believes is supported by the baptismal associations of the phrase
'neither Jew nor Greek' in v. 13b which also occurs in Col, 3.11,^53 to
which should also be added Gal. 3.28 and the reference to 'slave or free'.
Confirmation that Paul is using baptism metaphorically for spiritual
realities and relationships both Dunn and Fee find in 1 Cor. 12.13c.^54 Dunn- Fee, God's Empowering Presence, pp. 855-60, quotation from p. 859,
- Fee, First Corinthians, p. 603.
- Fee, God's Empowering Presence, p. 178.
- Hartman, Into the Name ', p. 66 n. 39.
- Cf. Bruce, I and 2 Corinthians, p. 121, who supports the traditional view of
v. 13a when he claims that the aorists in v. 13c (E(3ocTTTio0r||jev and eTTcmaGruJsv) refer
to an initiatory experience. On e(3aTrna0r|TE in Gal. 3.27, Longenecker, Galatians,
p. 155, claims that 'you have been baptized' 'undoubtedly refers to Christian baptism,
i.e., immersion in water, for this is the uniform meaning of the term in Paul (cf. Rom.
6.3; 1 Cor. 1.13-17; 12.13; 15.29), with the single exception being his reference to the
Israelites as "baptized into Moses.. .in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. 10.2)...' There