SPIRIT- AND WATER-BAPTISM IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12.13
Anthony R. Cross
I. Introduction
The meaning of 'baptism' in 1 Cor. 12.13 has been the subject of consider-
able discussion in recent years. The text reads:
KOU yap ev evi nveuijaTi r\\if\s TTOCVTES eis ev oco|ja e(3aTrna0r||JEV,
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—
e'lxe'louSmoi e'iTefEAAT)ves, E'ITE 60GA01 E'ITE EAEUSEPOI,
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—
KCn TTOCVTES EV TTVE\J|ia ETTOTlO0r)|JEV.
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit, (NRSV)
While a number of key exegetical matters confront the interpreter in this
verse, the primary focus of this paper is on the theological and experiential
relationship between Spirit- and water-baptism. There are two main posi-
tions: first, that the reference is to water-baptism, a view which often links
the reception of the Spirit with baptism in water; and secondly, that Spirit-
baptism is in view, namely conversion, and that this is separate from
water-baptism.^1 First, we will examine the most widely held view chiefly
through one of its main advocates, George Beasley-Murray. Secondly, we
will look at the more recent view of James Dunn, followed by Gordon Fee,
which interprets 'baptism' in terms of metaphor. Finally, a third way will
- A third view, which posits a post-conversion baptism of the Spirit, does not
concern us in this study and, I believe, has been well answered, e.g., by J.D.G. Dunn,
Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Re-examination of the New Testament Teaching on the
Gift of the Spirit in Relation to Pentecostalism Today (London: SCM Press, 1970), pp.
127-29; G.D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), p. 180; M.M.B. Turner, The Holy Spirit and
Spiritual Gifts Then and Now (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1996), pp. 46-55; A.C.
Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text
(NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2000), pp. 997-1001.