The end of the preceding age was bound up with the appearing of Jesus Christ on earth for the purpose of putting away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Coming into the world, He spoke words which virtually ended the first covenant in order that He should establish the second (Hebrews 10:1-9). His life-span on earth marked the period of time which lay between the removal of the first covenant and the establishing of the second; during that period He finished all the work which remained to be done, finalising all by death and resurrection. Following this, He ascended to heaven and presented Himself in perfection to His Father in preparation for the commencement of the second or the new and everlasting covenant.
As the former age was drawing to its close, God sent John Baptist into the world to be the forerunner of His Son Jesus. John brought in baptism with water as a means of forgiveness by remission of sins upon the condition of repentance. So we find the documents of the last days of the Old Covenant commencing with the introduction of water baptism. These documents are each one called a Gospel, for they set forth primarily the good news of Jesus Christ. At the end of His life, that is at the very end of the interim period, through death and resurrection He accomplished, brought in and established the true Baptism, later called by Paul (the) One Baptism.
Having accomplished this, Christ returned to heaven and inaugurated the new age by pouring forth the Holy Spirit. This was absolutely necessary, for it was in the Spirit that His own true, personal baptism had been accomplished and is now for ever established for men.
Unto Newness of Life
Nothing is established in water as of itself. But if water be allowed its proper place and be given its true spiritual meaning, when used in baptism it will speak to us of greater things from God than those of which it speaks in ordinary use:
(1) By John's word the water represented the stream of remission of sins by which a soul may find forgiveness.
(2) By Paul's word it represents the immeasurable and unplumbable ocean of Christ's death and burial from which the person who is baptised rises to newness of life.
(3) (The whole spiritual meaning and content of which Paul writes and which could not be typified in the baptism which John ministered, was put into baptism by Jesus, namely His own personal baptism into death, followed by His resurrection from it). By His work and ministry the water represents the Holy Spirit, into whom we all must be baptised in order that we may live in the eternal life of the Son. This He accomplishes in us by immersing us with definiteness and total despatch into all the particular work He accomplished for us when He was personally baptised into death and rose again from it, as being singularly and solely God-unique there.
Beside these things, water baptism carries other meanings as well, such as discipleship or personal allegiance to Jesus Christ, but these which we have considered are by far the greatest of them all.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.