Viewed in the light of information supplied in verses 12 and 13, this all seems natural and quite normal. The Church is seen to be nothing less or other than the manifestation on earth of the spiritual counterpart of the body of Jesus of Nazareth. At present it is being indwelt and used by Him in the same way as that past body of flesh and blood was indwelt and used by Him then. Though not in a literal, identical manner, nevertheless in the same sense as His physical body was but one and yet was a unity of many easily distinguishable members, so also is the spiritual body of the person of Christ.
Membership in His body is synchronous with our initiation into His life and takes place when we are baptised in Holy Spirit. For this reason baptism in the Spirit is absolutely necessary for each one of us. In that Spirit we are immersed by Jesus Christ into actual membership of His spiritual body, with a distinct individual function readily understood by all.
However, far more importantly than this aspect of the Baptism, at the same time we are each one individually baptised into the spiritual person of Jesus Christ. This is accomplished in us only because when baptising us, He also causes us to drink into one Spirit. Seeing that the body is His body, it follows that the Spirit we drink into can be no other than His Spirit. It certainly cannot be anyone else's, for there is only one spirit per person and body: that is why a body can only be one person's body.
As upon being baptised into the body of Christ a person becomes a member of that body, so it is also that upon being baptised into the person of Christ, a person becomes alive with the Spirit of Christ. By such means and only by them can a person become a functional, living or life-member of Christ. At our spiritual baptism we go into the person of Christ for life and into the body of Christ for function. Obviously it is at this time that a person becomes Spiritual, for all is of and in and by and for and from the Spirit. Because this is so, it must be the actual time of spiritual birth, for how can it be anything other?
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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.