Section 7
the all-inclusive death of Christ, into which His believers are baptized (Rom. 6:3), buried not only the baptized people but also their sins, the world, and their past life and history (just as the Red Sea buried Pharaoh and the Egyptian army for the children of Israel—Exo. 14:26-28; 1 Cor. 10:2), and separated them from the God-forsaking world and its corruption (just as the flood sep arated Noah and his family from the world— 1 Pet. 3:20-21). The Holy Spirit, into whom the Man-Savior baptizes those who believe in Him, is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Hence, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and even into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which is joined to Christ in the one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). It is through baptism in such a water and in such a Spirit that the believ ers in Christ are regenerated into the kingdom of God, into the realm of the divine life and the divine rule (John 3:3, 5), that they may live by the eternal life of God in His eternal kingdom.
According to the context, "fire" in 3:16 and 17 is not the fire in Acts 2:3, which is related to the Holy Spirit. Rather, the fire in these verses is the fire of the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). The word