Not once does “the Apostle to the Gentiles,” Paul, in his thirteen epistles to the members of the “body of Christ,” teach that members of “the Body of Christ” are baptized WITH the Spirit or IN the Spirit.

Rather, Paul writes; “For BY one Spirit are we all baptized INTO one body…” (I Cor. 12:13).

A close look will reveal an important difference in the preposition used in each case. The Apostle Paul taught that believers today are baptized “BY” the Spirit INTO Christ’s “one body”; we today are NOT baptized “WITH” the Spirit to be endowed with power as were the Lord’s Jewish disciples at Pentecost.

Let’s look closely at these Scriptures that are so often mingled in error.

1. Speaking of Christ, John the Baptist predicted: “He (Jesus) shall baptize you (of Israel) WITH the Holy Ghost (the Holy Spirit)” (Matt. 3:11).

This prophecy was in fact fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, where “they (all Israelites) were all filled WITH the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues” (Acts 2:4).  It's important to notice that CHRIST IS THE BAPTIZER HERE, and that He baptized these Israeli disciples WITH the Spirit.

1. This above is often confused with Paul's words for the body of Christ; “For BY ONE SPIRIT are we all baptized INTO one body …” (I Cor 12:13).

These two baptisms are quite different. In I Cor 12:13 the Spirit is the Baptizer, baptizing people INTO His Body.

This baptism by the Spirit INTO the “body of Christ” is quite different from what happened at Pentecost, where THE LORD WAS THE BAPTIZER, baptizing people WITH the Spirit, enabling them to speak in known but unlearned languages.

So these verses speak of (2) Two different baptisms involving the Spirit.

• For two different people groups; 1) Israel, 2) the body of Christ.
• To occur within two different ages. 1) Israel under the Law, 2) the "body of Christ "under purge "gospel of the grace of God."

Consider these comparisons;

1. The Pentecost "baptism in with Spirit" was only for Israel under “THE LAW” dispensation. It was given in order that Jesus of Nazareth's Jewish disciples would be “endued with power” to “be witnesses,”  and preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8) in the many languages needed to go into all the world to preach the only gospel they knew of... "the gospel of the kingdom."

      Of course we know from the Bible that the nation of Israel, "the circumcision," rejected "the gospel of the kingdom." With their rejection of the Kingdom and the King, Israel is said to have fallen.

"Let their (Israel's) eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." (Romans 11:10-11)

In their fallen state Israel is blinded and set aside "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."

      "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, UNTIL THE FULNESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN." (Romans 11:25)

      After the Gentile "body of Christ" is fulfilled completed by the Rapture, the Gentile age of grace will end and God will turn again to Israel, to fulfill every promise and prophecy to Abraham's seed, believing Israel.

2. Thus the Gentile age of "the body of Christ" (< a Pauline phrase) came to be immediately after Israel's fall and with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, later called "the Apostle Paul." It was then that another baptism came to be. Paul’s baptism by the "one Spirit" into "the body of Christ" under "the dispensation of the GRACE of God" (Eph 3:2, cf., Rom 6:14) is to make its recipients for the members of the “one body” of Christ.

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13)

This then explains why believers today are not able to speak in diverse known languages they never studied, as the Lord’s Jewish disciples did at Pentecost. We do not have their baptism "WITH the Spirit" as they did.

But if we do not have their baptism, we must also conclude that at Pentecost, those “men of Israel” (Act 2:22, 3:12) to whom Peter spoke, did NOT have our baptism into “the one body” of Christ.

We as members of the “body of Christ” today are NOT baptized BY Christ WITH the Spirit, and… those Jewish disciples were NOT baptized BY the Spirit INTO the “Body of Christ.”

At the time of Pentecost the church that is called the “body of Christ” (Eph 1:22b-23a) was yet to be revealed, formed and proclaimed by the Apostle Paul “for ye Gentiles” (Eph 3:1-5). Paul was not yet called, saved and commissioned to go to "the Gentiles" with the grace gospel until quite some time later, in Acts 9.

I realize this is contrary to the common teaching that the Church began at Pentecost, whereby it is erroneously said that believers were first baptized into “the body of Christ.” But, the difference in prepositions used in these passages we’ve examined is just one of many evidences that “the Body of Christ” began later, with the raising up of “the Apostle to the Gentiles,” Paul (Rom 11:13).