These three beliefs hang together. The church is the family of the Father, the body of the Son, and the temple of the Spirit because it shares in the new creation that has begun in Jesus. And the church shares in that new creation by hearing the word, confessing sin, assembling at the Lord’s Table, passing through the waters of baptism. Keep this in mind as we move ahead. Baptism is the doorway into membership in the church. Whenever I say, “Baptism does X,” remember what I’ve said about the church.
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