Featured What does "in Christ" mean?

That is not correct. The Aorist can be ingressive, constant and culminative and yet all three are inseparably connected to the action itself. The culiminative refers to the conclusion of the action not some future point after the completion of the action.

 

I think if you read on he says, "Just how the action is thus related is not indicated by the middle voice, but must be detected from the context or the character of the verbal idea" (p. 157). You are attempting to apply it to the action that God alone can do behind the verbal idea of "baptized" as the believer would necessarily be completely passive in that action. However, Paul is not applying the middle voice to the baptismal action but to the action by the believer with regard to the verbal idea of enedusathe. The believer is the actor as well as the object of the action with regard to this verbal idea. So God is not the actor in this verbal idea which would be necessary to support your application that this refers to the baptism in the Spirit.The middle voice is not a resultant action of the verbal idea of baptism and the one administering the action but is the resultant action of the verbal idea of enedusathe which is attributed to the second plural pronoun "YOU".

 

No, my position does not imply or demand that in the least way unless the one interpreting the passage forces a sacramental straight jacket on his concept of baptism. As I said, Paul explicitly states that the PHYSICAL BODY is made a "member" of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15-17) and the only kind of church body previously described to that point is the local representative body of Christ at Corinth (1 Cor. 3:5-16) which those at Corinth were metaphorical "members" received by profession of faith AND water baptism. Moreover, the only possible way the PHYSICAL BODY can be made a "member of Christ" is in a physical congregation by profession faith in water baptism. BTW that is how professions were made in New Testament times in connection with water baptism.

 

You have too many assumptions in your argument that no scripture explicitly supports. For example, your argument to be consistent would have to deny that Judas was a physical member of the physical congregation at Jerusalem (Acts 1:21-22) and if that were the case then he could not have filled or vacated the office of Apostle as that office is explicit stated to have been first "set in the church" (1 Cor. 12:28).

Moreover, water baptism does not convey the Spirit and the term "spirit" is not even found in Gal. 3:27. What is found in Gal. 3:27 is something the believer can "put on" and he cannot administer the baptism in the Spirit to himself or to anyone else, but he can "put on" Christ symbolically in the act of water baptism.

 

Yes, but it does not refer to the verbal action of baptism, It applies to the action by the believer which does not put him "into" Christ but rather an action that Christ is "put on" the believer. Your intepretation of eis with baptism demands this is an internal spiritual action whereas "put on" is an external action as the same verb is used for putting on clothing over the body.

 

Yes it does because the subject of the verbal action is not God but second plural pronoun "you."

Your illustration is faulty because if we apply this verbal idea to dressing your children it is not your wife that is dressing them, but they are dressing themselves as the plural 2nd person pronoun identifies the doer of this action.

 

I think you and I both agree that the act of baptism does not save anyone. What makes baptism valid is that the person is a true believer (if not the act is not valid - they just got wet), the act is scriptural - immersion so that the gospel is visualized (if not they just got wet) and that it is administered by a New Testament church. The spiritual condition of the church member that administers it does not determine its validation as he is merely acting in behalf of the church and it is not administered to be saved but it is administered to validate them for membership.

It is the symbolism that clothes you as a matter of public record not the administrators personal status.