What makes all believers equal in the body of Christ?
The Holy Spirit baptizes every believer into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation, an act of God that no denomination can replicate. This equalizing factor places Jew and Gentile, bond and free, weak and strong, rich and poor alike into this body of Christ.
Les explains that this baptism is not something any organization or denomination can adhere to; it is beyond them. Only the invisible Almighty Spirit of God can perform it, and it happens the moment a person believes the gospel. Les sees it as a result of salvation: immediately the Holy Spirit places the believer into the body of Christ. This body is the worldwide congregation of genuine born-again people, making them part and parcel of Christ's body. Les illustrates the equalizing factor by noting that among genuine believers, strangers do not remain strangers for long—he recalls entering a room of unknown young people and feeling as if he had known them all his life. Paul says all are placed into the body, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, weak or strong, rich or poor.