Of the two the communion, by its very nature, is by far the more spiritually significant. Baptism is plainly intended by God to represent a once-for-all-time-and-eternity experience; Communion, by implication, is in itself a constantly recurring act. By the ordinance of baptism, God revealed His intention that a man is baptised to remain in that state; but he communes to commune again and again, in fact eternally. The Communion was and is and ever shall be; it was before Baptism, it is greater than Baptism, it shall still be when Baptism is practised no more. Baptism was created to bring people into the Communion, and unto the ordinance of communion.
Though the practice of baptism was introduced into time before the Communion was made known to men, in truth the Communion was before ever the world was created or time began. Yet, although this is so, the Communion, though hinted at in Old Testament scriptures, was not revealed to men until the time of the introduction of the New Covenant. The Communion belongs exclusively to the Church. Baptism had a place in the purposes of God during the closing days of the Old Covenant under the ministration of John Baptist, but communion did not. In common with many other Biblical ordinances, baptism was introduced by a man under God's instructions, but not so the communion; that had to be brought in by God Himself. Man and means are always only to an end; they are temporary and must lead to the everlasting; the momentary must proceed to the permanent. Men and baptism are a means; God and Communion are eternal.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.