Matthew 3:16-17…Ready

Matthew 3:16-17…Ready

As soon as Jesus was baptised, (907-Dying of a garment, to dip, immerse, plunge. As he was praying-(Luke 3:21b.) Unsure why Jesus was praying. Probably for strength to fulfill His mission.) he went up out of the water. (Confirms baptism by immersion)  At that moment heaven was opened, (4977-Schism, To split, sever, divide, ripped, tear-apart, rend.-(Mark 15:38) Expresses God breaking in by way of a vision, revelation, manifestation.-(Ezk. 1:1, Acts 7:54) and he (Jesus or John (Jn 1:32-34) ) saw the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of God descending like a dove (Not an actual dove. But in the form or manner of a dove.-(Luke 3:22) Slowly and gently descending down.) and lighting (resting, landing.) on (into) him. (Not that Jesus received the Holy Spirit or became the divine Son of God at this time.-(Matt. 1:18) But was equipping, anointing, and empowering Jesus’ human nature for ministry work.-(Is. 11:1-2)  17 And a voice from heaven (God) said, “This is my Son, (divine confirmation) whom I love (affection) with him I am well (fully, complete-(New) pleased.” (Expresses God’s confirmation, approval, and affirmation of Jesus’ sinless character and obedience in dying for sinners.)

Continued From Book

“Displays Jesus’ divine approval & qualifications to Save us from our sins. ⇒ After hearing these words will you see Jesus as Lord & God, or just as a great teacher and great humanitarian?”…….(To be Continued)

“Assures God’s seal and stamp of approval as we step out and go public with our faith.” ⇒ Being fully equipped with God’s anointing and seal of approval. What excuse can we use in not doing the work God has called us to having been empowered and anointed with the Holy Spirit!

“Teaches how God speaks new identity into our lives, giving us value, worth, and belonging.” ⇒ Given a new identity in Christ Jesus can transform our lives. Shaping everything we do in life. It shapes how we do our job. It shapes how we treat others. It shapes the way we manage conflicts and disagreements. It shapes the way we extend compassion and understanding to others. It shapes our actions and daily decisions about how we behave and how we treat our families. It shapes the way we handle our neighbor. Often our identity is shaped by the voices we hear around us. As teenagers, we hear voices through the cruelty of other teens who tell us that we are not cool enough, were not hip enough, were not attractive enough.  As adults, we hear voices that tell us we’re not successful enough or that we do not have enough money. As believers we don’t have to listen to the voices anymore. Because our identity and worth is found in Christ. We no longer have to live by the worlds standards, because we’re beloved and adopted in the family of God.

“Teaches how God loves us as, not because of what we do, but because of whose we are and whose we belong.” ⇒ God loves us not because of anything we have done, mind you, but because of what Christ has done for us in providing our righteousness and justification by His shed blood on the Cross. When God made this powerful statement “This is my Son, in whom I love, and am well pleased with.” Jesus had not preached any sermons, done any miracles, drove out any demons, raised anyone from the dead. Yet the Father was pleased with Jesus simply because of who He is, not because of what He does. The same is true for us. God is pleased with us because of who were are in Christ Jesus and not because of what we’ve done, but because what Jesus has done. He bore our sin so we could bear His righteousness. Now when the Father looks at us, He no longer sees our sin ravaged flesh. He sees His Son. In Christ we are justified, reconciled, and made righteous with God. If you don’t work out of a right understanding of you are in Christ, you’ll always be trying to catch up. You’ll always be striving. You’ll always be trying to earn God’s favor. You’ll always be trying to be good enough. You’ll always be trying to check all the boxes. You’ll always be trying to impress others. And the pursuit will only lead to depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, because we will never know if we’ve done enough. So remember we’re not trying to earn God’s favor, we’re living out of God’s favor. We do all that God has called us to do, not because we want to earn God’s love and favor. But because He loves us already.

“Teaches how God takes pleasure and delight in us despite all our sins, failures, and faults.” ⇒ This doesn’t mean that God approves everything we do. Or likes every part of us. There are things that God loves about us despite our quirks. When God looks at us He no longer sees our blemishes, He no longer sees our sins or wrong doings. He doesn’t see our shortcomings, He sees Jesus in us.  C.S. Lewis in his essay “Weight of Glory” wrote “To please God, to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness….To be loved by God, not merely pitied, but to be delighted in as a artist delights in his work or a father in his son– it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain us. But so it is!”

“Teaches just as Jesus needed these words of validation from His Father. How much more do our children need these same words of validation and love from us.” ⇒ As a dad these words of validation, either given or withheld, can have tremendous power. When was the last time you said to your child; “Son not only do I love you, but I am pleased with who you’ve become.” As a father are you making your presence known in your child’s life or are you a absent father who only comes around on the weekends? How you speak to your child caries weight. Do you speak words of affirmation, acceptance, and love, or do you always put them down.

“Even today, anytime someone says; “You’re not good enough!  Your unlovable! You’ll never amount to anything” Know your a child of God dearly loved by Him.

Additional Notes & Applications

Teaches the need for a divine revelation of Jesus. Will you embrace Jesus as God?

Teaches how we can be open and honest with God about our sins, that God will never disinherit, disown, or write us out of His will and love!

Displays God’s unconditional love. God doesn’t hold us to some level of performance or perfection, but loves us just the way we are!

Teaches how just like a dove the work of the Holy Spirit can be swift & unpredictable. Like a dove the work of the Holy Spirit can be soft & gentle. Like a dove the work of the Holy Spirit can be peace loving & permanent.

If were to take anything away from this, let it be this. If you have embraced the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly Father delights in you, just like He delights in His Son.  When the living God looks at us……God sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus Christ. It sometimes seems impossible to believe, that even with all our warts God still loves us, but its true! In Christ, God looks at you and me and says, “You are my dear, dear child; I’m delighted with you.” In knowing this, can we strive to look at others in this light as well? Can we strive to see others as people loved by God, even if they annoy us or hurt us or disgust us?

Teaches just as Jesus needed these words of validation and affirmation from His Father. How much more do our children need these same words of validation, encouragement, and love from us. As a dad these words of validation, either given or withheld, can have tremendous power. When was the last time you said to your child; “Son not only do I love you, but I’m pleased with who you’ve become”?

Many take from these verses the importance of full-immersion and dunking in baptism, and that’s why they perform it. But this does not mean in other instances, where it’s not possible to be immersed, that sprinkling or pouring of water are not right.  Of course not, but we should always stay true to scripture as possible, and follow Christ’s example as closely as we can.

Most take the descending of the Spirit like a dove as only visible to Jesus and John the Baptist, and not to the crowd. (cf. John 1:32-34) If it was visible only to John it would have required a miracle to hide it from the rest of the multitude of people standing on the rivers edge. Moreover, the whole point of John’s baptism and the Spirit’s appearance as a dove was meant to point Jesus out to others as the Messiah. If that’s the case, then the Spirit must have been visible and audible to all who were present, and not just to John the Baptist. Also note, when it says John the Baptist “Saw the Spirit of God descending “like a dove”. It does not mean that the Holy Spirit is actually a bird/dove, though many Church’s portray Him that way-(cf. Gen. 1:26) But rather the Holy Spirit only appeared in the form or symbol of a Dove, being a symbolic picture of peace, purity, gentleness, power, anointing, etc. (cf. Gal. 5:22-23) And just as signs we’re given at Jesus’ baptism as confirmation. So too believers can expect special signs and events given by God to stir our faith and give us encouragement in our lives as well.

When some hear “Dove” they think back to Noah and the flood. As Noah drifts on the waters of judgment in the Flood, he sends out a dove to see if the waters have dried up anywhere. And eventually, the dove returns with an olive branch in its mouth, showing that new life has come from judgment.-(Gen. 8:10-11) Others think back to creation story, where the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.(Gen 1:2) So to the dove hovered over the of Jesus in the Jordan waters, symbolizing the dawning of a new creation and age of Salvation in Christ.

Though the “Trinity” is not mentioned in the bible. This miraculous event shows all three persons of the Trinity in action: God the Father (the voice speaking from heaven), Jesus the Son (rising up out of the water), and the Holy Spirit (the Dove). It demonstrates the union between three distinct Persons of the Triune God. Throughout the bible you’ll find hints of the “Trinity” going as far back to creation as found in Genesis 1:26 when God said; “Let us make man in our own image, and our own likeness”. We may not fully understand the “Trinity” this side of heaven. The closest I’ve heard it explained is someone once compared it to an egg. How when you look at an “egg” you only see 1 egg. But when you break it open it there are actually three parts, the shell, the yoke, and the egg whites. (For additional proof texts see Matt. 12:28, 28:19, Luke 1:35, John 15:26, Acts 10:38, Rom. 8:9, 14:17-18, 15:30, 1-Corn. 12:4-6,  2-Corn. 13:14, Gal. 4:6, Eph. 2:18, 4:4-6, 1-Pet. 1:2,  Is. 42:1, 61:1)

Most assume Jesus would have gone in last, in order to not only to witness to the greater mass of people who He’d come to reveal Himself as the Messiah, but that the waters now polluted by the vile sins of the hundreds who had gone in before would now stick to Him.

The declaration made by God the Father “This is my Son, whom I love with him I am well pleased”, is a combination citation from the Old Testament involving Psalm 2:7-“You are my Son” and Isaiah 42:1-“In whom my soul delights”. Jesus would have certainly understood the context of these two saying and would have taken them to mean that God had called Him to be the Messianic One to come. And in light of the rest of Isaiah 42 through 61, Jesus must have know that it would entail the Suffering Servant role He would play in dying for the sins of the world. (cf. Is. 42:1-4, 53:1-12, 61:1, Matt. 26:54)   

PERSON & WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• The Holy Spirit is Co-equal with God the Father and God the Son, in both nature, power, and glory

• The Holy Spirit is a Person, and not a power or force

• The Holy Spirit Converts & Convicts people of sin

• The Holy Spirit guides, comforts, directs, and intercedes

• The Holy Spirit anoints and empowers for service

• The Holy Spirit witnesses to the atoning and Saving work of Christ

•  The Holy Spirit fills, indwells, and seals believers permanently

• The Holy Spirit Regenerates and Sanctifies

(For more Applications get the Whole Book) 

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