The Baptism of Christ

There are some things that God does, which seem deep and mysterious. The baptism of Christ is one of those. Perhaps you have even wondered about it before. So let's consider its significance together, beginning with the account of it in Matthew's gospel:

"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?' But Jesus answering said to him, 'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him." (Mat 3:13-15)

Why did Jesus Christ need to be baptized, since John's baptism was for repentance and Jesus did not need to repent of any sin? When He said that they should fulfill all righteousness, what kind of righteousness was He talking about, and to whom was He referring?

In response to these questions, I would like to share some of the answers given by Matthew Henry, John Wesley, and F.B. Meyer in their commentaries. What follows is a compilation of their comments on the matter along with my own.

The Lord seems to have meant that it becomes us to receive baptism (for Jesus to receive it and John to administer it), in order that He may fully perform every part of the righteous requirements (law) of God, and the commission God had given Him. He was also our example in all things, so that we might follow in His steps (1 Pe 2:21).

Though John denounced sins, he was humbly conscious of his own and tried to forbid that his own impure hands would baptize the One in whom he as a prophet of God could find no trace of impurity. Although Jesus knew no sin, He identified with us and stood with us and for us as sinners and assumed our guilt. He identified with our human condition in every way, and this was one such instance of Christ's great humility, whereby He graciously condescended. As the proverb says, "Humility comes before honor." (Pr 18:12). Therefore, before He received honor, He first abased Himself.

In doing this, the Lord also honored John in return for the work He had done, by allowing John to baptize Him. He set His seal of approval on John's ministry. John had honored God, and now God was honoring Him. Even though John's name had become great, he still remained very humble and did not consider himself worthy of this honor, but the Lord persuaded him to accept it.

John saw and publicly confessed his need to be baptized by Christ with the Holy Ghost, even though he was filled with the Holy Ghost from birth. The purest and best of souls recognize their own need to be washed by Christ and filled with His Spirit. And the better they are the more they recognize that need. Jesus did not deny that John needed to be baptized by Him, but insisted that He now be baptized by John.

Christ fulfilled the righteousness of the ceremonial law and it's requirement for various washings. He honored it and justified God in doing so. Then He later instituted it as a gospel ordinance and showed the virtue that He had designed to put into it. And the Father put His seal of approval on the baptism of Christ by baptizing Him with the Holy Ghost immediately afterward as Jesus came up out of the water. The Father honored Him in that way, even making the Spirit's descent visible, and by His own approval that was audible to those present. Scripture records:

"After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'" (Mat 3:16-17)

I hope this has helped to explain the reason why Jesus came to John to be baptized and how his baptism was a fulfillment of righteousness. Hopefully it also sheds light on its significance to us for our own lives today. If Jesus needed to be baptized in water and with the Holy Spirit, then so do we.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The "Holy Spirit" and "Baptism" paintings © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this article, I also recommend reading Holy Washings - Part I, Holy Washings - Part II, By the Spirit of God Alone, Baptized with the Spirit, Holy Fire Baptism, The Son of Man, The Temptation of Christ, and The Bodily Form of the Holy Spirit. For more articles like this, please see the Home page of this blog. You can also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Witness of the Spirit

I’d like to explain something called the witness of the Spirit. It’s very important that every disciple have this witness, so I want you to be clear what it is and how to have it.

The apostle Paul wrote, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” (Rom 8:16, MKJV)

The Spirit of God actually testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God. But let’s not forget what the Scripture says in the next verse:

“And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together.” (Rom 8:17, MKJV)

If the Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, then you should expect to suffer with Christ. The Word says, “IF” we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together.

Thank the Lord for the witness of the Holy Spirit! This is the blessed assurance that Fanny Crosby wrote about in her famous hymn by that title, describing it as “echoes of mercy, whispers of love.” It’s when you know that Jesus is yours and you are His. You know that you’ve been born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Therefore you are praising your Savior all the day long, perfectly submitted to Him and perfectly delighted to be so.  All is at rest between you and your Savior, and you’re happy and blessed. You are filled with His goodness and caught up in His love.  You spend your time watching and waiting for His return, looking above for that glorious day when He will come with power and great glory with all His holy angels with Him.

When some people are asked if they know where they would go if they would die today, they say they hope they would go to heaven. But when asked why they think so, they often say it’s because they are a good person who helps people. We cannot get to heaven by our own good works. (Eph 2:8-9).  Of course, we must do good works once we are saved, because we were created for this purpose. However, it’s by grace we are saved through faith, not by works. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Only then can we do the good works we were created to do. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10).  But we don’t trust in our own good works to save us. We trust only in His blood, only in His cross, only in His mercy to save us.

Nevertheless, there are many ways you can know you are saved. I believe these are all part of the witness of the Spirit. John wrote about some of them:

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” (1Jn 3:14)

“But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;” (1Jn 3:17-21)

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1Jn 2:3)

“The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1Jn 3:24)

“But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:” (1Jn 2:5)

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1Jn 4:13)

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” (1Jn 5:2)

Putting it All Together
To summarize what John said, we can know we are children of God that abide in Christ and are in the truth if we love the brethren in deed and truth. That’s how we know we have passed out of death into life. We know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. We know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. We know that we will be glorified with Christ, if we suffer with Him. We know we abide in Him, because He has given us of His Spirit. That’s how you can have the blessed assurance, the witness of the Spirit. That’s how the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.  "Receiving the Spirit" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Main Directory for this blog, such as Baptized with the Spirit, Holy Fire Baptism, The Holy Spirit Speaks, The Holy Trinity, and The Spirit without Limit. I also recommend Faith Works!, Practicing Your Righteousness, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, Righteous Deeds and White Robes, The Law of Christ, and Law of Love in the New Testament. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org