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MATTHEW - Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to Matthew
PART 1 - The Preliminary Period in the Ministry of Christ (Matthew 1:1 - 4:25)
B - John the Baptist Prepares the Way of Christ (Matthew 3:1 - 4:11)

3. Proclamation of the Unity of the Holy Trinity (Matthew 3:16-17)


MATTHEW 3:16-17
16 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. 17 Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
(Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; Matthew 17:5)

When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened to him to testify their full favors to him. They were never opened to any man on the earth before, since no man had ever obtained the full favor of God until the beloved Jesus stood before him, meek, obedient and without sin.

The identity of Jesus was already proclaimed by John. Yet it is proclaimed again, not by flesh, but by heaven. Here the Father proclaims from heaven the identity of his Son, the Lord Jesus "the beloved Son of God" (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

When Christ confessed, through his baptism, that he came to die, be buried and rise again for our justification, the heavens parted over the Jordan Valley, and God's voice was heard. Who can ever prevent the Almighty from speaking? Who can ever stop his revelation?

Beginning from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the way to God was closed; but when Christ came, this door leading to the Creator was opened. Only through Jesus, we have access to God. The heavens parted testifying that he is the way, the truth and the life.

In the beginning of the creation the Holy Spirit moved over the face of the waters. In the likeness of a luminous dove the same Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Jesus after he was baptized, expressing that Jesus is the anointed Christ and giver of the Spirit of God to all the repentant. John saw the Spirit of God coming and resting upon Jesus as a clear testimony that Jesus was the promised anointed Christ.

Christ was anointed from the beginning of his time on earth because he was born of the Spirit of God. His Father anointed him in the fullness of the Spirit again in the beginning of his ministry so that the man Jesus would minister in power as our High Priest and the incarnate Word of God. Christ did not minister to us as a great privileged king, but as a humble servant. He was so humble that he gave his life to take away our sins. By this, the holy love of God appears.

John saw with his eyes the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus, and heard God's voice with his ears. This proclamation, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased", from God is full of significance. God called Christ his Son—both the Father and the Son are eternal. The character, nature and essence of the Father were shown in the Son. The Creator is no longer hidden, being revealed in his Son. In the Son dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, with all God's characters, powers and names.

Who can prevent God from saying that he has a Son, if he wants to? Many object to this fact, though God proclaimed having a humble Son in whom he was well pleased and who began to carry his cross in his baptism.

The beloved Son is love embodied in flesh. God is love. Christ did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Our growing deeper into the words, prayers and works of Jesus during his earthly walk, shows us the practical interpretation of God’s love.

God was pleased in his Son because God's will was done in and through him. Christ was worthy to say; "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Christ is the express image of the person of the Father. If you want to know God, look at his Son, the beloved Jesus.

The important thing is that God's sending of Christ gave us a new insight toward God. He is the Father, and he is nothing but holy love. The Eternal one does not proclaim himself an angry judge; instead he judged his Son in our place that we might be saved. In his salvation, he is not satisfied with our justification. He is willing to pour his love into our spirits through the dwelling of his Holy Spirit in us so that we may experience a spiritual rebirth and become servants of God to men.

The divine proclamation, "I and my Father are one", declared the singleness of God, because the beloved Son abides in his Father and does his will. Everyone who is born of his Spirit appreciates the mystery of the singleness of God. They observe that the Father is in his Son, and the Son is in his Father eternally because Jesus is the Word and the incarnate Spirit of God.

The unity of the divine triune God was not completely and clearly proclaimed before the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ; but here we find the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit mentioned altogether, united with each other, and each having a work. The Son on the earth was God manifest in the flesh. The Father bears him witness with a clear voice from heaven, and the Spirit of God descends upon him in a bodily form to empower him.

The Holy Spirit was often mentioned in the Old Testament, but not in a clear manner with respect to his relation with the unity of the triune God. The first purpose of the proclamation at that time was to declare the singleness of God. Other than that, God did not proclaim himself completely before the incarnation, because it was not possible to do that before the Word became flesh.

Some objectors harshly criticize the story of the Father's voice heard from heaven when the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ. They say that the evangelists told the story in different ways. Matthew wrote, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Whereas Luke wrote, "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased." The meaning, as well as the words harmonize, but there is a slight difference in how it was reported—one reporting from the second person and the other from the third person. However the testimony of each of them confirms that of the other.

PRAYER: I worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, because you proclaimed yourself in the Jordan Valley to save, justify and sanctify me. I do not deserve to have my eyes opened to your truth. You descended to seek and save me from my sins; not to destroy me. Please help me to follow you, to trust in you and to never leave you. Complete your work of faith in me, that I may stand as God’s beloved child. Draw many of my friends and relatives into the communion of your love.

QUESTION:

  1. How did the holy triune God proclaim himself in the Jordan Valley?

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