The Glory of Our Spirit Anointed Messiah

The last time I was with you, we looked at John 1:29. This is part of our section. Last time we learned that Jesus is the foretold Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is one of three great things John wants to tell us about Jesus in this short section. 1) He is the God provided Lamb who takes away the worlds sin 2) He is the Royal Messiah who greatly surpasses John. 3) He is the one baptizing with the Holy Spirit.

And it’s to the second that we now turn which really is supportive of the first. How can this Lamb take away the sins of the world. Johns response is in v 30, this has really been John’s theme: “This is who I’ve been telling you about! Even though he is born after me and his ministry begins after mine, he far surpasses me in office, rank, honor, because he exists before me. He exists before the worlds were. He is the eternal Word of the Father. Eternally with the Father. He is of the same essence as the Father.

And how does John know this? Where does he get this information. It must be because he is this wilderness sage who has put forth these great meditative efforts and finally it all came to him! No. Surprisingly he says “I did not know Him.” What do mean John, Jesus is your cousin, of course you know Him. What he means is this; I did not know the magnitude of His person and work, I didn’t know the extent His messianic mission(that he would be the One taking away the worlds sins and baptizing the same with the Holy Spirit), I didn’t know Him in this way.

But the Father revealed these things to me.

And so it is with all of God’s prophets and particularly John. God must reveal Jesus as the Messiah to John. The Word of the Lord came to him, just as any Old Testament prophet, and He confirms it with a vision.

To my earlier comment, generally a prophet is one disrupted by God, they are often reluctant to carry out their office. But in spite of this God calls and equips His prophets. And He makes known to them His saving message that they might faithfully proclaim it to His people, or intended recipients.

And two times John says this to emphasize the necessity of special revelation( vv 31,33). He didn’t come up with this stuff on his own and he didn’t collude with Jesus about these things.

Turn with me to 2 Pet 1:

“20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:20–21.

Without a doubt this is whats going on with the Baptist.

So is it any different with us? Is it by our own wits that we come to see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. No. As we mentioned last time, God the Father must send forth His Spirit to illuminate our minds and open our hearts to his saving message. It is not by our intellect or diligent study of Scripture, not by a Sunday School teacher or a parent( God might use all of those things), but it is by His Spirit that anyone comes to know and believe Christ to the saving of their souls.

Now what is the immediate end of God’s special revelation to John?

Verse 31 - It’s to make the Messiah know to Israel.

Israel here has positive connotations to it pertaining to all the great benefits they have as God’s chosen nation.

Turn with me to Romans 9.

The promises are theirs. He is their Messiah! The very purpose of their existence was to give birth to the Messiah and to then embrace Him as there Savior. Not from Roman oppression, but to save them from the oppression of sin that so plagued their hearts.

This may be a helpful picture; throughout the Old Covenant, God has been constructing this big beautiful palace. And over this palace you have the scaffolding and curtains while the work is being constructed. And throughout there history, God’s prophets have been able to pull back little corners of the curtain here and there to give some glimpses of it’s beauty, but as history show’s us, most wont have it. They did what the will with the prophets. As John comes on the scene, he has the privelage of tearing down the scaffolding and pulling down the curtains to reveal the beauty of the Messiah of this beautiful palace to them. But they don’t see it, the lenses they have don’t work. They go away disappointed carrying off with them the scaffolding and the curtains.

Thats maybe the sense here that we get. John’s ministry is coming to an end. He is saying, “I’ve shown you the Messiah, and even though I spoke and still speak better than I know, what I know for sure, is that His person and work far surpass my own. I am merely a voice, my work was preparatory. I only baptize with water as I’ve been saying, and I’ve been faithful to my calling. Everything I have recieved and made known is from the Father. All that’s left now is for the Bridegroom to increase and for me to rejoice in my fading away as the friend of the Bridegroom.

It will be difficult to move on from the Baptist next time I’m with you. You sort of get attached to him and want Him to stay with you throughout our entire journey through John. But that’s not how John would have it is it.

Verse 32

John gives solemn testimony once again. This time about the vision from the Father concerning the Spirit.

We need to consider the peculiar work of the Spirit before we proceed. First we understand that every work of the Triune God is undivided. The members of the Trinity don’t hand work of to each other as we do. But are there specific things in any one work that we can appropriate or say of specific members. Yes.

We say that the, Father creates. But we also know the he creates through His Son.

It is the Son became incarnate, but he was sent from the Father and it was by the power of the Spirit.

The Father and Spirit are not incarnate, yet it is a trinitarian act.

What about the Spirit?

Well according to Owen, there is a vivifying, life giving, beautifying and perfecting agency that are proper to the Spirit in God’s works.

Consider Nicea:

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, ....

by whom all things were made.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life.”

According to the creed, the creation and the church in particular have no animating life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Turn with me to Gen 1:2.

The Spirit is pictured here as hovering over this mass that is “formless and void” or “waste and emptiness” some have described it as a “chaotic mass”. And the picture for us here is that of a bird hovering over and giving life, animating life to its brood. Throughout the remainder of the chapter we see this formless void turned into a creation with structure and order, teaming with vegetative and animal life. And it culminates with the Spirit breathing life into mans nostrils and he becomes a living being.

We won’t turn there but in Gen 8. Noah sends a dove out from the arc over the renewed creation which I believe signifies once again that this new creation will have it’s life renewed and maintained by the same Spirit. The Spirit will maintain the earth until the promised seed of the woman comes. I believe we also have a picture in the dove of reconciliation and peace. God’s wrath is appeased. He will not flood the earth again for the sake of His faithfulness.

Now we move back to our text and find the same imagery.

And we’ve mentioned in weeks past that John is perhaps giving us the idea of the first week of the New Creation. If there is a text that would convince me of that it’s right here.

The Father has sen forth His creative Word to begin the work of the new creation, and who is also present? The perfecting and life giving Spirit. Coming down and remaining on Jesus as a dove.

Now the first question is; has the Spirit not been with Jesus all along? The answer is, yes. He overshadowed Him at His conception and has been with Him all along. As he is growing in stature and wisdom and learning, and so on.

So what is the sense in which the Spirit comes down and remains on Him? It is for His messianic work. As our Prophet, Priest, and King he is anointed with the Spirit permanently. The Spirit will permanantly abide on Him for His entire ministry, He will not leave Him as he had done in the past. And He is given without measure. Again, Jesus according to His humanity has been growing and maturing in every way by the Spirit, but now, as He takes up His public Messianic ministry, He is fitted and gifted beyond measure, to perform those works, and miracle's, pronouncing forgiveness. His saving work on the cross, proclaiming victory, rising form the dead, equipping His church, and ascending to heaven where he still rules and exercises those Those offices out of the fulness of that anointing.

Do you see the beauty of the Holy Spirit’s work here? He will be there throughout the entire ministry of Jesus seeing to it that all of the Fathers saving purposes in His Son are brought to their appointed ends. It’s a beautiful thing which is why I think some theologians have preferred to say it’s a beautifying work that the Spirit does.

So, how can he be the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world? how he will baptize with the Holy Spirit? By the having the Spirit abiding on Him without measure.

Now we turn to v.33 and see that Jesus is the One baptizing with the Holy Spirit.

The verb used for baptizing, is the same kind of verb used for taking away sin. Both have the idea of something ongoing.

Jesus is the One taking away sins and baptizing with the Holy Spirit. I believe what we are to see here is two sides of the same wonderful reality of God’s salvation.

The one side is negative, “the removing of sins” the other side is positive, “the renewal of our persons”. And just as both have a once and for all and definite aspect(i.e., we are completely forgiven and renewed in God’s sight because of Christ), yet they both express an ongoing reality for us. Jesus, as our wonderful Lamb and Savior, is continually taking away our sins and baptizing us by His Spirit. Fresh influences of the renewing and perfecting work of the Spirit are ours to be had daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.

This does away with the idea of second blessing theology. Second, third, fourth, fifth blessings of the Spirit are the right and possession of everyone united to Christ by faith.

Turn with me to Eph 5:18.

This is a command for every believer and its ongoing. And where do we go for this, we come to Christ, for it’s from His fulness that we receive the Spirit. And what a glorious thought. We have an inexhaustible fountain from which we receive the blessings of the new life that Christ has won for us. It’s always there for us. Christ would have us come and come often, for it is his delight to give them, He won them for you, you were the joy set before him dear Christian.

Listen to Heidelberg Q&A 70.

Do you notice the ongoing language of the renewal by the Spirit. And it is said to be washed by the Spirit of Christ.

Part of what Paul is trying to get at in his letter to the Ephesians is to communicate that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, that same power is at work in them to renew them and conform them to Christ. That’s what we have in being baptized by Christ’s Spirit, that same mighty power is at work in us. And it’s restoring and renewing what was lost in Adam. Negatively the Lamb takes away the consequences and effects sin has on every aspect of our humanity. Positively, Christ by the Spirit is renewing and restoring humanity into that perfect image. So even in this life our thoughts, feelings, emotions, affections, begin to be renewed, and not yet, but in glory will be conformed to our perfect image bearer Jesus Christ.

Children, do you know Christ as your Savior today? If you don’t then pray this way for it. Pray for a sense of your need for the forgiving and renewing work of God in Christ. Tell the Father that you don’t have what you need which is only found in Christ. No one who calls on Him will be disappointed.

Lastly, this baptism is a unifying baptism. We are not baptized for ourselves. We are baptized by one Spirit into one body.

Turn to 1 Cor 12:12,13.

We are very good at noticing the sins and short comings of others. We could probably at any given moment tell you more about the sins of another person than about their gifts. But it ought not to be that way. As we look around at each other we ought to see the way the same Spirit is at work in all of us. He is continually forgiving, cleansing, and renewing not only me, but you brother and sister so and so. And it’s so we might bless and be blessed by each others gifts. We are not trying to get ahead of each other like you see in the world. Christ is one the Spirit is one, yet many members and many gifts brought together as one.

And the same Spirit will bring us all to the end for which Christ purchased us. To the glorified state. He won’t fail. If he accomplished it, the Father has said amen to it, and Has been exalted to the right hand, how can he fail now? He can’t, He won’t! God showed great faithfulness in His redemptive acts in the OT, but the resurrection and exaltation are the pinnacle. Bringing us to glory is surer than the sun setting tomorrow. He will adorn us as His bride, His spotless and blameless bride prepared for the Son in glory. Which we’ll sing about in a moment here.

Verse 34.

Now we remember the solemn and emphatic tone of the baptists testimony from the beginning. His testimony continues to be without wavering, without second guesses, without a doubt. How much more now that he has recieved special and direct revelation from the Father both in voice and vision.

The verbs here give us a certain and ongoing testimony. It’s a perfect testimony. The words of the Father still ring in his ears, and the vision is still as vivid as if it were right before his eyes. He says it like it’s happening at that very moment.

And this testimony still speaks to us with the same power and vividness today. For us who know Christ, we are to embrace this testimony anew today! Jesus is our Spirit anointed Messiah. He is God’s beloved Son, sent from heaven for us and for our salvation. Rejoice that you have the Spirit of Christ in you to confirm and assure you of this testimony. What an abundance of testimony concerning Christ. The Father’s voice, the Son’s Word’s and works, the Spirit’s descent, the prophetic record. This is the testimony that our faith hangs upon, and God has given an especial measure of assurance concerning it in this passage. And we’ll anticipate that testimony being all the more confirmed as we see the seven signs or miracles confirming John’s testimony in the next eleven chapters.

What a glorious passage and testimony we have in these 15 verses. I pray that it will remain with us in the days ahead as we seek to grow in our faith and bear witness ourselves to our glorious Savior.

Please pray with me.