THE EVENTS CONNECTED

; WITHjESUS'BAPTISM
Luke's focus in]esus' baptism is on
the opening of the heavens, the coming
down of the Holy Spirit on Jesus and
the words of the Father out of heaven.
The Opening of the Heavens
With the opening of Heaven we
stand before "the humanly
incomprehensible
and theunfathom-
able . divine.-
GeJden-h"uys :
"Heaven opens
itself, which hither-
to Was dosed, and
becomes now at
Christ's baptism' a
door and window
so that one can See
into it .. : ."-Martin
Luther. "Weare not
told what became
visible when the
heaven Was sud, .
denly opened as we are told in the case
of Ezekiel and of Stephen. Yet we may
well say \hat the Heavenly Glory was
visible, and that john and any others
who were present beheld its radiance."
-Lenski
This opening of Heaven indicates
that "after Jesus had now offered
Himself so completely and voluntarily
as the Substitute and Redeemer, God
gave to His human consciousness a
perfect revelation of the majesty and
glory of the Father, and of the fact that
He was the Son of God in an absolute
sense." -Geldenhuys
The Descent of the: Holy Spirit
The' Descent of the Spirit
on the One Conceived by the Spirit
Thedescent of the Holy Spirit, the
Third Person of the Trinity, upon j esus
at His baptism does not imply that
jesus, in His humanity, was not
previously filled with the Holy Spirit
or that He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, or kept sinless in His humanity
by the Holy Spirit. It means that now
He was being equipped by the Holy
Spirit with all the OFFICIAL gifts, i.e.
all the gifts connected with His fulfilling
the office of High Priest for our
salvation. "At the time of His
conception by the Holy Spirit it was a
question of the forming and
development of His human nature,
but at the baptism it is a question of the
public declaration of His Messiahship
and His eqUipment with the gifts
necessary for this official and public
fulfilling of His vocation as the Christ
of God." -Geldenhuys
The Descent of the Spirit and the
Messianic Prophecies of Isaiah
The descent of the Spirit and the
Voice from Heaven comptise God's
response to jesus' willingness to take
the judgment of God upon Himself in
the place of His sinful people. "Both of
these elements are to be associated
with the new exodus in the wilderness
prophesied by Isaiah, 32: 15; 44:3;
63: 10-14. This prophecy is fulfilled in
proleptic (anticipatory) fashion in the
descentoftheSpirituponJesus.ltwas
in the wilderness that Israel was first
10 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l' June, 1994
designated as son by God, and
particularly the prophet Hosea pointed
forward to a time when God would
renew Israel's sonship in the
wilderness, Ex. 4:22f; Jet. 2:2; Hos.
ll:I-3. In Jesus this ancient promise
finds fulfillment precisely because His
pilgrimage into the wilderness was the
only true exodus. Many went out to
John but only Jesus understood that a
return to the wilderness involved the
determination to live under the
judgment of God" -Lane,Mark, pg. 56.
The Descent of the Spirit as the
Anointing of God
. The coming
down of the Holy
Spirit upon Jesus
,is the promised
anointing
prophesied in
Psalm 45:7 and
Isaiah 61: 1. (See
also Acts 10:38.)
The Descent of the
Spirit in the Form
ofaDove
It is difficult to
know for certain
what this implies.
"Two interpre-
tations ,commend themselves more
than others. (1). The referencecontains
a veiled allUSion to Genesis 1 :2, where'
the brooding of the Spirit over the
waters at creation suggest(s) ... the
action of a dove. The descent ofthe
Spirit ' signifies New Creation,'
corresponding to the cosmic overtones
in the rending of the Mavens. -- (2).
More frequently, the rabbis referto the
dove as a symbol of the community of
Israel, and this assoCiation may have
been in Mark's mind. At the momenl
of His baptism Jesus is the one true
Israelite, in whom the election of God
is concentrated. The descent of the
Spirit 'as a dove' that He is
the unique representative of the new
Israel created through the Spirit."
-Lane, pg. 57.
,

Lenski, and Mattin Luther offer
other explanations, (3). According to
Lutherthe dove symbolizes the Spirit's
friendliness, because the Spirit desires
to show us that He is not angry with us
but is ready to save us. Still others
point to purity, innocence and
meekness as symbolized by the dove.
Lenski concludes that we must content
ourselves "by saying that the dove-like
form intended to convey the idea of
the graciousness oftheSpilit." -Lenski.
But the question remains, why did
the Holy Spirit take a "bodily form," a
physical form, Lk. 3:22, at all? Why
did the invisible Holy Spirit take a
visible form at Jesus' baptism. Jesus
saw the visible form, Mat. 3:16, as did
John,Jn. 1:32? The answer should be
obvious: Like the opened heaven and
the heavenly voice, human senses
must perceive what was happening.
The Need of Jesus for the Anointing
of the Holy Spirit
The Humanity afJesus and the Tlinity
It must be clearly understood that
the Spirit was bestowed upon the
humanity ofJesus, not upon His deity.
In His deity the Son of God is of the
same essence and equal in power and
glory to the Father and the Spirit,
therefore one Person could not be
bestowed upon Another. But, injesus'
humanity the Holy Spiritwas bestowed
upon Him to equip Him fuUy for His
priestly task. So great is the task before
Him that all Three Persons of the Trinity
are involved in it: the Son is baptized,
the Spirit is bestowed on Him and the
Father speaks from Heaven to and
about Him. At jesus' baptism we have
one of the clearest proofs of the Trinity.
The Intimate Relalian afJesus
and the Holy Spirit
A distinctive feature of the N.T. is
the close and intimate relation ofjesus
and the Holy Spirit. Everything we
have from Christ comes to us through
the Holy Spirit. His work is to bring
Christ to us and to bring us to Christ,
to remind us of Christ's words, to
revealto us the glory of His Person and
the autholity of His .Word, and to
bestow upon us His grace. Christ and
the Spirit are distinct Persons, but
their Presence is the same. To have the
Son is to have the Spirit and to have the
Spirit is to have the Son.
The H aIy Spilit
in the Life and Ministry afJesus
The Fulfillment oj Prophecy
and the New Age
The O. T. prophesied; "And the Spirit
oftlte Lord shall restuponHim, tlte Spirit
of wisdom and understanding, tlte Spirit
of counsel and might, the Spirit of
hnowledge and tlte fear of the Lord," - lsa.
11:2. At the Jordan River with the
baptism of Jesus this prophecy, and
others with it, such as Isa. 61:1, came
true. Jesus publicly took on the role of
Suffering Servant and Messianic Son,
empowered by the Holy Spirit,
commencing the New Age of Salvati on.
The baptism of jesus and the descent
of the Spirit bridge the Old Testament
era and the New Testament era. "The
New Age has now arrived in the person
ofjesus. He becomes the unique Bearer
of the Spirit Who introduces a new era
in the history of salvation." - Charles
Hummel, Fire in the Fireplace,
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill,
1978, pg. 70-71.
The presence, initiative and activity
of the Holy Spirit are particularly
conspicuous in three events in the life
ofJesus: His baptism, His temptation,
and His preachinglhealing. At His
baptism, as we have seen, the Spirit
equips Him for His ministry as the
Mediator of the New Covenant.
Immediately after His baptism, "Jesus,
jilll of l11e Holy Spirit, returned from tlte
Jordan and was led by the Spirit in tlte
desert, whereforfortydayshewas tempted
by the devil," Luke 4:1-2. The Holy
Spirit "leads" jesus into the wilderness
and plunges Him into conflict with
man's enemy, Satan. Throughout the
fotty days in the wilderness, the fullness
of the Spirit was a continuing
characteristic of His life. After His
wilderness-experience Jesus begins His
preachinglhealing ministry. "Jesus
returned to Galtlee in tlte power of the
Spirit, and news about Him spread
through the whole countryside. He taught
in their synagogues and everyone praised
Him," Lk. 4:14-15. The source of His
preaching power was the Holy Spirit.
Later at His hometown in Nazareth in
the synagogue He stands up, reads
Isaiah 61:1-2--- "The Spirit of the Lord
is on Me; tltere He has anointed Me to
preach ... ," and applies it to Hirnself---
"Today tltis SCripture is fulfilled in your
hearing," LK. 4:21. As Luke makes
clear the preaching and healing
ministry of Jesus, intended to reach
every dimension of human need, is
carried out in the awesome power of
the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus even
drives demons out of people in the
power of the Spirit of God, Mat. 12:28,
Whom Luke deSCribes as "the finger of
God," Lk. 11:18,20. Jesus' powerful
preaching and His miraculous healings,
especially the casting out of demons,
are signs that the New Age has dawned
in human history.
"Luke describes jesus as anOinted,
filled, led and empowered by the Spirit.
jesus Himself attributes bothHis power
(DUNAMIS) to heal and His authority
(EXOUSIA) to preach as manifestations
ofthe Spirit. -- lnjesus Christ we see
the unified Act and Word of God; life
and message are one as He teaches by
example and precept. And the results
affected not just the minds but the
total lives of those who heard and
responded. --- Picking up from the
Old Testament, jesus is conceived,
guided, filled with the Spirit. He
centers in Jesus Who will bring
salvarion. God's presence through the
Spirit comes to focus in the character
and ministry of His Son. From now on
all teaching and experience attributed
Juue, 1994 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l' 11
to the Spirit must be in harmony with
that of Jesus." -Hummel, pg. 75-76.
The coal and Purpose of the Ministry of
the Spirit in and Through the Life
and Ministry ofJesus
The Clarifying of Christ in the Bdiever
Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus
said: "Hesha1lglorify Me ... , (John 16:14).
--- He shall recelve of mine and show It
to you. He shClll testify of Me." 00hn
15:26). . The ministry of the Holy
Spirit is Christ-centered. "The function
of the telescope is not to reveal itself,
but the glories it .brings
into the .range of vision.
The ministry of the Holy
Spirit is to conceal
HlmseH behind the
scenes, .and ,give
prominence to Jesus .
Christ.. -- Any lmowledge
we have of ,Christ has
been iI11paned through
the Spirit's illumination
of the Scriprures He has
inspired. As the Spirit of .
Christ,. He delights to
unveil His glories to
believing heans. ,-- The
Spirit's primary ministry is to glorify
Christ" and to secure the acknow-
ledgemeitt and practical manifestation
of His Lordship in our lives, He does
not add anything to the personal glories
of the ascended Christ, but He glorifies
Him in theexpenence of men. He
reveals and explains Him (it). and
through the Word). - ~ .What light is to
the eanh, the Holy Spirit is to Christ."
-J. O. Sanders, The Holy Spirit and His
Gifts, Zondervan, pg. 72_73.
The liVing and True God "can only
become known td us"in the historic
Jesus, the experience of Whom is
mediated to us by the Holy Spirit."
-W.H. Griffith Thomas, The Holy Spirit
of God, Eerdinans, pg, 143. Or as the
great PUritan,John Owen has written:
"As He represents the Person and
supplies the place of Jesus Christ, so
He works and effects whatever the
Lord Christ has taken upon Himself to
work and effect towards His disciples,
Wherefore as the work of the Son was
not the Son's own work, but, as He
loves to say, the work of the Father
Who sent Him, and in Whose Name
He performed it, so the work of the
Spirit is not the Spirit's own work, but
rather the work of the Son by Whom
He is sent and in Whose Name He
doth accomplish it."- Owen's Works,
Goold edition, iii, pg. 195.
" .. .if you desire to see how the work
of the Spirit come to us in connection
with the work of Christ, remember
that IT IS THE SPIRITS WORK TO
BEAR WITNESS OF JESUS CHRIST,
--- The Holy Spirit of God is engaged
in a service in which the Lord Jesus
Christ is the beginning and the end.
He comes to men that they may come
toJesus. Hence He comes to convince
us of our sin that He may reveal the
great saCrifice of sin: He comes to
convince us of righteousness that we
may see the righteousness of Christ:
and of judgment that we may be
prepared to meet Him when He shall
come tojudge the quick and the dead. "
-Charles Spurgeon, 12 Sermons on the
Holy Spirit, Baker, pg. lOS. The Spirit
uses the Word to bear witness of and
to glOrify Christ, thus revealing the
12 '1' TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon :; June, 1994
"things of Christ" to us, He "uses
the hearing of the word of Gbd for
the conviction, conversion,
consolation and sanctification of
men. His usual and ordinary
method of operation is to fasten
upon the mind the things of God,
and to put life and force into the
consideration of them. He revives
in men's memoties things that have
long been forgotten, and He
frequently makes these the means
of affecting the heart and
conscience." - Spurgeon, pg, 109.
The Bringing of the Believer
co Fruth in and Obedience
to Christ the Lord
. Paul wrote: "No man
can confess that]esus is Lord
but by the Holy SPirit;" I
Cor. 12:3. The Puritan,
Thomas Goodwin, com-
ments on this verse: "It
was and is the Holy Spirit
that. proclaims liim Christ
in all men's hearts. He sets
the crown upon Him there
also, as well as in heaven,
in so much that no man
' COUld e V ~ T come to
acknowledge Him the chrisrbut from
the Spirit." - Works ojTliomas Goodwin,
The Banner of Truth, pg, 13. Or as
Spurgeon puts it: ... "the Holy Spirit's
work is to conform US to the likeness of
Jesus Christ. lie is not working us to
this or that human ideal, but He is
working us into ttie likeness of Christ
that He may be the first-bom among
many brethren. Jesus Christ is that
standard and model t9 which the Spirit
of God by His sanctifying processes is
bringing us till Christ be forme.d in us
the hope of glory." -pg. 109,
How May We Receive the Presence
and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
of God Inio Our Lives?
The lioly Spirit's Personal presence,
gifts and ministty may be received into
your lives ~ t once: They are received
into our lives by believing in Jesus
Christ--- "But this He gesus) spokeof the
Spirit, whom those who believed in Him
were to receive ... ," In. 7:39. Butthere is
another thing to do as well, and that is
to pray--- " ... everyone who asks receives;
and he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks it shall be opened. Now suppose
one of you fathers is asked by his son for
afish; hewJll not give himasnahe instead
of afish, will he? Or if he is asked for an
egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will
he? If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children,
is not a messianic title, but is to be
understood in the highest sense,
transcending messiahship. It signifies
the unique relationship which Jesus
sustains to the Father, which exists
apart from any thought of official
function in history: Jesus is God's
unique Son." -Lane, pg. 57-58.
The Clauses
in the Divine Appraisal
of Jesus
"Thou Art My Beloved Son .... "
confers a right to claim the entire
household property.
"I wJll surely tell of the decree of the
LORD: He said toMe, 'ThouartMySon,
Today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me
and 1 will sW'ely give the nations as Thy
inhelitance, and the very ends of the earth
as Thy possession. '"
"In the case of the Son of God the
reference can only be to the sovereignty
ofthe world, and to such a sovereignty
as would be exercised not by a Jewish
how much more shall your
Heavenly Fathergive the Holy
Spirit to those who ask Him?"-
Luke 11:10-13. "Ask God
to make you all that the Spirit
of God can may you, not
only a satisfied believer in
Jesus who has dJUnk for
himself, but a useful believer,
who overflows the neigh-
borhood with blessing. "-
Spurgeon, pg. 114.
"Jesus did not become
God's Son at His baptism,
He is the Son of God, and
He is the unique Son of
God from all eternity
to all eternity. 11
emperor but by a Divine
Sovereign. These words
from God at the baptism of
Jesus thus unequivocally
proclaim our Lord's absolute
authOrity." -Geldenhuys, pg.
l48f.
" .. ./n Thee I am Well-Pleased.
The second clause with a
verb in the (timeless) aorist
indicative implies A PAST
CHOICE FOR THE
CARRYING OUT OF A
See Appendix: 'Jesus
and the Holy Spirit."
The Voice of God
The Point of the Divine Appraisal
ofJesus
The voice of God thundered out of
the opened heaven as the Spirit came
uponJesus. It was as real to the ears of
Jesus andJohn,Jn. 1:34, as the other
was real to their eyes. Thou art My
beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased.
In Luke's account God addressesJesus
as His unique Son, the object of His
eternal good pleasure and His eJecting
love. "In this expression of unqualified
divine approval there is recognition of
Jesus' competence to fulfill the
messianic task for which He has been
set apart. -- The declaration provides
a unique appraisal of Jesus. The
designation 'Son' is enriched by the
concept of the Servant of the Lord of
Isaiah 42: I, but the primary emphasis
is upon sonship. In this context 'Son'
This first clause with a verb in the
present tense of the indicative mood
expresses AN ETERNAL AND
ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIP. Jesus
did not become God's Son at His
baptism, He IS the Son of God, and He
IS the unique Son of God from all
eternity to all eternity. And He is the
"beloved Son" of God. "Beloved" is
HO AGAPATOS in Greek. It is passive
and the Father is the implied agent. It
denotes the highest kind oflove, "that
which is coupled with full
comprehension and understanding
and is accompanied by corresponding
purpose .... -- The Father 10vedJesus,
His Son, because He comprehended
all that Jesus was doing and with the
purpose of seconding His evelY act. " -
Lenski. (See]ohnl:14;3:16; 10:17; 17:23.)
This first clause is taken from Psalm
PARTICULAR FUNCTION IN
HISTORY. God was well-pleased in
choosing His Son to be the Savior of
sinners. "TheetemalSon is the Father's
Elect for the great task. This Son, now
incarnate and now presenting Himself
forthe task, is thus 'the Beloved.' Upon
the human natme of this Elect and
Beloved One the Spirit Himself is
bestowed for the great task. All this
might have transpired between the
Father and the Son without any
witnesses. But it took place so that the
Baptist and all of us might know."
-Lenski
"The rending of the heavens, the
descent of the Spirit and the declaration
of God do not alter Jesus' essential
status, but serve to indicate the cosmic
significance ofjesus' submission to the
Servant-vocation and affirm God's
2:7f,wherethepositionofGod'sonly good pleasure in His SON." -Lane,
Son is regarded as a legal status which pg.58f
Juue, 1994 " THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedou t- 13
Thec1ause, "in TheelamweU-pleased,
is taken from Isaiah 42: Hf, and should
be interpreted in the light of the main
points of this prophecy:
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen One in whom My soul delights.
r have put My Spirit upon Him; He will
bringforth justice to the nations.
The main points of this prophecy
are these: (1). The central theme is the
divine choice, dignity and ministry of
the messianic Servant of the LORD.
(2). The whole passage indicates
something distinctive, something
unique about this Servant: . He belongs
to God, and God willingly aCknow-
ledges Him. (3). This Servant, with aU
tbat word implies, is alsoilie Elect of
God. He Whom God has chosen is
God's Servant. (4). God promises to
sustain His Servant, showing that He
holds Him in the deepest affection. did nothing to diminish that love. That
(5). The One Whom the Lord has iswhattheFatheristellingtheSon.' That
chosen is also the One in Whom God is what He is also telling all of us. How
delights with the fullness of His Being.
(6). To eqUip His Servam forHistask,the filled with comfort this Pilragtaph,
Lord has bestowed His Spirit on Him. comfon not only for the Son and for
(7). This Spirit-endowed Servant in John, but for evety child of God, for it
Whom God delights is being sent to indicates that not only the Son loves His
eanh from God to "bring forth justice to followers enough to suffer the pangs of
the nations." Or as John Calvin has hell in their stead,butthat also the Spirit
wtitten: "Christ was sent in order to fully co-operates by strengthening Him
bringthewholeworldundertheauthority for this very task, and that the Father,
of God and tlnder obedience to Him. -
quoted by Youngin Isaiah, NT COT, vol. n. instead of frowning upon the One who
The point ofthe clause "in Thee I am
this: "In the quiet recess
of eternity the Son was the object ofthe
Father's inexhaustible delight, Pro>'.
8:30: The fotn:1er:s pUblicaffirrnation,
bymeans of baptism, of His purpose to
shed Hisblilbd for a world lost in sin
undertakes it, is So vety pleased with
Him that He must needs rend asunder
the very heavens, that His Voice of
deligb,tful approval may be heard on
earthl All Three are equally intereSted in
our salvation, and the Three are Onel"
-Hendr\ksen -- To be conilnued.
MERICA
he First350 Years
For over 100 years Americans have been subjected to historical misin-
fonna,tion. We have been given lies for truth and myths for facts.
Modem, unbelieving historians have hidden the truth of our nation's
history from us. America:'rheFirst 350 not only corrects the lies,
but also points ciut thlngs by modern historians. It
interprets American histo;y from a Christian perspective so that you
hearnotonlywhathappened, bywhyithappened-and whatitrneans
to us today. 32 lectures on 16-90 min"te cassettes, 200 page rtote-
book, 16 page study guide, lecture outlines, index & bibliography.
special rate for COllnsel of Chalcedon readers:-

AMERICA: The First 350 Years-$64.95 x __ =
Louisiana residents add 7% sales tax (Q;j.) =
SHIPPING AND HANDLING: Add 10% (15% UPS) =
(Check or Money Order) Total Enclosed
(name)
(Street Address'or P.O. Box)
(City) (State) (Zip)
PLEASE ALLOW 4-6 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY
Send self-addressed stamped envelope to receive more infonnation .
14 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon June, 1994