Everything Jesus said or did was an example for us. That includes the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
You can find the account of Jesus’ baptism in water and in the Holy Spirit in all four Gospels.
Matthew 3
Mark 1
Luke 3
John 1
Let’s look at the one in Matthew 3.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’
Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, Heaven opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my Son, who I love; with Him I am well pleased.’”-Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV)
I have often wondered why Jesus was need to be baptized. He was sinless. He didn’t need to repent. And then one day it dawned on me. He wasn’t repenting. He was being baptized unto new life.
Up until that point, Jesus had done no miracles. If you read the Gospels, you will see that before His baptism, He had performed no miracles and healed no one. After the water baptism, and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is when He began His public ministry.
It is the same with us. When we receive Jesus, we are water baptized as a demonstration of what has happened internally. We are made clean, washed on the inside. The water baptism is an outward symbol of us entering into new life.
An even though Jesus did not need to be renewed on the inside- He was the sinless, Son of God- He needed to be an example for us. He was teaching us what was to come for us as Believers, for His Church.
But it doesn’t stop there.
"...and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him."
The Holy Spirit didn't come down in the form of a dove. He came down like a dove, gently, and anointed Jesus to fulfill His ministry.
“...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Just like Jesus was going toward something, so are we. And we need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to take us there.
All posts in this series include:
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit-The Life of Jesus
The New Birth, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Water Baptism, Part 1
The New Birth, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Water Baptism, Part 2
The Holy Spirit Came on All Who Heard the Message...
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