Thoughts on the Gospel of John (12) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.
John 1:33.34

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (12)
When Jesus was baptised with water, something extra­ordinary happened: the Holy Spirit, a Person of the Godhead, descended on Him "like a dove". This visible sign marked the start of Christ's appearance in public and of His ministry. Just as priests, prophets and kings in Old Testament times had been anointed with oil at their initiation, so here we find the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy: "Behold! My servant, my elect one in whom my soul delights! I have put my spirit upon him" (ch. 42: v. 1).

The Old Testament often reports on washing, but baptism with water, as John practised it, was a new commission from God. In the foreseeable future a very different form of baptism was to take place: the baptism with the Holy Spirit happened ten days after Christ's ascension in a house in Jerusalem where the believers had gathered. The apostle Paul sums up this unique event as follows: "By one Spirit we were all baptised into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free (1 Corinthians 12:13)

None was authorised to baptise with the Holy Spirit except the Son of God. But what is baptism with the Holy Spirit? It is not the transforming power of the Holy Spirit effective in the new life of a believer (cf. John 3:5). Baptism with the Holy Spirit took place on a single occasion, but all who have come to Christ by faith since Pentecost have a share in it. Together they form the body of Christ, the church of God, a living organism.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 6:33-66 · Psalm 81:1-8