Dale Partridge - September 27, 2026


John 1_29-34： The Lamb of God — Jesus Christ

Topics
baptism of the Spirit
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Dale Partridge
Mentioned
Jesus Christ Wolfgang Musculus John Lightfoot Bishop Ryle Levitical Yom Kippur Amen Amen Augustine Passover Sapphira Hebrews Godhead Matthew Jesse Isaac Paul
Is “Racism” a Biblical Sin？ No. John 1_35-51 - The Simple Evangelism of the New Testament

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Transcript

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00:00:00 The Apostle John has taken us through quite a journey so far in this first chapter of his
00:00:13 epistle. We have seen that he has demonstrated to us that the Word is divine, that the Word
00:00:23 is not just with God, but the Word was God, and that Jesus Christ is the Word. Now, he has shown
00:00:35 us that Jesus as the Word is the source of all life and all light. And then in verse 14, it says
00:00:45 that this word, this God-man became flesh and entered into the world. And in verse 19, he told
00:00:54 us that God had sent a herald before the word, before Jesus Christ, to tell and to announce
00:01:03 his coming into the world. A man who had a miraculous birth himself, a man who was also a
00:01:12 Levite, a man who came from an honorable priestly family, but also a man who lived outside of the
00:01:21 expectations and the patterns and the systems and the authority of the religious establishment and
00:01:28 authorities of the day. And we know that that man was John the Baptist. And as you saw last week in
00:01:35 Pastor Jesse's sermon, the Jews questioned John the Baptist. They came to John the Baptist demanding 0.92
00:01:42 to know his identity and his purpose. Why are you here? Who are you? You heard the questions. Are
00:01:49 you the Christ? No, he said. Are you Elijah? No, he said. Are you the prophet? No, he said.
00:01:59 And John replied, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way
00:02:05 of the Lord. And then a second group of Jews, a second group of Pharisees pressed him further.
00:02:16 If you are not these men, then why then are you baptizing?
00:02:20 And John answered, I baptize with water, but among you stands one who you do not know,
00:02:28 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.
00:02:32 and that is the posture of john the baptist he's a true prophet and a true evangelist because every
00:02:42 time someone asks him a question about his identity about his purpose what are you doing
00:02:47 here what does he do he deflects it back to christ he reflects it onto the glory of jesus
00:02:54 he constantly redirects the posture and the eyes and the ears and the honor and the glory
00:03:00 back to Jesus over and over again. And now, as we see in today's text, the one who has
00:03:10 been announced by John's lips finally appears on the scene. John does exactly what all faithful
00:03:20 ministers do. He directs every eye, every ear, every focus to Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.
00:03:30 And that is exactly where our text begins this morning in verse 29. It says,
00:03:38 the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and he said behold the lamb of God who takes away the
00:03:50 sin of the world and this is he of whom I said after me comes a man who ranks before me because
00:03:59 he was before me all right to the Pharisees John was already a mysterious character they didn't
00:04:07 know what his purpose was. Why are you here? What is your purpose? Why are you baptizing?
00:04:13 There's already a mystery unfolding for the Pharisees. And this language that John uses 0.83
00:04:20 doesn't make any sense to them. John was clearly speaking in messianic terms. He was
00:04:28 talking about the prophets. He was foretelling the future. And the religious leaders understood
00:04:34 this. They knew the vernacular and the vocabulary and the glossary that John was using. John was
00:04:40 raised in a priestly household. He understood the Levitical priesthood. He understood the
00:04:44 scriptures. He knew what he was saying. He knew the cues that he was leaving for the Pharisees to
00:04:49 grab. But when the one that he had been announcing finally appeared and John called him the Lamb of
00:04:58 God, that title did not register with the Pharisees. The Lamb of God. Now, you see that
00:05:11 when it comes to the Messiah, the Jews were waiting for, behold, the King. Behold, the ruler. 0.76
00:05:22 behold the deliverer they were not looking for the lamb they were not waiting for the lamb of god 0.72
00:05:34 and that gets to the heart of the jews denial of christ that really gets to the heart of what's 0.83
00:05:43 happening here in this scene the jews could not understand why the messiah would come as a
00:05:50 sacrifice because they believed that the existing sacrificial system had already dealt with their
00:05:56 sin. That's key. That is the key piece to understanding what's happening right here.
00:06:03 They did not understand why the Messiah would come as a lamb because they viewed the sacrificial
00:06:10 system as already sufficient.
00:06:16 They had a priesthood.
00:06:18 They had the blood of lambs and goats and bulls.
00:06:23 They believed that these were enough. 1.00
00:06:26 And this, this is the fatal error of the Jews. 1.00
00:06:31 They did not know that they were still sick. 1.00
00:06:36 They did not know that they were still sick.
00:06:40 They did not know that there was still a need for a greater sacrifice, for better blood.
00:06:50 And their blindness is not limited to some ancient reality.
00:06:55 This blindness still exists today.
00:06:58 In fact, if you don't know, this week is leading up to Yom Kippur, which is today.
00:07:05 and just over the last few days there's been a hundred thousand chickens that were delivered 0.68
00:07:14 to jewish communities in new york city for an atonement celebration called kippurah 0.82
00:07:19 yesterday i watched videos of the jews ritually transmitting their sins to these chickens 0.91
00:07:27 and then slaughtering them and then covering the blood with dirt this is happening literally today 0.83
00:07:34 in New York City. It's the same blindness of the Pharisees here in John chapter 1.
00:07:43 They cannot see that animal sacrifices of the Old Testament order were symbolic and insufficient.
00:07:51 They were not the end goal. All of those things were preparing people for and pointing people to
00:07:59 Jesus Christ. They did not grasp that fallen creatures in a fallen world could never truly
00:08:07 atone for fallen men. I'm going to read you Hebrews chapter 10, verses 4 through 10.
00:08:17 And it says, quote, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
00:08:25 for it is impossible. Think about this. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to
00:08:33 take away sins. Verse five, it says, consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
00:08:39 quote, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me
00:08:45 in burnt offerings and sin offerings. You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have
00:08:51 come to do your will oh god as it is written of me in the scroll of the book when he said this
00:09:00 this is verse eight when he said this he does away with the first in order to establish the second
00:09:08 and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for
00:09:17 all end quote complex beautiful deep rich sacramentology
00:09:25 sacrificial atonement theology beautiful understanding that the jews had missed
00:09:35 the jews did not understand that a sacrificial system was the shadow of the substance to come 0.65
00:09:42 they did not see the lamb of Isaac's sacrifice pointing to Christ they did not see the lamb of 0.95
00:09:53 the Passover pointing to Christ they did not see that every lamb that has ever been on their altar
00:10:00 was preparing them again for Jesus Christ the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
00:10:08 It would be like standing in a room full of arrows pointing at one direction, but never looking at where they're pointing.
00:10:18 That's exactly what their life was.
00:10:21 They were all around arrows that were shaping them and directing them and pointing them to Jesus Christ.
00:10:28 But they were unable to actually look at what all of those arrows were pointing at.
00:10:38 and their blindness comes from a low view of sin. A low view of sin. I say it often that
00:10:44 a low view of sin always leads to legalism. Because if you believe that you can obey the law
00:10:53 or you believe that the sacrifices of animals are sufficient, you will use those things to make
00:11:01 yourself appear righteous. But if you have a high view of the law, a view of the law that is so high
00:11:09 that you realize that you cannot keep it and that the blood of bulls and goats and rams is not
00:11:14 sufficient, where will you run? Well, you will only run to Christ. They did not grasp that salvation
00:11:25 demanded that a perfect man had to enter into an imperfect world and shed perfect blood on behalf
00:11:34 of other imperfect men. They did not grasp that reality. They did not understand that sinners
00:11:42 needed more than another sinner. They didn't understand that fallen men needed more
00:11:49 than the fallen blood of animals. Why can a animal's blood not be sufficient for atonement?
00:11:56 Well, first, it's not a man. We know that Jesus needed to come in, according to Hebrews, that he 0.51
00:12:02 was made like one of us, so that he might be born under the law like us, that he might be a sacrifice
00:12:07 for us. The blood of animals cannot atone for the blood or for the sins of man.
00:12:13 but then there's also the dilemma that there is no way that another man can atone for another
00:12:20 man because we're all sinners we know that the wages of sin is death that all deserve to die
00:12:26 and so any man that dies is dying for his own sin and does not have the capability of dying for your
00:12:33 sin. But Jesus, who was born as a man, under the law, without sin, and yet keeps the law perfectly,
00:12:44 who has no sin, is able to die not for his sin, because there is no sin, but for your sin.
00:12:51 And that is the incredible dimension of the atonement.
00:12:55 only a sinless man could die for sinners only a perfect
00:13:03 blood of a man could answer the guilt of imperfect men
00:13:08 so the only people in this first century narrative when we're seeing jesus and john
00:13:16 preaching about jesus christ the only people who saw christ correctly who rejoiced in john's words
00:13:24 were those who were sober about their sin, who were looking through the Old Testament,
00:13:29 and they saw the anticipation of waiting for that perfect, spotless, blemish-free lamb.
00:13:37 Then it started to connect. They were those who longed for the curse of sin to be finally wiped
00:13:46 away. We know that the Old Testament high priests stood daily, according to Hebrews, making
00:13:53 sacrifices often. And it contrasts with Jesus who makes one sacrifice, once for all. Just the sheer
00:14:03 labor of the sacrificial system, the rest that the Levitical priesthood receives in resting in the
00:14:12 once and final sacrifice of Christ. What about you? What about you?
00:14:24 Are you looking for something other than the Lamb?
00:14:29 Are you excited about something other than Jesus as the Lamb?
00:14:37 one theologian said you cannot see christ as king or lord until you first see him as sacrifice and
00:14:46 i think he's talking about the soteriological the salvation redemption you're not going to
00:14:50 see jesus as lord or you're not going to see jesus as king because you're blind though he
00:14:55 is those things no matter what you believe but you first must see him as sacrifice you must first
00:15:03 see him as lamb. And when you see him as lamb, then you see him as king. Then you see him as
00:15:10 Lord. J.C. Ryle said, but above all, let us prize him as our sacrifice. May his blood be more
00:15:20 precious in our eyes every year as we live. Whatever else we glory in about Christ, let us
00:15:29 glory about all the things in his cross and in his blood. We know nothing rightly about Christ
00:15:36 until we see him with John the Baptist's eyes and can rejoice in him as the lamb that was slain.
00:15:46 That's the key. When you want to get out into the world and you want to preach Christ as Lord,
00:15:52 or you want to preach Christ as King, those people cannot see those things without first
00:15:57 seen Christ as lamb. So evangelism really does need to begin with Christ as the sacrificial lamb
00:16:07 that was slain. Yes, he is Lord. Yes, he is king. And Christians often need to be reminded of those
00:16:15 two things. But he is first in our own understanding, in our fallen eyes, he is lamb. 0.92
00:16:24 now i want to look briefly at this phrase who takes away the sin of the world
00:16:31 i just imagine john standing next to the water jesus is walking up and he says behold
00:16:39 the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world now a few things
00:16:47 he's saying here is one is that there's only one there's only one source to take away sin
00:16:56 there are not other things that you can do obedience will not take away your guilty verdict
00:17:03 on judgment day church attendance will not take away your guilty verdict on judgment day
00:17:08 kissing the feet of idols will not take away the sin that'll have you guilty on judgment day
00:17:15 There is only one Savior.
00:17:19 Behold the Lamb.
00:17:20 Not a Lamb.
00:17:21 The Lamb.
00:17:26 Nobody has a problem with a God.
00:17:29 Everyone has a problem with the God.
00:17:33 The Lord Jesus Christ.
00:17:38 And we're not universalists, right?
00:17:40 So when it says the one who took away the sins of the world.
00:17:43 We're not universalists.
00:17:45 we know that if christ's atonement is universal and that means that he's covered the sin of all
00:17:53 people then that means that there is nobody in hell if we are to adopt that doctrine
00:17:57 so what does this phrase mean the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world
00:18:08 Well, first, it's a term of expansion, not a term of totalization.
00:18:14 It's a term of expansion.
00:18:17 The Jews were not waiting for a global savior.
00:18:20 They weren't.
00:18:21 They were waiting for what?
00:18:23 For a king to save them from Rome.
00:18:28 A king to save them, to save the Jews.
00:18:32 And so again, this phrase, the Lamb of God, one, is already stumbling the Pharisees.
00:18:37 But then you say, who takes away the sin of the world?
00:18:41 Then you have two confusing statements standing side by side.
00:18:46 That's taking the Pharisees that are going, whoa, whoa.
00:18:50 The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
00:18:55 What he's saying here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of all mankind.
00:19:02 The sinners from every tribe, nation, and tongue will now be saved in this land. 0.96
00:19:08 And it's the fulfillment of the inclusion of the Gentiles, bringing them into the fold, 0.96
00:19:14 the engrafting of the Gentiles into the true Israel. 0.96
00:19:18 All of these little connections that are being made here in these small words, 0.92
00:19:22 and John knows exactly what he's doing.
00:19:28 Now verse 30 through 31.
00:19:32 It says,
00:19:34 This is he of whom I said,
00:19:37 After me comes a man who ranks before me.
00:19:41 Because he was before me,
00:19:43 I myself did not know him,
00:19:46 but for this purpose I came baptizing with water,
00:19:50 that he might be revealed to Israel.
00:19:55 Now John again reveals a few things in this verse,
00:19:59 these two verses.
00:20:01 One, he just reveals the divinity of Christ by pointing to his eternality.
00:20:08 If you see that, just catch it.
00:20:09 As we know, John the Baptist was physically older than Jesus.
00:20:14 He was born before Jesus.
00:20:17 Yet he says that Jesus was before me.
00:20:21 So he's talking about the preexistent nature of who Jesus is.
00:20:26 Again, every little thing that John says, he's dropping in lines that are very theological.
00:20:33 And the Jews are going to catch these phrases.
00:20:36 They might go over our Western and untrained minds, but the Jews were catching these things.
00:20:42 Now, I believe that verse 31 also serves where he says,
00:20:47 this is he of whom I said after me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me.
00:20:52 I myself did not know him.
00:20:54 I myself did not know him.
00:20:55 and you're thinking, well, of course you knew him, right? Your mother was friends with Jesus's
00:21:00 mother. You guys are related. Certainly there was conversations between the women and between
00:21:05 the children and between the family of who these boys really were. Certainly. But imagine growing
00:21:12 up hearing these things, not sure fully what they mean. The John has some sort of miraculous
00:21:20 ministry, and that Jesus is somehow a miraculous birth and has also a ministry and purpose.
00:21:29 But you know that Jesus says that it's hard or difficult for a prophet to be recognized in his
00:21:34 own town? You know the reality that his own brother didn't even believe that Jesus was the
00:21:40 Son of God? When you're around somebody, it's almost difficult to go, is this person really
00:21:48 who the prophecy says this person truly is and we know that growing up it was very likely that
00:21:56 john and jesus had a relationship with one another yet he still did not at this point
00:22:02 know him he did not fully believe yet he was still doubting and concerned and questioning
00:22:12 now on the other side of this dimension in verse 31 i believe it also his statement it serves to
00:22:22 rule out the idea that john and jesus are somehow colluding or coordinating together this kind of
00:22:28 false prophetic reality i think he's actually telling the truth that yeah i did not know him
00:22:39 at one point, even though he had a relationship with him.
00:22:45 He actually says it again in verse 33. If you look down, he says, I myself did not know him.
00:22:51 And you go again, is he lying? Because you did know him. In fact, you knew him from birth.
00:22:58 No, again, I believe that there was some degree of, I know you, and yet I did not know him.
00:23:05 and so whatever family connection existed between them
00:23:10 john is making it clear that his identification of jesus as the messiah did not come until recently
00:23:19 and most likely that came specifically at his baptism at his baptism where who god the father
00:23:28 confesses and testifies this is my beloved son and you see the trinitarian reality that jesus
00:23:36 the son the spirit descending like a dove and god the father proclaiming and testifying that
00:23:43 jesus christ is the lord that moment to john was probably the moment we don't know for sure
00:23:51 explicitly when this happened but we know for sure that that moment happened now that raises
00:23:57 some of those earthly questions about, again, knowing him. And I was thinking about
00:24:06 John, who did not see Jesus in the womb, yet knew him. He leapt in the womb when he was near Christ.
00:24:17 And so my assumption is that when Christ came and he was baptized, the same spirit that had him
00:24:25 leap in the womb, had him leap in joy in Christ's adult life. It's the same way that we come to
00:24:34 know. We do not see Christ. We might know of him in the fact that we have heard of him through the
00:24:41 scriptures and the preaching, and we might have visited church as a child, but there is a time
00:24:46 in which something, the Spirit of God, testifies, and then we can say, I know him. In the same way
00:24:55 that John says, I know him. And so this leads us to verse 32, where John recalls his baptism of
00:25:04 Jesus. And he says in verse 32, and John bore witness, I saw the spirit descend from heaven
00:25:10 like a dove and it remained on him. Now, I just want to be clear. This, I don't believe is,
00:25:18 the Spirit of God certainly was with Jesus before it descended upon him.
00:25:27 I believe God used this moment to reveal the Trinitarian nature of the Godhead to those who
00:25:32 were present, to those who would write it into the scriptures. The early reformer Wolfgang Musculus,
00:25:39 which is one of the greatest names, Wolfgang Musculus, he said, quote, the Spirit did not
00:25:45 descend on christ's account who was never separate from the spirit either from the father
00:25:52 but on our account that he would come and redeem the world and might be made manifest through
00:26:00 john's declaration of his identity end quote in verse 33 john speaks again of this account of
00:26:07 jesus's baptism so again we don't get to see jesus's baptism in john we get to see it in the
00:26:13 synoptic gospels, but there's a reference to it here in John chapter 1. In verse 33, it says,
00:26:20 I myself did not know him. He says it again, right? But he who sent me to baptize with water said to
00:26:26 me, so who sent John? Well, God the Father. God the Father sent John. So again, verse 33, I myself
00:26:35 did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me he on whom you see the
00:26:44 spirit descend and remain this is he who baptizes with the holy spirit so there's a contrast
00:26:53 god tells john you go baptize with water but he says but he who comes and baptizes with the spirit
00:27:03 showing the difference between John and Jesus. In verse 34, he says,
00:27:11 and I have seen and I have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
00:27:19 Now, just to offer some cultural context around baptism, it was quite common to have water
00:27:27 baptisms occur in the Jewish world. There was various types of baptisms from sprinklings,
00:27:34 from pourings, from effusions, from immersions. There was all types of baptisms that were
00:27:42 occurring. Proselytes, who are people that are converting from pagan religions, that
00:27:47 are coming into the people of God, the proselytes attempting to enter into that old covenant
00:27:53 Israel, they would participate in what is called a mikvah. Now, the mikvah was essentially a
00:28:00 self-administered baptism. It was symbolic. You actually can see some of the pools around Jerusalem
00:28:07 in which you would walk into these pools, and you would very likely immerse yourself, 0.95
00:28:13 and it would be symbolizing washing away the filth of paganism, and it would occur very likely and 0.92
00:28:21 oftentimes, before circumcision for men. 0.95
00:28:24 So it was a way of symbolizing being washed clean from the old world. 0.96
00:28:30 Now, what made John's baptism unique was that he was administering it. 0.73
00:28:38 Because these were self-administered baptisms.
00:28:42 Yes, there were priestly baptisms of blood and sprinklings that occurred.
00:28:45 but john was administering these baptisms and not only that he was commanding it
00:28:54 he was commanding these baptisms now what makes this even more wild is that he was commanding
00:29:02 jews who were circumcised and who were already in the covenant to be baptized this is where the
00:29:11 pharisees really began to be stirred up wait a second baptisms are for entrance but you're 0.50
00:29:22 baptizing people who are already in that's going to throw a wrench in the theology of the pharisees
00:29:30 and this is why they asked who are you are you the prophet
00:29:40 are you elijah are you the messiah
00:29:45 what are you doing on what authority do you have to do such things commanding god's people to be
00:29:55 baptized again where is this coming from so you can start to see the curiosity behind the pharisees
00:30:06 why they would be asking these questions so all of this caused friction between john
00:30:14 and the jews it's the friction that was caused between jesus and the jews they're operating
00:30:22 outside of the framework
00:30:23 now john's baptism was preparatory it was preparatory it's kind of like the setting
00:30:34 of the table before the feast right it's preparatory work it made ready a people for the one
00:30:42 who would bring true baptism of the spirit so again if you look back it says
00:30:53 he did this see verse
00:30:58 i myself did not know him but he who sent me i baptized with water
00:31:01 um no it's earlier than that verse 31
00:31:07 i myself did not know him but for this purpose i came baptizing with water
00:31:13 that he might be revealed to israel that he might be revealed to israel
00:31:21 and this is important the purpose of john's baptism was a baptism of repentance
00:31:29 but it's a baptism of repentance for people who are already supposed to be repentant
00:31:37 and again this caused that structure of friction now
00:31:44 i don't believe that that necessarily means that john's baptism was a different sacrament
00:31:52 in substance from christian baptism there's a theological debate here but i'm going to give my
00:31:58 position. Acts 19 describes some sort of distinction. Oh, you've only been baptized in
00:32:05 John's baptism, a baptism of repentance. He shows there's a distinction, that there might be a
00:32:10 difference between the baptism of Jesus in the Great Commission, the Trinitarian baptism,
00:32:15 and the baptism of repentance. The great Bible commentator John Lightfoot argued that the two
00:32:23 were essentially one baptism, differing chiefly in the circumstances, and John baptized in
00:32:30 expectation for the Messiah who was about to be revealed, while the apostles baptized in
00:32:36 realization of the Messiah that was revealed in Jesus Christ. And he actually goes on to talk about
00:32:43 was there not, if this baptism was not sufficient, we have no record of many of the apostles being
00:32:50 baptized but many of the apostles were disciples of john and we would expect that they were baptized
00:32:57 through john's baptism and we would again implicitly understand that those baptisms
00:33:04 were sufficient since we have no record of those apostles being re-baptized
00:33:09 now the difference is that after christ's resurrection
00:33:14 and revelation, baptism is administered with a more complete expression.
00:33:22 It was administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That's
00:33:26 what we see in Matthew chapter 28 of the Great Commission. But again, I think I'm with Lightfoot
00:33:31 and Ryle here. Bishop Ryle says, quote, I do not think that we should treat John's baptism
00:33:38 and Christian baptism as two entirely different sacraments. They are better understood as the
00:33:44 same basic baptism unfolding across two stages of one revelation. I thought that was very well
00:33:51 put. Now, I want to focus just real quick on this phrase of contrast that John uses.
00:34:01 This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And we know this verse has been abused in many ways
00:34:10 in the charismatic world the pentecostal world what does it mean now this is john recognizing
00:34:18 the partial nature of his baptism it's partial it's incomplete and the full nature of christ's
00:34:30 baptism through the holy spirit there's a contrast here between two types of baptism
00:34:36 but they are connected in some dimension and so what are they talking about here
00:34:44 now again i think ryle wrote something on this that is better than i could ever write
00:34:49 so i'm just going to read it because it's that good he says
00:34:53 the baptism here spoken of is not the baptism of water so he's talking about the holy spirit's
00:35:01 baptism, right? It says, the baptism spoken of here is not the baptism of water. It does not
00:35:09 consist either of dipping or sprinkling. It does not belong exclusively either to infants
00:35:16 or to grown people. It is not baptism which any man can give, Episcopalian or Presbyterian,
00:35:24 independent or methodist layman or minister it is a baptism which the great head of the church
00:35:31 keeps exclusively in his own hands it consists of the implanting of grace into the inward man
00:35:40 it is the same thing with the new birth it is a baptism not of the body but of the heart
00:35:49 It is about baptism, which the penitent thief received, though neither dipped nor sprinkled by the hand of any man or minister.
00:35:59 It is a baptism, which Ananias and Sapphira did not receive, though admitted into the church communion by apostolic men, end quote.
00:36:12 How that was wonderful.
00:36:13 so our water baptism though commanded by christ we are commanded to do water baptism by christ
00:36:22 and to be received in faith is an act of trust and hope that signifies
00:36:30 our trust for the greater baptism of the holy spirit
00:36:36 the water is the outward sign the spirit is the inward reality now the sign without the spirit
00:36:45 is empty there are many who are in the church and not of the church and the old testament
00:36:54 there were many circumcised of the flesh and not circumcised of the heart not all who are israel
00:37:02 our Israel is what Paul says. There are some that are in the community, but not of the community.
00:37:13 Now, if the sign without the Spirit is empty, the claim to the Spirit while rejecting the sign
00:37:22 is disobedience. You need both. In fact, Christ commands both. Christ commands be baptized,
00:37:32 repent and believe. Christ also commands
00:37:36 you must be born again.
00:37:39 And you quickly land at Augustine's position.
00:37:46 Command what you will and will what you command.
00:37:50 You're commanding me to be born again
00:37:52 though I cannot born myself again.
00:37:56 God commands both. Be baptized in faith
00:38:00 trusting be born again i can't do that i i can't produce a spiritual rebirth of myself
00:38:14 you were dependent yet god commands both
00:38:18 again it's that same pattern circumcision of the flesh requires circumcision of the heart
00:38:26 Baptism with water requires baptism of the spirit.
00:38:29 The outward act comes first as the sign.
00:38:32 The inward work of God is the reality of which that sign points.
00:38:37 When you baptize that infant, you're waiting.
00:38:41 We don't know the baptism of the heart.
00:38:43 I can't see the heart.
00:38:45 I can't look at the inward man.
00:38:47 I can only see the outer shell.
00:38:49 But you trust and hope and faith that you wait for the sign to produce by God's grace and mercy.
00:38:55 that which is signified by the water, the washing away of sin.
00:39:02 That is what they were doing in the Old Testament.
00:39:05 They were cutting off the skin. 0.90
00:39:10 And they were waiting, those who had faith, 0.79
00:39:15 for the sign to bring forth that which it signified,
00:39:20 which is the circumcision of the heart.
00:39:22 and so they are not merely symbols they are acts of faith baptism the lord's supper they are
00:39:31 covenantal keys they are works of god's will they're important but they are not independent
00:39:42 they require dependent upon god's work in us and my last point which is just one sentence
00:39:51 Verse 34. John recalls the testimony of God at Jesus' baptism and is why he says, if you look
00:40:02 at your Bibles, and I have seen and I have borne witness that this is the Son of God. Let's pray.
00:40:12 Father, we thank you for the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
00:40:20 Lord our sins
00:40:22 Lord that when John was
00:40:26 preaching that word
00:40:28 he was preaching to us
00:40:31 about us
00:40:32 and Lord we ask that you would bless us
00:40:34 to understand and to revel
00:40:36 in the reality of Christ
00:40:38 as sacrifice
00:40:39 Lord we thank you for this word
00:40:42 in Jesus name, Amen
00:40:50 Amen.