According to Jesus, there was no one greater in the Old Covenant than John the Baptist (Mat 11 v 11). It would therefore seem wise to pay attention to John’s message. So what was it? According to the gospels, John’s message was simple: – acknowledge wrongdoing and turn from it in preparation for God’s kingdom – he was not the Messiah but a forerunner sent to prepare the way – he baptised with water but the Messiah would baptise with the Holy Spirit It is this latter prediction that I suggest was the fulfilment God’s Old Covenant promise…a solution to the desires in a man to do wrong. We have seen how a high point of God’s salvation for his people was to be Living Water…..and how Jesus equated Living Water with the Holy Spirit.
And now we see in John’s message, the defining role of the Messiah was to immerse believers in God’s Spirit. When John baptised a person their body interacted with the water of the Jordon. When Jesus would baptise a person their soul would interact with the Living Water of the Holy Spirit. And this is the offer of the New Covenant….to live continually engaging with God’s Living Water. Peter explained this offer on the day of Pentecost, “?????? ??? ?? ????????, ????? ??? ?? ???, ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????????? ?? ???? ????. ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??????. ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???–??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????.” (???? 2 ? 38 – 39) We could call this New Life, living by the Living Water….or as the apostle Paul said, living by the Spirit (Gal 5 v 25).
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The Passover day event of Jesus’ death and his resurrection on the day of First-fruits were the work of God that opened up the New Life. Before he died, Jesus proclaimed “?? ?? ????????” (???? 19 ? 30)….and at that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Mat 27 v 51). God’s redemptive work was finished. It remained now only for a man to receive it. As John says, “?? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ????, ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ???; ???????? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???????, ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ? ???????’? ????, ??? ???? ?? ???.” (???? 1 ? 12 – 13) And the agent of this new birth was the Holy Spirit.
The new birth is in effect a joining to Jesus death and resurrection….with the gift of the Holy Spirit being the life-source of the resurrection life. So that in the New Life a man lives by the Spirit of Christ within him. As Paul said, “? ???? ???? ????????? ???? ?????? ??? ? ?? ?????? ????, ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??. ??? ???? ? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????, ? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ???, ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ??.” (??? 2 ? 20) God’s solution to the corrupted nature of a man and its corrupted desires is to enable a man to share in the death and resurrection of Jesus. His old desires are then part of his old life, from which he is spiritually separated by the power of the cross. In the words of Paul, “????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ???????.” (??? 5 ? 24) Here is a promise of sharing God’s finished work through faith. As the writer to the Hebrews said, “??? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ???? ????….????? ???????, ????, ? ???????-???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???; ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???’? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????, ???? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???. ??? ??, ?????????, ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????…” (??? 4 ? 3, 9 – 11) So what is the effort we can make?
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The thinking of a person determines the trajectory of their actions; it is impossible to think good and act bad….or to think bad and act good. The apostle Paul knew this and said of a man living in the New Life….his mind is set on things the Spirit desires (Rom 8 v 5). This was in contrast to a man who lived according to his old nature (flesh), whose mind is set on the things the flesh desires (Rom 8 v 5). So are there steps that can a man take to enjoy this New Life? I suggest there are a number including:
– to believe in the finished work of God on the cross and the benefits through association
– to defer choosing wrong – to allow his mind to be baptised by the Holy Spirit and set his heart and mind accordingly
– to follow the desires of the Spirit I will look at these steps next week in more detail.