“As soon as Jesus was baptized, He came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on Him.” (Matthew 3:16)
This happened when Jesus was baptized. Taking that one verse out of context it’s difficult to understand who the “he” is, whether John the Baptist or Jesus. But in reading the previous verses, we understand that it’s John. When John baptized Jesus, Matthew uses a peculiar phrase to describe what happened; “then heaven was opened to him...” It means that at that moment, the spiritual was revealed to John. As earth people, we only see what’s physically present in the natural. We are not even aware of the spiritual realm all around us. In the spiritual realm angels are protecting us from evil, from harm, from danger, from sin and darkness. Demons and evil spirits are hovering around tempting us, setting traps that may cause us to sin and say and do things that are not of faith. What the devil wants is for us to doubt and sin against God. Any word or deed that is not Scriptural is agreeing with the devil’s lies. I think we’d be scared if we saw all that was taking place around us in the spiritual realm.
There is another account of heaven opening. This was when Stephen was being stoned. “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God. "Look!" he said. "I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!" (Acts 7:55-56) Stephen saw the spiritual realm and saw Jesus. The Scriptures say that after His ascension, Jesus was seated at the right hand of God. Jesus Himself said it to the Council when He was arrested and was asked if He was the Messiah. “But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of Almighty God." (Luke 22:69) But in this instance, when Stephen was being stoned for preaching Jesus, He stood up.
When John saw the spiritual realm, he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove. The Word of God does not say He looked like a dove or that John saw a dove, but that is what is depicted whenever we see pictures of the baptism of Jesus. What John saw was the Holy Spirit Who descended like a dove. In other words, the Holy Spirit came down as if He were a dove. He flew down. There is no other description of what John saw. But Luke’s account is slightly different. “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22 KJV) Again Luke does not write that the Holy Spirit was shaped like a dove, but that He descended in a bodily shape and like a dove descended on Jesus. And today, the Holy Spirit is depicted by a dove. This was the description John gave, not having the vocabulary to describe what they he saw.
We have to remember that the Holy Spirit so far and not until after the ascension of Jesus to heaven did the Holy Spirit live in man In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would empower certain ones to be used for God’s purposes. But the Holy Spirit never did dwell in man until after Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-41) At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled the disciples of Jesus. They spoke in tongues (an unknown language to them) that people who were there from many different regions understood in their native tongues. They received boldness to witness or testify about Jesus. Peter at this time was radically changed and preached. “Peter said to them, "Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
In the baptism of Jesus, the Godhead, the Father who speaks from heaven, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit are present. This is the Holy Trinity. It’s so hard for us to understand some things about God. We have to accept them by faith because we don’t have understanding. There are not three Gods. There is only one God. We worship one God. In the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are one in unity, in agreement in word and deed. The kind of oneness that they are is unknown here on earth, so it’s hard for us to understand. If there were only two people on earth, there would be disagreements. There are many explanations that are error. God is not one who functions in different capacities and is known by different names in each function. We know that’s not true because at the baptism of Jesus, all three were there and separate. Some think there are three Gods. This is not true either. We believe and accept by faith, that God is One and there are three persons in one God.
“I did not know who He would be, but I came baptizing with water in order to make Him known to the people of Israel." And John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on Him. I still did not know that He was the One, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, 'You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; He is the One Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'” (John 1:31-33) There are a couple of things to note here. The Apostle John records John the Baptist’s words. God told John the Baptist how he would know who the Messiah was. God did not say, you will see a dove, but “You will see the Spirit come down…” And another thing we note is that Jesus is the One Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. This is why we must have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. As soon as we receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell. Then in order to be filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit, Jesus will baptize us as He baptized those who were in the upper room at Pentecost. (Acts 2)
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