As believers in Christ Jesus, when we are led by the Holy Spirit into greater spiritual maturity —which comes with responsibility and encompasses spiritual authority— it is essential that we first recognize our position as sons of God in Christ.

 

This involves a close relationship with our Heavenly Father. This is evident in the baptism of Jesus, where Mark 1:10-11 and Luke 3:21-22 state that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father addressed Him personally as His Son.

 

10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

11 And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

 

21 When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

 

What is significant here is that we allow the presence of the Holy Spirit to take root in our atmosphere of faith and obedience, so that we may be led from the fullness of God’s truth (Note: ‘all truth’) into the truth allotted to us for the present time. The Holy Spirit within us leads us, through our sonship in Christ, to a deeper understanding of our fellowship with the Heavenly Father (cf. John 16:13 i.c.w. John 14:6).

 

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

 

6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. …’

 

The Holy Spirit upon us empowers us to do what is in accordance with the will of the Father and the Son of God (cf. John 16:14-15).

 

‘… 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.’

 

Matthew 3:16-17 states that the voice of the Heavenly Father, in the form of a statement, publicly declared Jesus to be the Son of God. What makes the difference?

 

In this passage, the Father is not speaking directly to Jesus Christ, but rather to the others, referring to Him or speaking of Him as His son.

 

16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.

17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’

 

As God’s people, we are encouraged to rise spiritually in this season, just as Jesus rose from the waters of the Jordan—‘the one that decends’—after His baptism. This means that we leave the past, that is, our old life—behind us in order to cooperate fully with the open heaven and the Holy Spirit in this life and the life to come.

 

This helps us effectively resist the adversary during times of spiritual testing (cf. Luke 4:1-2a.13).

 

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2a where for forty days he was tempted [Note: tested] by the devil. …

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

 

 

There is no coincidence or mistake in the Heavenly Father’s statements regarding the baptism of Jesus; rather, they reveal an important principle for us. This principle involves, first and foremost, living in a close, personal relationship with the Heavenly Father as a son in Christ Jesus, from which arises the responsibility to walk before the public as a son of God (cf. Romans 8:19.21.29).

 

19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children [Note: sons] of God to be revealed.

… 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children [Note: sons] of God. …

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

 

It is therefore no coincidence that the Heavenly Father speaks personally to His Son Jesus in the two mentioned Gospels, while in Matthew 3:17 He refers to Him as His Son before the public.

 

The deeper we enter into the realm of Christ’s sonship to receive the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the more necessary it becomes for us as followers of Christ to be aware that we do not live for ourselves, but for Christ (cf. Colossians 2:3 i.c.w. Galatians 2:20; Luke 9:23).

 

… 3 in whom [Note: Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

 

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

23 Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. …’

 

 

True fellowship with the Heavenly Father is hard-fought, which is why it is wise to heed Jesus’ counsel on this matter, our role model, for He said:

 

„But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

 

This precious time that Jesus spoke of is a time that is fiercely contested, because the enemy wants to prevent us from entering into a deeper relationship with God, our Heavenly Father—a relationship that arises from our time consciously spent in the Word and in prayer.

 

In doing so, the enemy tries to distort our perspective on the Word and prayer by making us feel that God is not present, thereby convincing us that we do not have a genuine relationship with God, our Heavenly Father.

 

It is the adversary’s plan to lead us into deception through this sense of God’s absence, which is meant to convince us that we seek God merely out of religious obligation. Such feelings can result in our defining ourselves only by reading God’s Word, without truly feeling that we have a living relationship with God. This approach can negatively affect our prayer life, causing us to pray more according to our own will rather than God’s will and even pray in self-righteousness.

 

As mentioned earlier, the result of such times spent in the Word and in prayer is a sense of merely fulfilling an obligation. But God did not intended for us and did also not create us to fulfill an obligation; rather, He has given us free will, which we may use for His glory. This means that we must first seek God to thank Him for the gift of His Word and the power of prayer, so that we may then enter the presence of His Word and the power of prayer with a completely different focus.

 

Our Gratitude is an important key to entering the deep ‘chambers of God’s government’ (cf. Psalm 100:4-5).

 

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the Lord is good and his love endures for ever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

 

At this point, one can see a connection to Noah’s entry into the ark, which has a similar reference to the inner room Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6:6. Noah responded wholeheartedly to God’s instruction and built an ark that, once completed, became—among other things—a very special place for him, his family, and the various pairs of animals (cf. Genesis 6:17-19).

 

17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark – you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

 

Noah willingly entered the ark at the appointed time set by God, so that God Himself took action by closing the door in order to maintain close fellowship with Noah —amidst the judgment taking place on earth— through the ‘water bath of His Word’ and to elevate him (cf. Genesis 7:1.5.7.16-17 i.c.w. Ephesians 5:26).

 

1 The Lord then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. …’

5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. …

7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. …

16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

 

… 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, …

 

Let us be encouraged to listen to the Father speaking to us and to the public, so that we may align ourselves accordingly with the center of His will in fellowship with Him. The Father’s liberating, true, and faithful love is all we need to do this.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm