“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”” Matthew 3:16-17
Water baptism is not a newly imposed church tradition or a cultural practice created by modern Christianity. Its roots reach deep into the Old Testament. John the Baptist, a descendant of the priestly line, fully understood the importance of purification and sanctification. The priests were instructed on how to cleanse themselves before the the LORD Jesus, and John was divinely appointed as “the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.”
By immersing people in water, John was calling them to repentance. “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1–2). The act of going down into the water symbolized acknowledging impurity and uncleanness and the need to be washed clean. As it is written, “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5). Baptism was a public confession: I was unclean, and I needed cleansing. It was not merely about water but about a repentant heart turning back to God.
This practice was well understood by Israel. Before coming into the presence of God, the people were required to cleanse themselves. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes” (Exodus 19:10). These outward washings reflected inward preparation to stand before a holy God. In the same way, John’s baptism prepared the people for the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ not through water alone, but through repentance and obedience.
Jesus came to John to be baptized at about thirty years of age, not as an infant, but as a man fully aware and absolutely knowing His actions. He understood right from wrong, and His baptism was a deliberate and conscious act of obedience. How can an infant, with no awareness of sin or uncleanness, recognize impurity, confess wrongdoing, or choose obedience on their own? Repentance is not automatic, and obedience is not inherited. Confession, repentance, and obedience all require understanding and a willing response of the heart something an infant is not yet able to do.
Yet Jesus, who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), and John were fully aware of this truth. Because of this understanding, John hesitated and tried to to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”” (Matthew 3:14). John fully understood that Jesus had no need to repent or to be cleansed. Yet Jesus answered, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus was baptized not because He needed cleansing, but because obedience fulfills righteousness. Through this act, the LORD Jesus demonstrates to all of us what true obedience looks like. Even when obedience does not make sense to human understanding, we are still called to obey God (Proverbs 3:5).
Baptism does not offer salvation to everyone who believes, yet that does not mean it is optional for those who truly believe. Everyone who genuinely believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is commanded to be baptized. Salvation is by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, but obedience to His commandments is the evidence of true belief. Jesus Himself commanded it by saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…” (Matthew 28:19). He did not only call us to make disciples; He commanded that those disciples must be baptized.
When the Holy Ghost was poured out and the gospel was first preached, baptism was immediately preached alongside repentance. Peter declared, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Baptism is an act of repentance and preparation. It shows a willing heart that desires cleansing and submission before the LORD Jesus.
Throughout Scripture, every person who believed was baptized. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:41. “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12). “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). The only recorded exception is the thief on the cross. His hands and feet were bound, and he had no opportunity to obey this command, yet he was saved by his faith. His situation cannot be used as an excuse to refuse baptism.
To reject baptism when one is able is disobedience to the word of God. Where is the willingness to obey God? If a person refuses to obey a simple command, how will they obey in greater matters? For those of us who are free, able, and alive, there is no excuse to delay obedience. Jesus said plainly, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). True belief produces obedience. If baptism were not important, Jesus Himself would not have been baptized. He submitted to baptism to fulfill all righteousness. And Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If you desire to follow the LORD Jesus Christ and to fulfill all righteousness, you will not hesitate to be baptized.
Here we see in this passage the response of heaven to water baptism for every believer. When Jesus came up out of the water, the very first thing that happened was that the heavens were opened.
First, I want to be clear, because many people twist the Scriptures to fit personal preference, which is terrifying. Everything the LORD Jesus did was not random or symbolic only for Himself. He lived as an example for us to follow. His life was a pattern set before us who believe in Him. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He said plainly, ““For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15). The LORD Jesus did not merely teach us with words. He showed us the steps we are called to walk in. This includes water baptism. Scripture tells us, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). We cannot claim to abide in the Lord Jesus Christ while refusing to follow His example.
Our love for the Lord Jesus is not proven by confession alone but by obedience. Our words may declare our devotion to Him, but it is our actions that reveal the truth. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. The apostle Peter makes this clear when he writes, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:” (1 Peter 2:21). To say we love Jesus while rejecting His example is a contradiction. If He obeyed the Father in baptism, and if He commands His followers to walk as He walked, then water baptism is not optional for the believer who truly desires to follow Jesus Christ.
Here we can understand that after the LORD Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened. This shows us that when we believe in Jesus, our sins are washed away, and our willingness to be immersed in water is a declaration to our Father God that we are not only confessing with our mouths, but also submitting our hearts to His will and choosing to follow His commands. The heavens do not open because of water itself, but because of a heart that is willing to turn away from sin, be cleansed, and walk in obedience to God.
Here we see clearly that obedience to God’s commandments opened the heavens. when Moses spoke to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land and said, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: …The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, …” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 12). Heaven did not open because of words alone, but because of obedience to the voice of the LORD.
If we truly consider this, Jesus did not need to be cleansed. He could have rightly said, I have no sin, I am clean, and I have no need of baptism. Scripture clearly testifies that He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yet Jesus chose submission over self-justification. He yielded Himself to the word of God and obeyed, declaring that it was necessary “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). In this, the LORD Jesus shows to all of us who believe that heaven responds to humility and obedience. Heaven did not open to us because water had the power to cleanse us, but because we chose to humble ourselves and to obey the will of the Father. As it is written, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). This is the pattern set before us. If Jesus, who was without sin, submitted to God’s command, how much more are we called to do the same? If we desire the heavens to be opened, then obedience to God’s word is required.
After the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus. This order is important. First came obedience, then the heaven opened, and then the outpouring of the Spirit.
When we look back to the Old Testament, we see that only a few were given the Holy Spirit, and even then, the Spirit came upon them temporarily. God did not dwell permanently among the people because He is holy and cannot dwell in uncleanness. Scripture tells us that sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2). Because of this, the LORD God repeatedly removed His presence from Israel when they persisted in sin and rebellion.
However, under the new covenant, through the blood of Jesus, which remits our sins, everything changed. Scripture declares, “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Through the blood of Jesus, we are cleansed from all sin, for it is written, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
When we repent from our wickedness, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and willingly submit ourselves to God, the promise of the Father follows. The LORD Jesus Himself said, And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). In obedience to His word, the disciples gathered together in the upper room, and there they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1–4). After this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter stood and preached the gospel for the first time. His message was clear and direct “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). This shows us the same pattern that repentance comes first. A humble heart must acknowledge sin and turn away from wickedness. Then comes water baptism, which is the public confession of faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. In baptism, we are identified with the LORD Jesus Christ, for we are buried with Him. As it is written, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4).
God knew that without His Spirit we could not be able to overcome over our fleshly desires. The Word of God makes this clear: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Only through the Holy Spirit are we given power to overcome fleshly desires, for “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13).
Only through the Holy Spirit brings us into real intimate fellowship with God and understanding His Word. Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost… he shall teach you all things” (John 14:26,). And again, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit reveals to us God’s nature, His character, His ways, and what He loves and hates. Scripture says, “The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
Finally, it is only through the Holy Spirit that we are transformed into the image of God’s Son. As it is written, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29).
Then the Father spoke: “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This declaration of restored identity came immediately after Jesus was baptized. At that moment, the LORD Jesus had not yet preached to the crowds, He had not yet won souls, He had not yet fasted in the wilderness, and He had not yet begun His public ministry. The Father’s affirmation came before the works. This is important, because many who believe hesitate at the very first step of obedience, which is baptism. Yet Jesus willingly submitted Himself to get baptized, even though He did not need cleansing. He chose obedience to God’s command. After His obedience, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God descended upon Him.
Through this the LORD Jesus reveals God’s pattern that every believer is called to follow. Obedience comes before public ministry. Submission comes before empowerment. Identity is declared before assignment. Jesus walked through every step humbly and willingly, without murmuring, complaining, or justifying Himself. In doing so, He revealed what God intends for all who believe. What the Father spoke over the LORD Jesus shows what God desires to speak over every believer who humbly obeys His word.
Above all, the most significant truth is that it is not water baptism itself that brings heaven’s opening. Water cleansing existed even in the Old Testament, yet the heavens were not opened, the Holy Spirit was not poured out upon all, and there was no full restoration of status and identity. All of this became possible only because our LORD Jesus Christ came down from heaven, took on flesh, and willingly died on the cross on our behalf. Jesus paid for our sins, which once separated us from the Father. As it is written, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). Yet through Jesus, that separation was removed. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). His blood speaks better things for us, “the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). Through His death, burial, and resurrection, heaven was opened, the Spirit was given, and our identity as children of God was restored. Everything we receive flows from what Jesus accomplished, not from the act itself, but from His finished work.
The blood of Jesus destroyed the enmity that stood between us and God and reconciled us back to the Father. As Scripture says, “Having slain the enmity thereby” (Ephesians 2:16). Because of this reconciliation, Jesus gives us a new identity. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). This is why it was necessary for Jesus to be openly declared the Son of God. The Bible never says that God is three separate persons. Instead, Scripture reveals that God manifested Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There is one God. As it is written, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16).
Jesus was declared the Son of God in order to restore what was lost through Adam. In the genealogy recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Adam is called “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). Through Adam’s fall, that identity was lost because of sin. But through Jesus Christ, God has restored what was lost. We are now begotten again through Him. As Scripture declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
God put on human flesh and was declared as the Son so that He could redeem humanity and restore us to our true identity as His children. As Scripture declares, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and again, “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). Through His incarnation, God entered humanity in order to redeem it, for “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Through what the LORD Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, our true status and identity are restored. “In whom we have redemption through his blood” (Ephesians 1:7), and “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13). Because of His finished work, we are no longer strangers, but restored into God’s family. As it is written, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
That is why we are given the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God’s witness within us, confirming our restored identity. Scripture says, “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6). And again, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Therefore, everyone who believes in the LORD Jesus Christ and walks in the pattern He set is a son or a daughter, well pleasing to the Father. As Scripture declares, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). And again, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” a declaration that now echoes over all who are found in the LORD Jesus Christ.
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