When Heaven Opens: Part 1

Heaven opens over the Jordan, the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from above declares, “This is my beloved Son.” That single scene raises a question most people skip too quickly: why would a sinless Jesus insist on being baptized at all? We slow down and follow the text, because the answer leads straight to the gospel, the cross, and our access to God. 

We begin a new teaching series on the “opened heaven,” starting with the baptism of Christ in Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3. We contrast John’s baptism of repentance with the truth that salvation is not achieved by water, then we press into what baptism is meant to picture biblically: death, burial, and resurrection. Along the way we address the claim that baptism washes away sin and show why that view collapses when you read the baptism of Jesus carefully. 

From the opened heaven come three clear witnesses: the Father speaks, the Son stands in the water, and the Holy Ghost descends, giving a public display of the Trinity and a public confirmation that Jesus fulfills Old Testament Messiah prophecy. We also connect the opened heaven to Hebrews 10, where the blood of Jesus provides a new and living way into the holiest, making the cross the reason heaven is opened to the saints of God. If you want expository Bible preaching on Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, and the atonement, this message is built to strengthen your confidence in Scripture and sharpen your understanding of the gospel. 

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Transcript

Introducing The Opened Heaven Theme

Christ Baptizes With The Spirit

Why Jesus Is Baptized

Baptism Pictures Death Not Washing

The Open Heaven And The Trinity

Prayer And The Dependent Christ

Heaven Opened By The Blood Of Jesus

The Dove Symbol And Final Summary

SPEAKER_01 0:55

And a very pleasant good day to each and every one of you. I'm Brother James, and I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and I welcome you to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast, a 30-minute program sponsored by the Bible Baptist Church of Deland, Florida, United States of America. This is where these programs originate, and they are paid for in your area by Christians who believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and the third day Jesus rose from the dead with the power, all power in heaven and on earth given unto him by his Father, the power to forgive your sins, save your soul, give you everlasting life in the glory of heaven, and also to give you life more abundant here in this present evil world. We certainly are thankful to uh the great God and our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the privilege of preaching this great and wonderful gospel message. We're thankful to you for uh tuning in today, and we hope and pray that the program will be a real help and a blessing to you in your spiritual life. We're going to begin a series of broadcasts today. We don't know exactly how long it will take us to go through this material, but we want to discuss with you the opened heaven. The opened heaven, and let me just give you a little word of introduction and uh tell you what I mean. The account of the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is given to us in Matthew three, verses thirteen to seventeen, Mark one verses four to twelve, and Luke three verses twenty-one to twenty-two. In each of these passages we are told of an open heaven or heaven being opened. There are other references to this phenomenon in the New Testament in Acts 7 56, Acts 10 11, Revelation 19 11, and John 1 51, and we want to look at these different places in the Scriptures where the heaven is opened, and see what we can learn, see what we can find of spiritual uh import and interest as we study the scriptures and the word of God together. And I think that you'll find this uh most interesting, as I uh certainly have. Now, John's baptism was unto repentance for the remission of sins. We read about this in Acts chapter 19 and verse number four. And the Apostle Paul went there and he met some men that had been baptized, having believed the word that they had heard, but they hadn't heard all the word yet, and he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? Because they hadn't even so much as heard that there was any Holy Ghost, and they said unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Jesus Christ. Now in referring to the one mightier than himself, John said that he, the Lord Jesus Christ, would baptize with the Holy Ghost. This is a statement which is found in each of the four gospels. It's found in Matthew three eleven, Mark one eight, Luke three sixteen, and John one thirty-three, and it is confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ, who alludes to this incident in Acts chapter one and verse five, and it's remembered by Peter in Acts chapter eleven and verse sixteen. Now that's six times. Six cases where the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be the one that baptizes with the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. There ain't any such thing in your Bible as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. There is the baptism with the Holy Ghost spoken of six times. In all these cases, the baptizer in the Holy Spirit is the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is only sound biblical exegesis, allowing the scripture to interpret the scripture, to read in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 13, for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. It is only consistent to say that he, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the baptizer in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse number 13. The same preposition is translated in in the first six references, and the references to something here that had happened in the lives of all the Corinthians in the past, the Corinthian saints, the church that was at Corinth. And the reference, the tense here indicates the baptism in the Holy Spirit or in the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ promised he would bring and he would perform. The Spirit of God came at Pentecost, and by virtue of that mighty baptism the church was given life and power. Now into this body every believer enters the moment he trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Bible tells us that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, in Mark chapter one and verse nine. That was as to his human experience. As to his divine being, he came from well, let me just read to you where he came from. In Micah chapter five and verse number two, the Bible says this, but thou Bethlehem, uh Ephra, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler of Israel, whose going forth have been from old, from everlasting. From everlasting. So again, as to his human experience, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, but as to his divine being, he came from everlasting. He is the beginning and the end, he's the Alpha and the Omega, He's the everlasting Father and the ancient of days, any Bible believing Christian uh stands on that truth. Now, Nazareth was the place of ill repute, concerning which the proverb in Israel was, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Jesus came from Galilee. He this region of Galilee was referred to always by the Judeans with contempt as Galilee of the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus Christ at his coming would be despised and rejected of men. Now in looking at this occasion of an open heaven at the baptism of the Lord, we need first to consider why he was baptized. And here there is a threefold reason, and we need to consider what ensued, and then there is a threefold result that we'll consider, and finally we may find in the incident a threefold rule for ourselves. Now, first of all, why was the Lord Jesus Christ baptized? Those of you that believe, turn to Matthew chapter three, if you will, and Mark chapter one if you have a Bible. Those of you that believe that a person is saved or born again by means of water baptism which washes his sins away, you have a very tough time teaching that from the New Testament scriptures. If that is true, then the Lord Jesus Christ was saved, was born again, and had his sins washed away because he certainly was baptized. No, my friend, the Bible says Jesus was baptized, John chapter three and verse number fifteen, suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, and he suffered him. John demurred when the Lord came to him to be baptized. John, of course, was never greater than when he recognized his own unworthiness to loose the shoe latchets of Christ, as he says in Mark one, seven. We must note that the Lord did not disclaim the homage that John paid him. He never disclaimed homage, however great, and he never corrected anyone who sought to worship him. To John's objection, John said in verse fourteen, John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me. To John's objection, Jesus said, Suffer it to be so now. Now John's baptism, as we already mentioned, as we already read from the scriptures, was a baptism under repentance. But Jesus Christ was sinless. He made no confession of sin. If he were not sinless, then we've got no gospel message. The value of his dying depended on the virtue of his living. So then how would righteousness be finally fulfilled or finally be fulfilled? By his death, of course. And that is what is symbolized here. The Jordan River is the descender, and it descends into the sea of death, the dead sea. The Lord Jesus Christ would descend into death. He was being baptized, and he referred to his death in this same figure. When he said in Luke chapter 12 and verse number 50, I have a baptism to be baptized with. Now what was that? It was the suffering of death upon the cross. Baptism throughout your Bible always speaks of death, never of life. The Bible says we are buried with him in baptism that we might be raised according to the notice of life and so forth. Baptism always speaks of death, always pictures dying. And so the Father, gazing on this scene, so the Father, gazing on this scene, had unfolded a picture of his son's absolute submission, even to death. And the picture called forth the highest approbation of the Father. Now let's read this. Matthew chapter 3, beginning at verse 13. Matthew, the third chapter, beginning at the thirteenth verse. Here the Bible says, Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to John, unto John to be baptized of him, but John forbade him, saying, I've need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. And then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. He didn't stand on the store shore and get sprinkled or splashed. John didn't bring a bucket up there and pour some water over his head, he went straightway up out of the water, because he'd gone straightway down into the water, and lo the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him, and lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now, some of you folks that teach that the Father is Jesus, and Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the Father, and all that you know that Jesus only business, you got a tough time with that passage, don't you? Just admit it. Don't waste my time or your time trying to explain to me how you get around it. You just have to admit you got a tough time with that passage. The Father speaking from heaven, the Spirit descending like a dove, and the sun in the water. That's pretty tough. I guess it's a little ventuilochrism, uh Jesus kind of throwing his voice up into the clouds and uh kind of an optical illusion there, uh people uh thinking they saw something descending out of heaven. I guess it was just kind of a little con game or some tricks or something. I'm being facetious, and you know I am. We believe the Bible as it stands. There are three that bear record in heaven the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. You say, I don't understand it. God never asks you to understand, he asks you to lean not to your own understanding, but acknowledge him and believe the word of God. Anyway, the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ here is a picture, and it's a picture of Jesus' submission unto death, and the Father says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, coming to fulfill marvelously all righteousness. Now the baptism of the Lord Jesus was an act of unhesitating obedience to the will of God, just as it should be the main reason behind believers. Baptism. Our being baptized shows a willingness on our part to obey the will and word of God in this matter as in all else. Obedience to the will of God must come first in everything. To obey is better than sacrifice. Now this was also an act of identification, first of all, to fulfill all righteousness, secondly, an act of identification. At the outset of his ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ publicly identified himself with sinners, the very sinners that he came to save. It was an act of identification in which he was numbered with the transgressors. He who had no sin to repent of took his place amongst those who had sin to repent of. Baptism indicates death and resurrection. As far as death, he had no sin, but came to be the substitute for sinners, and so he takes at the very beginning their place in death. But he came up out of the water, and so he would be raised. When the believer is baptized, he is identified with Christ in his death, his burial, and his resurrection. We read that in Romans chapter six and verse number four. So that we can say we died with him, we were buried with him, we rose to walk in newness of life with him. So the baptism of Jesus, a threefold reason. First, for uh to fulfill all righteousness, secondly, an act of identification, and then thirdly, an act of dedication. An act of dedication. The Lord commenced his public ministry with prayer. In Luke 3 22, 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. And we appreciate that. We thank God for that. And the Bible goes on to say that uh this took place as he was praying. Verse 21. Now, when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened. Prayer characterized the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the man of prayer. And Luke particularly sets this forth. Uh Luke 6, 12, 9, 18, 9, 29, 11, 1, 22, 32, 22, 41, 23, 34, 23, 46. He was a mighty preacher. John 7 46, but he was also mighty in prayer. You know, we don't read that the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them to preach. But in Luke 11 1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. His disciples realized that he was a master of the holy art of prayer, and they therefore desired to learn the secret for themselves. Luke portrays the perfect man. The perfect man must be the dependent man. The expression of dependence is prayer, and he, the Lord Jesus Christ, is at the commencement of his ministry a man of prayer. Now, how much more? How much more do you and I need to pray at the commencement of every day and service for God? So the heavens were opened. The Bible says in um Mark chapter 1 and verse number 10 about this uh baptism of Jesus, Mark chapter 1 and verse 10, uh, and straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the spirit like a dove descending upon him. Here the plurality, the heavens, third heaven, dwelling place of God, uh second heaven, the solar system, first heaven, the atmosphere, the heavens plural were opened. This signified an open vision of heavenly things and indicated what would follow the baptism of the cross when heaven would be open to the Savior. As a result of the cross, heaven would be open to the saints of God. The sin of man had closed heaven to the descendants of Adam, but through the atoning work of Jesus Christ upon the cross there is a new and a living way, and listen to these words from Hebrews chapter ten, verses nineteen and twenty. Hebrews chapter ten, verses nineteen and twenty. Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. Bless God, we have a way to enter into the holiest, the third heaven, the most holy place where God Himself dwells through the blood of Jesus Christ. Now the voice of the Father was heard from heaven, bearing witness to his Son. We read of this in Mark 9 7 and John twelve twenty-eight. In one sense, the Father's statement was a reference to the past, so that whatever else we know or do not know about the hidden years of the life of Jesus, one thing is certain, that through them all he pleased his Father. We know that much for an absolute certainty. Now the life of the Lord, hitherto hidden from the gaze of men in a public way, had been a source of constant delight to the eye and heart of the Father, for Jesus had grown up before him as a tender plant, according to Isaiah 53 and verse number two. God the Father put his seal upon those years closing behind the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon the new years opening before him by saying, I am well pleased. The statement contained references to the Old Testament. Psalm chapter two, or Psalm number two, however you choose to pronounce that designation, the second Psalm, if you will, and verse number seven, I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son. And Isaiah chapter forty two. And verse number one refers to the Father's delight in the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in these words. Isaiah forty two and verse number one Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. How fitting that the Father should express his delight in the Son, in the very words of Scripture. It was an ide an indication from the very highest authority that the New Testament speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ and a confirmation that all the prophecies concerning the Messiah find their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. Now, never mind what the scribes said, never mind what the Pharisees said, never mind the ravings of uh Jehovah's Witnesses or Orthodox Jews of our day, never mind all the skeptics. And all the infidels that deny that the Lord Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament, the heavens were opened. The Father, God Almighty, spake from heaven at the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. And from the open heaven we heard a declaration, not only this is my son, but a declaration, this is my son, quoting the Old Testament references to the Messiah. Not only this is my son in whom I am well pleased, not only a declaration from the Father spoken from an open heaven that I am well pleased in this individual, but quoting from the scriptures which prophesied of the Messiah who would be the one that well pleased the Father. Clearly and plainly we have heaven opened, God the Father speaking, and God Almighty confirming the word upon the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, making it absolutely certain that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the God sent Messiah, the anointed Christ of God. Now, we have the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. The first mention of the Holy Spirit is in Genesis chapter one and verse two, where the word uh moved is said by some to indicate the same word is used for a bird hovering. A dove is found later being put forth from the ark after the second great flood, but returning because it found nowhere for its foot to rest. And though it seems that the raven found a place for its feet, probably in the carrion which resulted from God's judgment in the flood, however, the sinless son of God is the place for this dove to find rest, and for this sinless son of God to abide upon him. What a beautiful picture this is. There are other pictures the symbol brings to mind. The dove is a symbol of purity and meekness. The Spirit did not come as fire on the Lord, as the dissension in Acts chapter two and verse number three, when cloven tongues like as of fire, filled the house where the hundred and twenty were sitting, for in the Lord Jesus Christ there was no dross to consume. The dove also conveys the idea of sacrifice, and the lowliest sacrifice of all. It's most revealing that this, the offering of the poor, was the offering that Mary brought after the days of her purification. In Luke chapter two, verses twenty two to twenty four. Into what lowly circumstances was Christ Jesus born? Further, the Holy Spirit resting upon the Lord like a dove was a revealing of the divine purpose that the service the Lord Jesus Christ was about to undertake would issue in the sacrifice of himself. Now before leaving this section dealing with the results of Jesus' baptism, that is, number one, the heavens were opened, number two, the voice of the Father was heard from heaven, bearing witness to his Son, and number three, the spirit like a dove descended upon him. Let's note two other points. Number one, there is here a clear revelation of the Trinity, as we suggested earlier. We may regard this event as a public announcement that the work of Christ was the result of the eternal counsel of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. The central focus here, however, is the Son. Although God is a Trinity, man's first approach to God must always be through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. John fourteen six. Secondly, there is a figure here. Baptism speaks of death and resurrection. On the Lord's coming up out of the water, the Father declared his sonship. It was again in resurrection that his sonship was publicly declared. Listen to these words from Romans chapter one and verse four. Romans chapter one and verse four. So we see in this great incident of the first opening of heaven a threefold reason. Number one, to fulfill all righteousness, number two, an act of identification with fallen sinners, and number three, an act of dedication to the will of the Father. Then secondly, we see a threefold result of this baptism. The heavens were opened, the voice of the Father was heard from heaven bearing witness to his son, and the spirit like a dove descended upon him.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

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