It may be difficult to understand why Jesus wanted or needed to be baptized by John. After all, Jesus had no sins of which to repent. But Jesus made it clear that being baptized was the Father’s will. When Jesus was raised out of the Jordan River, “[the] heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:13–17). In this amazing moment, all three members of the Trinity were present: The voice from heaven was God, the Father, the dove was the Holy Spirit, and the Son, Jesus, was physically present (see vv. 6–10).

Why does it matter that Jesus is the second person of the Godhead? Jesus needed to be fully God and fully man in order to redeem us from the power of sin and death. Only the God-man could perfectly know and obey His Father’s will and thus be the atoning sacrifice. Only if we believe this, can we be “born of God” (v. 1).

Everything interconnects (vv. 2–5). To be spiritually reborn requires faith in Jesus Christ. Faith leads to obedience, which for Spirit-indwelt Christians is not burdensome but overcomes the world, that is, our sinful choices and patterns (James 4:4). Faith participates in Christ’s victory. To love God is to obey His commands, which requires faith and leads to victory. To love God is also to love His children, who are also doing all this alongside us.

God has given us eternal life through His Son (vv. 11–12). If Jesus is the source of life, and without Him there is no life, this is even more evidence that Christ is divine. He is indeed “God over all” (Rom. 9:5)!

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