Baptism Challenge - Day 14
Welcome to Day 14 of the Baptism Challenge!
Here's the scripture in today's video: Matthew 3:16-17​
Each day, I'll be including the Scripture of the day in 3 different versions: ESV, NIV, and KJV. If you have a preferred translations at your church, great. Hopefully it's one of these. It can be helpful to compare various translations to get a feel of the full texture of what the Scripture is saying.
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And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (English Standard Version)
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As soon as Jesus was baptized, 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. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (New International Version)
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And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of 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. (King James Version)
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Here's a video to help memorize the Apostles Creed:
The Text of the Apostles Creed:
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I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Does the Apostles Creed Teach the Trinity?
Christians have, for centuries, affirmed the Apostles Creed at their baptism. The Apostle’s Creed also affirms belief in the Trinity. Christians believe there is one God in three Persons — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead, but there is only one God.
Read Matthew 3:16-17. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,[a] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
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The story of the Baptism of Jesus Affirms the Trinity
Today’s passage tells us the account of when Jesus was baptized. All three Persons of the Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — are recorded as being present in some visible or audible way at the baptism of Jesus.
This is some of the clearest Scriptural evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity. While the truth of this doctrine is clear in Scripture, it isn’t an easy thing to understand. But it isn’t necessary to fully understand something in order to affirm it by faith.
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The Trinity is How God has Revealed Himself
Christians don’t believe in the doctrine of the Trinity just because we come to that conclusion after wrestling with logic and reasoning within our minds. God gave us the gift of our intellect, and He expects us to use it, but we believe in the doctrine of the Trinity primarily because that is how God has revealed Himself to us in His Word. This doesn’t mean that the Trinity cannot be rationally defended, although it is much harder to do so as an isolated topic and without the whole scope of Scripture in mind.
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Today, take a moment and realize that God has revealed himself to you as He is: One God in Three Persons.
Today's Baptism Challenge: Break the Apostle’s Creed into six manageable sections, and start memorizing the first section.