Disciples Global Network

John baptized men and women in water, but the Messiah of Israel will baptize in spirit and fire - Matthew 3:11-12. The Gospel of Mark begins by applying key prophecies to the ministry of John the Baptist. He is the forerunner who prepares the hearts and minds of Israel for the Messiah, and John does so by calling the Jewish nation to repent and baptizing the people “ for the remission of sins ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:1-3).

John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah, the herald of the Kingdom of God and the one who baptizes in the Spirit – Mark 1:4-8. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He was the Voice in the Wilderness, and the Elijah who was to come and restore all things before the Day of the Lord - (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:14).

The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ . The New Testament links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God will bless the nations through the Great Patriarch. The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is part of the Covenant promised to Abraham, and the Apostle Peter connects this gift to “ the blessings ” for the nations, the Gentiles, in his sermon preached on the Day of Pentecost.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The gift of the Holy Spirit is described as “the promise of the Father” in the New Testament, which connects this gift to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and his seed are fulfilled in the New Covenant inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is the guarantee that we will inherit all that God has promised.

Peter summoned his audience in Jerusalem to repent and be baptized “ in the name of Jesus Christ .” He concluded his sermon on a note of fulfillment and with a foretaste of things to come . Peter began with a citation from the Book of Joel , and he finished his message with a clause from the same passage, thus neatly bracketing his sermon.

The gift of the Spirit is one of the blessings of Abraham that God promised to bestow on His people through His Messiah . Paul refers to the “ promise of the Spirit ” in his letter to the Galatians. He equates this gift with the blessing of Abraham. Jesus came under the curse of the Law to redeem us, so that now, “ the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith ” – (Galatians 3:13-14).

The gift of the Spirit demonstrates beyond question who belongs to the covenant community of Christ, and who does not . “ False brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ” in the churches of Galatia, a “gospel” that requires Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and otherwise conform to the regulations of the Mosaic Law. Paul repudiated this false teaching in his letter to the Galatians and explained why circumcision is unnecessary for Gentiles.

Jesus is the herald who announces the Good News and inaugurates the Kingdom, the process that will culminate in the final harvest . Jesus proclaimed the imminence of God’s Kingdom and called men and women to repent and turn away from unrighteousness in response to this new reality. He is the Messiah who inaugurates the redemptive act of God, and this will conclude with the great harvest of souls when Christ returns “ on the clouds of heaven .”

The gift of the Spirit is part of the covenant promises made to Abraham, including blessing the nations of the Earth . The Gospel of Matthew declares that Jesus is the son of Abraham. Thus, this gospel account connects the Nazarene to the Abrahamic Covenant, for the Messiah of Israel came to complete the covenant and all its promises.

By his Death and Resurrection, Jesus formed one covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him  – Ephesians 2:11-22. The Apostle Paul is adamant. There no longer can be “ Jew or Gentile ” for disciples of Jesus. The old distinctions are inappropriate among the One People of God. By his shed blood, he “ dismantled  the middle wall of partition ” that separated Jews and Gentiles so “ he   might reconcile them both in one body for God through the Cross .” God is building both into one building,  one habitation of God in the Spirit founded on Jesus .