Chaos and Darkness Undone by the Second Adam

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the third chapter.

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Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.

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John would have prevented him saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him let it be so now.

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For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented and when Jesus was baptized immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him and he saw the

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Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved

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Son with whom I am well pleased. This is the gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus.

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All right I gotta confess I way nerded out on this sermon.

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Really really nerded out. So all of that being said I'm gonna try a slightly different style today if I can.

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And you know sermons should be proclamational but I'm gonna do this a little more didactically, a little bit more like a

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Sunday school lesson because well I nerded out. All right so note note here in our

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Old Testament text you'll note that for the Old Testament text for the baptism of our

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Lord which is like a big deal this is the season of Epiphany right now the big revealing of Christ you know the the unmasking of the mystery the revealing of the mystery hidden for ages and so we have this great proclamation from God the

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Father who Jesus is this is my beloved Son and whom I am well pleased. But you'll note that in the

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Old Testament text there's a well a Genesis theme. Thus says

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God Yahweh who created the heavens and stretched them out who spread out the earth and what comes from it who gives breath to the people on it and the

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Spirit to those who walk in it. There's a little bit of a theme here regarding Genesis.

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And of course the question always comes up why on earth would Jesus the sinless spotless

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Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world why would he submit himself to a sinner's baptism when he's not a sinner?

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Oh man there's so much going on here. So with that I'm gonna do something

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I really don't normally do I'm gonna speak in tongues all right we're gonna go to Genesis 1

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I'm gonna speak in tongues I'll translate don't worry I'm not going full Pentecostal on you this is actually Hebrew but the

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Hebrew here I'm gonna keep it in front of me for a very specific reason I want to keep referring back to it because the

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Hebrew is way better than the English but the English is good but the

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Hebrew is way better. So the first three and a half verses of the Bible in Hebrew and I apologize

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I'm gonna butcher this a little a little bit it reads thus in Hebrew Barashit bara

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Elohim et hashemayim v 'et ha 'eretz v 'ha 'eretz heita tohu v 'bohu v 'koshek al -peni tohom it's kind of an important part there trust me on this one trust me on this one v 'ruach

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Elohim m 'rekafet al -peni machayim v 'yomer

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Elohim yahi or v 'yahi or v 'yar

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Elohim et ha 'or ki tov it's so good it really is good

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I'll unpack this for you trust me on this one okay it has everything to do with this and it's just okay so English translation good one front is the

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ESV in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth notice it says heavens plural the earth was and here's where the

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Hebrews helpful the earth was tohu v 'bohu tohu you could say chaos

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I know that it might translate it you know without form or formless but tohu is total chaos that's a good translation of tohu and then the

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Hebrew word va means and so tohu va chaos and bohu void just a mess yeah a good way to think of it is kind of like this is that at one well at one moment there were no moments there was no time in space you got it you got to get this there was no time in space and then and this is a wrong way of talking about it all of a sudden there was time in space and I don't know how time works in eternity because that kind of doesn't make sense either so we don't really wrap our heads around it so when we talk about the creation we talk about God creating ex nihilo right ex nihilo out of nothing one moment there was nothing and then the next moment there's everything but here's the problem we know that from science that matter is neither created nor destroyed at least once it's in place right so let me give you an analogy all right so any of you into Legos okay

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I know some of you are into Legos now if you ever get one of those really huge Lego kits like the

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Millennium Falcon which is a worthy Lego kit to have I mean the ginormous one right okay the one you can open up and look inside of it okay you you get the box and there's this beautiful picture of the finished

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Millennium Falcon on the cover and you open up the box and it's

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Tohu Vobohu okay it is some assembly required the box says this is a lie it is not some it is a lot of assembly required okay so when in the first sentence of the

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Bible in the beginning God created the heavens in the earth it's like a dump truck of matter came up and went okay and you just got this okay there's water there because there's a to home there's the deep and it's okay and so there's darkness there's

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Tohu Vobohu there's water and a deep this is just a mess and so you kind of get the idea earth was formless void darkness was over the face of the to home and here we've got this interesting interesting verb so the

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Spirit of God the Ruach Elohim was Merakfet was well this is a bird verb okay hovering fluttering is my bird impersonation fluttering over over the blah right in the darkness and then interesting words and this is really fun

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Va Yomer Elohim Yahi or God said be light by Yahi or and there was light okay and this is where it gets interesting now

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I'm gonna I'm gonna give you a cross -reference on this I'm gonna have you follow along on the cross reference but I'm I want to I want to kind of put this out there so God said let there be light there was light and God saw

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Va Yar Elohim Eth Ha Or God saw the light Ketov that it was good now

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I'm gonna pull a verse out of context but don't worry I'll prove my point who's the light notice

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I said who because you know remember that that question then that fellow asked Jesus Jesus Lord good teacher what must

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I do to be saved and Jesus's first response into why do you call me good no one's good except for God all right when we look at the cross -reference in this and we'll see this in the

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Gospel of John chapter 1 and you can cross references further into like Revelation 21

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Christ is the light Christ is the light so we're gonna note something here kind of foundational thought as I didactically teach this text pulling out the themes from Genesis is that there's something going on in the baptism of Jesus that has everything to do with this from Genesis 1 and I'll pull it out so let me let me lay the foundation this way so back all those years thousands of years

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God revealed that the first state of creation was darkness formlessness void in a word

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Tohu chaos and God the Holy Spirit brooded hovered hinting at the form of a dove over the face of the to home over the deep something was about to happen to that chaos darkness something unexpected something beautiful something amazing something glorious God said let there be light and there was light and God saw that the light was good the

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Sun the moon the stars by the way had not been created and they would not be created until the fourth day here we see something interesting about creation it begins in chaos darkness but by the time

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God is finished with creation on the sixth day of Friday the

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Tohu Vabohu and the to home are transformed into paradise earth which is the world of the eternal

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Sabbath rest I'm gonna kind of fill this theme out so think of it this way each of the six days of creation end with these words and there was evening and there was morning the first day there was evening and there was morning the second day there was evening and there was morning on a to the sixth day but when we get to the

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Sabbath day in Genesis 2 it says this thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all of the host of them and on the seventh day

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God finished his work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all of his work that he had done so God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it

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God rested from all of his work that he had done in creation the chaos is gone order sanity beauty well master planned creation organized and is now it is now in place that God has done he's taken the

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Tohu Vabohu who and just made it amazing best way to put it but we all know how the story goes our first parents

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Adam and Eve who are also created by God in chapter 3 rather than listening to the voice of God they listen to the voice of the serpent who is the adversary of God and paradise is lost yes and yes

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I'm making reference to Chaucer here because Chaucer was making reference to what happened paradise was lost and the

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Sabbath rest of God's creation gave way to the punishment of toil some sweat and slavery under the dominion of darkness the forces of chaos are working then to undo to break to pervert to destroy

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God's well -ordered creation this is a major theme in scripture so then we come to a cross -reference and I would like you to turn with me on this one take a look at the gospel of John chapter 1 and you'll note that there are some really interesting parallels in John chapter 1 to what we just read in Genesis chapter 1 in fact many scholars have referred to John chapter 1 as the

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Genesis 1 of the New Testament and there's a good reason here and you're going to note that in this text you have these references back to Genesis 1 and who appears on the scene

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John the Baptist all right that all plays into this is all kind of squished together here's what it says in the ever heard that phrase logos means the word in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the word was

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God he was in the beginning with God and in the beginning that's the very very first two words of the

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Bible better sheet he was in the beginning with God all things were made through him without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it there was a man sent from God whose name was

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John he came as a witness to bear witness about what the light that all might believe through him he was not the light but came to bear witness about the light the true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world he was in the world in the world was made through him yet the world did not know him he came to his own his own people did not receive him but to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but born of God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth and you'll note there in verse 9 chapter 1 makes it very clear that Jesus is the light when

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God said yehi or be light vayahi or there was light and the light was kitov good

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Jesus is light now you know everything here it's like it has connections back to Genesis what's going on so that's our foundational thought it's not complete we'll fill it out with our gospel text and see what we can find here so our gospel text in Matthew 3 begins with these words

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Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him

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John would have prevented him saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me but Jesus answered him let it be so now for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness so then he consented see

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Jesus is the light of the world the light that shines into the darkness of our world the light that God in Genesis 1 said was good and he's now suddenly appeared and the place of his appearance his epiphany is the

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Jordan River to submit himself to the baptism of John the Baptist who is the last of the

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Old Testament prophets and the first baptizing evangelist Jesus's actions on their face do not make sense why on earth has the sinless spotless

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Lamb of God appeared to be baptized into a sinner's baptism see John the Baptist he was born in the darkness and chaos of sin

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John is not the light he's been bearing witness to the light the true light has come into the world and is now standing before him and presenting himself to be baptized

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John needed desperately to be baptized by Jesus and he would have prevented

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Jesus from being baptized but Jesus speaks let it be so for now for thus it is filling fitting to fulfill all righteousness the text continues so when

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Jesus was baptized immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him and he saw the

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Spirit of God the ruach Elohim descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased I hear echoes of Genesis 1 and by our

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Elohim God said F ha or Kito that the light you can hear the echoes so just like in Genesis the

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Holy Spirit of God appears in avian bird form brooding over the face of Jesus is baptismal waters and descends and the lights on the

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Son of God and the father now speaks and says this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and God at this point is saying that my son is told my old very good so Jesus shows up in the darkness and the chaos of sin and in the waters

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God begins the work of the new creation and we see with Jesus's baptism that Jesus is the new

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Adam that's really what's going on here it's a very fascinating thing 1st

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Corinthians by the way kind of bears this out chapter 15 it says for as by a man came death by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead for as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive so what does this mean then so here you have this interesting picture

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Jesus shows up in the darkness that's what John says he is the light he shows up in the darkness

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John the Baptist has been bearing witness to the light pointing people to the lights the people would believe in the light the light shows up and the first thing he does he's baptized into a sinner's baptism in the world of darkness and chaos and sin and God says of the light the light is good something's going on here oh it's kind of big now what does this mean then regarding our baptism why did

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Jesus do this well this is where one of the church fathers helps us one of the church fathers who was known as the second

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Athanasius a fellow who fought the Arian heresy quite valiantly was a church father by the name of Hilary of Poitiers and in one of his homilies on this text he says this in Jesus Christ we behold a complete man thus in obedience to the

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Holy Spirit the body he assumed fulfilled in him every sacrament of our salvation he came therefore to John born of a woman bound to the law made flesh to the

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Word therefore there was no need for him to be baptized because it was said of him he committed no sin and where there is no sin the remission of it is superfluous it was not because Jesus had a need that he took a body and a name from our creation he had no need for baptism rather through him the cleansing act of baptism was sanctified to become the waters of our immersion of our regeneration you see you'll note this the

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John the Baptist he's not the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit he's not one who comes after me he will baptize you with fire in the

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Holy Spirit he John the Baptist is not the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit but in Jesus's baptism we hear we see an amazing thing the

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Holy Spirit descends on Jesus the Father declares Jesus to be his son in whom he is well pleased and since then

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Christ has completed his course in this life he lived his life sinlessly went to the cross as the sinless spotless

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Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world that's your sin and mine and he suffered for our sins listen to this in the darkness on the sixth day he bled and died for your sins in mine and then on the seventh day of the week

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Jesus rested in the tomb perfect Sabbath rest for Jesus slept the whole day okay

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I'd like to do that sometime and then on the first day of a brand new week

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Jesus rose victorious from the grave he is the firstborn of the new creation and here's the thing he's sent forth this

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Jesus has sent forth his holy apostles which are his emissaries to proclaim this good news to us who were born in darkness and the chaos the tohu vabohu of sin and having heard the good news that God raised

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Jesus from the grave has exalted him to the right hand of the Father that he is sent the

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Holy Spirit and that he is the one who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead knowing that we all of us are guilty of crucifying him we are called now in the darkness to repent of our sins and to be baptized so a good way to think of it is here let me let me look in here let's so there's

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James the DeBoer clan is here I see Brenda and I and I see oh yes

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I see Deanna all of you I've baptized so a good way to think of our baptisms as this all right you guys remember you know there was a little water aquatic ceremony that we had up here you all got your heads wet it was very important but a good way to think about it is this is that before you were baptized before you were baptized you were under the dominion of darkness you were still in your sins and that when you came to the waters of baptism you too then were adopted into the family of Christ your sins were washed away it's the new creation all over again and there in the darkness of sin in the toe who above who the chaos of sin the

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Holy Spirit comes to you you are given the Holy Spirit your sins are washed away you're united with Christ in his death and resurrection and now

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God the Father says of you this is my beloved child in whom

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I am well pleased that's what happened to you in your baptism you see

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Jesus is baptism is the first true Christian baptism the appearance of the

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Holy Spirit makes that very clear and this is exactly what Peter says on the day of Pentecost remember people were saying brothers what shall we do after the great sermon on Pentecost and so they were cut to the heart in Acts 2 and Peter said to the rest of the breath and they said what brothers what shall we do and Peter said repent be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit the promises for you and for your children and all who are far off Galatians 4 puts it this way when the fullness of time had come

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God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who are under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons and now watch the baptismal language here and because you are sons

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God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba father when did he do that when you were baptized and so because of this you are no longer a slave but you are a son you're a child and if you're a son then you're an heir through God is it any wonder then that the

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Apostle Paul dealing with the slander that was spoken about him in the gospel message that he preached by the way you go out there and you let out you talk to some people and you say listen salvation is by grace through faith alone apart from works and somebody some y 'all who's gonna say this to you so you're saying we can just go out and sin all we want what is wrong with you do you not understand that sin is slavery that sin is darkness that sin is chaos that sin is demonic right so note what

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Paul says in our epistle text well should we say that are we to continue in sin so the grace may abound by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it do you not know that all of us who've been baptized into Christ we were baptized into his death we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of Father we too might walk in newness of life so you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ why because you are you brothers and sisters you are the children already of the new creation the eighth day has already arrived we're just waiting for the consummation of time you are already declared to be a child of God with whom the

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Father is well -pleased you see when you pull all the pieces together of Jesus's baptism you realize there is a lot going on there a lot going on there that proclaims and exalts

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Jesus shows us who he really is and then in our baptisms we recognize that we are connected to him and we recognize then the old is past the new has come is it any wonder that Paul says in 2nd

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Corinthians 5 therefore if anyone is in Christ baptismal language by the way he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come and all of this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation so brothers and sisters as we consider our

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Lord's baptism today we recognize that his baptism means everything and the fact that we have been baptized means everything is it any wonder that Peter says in his epistle the baptism now saves you so I'm it's almost like Christmas in the middle of you know

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January so merry baptism of our Lord day it's a good way to start epiphany in the name of Jesus amen if you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th

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Avenue Northwest Oslo Minnesota 56744 and again that address is

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Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th