Year 2 Day 36

Pray (ACts)

Read - Acts 16v1-10

Message - Scott Woodburn
Paul and Barnabas had gone their separate ways but the Lord would not let Paul minister alone. As Paul ministers in Derbe and Lystra, he comes across a young man called Timothy (v1). Timothy is from a mixed marriage with a Jewish mother and a Greek father (v1a) but the church in both Lystra and Iconium spoke well of the young man.

He becomes part of Paul's team but with recent debates in mind Paul's first step is to have Timothy circumcised. What's going on? Wasn't Paul the one who had claimed that circumcision was not necessary for Christians? He certainly was and claims in Galatians that in Christ neither circumcision or uncircumcision mean anything but only faith in Christ (Galatians 5v6).

So why circumcise Timothy? Soon the young man will be part of an evangelistic effort among the Jews (v3). Timothy's father was a Greek but his mother and grandmother were both Jews. For Timothy to be uncircumcised would suggest he had no regard for his Jewish heritage and certainly it would be a stumbling block for many of the Jews he was seeking to reach.

Paul was not acting hypocritically nor was he suggesting that circumcision was required for salvation. Instead with the decision of the Jerusalem council in his mind he was seeking to be culturally sensitive so that many might be won for the Gospel. We can learn much from the Apostle. If we want to see many won for Christ we would do well to remove any hindrance or block to the Gospel. Our flags and traditions and ways are not as important as the eternal destination of those we are seeking to reach.

As we seek to be sensitive to the culture around us we also remember that the work belongs to the Lord. The Holy Spirit prevents Paul from preaching the Gospel in Asia (v6-7). This Asia is either the northern coastline of Turkey or the Roman province of Asia which included the famous seven churches of Revelation. Regardless, the Lord had closed the door because His plan was for the Gospel to go to Macedonia. Paul was called by way of a vision to go and preach the Gospel in northern Greece (v9-10) and so the Apostle obeyed.

Brothers and sisters, how often do we believe the work of the Gospel to be all about us? We build ministries and reputations for ourselves and as we look into the mirror we believe ourselves to be indispensable. May the Lord forgive our foolishness. May we seek to make much of the time that is given to us. May we refuse to make idols out of the temporary traditions of man and may we be prepared to go wherever the Lord leads. Psalm 115 remains true "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" 

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Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment? The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying, the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone.

Year 2 Day 35

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:14-15

Message - Alan Burke 
Do you remember those MP’s that fiddled there expenses and were making a small fortune and the fella who claimed £1,645 for a ‘duck island’, dirtbags. I can say that and know that no one is going to get upset with me for calling out the corrupt MP’s who fiddled their expenses after all there was a national outcry. Yet there are many other things that I could say that wouldn’t be popular, they would be true, they would be the teaching of scripture but I reckon our Facebook page would be canceled and I’d be called all of manner of things for speaking the truth. Here in Mark’s gospel were told John was put in prison and it was precisely for speaking the truth of God which is so unpopular in every age because it confronts people with their sin.

Remember John had been baptising in the river Jordan a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and it was a message that lead him on a direct collision course with the powers that be. In Matthew 14 we are told why John was in prison, and it was because he wasn’t afraid to call out sin for what it was and is, he was imprisoned because he condemned the sin of  Herod Antipas who was the ruler of Galilee. John condemned Herod’s sin in how he had divorced wife and married the divorced wife of his half brother Philip. This arrest reveals how the truth isn’t popular, and also forewarns us of what to expect for Jesus, that he too was on a collision course with the rules of this world and ultimately Satan. Herod Antipas likely thought he had dealt with that thorn in his flesh but in reality there was nothing he could do to stop the plans and purposes of God. The Lord God was using the sinful actions of Herod as part of his plan in bringing forth the kingdom, at the time it might have seemed that John was on the wrong side of history but the glorious truth is that he was not.

For with John’s arrest Jesus came and proclaimed the good news of God, that is “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”. We will spend the next two devotions unpacking this but I want to leave you with two things. First, how the source of this good news is the Lord God himself, he is the source of the gospel. God is the source of this gospel. The gospel is of divine and not human origin, it is a gift from God. This is the message that Jesus was proclaiming. Secondly, God uses the actions of sinful people in this world to bring about his purposes. Even though John was languishing in prison God was using it all and I personally have been reassured and taken comfort in the knowledge that, for in what has happened in the Dáil in the South and the Assembly in the North recently you can see the wickedness of our leaders, where they not only call sin good but they celebrate it, yet we have a God who is at work. We may wonder what is going on, but we have a God who is at work using the actions of those opposed to him for his purposes, God by his providence is at work bringing his gospel to bear on the lives of people all over this world. 

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Q46 What is required in the first commandment?
The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; (1 Chron. 28:9, Deut. 26:17) and to worship and glorify him accordingly. (Matt. 4:10, Ps. 29:2)
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Year 2 Day 33

Pray (ACts)

Read - Acts 15v22-41

Message - Scott Woodburn
Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel and it is certainly not good news. Imagine your minister standing next Sunday declaring that Christ has done it all but now you need to do your bit. What a burden! Imagine an evangelist who urges you to trust in Christ and then keep the commandments fully to be saved. Who can do it? Not me and despite your good intentions, not you either. Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel and it is certainly not good news.

Thankfully the letter sent from Jerusalem was full of good news. It acknowledged that some, who had no authority, had gone out and troubled the minds of the church (v24). They had sought to insist on law observance and circumcision as a necessity for salvation. Instead the letter offered no greater advice than "abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." (v29)

The wisdom offered was not a path to salvation. Instead Christians were to be sensitive to one another and to flee from even a whiff of idolatry. They would do well to practice such things but they were to be clear that the Gospel was all of grace and did not require zealous law observance or circumcision. Luke tells us that when the letter was read in Antioch, the people rejoiced (v31).

I think we have lost some of this in the modern church. We have become so accustomed to hearing the Gospel that it no longer thrills us as it should. Let me remind you brothers and sisters of why the church in Antioch rejoiced. The Gospel is not about what you have done or will do. The Gospel does not focus on your obedience. The Gospel has nothing to do with how good or how bad you are. The Gospel lifts our eyes to Christ and declares "Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus! He has done it all. His obedience was perfect. His sacrifice was enough. His blood has paid the price. Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus!"

As this chapter closes we catch a wee glimpse of contention between Paul and Barnabas. John Mark had previously left Paul in the lurch and gone home (v38). Paul doesn't want John Mark to return whilst Barnabas wants John Mark (his cousin) to be brought back into the fold. The brothers go their separate ways with Barnabas going to Cyprus and Paul heading for Syria and Cilicia. Disagreements are not new in the church and they're always tragic but we can be thankful that the relationship is restored eventually (Colossians 4v10).

We finish today by reminding ourselves that restoration is at the heart of the Gospel. We were once enemies of God but now we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Here's a wee challenge for you. Tomorrow morning get yourself to your church. I know all about Covid and there may seem to be thousands of reasons why you have yet to return to live worship, but tomorrow, go to your church. It is in that place that you hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not Christ plus, but Christ alone. Go to church, listen to the Gospel and rejoice at this extraordinary good news.

We may have lost some of the wonder but may the Lord restore it to us when the morning comes. The Gospel stands true...Christ died for sinners! Rejoice!  

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Q45 Which is the first commandment? The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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Year 2 Day 32

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:12-13, Hebrews 4:15

Message - Alan Burke

All of us face temptations in so many ways, don’t we? Yet we are called to obedience to our God that’s what we thought about on Wednesday. Obedience to him should mean more than what we want, more than our comfort, more than having our perceived need met, more than our well being, more than our pleasure, for as Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mk 8:34-36). You may rightly say to me that I know nothing of what you face, I can never understand the temptations that you face and you are probably right but the good news is our Saviour can.

In Hebrews we are reminded that; “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15). Our Lord and Saviour was tempted in every way but as without sin, we may think, well he wasn’t tempted in the way I am, he wasn’t tempted with the things I face, so then how was he tempted in every way? He was tempted in every way because behind his temptations throughout his life, he experienced temptations that were real and beyond our understanding, greater temptations that we will ever face and at each point he resisted, he overcame. He knew what it was like to be tempted, he was fully human, yet he never sinned. He can sympathise with us in our weakness because he experienced what we experience and now he at the Father’s right hand intercedes for us, speaking on our behalf (Heb 7:25).

The temptations that Jesus faced that we summed on in the words ‘pleasure, pride and power’ are temptations that we all face, but the point is not to be like Jesus, instead look to this Jesus who overcame Satan for you. Stop trying to do it in your own strength to resist temptation, instead look to him in what we face, the one who is able to sympathise with us our weaknesses. 

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Q44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? 
The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. (Luke 1:74–75, 1 Pet. 1:15–18)
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Year 2 Day 31

Pray (ACts)

Read - Acts 15v1-21

Message - Scott Woodburn
We've already seen in Acts that the church was not going through a golden age in the years after Christ's Ascension. They knew problems, splits, false teaching and theological debates. As a new chapter begins we see once again some from a Jewish background stating that “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (v1). Paul and Barnabas completely disagreed (v2a) but it was arranged for them to travel to Jerusalem to put this question to the Apostles and elders (v2b).

As they travelled and told many about the conversion of the Gentiles there was great rejoicing (v3), but still when they arrived in Jerusalem some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” (v5). So the stage is set. The question is clear. To be saved does someone have to keep the law of Moses? Do we need Jesus plus?

Peter stood first and reminded the council that he had been chosen to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (v7). Indeed God had given the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit and had cleansed their hearts by faith (v9). Peter understood the Gospel. It was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. To add anything to the Gospel was to put God to the test and to place a yoke on the necks of Christians that no one has ever been able to bear (v10).

Paul and Barnabas were able to testify about the great work that had been done among the Gentiles (v12) and then James stood and took the council into the Word of God. Quoting directly from Amos 9v11-12, James was clear that the prophets had predicted the calling of the Gentiles (v12). Therefore new Christians shouldn't be troubled with keeping the law of Moses for their salvation.

Practically new converts should be encouraged not to have anything to do with idol worship (v20a). They should remain sexually pure (v20b). They shouldn't eat animals that have been strangled to death (v20c). This seems strange to us but James knows that such an animal will not have all of its blood drained. To eat such food would potentially cause division among Jewish and Gentile believers and therefore sensitivity to one another should be essential. Moses is read weekly in the synagogues (v21) and so the church should be sensitive to the culture it found itself in.

James' response is mature in seeking to bring harmony to a multicultural church but the council at Jerusalem couldn't be more clear. The Gospel is all of grace and no barriers should be placed in front of new converts. Brothers and sisters nothing has changed. The Gospel says that Christ died for sinners and was raised for their justification. The response to the Gospel is to repent of sin and trust in Christ. We should act towards other Christians with grace and sensitivity but we should never compromise the Gospel.

Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel. "Do this and live" is not the Gospel. "Do more" is not the Gospel.  Here is the Gospel "For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5v21)   

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Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments? The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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Year 2 Day 30

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:12-13

Message - Alan Burke

We are told here how Jesus was immediately driven out into the wilderness after his baptism to be tempted by Satan with the angels attending him afterwards. What we are not told are the temptations that he faced or if Jesus was victorious, for Mark wants us to understand that Jesus faced temptation not only at the beginning of his public ministry in this ’40 day’ temptation throughout his life as Satan endeavoured to subvert God’s great plan of salvation. While we are not told here the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness we are told in Matthews gospel account (Matt 4:1-11), as Satan tempts Jesus to turn the stones into bread (Mt 4:3), to throw himself down from the highest point (Mt 4:6) and the top of a mountain offered the kingdoms of the world (Mt 4:8-9). It may not sound like a lot or a big deal but remember Jesus faced starvation that most of us can barely even comprehend. The three temptations he can be summed up in the words ‘pleasure, pride and power’, these are three temptations that we all face and they are the very stuff of our dreams.

Yet in each temptation Jesus chose obedience to the Father. Jesus chose obedience! In a world that says that’s it’s all about our comfort, having our perceived needs met, our well being, our pleasure, Jesus does something that goes totally opposite to our self centred nature and choose obedience. More important than anything he was offered by Satan was obedience to the Father. For us, likewise God’s will and obedience to Him should mean more than what we want, more than our comfort, more than having our perceived need met, more than our well being, more than our pleasure. The example of our saviour is that of obedience.

We can be tempted to sin even in the good things of this life, and for all of us even the very highest and best ends do not justify operating contrary to God's will. That’s so important for all of us to know and that’s what Jesus made clear. Satan though tries to get us to go after good things for the wrong reasons, to tempt us into things that are good but without the cost, I want to leave you with the words of Jesus in Mark 8:34-38 where he says… “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels””. We are called to obedience. The Westminster Shorter Catechism sums up what is required of us, in Question 39 up What is the duty which God requires of man? The duty which God requires of man, is obedience to his revealed will. (Mic. 6:8, 1 Sam. 15:22). 

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Q42 What is the sum of the ten commandments? 
The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves. (Matt. 22:37–40)
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Year 2 Day 29

Pray (ACts)

Read - Acts 14v19-28

Message - Scott Woodburn
Those of you of an Edengrove persuasion will know all about Robert Irvine. He was our minister for a short time in the 1800s before making his way to 1st Presbyterian, Augusta, Georgia. If you visit that church you will find a statue of Irvine outside. There's no statue of him in Ballynahinch but once upon a time, some locals did seek to burn an effigy of Irvine before blowing up the remains with gun powder just outside the Market House. I suspect when its all said and done we would much rather have a statue than to have a mob who seeks to do us harm. Unfortunately, that choice is not ours.

Paul and Barnabas continued to exercise faithful Gospel ministry. Sinners were saved (v21), Christians were encouraged (v22) and the church was established (v23) and yet as chapter 14 closes, we also discover that in Lystra, Paul had been stoned and dragged outside the city and left for dead (v19).

A modern TV preacher might skip that verse. Everyone knows that if we have enough faith then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Right? Wrong. We reject any message that says the Christian life is all about health, wealth and prosperity. Brothers and sisters, as you well know, sometimes the Christian life is incredibly hard. 

Christians are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, but that blood doesn't stop them from getting Covid as some have believed over the past year. Christians hear every single day about a cancer diagnosis. They hear that their job is under threat. They stand in graveyards and weep like everyone else. We have been redeemed but Jesus is clear that in this world we will have trouble.

I don't want a hall named after me, nor do I want a statue. Equally though, I don't want my effigy to be burnt outside the Market House in Ballynahinch. If I tell the truth of my sinful heart, I want a quiet and peaceful life. I'd prefer no boats to be rocked. I want to celebrate my 100th birthday. I want to be fit and well and playing golf in my 80s like those auld lads on TV. I want to keep my teeth and my hair and hopefully I'll die in my own warm bed after retiring from a 40 year ministry in 1st Presbyterian, Augusta, Georgia.

Brothers and sisters, please don't mock me nor pity my foolishness. I'm willing to state that I suspect you would rather have the easy path. Am I right? Perhaps this last wee bit is just for me or perhaps it will speak to many, regardless, hear what a beaten, stoned, left for dead Apostle reminded the church - "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (v22)

The one who has received Christ by faith will not be lost. We will not slip through the Lord's fingers. He will certainly not leave us nor forsake us. We will cross the finish line and we will see glory. Yet also certain is that the road ahead will be beset on all sides with tribulation and heartache.

Hurting and wounded child of God may you know the Lord's help and strength today. I know that this day may not be easy but much more importantly - God knows. The One who has begun the work in you, will certainly bring it to completion at the day of Christ. Hear the Word of your Saviour. "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16v33)

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Q41 Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.

Year 2 Day 28

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:12-13 Genesis 3:1-9 

Message - Alan Burke

Today we continue on in Mark’s gospel but as we do so we go back to the book of Genesis. You may wonder what Genesis has to do with this passage, yet what takes place here in Mark and what took place in the garden was a trial of obedience. The first man Adam was tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent in the paradise of Eden and Jesus the second Adam was tempted by Satan in the barren, desolate wilderness.

Let’s start with Adam, he was created by God in His image, with the ability that he needed to do what God required (God... made man upright. Eccl 7:29), he had the ability to refrain from sin, he did not have to sin, Satan could not make him, he was not deceived the apostle Paul tell us (1 Tim 2:14), he knew that Satan was tempting him to do something he ought not to do. Adam was surrounded with abundance and God told him, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (Gen 2:16). That of course included the tree of life that was also there (Gen 2:9), and since we know that God had freely offered and it all was very good (Gen 1:31) there was no need for Adam to go against God’s word. He was warned how failure to obey would result in a terrible penalty, that of death, for the day he should eat of it he would surely die. The death that God spoke of here was a warning to Adam that the consequence was that of physical as well as spiritual and eternal. We know what happened, Adam gave into the temptation before him and right now we face this terrible penalty, we will all physically die no matter how we pretend that it’ll never happen to us or sanitise our hands and we are born spiritually dead in our trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1). 

Now think of those verses in Mark, two of them. Jesus after his Baptism was at once’ or ‘immediately’ driven out into the wilderness (depending on what translation you have before you) driven out by the Spirit to the wilderness. The wilderness portrayal in scripture is that of an evil, desolate, wasteland, a hostile environment, a dark place that is the opposite of Eden where the first Adam was tempted. This place where Jesus was led immediately and was the opposite to what God intended for his people. Unlike Adam who was surrounded by the beauty and abundance of Eden and lost, Jesus faced Satan in a place of curse and would come out the other side victorious. Jesus would continue to face temptations throughout his life here on earth yet he was victorious throughout, he was sinless unlike you and I, but on the cross he became sin for us. The apostle Paul explains to us what happened because of Adam’s trespass and Christ’s obedience in Romans 5; 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (ESV). Jesus was the second Adam, he was the true and better Adam, he did what Adam did not so we might know life through his obedience and through faith in Christ alone we are made righteous.  

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Q40 What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. (Rom. 2:14–15, Rom. 10:5)
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Year 2 Day 26

Pray (ACts)

Read - Acts 14v8-18

Message - Scott Woodburn
In Acts 12 a crowd gathers and declares Herod to have the voice of a god and not of a man. If you remember the story then you will know that Herod didn't do anything to change their opinion. Those who oppose Christ, those who are anti-Christ, happily receive the worship and adoration that is due to God alone.

As Paul and Barnabas minister in Lystra they heal a man who had never walked in his life. He had been crippled from birth (v8) but at Paul's command he sprang up of the ground and started walking (v10). Needless to say the crowds were amazed and declared boldly that the gods had come down to earth in the form of Paul and Barnabas (v11). They named Barnabas, Zeus (the Greek god of the sky and thunder) and they named Paul, Hermes (the Greek god who acted as a messenger of the gods) (v12). Even the priest of Zeus was convinced and he brought gifts to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas (v13).

I'm sure such adoration was all very flattering but Paul and Barnabas didn't fall into Herod's trap. He was delighted when told how god-like he was but Paul and Barnabas were distraught. They tore their garments in frustration and ran to tell the crowd that they were only men just like them (v15). Even in the midst of the idolatry Paul faithfully proclaimed the Word. In the past God had allowed the nations to walk in their own ways (v16) but even back then the rains from the sky and the fruitful seasons acted as a witness that there was indeed a God (v17). The Lystrans owed the Lord God almighty their praise and Him alone. Sadly even with words of warning Paul and Barnabas could barely stop the people from making a sacrifice to them (v18).

John Calvin famously wrote that "the human heart is a perpetual idol factory." In other words we constantly make "gods" who receive our attention and who get our worship. For one man nothing is as important as his career. Another individual lives for pleasures of the flesh. Another gathers wealth and prosperity. Still another rests in self-righteousness. Our hearts deceive us, only Christ is King.

Today we mourn alongside our Monarch as she attends the funeral of her beloved husband Philip. I was amazed in the past week when I read that a tribe in Vanuatu will also mourn the Duke. For them Prince Philip was the physical representation of an ancient warrior leader and his spirit will now return to the island of Tanna. This is simply a tragedy. Once more, only Christ is king and everyone will stand before Him.

As the world looks to these shores today and mourns the death of a war hero and national servant, I pray that the Gospel of Christ will ring out and be preached clearly. From shore to shore and from sea to shining sea may the nations hear what has been written in this short devotion. Only Christ is king and He alone is able to save to the uttermost all who call upon Him.

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Q39 What is the duty which God requireth of man? The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.  
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Year 2 Day 25

Pray (ACts)

Read - Mark 1:11, Genesis 22:2,13

Message - Alan Burke

The heavens were torn open, the Spirit descended like a dove and then a voice from heaven declared "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (ESV). This announcement from heaven confirms what Mark had told us about Jesus in verse one that this gospel is the good news about Jesus the Son of God. But before we think of this announcement we think of another beloved son. 

The son of Abraham, Issac. God tested Abraham, telling Abraham to take his son, his only son, Isaac whom he loved and sacrifice him (Gen 22:2). Some call it barbaric, heinous, but it was to give us a picture of what God himself would do. As they went Issac asked where is the lamb for the sacrifice and Abraham answered that God himself would provide the lamb and indeed God did. Not in the ram caught in the thicket (Gen 22:13), rather his beloved sinless Son who was sacrificed for our sin. Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb. 

He is unlike anyone else who has ever lived, many titles are used in the scripture, Abraham was a friend of God (Isa 41:8), Moses a servant of God (Deut 34:5), Aaron was a chosen one of God (Ps 105:26), David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14), and Paul was an apostle (Rom 1:1). Only Israel (Ex 4:23) and the king as Israel’s leader (Ps 2:7) had been called God’s Son before. But where Israel failed, Jesus takes Israel’s place. This announcement does not teach us that Jesus became the Son of God at baptism, for there was never a time that he was not as John’s Gospel makes clear (Jn 1:1), rather it is the announcement of what already was and is and ever more shall be.

Here in these verses all three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt are present and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19). All three persons all play a part in salvation that is freely offered to sinners and this inauguration event declared to those watching on and ultimately the world that Jesus the Son of God, that he had come and he was here to fulfil all righteousness to bring salvation. This was the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ, that would see him die as the sacrificial lamb, making atonement for our sin. 

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Q38 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, (1 Cor. 15:43) shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, (Matt. 25:23, Matt. 10:32) and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God, (1 John 3:2, 1 Cor. 13:12) to all eternity. (1 Thess. 4:17–18)
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