The Spirit of God hovered over the waters (#3)

January 14, 2009 by 2 Comments

More from Pastor James Douthwaite’s sermon at St. Athanasius Lutheran Church on the Baptism of Our Lord. Here he makes a connection between the gospel lesson, in which John baptizes Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the Old Testament reading for that same day from Genesis 1, describing how in the beginning of the creation, the Holy Spirit also hovered over the waters:

And so no wonder the Father is pleased! And no wonder that “the Holy Spirit descend[s] upon [Jesus] like a dove.” For in, with, and under the baptized body of Jesus, the world is being re-created. For as we heard, the Holy Spirit hovered over the water in the first creation in Genesis 1. Now in Mark 1 the Holy Spirit is again over the water. It is no coincidence. For just as in the beginning the Word of God spoke and brought life and light to all, so now the Word of God made flesh acts to bring life and light to all. In Him is a new beginning, a fresh start, another Genesis. A resurrection. In Him everything is again very good, for He is taking away the sin of the world.

I love the unity of the Bible and how Scripture interprets Scripture.

Filed Under: Bible, Christ 2 Comments
About Gene Veith

Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

  • http://bible.postedpost.com/2009/01/07/who-is-the-holy-spirit/ Holy Spirit

    Many Greeks thought that any meat that was eaten must first be dedicated to the gods in thanks. Holy Spirit

  • Matt Jamison

    I followed the links through to the St. Athanasius website. I made a mental note to contact Pr. Douthwaite to ask who his webmaster is. Their site is simple, beautiful, useful and communicates very clearly what kind of congregation St. Athanasius is. Anyone who is their congregational webmaster should give it a look.


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