Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit (#4)

More from St. Athanasius Lutheran Church: Baptism of our Lord Sermon by Rev. James Douthwaite:

And all of this He now gives to you. Did you hear? It is what John said right before he baptized Jesus: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Again, do not let the brevity of the words obscure their importance for you. For they tell us that just as Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized, so He comes here, and to every place where His Word is combined with water, to baptize you. The hand may be mine, or that of another equally unworthy pastor, but it is your Saviour who baptizes you.

He is still in the water with sinners, for sinners, saving sinners. With you, for you, saving you. Not ashamed of you, but washing your sins off of you, and giving you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who descends on sons of God, which by virtue of your baptism is what you are. Through the heavens torn open at Christ’s baptism, the Father looks upon you and sees not the sinner, but a forgiven, resurrected, dearly loved son, with whom He is well-pleased. Not because of anything you have done or will do, but because of what Jesus did for you. Because Jesus in the water means that this water is for us a life giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit. (Small Catechism) And so here we are a new creation. By water and the spirit, the old has gone, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17-18)