When the Lord Jesus went down into Jordan and came out again, He did so with the full intention of setting forth entirely new and much fuller truth than that which had hitherto been known. In doing so He utterly fulfilled all righteousness and became the perfect example for us. This accomplished, He came up out of the waters as though He was the one for whom all righteousness had been fulfilled. In His own marvellous way He combined two opposites, for rising from Jordan He stood up as it were from death as though He was a Spirit-baptized regenerate. In doing so He symbolically vested both the act and the waters of baptism with age-abiding newness of meaning; He added to its symbolism the as yet unrevealed fact of Calvary.
The waters were granted the sacred privilege of representing the Holy Spirit, in whom the fact and power of redemption is now permanently held for us. He came forth from baptism as though He were a crucified, risen man, (having been slain, dead, buried and raised again) born again of the Spirit of God and anointed for service. Baptism symbolised both the tomb of Christ and the womb of God and the issues from them both, none of which can be by water or blood, but only by Spirit Baptism.
Jesus Christ was not actually baptised in the Spirit at Jordan; figuratively as the representative man, He fulfilled all righteousness in a way far beyond the comprehension of even a John Baptist. Figuratively baptised, actually anointed, the Lord sets forth for all men for all time and in all perfection the difference between these, as well as the necessity for both. That which was so delightfully pictured by the Lord at Jordan had to await the coming of the Spirit ere it could be finally adapted to the needs of all men and put to its fullest use in the Kingdom of God.
What Jesus did then was anticipatory, the events He had symbolised had to be enacted in reality; it was all a foreshadowing of what yet had to be established and become the real substance of the type. The Lord had to die and be buried and rise again, and return to heaven. Promises had to be kept, and the Holy Ghost must be shed forth — that could not be until the historic Calvary should be permanently established in the spiritual world as age-abiding reality.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.