God's Anointed:
Jesus' New Relationship with the Holy Spirit, and Ours

I. John's Baptism as Jesus' Overture

Jesus' "lost years" embody faithfulness in obscurity.
A turning point comes in a new life with John's "baptism for the remission of sins."

Jesus' baptism is an 'overture' of Jesus' self-sacrifice and consequent empowerment (Ezek 36, Zech 13).

He is "the perfect penitent" (C.S. Lewis, Bartolomé Murillo's Baptism of Christ).
At baptism, Jesus is the anointed (messiach; christos) — with the Holy Spirit.

II. How Does the Holy Spirit Relate to the Incarnate Son?
Adoptionism: Baptism confers divinity — through the Spirit (Acts 2:36, Acts 10:36-38).
Classical Christology: Baptism is revelation — and nothing more (Luke 2:11).
Spirit-Christology: Something new happens (Luke 4:1, 4:14):

a new human relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is now upon us in the Son.

III. Theophany: Baptism's Window on the Trinity
Everything Jesus does reveals the God of Israel; and

the God whom Jesus reveals is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

3. The Holy Spirit is the fire of God (Luke 3:16, 1 Kings 18:20-39 in Luke 1:16):

He conceives the Son, empowers his work, and carries it on today.

He receives, mediates, offers back, and sends along the Spirit.

The Son and Spirit do his will and work.

All are "one God, now and forever."

In Jesus' career, the Son and Spirit are "the two hands of God" (Irenaeus).

2. The Son is God's heir, God's sacrificial righteousness (Psalm 2 in Luke 3:22):

1. The Father is God who gives, sends, guides, receives (Isaiah 61:1-2 in Luke 4:18-19):

These three relate to one another in distinct ways;

accordingly, the three relate to us in distinct ways too.

Baptism more precisely explains some of Jesus' supernatural powers.
Baptism also explains the empowering of Jesus' baptized followers

(John 20:21, Acts 2, Acts 10:44-48, Romans 6).