With Great Compassion - Isaiah 54:5-8

Isaiah 54:5-8 ESV 

For your Maker is your husband,

the Lord of hosts is his name;

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

the God of the whole earth he is called.

For the Lord has called you

like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,

like a wife of youth when she is cast off,

says your God.

For a brief moment I deserted you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing anger for a moment

I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”

says the Lord, your Redeemer.

God the Father is the husband Who is the Redeemer for whom they wait. They are one, yet different persons of the Godhead. 

Israel is the "wife" of God the Father. She was cast off in her disobedience, but will be redeemed by Holy One of Israel. 

The Church is the Bride of Christ. 

Israel is of the earth and serves as the living creatures that support the throne of God the Creator. Her inheritance is the promised land given to Abraham. 

The Church dwells heaven and God is her inheritance. They wear the crowns of life and sit before the throne in heaven. 

The two women depict different relationships with our God. The 144,000 taken from the tribes of Israel in Revelation sing a song that no one else can sing. 

The Bride of Christ is a suitable companion, the Eve that becomes one with the second Adam and will rule with the King of Kings, at one with the Father and Son. 

The Rush Of Great Waters - Psalms 32:6-7

Psalms 32:6-7 ESV 

Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

The rush of great waters might signify the people of the world, the darkness in the deep waters at the beginning of creation. In Revelation a flood issues forth from the mouth of Satan to overcome the children of Israel, but the dark waters do not overcome the chosen people. 

The earth comes to their rescue. 

The dark waters that surround us today will be turned back and defeated by the same powerful and Almighty God. The Lord protects the godly, and the rising waters shall not reach them. He separates the earth from the waters. He shall preserve those who love Him and deliver all who trust in Him. Eventually those waters will dry up on the earth and be no more. 

Now Is The Time - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 ESV 

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Do not take the Lord's name in vain. Do not hesitate in taking the Lord's name. The Lord has given His word. Make your move. He has made His. 

Now is the time. 

Things That Are Unseen - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV 

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Our inner self is the eternal part of our present existence. This earthly body will fade and pass away, though it is the temporary vessel of the light of life of God. A new and wonderful body will become our new home. This is the room Jesus has gone to prepare for us. He is coming back to unite our earth and heaven. 

The present afflictions we face and any burdens we carry serve to qualify and prepare us for a glorious life that even angels will look on with wonder. 

Our spirit has joined with His Spirit in a communion that has no end. It is fed by a never ending supply of living water flowing from the throne of God our Father. 

It is with Spirit eyes that we are able to see the unseen and to give witness to a reality beyond our comprehension. 

For The Ungodly - Romans 5:6

Romans 5:6 ESV 

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

What does ungodly mean to you? Have you ever considered or maybe forgotten that at one point we were all ungodly? Before any objections are raised, we might remember that it is the ungodly that are saved by God. We were all tares before we became the wheat of the harvest. We were without God. It is the ungodly who reach the place of meeting, the "tent of meeting" as it were, where we all place our faith in Christ. This is the body of Christ. 

Salvation comes to the ungodly when they encounter Jesus Christ. The law is given to help us realize our condition and need. Jesus is given to change our condition and to exceed our needs and to fulfill our desires. 

When do we move from ungodly to Godly? When we have God. He alone saves and justifies us, washing us clean from all unrighteousness through the power of His blood. In Jesus we are Godly, for we are in the body of Christ. It is His doing. 

What if we don't always act Godly? We can't. That is why we need Jesus. If one says it doesn't matter how we behave because we are covered by His blood, that person has not fully understood what it means to be in the body of Christ or has failed to enter His body. 

I praise God that I was ungodly, that I was given the opportunity seek Him and be found by Him. I praise God that He died for me to create me in His image. Which of the angels has He died for? Who has He chosen for His Bride? Who has become bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh? Who will sit on His throne and rule with Him? 

It is those who were once ungodly, who were lost but now found. 

They Sing - Revelation 15:1-4

Revelation 15:1-4 ESV 

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord,

and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

The next sign is in heaven. The sea of glass represents the change of the waters of the deep which were dark and turbulent in the beginning. The sea in heaven reflects the peace and purity of God, which is imparted by the fiery presence of the Holy Spirit. 

It is this Spirit Who enables the unity of the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb to be sung as one song. 

Entrusted To Them - Matthew 25:14

Matthew 25:14 ESV 

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

Matthew 25:21

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Matthew 25:29-30

For everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The worthless servant is cast into the outer darkness, a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Our lives are the property of the Lord. If we take the lives we are given and multiply that life through the grace of Christ, we are given the more abundant eternal life of the Lord. We "Enter into the joy of your master."

The servant who does not live in and multiply the life given grace will lose that grace and return to the darkness from whence he came. 

Our life is not our own, but a "loan" of His property. What we do or don't do with it will be judged by Christ when He returns. We will receive accordingly. We merely have to ask. 

The Great Winepress - Revelation 14:17-20

Revelation 14:17-20 ESV 

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”

So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

Another angel appears with a sickle, but without a crown. This one does have authority over the fire of the Lord. The sickle swings not to reap, but gather. Those branches that do not produce the fruit of God are heaped together for the burning. 

The fruit gathered is from the false vine of the earth. Jesus is the true vine and apart from Him we can do nothing towards life. Blood will flow and a third of the waters will turn red, made bitter by wormwood, also known as Satan. 

Was Reaped - Revelation 14:14-16

Revelation 14:14-16 ESV 

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

The harvest of the earth is ready because it ripe. The Greek word used for ripe means dried out. The water content is gone. This might allude to the separation of dry land from the waters of the deep, which is part of the separation of light and darkness. 

The hour to reap has come. The fruit of the faithful is reaped with joy by the one who has sown. 

The harvest of the earth results from the seed of the word which has taken root in good soil and prospered beside the still waters that flow from the throne of God. 

A Great Chasm - Luke 16:25-26

Luke 16:25-26 ESV 

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Genesis 1:6-8

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

There is a chasm or expanse between the waters, between heaven and earth, between light and darkness, and between the righteous and the wicked. 

This theme of separation has found repetition from the beginning. God calls us to come out of the world and provides the way over this chasm. The way of the cross is the way we cross over. 

A way is made through the waters, a path between heaven and earth opens, and the light shines forth on righteous and wicked. The righteous turn toward the light and the wicked hide in the shadows. That chasm remains. 

What We Have Obtained - Philippians 3:16

Philippians 3:16 ESV 

Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

2 Peter 2:20

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Matthew 12:43-45

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.

Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

There are numerous references to losing what's been obtained in Christ. The danger comes when the house is empty. Not abiding in the Holy Spirit leaves us vulnerable to other spirits to fill the void. God fills the void with light and darkness cannot overcome that light. But if the lamp is extinguished, then darkness can have its way, and that way is certain. 

We have obtained the light. May it ever burn in our lives, an all consuming fire. 

From The Hour - Revelation 3:10-13

Revelation 3:10-13 ESV 

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Christ speaking to the Church through this letter to the church in Philadelphia tells us that if we endure in keeping His word, He will keep us from the hour of trial that is coming to all those who dwell on earth. We who believe have been transferred into the kingdom of heaven and are no longer bound to the soil of the earth. 

We will be the new Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ, which will descend from heaven. We who believed in His name will receive His new and holy name, and it will become ours. 

Let the peace of the Spirit settle upon you as you hear and dwell in His truth. 

Who Is Worthy - Revelation 5:1-4

Revelation 5:1-4 ESV 

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,

and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

No one is found worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. No one even in heaven. We are told that evil exists in heavenly places. 

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Why does God choose to create man in His image and dwell in these creatures of the earth and redeem us for His own? Does this mean the angels are not created in His image?

I've never seen an angel, nor have I seen God. I've seen man, but only in part. One day we will all see clearly and we will know. 

Christ came for us, leaving the heavenly realms to join man in the most intimate way. He not only took our form, but He became our sin, enabling us to become His righteousness. We are now one with Him, as surely as a man and woman are united in marriage. 

We are brought into the body of Christ and from that body we are fashioned into the Bride of Christ. Adam and Eve become one sharing flesh and bone. We become one with Christ sharing flesh and bone. He will return from heaven the same way He went up. We will see that we are like Him when He returns. We will be in His image at last, our true image. 

Luke 24:39-40

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Look Out - Philippians 3:2-3

Philippians 3:2-3 ESV 

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Paul tells the Philippians to be on guard against three types of people, and speaks of them in stark terms. 

It is pointed elsewhere that dogs return to their vomit. There will be some who accept the gospel gladly, but will quickly return to their former ways. There will be others who do not accept the gospel and will seek to pull the believer back into the mire of darkness which they find so comfortable. Those who mutilate the flesh are those who call themselves the people of God, but are not. 

Israel was able to demonstrate all three characteristics, and yet they believed they were the people of God. Israel placed their confidence in the flesh. Weren't they the children of Abraham? 

They had the trappings of religion, but had lost access to God. We who worship by the Spirit and remain in Christ are the true circumcision because the word of God has divided between flesh and spirit. We have been freed from the dominion of death and now enjoy the liberty of life. 

Be on the lookout with these kingdom eyes which opened upon our spiritual awakening as we watch for His coming. Look out and look up, for our salvation draws near. 

Even Us - Romans 9:19-24

Romans 9:19-24 ESV 

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

in order to make known the riches of his glory for 

?

Israel rebelled against God and tested His patience. He did this to make known and to provide a way for His mercy which would be available to all people, Jews and Gentiles. His choice for a chosen people comes from all the nations. He chooses those who choose Him. This was His will from the beginning.

It applies to even us. 

To The Image - Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 ESV 

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

He fore knew because He sees the end from the beginning. He's there at both ends of time. 

Man is the chosen vessel of God's love. No other creature bears that privilege, not only to receive that love, but be that love. 

We were created by Him and for Him, in His image. 

That image is the image of Christ. 

Man has been in the process of fulfilling that image from the beginning. The fruition and perfection of that process results in the formation of sons of God, reborn into the image of Christ and made brothers to that one perfect man. 

As Lights - Philippians 2:14-15

Philippians 2:14-15 ESV 

Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

We are as stars that shine in the darkness of the night sky, yet our light is set in the darkness of the world. It is the light of His life that has become our own. 

The Name - Philippians 2:9-11

Philippians 2:9-11 ESV 

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 2:17

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Because of what Christ Jesus did He received the name that is above every name. 

The Lord tells us that if we likewise conquer the world, we will also receive a new name. It will not be above every other name like Jesus, but it will reflect our kinship with the King of Kings. We are brothers of Christ and children of God. He is the first of many. 

The Power Of His Resurrection - Philippians 3:10-11

Philippians 3:10-11 ESV 

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 

Everyman experiences death. There is no way around it. Jesus died so that we could get past death and obtain life. He conquered death so that we could be more than conquerors. We experience the power of His resurrection. 

Not sharing in the death of Jesus means that we do not share in the life of Jesus. Not sharing death with Jesus means that we will die apart and alone from God. This is true death.

The Invisible God - Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis 1:26-27 ESV 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Colossians 1:15

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

When God created man in His own image, that image is that of Christ. He is the perfect image of God. We are the imperfect image that God is able to perfect through Christ. 

He would later take our form, which was His image minus the presence of the Holy Spirit and in a body of earth, rather than an immortal body of the divine. They look similar as evidenced by the recognition by the disciples after the resurrection. 

He would lay down His life and pick it back up on our behalf. It is in our image He came and in our image He left. We are like Him as He was on this earth and will be like Him as He is now. 

Perfection - Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6 ESV 

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:12

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Hebrews 12:22-24

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,

and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Obtaining perfection in our body is not possible until Christ returns and clothes us in new bodies. If we are in the body of Christ, we have obtained perfect righteousness, for we are hidden in His perfect righteousness. 

We are perfect according to God's plan and will be perfected upon His return. 

It is the perfect life. 

To Light - 2 Timothy 1:8-11

2 Timothy 1:8-11 ESV 

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

From the beginning God purposed us to be like Christ Jesus. Those who answer the holy call are made holy, and this is accomplished by the one Who calls. It is a work He has done and is doing. 

Jesus is with God, one with God and there He prepares a room for us. He will return to bring us into His house, our new and immortal bodies. Heaven and earth are joined in a new creation that is one. 

Light is revealed in the gospel. The light of God shines in the brilliance of the bright and morning star which rises above the earth. We lift our eyes to the one light. 

Ignorance - 1 Peter 1:14

1 Peter 1:14 ESV ignorance 

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Acts 17:30

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Ephesians 4:18-19

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

1 Peter 2:15

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Sin is a sign of ignorance, whether you know it or not. 

The Wind Blows - John 3:1-8

John 3:1-8 ESV 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the dark of night to be secretive, to hide this visit from his peers. He is in the darkness, but is drawn to the light of truth. Jesus is the light and truth of God in human form. Nicodemus acknowledges that God is with him.  He seeks the kingdom of God and Jesus recognizes this unspoken desire and answers Nicodemus with what he is looking for. 

The trouble for Nicodemus is Jesus answers with spirit words because the answer to the question is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who allows us to see the kingdom of God, Who brings us into the kingdom of God. Jesus calls that transition being "born again". A baby leaves the darkness of the womb and enters the light of the world. A person "reborn" leaves the darkness of the world and enters the light of the kingdom of God. It is with that light we are able to "see" the kingdom. 

Being reborn means becoming spiritually alive. Until that happens we remain in the womb of the earth, spiritually dead and in the darkness of that domain. Nicodemus asks his question from that perspective because his sight is informed by that darkness. The kingdom of light will cannot be understood from the kingdom of darkness. 

Nicodemus could see evidence of of the Spirit in the signs worked by Jesus, but unless he was "reborn", he would not know the answer is blowing in the wind. 

The Spirit Descending - Mark 1:9-11

Mark 1:9-11 

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

We pass through the water and Spirit in our journey to God. Jesus came up out of the water before the Spirit descended on Him. Through the water of mankind and the baptismal water of repentance, we who believe in Jesus have the Spirit descend on us. We become a beloved son of God with whom God is pleased. 

Formerly in darkness, we are now children of light. The Spirit no longer hovers above us, but abides within. 

Revelation 19:6-8 ESV 

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Revelation 17:15

And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.

Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Mark 1:7-8

And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

I Have Seen - John 1:29-34

John 1:29-34 ESV 

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’

I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.

I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Twice in this passage John tells them he "did not know him." He was sent by the Spirit, but did not have the Spirit as would the least in the kingdom of heaven. The Spirit would reveal the Son of God by descending and remaining on Him. 

Jesus as the begotten Son was the first human to receive the fullness of God. He would prove and provide the way for everyone to receive the fullness of God. Jesus was baptized under the law by John, but only Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Those baptized with the Spirit would have the Spirit remain on them and will be able to "see" the Spirit with the eye of the heart

Why Are You Baptizing - John 1:24-28

John 1:24-28 ESV

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)

They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,

even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John baptized with water. Why? John represents the old covenant, the last and greatest prophet who would prepare the way for Jesus. That covenant was to reveal sin and the need for repentance. Baptism would signify that repentance, or a turning to God. 

That was exactly John's mission, to prepare the way for Christ, to get a people ready and announce His arrival. Baptizing the people with the water of repentance would make them ready for the baptism of fire which would come with the giving of the Holy Spirit. God is referred to as an all consuming fire. He is the divine presence in our lives who refines us in the furnace of life into the image of God. 

Who Are You - John 1:19-23

John 1:19-23 ESV

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

The world asks us the same question today, "Who are you?"

We need to give an answer and be able to give reason for the hope we have.  We are not the Christ, but we are the body of Christ. Christ is in us because the Holy Spirit is within us, and they are one. He is the head of the Church, but we have the mind of Christ. We are united by the one Spirit. 

We are the voice of one traveling through the wilderness and keeping to the path of the Lord, which leads to eternal life. It is straight ahead. 

Has Made Him Known - John 1:14-18

John 1:14-18 ESV 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

He entered our world so that we might enter His world. No one had ever seen God until Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. His glory enters creation through our flesh and through our flesh a new creature is born from above, ushering in the beginning of a new creation. 

Jesus Christ is the word of creation Who gave us the law and then gave us grace and truth. It is through grace and truth the word is fulfilled. 

The word is still speaking today and creation is still underway with the birth pangs of the new creation growing stronger and closer together.