In this chapter we want to continue our fellowship concerning the portions in the New Testament revealing the Divine Trinity in the divine move and in our experience.
Matthew 3:16 and 17 reveal the Divine Trinity in His divine move. These verses show us Jesus standing in the baptizing water, the Spirit of God descending as a dove upon Jesus [the Son], and the Father speaking out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight." The Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon Christ can be considered as God's anointing Him to be His very Messiah to carry out His eternal purpose. This was an anointing to confirm God's appointing of His Son to be the very Christ to come to carry out God's economy. God's appointing of Christ transpired before the foundation of the world. In eternity past God appointed the Son to be His Christ, His Messiah, to carry out what God planned to do for His eternal purpose. Then Christ was incarnated, and this incarnated One passed through human living on earth. When He was thirty years of age, He came out to be baptized by John. At this juncture, God anointed Him with the very consummation of the Triune God as the anointing oil.
In ancient times, the kings and the priests needed to be anointed to take their offices. The anointing is the confirmation of the appointing. The appointed Christ was in the water under an open heaven and was anointed by the Triune God with the economical Spirit. By that time Jesus had already been born of the essential Spirit. Before the Spirit of God descended and came upon Him, the Lord Jesus was born of the Spirit (Luke 1:35), proving that He already had the Spirit of God within Him. That was for His birth. Now for His ministry, the Spirit of God descended upon Him. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1; 42:1; and Psalm 45:7 to anoint the new King and introduce Him to His people. He was conceived with the essential Spirit for His birth in order for Him to be a God-man to exist on this earth. Thirty years later, He was baptized by John. While He was standing in the waters of baptism, God came to anoint Him with the Holy Spirit as the economical Spirit to carry out God's economy.
Acts 2:32 and 33 reveal [the Triune] God having raised up Jesus [the Son], Jesus having been exalted to the right hand of God [the Father], and Jesus having received the Holy Spirit from the Father. This portion of the Word shows us the Divine Trinity in His divine move for His New Testament economy after Christ's ascension. The receiving of the Spirit by the Son from the Father was the beginning of the operation of God's New Testament economy. Through this receiving, the work of God for His New Testament economy began.