The Birth and Baptism of Jesus, the Cross and the Resurrection: God’s Salvation, All Connected as One
Matthew seen from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit (I) [New Revised Edition] by Rev. Paul C. Jong
Pastor Paul C. Jong, the author of “Matthew seen from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit (I)”, is a servant of God who has devoted his whole life to preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit — the gospel completed by the baptism Jesus received from John, by the Cross, and by the Resurrection. His books, published through The New Life Mission, have been translated into many languages and are being delivered to countless souls throughout the world, plainly testifying to the truth of the remission of sins exactly as it is recorded in the Bible.
Today’s blog post is a summary of “Matthew seen from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit (I)”, based on a reading of the book.
He Who Will Save His People from Their Sins
If you have read the Bible for a long time and attended church diligently, and yet the sin in your heart remains just as it was, so that you still remain a sinner, what is the problem?
Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Bible study book on Matthew (I) answers that question as follows:
Unless you know by what method Jesus Christ bore all the sins of the world and blotted them out, you cannot receive the true remission of sins. You may know the blood of the Cross, but if you do not know when, where, and through whom the sins of mankind were passed on to Him, you cannot fully realize the righteousness of God concerning salvation. The Gospel of Matthew is the Word that shows how God’s plan to save sinners was prepared and how it began.
Matthew is the first book that opens the New Testament, and it testifies to how the salvation God promised in the age of the Old Testament was fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Its beginning is, unexpectedly, a genealogy. Yet in this genealogy there are recorded not only people of faith but also people who carried faults and weaknesses, such as Tamar and Rahab the harlot. This shows that the coming of Jesus Christ was not accomplished by human righteousness or by a perfect bloodline, but by the promise and the grace that God gave to Abraham and to David. The name of Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, contains His mission:
“You shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus did not come to comfort and encourage sinners; He is Immanuel God, who came to actually save all mankind from sin.
This plan of salvation at last began to be fulfilled at the Jordan River, at the time when Jesus’ public ministry began. God sent John the Baptist, the last high priest of the Old Testament, ahead of Jesus. Crying out repentance in the wilderness, he prepared the way of the Lord, and above all he was a servant of God entrusted with the office of baptizing Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, as the representative of mankind. When Jesus came to be baptized, John tried to prevent Him, but Jesus said,
“Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).
Exactly according to the law of God by which sins were passed on to the sacrifice through the laying on of hands in the Old Testament, Jesus — through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, who was the high priest and the representative of mankind — had the sins of every person, from Adam to the last day of the world, transferred onto His own body once and for all. This is the “all righteousness” that God planned and fulfilled in order to save sinners.
When Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him like a dove, and from heaven the voice of the Father was heard:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
The passing on of sin that was accomplished at the Jordan River was not a religious ceremony made by men; it was the work of salvation that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit accomplished and testified to together. Here the meaning of the Cross also becomes clear. The Cross is not the place where the sins of mankind were first passed on to Jesus; it is the place where He received the judgment for the sins He had already borne at the Jordan River.
The Incarnation, the baptism, the blood of the Cross, the death and the Resurrection are not separate events, but one connected work of God’s salvation to save sinners.
Thus the truth to which this book testifies from beginning to end is one. The remission of sins is not obtained by a person’s good deeds and the works of the Law, by tears and hardship, or by prayers of repentance repeated day after day; rather, our sins are removed when we believe in our hearts the fact that God has already completely resolved our sins within the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Whoever believes this gospel has all his sins remitted and becomes not a sinner but a righteous person; he receives the Holy Spirit as a gift and is born again as a child of God; and he is delivered from the fear of condemnation and judgment and comes to serve God and the gospel with thanksgiving.
This book begins with a general introduction that examines the author of Matthew and the purpose for which it was written. It then expounds each chapter from chapter 1 to chapter 4, dividing each into a summary of the whole content and an exposition from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit; it lets the reader confirm the truth he has learned through questions and answers; and it is composed so that the sermons of Pastor Paul C. Jong may apply that Word to today’s life of faith. The purpose of this entire process is not to accumulate biblical knowledge, but for the reader to know Jesus rightly and to believe that the salvation He accomplished is his own salvation.
The Birth and Baptism of Jesus, the Cross and the Resurrection: God’s Salvation, All Connected as One
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. What does “Matthew Seen from the Perspective of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit (I)” cover, and how is it structured?
This book expounds chapters 1 through 4 of the Gospel of Matthew from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, explaining that the birth of Jesus, His baptism, and His Cross and resurrection are interconnected parts of God’s work of salvation for sinners. Through a summary and exposition of each chapter, questions and answers, and sermons by Pastor Paul C. Jong, it helps readers correctly understand the salvation Jesus accomplished and believe in it with their hearts.
Q2. How is the baptism Jesus received from John related to the Cross?
This book explains that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, the representative of all mankind, all the sins of the world were passed on to His body once and for all. The Cross is where He received the judgment for the sins He had thus taken upon Himself. Therefore, the baptism of Jesus and the Cross cannot be separated from each other, and we must understand them, together with His death and resurrection, as one interconnected work of salvation accomplished by God.
Q3. How can we receive the true remission of sins?
The answer this book gives is to believe with our hearts in the fact that God has already completely dealt with all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The remission of sins is not obtained through human good deeds, works of the Law, or prayers of repentance repeated every day. Whoever believes that Jesus took upon Himself our sins through His baptism, was judged on the Cross, and then rose again receives the remission of all their sins, becomes righteous, receives the Holy Spirit as a gift, and is born again as a child of God.
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All content on this blog (text, images, books, etc.) is the intellectual property of The New Life Mission and is protected by copyright. Unauthorized reproduction and commercial distribution are prohibited.
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🔺 Copyright © 2026 The New Life Mission.
All content on this blog (text, images, books, etc.) is the intellectual property of The New Life Mission and is protected by copyright. Unauthorized reproduction and commercial distribution are prohibited.
※However, sharing via links for personal use is allowed.
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