“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16-17 KJV
God created mankind to have fellowship with Him: To love and worship Him for all He’s done and for all He’s given; simply because He’s God and He’s worthy of our love, adoration, and praise. But when sin entered the world, that broke our fellowship with God. And as much as God wants to fellowship with us, His holiness cannot associate with sin anymore than life can associate with death.
God is life (John 5:26), but the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, “the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world,” (I John 4:14) giving us the tremendous opportunity to fellowship with Him through faith in His Son. That’s why “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
In our own strength and power, we can never be good enough to please God, no matter what we do. But at Christ’s baptism, God confirms that Jesus is His Son and lets us know that He is well pleased with His Son. Putting your faith in the Son of God who paid the penalty for your sin is the only way that you can please God.
That’s why Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him…”
In the Old Testament, God spoke to his people through prophets.
Numbers 12:6 says, “And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”
Even King David sought guidance from God through the prophets or priests. However, I believe there were times when God spoke audibly to some of the Old Testament saints such as Abraham, Samuel, and Elisha.
But in Exodus 33:11, the Bible says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…”
Then Deuteronomy 34:10 says, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” So we know without a doubt that God spoke audibly to Moses.
But when Jesus was baptized, God spoke from Heaven, not to His Son, but to those attending the baptism. His words were meant to publicly magnify Christ; to let the world know that Jesus was His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.