Did John the Baptist initiate any New Testament teaching?
Since John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, his teaching must have been divinely authorized and inspired. This is substantiated by Christ Who validated Johns ministry. The same Holy Spirit Who filled Christ “without measure” also filled John. And because John was the first New Testament preacher, he should therefore be given some credit as the one who initiated many New Testament items of doctrine. These will be noted in detail later, in chapter six. The eighteen teachings first given by John may not be all he gave; many are unrecorded. “And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people” (Luke 3:18). The texts used by John (Matthew 3:2) and Christ (Matthew 4:17) are identical in the Greek. And the kingdom John preached was the same as that declared by Paul to the end of his ministry (Acts 28:31). Of course Paul preached more than John did, according to the records, but he did not change any of Johns teachings. And John gave them first. Among the values in
