The cantata is based on the seven stanzas of Martin Luther's hymn "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam", about baptism.

The cantata is scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two oboes d'amore, two solo violins, strings and continuo.

[5] Bach used the text of the first stanza of Luther's hymn for the first movement of his cantata, with its chorale melody sung as cantus firmus.

The opening chorus resembles an Italian violin concerto,[6] although in the context of a single movement rather than the three-movement format favoured by composers such as Vivaldi.

[1] The musicologist Julian Mincham likened the "solo violin's persistent, rocking, wave-like idea" to the waves of the Jordan River.

[11] The following recitative is given to the tenor as an Evangelist: "Dies hat Gott klar mit Worten" (This God has clearly provided with words),[8] narrating the biblical command to baptise.

[1] The central aria is sung by the tenor, accompanied by two violins, marked "solo" in a later performance, "Des Vaters Stimme ließ sich hören" (The Father's voice can be heard).

[8] Gardiner notes that the music "describes, through its pair of soaring violins, the circling flight of the Holy Spirit as a dove".

Hofmann concludes: "The sequence that this creates – three different forms of the same musical substance – is evidently to be understood as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

[8] The two oboes d'amore double the first violin when human beings are requested to accept the grace of God to not "perish in the pit of hell".