3 The Holy Spirit in the Life of Christ

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Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ (Greek) and the Messiah (Hebrew). The Holy Spirit anointed him for service and ministry. But the Spirit also guided other people during the infancy narratives.

Let’s begin.

I.. Conception and Birth of Jesus Christ

Conception and Birth of Jesus Christ
1 The Spirit came upon and overshadowed the virgin Mary. She conceived Matt. 1:18-19 Luke 1:34-35
2 John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit before John was born. Luke 1:15
3 Elizabeth was filled with Spirit and proclaimed great things about Mary Luke 1:41
4 Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Spirit and prophesied Luke 1:67
5 Simeon was moved by the Spirit, and the Spirit revealed a promise to him about the baby Jesus. He would see the Messiah before he died, and the Messiah will bring salvation and light to Israel and Gentiles. Luke 2:25-26
These verses show that the Spirit surrounded the life of Christ through his relative John and other biblical figures. Something Spirit inspired was going on at his birth and infancy.

II. The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry

The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry
1 Jesus was filled with the Spirit at his water baptism. the Spirit descended on Jesus “like” a dove. Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; cf. John 1:32-34
2 Not only does the Spirit remain on Jesus, Jesus will baptize people with the Spirit. Jesus is the Baptizer with the Spirit, while John baptized with water. John 1:32-33
3 Matthew and Luke say that the Spirit led him out to the desert. Mark says the Spirit “compelled” or “thrust [him] forward” or “sent [him] out.” Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1; Mark 1:12
4 He proclaims that he is anointed with the Spirit to preach and liberate people. Luke 4:18-21; Is. 63:1-2

III. Interaction between His Divine Nature and the Spirit’s Anointing

Interaction between His Divine Nature and the Spirit’s Anointing
1 Matthew says that Jesus healed people. Matt. 12:15-21; Is. 42:1-4
2 Jesus never lost his divine attributes, nor did he set or lay them aside.

Rather, he kept them but surrendered and submitted them to the Father.

This truth is seen in verses that say the following:
3
  • He does only what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19).
  • He lives because of the Father (John 6:57).
  • He stands with the Father (John 8:16).
  • The Father knows him, and he knows the Father who sent him (John 8:16).
  • He speaks only what the Father taught him (John 8:28).
  • The Father knows him, and he knows the Father (John 10:15).
  • The Father loves him because he lays down his life (John 10:17).
  • “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
  • He does what he sees the Father does (John 10:37).
  •  What Jesus says is just what the Father told him to say (John 12:49-50, 12:57).
  • Perhaps the most important verse about miracles and surrender: “I have shown you many miracles from the Father” (John 10:32).
4 He surrendered and submitted his divine attributes to the Father, and the Spirit worked through the Son, the Anointed One. The Father hid his Son’s divine attributes behind his humanity, and sometimes we catch a glimpse of them when the Father willed to allow them to shine forth, as Peter, James, and John witnessed on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13).
5 So the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—worked together in Jesus’s ministry, yet the Father directed it.
6 But the clearest image in all four Gospels is that the Anointed One ministered in the power of the Spirit (see Acts 10:38).

IV. Jesus’s Ministry in the Fullness of the Spirit

Jesus’s Ministry in the Fullness of the Spirit
1 This summary passage projects Jesus’s ministry into the future. God put his Spirit on him. Matt. 12:15-21; Is. 42:1-4
2 He expels demons by the Spirit of God. Matt. 12:28
3 God gives him the Spirit without limit. John 3:34
4 Luke records Peter saying to Cornelius that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Spirit and power, so that he went about delivering and healing people of demons and diseases. Acts 10:38

V. Jesus Teaches on the Spirit

Jesus Teaches on the Spirit
1 The Spirit causes rebirth or being born again. John 3:5
2 The Spirit will flow like living waters through people. John 7:37-38
3 Jesus said we must worship in Spirit and truth. John 4:23
4 God is Spirit. John 4:24
5 The Spirit gives life (literally “Life Maker”) John 6:63
6 Jesus promises the Advocate. The Advocate is the Holy Spirit. The Paraclete is a Greek term which literally means someone who is “called alongside” (para = alongside and klete = called). It could be translated as the Encourager, the Strengthener, the Comforter, The Exhorter, the Defender / the Attorney (related to advocate), the Counselor, or the Helper. John 14:16
7 He is the Spirit of truth. John 14:17a
8 Though the world does not accept the Spirit, he will live in believers. John 14:17b-18
9 The Father will send the Holy Spirit in Jesus’s name, and he will teach and remind believers. John 14:26
10 The Spirit of Truth is sent by Jesus yet proceeds from the Father. John 15:27
11 The Spirit testifies about Jesus. John 15:27
12 The Spirit of truth will guide believers into all truth. John 16:13
13 The Spirit of truth will speak only what he hears from the Son. John 16:13
14 The Spirit of truth will speak of what is to come. John 16:13
15 The Spirit of truth will glorify Jesus and will receive what he is to make known to believers. John 16:14
16 He will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. John 16:8
17 He breathed on his disciples in private to receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:22
18 He believed in the inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit. Matt. 22:43-45; Mark’s says “Holy Spirit” in 12:36
19 He warns against blasphemy of the Spirit. Matt. 12:31
20 Jesus promises that the Spirit will speak through disciples when they are put on trial. Mark 13:11
21 Jesus says the Father will give the Spirit to those who ask. Luke 11:13
22 Jesus teaches his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19

VI. Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation

Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation
1 Jesus offered himself to God through the Spirit. Heb. 9:14
2 He was raised by the Spirit. Rom. 8:11; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:18
3 He promised the Spirit. John 15:26; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8
4 He sent the Spirit at Pentecost. Acts 2:1-4
5 The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. Acts 16:6-7; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 4:6)

VII. Reflections

A.. The Spirit is important in the four Gospels

The Spirit is not mentioned every fifth verse–very often. However, let no one believe that the Spirit was not present during Christ’s earthly ministry. He was the Anointed One. That is, the Spirit was on and him every second of every day. Also, the Father and the exalted Son sent the Spirit at Pentecost and directed the Church to minister in the Spirit. We can do this even today, though with our human limitations, since he had the Spirit without limits (John 3:34).

B. The Spirit is for us believers too.

We Renewalists can minister in the same anointing and power of the Spirit, but we have this anointing in a limited portion. However, as noted, Only to Jesus did the Father give the Spirit without limits (John 3:34). But that is not to deny a lot of God’s power and Spirit in our lives. We share in Christ’s anointing. And though the Spirit we can do greater works because we are many and united, after Jesus ascends to the Father, and we offer the call to salvation after Pentecost (John 14:12). But we must follow the Spirit, or else we will be filled with arrogance and self-rule. “I can do it on my own!”

What Is the ‘Anointing’?

What Does ‘Greater Things’ Mean in John 14:12?

C. More of him

Let’s not minister on our own. What we need is more of him, as we live life in the Spirit, just as Galatians 5 and Romans 8 teach us.

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