We often neglect the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus Christ. We tend to think Jesus functioned on the earth as God, in all His abilities. That every healing or miracle was worked through Him being God, we forget that Jesus was both God, and He was a man. Divine, but He was human. It is essential to understand this vital truth.
The Bible says that Jesus came as the second Adam. In the New Testament, He is called the Son of Man, the man Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:15 - But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if through the trespass of one man many died, then how much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
1 Timothy 2:5 - There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
He could not be the second Adam and represent us, or be a substitute for us (in the work of the cross) and do that in the ability of, or live this out according to His Divine nature.
Note: There are several reasons why this is, and here is an article that gives further explanation - Why Jesus had to come as a man.
What we needed as sinful humanity is a human Redeemer who was holy and therefore could die in our place. Sin and death came into the world by the first Adam; by Jesus, the Last Adam, many are made righteous by His obedience.
Jesus was sent to reveal God to man and give us an example to live by. Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life in the power and ability of the Holy Spirit. In His example, He modeled a life of dependence upon the Holy Spirit even in His death.
Philippians 2:6-8 - who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. But He emptied Himself, taking upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the form of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Christ, the Messiah, did not function in the ability of His Deity. He relied upon the Holy Spirit for everything He did. Jesus needed the Holy Spirit in every activity of His life and for the work of redemption. That is one reason He is called the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-16 - When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “Some say that You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
"Christos," the Messiah, means the anointed one. Jesus was the anointed one, sent by God to bring salvation to the world.
Isaiah 61:1 - The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isaiah 11:1-2 - And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Let us now look at the many ways that the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit In The Life Of Jesus Christ
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came upon Mary, and Christ was conceived.
Mary's Account - Luke 1:35 - The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore the Holy One who will be born will be called the Son of God.
Joseph's Account – Matthew 1:20 - But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for He who is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
The virgin birth was an act of miraculous creation. It was impossible through the natural laws of procreation. The conception and birth of Jesus, the Son of God, and man simultaneously was the work of the Holy Spirit. It was entirely by the Spirit's power coming upon Mary that the Son of God was conceived within her.
APPLICATION TO THOSE BORN AGAIN
Referencing the birth of the second Adam, we get a picture of our salvation. We are made new creations (miraculous creations) as the Spirit of God produces in us a new person alive unto God. This can only be accomplished through the activity of the Holy Spirit.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
Matthew 6:13-17 - Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John prohibited Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. And when Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water. And suddenly the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Through Jesus’ baptism in water:
He identified with mankind.
He modeled obedience to His Father.
God declared Him as His Son
He was installed into His ministry as Prophet, Priest, and King.
He was filled or made full of the Holy Spirit.
All four Gospels record the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove.
THE HOLY SPIRIT LED CHRIST
Luke 4:1 - Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Spirit in life. He lived as a mere man giving us an example of how to live under the Spirit's guidance.
Acts 1:2 - until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commandments through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen,
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CHRIST'S LIFE OF HOLINESS
Jesus Christ led a holy and pure life and offered Himself without spot or wrinkle to God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Jesus, like every person, was tempted and suffered through temptation.
Hebrews 2:18 - For since He Himself suffered while being tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Christ was tempted in all points like as we are.
Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was in every sense tempted like we are, yet without sin.
But Jesus never once in any way yielded to temptation. He was tempted but never sinned. He met and overcame these temptations in the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 2:22 - “He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.”
Jesus won His victories in a way that is open for all of us. Through dependence on the Holy Spirit.
THE HOLY SPIRIT ANOINTED CHRIST FOR MINISTRY
Jesus Christ was anointed and equipped for ministry by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:38 - how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Luke 4:14-19 - Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And His fame went throughout the surrounding region. He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by everyone. He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. When He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
By the essential anointing with the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was qualified for the ministry/service to which God had called Him. As Jesus stood in the Jordan after His baptism, “The Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him,” and it was in that moment that He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, baptized with the Spirit, and equipped for the service.
APPLICATION TO THOSE BORN AGAIN
Jesus was an example for us. We, as Christians, are anointed for ministry and service through the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 - But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
JESUS MODELED THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
Here are examples of gifts of the Holy Spirit being displayed in Christ.
Working of Miracles
Matthew 12:28 - But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 7:14 -15 - Then He came and touched the coffin, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” He who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother.
Word of Knowledge
Mathew 12:25 - Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Gift of Healing
Matthew 12:15 - But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them all,
Luke 9:42-43 - While he was coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and returned him to his father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God.
Gift of Faith
Luke 8:24-25 - They came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
THE HOLY SPIRIT UPON THE WORDS CHRIST SPOKE
John 12:49 - For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
The Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus in all His fullness; consequently, the words that Jesus spoke were the very words of God.
John 3:34 - For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without measure to Him.
Christ's words were perfect, lacking nothing, pure, and full of truth.
John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you.
It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead. This gives us an incredible promise because this same Spirit quickens our mortal bodies.
1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit,
CONCLUSION
Several things are evident from this study of the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. First of all, we see the totality of the humanity of Christ. Jesus lived, thought, ministered, served, taught, conquered sin, and won victories for God. He died and was raised up being dependent on the power of the very same Spirit whom it is our privilege to have as Christians.
Jesus is our pattern. The Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus was necessary, so it is necessary for us.
Romans 8:29 - For those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.
We see through Christ our need for the Holy Spirit. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus lived His life. This shows us how much more dependent we are upon the Holy Spirit for every part of our life, for being saved, for ministry, confronting the devil and overcoming sin.
John 16:7 - Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.
John 15:26 - “But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me.
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