Broadly speaking, there are three divisions of time:
For thirty-three years our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, lived on this earth in a human body. The Son of God became the Son of Man, that we, sons of men, might through faith in Him become sons of God (Galatians 4:4-7). In relation to the Holy Spirit, Jesus proved the bridge between Saints before and during His time on earth, ultimately impacting the Spirit’s presence and activity thereafter. And it began with:
John 1:32: “And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.”
Mary was one of Luke’s sources for the writing of his Gospel (Luke 1:1–4). Luke records the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her that she would give birth to a son who would be the Savior. Mary was unsure how this could be since she was a virgin. When Gabriel told her that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. . . May your word to me be fulfilled. Then the angel left her” (Luke 1:38). Mary responded with belief and a willingness to submit to God’s plan. The evidence dictated, according to the Law, stoning for unfaithfulness during her betrothal to Joseph. Matthew tells us that Joseph was “faithful to the law” (Matthew 1:19). After an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and encouraged him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, Joseph immediately obeyed (Matthew 1:24–25). Later in the book of Matthew, an angel again appears to Joseph and commands him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill Jesus. Even in protecting King David from his foes, which would have prematurely ended the line from which Jesus was to come, the Spirit was at work.
The Lord Jesus became a partaker of our life, of our humanity (apart from sin), by a supernatural birth (Matthew 1:18-20; Luke 1:34, 35); we become a partaker of His life, of the divine nature, by a supernatural birth (John 3:5; 2 Peter 1:3-4).
For thirty years He lived a Spirit-filled life, a life entirely apart from sin; but before He began His public ministry He received a definite anointing of the Holy Spirit – (Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 4:18). This anointing preceded His public ministry for His work as Prophet, Priest and King. It was necessary for Him to receive this empowering before He commenced the work committed to Him – how much more necessary is it for us (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-4).
Per Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:4, the Lord Jesus “was tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). In other words, in the power of the Holy Spirit He was victor every time. Temptation plays a very real part in the life of every Christian, but the wonderful message of this study is that the same mighty power that enabled Him to conquer Satan is offered to us to make us ‘more than conquerors’, and that power is the power of the Holy Spirit. Are we experiencing victory or humiliating defeat?
Why did He speak with such authority? Look up Acts 1:2. How did He cast out devils? Look up Luke 11:20. What was the secret of His joy? Look up Luke 10:21. Why did He have such power to heal, to comfort and to bless? Look up Luke 4:18 and Acts 10:38. God gave Him His Spirit without limit (John 3:34); the Holy Spirit filled and flooded the human body of the Lord Jesus, and this same fulness is available for every Christian who submits to Spirit.
In Hebrews 7:27 we read that “He offered himself….” How did He do it? Hebrews 9:14 tells us: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” We can only lose our lives by the same enabling (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 12:1).
Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. As we view the life of Jesus so utterly controlled by the Holy Spirit, let us seek that the same Holy Spirit may utterly control us, and thus reproduce the fulness of His life and victory in us to the glory of God.
