The proclivity for explaining the power behind Jesus’ unique, extraordinary life and ministry tends to lie in his explicit deity as a person of the Holy Trinity. On the surface, this appears to be the most obvious and logical explanation for Jesus’ source of infallible and irrefutable truth, prophetic accuracy, and countless miracles. But as is often the case, the seemingly simple answer does not prove true. Scripture explains that God the Son relied on the Holy Spirit, not his inherent power as God the Son. Before discussing why Jesus’ dependence on the Spirit likely existed, let’s look at some of the examples we find in the Word.
Scripture’s first indication of this functional relationship is found in an Old Testament prophecy. Isaiah 11 records the following:
1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.2And 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 the fear of the LORD.3And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
During Christ’s life on earth, the Son and Spirit relational dynamic is clearly seen after Jesus’ baptism. Mark’s gospel unequivocally states that “the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” The Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to fast forty days and endure temptation is likewise recorded in Luke chapter four, which also adds that after completing this test, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.” Helping us further comprehend the extent and longevity of these Spirit-led revelations, Matthew 12:28 exposes the power by which Jesus cast out demons - the Spirit of God.
After Jesus’ ascension, Acts 10:38 reflectively reports, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Perhaps the most indicative passage of how Jesus’ life relates to our life in the Spirit occurs when he first appears to his disciples after his resurrection. John 20:21-22 says, “’As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Although Pentecost does not occur until later, Jesus explains to his disciples what will happen there in fullness.
These verses should be understood as periodic peeks behind the curtain into the power of Jesus’ earthly ministry. I’m sure we could all agree that Scripture would be unnecessarily repetitive if mention was given to the Holy Spirit’s empowerment every time Jesus did something of note. Interestingly, and I believe by no means coincidentally, we see this affirmation prior to his earthly life, at the origin of his ministry, in the midst of his ministry, and after Jesus’ ministry was completed. This leads us to the question of why Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit rather than his eternal power as the Son. The answer lies in both the fulfillment Christ’s earthly mission, as well as how Christians are empowered in our lives.
Hebrews 10 vividly describes Christ as the fulfillment of the sacrificial system with verses 5-7 noting that Jesus’ physical body was essential to God’s plan of atonement. Although no less than fully God, the Son also came as fully man in order to fulfill all righteous requirements – living the perfect, God-pleasing human life that we could not. As Philippians 2:6-11 indicates, the Son willingly (and temporarily) chose not to utilize his divine rights and powers in order to fully live as a man and become the God-provided sacrificial substitute for us. Therefore, Jesus wholly relied on the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit through his fully human existence, which was without limitation or interruption.
Jesus’ words, then, make much more sense when he tells his followers that they will do greater things than he did. Jesus was one person being incomparably empowered by the Spirit. Now, in all of his people, God releases this same power by the Holy Spirit working in and through them. Another implication for Christians is the New Testament command to emulate Jesus, follow Jesus, be holy like Jesus was holy, and walk in the ways of Jesus. These are only tenable because we have the same Holy Spirit in us that was active in our Lord. We won’t perfectly portray Jesus, of course, but we’ve been given the power to overcome sin and live out these same fruits and gifts of the Spirit.
Romans 8:11 encourages us with this astonishing reality, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” We have the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead living in our very bodies – how amazing to contemplate and take hold of this truth! How all too often we live to the contrary, mired in sin and self-pity. God wants us to know, claim and utilize the Spirit’s power in us to combat sin, live like Christ, and reveal his glory to our fallen world!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment