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| Bible Question: I
was watching a movie about Jesus which made me think about His humanity.
I know that He certainly knew who He was from an early age (12 years
old when He was in the Temple talking to the teachers). So I was looking
for an answer to a thought that I had. When Jesus was baptized, God
sent His Holy Spirit and said: "This is my own dear Son, with
whom I am pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Then Jesus went to the desert
to be tempted and the Bible says, "He was full of the Holy Spirit"
(Luke 4:1). My question is, "Did Jesus have the Holy Spirit in
Him before He was baptized, or did He receive the Spirit only in that
moment?" The mystery of the Trinity is amazing because also He
had to go to the Heaven after He rose from the death and only then
could He send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Bible Answer: Scripture does not give us enough information to positively answer your question, “Was Jesus already filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism?” Yet the gospel of Luke tells us that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth.
Old Testament Filling. Was John the Baptist filled with the Holy Spirit all the time? Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit never lived inside a person all the time – continuously. The Holy Spirit did not remain permanently in a person until the New Testament. That is why Jesus said He was going to send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). Something new was going to occur. Saul is one example where the Holy Spirit did not remain (1 Sam. 10:6; 16:14) and King David is another. In fact, King David feared the Lord would take the Holy Spirit from him (Ps. 51:11). Today, the Holy Spirit lives inside a Christian forever. This is implied in the great promise of God (Heb. 8:7-13). When the Holy Spirit came upon, not in, an Old Testament saint the manifestations or miracles of the Spirit did not always occur. When Samson grew up the “Spirit of the LORD began to stir him” (Judges 13:24-25). It is not until later occasions that the “Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily” (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of Old Testament saints did not mean they performed wonders or miracles. So the Holy Spirit could have “come on” John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah - Jesus Christ - at birth and yet the Spirit may not have remained. It is also possible the power of the Spirit did not occur until he was an adult. If the Holy Spirit “came on” John the Baptist at birth, the Holy Spirit could have come "on” Jesus at birth. But we do not know if that happened since the New Testament does not explicit say so. None of the gospels explicitly say that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit before His baptism. Filled At His Baptism. “Did Jesus do miracles by His own power as God or did He depend on the Holy Spirit?” The Old Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit was to rest on Jesus during His ministry on this earth.
At this point we could ask, “Why did the Holy Spirit need to rest on Him if He was God?" The answer is found in Philippians 2:7 where we are told that Jesus did not come to earth in His divine glory (Matt. 17:1-5). He did not come knowing everything (Matt. 24:36). In fact, He came as a human baby who had to physically and intellectually grow and increase in wisdom.
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