| |
Notice
that in each case the Spirit came "upon" them. He did not
live inside them. He did not come "in" them and He did not
always remain with them. King David understood this when he asked
God to not remove the Holy Spirit from him. This
is an important point. In 1 Samuel 16:13-14 we are told that the Holy
Spirit came "mightily upon" King David, and then later
in Psalms 51:11
David asks God to not remove the Holy Spirit from him. The Holy Spirit
came "upon" people, but He did not remain with them.
Ministry
To Jesus. When we come to the New Testament, we find that the
Holy Spirit was also present during Jesus' ministry, and helped Him
perform miracles, and cast out demons.
| |
Reference |
Passage |
|
| |
Luke
3:22 |
. . . and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form
like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “Thou art
My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.(NASB) |
|
| |
Luke
4:1 |
And
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness . . . (NASB) |
|
| |
Luke
4:14 |
And
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news
about Him spread through all the surrounding district. (NASB) |
|
| |
Luke
10:21 |
At
that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit . . .
(NASB) |
|
| |
Matt.
12:28 |
But
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom
of God has come upon you. (NASB) |
|
| |
Acts
10:38 |
You
know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy
Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with
Him. (NASB) |
|
This is an exciting truth because it reveals the fact that when Jesus
became a human He lived His life as you and I would. But He was God
and without sin. While He lived on this earth, He depended on the
power of the Holy Spirit to do the ministry. This is a great spiritual
insight. This should be the pattern of our Christian life - dependence
on the Holy Spirit to work through us. Jesus is our example of human
dependence on the Holy Spirit.
John
16:7. We have already seen that the Holy Spirit was active on
this earth in the Old Testament and during Jesus' ministry. Yet in
John 16:7, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will come after He returns to
heaven.
| |
But
I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but
if I go, I will send Him to you. (NASB) John 16:7 |
Jesus
said the same thing earlier in John 14:26 and John 15:26.
| |
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in
My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance
all that I said to you. (NASB) John 14:26
When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father,
that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He
will bear witness of Me, (NASB) John 15:26 |
Who is the Helper? Jesus gave the answer in John 14:16.
| |
And
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may be with you forever; (NASB) John 14:16 |
The Helper is the Holy Spirit. What did Jesus mean that the Holy Spirit
would be coming, if in fact He was already present? Jesus was talking
about the Holy Spirit coming in a new and different way. This was
predicted in the Old Testament according to Acts 2:14-21 and it happened
on the day of Pentecost (Acts. 2:1-13).
The Promise. With the start of Pentecost,
the Holy Spirit started living inside those who believed God.
| |
. . . In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given
as a pledge of our inheritance . . . (NASB) Ephesians 1:13-14 |
|
|
