The Holy Spirit - God's Spirit
E-book and Audio series
PART 2 - The Roles and Activities of the Holy Spirit
Chapter 20 - The Spirit During Christ's Life and Ministry
Summary: Far from being inactive during the Gospel period, the Holy Spirit was very active indeed.
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Study Notes No.20 – The Spirit during Christ’s Life and Ministry
(some of these issues are duscussed in more detail on the audio recording)
Last study, we looked briefly at three events after the Lord’s baptism:
(1) The Spirit descending upon the Lord like a dove;
(2) The voice that came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”; and
(3) How the Holy Spirit led the Lord Jesus into the wilderness for a period of testing.
A number of times in this series of studies, it's been suggested that the ministry of the Lord Jesus did not begin until after He was baptised, and the Spirit came upon Him. Those three events (the Spirit descending like a dove, the voice from heaven, the Spirit leading the Lord into the wilderness) all took place after the Lord’s baptism, but before His ministry really began.
In this study, we’ll look at some of what took place during the Lord’s three year ministry, and the role that the Holy Spirit played in that ministry.
After the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord at His baptism, the main activity of the Spirit was that of working through Christ. After the baptism, there are hardly any mentions of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, outside of His work directly through the Lord Jesus. Compare this with before Christ’s ministry, when a number of people were influenced by the Holy Spirit: Zachariah (Luke 1:67), Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), Mary (Luke 1:35), Simeon at the temple (Luke 2:25-27) and the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38).
The Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Ministry
READ Matthew 4:12,13 …17
v.17 – the first sign that something had changed.
(some of the disciples are gathered, and then …..)
READ v.23-25 – preaching and miracles, go together
He was enabled by the Holy Spirit to perform those miracles. It’s sometimes said that the Holy Spirit was rather inactive during Christ’s ministry. On the contrary, I think the Holy Spirit was quite overtly active during that time, mainly through the three year ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:1 – seeing the multitudes, He taught them - mostly about what they should and shouldn’t do as God’s people who were to be a nation of priests. i.e. He taught them how to repent, He taught them what sort of behaviour was fitting for the kingdom of which they were to be a part.
Briefly, here's a few examples of His teaching, taken from the Sermon on the Mount
3a – poor in spirit (lowly in spirit)
5 – meek
6 – hunger and thirst for righteousness
7 – merciful
8 – persecuted for righteousness’ sake
READ v13, 14 … 16 …20
6:1 … 7:1-3 … 21
This sermon in chapters 5, 6 & 7 finishes with the words, "the people were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes". (7:28,29)
- This isn’t just saying that He was a very good speaker; rather, it primarily refers to His exemplary life – He did as He taught (“not as the scribes” – cp 5:20 “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes…”).
However, there is another nuance to that phrase. He taught with “exousia”, the Greek word translated "authority" or "power", depending on the translation. As much as anything, it is a reference to how His teaching was accompanied by the working of miracles. The Lord Jesus was authorised to say the things He was preaching. He was anointed (i.e. appointed by the Father) and enabled by His Holy Spirit to do so. The miracles were His credentials that the things He was teaching were true.
In Matthew’s gospel account, a few chapters of teaching on the mountain are then immediately followed by a few chapters detailing some of His miracles. The next two chapters (8 & 9) tell of one miracle after another.
READ Matthew 8:2,3 … 8:5-7 … 8:14,15
REFER – v. 16 “healed all who were sick”
- end of ch.8 – healed two demon possessed men
- start of ch.9 – healed a paralysed man
- 9:30 - healed a blind man
READ 9:35 – teaching and miracles
He wasn’t doing any of this before He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was enabled by the Holy Spirit to do these things
Some other passages in Scripture talk about the two aspects of teaching and miracles together.
READ Acts 10:36-38 – preaching, miracles, after the baptism
(Also Acts 2:22 – Peter, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells the crowd about “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst”.)
READ Luke 24:17-19 – after His resurrection, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus describe Him as “a Prophet, mighty in deed and word”, again linking these two aspects go together. This leads us to consider the aspect of Him being “a prophet”
A Prophet
READ 2 Peter 1:21 - "prophecy never came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit".
Christ proclaimed Himself to be a prophet, and thus, one anointed by God’s Spirit. Bear in mind that a prophet is one who speaks on behalf of another; in the Bible, this is mainly one who speaks on behalf of God, and is the voice of God to the wider body of people.
READ Luke 4:14 (power of the Spirit), 15(taught), 16-19(anointed by the Holy Spirit to preach and proclaim – i.e. a prophet [also heal v.18] ) …21 today fulfilled …24 no prophet accepted in his own country.
READ Luke 13:31-33 – miracles, tied up with Him being a prophet
The idea of Him being a prophet - one who spoke on God’s behalf and was anointed by God’s Holy Spirit - was one that some people actually recognised. Many agreed that He was a prophet, and a great one, the like of which had not been seen in Israel for many centuries:
- John 4:19 – the woman at the well, “I perceive that you are a prophet”
- Luke 7:15,16 – after the raising of a dead man, the people glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”
- Matthew 21:46 - when the chief priests and Pharisees went to seize Him, they didn’t, because it says that “they feared the multitudes because they took Him for a prophet”.
Summary
Far from being inactive during the Gospel period, the Holy Spirit was very active.
The main activity of the Holy Spirit during the Gospels was to work through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ - this man who was God in the flesh, but had emptied Himself of the glory and many of the abilities He previously had, and walked the earth as a man. The Holy Spirit enabled Him to perform wondrous miracles, but also enabled Him, and led and guided Him as He preached and taught the people. His teaching was given credibility because it was accompanied, not only by His exemplary life, but also by miracles which came from God, which the Lord Jesus performed with the aid of God’s Spirit upon Him.
As a final thought, I want to stress that this situation of Him needing to be enabled in no way diminishes the greatness and wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ. This didn’t make Him any less worthy of praise during His time on earth, and doesn't make Him any less worthy of praise today in His ascended and glorified state. But we should recognise that, in order to carry out the purposes of God, this was the way things were for that particular period of time. It will help us to understand God’s dealings with mankind through the Lord Jesus and through the Holy Spirit if we acknowledge these things.
In the next study we will contemplate some more about the Holy Spirit’s activities during the Gospel period.
(some of these issues are duscussed in more detail on the audio recording)
Last study, we looked briefly at three events after the Lord’s baptism:
(1) The Spirit descending upon the Lord like a dove;
(2) The voice that came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”; and
(3) How the Holy Spirit led the Lord Jesus into the wilderness for a period of testing.
A number of times in this series of studies, it's been suggested that the ministry of the Lord Jesus did not begin until after He was baptised, and the Spirit came upon Him. Those three events (the Spirit descending like a dove, the voice from heaven, the Spirit leading the Lord into the wilderness) all took place after the Lord’s baptism, but before His ministry really began.
In this study, we’ll look at some of what took place during the Lord’s three year ministry, and the role that the Holy Spirit played in that ministry.
After the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord at His baptism, the main activity of the Spirit was that of working through Christ. After the baptism, there are hardly any mentions of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, outside of His work directly through the Lord Jesus. Compare this with before Christ’s ministry, when a number of people were influenced by the Holy Spirit: Zachariah (Luke 1:67), Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), Mary (Luke 1:35), Simeon at the temple (Luke 2:25-27) and the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38).
The Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Ministry
READ Matthew 4:12,13 …17
v.17 – the first sign that something had changed.
(some of the disciples are gathered, and then …..)
READ v.23-25 – preaching and miracles, go together
He was enabled by the Holy Spirit to perform those miracles. It’s sometimes said that the Holy Spirit was rather inactive during Christ’s ministry. On the contrary, I think the Holy Spirit was quite overtly active during that time, mainly through the three year ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:1 – seeing the multitudes, He taught them - mostly about what they should and shouldn’t do as God’s people who were to be a nation of priests. i.e. He taught them how to repent, He taught them what sort of behaviour was fitting for the kingdom of which they were to be a part.
Briefly, here's a few examples of His teaching, taken from the Sermon on the Mount
3a – poor in spirit (lowly in spirit)
5 – meek
6 – hunger and thirst for righteousness
7 – merciful
8 – persecuted for righteousness’ sake
READ v13, 14 … 16 …20
6:1 … 7:1-3 … 21
This sermon in chapters 5, 6 & 7 finishes with the words, "the people were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes". (7:28,29)
- This isn’t just saying that He was a very good speaker; rather, it primarily refers to His exemplary life – He did as He taught (“not as the scribes” – cp 5:20 “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes…”).
However, there is another nuance to that phrase. He taught with “exousia”, the Greek word translated "authority" or "power", depending on the translation. As much as anything, it is a reference to how His teaching was accompanied by the working of miracles. The Lord Jesus was authorised to say the things He was preaching. He was anointed (i.e. appointed by the Father) and enabled by His Holy Spirit to do so. The miracles were His credentials that the things He was teaching were true.
In Matthew’s gospel account, a few chapters of teaching on the mountain are then immediately followed by a few chapters detailing some of His miracles. The next two chapters (8 & 9) tell of one miracle after another.
READ Matthew 8:2,3 … 8:5-7 … 8:14,15
REFER – v. 16 “healed all who were sick”
- end of ch.8 – healed two demon possessed men
- start of ch.9 – healed a paralysed man
- 9:30 - healed a blind man
READ 9:35 – teaching and miracles
He wasn’t doing any of this before He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was enabled by the Holy Spirit to do these things
Some other passages in Scripture talk about the two aspects of teaching and miracles together.
READ Acts 10:36-38 – preaching, miracles, after the baptism
(Also Acts 2:22 – Peter, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells the crowd about “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst”.)
READ Luke 24:17-19 – after His resurrection, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus describe Him as “a Prophet, mighty in deed and word”, again linking these two aspects go together. This leads us to consider the aspect of Him being “a prophet”
A Prophet
READ 2 Peter 1:21 - "prophecy never came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit".
Christ proclaimed Himself to be a prophet, and thus, one anointed by God’s Spirit. Bear in mind that a prophet is one who speaks on behalf of another; in the Bible, this is mainly one who speaks on behalf of God, and is the voice of God to the wider body of people.
READ Luke 4:14 (power of the Spirit), 15(taught), 16-19(anointed by the Holy Spirit to preach and proclaim – i.e. a prophet [also heal v.18] ) …21 today fulfilled …24 no prophet accepted in his own country.
READ Luke 13:31-33 – miracles, tied up with Him being a prophet
The idea of Him being a prophet - one who spoke on God’s behalf and was anointed by God’s Holy Spirit - was one that some people actually recognised. Many agreed that He was a prophet, and a great one, the like of which had not been seen in Israel for many centuries:
- John 4:19 – the woman at the well, “I perceive that you are a prophet”
- Luke 7:15,16 – after the raising of a dead man, the people glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”
- Matthew 21:46 - when the chief priests and Pharisees went to seize Him, they didn’t, because it says that “they feared the multitudes because they took Him for a prophet”.
Summary
Far from being inactive during the Gospel period, the Holy Spirit was very active.
The main activity of the Holy Spirit during the Gospels was to work through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ - this man who was God in the flesh, but had emptied Himself of the glory and many of the abilities He previously had, and walked the earth as a man. The Holy Spirit enabled Him to perform wondrous miracles, but also enabled Him, and led and guided Him as He preached and taught the people. His teaching was given credibility because it was accompanied, not only by His exemplary life, but also by miracles which came from God, which the Lord Jesus performed with the aid of God’s Spirit upon Him.
As a final thought, I want to stress that this situation of Him needing to be enabled in no way diminishes the greatness and wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ. This didn’t make Him any less worthy of praise during His time on earth, and doesn't make Him any less worthy of praise today in His ascended and glorified state. But we should recognise that, in order to carry out the purposes of God, this was the way things were for that particular period of time. It will help us to understand God’s dealings with mankind through the Lord Jesus and through the Holy Spirit if we acknowledge these things.
In the next study we will contemplate some more about the Holy Spirit’s activities during the Gospel period.