a just and devout man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was “waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25, 26).
“Moved by the Spirit” (v. 27 Niv), Simeon hurried to the temple courts where the Lord Jesus was to be consecrated. It must have been a touching scene as Simeon “took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” (Luke 2:28, 29, 30 kjv).
By the way, Simeon stands as an example of the wonderful things that happen when a person is in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Notice: the Holy Spirit was “upon him” (v. 25); the Holy Spirit revealed truth to him (v. 26); and the Holy Spirit guided his steps (v. 27).
From the very earliest days of the incarnation, Jesus Christ experienced the operation and instruction of the Holy Spirit even as Isaiah has foretold (Isa. 11:2).
The Lord did not speak on His own authority, but said, “the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49).
The Lord Jesus was fully aware that the words He spoke were not those of His own choosing, but that He was a messenger of the Father, even as John the Baptist wrote of Him, “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34 Niv).
And just as Christ promised that the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things” (John 14:26), God allowed Him to experience that same instruction. The Lord Jesus relied on the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit to fulfill what the Father called Him to do, for in the Old Covenant we find the Scriptures saying that it is the Holy Spirit who instructs, “You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them” (Neh. 9:20a).
Man
God and When the Lord Jesus was on earth He
was fully God and fully Man. The apostle Paul called Him “the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
We need to remember that while Jesus Christ was on earth He was fully God and completely human. He was the God-man. And as a total man:
He knew what it was to be hungry. “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered” (Matt. 4:2 kjv).
He experienced thirst. “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst” (John 19:28 Kjv).
He became tired when He traveled. “ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his jour-
ney, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour” (John 4:6 Kjv).
He grieved with people. “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thine hand.’ And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other” (Mark 3:5 Kjv).
He experienced joy. “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Luke 10:21 kjv).
He had compassion for people for He knew what they went through. “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36 Kjv) “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him” (Matt. 20:34 Kjv).
And as a man, Jesus relied on the vital guidance of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that was working in the life of Christ is the same Holy Spirit Who wants to work in your life today.
“Heaven
Opened”
John the Baptist, the cousin of the Lord Jesus, was perhaps the most sought-after preacher in Israel. He preached repentance and was sent by God “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). People from “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan” came to him “and were bap-
tized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matt. 3:5, 6).
John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).
Some time after this, the Lord Jesus presented Himself to John, having traveled from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized. Can you imagine how John felt? Of course, John tried to discourage Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” (Matt. 3:14). But the Lord persuaded him that “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15).
John agreed and “when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized” (Luke 3:21).
All three persons of the Trinity were manifest that day. Oh, how I wish I could have been there when the Lord Jesus came up out of the water. The Bible declares that “the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22).
It is extremely significant that the Holy Spirit appeared in visible form then because six important things happened at the baptism of the Lord Jesus:
1. It marked the beginning of Christ’s Messianic ministry. R. A. Torrey says that “it was at the Jordan in connection with His baptism that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and Power, and He did not begin His public ministry until He was baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 2
2. It showed humankind the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to ministry. The
Lord Jesus would not embark on His public ministry without the special power of the Holy Spirit in His life. What an example this is to us. What a spur to seek greater fellowship with the Holy Spirit before attempting greater things for the Holy Spirit. R. A. Torrey again puts it so well, “If such a One, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps, did not venture upon His ministry, for which the Father had sent Him until thus definitely baptized by the Holy Spirit, what is it for us to dare to do it? . . . It is evident that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an absolutely necessary preparation for effective work for Christ along every line of service.” 3
3. It “fulfilled] all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). And the presence of the Holy Spirit whose very name is Holy was a manifest confirmation of the righteousness of Christ. His very presence was declaring that Jesus Christ was all righteousness as He identified with sinners in His baptism. 4
4. It demonstrated that the Lord Jesus belonged to God and was officially approved by Him. For the Father declared, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased!'
5. It showed God’s approval of His Son’s identification with humanity through His baptism. As Louis Barbieri said, “If Messiah were to provide righteousness for sinners, He must be identified with sinners. It was therefore the will of God for Him to be baptized by John in order to be identified . . . with sinners.” 5
6. It showed humankind the importance of water baptism, not for salvation, but for identification with the Savior in His death, burial, and resurrection (Acts 2:38; 10:48; Matt. 28:19).
Immediately after His baptism, “Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1).
Many people are surprised to read that after the Lord Jesus was so mightily filled with the Holy Spirit, He was immediately led by that same Holy Spirit into the greatest temptation of His life. Mark even says the Holy Spirit drove Him into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). What a remarkable word! John Grassmick says it so well, “the word [drove] is from a strong verb (ekballo) meaning “drive out, expel, send away . . . The thought is that of strong moral compulsion by which the Spirit led Jesus to take the offensive against temptation instead of avoiding them.” 6 Get the picture? Christ came to break the power of sin, and instead of waiting for satan to come, the Holy Spirit led Christ to a “face-to-face” confrontation right away. The power of the strong man was to be broken by the God-man—right now!
For the next forty days the Lord Jesus went without food and was tempted by satan. First, the devil said, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3).
The Lord Jesus answered with the Word. He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’ ” (v. 4).
Next, satan led the Lord Jesus up to a high place
Led into Temptation
and showed Him the kingdoms of the world. The devil said “This has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours” (vv. 6, 7).
Again, the Lord answered with the Word. He declared, “Get behind Me, satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ ” (v. 8).
Finally, the devil took the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest pinnacle of the temple, and said “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here” (v. 9). Satan even quoted Psalms 91:11, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways” (v. 10).
How did the Lord Jesus respond? You guessed it. He used the Word of God and declared: “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’ ” (v. 12).
And the same Word that Christ Jesus used then is available to you and me today. The message is clear. The only way we can cope with the onslaught of the evil one is through a Spirit-filled, Word-centered life. And the Word of God promises that you can conquer through Christ (Jude 9; Rom. 8:31-37).
Do you think I am somehow shielded from the attacks of satan? Absolutely not! But do I have the power through the Holy Spirit to be victorious? Absolutely yes! Night after night as the Spirit of the Lord is about to do a mighty work in our crusades, satan tries every trick imaginable to distract me. He has attempted everything from a power failure to causing a commotion in the audience. Even worse, he will try to whisper in my ear, “Benny, the Lord isn’t here tonight. No one will be saved. No one will be healed. There will be no anoint-
ing.” That’s when I call upon the Holy Spirit to come and assist me.
Now the Lord returned to Galilee, “in the power of the Spirit” and the news about Him spread throughout the region (v. 14). He had fought satan and won. Remember, if you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as Christ did in the midst of temptation, you’ll come through in His power, seasoned and effective for life and ministry.
It was with that power that the Lord began His public ministry in the synagogue of Nazareth—the town where He had been raised. On the Sabbath, as was the custom, people would stand and read from a scroll that was handed to them. That day, the Lord Jesus was given the writings of Isaiah. Unrolling it, He located the place where it was written: (Isa. 61:1-2)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:19).
Before Christ began His ministry three important things happened. First He was baptized; second, He was anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit; and third, He was led by the Holy Spirit. 7
Notice carefully what the Lord Jesus did after the Holy Spirit came upon Him:
1. He preached the Gospel.
2. He healed the brokenhearted.
3. He preached deliverance to the captives.
4. He brought sight to those in darkness.
5. He brought freedom to those who are bruised— in need of emotional healing.
6. He proclaimed that the era of salvation was here.
The point is so clear, isn’t it? If the Savior did all these things after the Holy Spirit empowered Him, how much more we!
When the Master finished reading in the synagogue, He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant. Then, while everyone was looking at Him, the Lord said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21).
Jesus Christ as God did not need the anointing— He was, and is, the Source of it. But Christ the Man was fully dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power. Without it He would have been helpless and ineffective in fulfilling His calling.
It was only after the Lord’s anointing by the Holy Spirit, His encounter with satan, and His proclamation in the synagogue that the miracles began to take place. The Lord Jesus went to Capernaum and cast a demon out of a man (Luke 4:35), healed Simon’s mother-in-law who had a high fever (v. 39), and “when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them” (v. 40).
Let the Miracles Begin
Jesus Christ ministered with the power of the Holy Spirit in every miracle that happened in His ministry— from turning water into wine to the cleansing of the ten lepers. Remember, there were no miracles before the Holy Spirit descended on Him at the river Jordan.
As the Lord Jesus began His public ministry, great crowds followed Him, but “He warned them not to make Him known” (Matt. 12:16), so that Isaiah’s prophecy might be fulfilled:
Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, my Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break, and
smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory (vv. 18-20, which quote from Isaiah 42:1-3).
The Lord Jesus, filled with God’s Spirit, had a specific mission to accomplish. In this first coming He was not to be a conquering king, but rather a gentle lamb.
To multiply the ministry and train His followers, the Lord Jesus sent out seventy of His disciples to heal the sick and preach the Kingdom of God. When they returned and reported that even the demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus, the Savior “rejoiced in the Spirit” (Luke 10:21). The Lord revealed the source and the meaning of this extraordinary power when He said, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). Yet
the Lord Jesus was also careful to put these events into perspective for His followers when He declared, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).
I will always be grateful to Dr. Oral Roberts for laying the foundation for the healing ministry in this generation. The great lesson I have learned from him is that God’s Spirit is an active Spirit and His power is released through faith.
While it is true that God is sovereign and can do what He wishes, it is also true that God delights when we show our love by trusting Him enough to do what He says. And I don’t mean by this simply mental agreement with God—I mean a faith that manifests itself in action. That’s real faith, and God’s loving response to this is to put His mighty resurrection power at our disposal (Eph. 1:19-23; Heb. 10:32-35).
Often in our crusades I’ll tell people to touch the part of their body that they want God to heal. I’ll encourage them to begin moving their afflicted arms or bending their hurting legs. These actions do nothing in themselves, but they do demonstrate the person has faith in God’s healing power. And in the Scriptures you see again and again that when the Lord Jesus healed the sick He asked them to do something before the miracle took place.
• To the man with the withered hand, He said, “Stretch out your hand” (Matt. 12:13).
• To the paralyzed man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, He said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:8).
• To the ten lepers, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests” (Luke 17:14).
The apostle Peter paid eloquent tribute to this when he told everyone who would listen “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts
Living a life without sin seems so attractive—and so unattainable. Is it really possible to live a life without sin? The Lord Jesus did, but we cannot, for our bodies of “weakness” have yet to be raised in “power” (1 Cor. 15:43). But the promise is that one day our corruption will put on incorruption, and sin will be finally and fully defeated in our lives. In the meantime, as John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [But] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8, 9). But I must say that the power to live victoriously is available to us moment by moment because of what the Lord Jesus did on Calvary’s cross for you and me.
The writer of Hebrews says that “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). This is the reason why you and I must go to Him continually in our moments of weakness. We will find Him always able to deliver from the “guttermost” to the uttermost. As Hebrews also declares, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who
10:38).
Life with Victory
come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
The same Holy Spirit that enabled the Lord Jesus to resist the temptations of satan is ready to give us protection. The Word declares “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18).
What should we do if we stumble? Scripture declares: “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Now the word for “confess” in the Greek is homologeo, and it means “to say the same thing, to agree, to concede, to admit, to confess.” 8 Quit justifying, qualifying, and explaining—agree with God that your sin is just that, sin. And if you really do agree with God about that behavior, you won’t come back to it. You will have turned your back on that sin, changed your mind, and repented. Then you will be free to enjoy the unfettered fellowship of the Holy Spirit in your life again.
The Day the It would have been impossible for Christ C * V T Ct- to en< ^ ure cross without the presence of pin e ^ Holy Spirit. At Gethsemane, in anticipation of those terrible events to follow, the Lord Jesus cried, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Mark 14:34). The agony was so great that “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
Through two full days of betrayals, beatings, scourgings, trials, abandonment by both apostles and the crowds who had followed Him, and all of the other physical indignities He suffered, the Savior was physi-
cally and emotionally exhausted well before He arrived at Calvary Without the Holy Spirit upon Him the Lord would have died prior to being hung on the cross.
By the time the Lord Jesus arrived at Calvary, His own blood, now dried and hard, covered Him from head to foot, his tongue was stuck to the roof of His mouth, He was bruised and battered, and totally without energy. Yet through the power of God the Lord Jesus still endured the agony of the crucifixion for six hours, taking the sin of the world upon Himself. During this season of severe suffering, the Lord cried out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34).
Since God cannot look upon sin, the Father must have closed His eyes. In this time of great suffering, the Lord Jesus became sin for us. He “cried out with a loud voice,” surrendering His spirit, “and breathed His last” (Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46).
On that night of sorrow, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in a borrowed grave. The “King of the Jews” whom the people scorned and ridiculed was removed from the face of the earth. So they thought.
Three days later, the Holy Spirit was at work again. He entered into that tomb and life began to flow through the body of the Lord Jesus. He was miraculously raised from the dead. Paul says, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11, emphasis added).
It was the same Holy Spirit who “came upon” Mary
at the conception of the Lord Jesus, who anointed Him, who led Him, and who empowered Him.
Just after the Resurrection, the disciples had locked the doors of the home they were in because they feared reprisals from the Jewish leaders. To their amazement, the Lord Jesus was standing in their midst and they were filled with great joy.
After greeting them He said, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21, 22).
For the First time in His ministry, the Lord Jesus imparted God’s Spirit to others. As Andrew Murray wrote, “Our Lord had to die before He could baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 9
Even this was just a foretaste of what was to come after Christ ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all who would seek Him.
Who gave Him the power to endure the cross? Who raised Him from the dead? It was God’s Spirit. At Bethany “He lifted up His hands and blessed them” and ascended to the Father (Luke 24:50). I can’t prove it, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit who reached down and lifted Him up by His outstretched hands. In my opinion it was the Holy Spirit who took Him back to Glory.
We are talking about the Holy Spirit. The One who holds the world together (Job 34:14, 15). He’s not a weak Holy Spirit. He is the mighty Holy Spirit.
When He arose from the dead, the Lord did something that He is still doing today; He spoke by the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that it was “through the Holy Spirit”
The Voice We Hear
that the Lord Jesus “had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen” (Acts 1:2).
The Holy Spirit is the voice of God we hear. He is the manifestation of God to our heart.
When the Lord Jesus entered God’s throne room I believe He said, “Father, the work is accomplished. And now it is time to send the Holy Spirit to earth. You allowed Him to come with me. But Father, I promised my Church that the Holy Spirit would come and be with them.”
The Lord Jesus told the disciples He would send “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).
The Lord Jesus said “another Comforter,” one like Him, would soon come and abide with us forever. He did not say, “You will see Him and then get to know Him.” The Master was saying, “You already know Him. You’re looking at Him. He’s My Spirit. The same one you’ve walked with. We are One in the wonder of the Trinity.”
The disciples knew the Lord, but now there was something new coming—a revelation of Christ’s Spirit. Would the world recognize the promised Comforter? No. Because they didn’t know the Lord Jesus.
Today, when the Holy Spirit walks into a life, He draws that heart and life to Jesus Christ, for He always points to Jesus. When the Holy Spirit speaks, the Lord Jesus speaks. He is the Spirit of Christ, and though they are different persons of the Trinity, you cannot divide or separate them.
Today, Christ sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, making intercession for you and me. He is still both Son of God and Son of Man.
My friend, without the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus would have never entered the world. He would have never taken our sins to the cross and would have never risen from the grave.
If the Lord Jesus was so dependent on the Holy Spirit while He was on earth, can we be any less dependent?
Billy Graham says, “If we are to live a life of sanity in our modern world, if we wish to be men and women who can live victoriously, we need this two-sided gift God has offered us: first, the work of the Son of God for us; second, the work of the Spirit of God in us.” 10
The same Holy Spirit who descended upon the Lord Jesus is available to empower your life today. Simply surrender to Him, give Him full sway to empower you today.
CHAPTER
8