My longing for both the theology of the Holy Spirit and the real time moving of the Holy Spirit is intense and growing. Many of us have heard the expressions of belief and even stories of past demonstrations of the presence of the Spirit.
Yet today I deeply desire both the experience and expression of the Holy Spirit.
I have become even more fascinated with the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus.
- Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
- Acts 2:33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
- Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
This teaching series, we have been investigating and journeying through the book of Acts in search of clues to personally living a more effective and productive life through the Spirit. 2 Peter 2:8
Matthew and Luke report the Spirit’s activity upon Joseph and Mary at the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 (Written from the perspective of Joseph)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:26-35 (Written from Mary’s perspective)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God.
Matthew
- Pregnant of the Holy Spirit
- Is from the Holy Spirit
Luke
- The Spirit will come on you
- The power of the Most High will overshadow you
These concepts are reminiscent of Old Testament experiences.
- 2 When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him…Numbers 24:2
- 10 The Spirit of the Lordwas upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. Judges 3:10
- The Spirit of God came[a]upon Azariah the son of Oded..2 Chronicles 15:1
For Isaiah, 32:15, the barrenness of Israel continues… “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.”
Luke reports the angel informs Mary, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
The angel’s wording is Exodus 40 Tabernacle terminology.
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
The angel’s wording is Psalm 91:4 protection by God’s presence terminology.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
The angel’s wording is Psalm 140:7 empowered by God’s presence terminology.
O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
“There in the old testament the verb overshadow symbolized the power and presence of the Almighty with and for His people”[1]
“As the tabernacle was full of, contained, the Shekinah glory, so Mary was to carry within herself the Son of God, the glory of God’s people Israel.”[2]
For us today, let’s consider 2 Peter 1:16-21
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,[i] with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[1] The Power and the Presence: The significance of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus, page 72
[2] The Power and the Presence: The significance of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus, page 72