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In this second study, we will look at the Holy Spirit and Christ, the Son of God.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit foretold the birth of Christ, the Son of God, through Isaiah, when he wrote, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’, Isa. 7. 14. Immanuel means ‘God with us’.
The Holy Spirit was also part of the amazing event that took place, when Mary, who was a virgin, was found to be pregnant. In Luke chapter 1 verse 35 we learn that Mary was told this would happen, because ‘the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’. Note that the three members of the Godhead are mentioned here.
When Jesus Christ was about thirty, He was baptized in the River Jordan by John. Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 and 17 record that ‘when he was baptized … the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’. Notice again that the Godhead was involved and that the Holy Spirit and the Father were making it clear that Jesus was the Son of God.
When Jesus Christ lived here He depended on God for everything. He did many miracles and these were in the power of the Holy Spirit. These miracles demonstrated that Jesus Christ spoke the truth and was the Son of God, Acts 2. 22. That is what ‘justified in (by) the Spirit’ means in 1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 16.
People were expected to see this evidence, repent, and follow Christ. Many did believe but when He sent evil spirits out of people some said He was doing it in the power of the Devil! This was a very serious thing and the Lord warned in Mark chapter 3 verses 22-30 that it was unforgivable to say that the work of the Holy Spirit was of the Devil. After all, if people reject what the Holy Spirit is showing or telling them, what hope is there for them!
In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 14 we read, ‘How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’ Here again we see that the three persons of the Godhead were involved in the sacrifice at Calvary. When Christ went to the cross, He offered Himself to God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Christ in His life did everything in fellowship with God and the Holy Spirit, so it was at His death.
In 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 18 we read that ‘Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit’. The word ‘quickened’ means to ‘make alive’ and it refers to the fact that Christ arose from the dead in resurrection. The Holy Spirit was the power by which Christ was made alive again. By raising Him from the dead, God was showing that He was satisfied that Christ’s suffering at Calvary fully dealt with the problem of our sins. Notice here also that the members of the Godhead are involved.
So, we have seen in this study how the Holy Spirit was closely involved in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ, the Son of God.
