I saw the book (a hardback) while browsing in a local bookstore. Yes indeed, Books-a-Million has come to Dalton, Georgia!
It focused on the Holy Spirit and Jesus.
But we have been so busy, Revival after Revival, studying for each new Series of Sermons … that I have not read the first word in that little volume, not yet anyway.
But still, during the night, my heart was stirred with the very thought of Jesus and the Spirit being in symbiotic Relationship. (As is the Godhead, the Trinity, of course!)
I thought of 1 Timothy 3:16 where, among other things, we are told that Jesus lived His Whole Life … “justified in the Spirit!” Meaning that the Holy Spirit watched and approved all that Jesus did, disallowing absolutely nothing!
Wow!
I thought of Luke 4:14, when Jesus returned from His 40 Day Temptation in the barren wilderness. A return characterized by the Evangelist as being “in the power of the Spirit.” Just as well read it, in the Dynamite (Greek “dunamis”) Power of the Holy Spirit!
Wow again!
Then I remembered that Jesus’ Very (Virgin) Birth was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35, Gabriel to Mary … “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.”
And that Jesus on the Cross … “through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God!” Hebrews 9:14, the Holy Spirt and Jesus, again!
From our Saviour’s miraculous Birth to His vicarious Death … the Holy Spirit and Jesus!
Even Jesus’ Resurrection was inaugurated by the Spirit! According to Romans 8:11, where the Apostle Paul speaks of … “the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead.”
Wow!
But the Verse that “caps” our whole discussion today is John 3:34. Where we are taught that God the Father bestowed upon Jesus the Holy Spirit “not by measure!” In the King James Version: “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” The unlimited resources of the Holy Spirit!
No wonder then, when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, Mark 1:10-11 reminds us: “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Here note … the Trinity! Jesus (God the Son) is baptized. A Voice (God the Father) speaks from Heaven, authenticating (again) Jesus His Son. And a Dove (God the Holy Spirit) descends upon our Lord.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit … and I am quite sure we have only begun to investigate this Union!
All that to say this … today’s Lesson … we too are commanded (expected) to be “filled” with the Holy Spirit of God! See Ephesians 5:18 for a good proof Text.
Not “filled” to the Capacity of Jesus, of course, Who was (and remains) sinless. But to the utmost of our individual capacities!
Paul went so far as to say we should “walk” in the Spirit, every day of our lives! Galatians 5:25 … “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Amen!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
By the way, since this Lesson is being written July 4, 2019 … “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
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