THE HOLY SPIRIT'S RELATION TO JESUS CHRIST
In Part1 of the Holy Spirit the Personality of the Holy Spirit was discussed; then His Deity. In the second Part the types of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's relation to the Old Testament period were examined. On this web page consider the relation of the Holy Spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ. First, a discussion in a broad way the Spirit's work in the gospels will be made. Then, His work in the virgin birth will be considered. Considerable space will be devoted to the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ. Finally, His work in the death, resurrection, and glorification of Christ will be examined.
THE WORK OF HOLY SPIRIT IN THE GOSPELS
In discussing the Holy Spirit's work in the gospels, there are some matters to be considered; then the work itself can be examined.
1. General considerations. First of all, one must keep in mind
that Jesus Christ lived under the Mosaic Law. Thus, He lived in the
dispensation of law, not in the dispensation of grace. Galatians
4:4 clearly states the Jesus Christ was "made under the Law."
Secondly, He came to fulfill the Law's demands, and thus
to redeem us from the Law. He did not fulfill, therefore, the kingdom
promises nor the Davidic promises. He did provide, however, salvation
to the entire world, both Jew and Gentile. It is important to keep
in mind that though Jesus lived in the dispensation of law, He prophesied
about the dispensations of grace and kingdom. Unless one keeps these
three dispensations in mind, it is impossible to interpret accurately or
understand rightly the gospel narratives.
Thirdly, the incarnation has great importance. It is,
however, not the end of the Law which continued to the death of Christ on
the Cross. The importance of it was that it enabled God to be formed
in a human body, that is, to live within the limitations of a human being.
The second importance of the incarnation was, of course, for Christ
to die on the cross and shed His blood for the remission of sin.
2. The work in the gospels itself. In discussing this work there
are two aspects to consider.
a. The nature of this work. The work of the Holy
Spirit in the gospels followed the Old Testament pattern. Thus, this
work was limited to the filling of a person for a special purpose. Four people,
besides Christ, are specially mentioned in regard to this filling. Each
of these are recorded by Luke: John the Baptist in Luke 1:15; Elizabeth
in Luke 1:41; Zacharias in Luke 1:67; and Simeon in Luke 2:25. These
four people will not be discussing as such. This is not to say
that others were not filled by the Spirit. Mary is not specifically
mentioned as being filled with the Spirit. She was overshadowed by
the Holy Spirit to produce the Christ child. Nowhere is she attributed
with any special grace or holiness. The angel Gabriel said to
Mary, "Blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28; bold type
is mine.) This did not place her above all women, but she was
blessed to be the mother of Jesus. She found favor with God (Luke 1:30),
but she recognized her need of a Savior (Luke 1:47).
b. The Messianic aspect of this work. It
should be noted that the work of the Holy Spirit, to a great degree, is Messianic
in every dispensation. In the Old Testament it was the prophetic aspect
that was prominent. The Spirit was spoken of as resting on Christ--Isaiah
11:2, 3. In Isaiah 42:1-4 is specific as being fulfilled in the work
of Jesus Christ as seen in Luke 4:17-21. Several passages show that the Holy
Spirit is intimately connected with the purposes of the Messiah. These include
Isaiah 32:15ff.; Isaiah 44:3-5; Ezekiel 36:26ff.; and Zechariah 12:10.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE VIRGIN BIRTH
As one approaches this important subject of the Holy Spirit's work, a person needs to take off our shoes so to speak, for here one is treading on holy ground. Some general matters will be given, but the greater amount of space will bespent on the aspects of this unusual birth.
1. General considerations. When a person speaks of the
virgin birth, it is actually the conception that is in view. Two main
factors are here in view.
First, keep in mind that the virgin birth (that is, the
conception) was supernatural. Again, trying to understand this birth (conception)
may well be incomprehensible. While other miracles may seem to be--or
not to be--in harmony with natural law, this miracle seems completely outside
the natural realm.
Second, the virgin birth of Christ is simply a matter
of faith. This doctrine has been most vigorously and viciously attacked,
simply because it is so central to our Christian faith. Yet, it has
been equally defended by the best of scholarship and unanswerable arguments.
As Walvoord so aptly stated, "If one comes to the Scriptures in simple
faith, building upon the foundation of their inspiration and infallibility,
the problem is to fathom and state in accurate terms what
actually occurred." (Op. cit., 83) The attackers (always
unbelievers--whether secular or religious) ultimately do not want "this man
to rule" over them. If our faith was so terrible, one could understand
their attacking. But the Christian faith has produced more good
works than any of them. If our faith was a complete fabrication, what
difference would it make to these people what a person believe? They could
just ignore it; but the crux of the matter is that truth will win in the
end, and deep in their innermost beings (whether they would admit it or
not) they know it is true. This is not a study of the virgin birth.
That was covered in some detail on the web page,
Christ Incarnate--His Life. It is impossible
in this short study to answer every objection and question about this miracle.
To reiterate, though the virgin birth is being considered, it is actually
the conception that is miraculous.
2. The Holy Spirit's work itself. When discussing such a subject,
it is difficult how to proceed in its presentation. The topic is covered
under four aspects.
a. He was the Agent of conception. The testimony
of Scripture is clear on this fact. Matthew 1:18-21 states: "Now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise; When as His mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together [married, but not
physically joined], she was found with child of the Holy Ghost . .
. . But while he [Joseph] thought on these things, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins.'"
(Bold type is mine.) Luke 1:35 is very explicit: "And the
angel answered and said unto her [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.'" The very language of both passages clearly show that the Holy Spirit
caused the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary.
b. The entire Trinity was involved in this birth. As
has been stated repeatedly in the past, all three Persons of the Trinity
are active in practically all aspects of our most holy faith. Hebrews
10:5, in quoting from Psalm 40:6, shows that God the Father was active in
the conception, even stating that "a body didst Thou prepare
for Me." (Bold type is this writer's.) Hebrews 2:14 indicates that
Christ Himself took on flesh and blood as the act of His own will. This
is an inscrutable mystery, but it appears that Christ was begotten by the
Holy Spirit, joining the eternal life of Christ to humanity, and that this
joining was that of the Second Person of the Trinity. Please note that
Jesus Christ did NOT become the Second Person as the result of
this joining; He always was and is the Second Person of the Trinity. The
first Person, God the Father, Who always was the Father of Jesus Christ,
now became the Father of the humanity of Christ (obviously through the agency
of the Holy Spirit). Please realize that language is being strained
here to explain that which is largely incapable of explanation.
c. Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. Mary
is set forth solely the mother of the humanity of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in
Scripture is it said or even suggest that Mary is the Mother of God. No argument
can make her so. One writer so well states, "The Scriptures considered
are unequivocal in tracing the origin of the humanity to normal birth
to Mary, the wife of Joseph. While the conception was supernatural,
the birth of Christ seems to follow the natural pattern." (Walvoord,
Ibid., 84) Old Testament prophecies spell out that the Messiah
would be born of a virgin woman as seen in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14.
It is a useless argument that the Hebrews word in Isaiah 7:14 can be
translated "young woman." The LXX uses a Greek word that can only
be rendered "virgin" which term means as Mary expressed it, "How shall
this be, seeing I know not [referring to sexual activity] a man?" (Luke 1:34)
The passages to be cited clearly show that Mary fulfilled the prophecies:
Matthew 1:18, 20-23; 2:11, 13, 20, 21; 12:48; 13:55; Mark 3:31; 6:3;
Luke 1:35, 43; 2:5-7, 16, 34, 48, 51; 8:19, 20; 19:25-27; Acts 1:14; and
Galatians 4:4. No serious attempts, not even by modern liberals, have
been made to deny the motherhood of Mary because evidence is so abundant.
d. The nature of Christ's conception is considered.
First of all, it must be said that the humanity of Christ is the product
of generation. The other possibility, the product of creation, has
more problems than by generation. The language of the Scripture portrays
generation: Conceived--Matthew 1:20; brought forth--Luke 2:7; and
made of a woman--Galatians 4:4. Some have suggested that the conception
was both a generation and a creation. It was a generation in that He
was born of a woman; it was a creation in that He became the Second Adam.
Such an argument, though using both ideas, is totally unnecessary.
Secondly, the humanity of Christ
is sinless. This idea was covered somewhat on the web page
God The Son. It is being discussed here briefly.
The other alternative to His being sinless is that He was merely
sanctified. The Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was sinless.
The question was raised as to how could Mary be the mother of a holy
and sinless person? The Catholics say that Mary herself was sinless
through something called the immaculate conception. The Scriptures
nowhere declare her to be sinless. On the contrary, Mary herself declared
her need of the Savior (Luke 1:47). This notion also removes it from Christ
to Mary who had parents who were both sinners. The real answer is found
in Romans 5:12--"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
This verse plainly says that by one man sin entered the world.
Though the Greek word can mean mankind or humanity, it is clear that
this verse is referring to one man, namely, Adam. Therefore, it should
be understood from this verse that the seed of sin is passed down via the
man, and not the woman. Thus, Jesus Christ was sinless because He did
not have a human father, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God.
Furthermore, the angel said to Mary "that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Bold type is mine.)
Though all sin was imputed to Christ on the cross (a truth clearly
taught in Scripture), there is no suggestion in God's Word that it was imputed
to Him at His birth. The opposite, rather, is clearly seen in Scripture.
Thirdly, the humanity of Christ is real.
Church history shows that several heresies tried to make the humanity
of Christ something other than a normal human being. Christian Science
today partakes of this heresy. Jesus Christ had all the essential
elements of humanity. He had a true body made of flesh and blood;
He had normal human functions such as hunger, weariness, and death. He
had a human soul and spirit. He was subject to all human limitations.
(Until His resurrection, He could not walk through closed doors, for
example.) At the same time Jesus Christ was very God; this involves
what is called the "Hypostatic union" (discussed on the
God the Son web page) which explains the uniting
of the humanity of Christ and His Deity.
Finally, the humanity of Christ
includes His being the seed of David. Mary was of the seed of David
as seen by Luke's genealogy. He was, therefore, of the line of David
as to His humanity. This was necessary in order to fulfill the Davidic promises.
This was also necessary to fulfill God's purpose about earth as well
as the prophecies related to the millennial kingdom.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Often the work of the Holy Spirit in the life our Lord, Jesus Christ is ignore. Here the concern is His life up to His death. There are four aspects will be discussed.
1. The childhood and early manhood of Christ. There are three
matters to be examined in regard to His childhood and early manhood.
a. Jesus Christ was filled with the Holy Spirit from
conception. Little is known about Jesus from His birth to His public
ministry. The Old Testament explicitly states that Christ was to have
the fulness of the Spirit, all in Isaiah. These are Isaiah 11:2, 3;
42:1-4; and 61:1, 2 (quoted by Jesus in Nazareth--Luke4:16-21). There
is no explicit New Testament passage hat so states this fact. There
are three reasons for this idea. John the Baptist was said to
be filled with the Holy Spirit from His mother's womb (Luke 1:15). If
this benefit or blessing was bestowed on the forerunner of Christ,
can it be less so of the Christ Himself? John 3:34 states, "For
He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto Him." The context makes it clear that Jesus Christ is meant.
Finally, there is no reason as to why the Holy Spirit would not fill
Him completely.
b. Jesus Christ has all spiritual gifts. The
fact that Jesus has all spiritual gifts would follow from the fact that He
was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure. This is not true of
spirit-filled believers. Spiritual gifts are bestowed by the Holy Spirit
as He wills. Spirit-filled believers have their human faculties under
the Holy Spirit's control. Jesus' human nature, however, was perfect
and thus could and did have all spiritual gifts. One must be careful
to distinguish between the perfections of Jesus' human nature and His divine
attributes. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Christ's
human nature that is here in view. It involves His teaching, ministering,
administering, ruling, evangelizing, sheparding, exhorting, and giving.
The temporal gifts were His, also: prophesying, performing miracles,
healing, discerning of spirits. Interestingly in the light of the
charismatic movement of our day, there is NO record that Jesus ever
spoke in an unknown tongue (language, that is). These gifts were
not His as the result of His divine nature. Neither did He acquire them
in time, although they were manifested in time. He fully possessed
all these spiritual gifts from conception.
c. Jesus Christ's human nature was subject to
development. His development can be seen in Luke 2:40, 52--"And
the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace
of God was upon Him. . . . . And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and man." On the other hand, in Hebrews
13:8 we read, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
These two passages do not contradict each other. First, the verses
in the Luke passage refer to Him as a child and a very young man before
His death and resurrection. As Luke said, He was subject to physical growth,
"in stature." His physical development progressed as any human from
babyhood to manhood. Because of His sinlessness, His development may have
been more rapid (admittedly speculative) and certainly manifested perfection.
Sad, indeed, are the pictures depicting Jesus as a physical weakling;
He was a man's man, fully muscular, due in part of the work of a carpenter.
As one writer put it, "The account in the temple, of Christ at the
age of twelve, while chiefly in reference to His mental powers, indicated
that He was [humanly speaking] developed beyond His years in every way."
(Ibid., 94) The Hebrew passage refers to the eternality of Christ.
Thus, it refers to the divine attributes that are eternal.
Nevertheless, the quality of His humanity is added to it. This is realized
because this verse is post-cross and post-resurrection. Again, the
tension here is between the divine and human aspects of Jesus Christ. The
fact remains that Jesus Christ is the God-man; and this verse refers, therefore,
to the God-man and thus to both natures.
The New Testament makes it abundantly
clear that Jesus Christ was subject to human limitations. Christ Himself
stated these limitations of wisdom in His human nature: Matthew 24:36;
Mark 13:32; John 14:10. The book of Hebrews in which the passage of
His eternality is given clearly describes His humanity. He reached
a perfection, or maturity, through His experience--2:10; experienced trial
and temptation--2:18; was tempted in all points as we are--4:15; and learned
obedience by suffering--5:8. As indicated earlier He experienced the
normal limitations of humanity such as weariness, hunger, sleeping, death.
"All of these elements applied only to the human nature and through
the human nature became the properties of the person of Christ." (Walvoord,
Op. cit., 94)
2. The baptism of Jesus Christ. The baptism of Jesus Christ
has caused considerable discussion. This event was discussed in quite some
detail on the web page Christ Incarnate--Life.
The concern here is with that baptism in relation to the Holy Spirit.
Most scholars, if not all, agree that it was the beginning of His public
ministry. All the gospels agree that He was baptized of John and that
the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.
This was not, of course, the beginning of the Holy
Spirit's work in Him. This has already been established in the examination
of Jesus' childhood and early manhood. The significance of the dove
lightening upon Jesus is that the Holy Spirit was now beginning His work
in Christ for Jesus' earthly ministry.
There is here a new phrase of the Holy Spirit's ministry.
Though sometimes the filling of the Spirit is accompanied with an outward
manifestation, it is not always the case. It must be kept in mind that
Jesus was filled with the Spirit from conception; therefore, His baptism
and the subsequent descent of the dove in no way changed His relationship
with the Spirit. It does mark the beginning of His ministry, namely,
His Messiahship. The outward, visible sign of the dove shows that the
Spirit's ministry in Jesus was to be visible and outward.
The purpose of this baptism may be considered first
negatively. It was not a washing away of sin. This idea is foreign
to the teaching of Scripture. Even if it were so--which it isn't, Jesus
was sinless and did not need it. It was not an act of sign of repentance.
John stated that his baptism was of this kind (Matthew 3:11). Again,
Jesus was sinless and had no need to repent or give a sign of
repentance. Secondly, we may look at this baptism positively.
Jesus was under the Law. He came to fulfill the Law. "And Jesus
answering said unto him [John the Baptist], 'Suffer it to be so now; for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.'" (Matthew 3:15) It
was also the redeclaration of the unity of the Trinity. God the Father
spoke from heaven--"This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." (Matthew
3:17) The Holy Spirit showed His presence and participation in the
descent of the dove. The Son was present in Jesus Christ ascending
up out of the water. There is here, therefore, a clear presentation
of the triune God. The threefoldness has already been stated. The unity
can be seen by the Father's declaration of the Son, Jesus Christ; and the
Holy Spirit resting upon Him in the form of a dove. This is the first
time that the Trinity is manifested. It was foreshadowed in numerous
ways in the Old Testament. It is clearly taught there, but here the Trinity
is clearly shown. As one wrote, "While Three Persons are revealed,
it is clear that there is One God." (Ibid., 95)
3. The prophetic work of Jesus Christ. Jesus certainly during His earthly ministry was a prophet in both senses of the word (Forthtelling as well as foretelling). Both His miracles and His unusual teaching attested to His prophetic office. He was subject to and dependent upon the Holy Spirit in His prophetic ministry even as Old Testament prophets were. The normal source of the prophetic gift is the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament abundantly testifies to this as we have already shown. The New Testament is equally clear in this matter as evidenced by 1 Corinthians 12. Christ Himself taught that the Holy Spirit was the source of this gift as shown in Matthew 10:19; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12; John 16:13, 14. The Holy Spirit also anointed Christ to preach. Matthew 12:18-21 clearly shows that Jesus claimed to fulfill Isaiah 42:1-4 in having the Spirit upon Him for the prophetic work. Equally clear is Luke 4:21 where Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1, 2 and then He states, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." While the divine attributes resided in Jesus Christ, He limited Himself (cf. Philippians 2:6, 7; discussed at God the Son web page) and was subject to the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit anointed Him to preach and sustained Him in the prophetic office.
4. The miracles of Jesus Christ. That Christ performed
miracles is evident from the Biblical record. The relation of the Holy
Spirit to these miracles is here in view. There is little detail given
concerning this relationship.
There are five clear references to this matter.
Matthew 12:28 states, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit
of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." The
"if" here is not one of uncertainty but is in contrast to
verse 27. Mark 3:22-30 is the parallel passage. Also, you should see
Luke 11:14-23. The other passage is Luke 4:14-21. Jesus had read
Isaiah 62:1, 2 and then stated that this Old Testament passage was being
fulfilled in Him. The passage begins with "And Jesus returned in the
power of the Spirit into Galilee." One writer well states:
"While the major burden of the passage is to sustain the prophetic
ministry of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, the healing of the
blind and the deliverance of the bruised probably have reference to the miracles
which attended the prophetic ministry of Christ." (Ibid., 97)
The question remains as to whether Jesus did any miracles
in his own power. This question is wrapped up in the matter of His making
Himself of "no reputation" as set forth in Philippians 2:6, 7. Space
will not be taken to discuss this matter in full; suffice to say that
Christ in no way denied or forfeited His divines attributes. It is
a case of the setting aside the glory of His deity, limiting Himself to human
limitations, and depending solely upon the power of the Holy Spirit. It
would be like a king (which Jesus is) setting aside his royal garments, dressing
in rags, and going out among his people to experience their lives. One
many cite the case of the woman with the issue of blood
who was healed when she touched His garment; it is stated that "virtue" went
out from Him as if the power had come from Him. (Cf. Mark 5:30; Luke
8:46) Luke 5:17 seems to attribute the power as coming directly from
Jesus Himself (Cf. also Luke 6:19). In general, though Christ could
perform miracles in His own power, He primarily did it in the power of the
Holy Spirit; again the mystery of the Trinity is involved.
5. The sufferings of Christ during His life. His work in the sufferings in Christ's life is briefly consider. It is known that the Holy Spirit has a ministry to believers in their sufferings. It would be logical, therefore, to think that the Holy Spirit also had a ministry to Jesus Christ; and so the Scripture teaches. Isaiah 53:3 tells us that Christ was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." One of these times was the temptation of Christ. He was driven of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted--Mark 1:12; He was ministered there by angels--Matthew 4:11; and He "returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee."--Luke 4:14. This suggest at least, though not directly stated, that the Holy Spirit ministered to Him in time and thus during His temptation. There are no direct statements to this fact of the Holy Spirit working in and through the sufferings of Jesus Christ in His life. It can be inferred. The unity of the Trinity would strongly suggest that the Holy Spirit ministered to Him since Jesus denied the use of His attributes for a time. Since the Holy Spirit is always ready to comfort and strengthen the saints, it hardly would be less so for Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus was controlled by the Holy Spirit serving as the perfect example to us. drgjc
THE WORK OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT IN DEATH,
RESURRCTION
AND GLORIFICATION OF JESUS CHRIST
In discussing this final phase of the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ, it is obvious that it falls into three aspects.
1. The death of Jesus Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit in the sufferings of Christ in His death is mostly inferred. Since He did minister to Jesus in His life, it follows that He would do so in His death. Hebrews 9:14 declares: "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?" The only problem is whether the word Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit or to Christ's spirit. Though considered previously, it is mention here briefly. The word spirit in the Greek can refer to either the human spirit or the divine Spirit. One writer, however, well states, "The expression: 'eternal Spirit' can only mean the Holy Spirit according to the usual acceptation of the term--not the divine nature of Christ." (George Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, p. 132; cited by Walvoord, Op.cit., 100) Again, notice that the Trinity is here presented: Jesus Christ offered Himself; He offered Himself to God the Father; and He offered Himself to God through the eternal Spirit.
2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Before discussing the work
of the Holy Spirit in connection with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we
wish to consider briefly the relation of the Trinity to the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. The Trinity has been and is active in all aspects
of this world. The Scriptures relates the resurrection of Jesus Christ
to God without any distinction of the Persons: "Whom God hath raised up--Acts
2:24; "Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead"--Ephesians
1:20 (Notice that the context shows that the word He refers
to God-- without distinction of Person). Jesus Himself indicated His involvement
with His own resurrection "Therefore doth the Father love Me, because I lay
down My life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from
Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I
have power to take it again." (John 10:17, 18) "I am
the resurrection and the Life."--John 11:25. As we shall now see
the Holy Spirit is also involved in the resurrection of Christ.
The relation of the Holy Spirit to the resurrection
of Jesus Christ is presented in at least three passages. Romans
1:4 states: "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." We
discussed this verse briefly on the web page Holy
Spirit, Part 1. Calvin was right in referring this phrase to the
Holy Spirit; whereas Hodge and other good Bible men err in referring it to
the holy nature of Jesus Christ. Though there are good men on both
sides of the issue, it is clear to this person that the Holy Spirit is here
in view.
Romans 8:11 states: "But if the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus
from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by the Spirit
that dwelleth in you." The last part of the verse indicates that it
is the Holy Spirit, for it is He that indwells us. It also shows that
the Spirit will raise us up. The first part of the verse shows that
this same Spirit raised up Jesus from the dead. Some say that the work
of the Spirit is not clear, because it says "the Spirit of Him" where the
"Him" clearly refers to God the Father. We think that this is an attempt
to lessen the nature and work of the Trinity, which to this person is clearly
set forth in this verse.
1 Peter 3:18 states: "For 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 [made
alive] by the Spirit [Capital S in the KJV]." The modern translations,
which depend on the Westcott-Hort Greek text, render the last part of the
verse as "made alive in the spirit [small s]." The reason given by
the revisionists is that it parallels the form of "in the flesh." There
is no real reason why a parallel form must be used by Peter; and even
if he did, it does not detract one iota from making it the Holy Spirit.
The revised versions casts real doubt upon the bodily resurrection
of Jesus Christ and downgrades the work of the Holy Spirit; in fact, it is
so used by some liberal teachers. As one writer well says, "The expression
'by the Spirit' enhances and makes more pointed the fact of bodily resurrection.
(Walvoord, Op. cit., 102-3).
An attempt has been made to show in this
section that the Holy Spirit was active in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In all of this, it must be reiterated, a statement made several times, the
mystery of the Trinity is being dealt with here.
3. The glorification of Jesus Christ. Rarely is the work of the Holy Spirit in the glorification of Jesus Christ touched upon. It involves His ascension, His exaltation at the right hand of the Father and even to some extent His second coming. There are no definite Scriptural references on this work; it is by inference only. What are these inferences? The nature of the Trinity itself-- previously mentioned--infers it. The intimate connection of the Holy Spirit in the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the death of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ infers it, also. From the nature of the work of the Holy Spirit in us who believe, we could likewise infer His work in the present and future ministries of Christ.
On This web page the relation of the Holy Spirit to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has attempted to be set forth. Again, the surface of this relationshiphas hardly been scratched. Now the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation on the next web page will be covered.