Lynne Little Ministries - Higher Realm
This podcast features a wide-ranging concentration of subjects from Christian apologetics, to mankind's relationship with God and His with us, and exploring our roles within the contemporary church as well as society at large. We facilitate open dialogue with straightforward examinations of foundational Christian beliefs. Special focus will include recovering from, and moving forward through, any type of profound loss from the Christian perspective.
Lynne Little Ministries - Higher Realm
Part Five - The Spirit's Path Through the Gospels
What happens when divine power meets our human limitation? In this fifth episode of our Holy Spirit series, we uncover the remarkable partnership between mankind and the Holy Spirit beginning with the Lord Jesus as documented in the four Gospels.
The journey begins with two miraculous conceptions—Jesus through Mary and John the Baptist through Elizabeth—both orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. We examine the profound moment at Jesus's baptism when "the Spirit descended like a dove," marking the beginning of His miracle-working ministry. This raises a fascinating question: Did Jesus, though divine, deliberately choose to operate through the Spirit's power rather than His inherent divinity? The evidence suggests exactly that.
We explore how Jesus, "full of the Holy Spirit," was led into the wilderness for temptation and returned "in the power of the Spirit" to begin a ministry that would transform humanity forever. Most significantly, Christ attributes His miraculous works directly to the Spirit's anointing, declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Through careful examination of Scripture, we discover that Jesus deliberately modeled Spirit-dependence as the pathway for all believers.
The episode concludes with Jesus's extensive teachings about the Holy Spirit—how He facilitates true worship, guides believers into truth, empowers during persecution, and continues Christ's work after His ascension. This divine partnership between Jesus and the Spirit provides the blueprint for our own spiritual lives.
Ready to experience this transformative relationship with the Holy Spirit? Start by making Jesus Lord of your life today.
You are listening to Higher Realm with Lynne Little. Our program highlights biblical strategies for moving through life's difficulties and finding your path to healing. We tackle issues particular to those who have experienced painful loss in any form. Lynn is the founder and president of Lynne Little Ministries and the author of Missing Lisa: A Parent Grieves and Finding God in Death and Life A Passage Through Grief. Now here's Lynne.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to the fifth episode in our series on the Holy Spirit. In previous episodes, we traced the Holy Spirit's involvement with mankind, beginning at creation and throughout the Old Testament. Today, we'll examine the works of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus and his disciples as depicted in the four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. B efore we begin, I want to take a moment to clarify two important points. The first point is the rationale for tracing the movements of the Spirit throughout the New Testament, and the second point concerns terminology. As to the rationale, in Romans 8.14, we find an important inducement for this study. It reads: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. This verse indicates that following the Spirit's guidance is a criterion for sonship. Indicates that following the Spirit's guidance is a criterion for sonship as compared with simply activities such as attending church, paying lip service or even performing good deeds. And understanding the ways of the Spirit helps individuals receive crucial guidance. So in discussing the New Testament, we're essentially examining the new ways in which the Spirit, through Christ, is working. The second point is to understand the significance of the words testament and covenant. Luke 22, 20. At the Last Supper, jesus spoke these curious words this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you. Similarly, in Matthew 26, 28, he states this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. We'll discuss the strange mention of the blood another time, but I'd like to draw your attention to the word covenant and the terms new covenant, in particular In the latter scripture. The word translated covenant is the Greek word diatheke, which means last will and testament and also a covenant. Last will and testament and also a covenant. But although the Old and New Testaments are often referred to as the Old and New Covenants, the terms are not quite synonymous. A testament is not a covenant. Rather, a testament is a one-sided declaration of terms, like a testator who writes the will and chooses their terms. So God in his testaments has outlined his terms. God has offered his terms for us to accept, agree to and abide by or not. So where does the word covenant figure in?
Speaker 2:A covenant is a compact, a binding agreement between two or more parties for the performance of some type of action. Biblically speaking, it means an agreement between God and his people in which God makes promises, sets the terms and then requires reciprocating conduct from them. There is also often a condition that needs to be fulfilled by the recipients. So the covenant or agreement to God's testament or will is essentially what the New Testament represents, one in which the Spirit of God is essential to the arrangement. When we want to know God's will, for instance, the first thing we should ask ourselves is whether we've read the will. The New Testament is God's will for Christians, and it explicitly spells out the terms of agreement. That said, let's begin.
Speaker 2:The Spirit's appearance in the New Testament story story begins with a conception. Actually, two. Matthew verse 1: 18 through 20, depicts this account. "Now, the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows when his mother, mary, had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel had visited her with these words the Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Concurrent with that experience was the experience of Mary's cousin, elizabeth.
Speaker 2:Luke, chapter 1, tells the story of how Elizabeth, who had been barren, conceived a child with her husband Zechariah. The child in her womb was John the Baptist. In Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy, her cousin Mary, newly pregnant, came for a visit. At their greeting, the Holy Spirit came upon both women and the following dialogue ensued. According to Scripture, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth spoke these words." Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child. You were bare, but why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. At that, mary, also, moved by the Holy Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, burst forth with a beautiful hymn of praise to God, now known as the Magnificat. This extraordinary series of events initiated and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, was merely the beginning of the wondrous displays of strength and power to come.
Speaker 2:In Luke 2: 25-26,. Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Simeon, a prophet living in Jerusalem, moved by the Spirit, came into the temple courts to meet the Messiah. When the parents arrived with Jesus, Simeon took him in his arms, praised God and prophesied over him. Later, in Matthew 3, verse 11, John the Baptist prophesied by the Spirit the emergence of this Greater One. "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Speaker 2:Perhaps the most compelling proof of the importance of the Spirit-involved life was Jesus' example found in Matthew 3.16. It reads: " soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. If the Son of God consented to receive the Holy Spirit in manifestation, shouldn't we all do the same Now? Up to this time, there is no mention in Scripture of Jesus either as a child or an adult operating in any miracles until after this baptism.
Speaker 2:Many argue that it was at this moment of the Spirit alighting on him that power began to manifest in his life, and not before. Now some discount this, believing that Jesus, as God was all-powerful in his earthly walk. And yet Philippians :, 6-8 states this about Jesus: " being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on the cross. I would argue that Jesus, serving as a model for all mankind, at least partially, willingly subsumed his inherent power, choosing to receive power from on high through an impartation of the Holy Spirit, and in doing so he blazed a trail, set an example for all his believers to follow, one in which he we rather willingly surrender our natural abilities to follow the power of God and to allow it to flow through us unimpeded.
Speaker 2:Scripture illustrates how that plays out. After Christ's baptism, we see a partnering, so to speak, with the Holy Spirit. Luke, chapter 4, verse 1, states: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where, for forty days, he was tempted by the devil. Here the Holy Spirit guided Jesus into the wilderness, where Jesus, in the temptation, displayed his embodiment as the living Word and demonstrated the power of that word over Satan. Thus, fully empowered by the Spirit, jesus began his public ministry.
Speaker 2:Luke 4.14 states: " Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about him spread through all the surrounding district. What made the news spread so quickly and so widely? The miraculous demonstrations had begun. Just to reiterate, it seems unlikely that the miraculous was in play in Christ's life before this time, other than in his birth. Otherwise his fame would have been spread abroad far earlier. Signs and wonders such as these would have been difficult to conceal. In point of fact, mark, chapter 6, speaks of the utter amazement of the people in Jesus' hometown, including members of his own family, who were all baffled by the miracles. This was something new, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:But lest there be any misunderstanding, Jesus intentionally names the source of his power in Luke 4.18. "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 recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. And again in John 3, verse 34, he states "For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God for God gives the Spirit without limit. Later, he imparted this power to his disciples in Luke 9, chapter 1. His disciples in Luke 9, chapter 1. Then he called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. The impartation upon these men was not permanent, as evidenced by the fact that it didn't always manifest. The Spirit of the Lord came upon the disciples, but had not yet indwelled them. That came later. Adding to all this evidence of the Spirit's involvement in the Gospels, we have Christ's own words on the subject.
Speaker 2:He spent a great deal of time teaching his followers about the person of the Holy Spirit. First, he taught that the Holy Spirit would be given to those who believe. Luke 11: 13 reads "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And again, john 7.37-39,. On the last and greatest day of the feast, jesus stood and said in a loud voice If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow within him. By this he meant the Spirit whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Speaker 2:Second, the Holy Spirit would facilitate true worship John 4, verses 23 and 24. "Yet the time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Next, the Holy Spirit would teach and guide believers John 14, 26. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I've said to you.
Speaker 2:John 16, 13 says "but when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own. He will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. Fourth, he taught that the Holy Spirit would be with them in persecution, would be with them in persecution Mark 13, 11. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:Fifth, the Holy Spirit would represent Jesus after his crucifixion and ascendance to heaven. John 14, 15-18 mentions this. "If you love me, you will obey what I command and I will ask the Father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him or knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. And finally, jesus referenced the tremendous role the Spirit would play in the Great Commission. Matthew 28, 19,"T john 15, 26 reads the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father. He will testify about me. As always, beloved friendship with the Holy Spirit begins when we take the step to make Jesus the Lord of our lives. Won't you invite Him in today? As always, we welcome your questions and comments. Lynnlittleministries at gmailcom. Thank you for listening. Have a wonderful week.
Lynne Little:Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful week. Thank you so much for listening. Lynn Little Ministries is a 501c3 whose mission is to assist those who have suffered loss and to help them discover hope, peace and restoration. For books, resources or to make a tax-deductible donation go to Lynn little org.