Living in the Presence of God: A Study of the Holy Spirit Week 7: The Holy Spirit and Jesus

Living in the Presence of God: A Study of the Holy Spirit

Week 7: The Holy Spirit and Jesus

I. Review and Introduction

a. Two main principles about the Holy Spirit:

i. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God

ii. Mystery – we understand more and more each day, but we will never understand it all

b. Symbols of the Holy Spirit

i. Wind / Breath / Air with energy

ii. Fire

iii. Water

iv. Clouds

v. Oil

c. Wimber: “For anything to be picked up off of the pages of Scripture and lived in a local community within a particular context, you’ll need a theology, a model, and a practice.

i. Our pneumatology comes from Scripture, OT and NT.

ii. Our model is Jesus

iii. Our practice – do what he did.

d. Kingdom of God (Heaven)

i. The Kingdom of God is the community of Jesus followers, supernaturally linked together by the Holy Spirit.

ii. The King in the Kingdom is Jesus.

iii. The power and authority of citizenship in the Kingdom is given by the King, through the Holy Spirit.

iv. The full realization of the Kingdom of God will happen with Jesus’ return and the resurrection.

v. Every time we act with the power and authority that is given to us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, a drop of eternity is experienced.

1. Example: In the New Creation, there will be no sickness. When we pray for healing, we are inviting the New Creation of our future (and God’s present) into our present.

vi. The Kingdom of God is the subject of all of Jesus’ teachings in one form or another.

1. For example, the Sermon on the Mount is entirely about what the Kingdom of God should look like.

II. The Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus

a. Matthew 1:18-25

i. Before they came together.

1. Joseph was contractually engaged to Mary – at least part, if not the whole, bride price had been paid to her father.

2. Engagement was for a year before consummation of the marriage took place.

3. Mary would have been between the ages of 12 and 14.

4. In Galilee, the couple would have spent no time alone together during the engagement (not so much Judea).

ii. This story is seen through Joseph’s point of view.

1. Brief mentioning of the Holy Spirit being the cause of Mary’s pregnancy.

iii. Joseph’s dream – a Holy Spirit activity – introduces an angel who tells Joseph that Mary is pregnant iv. Vs. 25 – He did not have relations with her until after she gave birth, so that no one could claim that Jesus was Joseph’s son.

v. Matthew offer’s commentary from Isaiah 7:14 that the Messianic age is now here.

1. Immanuel – God with us – God’s presence – now embodied in Jesus.

b. Luke 1:26-38

i. This story (and the one about John’s birth) is from Mary’s point of view.

ii. The angel visiting Mary is given a name – Gabriel.

1. gabar – strength el – The Lord

iii. Vs. 35

1. The Holy Spirit will “come upon” Mary

2. The power of “The highest one of all” – hypsistos

3. Will overshadow – settle, reside, be enthroned – episkiazo or skn

a. Overshadow is a common early Jewish way to describe God’s presence with His people.

b. God himself, the creator, will surround her completely with his sovereign power.

4. Therefore – always pay attention to “therefore” in the Bible.

5. The Holy One born will be the Son of God

a. The Son is always identified with who His Father is – they are inseparable.

b. The title refers to One whose very existence originates directly from God’s Spirit—a meaning that goes beyond the pattern of a specially obedient king.

c. Because Jesus will be generated by the Holy Spirit, he can be rightly called both “holy” and “Son of God.”