The Power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. —Luke 4:14

This is a very interesting verse because it shows us that it was the Spirit that enabled Jesus to do all that He did. Similarly Luke 5:17 says, “One day as he was teaching, the Pharisees and teachers of the law … were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal them.” It was the power of the Holy Spirit that enabled Him. This is a hint to all of us.

Our difficulty is that we want to hold on to our own gift. I have observed time and again some very talented people not being used because they wanted the praise of men. I have noticed ministers who had a marvelous gift but who were so afraid that it would not be recognized that their pride destroyed them. It could happen to any of us.

But with Jesus, He actually said, “The Son can do nothing by Himself.” That meant that the Holy Spirit vindicated Jesus. Do you want the Holy Spirit to use you? Then let the Spirit do it.

Jesus received His joy from the Holy Spirit. This is the reason He was able to handle rejection. This is why He could cope with the way people talked about Him. He did not take it personally; He knew it was their problem, because His joy was from the Spirit. Finally, on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came down, Jesus was vindicated again.

This could happen because the essential function of the work of the Spirit is to point men to Christ. Therefore, after Peter said, “God has made this Jesus … both Lord and Christ,” great conviction swept over the crowd and they began to cry, “What shall we do?” Three thousand were converted, and all because of the Spirit’s power.

Excerpted from Meekness and Majesty (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1992, 2000).