On the Holy Spirit of Jesus

On the Holy Spirit of Jesus. 

The Holy Spirit: “The Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” The eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Yeshua. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus, the most-used name in the New Testament, 923 times to be exact. It means Yahweh who saves, or LORD to the rescue. Yeshua, or Y’shua, is a common form of the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which translates to Joshua. The name Jesus is actually an English version of the Greek version (Yay-soos) of the Hebrew Yeshua. And since Greek was the common international language used when spreading word about Yeshua, Jesus (Yay-soos) is the name most commonly used. Yeshua is the name most commonly used by Hebrew-speaking Christians in Israel and followers of Messianic Judaism. The name Yeshua represents His Hebrew identity, and anyone who called Jesus by His Hebrew name while He was on earth would have called Him Yeshua.

“So Paul and his traveling companions walked to the borders of Mysia and headed north to the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus didn’t permit them to go there.” (Acts 16:7).

The Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The details of this change of direction prompted by the Lord are not given. We don’t know if Paul literally heard the voice of Jesus like on the road to Damascus. We don’t know if the weather turned bad, or someone got dysentery, or there was simply a nudge from the Holy Spirit that was sensed by Paul’s spirit. But it’s interesting that Paul, who stubbornly had a one-track mind when it came to spreading the Gospel, was nonetheless able to sense the Lord’s change of direction at a moment’s notice. Paul was like a well-trained horse, sensitive to the slightest tug on the reins held by the Master horseman, which is the very definition of meekness. Paul was like the prophet Isaiah, who was happy to have his “ears wakened each morning to listen like one being taught.” (Isaiah 40:4). Paul was like David who regularly asked God to “dig out his ears” to remove any obstacles to hearing the Lord’s voice. (Psalm 40:6). Paul was like little boy Samuel who learned to respond to the Lord’s prompting with, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10-11). Paul was the epitome of an active listener, and he developed a spiritual intuition that seems to come to all the faithful saints who have learned after years of prayer and Scripture and obedience to recognize the Lord’s voice when it is spoken.

Southern Gospel Revival: Jamie Wilson – I Can’t Even Walk

“Through your faithful prayers and the generous support of the Spirit of Jesus Messiah, everything He wants me to do in and through me will be done, and I will have my deliverance.” (Philippians 1:19). “Anyone who does not welcome the Spirit of Messiah does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9).

Christ Jesus the Anointed One. There are other ways to put this Philippians verse that are just as true to Scripture… the abundant provision of the Spirit of Yeshua Christ; the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed One. One could say that Jesus (Yeshua) is His name, Messiah (Christ) is His title, and the Anointed One (Messiah) is His description.

“The Spirit (“Ruach”) of Lord (“Adonai”) Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed (“mashach”) me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in darkness; to proclaim the year of the favor of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God.” (Isaiah 61:1-2).

“Ruach” – The word used in the Hebrew Bible for Spirit is “ruach” (roo-akh), which means spirit, breath, and wind. The Bible scholars report that the context of the passage determines which of those meanings would be used, but it seems that the meaning of ruach is still very fluid. This important Hebrew word is used over 400 times in the Hebrew Bible, and suggests movement of air, creative activity, dynamic power, unseen energy that has profound effects, including the giving of life and vitality. Ruach is associated in Scripture with God’s active presence. The first appearance of the Godhead on earth was the ruach of God. “The Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.” (Gen. 1:2). Some translations put it this way… “a divine Wind sweeping over the waters,” or “God’s wind,” or even “God’s spirit-wind.” In the New Testament, the Greek term “Pneuma” means much the same thing and is seen as the equivalent of the Hebrew “ruach.”

“Adonai” = Adonai means literally, “My Lord,” and is technically not a name of God, but a title. Adonai is a title of profound respect and honor which means Owner, Master, Sovereign, Ruler, Lord, a God of absolute authority. When addressing Adonai, we are addressing our superior in every way imaginable, and so the use of this title for God implies absolute submission to Him. The name of God was Yahweh, and the title involving His lordship was Adonai. The title Adonai was reserved in the Hebrew Bible for honoring the Sovereign Lord, the believer’s Lord and Master. Adonai and Yahweh were often used together in the Hebrew Bible, and was usually translated as “Sovereign LORD.” The two were used in tandem to emphasize the personal and eternal God’s unmatched superiority, authority, ownership of the world.

“Mashach” = This Hebrew word means to anoint, to smear, to spread or paint, to make physical contact by rubbing, dripping upon, or sprinkling. This word is used 69 times in the Hebrew Bible,  and almost always involves a deliberate application of olive oil to set apart a person, an object, or a space for special service to God as an act of consecration. In a sacred ceremony, the anointing oil had a God-directed recipe that included olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, and calamus. The Lord Himself described this special concoction as “holy, holy.” (Ex. 30:37). Selected persons were anointed with holy oil to officially set them apart for a special responsibility; to dedicate them to God’s service; to consecrate them for duties that are in service to His will; to sanctify them in preparation for godly purposes; to separate them from the dishonorable, the profane, the common; to formally assign them to a godly purpose; to designate them for a sacred function; to enable them to be completely distinctive in character and role. Often enough in the Bible, physical objects were also anointed with oil to dedicate those items for sacred use, such as all the furniture in the Tabernacle and Temple. As in the case of Jacob at Bethel, one might anoint with oil a special place to commemorate a uniquely sacred event and place, which he did twice in Gen. 28:18 and 35:14. In Jacob’s case, the anointing of the stone was an act of worship and commitment and set Bethel apart from any ordinary place.

Oil as a Symbol of the Holy Spirit: Olive oil was used throughout Scripture as a symbol for the Spirit of God, for the presence of the Holy Spirit being poured onto those who sought God’s blessing, approval, empowerment and transformation. The Holy Spirit doesn’t partially come to the person being blessed, not in bits and pieces. The Holy Spirit isn’t dribbled, drop by drop, but instead is poured till overflowing. Whenever we see the Holy Spirit being applied, He is poured like the holy oil in Scripture:

• “...till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.” (Isaiah 32:15);
• “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” (Joel 3:1, Acts 2:17);
• “Exalted to the right hand of God He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” (Acts 2:33);
• “They were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Acts 10:45);
• “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5);
• “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6).

“Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with great power. He did wonderful things for others in His acts of kindness, and divinely healed all who were under the tyranny of the Devil; He traveled through the country helping people, doing good, and healing everyone who was harassed by the Devil.” (Acts 10:38).

Jesus the Anointed One.  There were three official biblical roles in the Hebrew Bible that required an anointing with oil… prophet, priest and king. All three were anointed for their godly responsibilities by a sacred oil. In Jesus’ case, He was anointed for all three God-ordained positions, the only person to weave together the roles of prophet, priest and king into one Person’s identity. Jesus was the Anointed One in His heavenly nature as He was conceived in mother Mary. And He was anointed in His human nature by the Father to complete His preparation for God’s mission on earth of redemption and deliverance. All the anointing by oil in the Hebrew Bible anticipates the coming of the Anointed One, the Messiah, who fulfills the prophetic meaning of anointing. Anointing looks like this: The Father poured the oil of the Holy Spirit onto the Anointed One, who in turn anoints with His Spirit all the anointed ones who choose to follow Jesus Messiah.

“The historical David was a living prophecy of the true King yet to come. The divine promises made with respect to David’s messianic throne are fulfilled in the kingdom of Jesus, at once David’s descendant and his Lord.” (Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ in the Psalms.

The Messiah Covenant. God made an eternal covenant with David, that salvation would come through his family line. God promised him that the saving Messiah would be a direct descendant and would establish God’s throne forever. The Messiah would be known down through Jewish history as the Son of David. During Jesus’ time on earth, when he was declared Messiah, it was often through that formula, the Son of David. “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (II Samuel 7:12-13). And David humbly accepted this covenant with God. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have given this good promise to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight.” (II Samuel 7:25-29). And among David’s last words was this triumphant affirmation, “Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant arranged and secured in every part?” (II Samuel 23:5). Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, proved to be the fulfillment of this ancient covenant between David and Yahweh.

“The single most characteristic thing about David is God. David believed in God, thought about God, imagined God, addressed God, prayed to God. The largest part of David’s existence wasn’t David but God.” (Eugene Peterson, Leap Over A Wall.)

The Lord Is the Song. David’s life was the God-song that anticipated the Christ-Song. His life was the musical piece that strongly hinted at the melodies and themes that would be heard in the Christ-Song much later. David’s life served as the musical preview that prepared us for the Song of Jesus, the son of David. Eugene Peterson put it another way… “The David story anticipates the Jesus story. The Jesus story presupposes the David story… The David story is a gospel story. It’s a story that gets completed in the Jesus story.”

David’s Messianic Song. David composed this song near the end of his life when all is at peace with the world. There were no troublesome wars with his neighboring nations, and he even exalts in the fact that his long ago flight from Saul is but a distant memory. What begins as a picturesque outburst of thanksgiving develops into a victory song, and then concludes with his fervent reliance on God’s “everlasting covenant” with him and his throne. David starts by poetically extolling God’s attributes… Rock; Fortress; Deliverer; Refuge; Shield; Horn (Strength); Stronghold; Savior; Worthy of Praise; Attentive; Brightness; Most High; Rescuer; Support; Faithful; Blameless; Pure; Shrewd; Lamp; Helper; Perfect; Flawless; Preserver; Alive; Avenger; Kind. Then David moves into the triumphant interventions of God, and finally he exults with his messianic expectations for the future. David seems to sum up his life with an energy known only to David at his best. Here at the end, David undoubtedly once again embraced the truth he uttered long ago, that “Surely goodness and mercy (have pursued me) all the days of my life. (Ps. 23). The Orthodox Church has labeled Ps. 18, the identical song found in 2 Samuel 22, as “the victory of David fulfilled in the Messiah.”