Holy Spirit

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ...

—Luke 4:1 NIV

Key Thought


Jesus goes into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit. The role of the Spirit in the wilderness is crucial. The wilderness is a place for Jesus to be alone with the Father. In addition, this time of Jesus in the wilderness will also be a time of testing and trial. As we have journeyed this past year through Scripture...

 

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

—Luke 3:21-22 NIV

Key Thought


As recorded in Luke's gospel, Jesus is promised by the Spirit, conceived by the Spirit, recognized by the Spirit, and announced by the Spirit. We know Jesus and the Holy Spirit are...

 

Moved by the Spirit, [Simeon] went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "... my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel."

—Luke 2:27-32 NIV

Key Thought


I love Simeon's words of joy. They are deeply moving, and they...

 

It had been revealed to [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

—Luke 2:26 NIV

Key Thought


I do not know how the Spirit's revelation to Simeon was accomplished. Nevertheless, I am thankful for God's grace in giving this revelation to him. Simeon was such a wonderful and strong man of character. In his old age, he was given this special grace because God had sustained him through a special promise from the Holy Spirit...

 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

—Luke 2:25 NIV

Key Thought


Simeon is one of my favorite people in the Bible. I love how he was described: "righteous and devout." What a great way to be known and described! And Simeon was doing something I don't like to do: "He was waiting ..." But there was a reason he was waiting: He was going to get...

 

And the child [John the Baptizer] grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

—Luke 1:80 NIV

Key Thought


This verse doesn't speak directly to the work of the Holy Spirit. Luke does contrast the Spirit's work in John and the Spirit's work in Jesus. "And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him" (Luke 2:40). While Jesus grew in every way...

 

[John the Baptizer's] father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ...

—Luke 1:67 NIV

Key Thought


When the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, Zechariah originally doubted. Why would God give them a son in his old age, especially with Elizabeth's inability to conceive even during her childbearing years? However, even in their old age, God miraculously worked to bring them the gift of a baby — a baby we know as...

 

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby [John the Baptizer] leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

—Luke 1:41 NIV

Key Thought


In Jesus' final words of comfort to his apostles in John chapters 14-16, he repeatedly talks about the Holy Spirit being our Counselor-Comforter-Helper-Advocate who will guide us into all truth and remind us of the things he (Jesus) did and taught. In 1 John 2, John again reminds us that the Holy Spirit is...

 

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you [Mary], and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

—Luke 1:35 NIV

Key Thought


Jesus is the Son of God and holy because he was conceived in the womb of Mary through the power of the Most High, revealed to us as the Holy Spirit. This conception is not something we can understand logically. It is something we recognize as a miracle of God's power and...

 

[An angel said, "John the Baptizer] will be a joy and delight to you [his parents], and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born."

—Luke 1:14-15 NIV

Key Thought


Some of the Old Testament prophets — Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel — had spoken of God's coming time when the Holy Spirit would be present and...