The Holy Spirit in the Gospel Accounts

(Essay #3 – God’s Prophetic Spirit)

Kindle Version

Our investigation of the work of the Holy Spirit now turns to the opening section of the New Testament. After 400 years of prophetic silence from God, the gospel accounts open with a description of the work of John the Baptist. Immediately, God’s new prophet begins to speak to the nation of Israel not just about the coming of the Messiah but also of the work of the Holy Spirit whom the Messiah would bring to the “house of Israel” (Ezekiel 39:29).

Does this new prophetic ministry teach some new doctrine about the work of the Holy Spirit? The survey of the some two dozen passages that follow will show that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s work in the gospel accounts remains in complete harmony with the testimony of the Old Testament. Among God’s people, the Holy Spirit is the source of miraculous power and prophetic revelation.[1]

Matthew 3:11, 16 | Mark 1:8, 10 | Luke 3:16, 22 | John 1:32, 33

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. . . . And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. (Matthew 3:11, 16)[2]

I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit . . . And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  (Mark 1:8, 10)

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. . . . and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  (Luke 3:16, 22)

And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”  (John 1:32-33)

The first reference to the Holy Spirit in each of the gospel accounts is focused on the events of the baptism of Jesus. In each instance the gospel writer’s introduction of the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament carries forward the doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s work as established in the Old Testament. In the ministry of Jesus the work done by the Holy Spirit for Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus is to reveal truth and to confirm that truth with miraculous deeds.

Two primary ideas are mentioned in these introductory texts in the New Testament: 1) The baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would provide; 2) The descending of the Holy Spirit onto Jesus.

While there are many questions surrounding the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is one thing that can be known about it with certainty. Jesus himself applies this statement from John to the events of the Pentecost recorded in Acts 1-2: “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ’you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts 1:4-5). Without question then, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is focused on the empowering of men to preach the newly ordained gospel of Jesus Christ.[3]

In the second image, that of the Holy Spirit’s descending on Jesus, the act is intended as a confirmatory sign to the identity and person of Jesus. John the Baptist explained the purpose of this event as was recorded in the apostle John’s account of the gospel: “I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:33). The visible manifestation of the Spirit’s presence was in keeping with the purpose of the work of the Holy Spirit in each instance of the Old Testament. The presence of the Holy Spirit revealed and confirmed that Jesus was the person who was the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prophetic work.

Matthew 4:1 | Mark 1:12 | Luke 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  (Mark 1:12)

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness  (Luke 4:1)

Each of the synoptic writers moves immediately from the baptism of Jesus into a discussion of the temptation of Jesus. Each says that Jesus was “driven” or “led” by the Spirit into the wilderness. This expresses an act of direct revelation or direction by the Holy Spirit to Jesus. Luke adds a descriptive term which within the gospel accounts is unique to Luke. He says that Jesus was “full of the Spirit.” In every instance where Luke uses that phrase, he is speaking of a person that is being inspired by the direct revelation of God (see references from Luke in the remainder of this essay).[4]

In passing, the reader is encouraged to note that Luke connects being “full of the Holy Spirit” to being “led by the Holy Spirit.” In the first context in which each appears in the New Testament, one (“full of the Holy Spirit”) is a statement of inspiration and the other (“led by the Spirit”) is its complement in stating that Jesus’ obediently followed the direction of the Holy Spirit that was then filling Him. As we pass through the rest of the New Testament, neither phrase will change its meaning.

Matthew 10:20 | Mark 13:11| Luke 12:11-12

For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  (Matthew 10:20)

And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  (Mark 13:11)

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12)

In three similar contexts in Matthew’s, Mark’s and Luke’s accounts of the gospel, Jesus is giving encouragement to His disciples as He is commissioning them to carry the news about Him, first to the nation of Israel and then to the world. His warning was that they would suffer persecution as they carried out His commands. However, He provided them with the assurance that they would be equipped to handle these trials because of the Holy Spirit’s work with them. In each account, Jesus states that when the disciples would need to speak in defense of their message they would not be left alone to craft their words, rather it would be the Holy Spirit speaking through them. Here then is another example of the Holy Spirit’s revelatory work among men.

Matthew 12:18, 28

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. . . . But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew’s twelfth chapter describes a series of encounters Jesus has with the Pharisees over the proper manner of honoring the Sabbath. One of these encounters focuses on Jesus’ healing of a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:10-13). In defense of his actions Jesus quotes from Isaiah 42. Isaiah states that the Holy Spirit would be “put” on Jesus and He would “proclaim justice to the Gentiles.” Again, the connection is simple to see. When one has the Holy Spirit on him, he preaches the message of God. Having the Holy Spirit put on you is a statement of inspiration.

Jesus’ second reference to the Holy Spirit in Matthew 12 is another appeal to the Holy Spirit’s miraculous power. He claims His power to cast out demons came from the Holy Spirit. The connection is straightforward. However, what is interesting is that the Pharisees already understood that the power to work miracles had to come from the presence of some “spirit.” In Mark 3:30, it is recorded that the Pharisees said of Jesus: “He has an unclean spirit.” They knew that miraculous power came from “the spirit.” However, they could not allow the crowd to believe that the spirit empowering Jesus was the Holy Spirit. What is important to note is that the Pharisee’s knew the presence of miracles indicated the presence of the Spirit and that the presence of the Spirit was seen through miracles. If the Pharisees were drawing on their understanding of the Old Testament to define the Holy Spirit’s work, they could have concluded nothing else. Before this point in time in the Bible, the Spirit’s work with man was always prophetic in its nature.

In this text Jesus also makes a connection between the kingdom and the prophetic powers of the Holy Spirit. By using Isaiah 42 in the manner He does Jesus links the coming of the Spirit in His ministry to the right of the Gentiles to hear the gospel. Peter elaborates on that connection in Acts 2:33 by affirming that because Jesus had received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He had poured out that same blessing in His kingdom. The fact that the Spirit of God was responsible for the prophetic activity of casting out demons was a necessary indication that the kingdom of God was being ushered in by Jesus’ ministry which in time would open the path for the Gentile’s hearing the proclamation of justice in the gospel.

The connection is inescapable. The kingdom of Jesus Christ was to be announced and the Gentiles brought into it by the endorsement of the Spirit’s prophetic work in the kingdom. Jesus’ commentary on the nature of the Spirit’s presence in His kingdom should be remembered as subsequent essays in this series turn to the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament

Matthew 12:31-32 | Mark 3:29-30 | Luke 12:10

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)

[B]ut whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”–for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:29-30)

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Luke 12:10)

Within the same context just discussed in the preceding passage, Jesus makes a proclamation about the judgment that would come upon those who blasphemed the Holy Spirit. These verses cause a great deal of controversy and confusion among Bible students. This discussion of it will not seek to answer all of those questions. In a strict sense, this context is not a discussion of the Spirit’s work in man. It is a discussion of man’s response to the Holy Spirit. The result of that action, man’s having committed an “eternal sin,” is an important redemptive concern; however, getting lost in that complexity would distract us from the stated purpose of this work. Our concern here is what work of the Holy Spirit is described in this text that caused those who witnessed it to “blaspheme” or “speak against” the Holy Spirit.

Within that limited scope of discussion, seeing the work of the Holy Spirit present in this context is not difficult. In our examination of Matthew 12:28 it was noted that Jesus was casting out demons by “the Spirit of God.” In Mark’s account it is stated that the Pharisees attributed the power Jesus possessed to his having an “unclean spirit.” In other words, they had taken a display of the divine expression of the Holy Spirit’s power and authority and attributed it to the work of Satan and his minions. In a very real sense, their word spoke as much against the “holiness” of God’s Spirit as one could.

It should be noted that in Luke’s arrangement of this material his discussion of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit immediately flows into Jesus’ promise of the Spirit’s inspiration of the apostles:

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:10-12)

Without much controversy then, it can be seen that the work of the Spirit in this context is the same as has been noted up to this point in our examination of the biblical text. The Spirit is the member of the Godhead who empowers the prophetic actions of God. When man speaks against that display of God’s power, he is said to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 22:43 | Mark 12:36

He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying . . .  (Matthew 22:43)

David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’  (Mark 12:36)

Matthew and Mark again share a reference in their accounts of the life of Jesus. Each of these verses records a straightforward work of the Holy Spirit in the life of David. David calls Jesus “Lord” while “in the Spirit.” For David to be “in the Spirit” is a statement of inspiration. In fact, Jesus uses the phrase “in the Spirit” to emphasize that what David said was an authoritative and revelatory statement. It is the fact that David was “in the Spirit” that gives weight to the argument Jesus is presenting to His audience. The meaning is that while David was “in the Spirit” his words must reveal truth and be accurate. If being “in the Spirit” even has the possibility of having another meaning, even if the slightest potential exists for the phrase to mean less than a claim of plenary, verbal inspiration of a prophet, Jesus’ argument would fail. In this place His claim of divinity is based on the certainty that while “in the Spirit” David’s words must be exactly the words God wanted him to speak. There is perhaps no stronger statement of the Holy Spirit’s work in inspiration in the New Testament. “In the Spirit” in the New Testament can have no other meaning. Every person who has ever been “in the Spirit” was a prophet. A powerful and central argument to the divinity of Jesus rests on that truth.

Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 67

For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. . . . And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God. . . . And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit . . . And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying. . .

Luke’s first chapter refers to one person who has the Holy Spirit “come” upon her and three different individuals who are said to be “filled with Holy Spirit.” In using the phrase “full of the Holy Spirit”, Luke introduces an image of the work of the Holy Spirit that is found only one time in the New Testament outside of his writings.[5]

It was promised to Zechariah that his son, John, would be filled with the Holy Spirit “even from his mother’s womb.” This blessing is clearly not attached to any covenant or salvific blessings as it begins in his life even before his birth from his mother’s womb. The evidence of his infilling and its effect on him is seen in that John leaps in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. It could only be through the inspiration and empowerment of the Holy Spirit that an infant still developing in his mother’s womb could respond in such a causal manner to Mary’s appearance.

Mary is the second person said to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit in this context. In explaining to Mary how she could conceive a child in her virginity, the angel of God says to her that the Holy Spirit would “come upon” her and His power would “overshadow” her. Both of these phrases must refer to the Spirit’s miraculous intervention in Mary’s reproductive abilities in order to create the body of Jesus.

Elizabeth comes next in Luke’s list of people empowered by the Holy Spirit as a consequence of the birth of Jesus. When she encounters the newly pregnant mother of Jesus, the Bible says that Elizabeth “was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry” (vs. 41-42). Her hymn in praise of Mary that unfolds in the verses following that reference is an inspired testimony to the divine nature of the child growing within Mary’s womb.

Finally Zechariah, who had been mute since the promise of John’s birth, is said to be full of the Holy Spirit at the birth of his son. The infilling of the Holy Spirit in Zechariah at that point causes him to begin to “prophesy” about the birth and life of his son.

In all four references to the Holy Spirit in Luke 1, Luke describes the same work of the Holy Spirit that has been observed in every passage up to this point in the biblical text. Those who are “full of the Spirit” are granted prophetic abilities.

Luke 2:25-27

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, , , . .

In Luke’s continuing description of the birth of Jesus he introduces a man named Simeon. This servant of God had been blessed by God to know that the “consolation of Israel” was coming and that he would live to see the coming of the Christ. The language used to describe how he came to possess such a knowledge is that the “Holy Spirit was upon him” and that the revelation had come “by the Holy Spirit.” Further when Jesus did appear on the earth, Simeon came to the temple to meet Him, coming “in the Spirit.” Each of these is another statement of inspiration coming through the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:14, 18

. . . . And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. . . . “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

In this text Jesus applies Isaiah 61:1 to himself.[6] The Spirit’s coming upon Him at his baptism first led Him into the wilderness to be tested of the devil and then the Spirit’s power led Him into Galilee where He began His ministry. Jesus used the statement from Isaiah 61 that the Spirit would anoint him to “proclaim good news” and “recover the sight of the blind” to explain His powerful work in Galilee. Again, the Holy Spirit is credited with the prophetic gifts and message of God’s Servant.

Luke 10:21

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

In the same manner as the passage before, a proclamation by Jesus is attributed to the Holy Spirit. In this instance a cry of joy is made under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:13

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:13 and Matthew 7:11 give two different renderings of similar statements. As shown above Luke mentions that God would “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him,” while Matthew’s account exchanges the words “good things” in place of the “Holy Spirit.” Both passages state the fact that a good blessing would come from God to His children. However, while Luke specifically ties that blessing to the coming of the Holy Spirit, neither rendering gives a direct indication of the effect or the function that God’s giving of the Holy Spirit would have upon those that receive Him. This ambiguity allows this passage to be used by commentators of every sort to claim it supports their understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church. It should be admitted by all parties that this verse alone does establish the fact of the giving of the Spirit, but does little to prove what function that “giving” provides.[7]

However, a look at the context surrounding Luke 11 and the use of similar language does provide at least some circumstantial evidence as to the function envisioned in the words of Jesus in the context:

• Notice the first words of Luke 11:14: “Now he was casting out demons . . .”
  1. Is it simply coincidence that Luke moves immediately from a discussion of God’s giving of the Holy Spirit to a discussion of the casting out of demons?
  2. In Matthew’s account of this event (Matthew 12:28), it is clearly stated that this casting out of demons is a product of the “Spirit.”[8]
• Luke 11:5-26 is describing the coming of the kingdom.
  1. Verse 20 states that Jesus’ ability to cast out demons was evidence that the kingdom of God had “come upon” the people of His day.
  2. Matthew 12:28 agrees with that statement.
  3. The giving of the Holy Spirit to “all flesh” was the evidence presented as the demonstrable sign of the kingdom’s coming in Acts 1-2 (Acts 2:16-17).
• When did God “give” the Holy Spirit to man?
  1. Ultimately, there must be a Bible basis for understanding the fulfillment of this promise. If it is promised that God would give the Holy Spirit to man, there must be a Bible account that tells us the fulfillment of that promise.
  2. When in Scripture does God fulfill the promise of Luke 11? We know that it must have occurred before Acts 5:32.[9] However, as Luke 11 is a promise of the coming kingdom and the kingdom comes in Act 2, it must be the case that the giving of the Holy Spirit is recorded no earlier than in the events of Acts 2. How then can the fulfillment of Luke 11 be any other event than the demonstrable presence of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy? If that is the case, then the promise of Luke 11 is about the coming of the miracles of the Holy Spirit that blessed the early church.
• How does God “give the Holy Spirit” to man?[10]
  1. Luke 11 makes no statement as to the manner in which God would provide the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Are there any passages which describe how the Holy Spirit was given to man? Indeed Acts 8:17-19 makes a definitive statement on the matter. The Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of an apostle’s hands: “Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 8:17-19).
  2. The Bible then establishes that Luke 11 can be fulfilled through the laying on of the apostles’ hands. Is there another passage in the New Testament that clearly defines another manner in which God gives the Holy Spirit to man?[11] If that passage does not exist, how then can we create another manner when God did not see fit to provide us the textual basis to do so?

Therefore the circumstantial evidence points to Luke 11 as speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the prophecy of miracles contained in Joel 2:28-32.

John 3:5-8

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. . . . The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit“

There is one point about this passage on which most every commentator agrees. Most all use this passage to describe the conditions one must meet to find salvation under the teachings of Jesus. However there is much discussion about the meaning of being born of water or being born of the Spirit.[12] Unless one adopts Calvinistic understandings of the process and order of conversion, there is no place for the operation of the Holy Spirit within man in any form of a direct manner at his conversion.[13]

The Holy Spirit calls men to repent and obey the gospel. He never has coerced or forced men to become obedient. How then does the Spirit call men to repentance? He does so through the preached gospel. That preaching was done first by the Spirit-inspired preachers and prophets of the first-century (Hebrews 2:3-4). That work continues today through the written messages of those same men. The Spirit’s function in the new birth is still revelatory in its nature as has been His role in all other places.

John 3:34

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

This passage completes the context of the new birth of John 3 and is also about the revelatory presence of the Holy Spirit. Again, the focus is on the prophetic ministry of Jesus. In this place He is the “one sent” from God who “utters the words of God.” How does he speak those words: “For he gives the Spirit without measure.”[14] God’s giving of his Spirit allowed His Prophet to speak His words. The giving of the Holy Spirit is a statement of inspiration.

John 7:38-39

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 7 is an interesting passage to analyze. The statement made is that the events of this passage are a fulfillment of what the “Scripture has said.” However, the quote, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” is not found in that form anywhere in the Old Testament. Several passages do use similar figures of speech, but none of them state this truth in this exact manner.[15] It should be noted that Jesus does use the “living water” image even within the gospel of John and uses it to refer to the truth He offered the Samaritan woman: “Jesus said to her, ’Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” (John 4:13-14)

Even without pressing to equate John 7 to any particular Old Testament passage there is still a method available for determining what the quotation means. Verse 39 states that Jesus uttered those words about the Spirit whom His believers would “receive” once He was “given” after Jesus was glorified. The natural question is, “When was Jesus glorified?” In His prayer just prior to the crucifixion, Jesus petitioned the Father to return His glory to Him: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:4-5). After his resurrection and ascension back to heaven, the Bible speaks of His restored glorified or exalted condition: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:33).

Peter’s argument in Acts 2 matches perfectly with John’s statement here in John 7. John stated that once Jesus was glorified, the Holy Spirit would be given and believers in Jesus would receive him. Peter states that since Jesus had been exalted He had received the promise of the Holy Spirit and poured out that blessing.  It seems natural to understand that the poured blessing that was seen and heard in Acts 2:33 is the same blessing promised in John 7. That blessing was seen and heard through the miraculous tongues and deeds on the day Pentecost.

John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13

Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. . . . “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. . . . When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

John 14-16 forms a block of material which recounts the final discourse of Jesus to His apostles before the crucifixion. One recurring promise in this passage is the coming of the Holy Spirit, or the Helper, to replace the personal presence of Jesus in their lives. Jesus says that the presence of the Holy Spirit would “be in them,” “teach all things,”  “bring to their remembrance all that I have said,” “bear witness of Him,” “guide them into all truth,” and “declare to them the things that are to come.” While these verses deserve and will receive further comment, there is no doubt about or variance in the work Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would provide the apostles.[16] He would be the revealer of truth to them. The Holy Spirit’s promised work was that of inspiration.

John 20:22

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The final reference to the work of the Holy Spirit in the gospel accounts looks forward to the days immediately following the ascension of Jesus. John 20 is speaking of the reception of the Holy Spirit by the apostles as promised in the context of John 14-16 and described by Luke in Acts 1: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Conclusion

In the ministry of Jesus the work of the Holy Spirit remains the same as it had all the way through the Old Testament. Every clear reference which describes in detail how the Spirit worked with man describes a work of revelation and inspiration. Further, even in the passages which make no direct statement about the function of the Spirit’s work with man (Luke 11:13; John 7:38-39), a strong case can be made that the most natural construction is the one that would be expected from the preponderance  of evidence preceding their occurrence. In short there is no passage in the gospel accounts from which a compelling case can be made that the prophetic influences of the Holy Spirit are not envisioned by the text. The opening section of the New Testament knows the Holy Spirit as the provider of prophetic abilities among God’s people.

[1] For ease of study, parallel and similar contexts in the gospel accounts have been grouped together in this essay.

[2] All Scripture quotations taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

[3] Further discussion of the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be found in Essay #5: “The Holy Spirit Gives Prophecy, Dreams, and Visions” and in Essay #12: “The Work of the Holy Spirit in Acts.”

[4] For a full discussion of the Bible’s use of “full” or “filled” with the Spirit, see Appendix A in Volume #15 of this series.

[5] Paul exhorts the Ephesians to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

[6] For a discussion of Isaiah 61 please see essay #2: The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Prophecy

[7] Please see Essay #22: “How Does the Holy Spirit Indwell the Christian Today?” for more discussion about the “fact” and “function” of the Spirit’s work with man.

[8] See comments on Matthew 12:18, 28 in this essay.

[9] Acts 5:32 speaks of the giving of the Holy Spirit to those who obey God as an already occurred event: “. . . so is the Holy Spirit, who God has given to those who obey him.”

[10] On the effect of the Spirit being given, please see the comments on John 3:34 in this essay.

[11] This question is asked with the understanding that the apostles first were given the Spirit directly from God. Beyond them and the exceptional case of Cornelius, there is no other method expressed in the New Testament for God to give His Spirit to man.

[12] While a full discussion of the “new birth” of this passage is beyond the scope of this work, it should be noted that John’s statement about one’s entrance into the kingdom would be and must be in harmony with the rest of the New Testament’s teaching on the matter. Throughout the preaching of the gospel from Acts 2 forward, the “water” demanded in becoming a Christian is a baptism in water (Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; Ephesians 5:26; Colossians 2:12; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21). Titus 3:5 directly ties baptism in water to the Holy Spirit. The effect of baptism falls under the direction or influence of the Holy Spirit. John 3 then teaches a single new birth requiring two elements. When man follows the direction of the Holy Spirit by being baptized in water as the Holy Spirit instructed him to do, both elements work in conjunction to cause the man to be born again with that new birth.

[13] Again, a full refutation of Calvinistic teaching on this point extends beyond the scope of this work. However, as long as man is excused from bearing the sins of his father and is held accountable only for his own sins, Calvin’s teaching remains false: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).

[14] The KJV’s insertion of the words “unto him” at the end of this verse suggests that only Jesus received the Holy Spirit “without measure.” This leads some to the conclusion that others received the Spirit in measured amounts. For those who believe the Holy Spirit continues to indwell the Christian in a personal, but non-prophetic manner today, some form of the “Measures of the Holy Spirit” doctrine is essential to their beliefs. It should be noted that the words “unto him” are not found in the Greek texts we have of the gospel of John. The KJV indicates that by placing the words “unto him” in italics. For a full discussion of this topic please see Essay #22: “How Does the Holy Spirit Indwell the Christian Today?”

[15] See comments on John 7 in essay #4: Joel 2:28-32: The Promise of the Holy Spirit for a list of verses.

[16] Please Essay #21: “A Comprehensive Model for Understanding the Work of the Holy Spirit” and Essay #22: “How Does the Holy Spirit Indwell the Christian Today?” for further comment on these verses.