Hymn 242
Scripture Reading:
Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall by no means drink wine and liquor. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Matt. 1:20 But while he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.
THE HOLY SPIRIT BEING RELATED TO THE INCARNATION OF GOD
The divine title “the Holy Spirit” is a new revelation in the New Testament. This title is not used in the Old Testament. (In Psa. 51:11 and Isa. 63:10-11 “the Holy Spirit” should be translated “the Spirit of holiness.”) This divine title is first used when God came in to prepare a forerunner of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:15) and a human body for Christ (Luke 1:35). This indicates that the Holy Spirit is related to the incarnation of God.
SPIRIT DENOTING THE NATURE OF GOD’S PERSON,
AND HOLY DENOTING AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD’S NATURE
Spirit denotes the nature of God, the nature of God’s person, and holy denotes an attribute of God’s nature. God’s nature is holy. Incarnation is a matter of bringing God’s nature into man. God desires to make His chosen people holy in the divine nature so that they may be holy even as He is holy.
To be holy is distinct from being common. The Holy Spirit in God’s incarnation makes man distinct from being common as God is distinct in His holy nature. Hence, what was born through God’s incarnation was a “holy thing” (Luke 1:35), and this holy thing is Jesus our Savior, who is intrinsically distinct from anything common, as God His holy nature is distinct. The Holy Spirit, of whom the holy Jesus (Acts 3:14) was conceived and born as mentioned in Matthew 1:18 and 20, will make the believers of the holy Jesus intrinsically holy as He is holy in the divine nature. Eventually, all these believers will consummate in the holy city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Christ Being the Holy Spirit and His Element Being Divine
Luke 1:15 says that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. The Holy Spirit is the first divine title ascribed to the Spirit of God in the New Testament. It was at the time for the initiation of the gospel of God, to prepare the way for the Savior’s coming and to prepare a human body for Him, that this divine title of God’s Spirit was used. The preparing of the way for the Savior’s coming required that His forerunner be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he could separate the people unto God from all things other than God, making them holy unto Him for purpose. The preparing of the human body of the Savior required that the Holy Spirit impart the divine nature into humanity, making man holy for the carrying out of God’s plan of redemption. Therefore, the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence (Luke 1:35) in a human virgin, who “was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18). That which was begotten in her was of the Holy Spirit (v. 20). Although Christ was born of Mary (Matt. 1:16), He was a child of the Holy Spirit. The birth of Christ was directly of the Holy Spirit. His source was the Holy Spirit, and His element was divine.
The Offering of the Nations Might Be Acceptable,
Having Been Sanctified in the Holy Spirit
Many verses in the New Testament speak of the Holy Spirit. Luke 3:22 tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in bodily form as a dove, anointing Him for His ministry. In Matthew 12:32 we have a word concerning speaking against the Holy Spirit, a word that indicates that if a sinner blasphemes the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work upon him to cause him to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus. According to John 20:22, the Lord Jesus on the day of His resurrection breathed into the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. This is the receiving of the Holy Spirit as life essentially. Later, in Matthew 28:19, the Lord charges the disciples to baptize people “into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In Acts 1:2 we see that the resurrected Christ gave command to the apostles through the Holy Spirit. Then in Romans 15:16 Paul says that in his ministry the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit. Because Christ had been wrought into them, becoming their element, the nations became an offering saturated with Christ and permeated with His divine essence. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, Vol. 6, msg. 79)
Reference: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 79.
