The Holy Spirit – The Spirit of Jesus

To truly understand and identify the person and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives I believe that we must take a close look at Jesus. It seems to me that the answer to all our questions concerning God and His ways are best displayed and answered in the life of Jesus because the work of the Spirit is Christ-centered.

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever…He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak ; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine ; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 14:6, 16:13-15

The life of Jesus was powered from start to finish by the Spirit of God. From conception to resurrection The Spirit was operating in Jesus so that as a human He could be the final sacrifice to fulfill the old covenant and a visible manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven. The invisible God on earth in the flesh. Jesus personally experienced and lived what He would be giving to His disciples because of His relationship with His Father in Heaven. He was the living God on earth. Through our relationship with Jesus we can experience and live Him on earth.

“In many ways the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) is to Jesus as Jesus is to the Father.” – Raymond E. Brown

The same Spirit that was in Jesus is being employed by Him to benefit His disciples in the work of transforming them into His image and empowering them to continue His mission. The Holy Spirit channels Jesus’ triumphant and miraculous life through us.
It is so important to understand and identify the Holy Spirit as the same Spirit that powered and led the life of Jesus because He is in us ready to do the same work through us that was done through Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus living in and through us, the Spiritual presence of Jesus!!

“The only way the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) can exercise His ministry is through Christians and their way of life and the way they bear witness. The only way the world can know that Jesus’ death was not the end is that the Spirit which animated Jesus is still alive in His followers. His presence is still made visible in His disciples; through Christians the Paraclete is still glorifying Jesus.” – Raymond E. Brown

The Spirit sent from Jesus equips us with divine realities to minister as Jesus ministered. He takes what belongs to Jesus, and all the Father has now belongs to Him, and He makes it known to us so that we might see the power and authority given us to continue the mission of Christ. The ability to teach, heal, cast out demons setting captives free, prophesy, witness, and take all that Jesus has and declare it to the world.

Jesus is living His resurrection life in and through you. Just as God the Father lived God’s life in Jesus…so God the Son lives His life in you. Jesus says to His church, “If people see you they see me.” – Leonard Sweet

The Holy Spirit does not come with His own words or plans nor does He seek to honor himself. He directs our attention to what God has done in Jesus and what Jesus is doing in us. He is sent to be Christ in us. He transforms us as we surrender our words and plans to Him so that we can be Christ on earth honoring the King and extending His Kingdom.

Our reality and perception of the Holy Spirit at work in us must begin with the Spirit’s Christ-centered mission. Getting this revelation in our lives will change our minimal view of the Holy Spirit as a comforting sense of God’s presence in our lives to the extravagant work of the transformational and equipping power of Jesus Christ that is present in us and through us just waiting to be released.