Christs Power to Love and Obey

He chose not to use his power. He says that. He says I emptied myself in a sense. I came into this world. I don’t know even when the sun will return. I do have the power to call legions of angels to my defence, but I do not use that power. He didn’t lose his power. He didn’t lose his understanding of things in the future, but he willingly set them aside and took on the form of a slave to God for the purpose of doing the will of God. But the question is, by then what power did he render this perfect loving obedience? And the answer comes to us initially from the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah chapter 11.

In Isaiah chapter 11, I told you I’m going to use a lot of scripture. So in Isaiah chapter 11, we have a prophecy of the coming Messiah, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what we read in Isaiah 11, and you are familiar with this verse, no doubt. A shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse. Now we all know that Jesse was the father of David. A shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse. A branch from his roots will bear fruit. There will come a Messiah, being referred to here, from the line of Jesse through David.

Jesus, of course, the New Testament says, is the son of David. And then in verse 2, it defines the power that will rest on him, and in him and through him, the spirit of the Lord will rest on him. This is the answer to, by what power does Jesus render this perfect obedience and perfect sanctification? The answer here, the spirit of the Lord will rest on him. Since he set aside his own independent use of his attributes, he had to depend on someone else to empower his perfect sanctification. And it is the Holy Spirit who is then defined for us in the richness of his nature.

He is the spirit of the Lord. He is the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of strength, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of the Lord. That’s seven characteristics that are referred to there. There are seven references to the Holy Spirit, which is why the menorah has seven candlesticks, because it is representative of the sevenfold power of the Holy Spirit here in Isaiah. And the full power of the Holy Spirit, that is including wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and fear, or worship of God, will rest on the Messiah.

And if you go toward the end of Isaiah’s prophecy to chapter 61, there is another familiar Messianic prophecy speaking of the coming Christ. Isaiah 61. 1. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. How is our Lord going to do this? How is he going to preach the good news to the afflicted, bind up the broken-hearted, give liberty to captives, freedom to prisoners, and proclaim the coming favorable year of the Lord and unleash vengeance and comfort as well? By what power will he do this? Verse 1.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me. So the answer to the question is that the sanctification of our Lord was accomplished in him by the work of the Holy Spirit. Now turn to the New Testament to Luke chapter 4. Luke chapter 4. Jesus goes back to Galilee, it says, in the power of the Spirit, in the power of the Spirit. He could not have done anything if it hadn’t been for the power of the Spirit. He began teaching, was praised by all. He goes to the synagogue in Nazareth, in verse 16, and he stands up to read, and the passage is Isaiah 61.

And so he reads, starting at verse 18, exactly what we just read in Isaiah 61. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. To hear how he was going to interpret this, and he began saying to them, today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

He said, I am that spirit-filled, spirit-anointed Messiah that Isaiah promised. Well, eventually you know how that day ended. Verse 28, the people were filled with rage. They got up and drove him out of the city, led him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, Nazareth, in order to throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went his way. Our Lord said he did what he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for joining us in this exploration of Christ’s power to love and obey.

Until next time, remember to keep the faith, stay strong, and continue to shine your light in the world. To hear these daily devotions of your daily bread, please log on to goddessgovernment.com. Goodbye, and may your faith always lead the way. [tr:trw].