...observations and ramblings from a learner and traveler...

21 November 2017

on Jesus' need for the Holy Spirit in his life and ministry

 Quite a while back, I came across an article about the nature of the Holy Spirit's work in Jesus' life while he was here on earth; it seemed well worth reading, but I didn't have the time then. I finally got around to reading it. It's excellent. I have pasted the key thought below, but I highly recommend the article.

... Jesus needed to live a perfectly sinless life in the power and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It was not sufficient for Him--as the second Adam and representative of a new humanity--to merely live according to His Divine nature. What we need as fallen men is a human Redeemer who would gain a human holiness for His people and would die a human death in their place. As was true for Adam so it was for Jesus--the Last Adam. The Savior needed the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower Him to obey His Father, even to the point of death on the cross. (emphasis mine)

The author points out that few theologians have written about this particular aspect of the Trinity's interaction, but Sinclair Ferguson and John Owen do have some discussions of it. The author summarizes those, as well as R. A. Finlayson's thoughts. I was unfamiliar with him.

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