Page 129 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom

The power of the Kingdom was present in Jesus’ ministry through the
Holy Spirit who anointed Him. This anointing came upon Him immediately
after He was baptized in water (Luke 3:22). Peter noted “how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he
went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of
the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

It was through the power of the Spirit that Jesus defeated Satan. Soon
after His baptism, He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus,
however, was “full of the Holy Spirit,” and was “led by the Spirit” (Luke 4:1).
As a result, He was able to defeat the devil. After this, He “returned to
Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (v. 14). Jesus told how He defeated
the demonic powers. He said, “If
I drive out demons by the Spirit of
God, then the kingdom of God has
come upon you” (Matthew 12:28; It was through the
compare Luke 11:20).
power of the Spirit that

Jesus even faced the agonies Jesus defeated Satan.
of the cross by the power of the
Spirit. Hebrews 9:14 says that
“through the eternal Spirit, [Jesus] offered himself unblemished to God.”
The Holy Spirit gave Him the strength He needed to face the agony of
the cross. In the same way, the Holy Spirit gave Stephen the power and
courage to face martyrdom (Acts 7:54–59).

The Holy Spirit also raised Jesus from the dead. Paul spoke of “the
Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” (Romans 8:11). By His
death and resurrection, Jesus ushered in a new covenant and a new
age (Hebrews 9:15; 12:24). He thus set up “a kingdom that cannot be
shaken” (12:28), and made the way for us to taste the powers of the
coming age (6:5).

Jesus’ Final Command to His Disciples

Jesus not only performed His own ministry in the power of the Spirit,
He commanded His disciples to do the same. They were to wait to be
empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He promised them that they
too would be clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). This would
happen when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4–5). They

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