Needing the Holy SpiritSample

The Source of Jesus’ Power

If you’ve ever been to church or Sunday school or read the Bible, you’re familiar with the miracles Jesus did while He was on earth. We know that not everything He did is recorded in the Word, but the gospels make it clear that His ministry included such amazing feats as raising the dead, healing the sick, delivering people from demons, and multiplying food. Have you ever wondered how He did those things? Yes, He was God, but what was the secret behind His supernatural abilities? Was it His divinity? What was the source of His power?

The Gospels tell us that Jesus had the Holy Spirit without limit and that He returned from the temptation in the wilderness full of the Spirit’s power (Luke 4:14). The Holy Spirit was His secret!

In today’s culture, it’s virtually impossible to survive without Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi connects us to the world around us through messaging, emails, and social media. It’s our access to the worldwide system of information through sites such as Google and Wikipedia. It has become almost as important as electricity or air conditioning. In a somewhat analogous way, the Holy Spirit was Jesus’ connection, providing access to His Father, to His assignments, and to the power of heaven. Jesus did only what He saw His Father do first (John 5:19), and He could see that only because of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s a question I’ve asked my kids: “If you had to go back in time several thousand years and could bring only one thing with you, what would it be?” They’ve said everything from a gun or knife to a car or plane. Once you play out all the scenarios, you realize what a difficult decision it would be. If you brought a car, you would eventually run out of gas. If you brought a gun, you’d run out of bullets. A book of ancient languages may be of some help, but who knows?

When Jesus came to earth, He basically left the most sophisticated society, the kingdom of God, and traveled into time with only one tool from that eternal realm to help Him navigate this world’s craziness. That tool was His relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit was all Jesus brought with Him. With the Spirit’s help, He had to fulfill every prophecy. He had to live a perfect, sinless life. He couldn’t afford to make even one mistake. What a challenge! Still today, the Holy Spirit is Christians’ only hope of fulfilling all the things we are created to do. We need Him not only to demonstrate God’s supernatural power but also to love those around us the way Jesus wants us to. We need the Spirit to live in obedience to God’s Word, resist temptations to sin, and even keep our mouths shut when we want to lash out. It’s impossible to be a true disciple of Jesus without a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit.