Anointed with the Holy Spirit and Power

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; ---Acts 10:38

There are a couple more things I want to pull from this scripture for you to think about. Look at the first phrase, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.” First of all the reference of Jesus is not the Christ, or the son of God. Jesus is referenced here as a “man” from Nazareth. It is true that Jesus was God in the skin, but He was 100% man as well. This is saying that God anointed or consecrated Jesus, the man, with the Holy Spirit and the power. The word power in this verse, in its original form, means “forceful, miracle-working strength, the ability to be mighty and do wonderful work.”¹

Now remember, that while Jesus was on this earth, the Holy Spirit was with those that Jesus directed Him to indwell. For example, the disciples went to the villages two by two, “sent” by Jesus with authority. Then the 70 disciples in Luke 10:19 were given power or authority to cast out demons and to heal the sick. The Holy Spirit was limited in whom He could indwell at that time. But once Jesus had died and been resurrected, THEN the Holy Spirit was released upon mankind to work in multiples of places, people and circumstances at once.

If you are a have accepted and confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you have been born into His Kingdom. You too, have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That means you are in the family of God and His child. The Holy Spirit will help you, teach you, convict you, and guide you into the person that God destined you to be. The disciples received the Holy Spirit in that way after Jesus appeared to them as they were hiding in John 20:21. It was there that Jesus blew on them and they received the “infilling” of the Holy Spirit. BUT, Jesus had more for the disciples and He has more for you as well.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus was speaking to the disciples after His resurrection from the dead. He was instructing those who had been faithful to Him to go to Jerusalem and wait. (Luke 24:49) Wait for what? Jesus told them that they were to wait until they were endued (or clothed) with power (explosive, miracle-working power)¹ from on High. Now, many people believe that Jesus was speaking only to His disciples but there were 120 people in the upper room in Acts 2. They also received the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit. God never intended for that power to stop when His mortal disciples died!

As we read in Matthew 28:18, we see that Jesus said “ALL authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. GO, therefore, and make disciples…..” That command was to whom? His disciples. Jesus was telling His disciples that they were to make disciples and they are those who are believers and pupils of the Word of God. Then in Mark 16:17 Jesus said, “And these signs will follow those who believe.” He then proceeds to tell them they have power to walk in the miracle-working strength that He had. My point is, that as a believer, you have been given you the same power (miraculous, forceful strength and the ability to be mighty and do wonderful work)¹ and the authority to go everywhere you can to tell others about Him.

¹ Strong’s Concordance Greek Dictionary, page 25 Dunamis “Given the ability to use force, miraculous power, an abundance of might, strength to do wonderful work.”

Confession: I see through the scriptures that Jesus was given power and authority as a human and that He has given that same power and authority to me as a believer and child of God. I want to be a learner and a pupil of the Word so I can understand what is mine through the blood sacrifice of Jesus.