“And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” Luke 4:1
Dear Ones:
One of the fruits and expressions of the Holy Spirit is joy. Jesus spoke a great deal of His joy, and that which He has provided and chosen for us to know. The expressions of joy in the Scriptures are very numerous, from the dancing of David as the Ark of the Covenant was being brought into Jerusalem, to the moment when the disciples saw, and understood, that indeed the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. But if we are to grasp the most excellent unveiling of true joy, we must look to the experience and revelation of it in the Lord Jesus Himself. And so, we begin with His joy in the womb. It was, as Mary came to visit Elizabeth, that when she greeted her, Elizabeth’s baby, John the Baptist, would leap in her womb for joy. Elizabeth, being filled with the Spirit, would then declare: ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42) This joy that John knew as an unborn babe, was experienced by Elizabeth, and most certainly also by Mary and the baby Jesus.
Jesus would grow through childhood and into manhood, until He comes to thirty years of age. He is filled with the Spirit all of this time, knowing the “joy” of His Father, by the Spirit. But when we see Him being baptized by John in the Jordan, we see that this mighty, eternal fire and flood of joy, is controlled and measured. Christ comes forth out of the Jordan, having been anointed by this Spirit of Joy. Jesus is then LED by the Spirit into the wilderness, there to face the Enemy of Eden, Satan himself. The measured power of the Spirit of joy will enable Him to discern clearly the tempter’s overtures, and overcome the onslaught of lies and distortions from His enemy. Jesus will come forth from the wilderness, weak of body, but joyful in spirit, and resolute in the purpose that is set before Him. He “…returns in the power of the Spirit into Galilee…and then in Nazareth stands up to read in the synagogue, declaring: “The Spirit of the Lord IS upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.” (Luke 4:18) The Eternal Fire and Flood of the Spirit is again revealed in His measured power and strength as the Son of God takes His eternal stand, embracing His mission, resolutely setting Himself against all that would militate against the accomplishment of His mission. So, what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit, this eternal Fire and Flood? There is no doubt that there will be the very evident revealing and experience of the joy of the Lord. But there will be in that joy, a measured, sufficient, and overcoming power, which enables the believer to be led, kept, and strengthened to fulfill his mission and purpose in service to Christ by the Spirit.
Dear Father, give us a balanced vision of what the importance and reality of the Spirit of God truly is. With that vision of His ministry in and through Christ, enable us to appropriate Him for every need, believing Him for the resoluteness of His faithfulness to be revealed in us. In this race, fight of faith, give us to understand in the measure that is possible, what is the blessedness of being FILLED with the Spirit, led by Him, enabled by Him to know and do the will of God. Then, Thou shalt be glorified, and others will be truly blessed, and we shall know fullness of joy. We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad