Beginning with this message, we shall consider the Spirit’s coming. This matter is a mystery. The New Testament describes the coming of the Spirit to John the Baptist, to Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Jesus Christ, to the saints in the transitional period between Christ’s incarnation and resurrection, and to the New Testament believers.
The coming of the Holy Spirit to John the Baptist was the first instance of the Spirit’s coming to God’s people in the New Testament. Luke 1:15 says of him, “He will be great before the Lord, and will by no means drink wine and strong drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” The word here about not drinking wine or strong drink indicates that John was to be a Nazarite (Num. 6:1-4). Instead of drinking wine, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit replaces the wine (Eph. 5:18).
The Spirit came to John the Baptist by filling him economically. The Greek word for “filled” in Luke 1:15, pletho, signifies an outward filling. This indicates that John was filled with the Spirit outwardly as power for ministry. Because John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit economically for power, he could minister in a way to separate people to God and bring them back to God. The preparing of the way for Christ’s coming required that John the Baptist, His forerunner, be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, so that he could separate the people unto God from all things other than God, making them holy unto Him for His purpose.
John the Baptist was the first one in the New Testament who was filled with the Holy Spirit. Because he was filled with the Holy Spirit economically for power, he could fulfill the words spoken concerning him in Luke 1:16 and 17: “Many of the sons of Israel he will turn to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the disobedient to the prudence of the righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.” This was the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5, a verse that prophesied that Elijah would come. It was said of John the Baptist that he would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. Therefore, in a sense, John may be considered “Elijah, who is about to come” (Matt. 11:14).
After the Holy Spirit came to John the Baptist, the Spirit came to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the way of overshadowing her for the conceiving of Jesus. Luke 1:35 says, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; wherefore also the holy thing which is born will be called, Son of God.” The Spirit came to Mary for no other purpose than to overshadow her for the conceiving of Jesus.
As the cloud overshadowed the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5) and the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34, 38), the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary. It seems that, according to Luke 1:35, the Holy Spirit was only upon Mary as the power for her to conceive the Holy Child. However, as we shall see when we consider the coming of the Spirit to Jesus Christ, Mary “was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit,” for that which was begotten in her was of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20). Therefore, the Spirit came to Mary, overshadowing her, in such a way that something of the Holy Spirit was begotten in her.
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