The Spirit has the function of infilling as the oil in the vessel (Matt. 25:4, 8-9). We are likened to vessels, and the filling One is likened to oil. Oil is a symbol of the Spirit in the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25. In order to be wise virgins, we need to buy the oil. This means that we need to pay the price to gain the fullness of the Spirit.
Mark 1:12 says that the Spirit thrusted Jesus into the wilderness. To thrust is to drive or to impel. The Spirit drove and impelled Christ to carry out His ministry. Many times the Spirit pushes and impels us to do things. I have had the feeling often that the Spirit was urging, impelling, thrusting, and driving me. Even the Lord Jesus needed the thrusting of the Spirit. We need the Spirit’s thrusting even more.
The Spirit has the function of filling outwardly (Luke 1:15b, 41b, 67). The Greek word pletho refers to the outward filling of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit fills us inwardly as the oil in the vessel, He is the essential Spirit. When He fills us outwardly, He is the economical Spirit. The infilling is for the essence of life, and the outward filling is for the work.
According to Luke 1:35, the Spirit has the function of overshadowing. Overshadowing is very close to brooding. To overshadow is to cover and protect. Brooding is not for protection or covering but for producing life. In Luke 1:36 the angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” When the Spirit came to Mary, He did the begetting within her; outwardly, He overshadowed her. The Spirit came to Mary inwardly to produce life, to beget, and He came to Mary outwardly to overshadow, cover, and protect her. This shows that when the Lord Jesus was begotten in Mary, Mary had the Spirit within as the essential Spirit to beget, and she had the Spirit without as the economical Spirit to overshadow her, to cover her.
Prophesying is another function of the Spirit. In Luke 1:67 and 2:27-29 prophesying is used mainly in the sense of speaking for God and speaking forth God. In the New Testament usage, to prophesy is mainly to speak for the Lord. With prophesying there may also be some prediction.
The Spirit has the function of communicating, revealing. Luke 2:25-26 says, “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he should see the Lord’s Christ.” Something was communicated to Simeon by the Holy Spirit. This means that something was revealed to him.
The Spirit is also for infilling. Luke 4:1 says that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for “full” here is the adjective pleres. To be full of the Spirit is the result and condition of being filled within.
The Spirit is the empowering Spirit (Luke 4:14a; 11:20; 24:49). He is the power for preaching and for casting out demons. In Luke 24:49, the Lord told the disciples, “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” The power from on high is the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:18a says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me...” This verse shows that the Spirit has the function of anointing. Before the Spirit of God descended and came upon Jesus for His anointing (Matt. 3:16), He was already born of the Spirit (Luke 1:35), proving that He already had the Spirit of God within Him. That was for His birth. For His ministry, the Spirit of God descended upon Him. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1; 42:1; and Psalm 45:7 to anoint the new King and introduce Him to His people.