And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. (Luke 4:1-2)
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (Luke 4:14-15)
Luke records that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit led him into the wilderness and that when he returned to Galilee to begin his ministry he was doing everything in the power of the Spirit. If this was the first time we were hearing these things, we wouldn’t know anything more than that this is the history of Jesus’ life and ministry.
The question of whether the historical account of Jesus’ experience of the Holy Spirit was unique to him, or also applicable to us today, must be answered by looking at what Jesus and the apostles taught on the matter.
Jesus’ introduction to the role of the Holy Spirit in the church focuses on the night before his arrest and crucifixion. In John 13-16 Jesus prepares his disciples for what was about to happen by telling them what to expect and that the Holy Spirit would be their Helper.
After the Holy Spirit came on the church (Acts 2), the apostles expanded on Jesus’ teaching by giving instructions about our relationship to the third person of the Trinity. It helps to look at this through the filter of left-brain/right-brain experience.
The left-brain side of things is the information the Scriptures tell us about the Spirit. These include instructions to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), that we are “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14), we must “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), and “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
Paul shows how serious this is by clarifying, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
The right-brain side of this is how it is working in our bonding with God. For this we must ask ourselves honest relational questions. For example, “How much am I hindered from being filled with the Spirit because I’m already full of myself?” “What would I need to confess, renounce and forsake to make room for the Holy Spirit to fill me?” “How do I feel when I consider being attached to the Holy Spirit as the person God has sent to guide me into all truth and to lead me to walk in the ‘obedience of faith’?”
Those are just suggestions. The point is that to be filled with the Spirit takes more than a left-brain acknowledgment of the facts of Scripture. It requires us to focus on a right-brain attachment to the Spirit including whatever house-cleaning is required to make room in the inn, so to speak.
Today, I am encouraged that God’s command to “be filled with the Spirit” is mine to obey in faith. I plan to repent of anything the Spirit shows me is taking up space in my heart, soul or mind that keeps him from filling me to the full, and I plan to put my faith in Jesus in whatever ways his Spirit calls me to trust him, no matter how relationally scary that may feel.
Yes, Jesus walked in the Spirit in ways unique to him. The wonder of Jesus’ human relationship to the Father and the Spirit while he himself was “God with us” is mind-boggling. But the Spirit-filled life is expected of all the sons of God, and we must let Jesus’ uniqueness in this help us with the universal way of life of all those who follow him.
© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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