The Holy Spirit was not absent from the hard places of Jesus' life. He was present at the beginning, the middle, and the end. From conception to resurrection, the Spirit was the active power of God making redemption possible.

Conceived by the Spirit

Jesus' human life began by a miracle of the Spirit. The angel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" Luke 1:35. The eternal Son took flesh not by human will or effort but by the creative power of the Holy Spirit.

This means that the Spirit is the author of the incarnation. He is the One who made God-with-us possible. The same Spirit who formed Adam from dust formed the Savior in a virgin's womb.

Empowered by the Spirit

Throughout His ministry, Jesus worked in the power of the Spirit. He healed the sick, cast out demons, opened blind eyes, and raised the dead by the Spirit of God. When the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by Satan, Jesus replied, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" Matthew 12:28.

Every act of Jesus' ministry was a kingdom act, and every kingdom act was a Spirit act.

Sustained by the Spirit

Jesus' death was not a defeat of the Spirit; it was the climax of the Spirit-empowered mission. Hebrews says that Christ "through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God" Hebrews 9:14. The Spirit sustained Jesus' obedience even in Gethsemane and on the cross.

Raised by the Spirit

And then came resurrection. Paul declares that "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you" Romans 8:11. The same power that broke the tomb is at work in you right now.

This is not a metaphor. The resurrection power of the Spirit is the power that will one day raise your body from death and is already raising your inner life from sin, despair, and bondage.

The New Adam and the New Exodus

In Jesus, the Spirit does what Israel failed to do. Israel was led by the Spirit in the wilderness but rebelled. Jesus, led by the Spirit in the wilderness, obeyed. Israel broke the covenant. Jesus fulfilled it. Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. Where death reigned, resurrection now reigns.

This is why the Christian life is possible. You are not trying to be good enough to earn the Spirit. You are living from the victory the Spirit has already accomplished in Jesus.