Jesus' Baptism

[Keeping Alert]

Since there is a sudden interest in baptism, I thought I would ask a question concerning Luke 4:1

"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness."

This happened after Jesus' baptism where the Holy Ghost descended upon Jesus

My question is this - Was Jesus without the Holy Ghost prior to His baptism? Was Jesus not conceived by the Holy Ghost Himself? Even John the baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost in Elisabeth's womb (Luke 1:15)

I believe that Jesus Christ was FULL of the Holy Ghost from birth. Why then Luke 4:1?

[extravagantchristian]

I think that when we are born again, we have the Holy Spirit with us always, from that point on. But that doesn't mean that we are filled with the spirit all the time. We get filled with the spirit, so to say, when we spend time in communion w/ God through prayer and worship.

I didn't have that experience happen to me until 4-5 years after I was born-again, and I started spending more quality time in prayer with God than I ever had before. It's like I didn't really know what I was doing before before and it took me a while to figure it out. And then when it happened I knew that something very tremendous, yet very subtle had happened to me. Know what I mean? I think that's what it means to be filled with the spirit. To come to a place where you are able to get alone with God and experience His spirit filling your entire mind, by faith. I would say that the "filling" lasts for hours, not days. Because our minds leak, and therefore we have to be filled again, and again, and again.

So anyway, I would think the same would be true with Jesus. Maybe He always had the HS, but He was FILLED, at a later date.

[daffodyllady]

Your post reminded me of this verse:

Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Yes, Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, but he was anointed to do the work He was sent to do, when He was baptized.

This seems to me to be the pattern repeated in the experience of the 11 disciples.

Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Ghost. This was before the day of Pentecost. In fact, it was the day they saw and believed on the risen Lord; the very moment they entered into the New Covenant, which had just been completed by Christ.

Is not this what happens with us today, when we believe on the risen Lord? We immediately receive the Holy Spirit, because "he that hath not the Spirit of Christ, is none of His."

Jesus told his disciples to go to Jerusalem to wait for the empowering they needed to fulfill the Great Commission that He had given them. That is what the day of Pentecost was for. To empower them to carry it out.

The church today gets the cart before the horse too often. We go, and then we wonder why it is so difficult. We need to wait before God today also, to receive that anointing that enables us to what He called us to do.

[Keeping Alert]

Thanks for all your answers.

I don't know... somehow, the very God Jesus Christ needing a filling of the Holy Spirit or an annointing of the Holy Spirit does not seem to gel in my understanding of who Jesus Christ is... we may need a filling or an annointing but Jesus Christ? I am not too sure...

I have a personal private understanding that Luke 4:1 is necessary to mention that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness just to lay at ease the probable misconception that may arise that perhaps Jesus could have been led by the devil into the wilderness.

Could it be just as simple as that?