| Christian Life and Doctrine | April 1975 |
The Spirit of Action
THE Spirit of God is the power of God. For the followers of Jesus it is a power which touches their lives in various ways. Through the Word of truth they are begotten by the Holy Spirit to a new hope of life. They are baptized by the Spirit. The Spirit of God witnesses to them that they are the children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ in the glorious kingdom of promise, when they are assured that if they are faithful in following in Jesus’ footsteps, they will live and reign with him in that kingdom. The Lord’s consecrated people are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and by this Spirit they are anointed, or authorized, to be his servants in sounding forth the glad tidings of the kingdom.
Jesus referred to the anointing of the Holy Spirit when delivering a message in the synagogue in his own home town of Nazareth. The account of this is set forth in Luke 4:16-22.
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the Prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he bath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.”
The word anointed, as used by Jesus, is symbolic of the impartation of authority. It is based upon the custom of the Old Testament era when kings and priests were anointed to office. The anointing ceremony signified the authority that was invested in them to occupy the position they held—in the government if they were kings, and in the religious services of the nation if they were anointed to be priests. So Jesus used this word to indicate that he had been given authority to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom. In doing this Jesus quotes from an Old Testament prophecy in which the anointing of the Spirit to preach good tidings is foretold. It is the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-3, which we quote:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
The anointing authority of the Holy Spirit came to Jesus through the written Word of God. He knew from that Word that one of the important missions of his life was to bear witness to the truth of God’s great plan, that plan which embodied the coming of the Messiah to be the Redeemer and Savior of the world. And Jesus was faithful to this responsibility which was placed upon him by his Heavenly Father. We read concerning him that “he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him.”—Luke 8:1
The Gospel of the kingdom in Jesus’ day was good tidings indeed, even as it is still good tidings today. And when Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom under the authority of the Holy Spirit’s anointing, the people heard a message of good tidings. It was the same good tidings which the angel proclaimed on the night when Jesus was born, saying to the shepherds, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” We are told that the Lord had anointed Jesus to “preach good tidings unto the meek,” and it merely emphasizes that in his ministry he enlarged upon the message of the angel. The angel announced that the promised Messiah and Deliverer had been born. Jesus revealed that now this child had grown to maturity and was himself reiterating the fact that his coming and ministry was indeed good tidings unto the meek.
The Prophet Isaiah also explained that Jesus had been sent to bind up the brokenhearted. Since sin and death entered the world through the transgression of our first parents, there have always been many brokenhearted ones, and there is nothing that is more potent in healing these brokenhearted than to proclaim to them the good tidings of the kingdom. Many do not have the faith to accept such a message of hope, but for those who do, what a changed outlook in their life is given to them—instead of hopelessness and despair over the loss of their loved ones in death or because of other misfortunes in their lives, they are filled with hope, realizing that their sad experiences in life are only temporary, lasting merely during what the Scriptures declare is a time of darkness, or night, and that joy will come in the morning.
The text which we quote (Luke 8:1) explains that Jesus not only preached the good tidings, but also showed, or illustrated, the full meaning of his message, and this is what was involved in his performing of miracles. Not only was Jesus anointed to proclaim good tidings, but the Holy Spirit had given him authority as the Messiah actually to accomplish that which he proclaimed. In due time Jesus will heal all the sick and raise all the dead; and how this will wipe away the tears from the faces of all who have suffered throughout this present nighttime of sin!
Liberty to the Captives
Isaiah 61:1 declares further that Jesus was anointed “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” As the Scriptures so clearly reveal, not only was Jesus anointed to proclaim the message that the captives and the prisoners would be released in God’s due time, but was given the authority actually to accomplish this on behalf of all the captives and prisoners when God’s due time arrives. There are, as we know, many types of captives, and various ways in which one can be in prison. The Lord created humans not to be captives, not to be in prison—either by their ignorance, or by those who rule over them, or in death—and in his glorious plan of salvation Jesus will release all from the captivity, no matter what form it may have.
“A Time Accepted”
Proclaiming the Gospel involves more than announcing the glorious future time of blessing for all the families of the earth. Isaiah wrote of Jesus that he was anointed “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” The Apostle Paul referred to this matter when in II Corinthians 6:2 he writes, “I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
The words “acceptable” and “accepted,” as used in these texts by Isaiah and Paul, are very appropriate, because the reference is to a period of time in the divine plan when God accepts the sacrifices of his people in the outworking of his plan. That period of time began with the first advent of Jesus, and it is still continuing today. Jesus, in conducting the proclamation of the good news, laid down his life in sacrifice, that sacrifice being consummated at Calvary. But in proclaiming the message to those who had a hearing ear, he extended the invitation to them to join him in the privilege of sacrifice. His invitation bade them to deny themselves and to take up their cross and follow him unto death. It was not until the Holy Spirit came upon the waiting disciples at Pentecost that they really understood what this invitation meant.
It is a high honor to have any part in God’s plan of salvation, and this is especially true if there has been extended to us the privilege of laying down our lives in the ministry of the glad tidings. In referring to this the Apostle Paul is discussing the privilege we have of being workers together with God. (II Cor. 6:1) Then follows his explanation, “I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Many have misconstrued this statement to mean that the present life of the individual is the only one in which there is an opportunity to accept Christ and be saved. We know, however, that other scriptures testify abundantly to the fact that in the kingdom age, the times of restitution, the whole resurrected race of mankind will have full opportunity of accepting Christ, obeying the laws of the kingdom, and gaining everlasting life here on earth.
But Paul is not here referring to that future opportunity for the world to gain life. He is referring to this great present period in the plan of God during which some are called, or invited, to lay down their lives in sacrifice following in the footsteps of Jesus, inspired by the hope that if they do this they will have the privilege of living and reigning with him. Paul refers to this as the “great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”—Heb. 2:3
Church Also Anointed
Not only was Jesus anointed by the Holy Spirit to “preach good tidings unto the meek,” but his footstep followers share in this anointing and are also thereby authorized to be ministers of the Gospel. Not only are they authorized to be ministers of the Gospel but they are given the assurance in the Word of God that they will share with Jesus in his kingdom in restoring the world of mankind to life. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12) Jesus explained that the “greater” works that his followers would do would result from his going unto the Father, which means that the work he is referring to is the future work of the kingdom—healing the sick and raising the dead.
As we know, Jesus, by the power of God which had been imparted to him, healed the sick and raised the dead. But these blessings at that time were not permanent. The healed ones, with advancing age, became ill again, and those who had been awakened from the dead went back into death. Besides, while Jesus’ work was fairly widespread, he did not heal all the sick or raise all the dead. But it will be different when his kingdom of blessings is functioning in the earth. Then Jesus, and associated with him those who prove to be his faithful followers, will heal all the sick, and they will raise all the dead; and this will not be a temporary blessing, for those who are thus blessed, if they obey the laws of the kingdom, will remain well forever, and those who are restored from the dead will remain alive forever. Thus the church, together with Jesus, will perform greater works than he did during the course of his earthly ministry.
The Day of Vengeance
When Jesus, in the synagogue in Nazareth, quoted the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1,2 concerning the fact that he had been anointed by the Spirit, he did not quote the segment concerning the “day of vengeance of our Lord.” This is a reference to the time of great tribulation with which the present age ends. It is referred to in the Bible as the day of Jehovah—a period in which there is a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.” This day of vengeance was not upon the earth in Jesus’ day, so he omitted that part of the prophecy of Isaiah which mentions it.
But now it is different. We are in the very midst of this time of trouble, and the Holy Spirit authorizes us to make this a part of our message. This does not mean that we are authorized to declare vengeance upon the people, but merely to explain what this time of great trouble means in connection with the plan of God, and that it is to be followed by the blessings of Christ’s kingdom.
Closely associated with this reference to the day of vengeance is the further instruction “to comfort all that mourn.” Millions throughout the earth are even now mourning because of this great time of trouble, and to explain to as many as have a hearing ear what it means in connection with the divine plan of salvation should be, and is, a comfort to them. In Isaiah 35:3,4 we have what seems to be a reference to this declaration concerning the day of vengeance. Here the Lord’s people are instructed to “strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees”; also to “say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”
It is a privilege to explain, to the fearful of earth who will listen, that the trouble with which we are surrounded is indeed a part of God’s day of vengeance, and we are also to explain that the purpose of this manifestation of God is that he comes to bring salvation—to “save you.” Then follows a description of the blessings of Messiah’s kingdom, culminating with the assurance that “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”—Isaiah 35:10
How wonderful, then, it is to share with Jesus in the great work of proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom! How glad we are for all the evidences that Christ’s kingdom of blessings is so near at hand! In proclaiming its imminence our message should indeed remove fear from the hearts of the people and give them comfort and joy. And we know that this is God’s will for us because he has anointed us for this purpose by his Holy Spirit. May we never grieve the Spirit by lack of faithfulness in fulfilling this marvelous commission.