Day 20 - Hope in the Fulness of the Spirit

Child of Hope: An Advent Devotional

Friday, December 19, 2008

Hope in the Fulness of the Spirit

Here is my Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations.
Isaiah 42:1

When the prophets looked forward to the coming of God’s Chosen One, the Messiah, they did so in the hope that He would usher in a day when God’s Spirit would fall upon His people in power. They longed for the day when the Spirit would not be limited to the few, but available to all. When He came, the Messiah would not only be the One on whom the fulness of the Spirit rested, He would also be the bearer of the fulness of the Spirit to others. God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. This was to be one of the signs of the end of the age, the inauguration of the Kingdom of God. Those who had waited so long would know God’s presence by His Spirit in their lives. This was their hope.

In the synagogue, in Nazareth, Jesus applied Isaiah’s words to His ministry (Luke 4), declaring that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, and that He had been appointed to preach good news to the poor. Mary remembered the promise of the Spirit (Luke 1). Paul looked back at the resurrection and declared that it was by the Spirit’s power that Christ had been raised (Romans 1).

Yet Jesus was not only anointed, He was also the bearer of the Spirit. He would give “streams of living water.” And, when He had ascended to be with His Father, He would send the Holy Spirit upon the Church. At Pentecost the promised gift finally fell. In this sense, also, Jesus is the source of our hope. He fulfills prophecy. He is the Anointed One, but He is also the mediator of God’s presence by His Spirit today. God’s plan continues to unfold; His Kingdom advances; hope lives.

Prayer for the Day
Holy Spirit,
promised gift of the Risen Savior,
come into our hearts today.
Fill us with Your fulness.
Help us to love with a devotion
beyond our ability to give,
and to serve with the hands of Jesus.
In His name.
Amen.