The Gospel narratives portray the Spirit as working actively in every phase of Jesus’ life and mission. The title “Christ” itself signifies anointing—in this case by the Spirit… Jesus was ontologically Son of God from the moment of conception, but he became Christ by the power of the Spirit…
The point to stress here is that the Spirit is more central to the story of Jesus than theology has usually acknowledged. It was by the Spirit that Jesus was conceived, anointed, empowered, commissioned, directed and raised up…
It is important to recognize that Jesus was dependent on the Spirit. He had to rely on the Spirit’s resources to overcome temptation. He was weak and human and did not know the life of undiminished deity. He suffered real attack in the temptations and was not play-acting. It was not through confidence in his own power that he put himself at risk. Victory over temptation was not achieved in his own strength. He overcame sin by the power of God and in so doing modeled the lifestyle of faith for us all. Jesus surrendered himself in trust and conquered the powers of evil by the Spirit, as we all must.
– Flame of Love, Clark Pinnock
