. . . by the Holy Spirit Reverend Anthony R. Locke
June 13th, 2010 at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker
Apostle’s Creed Series 07 English Standard Version 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
John 3:34
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Jesus was sent from the Father to utter eternal words of life. The Father anointed the Son with the Holy Spirit without measure to do His will. Jesus has sent that same Spirit to us. This is a very important doctrine and encourages us greatly in Christian living. When I was a teenager I was greatly discouraged in Christian living. I had standards set for me that were almost impossible to reach. My parents raised us 3 boys in a very conservative Baptist church where all the pastoral staff had graduated from Bob Jones University. My parents were very impressed by the faith and life of these ministers. To be fair, they lived very godly lives and they were my heroes. I still remember them with great respect and appreciate what they taught me. As teenagers we were measured by standards of Christian conduct that seemed unattainable. I knew I was blessed to have such caring parents that demanded so much from us, but we were not super human. Sometimes these high standards only worked to discourage me. Our youth minister would constantly tell us to be like Jesus. I always wondered if that was even possible. Jesus was born of a virgin without sin. According to Psalm 51:5 I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Jesus and I were very different indeed. Was it fair to place the life of Jesus as my standard for living? How could I live like the Son of God? Jesus shared in His person the full essence of Deity that is within the Trinity. His humanity was not stained by Adam’s sin. How was I supposed to live like Jesus? In the Apostle’s Creed we confess that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Jesus was born holy and God was His Father. My parents were Bob and Betty Locke of Roswell, Georgia. There was no way I was going to be as holy as Jesus. But the doctrine of Jesus being anointed without measure by the Holy Spirit is our encouragement. The Apostle’s Creed says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost. But that only tells us the beginning of Jesus’ life. In truth, Jesus lived His whole life by the Holy Spirit. This truth is both amazing and shocking when we understand what this truth means. John 3:34 teaches that the anointing of Jesus would be unlimited. This was also taught in the Old Testament. Psalm 45:6-7 teaches that the anointing of Jesus would be greater than all others. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of
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The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.