Don Stewart :: What Were the Three Occasions When the Holy Spirit Came Down in a Special Way?

What Were the Three Occasions When the Holy Spirit Came Down in a Special Way?

The Holy Spirit: How He Works – Question 9

The New Testament records three great comings of the Holy Spirit. First was the coming of the Holy Spirit at the conception of Jesus. Second, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism. Finally, the Holy Spirit came upon believers on the Day of Pentecost. The evidence for these three events is as follows.

The Holy Spirit Came down to Conceive of Jesus

The first great coming of the Holy Spirit was at Jesus Christ’s conception. The human Jesus was conceived of god the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel said to Mary.

The angel replied to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35 HCSB).

This supernatural event allowed the sinless Son of God to enter the world as a human being. We can rightly say that this was the first great “coming” of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Came upon Jesus at His Baptism

The second important coming of the Holy Spirit was when Jesus Christ was baptized. The Spirit of God came upon Him at the beginning of His public ministry and rested upon Him during the entire time in which He ministered to the world.

John the Baptist gave the following testimony about the identity of the One whom He baptized in water.

I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’ (John 1:33 NLT).

The Holy Spirit identified Jesus as the promised Messiah. He would be the One who would eventually baptize with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Descended on the Day of Pentecost

The third great coming was the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. After Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit came down in a unique way on all those who have believed in Christ. In fact, we are told that Jesus exercised the authority of the Messiah by sending the Holy Spirit upon others. Peter said to the crowd on that day.

Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear (Acts 2:33 NKJV).

The promise of the Father has been given. Jesus, therefore, imparts to believers the blessings that He personally realized in being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Scripture thus speaks of the communion, or the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that all believers partake in.

Paul wrote the following to the Corinthians.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you (2 Corinthians 13:13 HCSB).

The Spirit of God is now leading and guiding God’s people to do His work.

Therefore, as we look at the totality of Scripture we find that there were three special occasions when the Holy Spirit came down in a mighty way.

Summary – Question 9
What Were the Three Occasions When the Holy Spirit Came down in a Special Way?

The New Testament records three special times that God the Holy Spirit came down in a unique way. They can be summed up as follows.

The first was the miracle of the conception of God the Son into a human being. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit miraculously overshadowed the young virgin Mary to produce the child Jesus. This was the first great coming of the Spirit.

The second major coming of the Holy Spirit was at Jesus’ baptism. At this great event, the Holy Spirit identified Him as the long-awaited Messiah. The Spirit of God then led Him during His entire public ministry.

The third major coming of the Holy Spirit was to the church on the Day of Pentecost. At that time the Spirit of God came down in a unique way upon those who believed in Jesus Christ. From that day until now, the Holy Spirit comes upon each person who places his or her trust in Christ as Savior.

This briefly sums up three special events involving the Holy Spirit with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.