Most people today are asking that critical question: When Jesus was on this earth, was He ever possessed by the Holy Spirit or did He possess the Holy Spirit? For many people, the answer is not yet available. In this article, I'll be sharing with us from the Word of God the truth that gives answer to that question that is pressing in the heart of many people across the world. So, let's go into it.
So, the first place we want to start from in this article to get an answer to that question is in the book of Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 from verse 38. Look at what the Bible says: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” I'm sure that we understand that the Holy Spirit is God. That is the Spirit of God. The question that many of us were asking today is, was Jesus ever possessed by the Spirit of God? The Bible says in Acts chapter 10:38: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…” The question we could ask again is: Does anointing equate possession? That's very important for us to find.
If we look at it from the literal word of it. When you anoint something, usually, you don't anoint things with nothing. When you anoint, you anoint something with another thing. So, you could anoint a person’s head, you could anoint a person's body with a substance, you could use an oil or you could use water. That means you are covering the person with it; you are placing something upon someone. When Bible says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit; the substance that God used to cover Jesus, the substance that God used to bring Himself and Jesus together is called the Holy Spirit. That is the Spirit of Christ. The Bible says, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, with the Holy Spirit and with Him.
How was God with Him? By the Holy Spirit through whom Jesus has been anointed. So, the anointing upon Jesus was the anointing with the Holy Spirit. So, the Holy Spirit covered Him. I'm sure we still remember that point in the life of Jesus when He was baptized by John the Baptist. Immediately after He came out of the water, the Bible says, “and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven which says this is My beloved Son whom I am well pleased.” Now, we are asking this question: Was Jesus possess because we understand what it means for somebody, for a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl to be possessed by a spirit.
There are quite a number of spirits on the earth today. There are unclean spirits, there are foul spirits, there are demonic spirits, there are evil spirits on this earth today. So, what they do primarily is they possess the bodies of animals, they possess the bodies of humans, they possess the bodies of plants, of trees, that is what they do. And when they do that, what separate them for what the Holy Spirit does to any human, including Jesus; is that they take complete control of any vessel that they possess. So, when demons possess a body, when unclean spirits possess a body, they make the spirit of the body to be subsumed to their control, they take complete charge of the soul, and they direct the body to the point that they even speak through the body.
So, whatever you hear the body speak, it is the voice of the spirit that is being expressed to the body. When the body works, it is the spirit that actually works. There is nothing that the body does that is with the permission or the will or the spirit of the man. It is therefore the exclusive authority of the spirit, whether a foul spirit or an unclean spirit or a demonic spirit that takes charge of that body. What we want to look at again. Now we've seen that immediately, as God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, Bible says, “He went about doing good.” That is also a difference between a man who is possessed by unclean spirit by demons, and the man who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Actually, in the body of Christ, we don't talk about being possessed by the Holy Spirit because the truth is, if you look at the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the Holy Spirit never possessed anybody. The Holy Spirit rather came upon people, I'm sure you still remember Isaiah chapter 61, where the word of the Lord came to Prophet Isaiah, and it said, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me…” He has anointed me to preach, He has anointed me to heal, He has anointed me to open, He has anointed me to do this, and to do that. So, it is important we understand that when the Holy Spirit of God comes upon a man, it comes as a covering to anoint, it comes as a covering to cover. And when he does that, He empowers the person to do whatever God would have them do.
Now, when the Holy Spirit comes into you, unlike when demons are in you, when the Holy Spirit comes into you, whatever God had willed that you do, you would be able to do it. And I want you to notice every word that I'm using. Whatever God has willed that you do, you will be enabled to do it. If God has not willed it, you will not be enabled by the Holy Spirit to do it. And I'm sure you still remember that place in the book of Philippians 2:13 where the Bible says: “It is God that works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” So, there is a willingness, there is an ability, God works in you to will it and then to do it. But if you don't will it God will not walk in you to do it. This is where things must not be mixed up.
Now, when an unclean spirit takes over a person, when an unclean spirit possesses a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, the unclean spirit does not work in the person to will it, the person doesn't will it but the person does it. Youd don't speak under the authority, under the control of demonic spirits, what you will. You don't speak even with your voice. I'm sure we've seen people that have been possessed in the past, when you hear them speak, you will hear the voice of the spirit in them. It is usually different from the voice of the people that the spirits have possessed. That's to let you know that when an evil spirit, when an unclean spirit possesses a man, the unclean spirit takes charge of everything. They don't allow anyone that they possess to do anything, they do everything. They don't wait to be permitted. They don't wait to be given room; they take over.
It is like when a thief comes to a place. The thief does not ask you: Do you want me to take your TV or do you want me to take your car? Or do you want me to take your phone? The thief will do it, not minding that you will it or you don’t will it. Now, when a friend comes to your house, the friend will knock the door. And that's what Jesus said: Behold, I'm at the door knocking. If you don’t open the door, I will remain at the door knocking. But that is not the same for thieved and robbers. When they knock and you don't open, they break the door. They break the window, they enter, they take whatever they want to take, the defile whoever they want to defile, they scatter whatever they want to scatter, they could even burn what they want to burn and then they get out with everything that they have stolen.
That is not how God works. That is not how your friends behave. Your friend will knock, when you open the door, they will come in. If they like anything that you have, they ask for your permission. When you don't give them permission, they simply remain at rest. That is what the Holy Spirit does. And that's why the Bible often refers to the Holy Spirit as a gentle Spirit. When He comes and He speaks to you, He speaks in a gentle voice. He doesn't come to lord it over you. He doesn't come to subsume your will to His own will. He talks to you. When you accept what God has desired for you, then it becomes practicable. When you reject, your life continues as if no one has even entered you at all or no one as even come upon you. The Holy Spirit indeed can be in you and you may not even be aware of it for a long time. The Holy Spirit can come upon you and you may not even be conscious of it in the manner of speaking that you have to be conscious.
But when a demon takes over you, in a minute, everyone around you, including you will be aware that this man is not himself, he has been possessed. That's what happens. Because when the Holy Spirit comes into you, the Holy Spirit will talk to you, the Holy Spirit will counsel you. The Holy Spirit will tell you what God wants you to do. If you accept it, you will do it. If you don't accept it, it is undone. And I want us to see a place in the book of Matthew, where the Holy Spirit made Jesus to go to a place because God wanted Jesus to do something. Now let's go there. Matthew, chapter 26 and I will read from verse 36-42.
“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, your will be done.”
I'm sure you're familiar with that Scripture. The truth is: If Jesus was possessed, in the manner of speaking or being possessed by the Holy Spirit, He wouldn't be praying; let this cup pass over me, He would just do it. I'm sure we understand when we watch zombies, or we look at robot or any other thing that does not have a will, they simply do whatever they asked them to do. But Jesus said, O Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass over me, just to let you know His own will. And as far as Jesus was concerned, He would have done it if the Holy Spirit did not advise or counselled or enabled Him otherwise. And this is where things are very, very important not to miss. The Holy Spirit will not force you to do the right thing, the Holy Spirit will advise you, the Holy Spirit will guide you. The Holy Spirit will inspire and encourage you to do what is right.
But you have the right to deny it, to reject it and to say, “no, I'm not doing the right, I want to do the wrong.” The Holy Spirit will not force you. And Jesus was not forced. But He came to a point, remember in Philippians 2:13, the Bible say “it is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” So, God working in Jesus by the Holy Spirit to will the will of God. And it is when the will of God and the will of Christ align that Jesus actually made Himself available to be crucified by those who were against Him. And this is important for us to note. Jesus was never possessed by the Holy Spirit. Rather, Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit. If you look at when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, immediately Bible says “the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness.” The Bible didn't say the Holy Spirit pushed Him or threw Him into the wilderness, the Holy Spirit led Him. What is leadership? It is influence.
The Holy Spirit shows Him the next thing God would have Him do and Holy Spirit made him to see the benefit of going there. So, he went to the wilderness and eventually was tempted by the devil three times. And when He return with testimony, Bible says, He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that you also desire the Holy Spirit to empower you in life. But you must understand that when the Holy Spirit comes into you, it doesn't come to lord it over you. He comes to lead you. He comes to tell you, “This is what God would have you do. If you do it, you will get this benefit. Your life will be better, things will work out for your good.” But if you don't do it, then you cannot blame God for whatever happens to you.
The Holy Spirit will lay before you life and death and He will tell you, choose life, so that you and your children may live. But the Holy Spirit will not force you to choose life. If you choose death, even though He wills it that you choose life, He cannot force you to life. So, being possessed by spirit is only exclusive to the unclean, evil and foul spirits of this word. When it comes to the Holy Spirit that descend out of the Father, that proceed out of the Father, He comes to fill you, He comes to dwell in you, He comes to be your comforter, your coach, your counsellor, your teacher. He comes to inspire you towards the will and counsel of God for your life.
Don't forget, you can reject the will of God for your life. And you can reject the leadership of the Holy Spirit in your life. However, when you do that, you cannot blame God for what happens ahead of you. This word has been laid in my heart to share with us in this article and I am sure, as you meditate on them, your life will be better. You will not be a man that is open to being possessed by spirits, but you will be a man that is filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember what Apostle Paul said. It says: “Don't be filled with wine which leads to excess. But rather, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” The truth is if you fill yourself up with wine, with alcohol, you will do whatever the alcohol wants you to do. But when you fill yourself with the Holy Spirit, you will do whatever God wants you to do.
I believe our future will be bright. I believe we will emerge under God, an army; we will emerge under God champion, a people who are great, a people who are strong. Our lives will not be subject to the manipulations of hell. allies will not be subjected to the manipulations of air. You remember, when Judas began to follow Jesus from afar, Bible says Satan entered into him. Literally, Satan possessed him and he left where all the disciples were and he went to those who wanted to kill Jesus to ask them for money. He betrayed Jesus because he was possessed by Satan.
Don't allow Satan to possess you. Don't allow demons to possess you. Don't allow the god of this world to possess you. Rather, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember they say nature forbids vacuum. Remember the way God has created you. You can't be without either the Holy Spirit or an unclean spirit. I will advise you to go for God's Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life. The Lord is knocking the door of your heart. The Spirit of the Lord is waiting to enter into you. Jesus already told us that the world will never understand the Holy Spirit because they do not have Him, because He doesn't dwell in them. The Holy Spirit is not for the world, the Holy Spirit is for you who profess Jesus Christ.
Invite the Holy Spirit into your life this moment, invite the Holy Spirit into your affairs. He will not come to shake you anyhow. He will not come to make you fall down and break your head; that is not what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit comes to fill you, He doesn't come to vibrate you. He comes to lead you. As you submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and you follow Him as Jesus did, your life will be transgenerational relevant on this earth and in eternity in Jesus’ name.
God bless you. My name is Gboyega Adedeji. Till the next time I bring you another interesting episode on this same channel, remain filled with the Holy Spirit.
