Updated:-2022/06/26
Which Verse Says the Spirit of God is Upon Me?
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound”.
(Isaiah 61:1)
The Prophet of the Lord God, Isaiah, penned the preceding verse of Scripture.
The Beloved Physician, Luke, also wrote on this subject in Luke 4:18.
Was Isaiah speaking about himself? Do prophets prophecy about themselves or about some other persons?
If you say some other person then you would realize that Isaiah couldn’t be talking of himself because no other scripture supports such a claim.
What Does ‘The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me’ Mean in Isaiah?
Speaking of Jesus, in both Isaiah and Luke the Word of God declares that the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and this means that the Spirit empowers him to accomplish all his tasks.
If the Spirit of the Lord wasn’t on him he would have been powerless.
Thus, Jesus immediately before his ascension into heaven informs his eleven leaders (Judas was dead) when and how they too will be empowered.
He says:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
(Acts 1:8)
Jesus received power from the Spirit, his leaders did and His Church also received power after the Spirit of the Lord came upon us.
In Acts 1:8, above, note that instead of saying “the Spirit of the Lord” the Bible uses “the Holy Ghost”, yet both references are discussing the identical topic, why?
Because there is a subtle difference in the usage of the Spirit of the Lord and Holy Ghost! Read about it!
Note too that now the Holy Ghost accomplishes the Come Upon and NOT the Spirit of the Lord. But the result is the same: power!
It means that the Spirit of the Lord has two roles. First, He is the Anointer, and second; He’s the anointing oil.
A similar thing happened to Cornelius and his household. As Apostle Peter ministered the Word of God to them, instructing them on how to be saved.
The identical thing that occurred on the Day of Pentecost manifested in their group.
Listen as Luke explains:
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
(Acts 10:44)
The Holy Ghost fell on all them” is identical in substance to “after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” because both phrases are describing the exact operation of the Spirit of the Lord.
I have written extensively on this topic; therefore, I won’t duplicate that content here. Click the link for details on the Spirit of God.
What is The Anointing?
In early Bible times, the Lord God would anoint a man for a special purpose.
He always anoints a man before he occupies the office of a prophet, priest, or king.
“And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room”.
(1 Kings 19:16)
And don’t forget the priest!
“And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations”.
(Exodus 40:15)
Or before he executes a special task that the Lord appoints (2 Chronicles 22:7).
“Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not”.
2 Kings 9:3
Only The Chosen Got Anointed!
No woman or child was ever anointed. This changes on the Day of Pentecost.
Consequently, God would send one of his prophets to physically anoint the chosen man with holy anointing oil.
During the anointing, the prophet would pour the oil on the head of his candidate.
“Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him” (Exodus 29:7; Psalm 23:5).
This was a liberal anointing. He would pour so much oil that it drips from his head and runs down his clothes to his feet.
Listen as David compares family living in “unity” to the anointing oil. He says:
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.
Psalm 133:2
The anointing foreshadows the baptism of the Holy Ghost in the New Testament (NT).
The Lord’s Anointed
After such a man was anointed, he was referred to as the Lord’s Anointed.
“And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him” .
(1 Samuel 16:6)
King David made this phrase popular in the Scriptures.
As time marches on, instead of the Lord sending one of His representatives to physically anoint a chosen person, He would anoint such a person Himself.
This He (the Spirit of the Lord) did by coming upon the man’s head. I call this event The Come Upon Experience.
It’s still an anointing but now it’s not physical but spiritual.
The Anointing is Not a Filling
Before, I continue, I want to make this abundantly clear, not once, from Samson to David did the Spirit of the Lord enter into the body of any of these persons.
Consequently, the anointing is not an in-filling or an indwelling!
But at Pentecost, this will change.
After the anointed had accomplished his assigned task the Spirit of the Lord left him.
Isaiah by saying, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek” is prophesying about Jesus’ coming ministry.
He says a similar thing concerning Jesus with another Scripture relevant to the anointing.
What Is The Spirit of The Lord?
It is difficult to answer: What is the Spirit of the Lord with a few short sentences, but I will attempt to do just that here?
The Spirit of the Lord is the spirit that belongs to Him. Recall that God is not a person but a Spirit; however, He has other Spirits that are always with Him and they all have names.
The Spirit of the Lord is a generic name for God. We cannot effectively differentiate between His Spirit and Him because He is a Spirit.
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”.
(Isaiah 11:1)
This other Bible Study will explain the Spirit of The Lord. Read it and resume this Come Upon Journey.
“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” .
(Isaiah 11:2)
On the other hand, when Doctor Luke writes about this, he is recording the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
The good doctor was quoting the Great Prophet!
The Beloved Physician writes:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”.
(Luke 4:18)
Jesus explains as much.
Jesus Explains
He tells the people in the temple that they had just experienced the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1.
He says, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21).
So, the come upon experience is an anointing.
Why didn’t the Bible say that Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord?
Instead, it declares that he was anointed by the Holy Ghost after his baptism but before he started his ministry.
Matthew says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:” .
(Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.
(Matthew 3:17)
But Luke says:
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him”.
(Acts 10:38)
The Spirit of the Lord is the anointing.
The Anointing Happens First
Earlier, I reminded you that an anointing is not an infilling. However, an anointing always precedes an indwelling.
At Pentecost, how the Come Upon executes changed. First, there was an anointing, which is the Come Upon.
Next, there was an indwelling. The first time this has ever happened.
Many more changes occurred on Pentecost. I have also written about these changes.
Read more about them here.
Only once, have I seen where the Come Upon was used to indicate the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In this instance, Dr. Luke was explaining why the citizens of Samaria had not received the Holy Ghost.
And in doing so, he loosely refers to that experience as “For as yet he was fallen upon none of them” (Acts 8:16).
Nevertheless, seeing that it is the Spirit of the Lord that accomplishes the Come Upon and it is He that carries out the Baptism of the Holy Ghost we shouldn’t be amazed.
Who Anoints Like The Holy Ghost?
Even though an anointing is not an infilling or indwelling, who anoints like the Holy Ghost?
An anointing physically or spiritually always starts with the head. However, if an indwelling occurs because of the anointing it always first manifests in the belly but ends with the head or mouth.
For that reason, according to John, Jesus says:
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”.
(John 7:38)
“(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”
(John 7:39)
So, when the Holy Ghost comes you will sense His presence first in your belly. But the final manifestation occurs via in your head, for you will speak in new tongues.
The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me in The New Testament
In this context of the Come Upon, Jesus’ example is the sole one in the NT.
- It is there to validate the Old Testament (OT) as the genuine and true Word of God.
- It also serves as a record to show that the prophecy of Isaiah came true.
- But it also establishes a new paradigm. It chronicles the new path that the Lord will follow to dispense His Spirit to those who obey His Son.
Why Did Jesus Say The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me?
- To scripturally prove that the Lord had chosen him to do His work.
- It shows scripturally that God had empowered him for his tasks.
- To show biblically that God had sent him.
- Some people who know the Scriptures may be inclined to believe it instead of his words.
Conclusion
When Jesus informs us that the Spirit of the Lord God was on him, he was revealing that God had chosen him and was anointing him for specific tasks.
He wasted no time in telling us what the first task was: “preach good tidings unto to the meek” (Isaiah 61:1).
In closing, anytime the Spirit of the Lord comes upon you, He will anoint you like none other.
It’s an experience you will never forget!!
