Are The Holy Spirit and The Kingdom of God the Same?

The Holy Spirit

The past several weeks, the Holy Spirit has had my mind on the Holy Spirit, who He is, what He does, where He lives, and what that all means to me. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He is the Helper, the Advocate, the Comforter. This weekend while mulling over the Holy Spirit and longing to have a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit, I decided to look at every time Jesus spoke about Him so that I could meditate on that and see what He wanted to show me.

Here is a list of every time Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit in the Gospels.

From Matthew’s Gospel:

In Matthew 10:20 Jesus spoke prophetically to His disciples and told them when future times of persecution came, not to worry about what they would speak.

For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matthew 10:20

To the Pharisees who accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan Jesus said,

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 12:28

From Luke’s Gospel:

And we all know His famous commencement reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Luke 4:18-19

In regard to the gift of the Holy Spirit given to those who ask the Father, Jesus said,

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Luke 11:13

Luke 23:46 are Jesus’ final words from the cross.

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' " Having said this, He breathed His last.

Luke 23:46

From John’s Gospel:

Jesus teaches Nicodemus, a ruler of the Pharisees, i.e. a theologian, theology.

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

John 3:5-8

Jesus has a theological discussion with a scandalous woman in John 4 explaining worship.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

John 4:23-24

Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

John 6:63

With His disciples before going to the cross He spoke these things about His Spirit.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 15:26

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

John 16:13

The Spirit and The Kingdom of God

While praying and meditating over this list, Matthew 12:28 captured my attention this week.

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 12:28

In Matthew 12:28, Jesus responded to the critical and accusing thoughts of the Pharisees. Matthew 12:25 says, “Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them…” He addressed their accusing thoughts that He was operating out of Satan’s power.

What stood out to me from Matthew 12:28 is the spiritual power and authority that Jesus had operating by God’s Spirit, and that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit revealed the presence and power of God’s kingdom. The question came to mind, “Are the Holy Spirit and God’s Kingdom one and the same?”

Now, I am not sure the answer to that question, but I will take you down my study path to see where the Lord led me. If you are interested in joining me on this study path, take a moment to read Mark 1:6-15.

In Mark 1:6-15 John the Baptist said, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Mark’s gospel recorded the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at His water baptism in a physically manifested way, i.e. like a dove. Then the Father audibly speaks from heaven identifying Jesus as His Son and proclaiming His pleasure in His Son. Mark 1:12 tells us the very next thing that happened:

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

Mark 1:12

Full of the Spirit

Jesus stayed in the wilderness facing Satan’s temptation for 40 days. Luke 4:1-13 gives us the full account of those temptations. I love that Luke’s account tells us Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. So, the Spirit came down and filled Jesus with Himself. Luke 4:14 tells us that when Jesus’ 40-day temptation period had ended He returned in the power of the Spirit to begin His ministry.

Now let’s go back to the gospel of Mark. Mark 1:14 picks up after Jesus’ wilderness experience when He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God filled with the power of the Spirit.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Mark 1:14-15

Jesus had come. The Holy Spirit had come. Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, in the power of the Holy Spirit, preached that the time of God’s kingdom had come. Therefore, He caled everyone to repent and believe.

Now, is the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God the same? I do not know that for a fact, but I do know that you can’t have one without the other. You can’t have God’s kingdom without the Holy Spirit. And you can’t have the Holy Spirit without God’s kingdom.

No wonder Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6:33.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

Prayer:

Precious Heavenly Daddy, Lord God Almighty, Holy Spirit of the One True Living God, Fill us today with Your Spirit. We want to experience your presence and the presence of Your kingdom in our lives, in Jesus’ name. Amen!