Does Jesus care when we change His nature? Some have tried to show that Jesus only did miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. To them, this constitutes a pattern of how Jesus accomplished His work. This line of reasoning is certainly valid. For example, Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 say that baptism is a burial. Therefore, whenever water baptism is commanded in the New Testament, a burial would be implied.

The New Testament does say that Jesus did His works by virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit (John 5:19, 22, 26, 30, 36, 43; 8:16, 18, 26, 28-29, 38, 40, 42, 55; 10:25, 29, 32, 36). However, the Bible also says that Jesus did a miracle by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28 [compare “the finger of God” in Luke 11:20]; Acts 10:38), by the power of the Father (John 14:10), and by His own power (Mark 1:34; Luke 10:19; John 10:18). Going back to our baptism analogy, if baptism was spoken of as a a sprinkling or pouring in some passages, there would be no consistent pattern for insisting upon immersion.

There are other important powers which Jesus possessed demonstrating that He was not dependent upon the Holy Spirit for His miracle-working power.

• First, He could raise Himself (John 2:19; 10:17-18; cf. Acts 2:24, 32, God; Romans 8:11, Holy Spirit).
• Second, He could forgive sins (Mark 2:7-10; Luke 7:48; John 5:21).
• Third, He knew the minds of men (Matthew 22:18; Mark 8:17; Luke 6:8; John 2:25).
• Fourth, whatever the limitations upon Jesus prove about Him, the limitations upon the Holy Spirit prove the same about Him.

For instance, speaking of Himself, Jesus said, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). However, in John 16:13, it says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Why claim that Jesus was “limited” when the Bible says that both He and the Holy Spirit were “limited”?

We do not have to understand a fact to believe it, but we do have to understand the theory! False doctrines will lead to further false doctrines concerning the person of Christ. Problems arise when we go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). We have to abide in what is revealed: Jesus was God in the flesh, not just a man.

Men have said that they believe in the Christ’s deity, but at every turn tried to prove that Jesus was merely a man. How many of God’s attributes can He give up and still be God? If you take everything away, is Christ still what He claims to be? This ultimately lowers Jesus down to the level of a little more than an apostle. Would this not be “preaching another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4)?

No one is saying that the nature of Jesus is simple to explain (1 Timothy 3:16). If Christ did the miracles solely through the Holy Spirit, then how did He prove that He is God in the flesh and that the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him bodily (Colossians 2:9)? If you prove that Jesus depended upon the power of the Holy Spirit, you have proven that He was inspired, but not that He was the Son of God. We must be content to just teach what the scriptures say about both the humanity and the deity of Jesus without feeling obligated to make an explanation of how it all worked together within Him. Does Jesus care? Oh, yes, He cares! I know He cares!

Kyle Campbell