Episode 22, "The Holy Spirit and Christmas" Series: "Step into His Presence"

Episode 22 “The Holy Spirit and Christmas” Series: “Step into His Presence”

Hello, and thank you for joining us today for Episode 22 of our series, "Step into His Presence." My name is Stephanie Wright, and we are going to look at the role of the Holy Spirit in the birth of Jesus. 

Christmas took on a new meaning for me in 2024. The Lord compelled me to speak about the Holy Spirit in November 2024 and to continue into 2025. During these preparations, the significance of the Holy Spirit at Christmas became more apparent to me. After we read what the angel Gabriel said to Mary when he announced that she would be the mother of Jesus, we will discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in Christmas. 

We will close the podcasts by remembering Jesus’ purpose in coming into this world: to restore the relationship between God and man through his—Jesus’—death on the cross for our sins. Then, He rose from the dead so we could win over sin. That takes us to our closing point. Jesus was born so you could live eternally—forever—with God one day. If you have not received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, today would be a good day to do so. Romans 10:9 says, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved, that is, saved from a life of sinning against God to a life of serving Him and spending eternity with Him. 

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Transcript

Episode 22 “The Holy Spirit and Christmas” Series: “Step into His Presence”

Christmas took on a new meaning for me in 2024. The Lord compelled me to speak about the Holy Spirit in November 2024 and to continue into 2025. During these preparations, the significance of the Holy Spirit at Christmas became more apparent to me. Let’s look at what the angel Gabriel said to Mary when he announced that she would be the mother of Jesus: Luke 1:26-35, 38 (paraphrased).
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at what he was saying, and she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there shall be no end. 34 Then Mary asked the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ 35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Think about it. Jesus’ birth was the manifestation of God in what we call the Trinity—three Gods in one: God the Father, who, in verse 35, overshadows Mary; God the Son, the infant Jesus in the flesh; and The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost, who came upon Mary. For the first time, I saw the Holy Spirit differently at Christmastime. His role in the conception and, ultimately, the birth of Jesus no longer took a back seat in the Christmas story. Indeed, His role is equal to the Father and the Son because there is no rivalry in the Trinity.

Throughout history, the Holy Spirit has struggled to be respected as one with the Father and Son. As we alluded to in an earlier podcast, heretics attempted to exclude the Holy Spirit from the Godhead in the first century. The Christian writer Tertullian thwarted those challenges to the Oneness of the Holy Trinity.[1] Tertullian was born around 155 AD in Carthage, Africa—now Tunisia—and wrote his treatises around 200 AD. Tertullian coined the term "Trinity," derived from the Latin "Trinitas." His teachings stated unequivocally that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three Gods in One. Tertullian's writings are genius, as evidenced by the world’s embrace of the term “Trinity.”

The Holy Spirit has taken his rightful place in the Christmas story. He gets top billing with the Father and Son. Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to be born, just like we need the Holy Spirit to be born again. John 3:5. Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to be raised from death as we do. Roman 8:11, But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

So, let’s remember there would be no Christmas story without the Holy Spirit.

In closing, let’s remember Jesus’ purpose in coming into this world: to restore the relationship between God and man through his—Jesus’—death on the cross for our sins. Then, He rose from the dead so we could win over sin. That takes us to our closing point. Jesus was born so you could live eternally—forever—with God one day. If you have not received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, today would be a good day to do so. Romans 10:9 says, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved, that is, saved from a life of sinning against God to a life of serving Him and spending eternity with Him. 

            Thank you for joining us today. And join us next time for another segment on the Holy Spirit as we “Step into His Presence.” 

Now, we will close with the final words from Apostle Charles on how you can contact us.

[1]   Hillar, Marian. (2012) 2012. From Logos to Trinity. [Edition unavailable]. Cambridge University Press. https://www.perlego.com/book/4224331. P. 204.

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