Grow Strong. Be Wise.

Isaiah 11:1-3a A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – 3a and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
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Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. 
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Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.
 
WITH two sentences – three verses - Isaiah records God’s eternal plan for your salvation. Just as briefly, Luke summarizes God’s means to declare the gospel. The Branch, who is Jesus, will come from Jesse’s family. From Jesse’s son David and through the generations ascending to Joseph and Mary as (summarized in Matthew 1 and Luke 3),  to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, Isaiah’s prophecy comes true.
   Isaiah also described the Branch’s character. He will have wisdom, understanding, power, knowledge and fear (honor, awe, reverence, worship) of the Lord, and these traits will delight the LORD God.
   Luke then describes the fulfilled prophecy. The Spirit empowered Jesus’ birth. Luke 1:35 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”  Jesus then grew to became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. When it was time to minister the gospel, the Spirit rested on Jesus to baptize and anoint him with God’s power, so he could advance God’s will on earth. Isaiah and Luke record how the Holy Trinity worked from eternity past to reveal God’s knowledge and understanding to the Jews first and then to us. This is God’s way, and this is to be the way of Jesus’ church. God gave us his Word, the Holy Bible, so we can grow in wisdom, understanding, power, knowledge and fear in our relationship with God. In this, we bear the image of God with the display of God’s character that he graciously empowers us know and to be.
   The way of knowledge is through the Spirit. In the same way Jesus needed the Spirit’s power to rest on him, we also need the Spirit to rest on our heart to empower our lives. The Christian life is one of communion with God and with his church. Jesus intimately connected with the Spirt and the Father to grow in stature and wisdom. We must do the same. Seek a personal fellowship with God and with other Christians. In God’s power and others’ strength, you will grow in spiritual wisdom and power.
   Are you a Christian? You are then the fruit of God’s eternal plan of salvation. Your purpose is to know God. How will you respond to your glorious life?
 
Prayer: Holy Trinity, you have given us the way of knowledge. Empower us, Spirit, to know God, to gain understanding and to delight in the fear of the Lord. Amen.