“The spirit of the Lord is upon me.” God put His gift of holy spirit, the gift of His nature, upon Jesus Christ to empower him spiritually. Jesus received holy spirit immediately after he was baptized by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:9-10; Luke 3:21-22). The prophet Elijah had holy spirit upon him, and Elisha had a double portion of the spirit that was upon Elijah (2 Kings 2:9), but God sent the gift of holy spirit upon Jesus Christ “without measure” (John 3:34).

All through the Old Testament and Gospels, God put the gift of His nature, which is called “holy spirit,” upon people to give them spiritual power (cp. Num. 11:17-29; Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 16:13; 1 Chron. 12:18; 2 Chron. 15:1; Mic. 3:8; Luke 1:41-42, 67; 2:25-27). Jesus needed God’s gift of holy spirit to have spiritual power just like the leaders and prophets of the Old Testament did, and the Old Testament foretold that God was going to put holy spirit upon the Messiah (Isa. 11:2, 42:1, 61:1). After his resurrection, Jesus said that when people believed and received the holy spirit, they would have spiritual power (Acts 1:8), and Peter called the holy spirit that came on the Day of Pentecost, “the gift of holy spirit” (Acts 2:38).