The Creating Spirit
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1-2; Luke 1:26-37
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
Luke 1:35
The Holy Spirit is extremely creative. And because we have the Spirit in us, we will become creative as well.
The Spirit was creative in the beginning. God spoke the world into existence through his Word, Jesus (John 1:1-3), and with his thoughtful, attentive, creative Spirit (Genesis 1:2). Look around the world at all the variety of plants, the amazing assortment of animals, and the diverse colors and languages of people—and you will see the creative power of the Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit wasn’t finished. The Spirit created a living Messiah in the womb of the virgin Mary. The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
But the Holy Spirit wasn’t finished. The Spirit breathed life back into Jesus’ body on the Sunday morning (Easter) after Jesus’ death on the cross (on Good Friday). Jesus rose in victory over death, and all who believe in him will rise again too—to live with him on the new earth when he comes again (1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Revelation 21:1-5).
The Spirit still isn’t finished today. He is breathing creativity into you and me—creative thoughts to instill new vision into the church; creative words to share the gospel; creative ministries to bring the presence of Jesus into our culture and world.
The Holy Spirit is at work.
“Creator Spirit, by whose aid the world foundations first were laid,” come and pour your joy and creativity on all humankind! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
