In Isaiah, chapter eleven, verses two through three, “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.” The Messiah would receive the anointing by the Holy Spirit to carry out the will of the Father and to bring full salvation to the nations, as in Isaiah sixty-one, verse one, Matthew three, verses sixteen to seventeen, and John one, verses thirty-three to thirty-four, respectively. To carry out His plan of salvation, the Messiah would also baptize and anoint His followers in the Holy Spirit. A baptism that gives great power to live and witness for Christ, which is the new sign to identify God’s people. This is an essential requirement in the ongoing work of redemption.
Isaiah mentions the Holy Spirit more often than any other Old Testament prophet. Beginning in Isaiah thirty, verse one, Isaiah thirty-two, verse fifteen, Isaiah thirty-four, verse sixteen, Isaiah forty, verse thirteen, Isaiah forty-two, verse one, Isaiah forty-four, verse three, Isaiah forty-eight, verse sixteen, Isaiah fifty-nine, verse twenty-one, Isaiah sixty-one, verse one, and Isaiah sixty-three, verses ten to eleven, and verse fourteen, respectively. This prophetic description of the Messiah’s anointing relates to His spiritual character and stature. The Messiah is filled with the Spirit, and His charismatic gifts are described as the Spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear of the Lord, as in verse two. The fullness of this description is unprecedented in Scripture; the sevenfold gift signifies the fullness of the gift.