12th October 2025 Question box

OK today’s question is about Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. And the question is:

Did Judas have the Spirit in Matthew 10? How is he able to do this acts otherwise?

The question refers to Matthew 10, which talks about the time Jesus sent out his disciples on short term mission: “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” (Matthew 10:1). And Judas is part of that.

To answer the question: I think the answer is that we can make a distinction between having the Spirit and being empowered by the Spirit.

Every true believer has the Spirit: “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But … if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” (Romans 8:9-10). Notice how to “have” the Spirit means the Holy Spirit is living in you. He has brought you into a relationship where you trust in God and through his Spirit Jesus is transforming you to become more like him.

But there are a few cases in the bible where someone is empowered by the Spirit to do great things for God’s kingdom, but not personally transformed by the Spirit. For example, King Saul in the Old Testament: “the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying” (1 Samuel 10:10.”) And yet Saul turned out not to be a believer. Its like what Jesus spoke about: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? “(Matthew 7:22.) According to Jesus there’s a difference between the spirit working through you and the spirit working in you.

And so Judas is a good reminder that we are not saved because of what we do for God. We are save through trusting in God. And it’s good for us to check that we really do have a relationship with Jesus, a relationship of repentance and faith. And yet without being always anxious about our assurance, Because remember Jesus said: “I shall lose none of all those he has given me.”

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This question was originally answered in our evening service on 8 June 2025. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.