The pre-eminence of Christ (VI)

'The pre-eminence of Christ (VI)'

— Colossians 1:18

God the Holy Spirit speaks of and reveals Christ to men. He takes the things of Christ and shows them to us. In regeneration, he creates and forms Christ in us. He comforts our hearts by showing us what Christ has done for us and is yet doing on our behalf. He gives us assurance by applying the blood of Christ to our hearts and consciences. And he both reproves us for sin and leads us in the paths of righteousness by showing us the example Christ left for us to follow, When it was needed, the Holy Spirit even gave men the ability to preach the gospel of Christ in languages unknown to them. In the work of the Holy Spirit, Christ is pre-eminent. He is the center and the object of the Spirit’s ministry. He neither seeks nor receives any honor to himself. He promotes the Honor of Christ.

To be baptized in the Spirit is to be baptized into Christ’s death, resurrection and life. It is to be translated from death to life in Christ (I Cur. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). The anointing of the Spirit is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27; 1 John 2:27). The gifts of the Spirit are the covenant blessings of God’s grace, promised in eternity, purchased by the blood of Christ and bestowed upon men by the royal authority of Christ our King through the agency of his Spirit (Gal. 3:13-14). To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the character of Christ (Eph. 5:18-21). The power of the Spirit upon men is the power of the enthroned Christ (Luke 24:49). The blessed presence of the Spirit is the presence of Christ, made known to us by the Spirit (Matt. 18:20; 28:20; John 14:18,23). To walk in the Spirit is to walk in Christ, with Christ, like Christ, towards Christ and for Christ by faith (Gal. 5:16-24).

It may seem that this is an over-simplification of the Spirit’s work. I readily acknowledge that there is much more involved in the work of the Holy Spirit than I have mentioned. But whatever else may be included in the ministry of the Spirit, it is the Spirit’s determination ‘that in all things Christ might have the pre-eminence’.