THE HOLY SPIRIT DEVELOPS CHRIST IN US
All of God’s acts throughout history have been about Jesus Christ. He is the one that we are to glorify. And He is also the one that God Himself glorifies (John 17:1-5; 5:22-23). Jesus is God the Son, but God the Father has put all of the emphasis on His Son Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit comes to do the same thing. Where the Holy Spirit is, Jesus will be glorified. If you want to know if people are led by the Holy Spirit, listen to whether or not they talk about and are focused on Jesus.
You do not honor the Holy Spirit by talking about Him all the time. He wants you to be focused on Jesus, just as the Father does. The Spirit testifies of Christ and points people to Him. He wants us to come under the influence and leadership of Jesus and live our lives to glorify Him in all that we do (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit works in us, in other words, to help us be and make us Christ-centered people.
For the apostles and prophets who wrote and taught by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the first century, the Holy Spirit’s intentions were clear. He guided them to write about and talk about Jesus (John 14:26). He will do the same thing with us in principle. He dwells within us (1 Cor. 6:19) and He lives in us to develop Christ in us (Gal. 4:19). The Spirit of God is always leading people to focus on Christ.
We are called to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). We have so many things competing for our attention and trying to get us off track. We want to be completely focused on Christ. And since it is difficult to do that in this world, and even impossible to do it in and of ourselves, the Holy Spirit comes to help us to do it.
Jesus said concerning Himself that He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is everything. Everything is about Him. The Holy Spirit wants you to think like this. He wants everything to be about Christ in your life and He comes to live with you and help you to be that way.
Jesus perfectly manifested the kind of life that God wants us to live. He showed us what it looks like when people do what they are supposed to do. He is the only one who ever got it completely right. Now, the Holy Spirit is in us to develop Christ within us. And therefore, the fruit of the Spirit which forms in our hearts and lives is seen and observed by others and shows that we are connected to Jesus (John 15:1-5; Gal. 5:22-23).
The Holy Spirit works against our fleshly nature—the part of us that wants to sin—to help us to do the things that please God. He knows that we need help in doing this. He knows that we are flesh. And He works to develop Christ within us. We can put to death the things of the flesh and have spiritual minds (Romans 8:5-13).
Working to make us more like Jesus is called sanctification in the Bible (1 Thes. 5:23). God’s will for us is our sanctification (1 Thes. 4:2). We are made like Jesus by the Spirit of God as we “behold” Christ—as we keep Christ as the focus of our attention (2 Cor. 3:18). And the Holy Spirit works in us to do what is well-pleasing in the sight of God (Phil. 2:13).
We become like Christ by beholding Christ. By keeping Him in our minds. The Holy Spirit helps us to see what God is really like. He helps us to see the glory and the majesty of Jesus Christ, so that we can appreciate Him and live our lives for Him. This enables us to worship Him, not only with specific acts, but with the totality of our lives (Phil. 3:3; Eph. 1:17-18).
The security of salvation comes to those who have Christ as their Lord and Savior. Who are living their lives for Christ. Jesus will bring you more security than any “doctrine” of security ever could. And it is the Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16-17), giving us the security in Jesus that we need. So surrender to what the Holy Spirit is teaching, not to what the devil or the world or your own mind has to say. The Spirit is our guarantee that Christ lives within us and that we are saved forever (Eph. 1:13-14).
So everything that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives is connected back to Christ. He leads us to focus on Him and to be like Him. He leads us to trust Him and to love Him. He works to form Christ within us so that others will see His presence. It’s all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit makes it so.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
