THE INCREASE OF CHRIST
When John the Baptist declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), he spoke one of the great spiritual laws of God’s kingdom. These words were not merely an expression of personal humility. They revealed the very purpose of God in the life of every believer.
The Father’s eternal intention is that His Son should fill all things, possess all things, and have the preeminence in all things (Colossians 1:18).
The Christian life is therefore not chiefly about our improvement but about Christ’s increase.
We often imagine spiritual growth as becoming stronger, wiser, and more capable. God’s way is frequently the opposite. He brings us to the end of our own resources so that we may discover the sufficiency of His Son.
The Apostle Paul learned this lesson through painful experiences. After pleading for the removal of his thorn in the flesh, he heard the Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Christ increases where self-confidence decreases.
The cross stands at the center of this divine work. The purpose of the cross is not only to forgive sins but to bring an end to the dominance of the self-life.
God is not merely seeking to make the old man religious. He is seeking to make Christ everything.
Paul testified, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The Christian life begins where self-rule ends and Christ’s rule begins.
This process is seldom comfortable. The Lord often allows disappointments, delays, and difficulties to expose our dependence upon ourselves.
We may call these seasons setbacks, but heaven sees them differently. God is quietly removing the ground upon which the flesh stands.
He is teaching us that spiritual fruit does not come from human energy but from abiding in Christ. As Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The branch does not struggle to produce life. It simply remains connected to the vine.
The increase of Christ also changes the focus of our service. We are naturally concerned with our success, our influence, and our reputation.
The Holy Spirit continually points away from man and toward the Son of God. True ministry leaves people impressed not with the servant but with the Savior.
The Spirit delights to magnify Christ. The mature believer is one who increasingly says with John the Baptist, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (John 3:27).
One day this work will be complete. The Christ who now dwells within His people by faith shall be openly revealed in glory.
The One who is being formed in us shall be seen in us.
The Father’s purpose will reach its fullness, and Christ shall be all and in all (Colossians 3:11).
Every painful lesson, every humbling experience, and every hidden work of grace is moving toward that great end.
May we therefore welcome whatever increases Christ in our lives.
If He must empty us in order to fill us, let Him do so.
If He must humble us in order to reveal His glory, let Him do so.
The highest blessing is not that we become greater Christians, but that Christ becomes greater in us.
BDD
