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THE SPIRIT FORMING US AFTER CHRIST

D. A. Brown

When the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at the Jordan there was no formation needed because He was a perfect Man. When we have received the Holy Spirit (and I trust every one in this room knows what it is to have the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives), one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is that we might be formed after Christ. Naturally we are not formed after Christ, so it must be a spiritual experience, something wrought in our souls by the Spirit. He is gracious in His dealings with us, and His desire is that we might become more like Christ, like the Spirit of that Man.

I read in Peter as to “by sanctification of the Spirit”. Naturally we are not sanctified people, but by the Holy Spirit we become sanctified people. It was brought to our attention last week in the local reading that up until Numbers 21, the children of Israel wandered about in the desert. They had various exercises and difficulties, like we have. Then they came to the springing well and after partaking of that there was movement and desire, and there was purpose with them. It is interesting to note that they made great strides after the springing well. I do not think that we will make great strides spiritually unless we make way for the Holy Spirit. I feel the edge of the matter of walking and moving and thinking in spiritual power, and on spiritual lines, and according to the power and sanctification of the Spirit. The sanctification of the Spirit is necessary so that we might be preserved from evil influences and all that goes on in the world.

I would like to engage the hearts and affections of the brethren firstly with the Lord as we have read of Him in Luke’s gospel. It was mentioned on Lord’s day that this was the public appearing or manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon the Lord. I am not sure who saw this, but I know that John the baptist saw it, because it says “And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him”, John 1: 32. Think of a man actually seeing the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon the Lord Jesus! I have never really considered that before. But John the baptist had the privilege of seeing the Holy Spirit in this sensitive way as a dove coming down upon the Lord. What an impression that would leave upon him. What an impression it should leave upon us as we read of the matter of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Lord.

Earlier in Luke it speaks of Elizabeth as being filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1: 41). It also speaks in Genesis 1 of the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1: 2). The Spirit was in activity in these days. He was hovering, with a view to finding something with which He could identify Himself. Think of the Spirit’s affections and thoughts when this time came, when He came upon the Lord and could identify Himself with that blessed Man. Everything looked forward to that. There are various scriptures that speak of the sensitive work of the Spirit. For example it says, “By his Spirit the heavens are adorned”, Job 26: 13. The Spirit must have had some work to do with creation, because of that reference to Him adorning the heavens. Think of the blessedness and greatness of His service, but someone has said that this was the operation of all operations—the incoming of the Lord as “the holy thing”, Luke 1: 35. He is not spoken of as a holy babe at this point, but I was thinking of this matter of “the holy thing”. How the Lord is described—what He is and who He is!

Then the Spirit identified Himself with the Lord at His baptism. He is perfect in every way. The Spirit did not come upon the Lord in any formative way; He came upon the Lord because there was heavenly delight in that blessed Man. It says in Matthew, “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3: 17); but in Luke it is, “Thou art” as though there is a focus from heaven on this blessed One. It says, “And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying”. Have you ever wondered why the Lord was baptised?

Surely He was holy? Surely He was without sin and of heaven? So why was it necessary? I think it is that the Lord identifies Himself with His people in humility and lowliness so that He might come in on their behalf. His desire was to save His people from their sins—His own people, the Jews. They rejected Him, of course; but at this point, divine affections were centred round Jerusalem, round God’s people. It says, “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him”.

I think that Simeon can be thought of here. It says of Simeon that the Holy Spirit was upon him; that it was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit; also that he came in the Spirit into the temple (see Luke 2: 25–32). Think of that pious man, he waited, he had patience, and he took that

Babe in his arms, a Babe of about six weeks old, I believe, or not much older. Then Simeon says, “for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel”, Luke 2: 30–32. He really had the whole vista of what Christ was going to effect for God’s pleasure in his heart. Firstly, he had the Gentiles before him, and then “the glory of thy people Israel”.

Can I just ask reverently, have we handled Christ? Have we known what it is spiritually to handle that blessed One? Simeon did and what an impression that would leave on that holy man! Have we had the privilege of holding Christ in our affections by the Holy Spirit? That is my impression, that as the Holy Spirit came upon that blessed One, and marked Him out, these words were heard—“Thou art my beloved Son, in thee have I found my delight”. Oh, dear brethren, have we found our delight in Christ? What a glorious Man, One who was handled there by Simeon! How precious that was. Simeon was leaving the scene, and what does he leave behind? An impression of what is entirely spiritual. The Spirit does not engage our hearts with the world, but with Christ. It speaks of the Lord then moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and being full of the Holy Spirit. Can that be said of anyone else? We can be filled by the Holy Spirit, but the Lord was full of the Holy Spirit. How precious that blessed Man was, able to contain that divine Person. The Spirit did not become incarnate; the Lord became incarnate, but the Spirit has come here, sent of the Father, to fill our hearts and affections with the Lord Jesus. I think that is what is meant by the sanctification of the Spirit.

The address of Peter, and his writing to the sojourners of the dispersion, is to persons who were suffering because of the truth and for the testimony. He refers to them as “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by sanctification of the Spirit”. The Spirit’s desire is to take hold of our affections and to point them to and engage them with Christ. That is, I think, the sanctification of the Spirit. It is a wonderful word, sanctification.

The Spirit is called the Holy Spirit. His service is to make persons spiritual and to make them holy, to make persons like Christ and to give them the ability to think as Christ thinks. It says, “we have the mind of Christ”, 1 Corinthians 2: 16. That would be a spiritual matter. It would be divinely given and spiritually given. How wonderful the service of the Holy Spirit is! “by sanctification of the Spirit, unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”.

So the whole economy is brought into this verse—the knowledge of God the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the blood of Jesus Christ. The whole power and efficacy of the divine economy is towards us, as it will be eternally—the Father’s love pervading all, the headship of Christ, and the blood of Christ. It is not only a clearance from our sins, but the making of a full way into the holy of holies. And the Spirit would sustain us there.

We cannot come into the truth in a natural way, nor can we be sustained in these things in a natural way. But as guided and led, and with our affections developed by the Holy Spirit, I think we will know something of this holiness and something of spirituality. Sometimes we speak of spirituality negatively or critically. My desire is that as becoming more like the Lord Himself, we might become more spiritual. Our desire should surely be to become more like that blessed One whom we love. The Spirit would enable us to do this, as we make way for Him in our lives. The scripture speaks of not grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4: 30), and of being careful in His presence (Exodus 23: 21)—all giving rise to the thought of a very sensitive Person as seen in the dove. Let us make more room for the Spirit in our lives, that we may be engaged in a greater way with that blessed and holy Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

May He bless His word.

Word in meeting for ministry, Grangemouth
25 July 2006

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