The Purpose of the Spirit’s Coming

The clearest teaching on the place and purpose of the​ ​Holy Spirit’s coming is found in our Lord’s last discourses​ ​with His disciples prior to His death.

After disclosing​ ​to them the fact of His return to the Father, He tells them​ ​that He ​will pray the Father​ “​and He shall give you another​ ​Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the​ ​Spirit of truth.​”​ But in the next verse He says ​“I will not​ ​leave you comfortless, I ​will come to you,​” and again “At​ ​that day (that is, when the promised Spirit has come) ye​ ​shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I​ ​in you.​”​ From all of which it follows that the Holy Spirit​ ​will so join believers in spiritual union with their ascended​ ​Lord, that Christ Himself will be in them through the​ ​indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.​ 

​It is further made clear that the purpose of the Spirit’s​ ​coming is to exalt and glorify Christ. The Father will​ ​send the Spirit in Christ’s name, and bring to the remembrance of the disciples all that Christ had taught them.​ “He shall glorify me,” Jesus says in John 14:13, “for He​ ​shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.​” Thus​ ​the Spirit was to glorify Christ in the mind and heart of​ ​His own followers. He has come also to bear witness​ ​to Christ in the world (John 15:26). “He will convict​ ​the world,​”  ​Jesus says in John 16:8-11, “​of sin, and​ ​righteousness and judgment,​” ​​​and our Lord explains how​ ​He ​will do this. The Spirit will convict of sin because​ ​men and women do not believe on Christ. He will convict of righteousness because Jesus is about to go to the Father,​ ​having fulfilled all righteousness in His own Person,​ ​which righteousness was vindicated by the Father in His​ ​ascension. The Spirit ​will convict of judgment because​ t​he Prince of this world is judged, and His judgment is​ ​consummated in the Cross (see John12:31, 32). Thus​ ​all that the Holy Spirit will do in the world is based upon​ ​what Christ has done for the world, and in regard to​ ​believers, the purpose of the Spirit’s coming is to make​ ​real and actual the presence of the Lord Christ in their​ ​hearts.​

“The purpose of the Spirit’s coming is to make​ ​real and actual the presence of the Lord Christ in their​ ​hearts.​ ”

— H. W. Cragg

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is always Christwards.​ ​His constant aim is to turn the attention of men and women​ ​towards our Lord, rather than towards Himself. We may​ ​find here a simple test which can be applied to every form​ ​of teaching concerning the Holy Spirit. “​How far,​”​ we​ ​may ask, “​does this teaching exalt Christ, and lead the​ ​Christian into a closer walk with Him?​”​ The answer to​ ​this question will determine how far the teaching in question​ ​is in accordance with the Bible doctrine of the Holy Spirit.​ ​At no stage of our journey from the Cross to the Crown​ ​does the Lord Jesus Christ pass in any sense into the​ ​background. The work of the Holy Spirit is indeed​ ​indispensable, but its purpose is to reveal, to exalt and to​ ​​glorify Christ. “​He,​”​ Paul says,​ “is the Head of the body,​ ​the church . . . that in all things He might have the​ ​pre-eminence.​” ​This, of course, does not mean that the​ ​​Holy Spirit is less than God. The whole of Scripture​ ​makes the Godhead indivisible, and there is an unbreakable​ ​harmony between the Son and the Spirit in their joint​ ​ministry. 

What has been said above is exemplified in the historical​ ​coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Here, if anywhere,​ ​we might have expected the wonders of the Saviour to​ ​be forgotten for a while, and the Holy Spirit alone to be glorified. But it is not so. The filling of the disciples​ ​with the Holy Spirit left Christ all the more enthroned in​ ​their hearts, and made Him central to their preaching. It​ ​was to Christ that the Spirit testified through the lips of​ ​Peter, and Christ was glorified that day, as three thousand​ ​were convicted of sin and confessed their faith in Christ as​ ​Saviour and Lord. And so it is throughout the Book of​ ​Acts, which in a very real sense is the record of the​ ​enthroned Christ still at work in the world, as He dwells​ ​in His believing people by the Holy Spirit.​ ​

Dr. James Denny has said, “​What vindicates any utter​ance as spiritual is that it is a testimony to the historical​ ​​Saviour.​” ​Every victory in the experience of the Christian​ ​depends upon the exaltation of Christ through the ministry​ ​of the Spirit. Christ’s Lordship on the throne in glory​ ​must be matched by His Lordship in the heart of the​ ​believer. The Holy Spirit has come to make this a​ r​eality, and thus to provide the secret of abiding peace and​ ​constant triumph.

– H. W. Cragg, The Conqueror’s Way