In Matthew 12:28 the Lord Jesus says, “If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come upon you.” This word indicates that Christ fought the battle for the kingdom by the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God. Where the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is, and there the demons have no ground. Wherever the Spirit of God exercises authority over the opposing situation, that is the kingdom of God. Thus, the Spirit was the means and the power for Christ to cast out demons.
Another aspect of the Spirit’s work is to testify concerning Christ. John 15:26 says, “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” Here we see that the Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. After Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit, as Christ’s living witness, began to testify of Christ’s reality.
The Spirit as the Spirit of the resurrected Christ comes to testify concerning the Son and to glorify Him (John 16:14). As the transfiguration of the Son, the Spirit makes the Son real to the believers in their experience. This is to testify concerning the Son. Apart from the Spirit’s testifying, the Son would be merely objective to the believers and could not be subjective to them in their experiences of Him.
When the Spirit discloses what the Son is to the believers and makes Him real to them in their life, the Son is glorified. By this the Son becomes the believers’ life within and their expression without. This is to glorify the Son.
In particular, as the context of John 15 reveals, the Spirit of reality testifies concerning the Son as the vine (v. 1). The Spirit testifies in the presence of the persecuting religion. Furthermore, the Spirit testifies to the branches and through the branches to the world. Religion may persecute, but the Spirit of reality testifies that the Son is the true vine.
First Timothy 3:16 reveals that the Spirit also works to vindicate Christ as God manifested in the flesh. The Greek word translated “vindicated” in this verse may also be rendered “justified.” The incarnated Christ in His human living was vindicated as the Son of God by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:3-4) and was also justified, proved, and approved as right and righteous by the Spirit (Matt. 3:15-16; 4:1). He was manifested in the flesh but vindicated and justified in the Spirit. He appeared in the flesh, but He lived in the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Matt. 12:28) and offered Himself to God through the Spirit (Heb. 9:14). His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2) and His resurrection were both vindications of the Spirit. Furthermore, in resurrection He even became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) to dwell and live in us (Rom. 8:9-10) for the manifestation of God in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. Hence, now we know Christ and His members no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). Because the manifestation of God in the flesh is vindicated in the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with our spirit (Rom 8:16), we must live and behave in our spirit that this vindication may be accomplished.
According to 1 Timothy 3:16, the Spirit vindicates the manifestation of God in the flesh. This took place in Christ while He was on earth. He was God manifested in the flesh, and this was vindicated and verified by the Spirit. The same principle applies to us, the church, today. God is manifested in our flesh, but this needs to be verified, justified, and vindicated by the all-inclusive Spirit. In a very real sense, the church today is the manifestation of God in the flesh. This manifestation needs to be vindicated or justified by the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is working to vindicate, justify, testify, and confirm that the church is God’s manifestation. Although the church is still in the flesh, the church is such a manifestation of God, a manifestation that is vindicated by the Holy Spirit. In actuality, only when we live in the all-inclusive Spirit is there the vindication and verification that God is manifested in us, the church.
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