When we look at the earthly ministry of Jesus we see that He did not seek to increase Himself. He actually humbled Himself and tried to be inconspicuous. Even so, when He tried to hide Himself, He could not be hidden.
There are things you need to know about God, and things you need to know about yourself, that you cannot know without going through a fiery trial.
Christ was crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated; and since we were in Him when it all happened, God considers it to have happened to us as well.
Hunger and thirst for Christ cannot be filled or quenched with anything else – including blessings, power, spiritual gifts, or Christian service.
The Gate of eternal Life is to receive the Lord as food and drink, but the Path is to continue eating and drinking.
“In me” I am growing, learning, struggling, and maturing. But the issue is not “me.” The issue is, “not I, but Christ.”
As painful as it is, the bitter tears of failure provide the water for nurturing the Precious Seed that is planted in your heart of hearts and making it grow.
The increase of Christ does not coerce, it compels; He does not push, He merely draws. The increase of Christ actually enables a person to choose the right way, the way that leads to Life.
If I have Him now, then I have all that pertains to Him now. My Wisdom, my Righteousness, my Sanctification, and my Redemption has a personality, for He is all those things in me.
It is helpful to identify the three enemies that present themselves to us, and then the above verse will make even more sense. The overcomer must learn how to defeat each one. So what are they?
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers must point people to Christ. Otherwise they are not fulfilling the purpose for which God placed them in the Body to begin with.
When God placed us in Christ, He forever linked us to Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and being seated in the heavenlies. So God considers us to have been crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated as well.