Christ and the Holy Spirit

Christ has the Spirit in himself in a more eminent and excellent manner than all others; and it must be so for these reasons:
(1) From the near union between the human nature and the divine. There is more Spirit in Christ than in all creatures put together; more than in all the angels, and all men, because the divine nature is nearer to Christ than it is to the angels or to any creature.
(2) Christ has the Spirit without measure, intensively and extensively. He has all graces in all degrees. All others have it in their measure and proportion.
(3) The Spirit rests upon Christ without variation. In men the Spirit ebbs and flows. But the Spirit rests on Christ eternally in full measure; as it says, 'The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might' (Isa. 11:2).
(4) By reason of his offices in the church. He is head, husband, king, priest, and prophet. The head is made the seat of the more noble faculties, as of seeing, hearing, understanding, judging, and is furnished accordingly with greater capacity for ruling and governing the whole body. So Christ is the Head of the church, and the government of all the world is laid upon him. Therefore, he must have the Spirit in greatest abundance. His fullness of the Spirit is as the fullness of the fountain; ours is but as the fullness of the cistern. We have nothing but what we have received.
(5) He is to be the pattern, and we are to follow him. We are 'predestinated to be conformed to him' (Rom. 8:29) and to grow up to that fullness which is in him. And in this respect, he has the Spirit and all the graces in greater abundance, that he might exceed all, even Christians of greatest growth and perfection. Even Paul himself, who was a leader to others, yet was a follower of Christ. 'Be you followers of me, as I am of Christ' (1 Cor. 11:1).

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
Glorious Freedom, pp. 6-9 [10-12]
Banner of Truth has granted permission for the use of this material.