“I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!” (John 1:32-34).

Christ lives in anyone born of God (1 John 3:9).  Jesus shares the Father’s heart and is Shepherd of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).  We often fail to recognize Him as such.  We have much more esteem for our life experience, our own judgment, and conventional wisdom.  We look to our strengths to lead us.  Jesus isn’t always considered.  The impulses of His Spirit are uninvited, ignored, dismissed.

We need the Spirit of God to descend and rest on Christ within.  Before the Spirit settled on Jesus, John’s testimony was, “I didn’t know Him” (John 1:33).  Jesus was right there but John didn’t know Him.  It is the same with us.  Jesus is *in us* but we don’t know Him.  When the Spirit of God lights on Him, we see Him, we know Him.  Our souls recognize His Kingship and come under it.  It is then that we have a true testimony.  John could declare Jesus as Son of God because the Spirit revealed Christ to him.  Paul’s experience was the same.  He told the Galatians that God “was pleased to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles” (Gal. 1:15-16).  Elsewhere, Paul describes his gospel as, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).  Paul preached Christ, whom he knew by the Spirit’s revelation within.  This is also why Jesus told the disciples they would be His witnesses.  By definition, a witness has seen something.  If we would preach Jesus, we must see Jesus and be ruled by Jesus.  Otherwise, we are just spreading spiritual rumors; we are peddling religious hearsay to no purpose.