I was surprised to hear the number of times the Holy Spirit was mentioned at the Coronation of King Charles III. There were at least 13 mentions in the Order of Service.
From the Order of Service, The Anointing:
BLESSED art thou, Sovereign God, upholding with thy grace all who are called to thy service. Thy prophets of old anointed priests and kings to serve in thy name and in the fullness of time thine only Son was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, the Saviour and Servant of all.
By the power of the same Spirit, grant that this holy oil may be for thy servant Charles a sign of joy and gladness; that as King he may know the abundance of thy grace and the power of thy mercy, and that we may be made a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for thine own possession.
The Holy Spirit anoints the king through the oil. And in some way, it reminded me of Pentecost. When the same Spirit, who anointed Christ at His baptism, also anointed those in the Upper Room at Pentecost.
But whereas King Charles was anointed with oil, the disciples were anointed with fire, and ‘tongues of fire’.
Charles was given an earthly crown of precious metals and jewels, but those at Pentecost were given ‘crowns of fire’.
The Five Crowns
The New Testament mentions different crowns, and these have been developed into a theology. Each crown is given for a particular reason.
Crown of Life - James 1 v 12, Revelation 2 v 10
Incorruptible Crown - 1 Corinthians 9 v 25
Crown of Righteousness - 2 Timothy 4 v 8
Crown of Glory - 1 Peter 5 v 4
Crown of Rejoicing - 1 Thessalonians 2 v 19
Crown of Flames
I would suggest the baptism of the Holy Spirit is like a crown God gives to all believers when they are baptised.
Symbolically, these tongues of fire are not just a sign of Pentecost, but is part of the purifying process which every Christian experiences in their life. As we wear this crown, we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, conforming us to the image of Christ.
Laying Them at His Feet
Why would God give us crowns? In part, it is because Christians are a royal priesthood;
1 Peter 2 v 9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
But also because there is an expectation we will lay them at His feet.
Rev 4 v 9-11
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
The Twenty-Four Elders in this passage relates to the 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. All Christians are represented in this scene, as we all came to faith through someone who told us about Jesus. And if we follow this back, we would end up tracing our spiritual lineage to one of these apostles.
No matter what crowns we receive in this life, we will have the joy of placing them at the feet of the One who is worthy to receive all glory, all honour and all everlasting praise.
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