- Home
- Speakers
- Octavius Winslow
- Now He Which Establishes Us With You In Christ
Octavius Winslow

Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English preacher and evangelical writer whose Christ-centered ministry left a lasting mark on 19th-century Christianity. Born on August 1, 1808, in Pentonville, London, he was the eighth of thirteen children of Thomas Winslow, an army captain, and Mary Forbes, who hailed from Bermuda with Scottish roots. A descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims John Winslow and Mary Chilton, he moved with his family to New York City at age seven after his father’s death, where his widowed mother raised her children in poverty yet deep faith. Converted in 1827 under the ministry of Samuel Eastman at Stanton Street Baptist Church, Winslow was baptized in the Hudson River and soon felt called to preach. In 1834, he married Hannah Ann Ring, with whom he had ten children, though several died young, and she predeceased him in 1866. Winslow’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1833 in New York, followed by pastorates at churches like Union Baptist in Brooklyn. Moving to England in 1839, he served at Warwick Road Baptist Church in Leamington Spa until 1858, then founded Kensington Chapel in Bath, transitioning it to a Union Church by 1865. In 1870, he seceded to the Anglican Church, ordained as a deacon and priest, and ministered at Emmanuel Church in Brighton until his death. A contemporary of Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle, he preached at the opening of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. Author of over 40 books, including The Precious Things of God and Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, Winslow’s devotional writings earned him the title "The Pilgrim’s Companion." He died on March 5, 1878, in Brighton, leaving a legacy of fervent preaching and rich spiritual literature.
Download
Sermon Summary
Octavius Winslow emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit in establishing believers in Christ, highlighting that true grace and understanding come not from human teachings but from the divine influence of the Spirit. He explains that the Spirit's work is intimately connected to Jesus, the Anointed One, and that through our union with Christ, we partake in His anointing. Winslow marvels at the preciousness of the Spirit's indwelling, which brings revelations of Christ, awakens holy affections, and imparts faith and love. He asserts that even the weakest believer shares in this divine anointing, as all believers are united with Christ, the Head of the Church.
Scriptures
Now He Which Establishes Us With You in Christ
Now he which establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God; Who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2 Cor. 1:21-22 THE Holy Spirit renews, sanctifies, and inhabits the believer as a Divine person. It is not the common light of nature, nor the ordinary teaching of man, nor the moral suasion of truth, which has made him what he is—an experimental CHRISTIAN: all his real grace, his true teaching, flows from the Divine Spirit. His light is divine, his renewing is divine, his sanctification is divine. There is more real value in one ray of the Spirit's light, beaming in upon a man's soul, than in all the teaching which books can ever impart! The Divine Spirit, loosing the seals of the written Word, and unfolding to him the mysteries of the kingdom, the glories of Christ's person, the perfection of Christ's work, the fullness of Christ's grace, the revealed mind and will of God, has in it more wealth and glory than all the teaching the schools ever imparted. How precious the grace of the Holy Spirit, what tongue is sufficiently gifted to describe! How precious is his indwelling—an ever-ascending, heaven-panting, God-thirsting, Christ-desiring Spirit! How precious are all the revelations He makes of Christ! How precious are the consolations He brings, the promises He seals, the teachings He imparts, all the emotions He awakens, the breathings He inspires, and the affections He creates! How precious are those graces in the soul of which He is the Author—the faith that leads to a precious Savior, the love that rises to a gracious God, and the holy affections which flow forth to all the saints! But through what channel does this Divine anointing come? Only through the union of the believer to Christ, the Anointed One. All the saving operations of the Spirit upon the mind are connected with Jesus. If He convinces of sin, it is to lead to the blood of Jesus; if He reveals the corruption of the heart, it is to lead to the grace of Jesus; if He teaches the soul's ignorance, it is to conduct it to the feet of Jesus: thus all His operations in the soul are associated with Jesus. Now, in conducting this holy anointing into the soul, He brings it through the channel of our union with the Anointed Head. By making us one with Christ, He makes us partakers of the anointing of Christ. And truly is the weakest, lowliest believer one with this anointed Savior. His fitness, as the Anointed of God, to impart of the plenitude of His anointing to all the members of his body, is a truth clearly and beautifully set forth. Thus is He revealed as the Anointed Head of the Church, the great High Priest of the royal priesthood: "You loves righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore God, your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above your fellows." "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek." In the Acts of the Apostles a distinct reference is made to this truth: "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power." His human soul filled with the measureless influence of the Divine Spirit, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him bodily, He became the true Aaron, of whose anointing all the priests were alike to partake. One, then, with Jesus, through the channel of his union to the Head, the lowest member is anointed with this Divine anointing.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English preacher and evangelical writer whose Christ-centered ministry left a lasting mark on 19th-century Christianity. Born on August 1, 1808, in Pentonville, London, he was the eighth of thirteen children of Thomas Winslow, an army captain, and Mary Forbes, who hailed from Bermuda with Scottish roots. A descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims John Winslow and Mary Chilton, he moved with his family to New York City at age seven after his father’s death, where his widowed mother raised her children in poverty yet deep faith. Converted in 1827 under the ministry of Samuel Eastman at Stanton Street Baptist Church, Winslow was baptized in the Hudson River and soon felt called to preach. In 1834, he married Hannah Ann Ring, with whom he had ten children, though several died young, and she predeceased him in 1866. Winslow’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1833 in New York, followed by pastorates at churches like Union Baptist in Brooklyn. Moving to England in 1839, he served at Warwick Road Baptist Church in Leamington Spa until 1858, then founded Kensington Chapel in Bath, transitioning it to a Union Church by 1865. In 1870, he seceded to the Anglican Church, ordained as a deacon and priest, and ministered at Emmanuel Church in Brighton until his death. A contemporary of Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle, he preached at the opening of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861. Author of over 40 books, including The Precious Things of God and Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, Winslow’s devotional writings earned him the title "The Pilgrim’s Companion." He died on March 5, 1878, in Brighton, leaving a legacy of fervent preaching and rich spiritual literature.