Turn if you were to Colossians
chapter 3 Colossians chapter 3 will continue our study In the book of Colossians The
name of the message is Christ is all in all or all in all all
in all Colossians chapter 3, we'll read the context of the
verse, we're starting verse 7, and we'll actually read past
where we'll be looking tonight, all the way down to verse 14
to get the context of the verse. Colossians 3 verse 7, in the
which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them. But now
ye also have put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy,
filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him." And here's our text for tonight.
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in
all. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
So tonight we'll be looking at verse 11, where the scripture
declares that where there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is
all and in all. Paul here brings forth the diversity
of the body of Christ. The diversity of the body of
Christ. And how, although we come from
various nationalities and various peoples, we have one object of
our faith. And that's Christ in him alone.
To everyone who's in the body of Christ, he's all. He's everything to us. Everything. We have one thing in common,
one object of worship, and that's Christ. Christ alone. We have one Savior. One Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ. We have
one Redeemer. Only one who purchased our eternal
souls. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Him alone. And we have one Lord. Right? Only one Lord, Jesus Christ. He's Lord over all. Saved and
unsaved. He's Lord over everything. Creation,
angels, principalities, power, governments, nations, countries,
universes. He's Lord over all. He's God. And God became a man, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to die in the room and place of his people. So Paul
here is writing to blood-bought saints. He's writing here to
the elect of God, those who have been purchased by the precious
blood of Christ. Those who have been purchased
by the precious blood of Christ. Ones who are born again by the
Holy Spirit of God. And he is telling them that ethnic,
cultural, and social distinctions don't matter anymore in the body
of Christ. They don't matter anymore in
the body of Christ. When it comes to our spiritual
standing before God, it doesn't matter what class you come from.
It doesn't matter what your nationality is. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful, beloved. Because the blessings and the
promises we receive are from Christ and Him alone. And they're
in Christ and in Him alone. So in the body of Christ, you
have a diversity of different people. But we have all one thing
in common. Christ is our Savior. Christ
is the one who's purchased us. Christ is the one in whom we
have forgiveness of all our sins. And scripture says all our sins,
past, present, and future, they're all forgiven in Christ. And we
receive all blessings and all promises in Christ and him alone. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. In the body of Christ, our ethnic,
and where we're from, and who we are. I'm Canadian. You guys
are American. And we have various people from
various nationalities here on the body. But it's all irrelevant,
isn't it? In Christ. In Christ. Our economic achievements are
irrelevant in Christ. Our standing in our social standing,
whatever, is irrelevant in Christ, because we are all clothed in
the righteousness of Christ. We are one in Christ, one in
him. And he is what is most important. He is what is most important.
Christ, and think of this, and Christ crosses, like I say, he
crosses all divides, doesn't he? What's the one thing that's
needful for we who are sinners? Christ. Amen. He's the one thing
needful. The one thing that's needful.
And that covers everyone. That covers no matter what standing
you have in life, we all need Christ desperately. And our text
says here, there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all and in
all. Christ is what's most important.
And think of this, beloved of God. God has mercy upon whom
here have mercy, right? He has mercy on whomever he's
pleased to have mercy. And Brother Chet, you hit on
tonight. We marvel that he had mercy on us. We marvel. We who are saved marvel
that God has had mercy upon us. Scripture here says it doesn't
matter if the people, God's chosen people, are of the Gentile nations,
or of a nation of Israel, or the Greeks, or the Romans, or
the barbarians. And look, he even says slaves
are masters, right? Look it, bond nor free. Bond
nor free. All believers in Christ are one
in him, are one in him. And think of this, there's not
one of us that is better than another, because we're all sinners,
saved by the grace of God in Christ. We're all desperately
needy sinners. Look at our text, it says, It
doesn't matter if they've been circumcised or uncircumcised. It doesn't matter if a person,
and that's just Jew or Gentile, right? It doesn't matter if a
person's a barbarian or a Scythian. You might be wondering, well,
what's the difference between a barbarian and a Scythian? The
Scythians were considered the barbarians of barbarians. They
were the worst. They would drink from the skulls
of their enemies, drink their blood. They were ruthless people,
ruthless. But they can be saved, just like
you and I. And some of them must have been
there, because scripture mentions barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor
free. Christ crosses racial divides,
beloved. Romans and Greeks considered
all those who did not speak their language to be barbarians. We would be considered barbarians
to the Greeks and the Romans. Paul is telling here, and look
at this, but the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has moved the
apostle Paul to word it in such a way that the most barbarous
person, Scythians, the most barbarous person is not out of the reach
of God's sovereign mercy. That gives me hope, because I'm
a sinner. If that person was chosen in
Christ and was redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, they
will be saved. They will come to faith. They
will. And we are on the trail of God's
sheep. We preach the gospel, and the Holy Spirit moves, and
he draws people to Christ. He does the saving. And they
look to Christ just like we look to Christ. And I keep looking
to Christ. Do you? I'm not going to stop. The Lord's given me grace to
keep looking. And he does that to his people.
He preserves us. He keeps us looking to Christ.
He keeps us looking to Christ. So Paul is telling the Colossian
believers that they are all brothers and sisters in Christ. They're
all brothers and sisters in Christ. That they're united in Christ,
whether they be Greek or Jew, circumcision. or uncircumcision,
whether they be barbarian or the Scythians, right? Whether they be bond, they're
a slave, or whether they're the master, free. Christ is the only
thing that matters. He's telling them Christ is the
only thing that matters anymore, regardless of nationality again,
economic or social standing, The body of Christ is one in
Christ, and the body of Christ is believers in Christ. Here then is the unification,
and think of this in light of what we've been studying in Colossians.
Here then is the unification against the false teachers, and
against the false gospels, it's common. That's why we study the truth
to know the counterfeit. Here's the unification, the gospel,
Christ, right there. And we are all united in him.
We who believe are all united in him. He is the only thing
that matters. So let us think on this, beloved,
we who are here and are redeemed by the same Jesus Christ who
Paul mentions here. Let us remember this, that we
are crucified with him. because we were crucified with
him. When he died, we were in him. The same Jesus now enables you
to live as a new man or woman. Why? Because you're born again
of the Holy Spirit of God. You're born again of the Holy
Spirit of God. The same Holy Spirit that indwells you is the
same Holy Spirit that had Paul write this letter to the Colossian
believers. The same Holy Spirit that dwelt
in Paul dwells in all believers, whether they be Greeks or Jews,
whether they be educated or uneducated, whether they be barbarian or
Scythian, whether they be slave or master, whether they be male
or females, all believers in Christ are one in Christ, are
one in Christ. And let us remember, it doesn't
matter if the person, again, was bond or free, as our text
says here. Now think of this. Paul's saying
that those who are redeemed, those who are saved, those who
are confessing Christ, whether they be sold in slavery, were
no different than those who were slaves to sin. We were slaves to sin before
the Lord saved us. And all the people in this world
are what? Born dead in trespasses and sins.
They're born slaves to sin. And so are we. But we are free
in Christ now. We are free in Christ. Our text
brings forth that which matters the most. In the latter part
of this verse, we see what matters the most, Christ. Christ. Christ is all that matters,
beloved. He's all that matters. And with
what Paul has penned here is along the lines of our saying,
What Paul has penned here when he says, but Christ is all and
in all, it's along the lines, one commentator said it's along
the lines of us saying, he's everything. He's everything to me. I was thinking about this as
I was walking to get breakfast this morning. And I was just talking to a woman
and I thought, Lord, if someone took you away, I'd have no redemption. I'd have no justification. I'd
have no hope. I'd have no salvation. And it dawned on me even more,
and I know I say this all the time, but he's everything. He's
everything. I'd have no justification without
him. I'd have no sanctification without him. I'd be in a hopeless
state without him. But praise God, He saved me,
and He redeemed me, and I'm born again by His Holy Spirit, by
the Holy Spirit of God. And Christ is now all in all
to me. And I know if you believe it, so with you. It's amazing. It's incredible. And this is
why we proclaim that Christ is everything to the believer. Look
at our text again, in Colossians 3.11. where there is neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Now contrast this message with
what the false teachers were putting forth, which was Christ
in something you do, or Christ in some knowledge that they could
only impart. Paul brings forth, and remember
we saw this in Colossians 2.10, how we are complete in Christ.
We're complete in Christ. He did all the work. There's
nothing left for us to do. He did it all. Salvation's of
the Lord. It's all his doing. It's all
based upon what he's done. All other religions will tell
you what you have to do. Grace tells you what Christ has
done. What Christ has done. in our place, in our place. So the believer is a complete
in Christ, therefore he's everything to us. Now the scriptures clearly
bring this forth, look again in our text, in verse 10 in there,
we'll add verse 10 to our text, Paul says, put on the new man,
so that's we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
the new man, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is
all and in all." Christ is all. Now the word all in reference
to Christ is used many times in the scriptures, beloved. Here
it says, Christ is all and in all. Here are a few other scriptures
though. Here are a few other scriptures.
I'll read them Paul declares, turn out if you
would over to chapter 1, chapter 1 of the book that we're in here.
Look at this. We're looking at a few. Now,
this is by no means an exhaustive. We're just looking at a few verses
in scripture where it talks about Christ being all. Paul declares
that Jesus Christ is all in all in our text. In Colossians 1
verse 16, it says this, by him being Christ, by him. were all
things created. All things, beloved. Visible
and invisible, right? Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities and powers, we know that he's created all
things. All things. So right there, by
him, by Christ, were all things created. Look at verse 17. He, Christ, is before all things. And by him, by Christ, All things
consist. All things consist. By Him, all
things consist. All things are held together.
Not only were all things created by Him, which it says in verse
16, but all things in heaven and earth and under the earth
and in the skies and heavens and the firmament are held together
by Him. Christ is God incarnate in the
flesh. God incarnate in the flesh. Look
at verse 18. And he is the head of the body
of the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. And then look
at verse 19. For it pleased the Father that
in him, being Christ, should all fullness dwell. And then
turn, if you would, over to Ephesians chapter 1. And like I said, you
can do an exhaustive study on the word all, and you'll come
up with many more verses. This is just a small sampling
here for us. Look at this in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 21
to 23. Paul pens this, far above all
principality, verse 21. So Christ is above all principality
and power in might and dominion. That means, beloved, that he's
in absolute control. He's God. He's God. In every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and
hath put all things where? Under his feet, under his dominion,
under his power. He's a sovereign king. He's an
absolute sovereign king. And gave him to be the head over
all things to the church. He's the head in the church.
We gather together, and the gospel is preached and proclaimed, and
it's all about Christ. It's all about what he's done.
This is his church. We who believe are his people. We've been purchased by him.
And the cost is his own precious blood. And he is head over the
church. He's head over the church. And
gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which
is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all and all. So he's far above all principalities,
all governments, all powers are under his feet. The heart of
the king is in the Lord's hands. And he turns it however he pleases,
however he pleases. And he is the head over all things
in the church. He filleth all in all. So one
thing is clear from the scriptures. Jesus Christ is all in all. And
there are many scriptures which prove this. Just like the story
of a farm boy who was converted called Happy Jack. His confession
was this. I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all. But Jesus Christ is my all in all. That's my confession. I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all. But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. He's everything, beloved. He's
everything. Now some might be offended by
the simplicity, by the simplicity of that statement. But for the
believer, it's precious truth, isn't it? It's precious truth
for us. So Paul then is bringing forth
before the Colossian believers That which matters most of all,
our understanding of this, Christ is our all in all. He's our all
in all. For the believer, Jesus Christ
is all. He's all in salvation, isn't
he? He's all. He did it all to redeem my soul. He did it all. And if you're
saved, he did it all for you, too. He's all in this book. This book is all about him. It's
a him book. It's all about Christ. It's all
about Christ. He's all in redemption. He is
the one who shed his precious blood to purchase his people. To purchase his people. He's
all in eternal life, right? He's our life. We don't have
eternal life outside of Christ. None. He's all in the resurrection. He rose for our justification,
beloved. He's all our righteousness, all
our acceptance before God. I am accepted in the beloved.
I'm accepted in Christ and only in Christ. He's all our sanctification. He's the one who makes us holy.
Now, we're still sinners, but in God's eyes, In God's eyes,
we're made holy in Christ. That's amazing. That's incredible. He's all our hope. He's all our
wisdom. He's all our life. He said, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes unto the
Father but by me. That means you can't work your
way into heaven by doing your own works. You can't work it.
Christ is the only way in Christ alone. Natural man thinks that
God will accept them upon who they are. The Jews believe this.
And others believe that they will be accepted of God because
not only of their nationality, but maybe some ceremonies that
they perform, or some deeds or works that they perform. Or maybe
they might show outward piety, outward religious acts, like
the Pharisees used to do. Or maybe because they've been
taught by some knowledge by a certain teacher. That's what the false
teachers were doing in class. But they are sadly mistaken. If they think that God will accept
them based upon something that they do, and if God leaves them
in that state, it will lead to their eternal doom. It will lead
to their eternal doom. Think of this, this verse clears
up all those things. Because what, who does it point
to? Christ in him alone, Christ in him alone. It points us to
the one who is the object of the believer's faith, Christ. It points us to the one, the
only one in whom we can be accepted by God, Christ. Only in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
believer's all in all. Look at Colossians 3.11 again.
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all in all. Christ is all in our regeneration,
beloved. It says this, but as many as
received him, To them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name, which were born not
of blood. It's not based upon their lineage
or their nationality. Nor the will of the flesh. There
goes free willism. Nor the will of man. There it
goes again. But of God. They're born again
by the Holy Spirit of God, regenerated. Christ is all in regeneration.
Because the Holy Spirit points us right to Christ, doesn't he?
Yeah, he won't speak of himself. Your point is right to Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ is all in all in our righteousness.
For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Our sins are imputed
to Christ, and his perfect spotless righteousness is imputed to us.
Wonder of wonders, beloved. Wonder of wonders. In sanctification. Christ is our all in all. But
of him are ye. Paul's writing the believers.
But of him are ye. Are ye. In Christ Jesus. There's
the key. In Christ Jesus. Who of God is
made unto us? Wisdom. He's all in all in wisdom. Righteousness. He's all our righteousness before
God. Sanctification. We're made holy in Christ. And
redemption. Oh, he purchased us. He purchased
us with his own precious blood. Christ is all in all in our acceptance
before God. Ephesians 1, 6, and 7 says this,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. Accepted in sinners, made accepted
in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through
his blood. There it is. Purchased us. purchased our eternal souls through
his precious blood. The forgiveness of sins. God's
people, his elect, have all their sins forgiven. All of them. And how is it? According to the
riches of his grace. Here have mercy on whomever.
Here have mercy, beloved. Christ is all in love. Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God. The love of God is set upon us in Christ. In Christ. Separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God's love is set upon
his people in Christ. In Christ. And he's all in all
in redemption. For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversations received by tradition from your fathers,
1 Peter 1.18. And then 19 and 20 says this. So we're not redeemed by traditions
of our fathers. No. How are we redeemed? How
are we who believe redeemed? But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He's
the perfect, spotless lamb of Listen to this, who verily, and
think of this if you're a believer, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest, made no one. He's made no one to his people,
isn't he? Did Joseph reveal himself to,
he revealed himself to his brothers, didn't he? He made himself no one. They
didn't have a clue who he was. That's how Christ reveals himself
to his people. Oh my, which was, but was manifest
in these last times for you, for me, for you, brother. It's amazing. That's grace. That's mercy. We don't deserve
that, but yet he manifests himself to us through his word, through
the gospel. It's incredible. And the Holy
Spirit is the one who does it. He reveals Christ to us. And
what do we do? We run to Him. We run to Christ,
don't we? So all spiritual blessings, Christ
is all in all to the believer. All the spiritual blessings of
God are found in Christ and only in Christ. All the promises of
God find their end in Christ, in Him alone. In Him alone. They are yes or yay and amen
in Christ, in Christ. The love of God towards his people
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Oh my goodness, what a savior. And think of this, there is no
hope for anyone who's not in Christ. There's no hope for anyone
who's not in Christ, but what a hope the born again child of
God has knowing, knowing, that we who believe are in Christ. What hope, what hope. And Christ is, as Paul pens here,
all and in all to the believer, to the believer. Think of this,
everything that a hell-deserving sinner needs to cleanse us from
all our sins and to take us to glory, to be with the Lord, and
to take us to glory without spot or wrinkle, is found in Christ alone. Is found in Christ alone. And
it's only found in Christ. It's only found in Him. That's
why we say, look to Christ and live. Look to Him and live. Oh, that God would make you willing
to look to Him. And here is another truth. that
gives our merciful God all the glory. Even our being in Christ
is of God. It's of God. We can't take any
credit for it. We can't take no credit. And
we don't want to, because we've been recipients of the mercy
of God in Christ. Think of this, beloved. Just
let us think upon this. Christ is our own Lord. And we
were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. We were in Christ when he was
obedient unto his death. We were in Christ when he was
obedient unto even the death of the cross. I'm crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live. We died in Christ. When He died,
we died. He's our substitute, beloved.
We were buried in Christ. When He was buried, we were raised
again with Christ. By the power of God, the Holy
Spirit, when He raised Christ, we raised with Him. And then, the Holy Spirit grants
faith for those who were dead in trespasses and sins whom Christ
died for. And we are raised from the deadness.
The deadness. We were spiritually dead. Now
we're made alive in Christ. And God gets all the glory. God
gets all the praise. And God gets all the honor. Because
it's all the work of God. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
all of the Lord. And let us, we who are redeemed,
always remember. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
chapter 10. Let us always remember this, that by the offering of
himself, Christ offered himself. By the offering of himself, our
Lord Jesus Christ sanctified us, we who believe, and perfected
us forever. Now, we're still sinners. We're
still sinners, aren't we? But God sees us in Christ, doesn't
he? He sees us in Christ, sinless, spotless. God, the Holy Spirit, witnesses
these truths by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, to us through
his inspired word. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. We'll
start in verse 9 and go to verse 17. Look at this. Then said he,
lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that
he may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Christ offered himself up once for the sins of his people. Just
once. Never to be repeated ever again. Just once. By the witch will we are sanctified
through the offering the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices which could never take away sin. All those
Old Testament sacrifices, right, were just pictures of Christ.
Scripture declares here, They could never take away sin. They
were pointing to the one who would. But this man, being Christ, look
at this. This is marvelous. After he had
offered one sacrifice for sins, now he's the perfect spotless
lamb of God. He's offering himself up as a
sacrifice for the sins of his people. But this man, after he had offered
One sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of
God. It is finished. And God is satisfied. He rose
from the grave, and he's seated at the right hand of the Father,
a successful Savior who redeemed and purchased his people by shedding
of his own precious blood. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
witness. Hold on. Let's look at this,
verse 13. From henceforth expectant, till
his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offer, and he hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. That means all my
sins are forgiven. This is good news for sinners.
Real good news for sinners. Because we can't save ourselves,
can we? We can't save ourselves. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us, For after that he had said before, this is the
covenant that I will make with them in those days, saith the
Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds,
and I will write them. And their sins and iniquities,
look at this, will I remember no more. How can God say that? I'm in my 50s now. Augustus Toplady
figured that if you lived to be in your 70s or 80s, you would
have committed two or three billion sins. Well, I think I probably
would have reached that already, to my own shame, but that's what
he said, in thought, word, and deed, that we would have committed,
I guess he was a mathematician guy too, just incredible, but
that we would have committed billions of sins. I can't pay
for one. Not one. Just one of my sins,
I can't pay for it. But this says here, this says
here, that as a redeemed child of God, all their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more because the precious blood of Christ
paid for them all. What a savior, what a redeemer
is Jesus Christ my Lord. And look at our, I absolutely
love this. We gotta go back and look at
this quick. Look at verse, look at this in verse 13 of chapter
two. And this speaks of that right
there. It says, and their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more, in Hebrews 10, 17. And look at this. And you being
dead in your sins, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him. Heaven forgiving you all trespasses,
Verse 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinance that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross. Oh, my. In heaven, spoiled prince
of powers and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them. All the Lord Jesus Christ blotted out. All those
billions of sins of mine that were handwriting of ordinances
against me have been blotted out. What a savior. What a redeemer. I can't pay
for one of my sins, and Christ pays for them all. And God tells
me in scripture, and he tells every blood-bought saint, if
you're redeemed, if you're saved, born again, and you are, he says,
your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Because Christ
paid for them all, beloved. He paid for them all. No wonder
Paul says Christ is my all. No wonder that's what the believer
says. It pleased the Father that in
Him should all fullness dwell, and He must have the preeminence,
beloved. So let us ponder these things.
If the fullness of salvation in Christ pleases our Heavenly
Father, and it does, it does, that fullness should and does
please every believer. What a Redeemer we have. If,
in Christ, God's people have the fullness of wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, we cry out, Christ is my all
in all. In Christ, God's people have
the fullness of eternal life, the fullness of joyful bliss
and the union with the true and living God, which nothing can
sever. Nothing can sever. In Christ,
God's people have the fullness of God's glory, the fullness
of God's grace, and the fullness of God's truth. It's all in Christ
and Him alone. In Christ, God's people have
the fullness of perfect peace, a peace that passes all understanding,
that keeps our hearts and minds focused upon Christ and Him alone. The world does not know, and
they wonder, how we can have peace amidst trials and tribulations. It's all in Christ, beloved.
It's all in Him. It's all in Him. It can only
be found in Christ. In Christ, God's people have
a fullness that pleases the Father, that pleases God. And it can
only be found in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our blessed
Redeemer. So now the false teachers of the Colossians days and our
days will try to add to the fullness that's found only in Christ.
And this is what Paul's warning them about too. That's why he
says, Christ is our all in all. There's nothing to be added,
nothing to be taken away, nothing to be added. Christ is my all
in all. He's everything. But the false teachers of the
Colossians days, and even the false teachers of our days, they
try to add to the fullness that's found only in Christ by, they
say, by your works, or by your deeds. And this will lead to
their doom and to the doom of those who follow them. Because salvation is in Christ
alone. The only way a sinner is accepted
before God is in Christ. Nowhere else. He is the only one the Father
will accept. He's the only one the Father
will accept. And we're accepted in what? In the blood. We're
accepted in Christ. We're presented faultless in
him, in Christ. His people, God's people are
accepted by God in Christ and Christ alone. Now let us think
on this. There was a time when this world,
as we know it, had no being. Had no being. There was no world,
there was no seas, There was no earth, there was no universe,
there were no trees, right? There were no people. The world,
this globe right now, as we know it, did not exist. Well, if Jesus
Christ is all in all, where was he then? Where was he then? Well, the
word tells us that in the beginning was the word. Before there was ever anything.
angels, the heavens, the universe that we see. Before there was
anything, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. And in the same chapter, in John
chapter 1, it says, the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He was with God in the beginning,
He was not only with God, he was God. He was God. Christ said, I and the Father
are one. There was a time when there was
no world, but Jesus Christ was all. And beloved, he's still
all. He's still all. And this is the
one who keeps us. This is the one who's redeemed
us. There was a time when the world
was created, and it was Christ who spoke it into existence.
He was all then, and he's all now. Amen. Amen. Now, Lord Jesus Christ, remember
this, too, is the surety of the everlasting covenant. He's the
surety, the guarantee. of the everlasting covenant. Before there was a world, before
there was man, before there was a sinner, there was a Savior. There was a Savior way back in
eternity. Before there was ever a fall,
the fall of Adam, Jesus Christ was the lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. There was a time when this world
as we know it now did not exist. Yet Christ did. He is the everlasting
one. He is from eternity. And he will
always be. He's the ancient of days, beloved. He was all in all then, and he's
all in all now. Amen. So let us close with this. Christ is all we need. He's all
we need. We are sin. Christ alone is our
perfect righteousness. We are filthy, defiled sinners. But in Christ, the believer is
clothed with the pure, spotless righteousness of Christ and cleansed
from all our sins by his precious blood. We are ignorant of the
things of God. He's all our wisdom. He's all
our wisdom. He's the one who teaches us what
we know. I can't claim anything because it's all being taught
of God. It's wonderful. We are guilty before the holy
God of the universe in our natural state. We come into this world
guilty. But Christ, Christ is the believer's pardon. He's the
believer's pardon before God. And in Christ, the believer is
accepted. Accepted in Christ. We are born
dead in trespasses and sins. Christ is our life. And we who believe are born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. Whatever there is that a poor,
guilty sinner needs, it's found in Christ. It's found
in Christ. And he is the believers all in
all before God. And think of this, there's nothing
that God will accept but his son. There's nothing that God
will accept but his son. This is why we preach Christ,
because he's the only one who we can be accepted in. There's
no salvation outside of Christ. None. All God will accept for salvation,
for justification, and for the sanctification of his people.
We can't work our way to heaven. Salvation's of the Lord. It's
only in Christ. We must be washed in his precious
blood, or we cannot be justified. We cannot be made righteous by
our own works. We must be made righteous by
Christ in him alone. And Christ is all to his people. Unto him that believe, or unto
them that believe, Christ is precious, isn't he? He is precious.
Every one of you who believe, he's precious to you, just like
he's precious to me. There was a time when he wasn't,
but now, oh my, how did I live without him? How did I live without
him? He's all that we desire. If I
have Christ, I have enough. I have all the fullness of God
in Christ. If I have Christ, I have everything
that a sinner needs. Everything. Other refuge have
I none. hangs my hope, help the soul
on thee. Leave all, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me. And I pray that if you do not
know Christ, that God would grant you faith to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and him alone. And then he will become all in
all to you, just like he's all in all to all his people. Let's
go to the Lord in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, We
come before you and are thankful and grateful for your goodness
and mercy towards us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Undeserving sinners
are made willing and obtain mercy in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ in him alone. We pray that you'd be glorified
by the message tonight and that your people would be built up
in you. And that if it's your will that
you draw lost sinners to thee, in Jesus' name, amen.