reading that passage of scripture,
there is an old man and there is a new man. The old man is
the man we were born with. The new man is the man we were
born again with. The old man and the new man. And he says to put off the old
man, with his deeds. Now, does that mean that we can sin no longer? Just put off that
old man and not deal with him anymore? Take him off like you
would a piece of clothing and set him aside? Well, you know,
we ought not ever sin again. Amen? We ought not. Sin's never okay. But you've
got to look at that passage of scripture in the light of other
scriptures. Romans chapter 7, Paul is dealing
with the old man. And he says, Oh, wretched man
that I am. And he is speaking of that old
nature that he's dealing with, that every believer will deal
with until the day they die. And that's what I was thinking
while I was listening to that song, Amazing Grace. And I was thinking, I can't wait
till I die. Now, I like life, I do, but I
can't wait till I die. I'm not gonna have to deal with
an old nature anymore. I'm not gonna have to deal with a sinful
nature anymore. I'm gonna be in the very presence of Christ.
And now I look forward to that, but I have a new man. A new man
that deals with that old man. And that's what he's speaking
of. He said, you put off the old man and you put on the new
man. And notice this new man is said
to be a creation. You put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him. Now, just as the physical creation
is the act of God only with no contribution from man. The new
creation, the spiritual creation, the new birth is the act of God
with no help from men. It's a creative act of God. In
the old creation, light be and light was. In the new creation,
life be and life was. This is a new creation and you'll
notice He says in verse 10, you've put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. And what is this knowledge? Well,
he tells us in verse 11, this is what this new man understands. This is what this new man enters
into. This is what this new man believes. Now, what I'm getting ready to
say, well, it's what the word of God says. It's not what I'm
saying, it's what the word of God says. Every believer is at perfect
agreement with this. Perfect unity. Here it is, verse
11. Where there is neither, where
in this new creation, where is, speaking of this new man, where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all. Now that's the understanding.
That's the knowledge of the new man. Christ is all. Where this knowledge is, All
fleshly distinctions are done away with. And this is the only
place where that takes place. Men make such a big deal about
fleshly distinctions. One has more money. One has a
different color of skin. One is prettier. One is more
successful. One has more education. And there's
all these fleshly distinctions. And that is so in every society,
in every culture, there's a caste system, there's fleshly distinctions. And the only place that this
is done away with is in the gospel. Nowhere else. Everybody sets
one in Christ Jesus. Not a big shot and a little shot,
not a clergy and then there's a laity, nothing like that in
the gospel. what he says. There are no fleshly
distinctions. There are no racial distinctions.
There are no social distinctions. There are no religious distinctions.
There are no intellectual distinctions. There are no cultural distinctions.
There's not even gender distinctions. Turn with me to Galatians chapter
three. Paul says the same thing here. Verse 27, for as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ. Now he's not talking about water
baptism there. He's talking about being baptized into Christ, united
into Christ. As many as you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ. There's neither Jew nor Greek.
There's neither bond nor free. There's neither male nor female. All distinctions are gone for
you are all one in Christ Jesus. That's true of every believer. Now, why are all of these distinctions
obliterated? And they are because Christ is
all. Where that is believed and where
that is received, fleshly distinctions disappear. You are all one in
Christ Jesus. That is what God's word says. Now that, my dear friends, is
the knowledge of the new creature in Christ Jesus. He knows this. Christ is all. Now I pray that God will teach
each one of us just what that means. Wouldn't that be something? If I come to truly understand
and rejoice in and glory in Christ being all. Now, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. That one who walked upon this
earth 2,000 years ago is the eternal son of God. He is the
Christ. He is God's prophet. He's the
very word of God. He's God's priest. He's the only
one who can bring us into God's presence. He's God's king. He rules and he reigns. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. Whoso believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God, the scripture says. Jesus is the
Christ and Christ is all. Now, if you and I can learn that,
we've learned everything. Jesus is the Christ, and Christ
is all. Now, what I fear is that statement, Christ is
all, becoming cliche to us. I fear that. I do not want that
to happen. Most of us in here, maybe all
of us in here would agree, Christ is all. What a horrible thing if that
doesn't strike through our hearts as the most glorious thing we've
ever heard, and it just becomes cliched. I fear that. I fear
that. I fear that happening to me.
I fear that happening to you. May the Lord deliver us from
that. And may we enter in to the glory of this thing of Christ
being all. Now, everything we hear must
pass through this gate. Christ is all. And if it's contrary
to that, what we've heard is not the truth. Everything we
believe must pass through this gate. Christ is all. If it's contrary to that, what
we believe is wrong. It's error. It's false. Now, when we say Christ is all,
we don't say he's very important. We say he's all. There's an infinite
difference. Any question we may have, if
the answer is contrary to Christ is all, we have the wrong answer.
Whatever it may be. In our preaching, everything
that is said must go through this gate. Christ is all. And if it can't go through that
gate, what has been said was not inspired by the spirit of
God. It's not true. This is what all believers are
united in. Christ is all. Now, we know Christ is all because
it's just read it in scripture. Colossians 3.11 says, Christ
is all. And we believe it because that's
what God's word says. But you know, in reality, If
you're a believer, you've got a vested interest in this. If
Christ is not all, that means something's up to you and you
don't want to have anything to do with anything like that. You
want Christ to be all in your salvation because if he's not
all, that means something's expected of you to perform and complete
or you will not be saved. And that is how important this
thing is. Christ is all I see in the Bible.
And I also from the very depths of my heart wanted to be that
way, because if it's not that way, this man talking to you
won't be saved. That's how important this is. This isn't just the reciting
theological facts. This is something that is of
utmost importance to every believer. Now, if he's not all, there's
something I need to do. If he doesn't do it all, if he's
not all, salvation's by works. If he's not all, I will not be
saved. That's how important this is.
There's no understanding of the gospel apart from this, Jesus
Christ is all. Now, he is only all to you and
me if he's all we have. If you have anything else, he's
not all to you. He's only all to you is if he
is all you have. If all I have is Christ, there's
not one thing before or after my experience of salvation that
I have. There's not one thing that can
recommend me before my understanding of the gospel or after my understanding
of the gospel. There's not one thing that I
can derive assurance from or comfort from, but this, Christ
is all. He's all I have. I don't have
anything else to bring to God. He's all I have. He's all I want. I don't want anything else. He's
all I need. He's all for me in the sense
that if he's for me, nothing else is needed. Nothing else
is needed. He's all to me. I don't want
anything but him. I think of Mephibosheth. I love that story. And I think
this illustrates what I'm trying to say. David said from that
position of power in 2 Samuel 9, is there any that I can show
of the house of Israel that I should show the kindness of God to for
Jonathan's sake? I mean the house of Saul. Is
there any of the house of Saul that I can show kindness to for
Jonathan's sake? Now what had taken place some
years before, Jonathan and David made a covenant. Jonathan said,
I know you're going to be the ruler of the world. And he was.
Scripture says the fear of David fell upon every nation. I mean,
he was the most powerful man in the world. And years before
this, Jonathan, his best friend, they made a covenant. Jonathan
said, I want you to show kindness to my descendants after I'm dead
and you're on the throne ruling and reigning. David reaches that
point. He's the king. He's in absolute
control. Everybody's scared to death of
him. And he makes this announcement. Is there any of the house of
Saul that I can show the kindness of God to for Jonathan's sake? He remembered that covenant,
which illustrates the covenant of grace. And there was a man
by the name of Ziba. He said, yeah, there's one. but
he's worthless. He's lame on both of his feet.
He can't fight for you. He can't work for you. All this
man can be is carried. That's it. He can't do anything
for you. You see, he had become lame through
the fall. His nurse dropped him, lame on both of his feet, which
illustrates the fall, you know that, but David said, go fetch him. Go
fetch him. He couldn't come. Go fetch him. He couldn't get there unless
he's brought there. Go fetch him. And they bring him before
David, and David looks at him, and oh, he sees Jonathan. He sees Jonathan in that boy's
face. He remembers that covenant he made with Jonathan. He didn't
see Mephibosheth. He looked at that one who he
loved, Jonathan. And he said, Mephibosheth, I'll
surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. There's
only one reason he showed him kindness, for Jonathan's sake. No other reason. No other reason
is needed. Now that's what Christ is all
means. God shows me kindness wholly
for Christ's sake. It's not because of something
in me. It's not because of something I've done. It's not because of
something I've stopped doing. It's not because something I
intend to do. It's not I'm going to, I'm changing now. I'm going
to turn over a new leaf. Things are going to be different
for me now. How many of us have said that? How many times? How
many times did it work? Not once. God's response to every believer
is holy for Christ's sake. Christ is all. He's all we have. He's all we
need. He's all we desire. He's all
for us. He's all to us, and He's all
in us. I mean, even the faith I have is His work in me. The
repentance I have is His work in me. I live, yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me. In the life that I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself for me. Now, Christ is all. Let's consider what that precious
statement means, and here's where we're going to have to begin.
Because this is where we find this to be true. Christ is all
in the scriptures. We read it here. Christ is all. Christ is all in the scriptures,
not most of them. I think of what our Lord said
in John 5, where he died. You search the scriptures. He's
talking to the Pharisees. In them, you think you have eternal
life. If I can just figure out what this means and how I can
do this, I'll have eternal life. He says, you've missed the point.
They are they. All of them. They are they which
testify of me. Every single one of them. Now, Christ is all is not the
central theme of the scripture. You know, when I hear people
say, and I know a lot of times they mean well, but when I hear
people say, well, Christ, I want to hear Christ centered preaching.
I want to hear Christ preaching. That's it. Christ is all is not the central
theme of the scripture. It's the singular thing. It's
the only thing. Christ is all in the scriptures. They are they which testify of
me. Now you've heard this story before, but some of you haven't.
So I'm going to tell it again. Spurgeon tells of a young man that was
a preacher. And he just brought a message
that he felt very good about. He was excited coming down out
of the pulpit. He was walking home and just
felt so good about the sermon. And he was walking with an older
believer. He said, what'd you think of
my message? He said, it was a very poor message. He was shocked.
Poor. I thought it was great. And he
said, well, was there any error in it? He said, no. He said,
Was my speech good? He said, great. He said, were
my illustrations clear? He said, yeah, they're clear.
He said, what's wrong with it? He said, you didn't preach Christ.
And his reply was, Christ was not in the text. Christ was not in the text. He
said, young man, there's a saying, true saying, Every road leads
to London. That's true. If you go to England,
every road will eventually get you to London. And he said the
job of the preacher, every text leads to Christ. And the job
of the preacher is to go straight to that text to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ. And you haven't understood the
meaning if you haven't understood that Christ is all in the scriptures. Now, if you believe that, it'll
be a blessing to you. You'll know the meaning before
you even know the meaning. You say, well, I don't understand
that, but I know what it means. Christ is all. Christ is all
in the scriptures. Christ is all in this sense,
Jesus Christ is all that God is. Jesus Christ is all that God
is. He's not like God. He is God. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him. In the beginning was the Word,
God's prophet, God's Word. The Word was with God, a distinct
person, and the Word was God. The same was, eternally was,
in the beginning with God. He is the image of the invisible
God. All we'll ever see of God is
the man Christ Jesus. He's the express image of His
person, the brightness of His glory. Show us the Father and
we'll be satisfied. I've been a long time with you,
Philip, and yet as thou not know me, he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father. That's the words of Christ. I
love Isaiah 9, verse 6, unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given. Now that son wasn't born. That's
the eternal son of God. The child was born, but the son
was given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulders and his name shall be called wonderful counselor
mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Christ is all that God is. Jesus Christ is all in the purpose
of God. Now you listen to these words
very carefully. God's purpose in all things is
the honor of the exaltation and the glory of his son, Jesus Christ. That's God's purpose in all things. That's God's agenda. The glory
and honor of his son. I love the way that passage,
that parable begins in Matthew chapter 22. This says it all.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king that made
a marriage for his son. You see, it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell, that in all things he
might have the preeminence. God created the universe for
the glory of his son. That's why he did it. for the
honor of God. Listen, the fall of Adam was
all a part of God's purpose to glorify his son. God didn't send his son in response
to the fall. The fall took place for the honor
and glory of Jesus Christ. And if you have a problem with
that, you've got a problem. I don't know else how to say
it. If you've got a problem, somebody says, I don't like that. Well,
I do. I do. And I love him getting the glory in all things. You
see, once again, if he doesn't get the glory in all things,
that means something's expected out of me. If He doesn't get
the glory in all things, there's something I need to do that I'm
going to be paid for, and if that's the case, salvation is
by works. I want Him to have all the glory,
don't you? I'm glad that God has done what He's done. He is
all in all the purposes of God. God's purpose is to glorify,
exalt, and honor His Son. That's God's agenda. It's called in Ephesians 3, verse
11, eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Everything has one purpose, the
glory of Jesus Christ. He's all in God's purpose. Jesus Christ is all in all of
the counsels of God toward man. Now, what does that mean? It
means that all that God has for the sinner is in His Son. All that God has for the sinner
is in His blessed Son. All we have was given to us in
Christ Jesus before the world began. That's what the Bible
says. Second Timothy 1.9 says, saved
us, and he called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Ephesians 1,
3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us, not he will bless us if he hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Everything God has for the sinner
is in Christ. It's in response to Christ. It's
not in response to what you do. It's in response to who he is. Christ is all in all the counsels
of God concerning men. Amen. We love it that way. Christ is all. Before there was ever a sinner,
this is how I wish I could say it the way
I ought to say it. I don't know how to say it, but before there was ever
a sinner, there was a savior. Christ is the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. That's how much he's all before there was ever
a sinner. He was the savior, the lamb slain from the very
foundation of the world. Christ is all, Jesus Christ is
all in salvation. And what do I mean by that? Here's the best way I can explain
Jesus Christ being all in salvation. It's the best way I know how
to explain it. When I say He's all. Salvation does not end in
the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is not if I do this,
and if I do that, then my sins will be forgiven. Salvation doesn't
end with the forgiveness of sins. Salvation begins with the full,
complete blotting out and forgiveness of sins. You see, the forgiveness
of sins is for Christ's sake. It's for Christ's sake. He doesn't
forgive you because you asked to be forgiven. He forgives you
for Christ's sake. And if you're forgiven, you know
that. You don't do something to be forgiven, you find out
you've been forgiven. That's what forgiveness is, you find
out you've been forgiven. Every aspect of salvation. I don't
care what you're talking about. He's on my election, I've chosen
him. You talk about redemption, I was redeemed by his blood.
You talk about justification, I was justified by his righteousness.
You talk about sanctification, both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. He is my sanctification
before God. Every aspect of salvation, Christ
is all. Let me ask you a question. Do
you love it that way? Are you glad he's all in salvation? Every
believer is. Christ is all in salvation. You
know, really, regeneration, when you talk about regeneration,
you know when you're regenerated and born again? When you see he's
all. When you see he's all. God's done something for you.
He's given you a new heart. He's given you something he hadn't
given the rest of the world, but he's given this to every
believer. Every believer sees that Christ is all. Now, how far can I take this?
Turn to 1 John 4. 1 John 4. Verse 17. Herein, is our love made perfect, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Now that's quite
a statement. To think of standing before God in judgment and having
boldness? Where's that come from? Somebody
says, well, I've been faithful. I've been good. I've done, no,
no, no. Here's where this boldness is,
as he is. Right now, present tense, as
he is. So are we in this world. Now that's how much he's all
as he is. Is he all? That's our allness.
Is he perfect? So am I. Is he beautiful to God? So am I. Is he without sin? So am I. As he is, this is how
much he's all. As he is, so are we in this world. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1.30,
he's made into us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. He is all in our doctrine. No
doctrine scripture is understood apart from he is all. It's gonna have to pass through
that gate. And if it gives, if it's in any way contrary to he
is all, no matter how I'm presenting that doctrine, I've not presented
it. This is the key to understanding every scripture. Christ is all. He's all in providence. You know what that means? Whatever
happens between the original creation and the ending up of
all things, he's the cause. Whatever it is. You know, he's
the one who created the world. I love thinking about that. He's
the creator. He created this universe. And
the vastness of this universe, I don't know if it's ever expanding
and some say it's contracting and all the different, I don't
know, but he created it all. He created the atom, the minutia
of the atom, and the power that is in that. He created all the
physical. He's the creator. And everything
that happens in time, He is the first cause of. He's before all
things. Now you think about that. He
is before. That's what the scripture says. He's before all things.
Whatever it is, He's before it. He's the cause of it. He controls
it. By Him, all things consist. He's all in God's providence.
He said, I formed the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I, the Lord, do
all these things. Somebody said, well, what about?
That's what it says. I'm not going to apologize for
the Lord saying this. I love it. He's all in providence. He
is the cause of all things. You see, he really is God. He
really does control. He is all in providence. And
listen to this, he's all in our experience. Now,
what do I mean by that? If you have any experience of
grace, if the Lord's done anything for you, he is all in your experience. Now, what is meant by that? I can say a lot about this. His faith before God is the faith
I believe in. My faith, I love what Paul said,
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life that
I now live in the flesh. Right now, I live by the faith
of the son of God. Somebody had to believe God perfectly.
He did. And I'm relying on his faith,
faith itself. Faith itself has wholly to do
with what you believe concerning Him. It doesn't have anything
to do with what you believe about yourself. Faith has wholly to do with what
you believe concerning Jesus Christ. Well, somebody says,
well, I believe I'm saved. Well, I hope you are, but that
doesn't mean you are. Somebody says, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. That's faith. What do you think
concerning Him? Repentance is repenting of anything
that's contrary to Christ is all. That's wrong. I don't believe
that anymore. You know, even in our experience
of, how do you feel about your confession
of sin? Has your confession been any good at all? Has it not lacked
sincerity? Has it not lacked sorrow? You
try to confess, but I tell you, one who truly confessed sin is
when Christ was made sin, and he said, I'll acknowledge my
transgression. And he confessed sin as it ought
to be confessed. What about your sorrow for sin?
You get caught at something, or you get exposed, and you're
sorry. You are. I mean, you wish it hadn't happened.
You don't like the embarrassment you brought upon yourself and
upon even the gospel. And we don't want to, we don't
want to bring any reproach on the gospel through our personal
sin, but we, we're, our sin, you know, we, we're, we're sorry,
but it's temporary. And we've forgotten about it
soon enough. I mean, the next day we're feeling a lot better, aren't
we? That sorrow, there's just a lack of sincerity, a lack of
true sorrow. Oh, but he said, I will be sorry
for my sin. He's the only one who knows what
sin is in the first place. You and I, we, We're used to it. But he knows exactly what it
is when he was made sin as the sinner's substitute. And he said,
I will be sorry. And the father was pleased with
that, everything in our experience. As he is, so are we in the world. I just read that passage of scripture. My meekness is not very meek,
but his meekness is. My humility is awful phony and
awful proud. But he exercised true humility. Everything. I mean, you look
at the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are an expression
of his person. Nobody was poor in spirit like
him. Nobody mourned like him. Nobody was meek like him. Nobody
ever hungered and thirst after righteousness like him. No one
was ever pure in heart like Him. No one was ever a peacemaker
like Him. No one was ever merciful like Him. Yes, it's every believer. It describes every believer,
but He embodies the beatitudes. He embodies the fruit of the
Spirit. He's love. He's joy. He's peace. On and on, in our experience,
Christ is all. Aren't you thankful that everything
God requires of you, you look to Christ for? Everything! You
can't take that too far. Everything that God requires
of the sinner, He looks to Jesus Christ for, because Christ is
all in all, in everything. We look to Him. It's all in our preaching. And
Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2, I determined, I made
this my determination, not to know anything among you, not
to esteem anything as important as even worth talking about.
I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified." He's all in our preaching. He'll be all in judgment. If you've understood this, Lord,
remember me when you come into your kingdom. What's the difference
between the saved and the lost? What's the difference? Well,
one received Christ, the other didn't. Oh, shut that foolishness
up. The difference is Jesus Christ. He's all. In judgment, everybody
that's not just like Jesus Christ, made so by him, will be condemned. Everybody that's just like him,
made so by him. Who is the difference in judgment?
He is. He's all in heaven. David said in Psalm 1715, as
for me, I'll behold thy face in righteousness. I'll be satisfied. I'll be plumb,
completely satisfied when I awake in thy likeness. The Lord said,
Father, I will that they whom you have given me be with me
where I am. that they may behold my glory
that thou hast given me. For thou lovest me from the foundation
of the earth. And you know that heaven, heaven
itself, will be seeing that he's all.
I'll see it so much more clearly then than I do now. I mean, I
see through a glass darkly and you do too. One of the things,
I've said this so many times with regard to preaching, failure's
built in. I'll never be able to say it
the way it ought to be said. I'll never understand it the
way it ought to be understood. But one of these days, I'll see that he is all. Now, Charles Spurgeon, once again,
tells a story that I've told many times before, but just today,
somebody hadn't heard it. I can't tell you how much this
has always been a blessing to me. There was a man by the name
of, he was called, at that time, Jack the Huckster. He was somewhat
of a swindler. He was not an honest man, and
he heard a little girl singing this little song. I'm a poor
sinner, and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. And he started singing that.
And the Lord made it real to him, to where he really was in
his own mind, a poor sinner and nothing at all. But Jesus Christ
is my all in all. Isn't that a great place to be?
I feel such joy there. And he wanted to be baptized.
And he came up to the church and it was The board of elders
or whatever it was wanted to go ahead and quiz him to see
if he was a worthy candidate for baptism. They said, well,
what have you experienced about the conviction of sin and the
conviction of the Holy Spirit? He said, well, I'm a poor sinner
and nothing at all. Is there anything I need more
than that? And they said, well, what do you know about joy? What
do you know in your experience about truth? I said, Christ is
my all in all. Is there anything else needed?
No. No. What joy there is in being a
poor sinner and nothing at all. And I'm not talking about the
way I was before I've saved. I'm talking about right now while
I'm talking to you. But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. Now, before we have a closing
hymn, I've asked Kara to sing