Alright, I want you to turn with
me now to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. And I want to speak to you this
morning on my favorite subject. If you get this, I mean get it
in your heart, if you get this and rest all your hope right
here, you will be saved. You will be saved. You will have
eternal salvation. This is the whole theme of the
message I'm going to preach to you this morning. This is the
theme of every message I've preached to you since the first day I
set foot in New Jersey. And Lord keeping me, this will
be the message I preach till they drag me out of here, out
of the whole joint. Now I want you to look here at
just these three words in Colossians 3.11. Look there with me, Colossians
3.11. Christ is all. Do you see those three words?
Christ is all. That's our subject. Christ is
all. That seems so simple, doesn't
it? And it's the most difficult thing in the world for a sinner
to understand and for a sinner to believe. Christ is all. Now religious men had come into
the church at Colossae, just like, it wasn't as if they did
some malicious thing, they just came in and sat down and started
listening to the gospel, just like men will come and sit down
and start listening to the gospel in our day. But after a while,
they started speaking about how that Christ is not all. These
men were willed worshipers and philosophers. and they began
to say Christ is not all. I've actually had religious men
say that very thing to me. Christ is not all. I've had someone say that specifically. Christ is not all. Now, if Christ
is not all to you, if he's not all to me, then Christ will profit
us nothing. If He's not all to us, He's nothing
to us. If He's not all to us, He'll
profit us nothing. If He's not all to us, we're
debtors to do the whole law of God ourselves. Now, if Christ
is not all to us, it's not going to change the fact that Christ
is all. It's not going to change the
fact that we're going to have to meet God. It's not going to change
the fact that we're going to have to come under the judgment
of God for all our sins and every secret thought that we've ever
committed, ever thought. Just because Christ is not all
to us doesn't change the truth of God whatsoever. It doesn't
alter God's purpose. It doesn't alter God's eternal
election of grace. It doesn't alter God's salvation
one bit if you and I don't thank Christ as all. But I want you
to pay attention carefully because this is the one point of the
whole message Christ is all Christ is all now in Colossians 3 9
Paul says there Well, let's look at verse 8. He says, Now ye also
put off all these. He had already given some sins,
some outward sins that we put off and other things which are
idolatry, which He said we walked in those things when we lived
in them, when we were dead in our sins. And now He says, Put
off also these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
out of your mouth, and lie not one to another. seeing that you
have put off the old man with his deeds." Now, all of those
things that we just read about, these are products of the old
man and these are his deeds. And this old man is aggravated
and the sins of the flesh are fed through outward forms of
religion. When men are told Christ is not
all, and they believe something else has to be added, that fuels
all these things. Anger and malice and envy and
strife and all those things. Now this old man means our corrupt
nature. The corrupt nature. That nature
of our first birth. We put off that man. We put him
off, we put his deeds off. The natural man thinks fleshly
things makes him to differ from another. The natural man thinks
he makes himself accepted with God. Believers, by the Spirit
of God, put off that old man. We put him off completely. Somebody
can kill that fly, kill him. All right, verse 10. He says,
"...and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him." Now, by the new man, it's
meant that new nature that's created of God the Holy Spirit
when Christ enters into the heart. It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. This new man's not in a center
by our first birth. It's not in a center by our creating.
It's not in a center by anything you and I do. It's of the Spirit
of God when Christ is formed in us and made all unto us. Now this is how the new man is
renewed. He's renewed in knowledge after
the image of God. Who created Him? He's created
in righteousness and true holiness, the righteousness and true holiness
of Christ Jesus. That's how He's created. As opposed
to our first birth, which we were conceived in sin, as opposed
to any pretended righteousness and pretended holiness performed
by us, as hypocritical men pretend that they have done. Colossians
3.11 says where? Now we're talking about this
new man. Where in this new man? There's neither Greek nor Jew.
That's all the two people there are, Greek or Jew. There's neither
Greek nor Jew. Those born of God are taught
of God. that our first birth, our race,
has nothing whatsoever to do with God's election of grace. It had nothing to do with whom
God chose to save. It has nothing to do with our
salvation period. Such a vain distinction is the
deeds of the old man. That's the old man. We put him
off. In the new man, in Christ, there's neither Jew nor Greek.
Verse 11 says, and there's neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. Those that have been recreated
after the image of God are taught in the heart that true righteousness
and true holiness is not in the externals of religion. He's not
a Jew which is one outward. The circumcision is not in the
flesh. You can put any kind of law keeping, any kind of external
works of religion in the place of circumcision and you got the
same meaning. It's not by a pretense of keeping
the law. It's not by outward morality. It's not by religious deeds that
make a man righteous. None of those things make a man
righteous. That's the old man and that's his deeds which we
put off. The old man. Listen to this scripture. If
any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. He's a new creation.
And old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Because Christ becomes all. And
all things are of God. All things are of God. All these
new things that we behold when we behold Christ as all are all
of God. Because He's reconciled us to
Himself by Jesus Christ. 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. That's what we have to be to
come into God's presence. We've got to be the righteousness
of God. We've got to be as holy as God is holy. We've got to
be as good as God is. That's what we've got to be to
come into God's presence. Nothing else. No man on the face
of this planet can pretend he's ever done anything that will
make him the righteousness of God. None. In the new man, where
Christ is made unto us all, there's neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. We're not looking at what's been
done or hadn't been done outwardly in the externals of religion.
at all. That doesn't have a bearing on
our salvation. Verse 11 says, and in this new
man there's neither barbarian or Scythian. A barbarian and
a Scythian were looked down upon as being the unwise, unlearned,
uneducated, crude, uncivilized people. In this new man, in Christ,
we're not looking to man's wisdom. We're not looking to our wisdom.
We know that a man can't bring himself to Christ by educating
himself into the kingdom. He can't bring himself to God
by educating himself into the kingdom of God. I know men, I've
known men who could tell you, who could preach the gospel far
better than I can preach the gospel, who didn't have a clue
who Christ is. Didn't have a clue who He is.
It doesn't matter how well a man speaks. It don't matter how much
he knows. It matters who He knows in His
heart. And that's only by God's grace.
Those are distinctions the old man makes. Those are the distinctions
the old man uses to try to set himself apart, make himself to
differ from others. We put off that old man with
his deeds. Put him off. There's neither
barbarian nor Scythian. And then verse 11 says, in this
new man, in Christ, there's neither bond nor free. In the new man,
in Christ, Our standing in Christ is not based on civil law, on
anything outwardly. If he's bound under civil law,
if he's in prison, spiritually he's Christ's free man. And if
he's free under civil law, spiritually he's Christ's willing bondservant. You understand what I'm saying?
All these things are fleshly, carnal distinctions which natural
men regard. They're distinctions that make
men think they're righteous in themselves and make them despise
others. That's the old man. That's all
he is. That's all his deeds are. That's
all his deeds produce. But by God's grace, we put him
off in his deeds. But now look at verse 11 again.
But in the new man, Christ is all. Christ is all and in all. Now, I want to show you first
of all that Christ is all because He's God. He's all because He's
God. Paul's objective in writing this
letter is my objective in preaching it to you right here, right now.
It's my objective in preaching the gospel to you. It's number
one to pray God would bless it so that they would rest in Christ.
Rest right in Christ. And the other thing is that they
would ignore any man telling them salvation comes by something
in addition to Christ, in addition to you doing something. That
except you do this or that thing, you can't be saved. You believer,
listen to me. You ignore every man, every preacher. I don't care how decorated he
is and how well educated and how finely dressed he is or anything.
If he's telling you that you got to keep the law or you can't
be saved. He's telling you a lie. If he's
yoking you with the law, imbibing you with the law, he's telling
you a lie. That's just so. Don't misunderstand me. The believer
honors, we love the law, inwardly, truly. We're the only ones that
really do. Because we don't tell men you can lessen that law at
all. You can't. And a man that tells you you
can keep the law is telling you he's lessening the law or else
there would be no way you could keep it at all. The law cannot
be lessened in any degree. It has to be upheld and fulfilled
in such find precision that every dot and dash has to be fulfilled
in such honor and glory and magnitude that God had to send his own
son into the earth to do it. And he did. He sent his son and
he's honored it, magnified it, fulfilled it in every dot and
dash for his people and justified us of all our sins from it so
that trusting Christ, we have established the law of God. It's
established. The law says of everyone who's
resting in Christ, the law says of us what it says of Christ.
This is the holy, just, and good man right here. That's right.
Now that's what it means to believe Christ is all. Anybody tells
you different, you ignore them. Salvation is by the grace of
God alone, by the person and work of Christ Jesus alone, through
God-given faith in Him alone, opposed to any works that you
and I have done, period. A believer will maintain good
works. A believer will delight in good works because he is born
of the Spirit of God and he sees what great things Christ has
done for him. But he don't have to be yoked by law. He don't
have to be motivated by law. He don't have to be whipped by
law and given a promise of a reward for doing something. That sort of man don't know his
head from a hole in the ground. He don't know God from a gourd.
I'm telling you. Christ's people serve Him because
they want to and wish they could serve Him better than they do.
So Paul begins his letter here declaring to us Christ is all,
and he does it by declaring Christ is God, he's the head over all
creation, and he's the head over his church. Now look at Colossians
1 15. I'm just going to read Let me
read some Scripture to you here. Colossians 1.15. And as we go
here, I want you to notice how much Paul uses this word, all
things. Notice how he uses this. All,
all, all, when he's speaking about Christ. Verse 15, he says
there that Christ is the image of the invisible God. Let's begin in verse 14. He says,
in Christ we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sin. That's what we need. That's what
we're going to have to have to come into God's presence. And
he says, now this is who He is. He's the image of the invisible
God. Jesus Christ is the express image,
the outward visible image that you and I can comprehend of the
invisible God. That's who He is. He's the firstborn. The word is creator. He's the
firstborn of every creature. For by Him, by Christ, who is
God the Son, by Him were all things created that are in heaven
and that are in earth visible and invisible. Whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created
by Him and for Him. All things. All things were created
by Him and for Him. And He's before all things. And by Him, all things consist. All things are held together
by Him. That's who this Christ is. And
He's the head of the body, the church. He's not only the head
over all creation, He's the head of the body of the church, His
church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things, in creation and in His church, that in all
things He might have the preeminence. For, where did He get that? Who determined that He would
have all preeminence? For it pleased God the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell." Now, Satan's subtle. He's subtle. Satan listens and
he understands this gospel better than you and I understand it.
And he's so subtle, and those that he has his power over He
will, he will, he doesn't mind them saying many, many good things
about Christ. A natural man will say a lot
of good things about Christ. So much so that if it was possible
they'd deceive the very elect. But a natural man in his old
nature will say a lot of good things about Christ, but Christ
can't have the rule over him. Not if he has his own way. He
can be a lot of things, he can be much, but he can't be all.
It can't be all because the man's got natural man thinks he got
to do something. He wants to contribute something
He wants a little glory for this day. Can you imagine saying to
God? Can you imagine saying to God
Almighty? God is not all Can you imagine
that? Can you imagine even letting
those words come out of your mouth? God is not all? What shame,
what rebellion, what ignorance to say God's not all. So first
of all, He's all because He's God. Christ is all because He's
God. He's the head over all creation. He's the head over His church.
But secondly, Christ is all because He's all the salvation of God's
elect. He's all the salvation. All the
believer's salvation is of Christ. Look at Colossians 1.20. He says, "...and having made
peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all
things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, Now, by all things right
here, he's talking about all the elect of God throughout all
time. When he says here, some, whether
they be in heaven, because some were already in heaven when Christ
went to the cross. They were in heaven by virtue
of the fact Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. He was their surety from before he ever even went
to the cross. So by his spirit resting in him,
they went to heaven. But he's reconciling to God all
of his elect, whether they're in the earth or whether they're
in heaven. They're all reconciled together in one, in Christ. Now verse 21, he says, And you
that were sometime alienated, alienated from God, enemies in
your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the
body of his flesh through death. You see, we got to fulfill a
law that we can't fulfill. That's the problem. We broke
it in Adam. We have got to fulfill all the righteousness of the
law. Christ did it in precept, and when He went and laid down
His life, He took all the sins of His elect, and He put that
sin away. He justified His people by His
death. So that now, we've been reconciled
to God. No record of sin exists for God's
people. None. And He did this in the
body of His flesh, through death, to present you. Look at it now,
verse 22. and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight." Now there's only one thing a believer does. One
thing. That's nothing. That's nothing.
And rest in Him to do it all. Verse 23 says, if you continue
in the faith. That's what faith is. We're resting
in Christ our all. If you continue in the faith,
this will be the fruit of His being our all. This will be the
fruit of us truly being born of God. The fruit of us truly
being justified and made righteous in Christ. We will continue. He will keep us. He will preserve
us. And we will persevere in the faith. Grounded. Grounded
in Christ. Settled in Christ. And we'll
be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel. What's the hope
of the Gospel? Look down at verse 27. At the
end. which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. There's a
new man in you, the hope of glory. Now, I want to just read a few
more verses here in Colossians. I want you to notice how Paul
just keeps using this word, all, when he's speaking about Christ.
Look at Colossians 2 and verse 2. He's saying here, here's my
desire. This is why I'm wanting to come
and preach this gospel to you. That their hearts might be comforted
being knit together in love unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. You mean there's not someplace
else I need to look? You mean I don't really need
to study John Calvin and John Knox and Martin Luther and all
of those men? If you want to do that in your
free time, feel free to do it. But that's not where you're going
to find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You're
going to find the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.
That's where you're going to find them. That's why I don't
stand up here and preach men to you who actually preached
Christ. I do what those men did and I preach Christ instead.
That's what we need to be doing. There's where the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge are found. Verse 8, Beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, not after Christ.
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. and you're
complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and
power. You see this? All, Christ is
all. In whom? In Christ. Also, you're
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. Circumcision
represents the whole body of our sins being put off. The whole
corruption of our filthy old nature being removed completely
so that it don't even have a say in the matter before God. the
circumcision made without hands, and putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with him in
baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith
of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead.
And being dead in your sins, in the uncircumcision of your
flesh, that's what you were, that's what we were, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Do you see how Christ is all?
Now look over at 1 Corinthians 1.30. Now I just want to give
you some scripture. 1 Corinthians 1.30. In regeneration, when God comes
to us, by God the Holy Spirit, Christ is made unto us all. We're put in Christ by God the
Father, and then by God the Holy Spirit, Christ is made unto us
all. All. That's why I'm telling you,
anybody that will say to you, Christ is not all, They mean
it. He's not all to them. Because
to the believer, Christ is all to them. This is what we need.
1 Corinthians 1. Look at this now. But of Him
are ye in Christ Jesus. He put us there by divine election.
Who of God in the regeneration is made unto us wisdom. We have the mind of Christ so
that we know the things that are freely given to us of God.
He made unto us righteousness. He's the perfect fulfillment
of everything that's demanded of the holy law. He's righteousness. And sanctification, he's our
complete, thorough separation from this world, from sin, from
death, into the light of the glorious liberty of the sons
of God. He's our sanctification. You go sometime, look up the
word sanctify. I haven't done a complete study
on this yet, on sanctification, but just the word sanctify. I
did go through the scriptures and look up every place the word
sanctify is used. Sanctified, sanctify. It's never
used in a partial sense, ever, ever in Scripture. I know that
men tell us that we're progressively becoming more and more sanctified.
It's never used in the Scripture that way. It's just not. If we would just listen to what
God says in His Word and use His definition of what He says
to be sanctified is, we'd find out it's never halfway done with
God. Now I'm not saying we're perfect
and I'm not saying that we're not going to be one day perfectly
conformed to His image, but what I'm saying is when you're called
out of darkness into light, you're not in darkness anymore, you're
in light. When you're called out of an unholy state into His
holiness, you're holy now. When you're called out of death
to life, you're alive now. When you're separated unto God,
consecrated to God for God's holy use by God, you're God's
and you're not the world's anymore. And that's just so. That's just
so. We grow in that state, but we
don't become more holy. If we died today, we'd be fit
to enter into His glory. Because the holiness is Him.
And He's become our redemption. Our redemption so that we're
free. We're freed from all this old flesh and this prison of
our sin nature and a prison of death. So that according as it's
written now, He that glorieth, we glory now in the Lord. Why? Because He's all. Christ is all. Christ is all the believer's
acceptance with God. You be turning with me over to
John. The book of John. I'm going to
work my way there, but you be turning to John 14. Christ is
all the believers' acceptance with God. He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. If you're accepted with God,
you got it. That's what we need, to be accepted
with God. The love of God. The love of God towards sinners,
towards His elect, that's who He loves. It's in Christ. It's
in Christ. Who shall separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus? So Paul says, put off
the old man with his deeds. Ignore anything in your flesh
or anybody else that's telling you you need something other
than Christ. Christ is the believer's high priest and He's the Lamb.
We need somebody to go into the presence of God, into the Holy
of Holies, with blood of a substitute and put it on the mercy seat
over the broken law for us and make atonement for us. Christ
is that high priest and He's that Lamb. He didn't go with
the blood of others. He went with His own blood. He went right
into God's presence with it. And He is that mercy seat. He's
our advocate with the Father and our propitiation, which means
our mercy seat, our place where we have mercy from God. If any
man sin, we have an advocate with God, Jesus Christ the righteous,
and He is the propitiation for our sin. For His elect the world
over. Christ said in John 14, look
there with me now, John 14, verse 6. He said, I am the way, I am
the truth, and I am the life. Now that pretty much sums it
up. He's the way, He's the truth, and He's the life. No man comes
unto the Father but by Me. Look back at John 6, verse 35. John 6, verse 35. Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life. He that cometh to Me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. Look
at John 10 verse 7. Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All
that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep do not hear them. I am the door. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
Christ is the door. Christ is the good shepherd.
Look there in verse 11. He says, I'm the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Look at John
11. Look at verse 25. Arthur was worried about Lazarus
and she said, I know when one day he's going to be raised in
the resurrection. And she was telling him all about
the doctrine of the resurrection. And Christ stopped her and He
said, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection. and the life.
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. Christ is the believer's
master. Look at John 13, verse 13. He's
the master and Lord. John 13, verse 13. He said to
some, you call me master and Lord? You say, well, for so I
am. That's who He is now. John 15,
verse 5. Look at John 15, verse 5. Christ
is divine and all His children are the branches. I am the vine,
you are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me you
can do nothing. Look back at John 8 verse 12. John 8 verse
12. Christ is the light of His people,
no matter where they are in this world. Look at John 8 verse 12.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the
world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. You see, Christ
is all. Look at Luke 10, verse 41. Luke 10, 41. You remember Martha? She was serving. And no doubt,
she's a believer and she had good intentions and she's wanting
to serve everybody in the house. That's a good, noble cause. But she got mad because Mary
wasn't helping her. Mary was just sitting at Christ's
feet. And she came and she scolded the Lord because of Mary. And
listen to what the Lord said to her. Luke 10, verse 41. And
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art
careful and troubled about many things. That's the problem with
this religious world. They're careful and troubled
about many things. About many things. Many things. But look at what
the Lord said. But one thing is needful. And Mary has chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her." Christ is the
one thing needful. He's that good part which shall
not be taken away from His people. Just as I was finishing up this
message, I got an email from Brother Don. And they just put
a book on Grace eBooks written by Philip Henry. And what it
is, it's called Christ is All. And it's a book of 40 sermons. Philip Henry was Matthew Henry's
father. It's a book of 40 sermons. and they're individually titled,
and I just jotted down the titles of these sermons. Christ is,
you put Christ is at the beginning of every one of these things,
but these are the titles of these chapters, these sermons he preached.
Christ is our foundation, food, root, raiment, head, hope, refuge,
Righteousness, Light, Life, Peace, Passover, Portion, Propitiation,
Freedom, Fountain, Wisdom, Way, Ensign, Example, Door, Due, Son,
Shield, Strength, Song, Horn, Honor, Sanctification, Supply,
Resurrection, Redemption, Lesson, Ladder, Truth, Treasure, Temple,
Ark, Christ is all in all. And that's not the half. That's
not the half. There's a whole lot more in this
book. And there's a whole lot more that hasn't been told. It's
not even in this book. So what does the Scripture instruct
us to do concerning Christ? I'll just give these to you.
Scripture says, seek Him while He may be found. Scripture says,
come unto Him. Scripture says, believe on Him.
Scripture says, rest in Him. Scripture says, abide in Him.
Scripture says, forsake all, take up your cross and follow
Him. Scripture says, let nothing turn
you from Him. Scripture says, watch and be
ready for Him when He returns. Scripture says, and in that last
day be found in Him. Not having your own righteousness,
but His. That's what scripture says. Look
at one last scripture, 1 John 5.11. 1 John 5.11. Now this is
the record. This is the whole book. This
is the whole of our gospel. This is the whole of our hope.
This is the whole of salvation right here. Right here. This
is the record. that God hath given to us eternal
life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath
life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Now, if Christ is all, if He's
all, then anything I lose in this world is no loss at all,
because Christ is all. He's that good part that can't
be taken from me. If Jesus Christ is all, then I'm dead to the
world, and the world's dead to me. Nothing can be added, and
nothing can be taken away. Christ is all. And if Christ
is all, when death comes, I'm going to rejoice, for to die
will be gain, because to be absent from this body will mean to be
present with the Lord. Christ is all, and in all. Amen.