The other day I was reading a
transcript of a message that Brother Henry Mahan preached
in 1985. It was just as fresh as if he
had preached it yesterday because it was the truth and God's Word
is never out of date. It's always relevant. But Henry
began that message by asking several questions and let me
share a couple of those with you. He asked this question,
what would it mean to you right now if you could have complete
assurance and complete confidence that you have peace with God?
What would it mean to you to know that every one of your sins
is forgiven? The sin of thought, word, deed,
imagination, and every sin of omission and commission is forgiven. What would it mean to you to
know absolutely that every sin of your entire life, the past,
the present and the future, is totally forgiven, atoned for,
and been put away to be remembered no more. How would you like right
now, and what would it mean to you if you could know that Almighty
God, the eternal, living, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Almighty
God was totally, completely, irreversibly reconciled to you
and having peace between you and God. Now wouldn't that be
something? Wouldn't that be something? Some
people say, and I'm sure you've encountered this, and it usually
comes from religious folks, but they say that such a thing as
that cannot be possible in this life, that that's just not possible.
They tell us that we won't really know, we won't really know that
our sins are all forgiven until we stand before God in judgment.
And needless to say, folks that believe that sort of thing are
usually pretty miserable. Why wouldn't they be? My soul,
why wouldn't they be? I'm thankful that that's just
not so. Those things that Brother Henry
asked are things that a man and a woman can be assured of now
in this life. And that brings us to another
question, how? That's what I want to know, don't
you? I want to know how. How can I be assured? How can
I be confident that all my sins, my past sins, my present sins,
my future sins, have all been put away and God will never bring
them up again? How is that possible? There's
a way that it can be realized where it's not a matter of speculation
or guesswork, but it's a reality, a reality. Again, I ask you,
how? Turn with me back to Colossians.
Back to Colossians chapter 2. We'll be working our way down
to verse 10. That's our text. The subject
is completeness in Christ. That's how. That's where it's
at. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. In verse 8 of chapter
2, Paul asked this question. He said, beware. Beware. He warned
them. Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit. After the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, they're not after Christ. And that's
what certain men were doing. Through philosophy, vain philosophy,
legalism, mysticism, the worshipping of angels and so forth, that's
what they were doing. And Paul warned them, don't allow
it. There were those that were teaching that it was not enough
to believe on Christ. That's just not enough. Again,
I ask you, Have you not encountered that? That's good, I've been
told, John. I've been told that in my life,
and usually it's always by religious folks. The drunk in the gutter,
he's not interested. He won't argue the point, but
the religious folks I've had tell me, Larry, it's good that
you believed on Christ. It's good that you've come that
far, but, but, Paul doesn't give any buts here, does he? They
were suggesting, trying to teach these believers that the believing
in Christ wasn't enough. There's something else needed
to be really saved. To be really saved, you need
something in addition to that. Paul dealt with that everywhere
he went. Everywhere Paul went, every church
he established, no matter where it was. Galatians, you know how
that chapter, first chapter of that epistle starts. At Corinth,
at Philippi, wherever Paul preached, He had to deal with this. And
Paul just didn't put up with it, did he? Paul wouldn't put
up with it, because there was too much at stake. There was
too much at stake. The glory of God is at stake.
The honor of Jesus Christ is at stake. And the comfort, the
comfort, as Paul tells these believers, the comfort of God's
people was at stake. As was the case not long after
Paul began to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, legalists sprung
up. They come behind Paul teaching
that Christ just wasn't enough. Acts chapter 15, this is what
happened when they called that first conference at Jerusalem.
The reason for it? Because certain legalists, where
Paul had preached at Antioch, came behind him and said, well
that's just not enough faith in Christ. Certain men, verse
1 of Acts 15, And certain men, which came down from Judea, taught
the brethren and said, except, watch out, watch out, except
ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. Man, that's pretty serious. That's
pretty serious. You cannot be saved. They were
telling this to believers, just as they were here at the church
Paul wrote this epistle to. And here's what the answer Paul
was, and Peter, as well as James and the other apostles. Verse
11 of Acts 15, but we believe. Here's their answer to that.
You can't be saved except You must have Christ in addition
to this. You must add this. Here's their answer. This is
God's answer. This is the answer of scripture.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we shall be saved, even as they, even as the Gentiles. We Jews
shall be saved in the same way as they, by the grace of God. And here's Paul's answer to such
teaching to this church at Galatia. Verse six, as ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Where trouble
comes in is when people get their eyes off Jesus Christ. Listen to the suggestion of Satan
to add something to Christ. Paul says, beware, as you receive
Christ at the first, continue in the same way. Don't turn away
from him. Do not dream of going beyond
Him. You received Him first very simply,
didn't you? Very simply. When a man is saved,
like the old hymn writer expressed it, nothing in my hand I bring. Nothing. Nothing. Simply to thy
cross I claim. We come to Christ initially as
sinners that are nothing, can do nothing, and can offer nothing. And we trusted in him entirely,
entirely. There was no question in those
days. If someone had asked us what
our hope was, one answer, one answer, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
he alone, not plus, not minus, Jesus Christ alone. You were
satisfied with Christ when you first came to him. Paul says,
just keep doing that. So be satisfied with him still.
You did not do anything more. You didn't need anything more
than Christ at the first. You don't need anything more
than Jesus Christ now because he's the same. He's the same. He's not less. He's the same. He's immutable. The same yesterday,
today, and forever. Now look down here at verse 9.
Verses 9 and 10. Verse 9 we read this. For in
him For in him, that is in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily." Wow! Wow! You could say it this way,
for in him, that is in Christ, the whole fullness of deity,
the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus Christ. Where else would it dwell? Where
else would it dwell? In verse 10 of Galatians 2, Paul
says, and you are complete in him. That's how. Those questions
that Brother Henry raised, the answer is right here. How can
that be realized? How can I have the sweet assurance
of that? I'm in Him. And ye are complete in Him, which
is the head of all principality and power. In verse 9, Paul gives
us the reason for verse 10. There could never be the sweet
assurance of verse 10 of our completeness if it wasn't for
the fullness of Jesus Christ that Paul speaks of in verse
9. Because Christ is all is the reason that everyone that's in
Christ must be complete. Must be complete. You don't go
to Christ for the supply of some of your needs and then go somewhere
else for the supply of some other of your needs. No, they're all
answered in Him. Paul said, ye are complete in
Him. It's not possible to be in Christ
and to be anything less than complete. Think about that. Just think about that a moment.
It's not possible to be in Christ and to be anything less than
complete. It's not possible to be in Christ
and to lack anything. Remember our Lord told that rich
young ruler, after that man had bowed, after he seemed earnest
in wanting to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, he
had in his mind how he could earn his way to heaven. Could
he pay like he paid with everything else, and Christ said, you lack
one thing. One thing thou lackest. It will
never be said of any believer. Any believing sinner, it will
never be said. God will never say to them, not
now, not hereafter, not when we stand before him in eternity,
one thing thou lackest. Because if we lack one thing,
one thing, one sin that's not been answered for, one sin that's
not been put away, then we lack. Oh, but in Jesus Christ, there's
a wholeness. There's a completeness. And we
rejoice that it's so. It's not possible to be in Christ
and to lack anything that God Almighty requires. I like what
the hymn writer said. Bobby used to sing this. Complete
in thee. Complete in thee. Complete in
thee, no work of mine. Aren't you glad that's so? Complete
in thee, no work of mine may take, dear Lord, the place of
thine. Thy blood hath parted and bought for me, and now I
am complete in thee. Yea, justified, O blessed thought,
and sanctified, salvation wrought. Thy blood hath parted and bought
for me, and glorified I too shall be." That's exactly what Paul
said in Romans 8, didn't he? Those he foreknew, he called.
Those he called, he justified. Those he justified would be glorified. If a sinner likes anything, being
in Christ, then the problem is not with the sinner, it's in
that one in whom he resides, in that one in whom he is, Christ
himself. The problem's not in the sinner,
it's in his Savior. And that can't be. That can't
be. That can never be, because in
him dwells the fullness of God. Remember, the night before he
went to the garden, he was with his disciples, and he said, I'm
going to the Father. You can't go with me now. I'm
going to the Father's house to prepare a place for you. In my
Father's house there are many mansions. If I'm there, you're
going to be there. My being there is proof, the guarantee that
you'll be there too." Philip was kind of confused by that
and he said, Lord, show us the Father and it'll suffice us.
We'll be satisfied. Show us the Father and we'll
be satisfied. We'll be content. And Jesus said unto him, have
I been so long a time with you, and you have not known me, Philip?
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. The fullness of the
Godhead dwells in Christ. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, show
us the Father? I want to answer three questions,
and we'll be briefing with each of them. The first one is this,
complete, complete, what does that mean? Just exactly what
does that mean? The second question is this,
where is this completeness? Where is it at? And the third
one is, how can I have it? How can it be mine? How can I
be complete? The first question, complete.
What does it mean? It means to lack nothing that
God Almighty demands. It's not to lack anything according
to church standard or Baptist standard. No, the God standard. To be complete in God's sight.
The word means entire. It means finished. It means made
full. It means perfect. That's what
it means as used here. It means perfect. It's the same
word really that Paul uses in verse 9 when he speaks about
the fullness of the Godhead being in Christ. As all the fullness
of the eternal God is in Christ, all the fullness of Christ as
the mediator between God and man for sinners is in him. Isn't
that an amazing proof of God's grace indeed? Complete in Christ. If I'm complete in Christ, I
have in Christ all that God requires of me. Now you think about it. Everything that God Almighty
demands. And remember what he said? And
it's still on the books. It's still God's standard. He's
not lowered it. It must be perfect. How good
does a man have to be to be accepted by God as good as God himself? Wow! Now, you take your good
works, you take your best robe of righteousness outside of Jesus
Christ and lay it next to that standard and see how it measures
up. If God enlightens us, we'll have
to confess its filthy rags. It can never be enough. It can
never be enough. No, if I'm complete, if I'm complete
in Christ, I have in Christ all that God Almighty requires, whatever
God, Whatever a holy God, a righteous God, a just God requires of fallen
men, I have in Christ. God cannot require more than
He has given us in Christ. God sent forth His Son. When
the fullness of the time has come, God sent forth His Son,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.
When He gave us His dear Son, our Heavenly Father freely gave
us all things in His Son. Christ plus? No. That's what some of these legalists
were telling these young believers. Oh no. All the fullness of grace,
all the blessings of the everlasting covenant, all the sure mercies
of God, all things pertaining to life and godliness in this
world and in the world to come have been bestowed upon all who
trust the Son of God. Man, that's a mouthful. Terry,
I said a mouthful. I believe it, I believe it, but
oh my, so I can't enter into that. My little boat can just
skim around the shoreline. All the fullness of grace, all
the blessings of God's covenant, all the sure mercies of God,
all things pertaining to life and godliness in this world,
and all that I need when I stand before God Almighty in the world
to come, I have completely and fully in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, I say wow. Isn't that
something? Before God, in the sight of God,
a believer is complete, perfect, full, entire, you like nothing. Man, I can curl up in that, Billy.
Oh, that just makes me feel warm, doesn't it? You are complete
in Him. There's no middle ground here.
We're either complete or not. We're either in Christ or not.
There's no middle ground. Either we're complete in Christ,
lacking nothing, or we're all together without hope before
God. We either have everything God requires of man, everything
God gives to man, everything Christ has and is as the mediator
between God and man, or we have nothing at all. We're either
in Christ with hope, the full assurance of hope, or we have
no hope at all. It describes something about
the children of God that is accomplished for them without our aid or assistance. It's what God has done for his
people, for Christ's sake, and because of Christ. It's in the
Ephesians 5 that Paul says, forgive one another, even as God has,
for Christ's sake, forgiven you. Oh, my soul. God loves his people
for Christ's sake. He loves his people, that's what
our Lord prayed in John 17, as you've loved me, love them as
you've loved me. First Corinthians 1 and 30, but
of him, of him, that is of God, God's done this. Are you in Christ
Jesus? Who of God has made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Whatever we are
in Christ, we are completely. There are no half-brothers or
half-sisters in Christ. Oh no, we're all in the family
of God. Every believer has Christ as their elder brother. They
have God as their heavenly father. They're all united in one body
with Jesus Christ as the glorious head. That's what Paul tells
us there, doesn't he? In verse 9, Christ is the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Whatever we are in Christ, it's
complete. Whatever we have in Christ, we
have it completely. In all matters regarding our
spiritual welfare, our soul's eternal salvation, we're complete
in Christ. Complete without any supplement
of any kind. Now I imagine, I imagine, it's
safe to say, that most of you, most of you, probably like me,
take supplements. I had to take some supplements
just in case I'm not getting everything I need. Or they say that you need from
my diet. I take supplements, vitamins. Oh, but with Jesus Christ. If
I'm in Christ, John, I don't need any supplements. I don't need any supplements.
I'm complete in Him. I don't need any works of my
own to add to Christ. Nothing needs to be added to
Him because Christ is all. And that brings us right to our
next question, doesn't it? Where is this completeness? It's
only in one place. Now God demands completeness
and God gives completeness, but it's only in one place. It can't
be found anywhere else. It's never been found by my works.
That's been tried before. That's been tried and failed. There's never been one sinner,
from Adam to the last sinner who ever lives, before God calls
his church home. There's never been one sinner
ever, not one, not Adam, not Noah, not Abraham, not David,
Not Peter, not Paul. There's never been a sinner that
worked his way to glory. There's never been a sinner who
was saved because of his works. Again, I say, it's been tried.
It's been tried. And it fails every single time. Paul was so burdened for his
brethren after the flesh, the Jews. He said, I'll bear them
record. He said, I'll tell you what,
I'll give my witness for them. They have a zeal for God. I don't
question that, all said. But it's not according to righteousness,
because they're going about to try to establish their own righteousness.
And in doing that, the very fact that they're doing that proves,
is evidence that they've never submitted to the righteousness
of God, because that's in Jesus Christ. That's in Jesus Christ. Christ is the end of the lawful
righteousness, Paul said to everyone that what? Not works, but believes. Believes, just trust in the Son
of God. That's where it's at. In chapter
1, here in Colossians, Paul shows that Christ is a complete Savior.
And then in chapter 2, he says that every believer is complete
in Him. Complete in Him. Mmm, I like
those words. Not in the church, but in Him.
Not in the ordinances of the Lord's Supper or Baptism, but
in Him. Not in doctrine, but in Him. Not in my feelings, but in Him.
Not in my works, but in Him. Not in my devotion, not in my
faith. I'm complete in Him. All that God requires of sinners
is in Christ. All that God gives to men and
women is in Christ. All that we can need or desire
for time or eternity is in Christ. All grace, all mercy, all love,
all peace, all wisdom, righteousness, redemption, and sanctification,
all salvation, all life is in Christ alone. And in Him is all
fullness. You cannot add anything to all
fullness. You just can't do it. If you
can, then it wasn't complete, it wasn't full. In Christ we
dwell in God's storehouse of infinite grace. And with him,
who is the head of all principality and power, in him there is a
fullness to satisfy, and power to protect, to guide, to keep,
to strengthen, and to deliver, and bring all the way to heaven."
He said, I'm the good shepherd, I seek my sheep, I find my sheep,
I keep my sheep, and I bring my sheep all the way home. If he doesn't, it reflects on
his ability. Not the sheep. It's the shepherd
that's responsible for the sheep. They're not responsible to keep
theirself. Aren't you glad that's true? Aren't you? You can no
more keep yourself than you can save yourself. Thank God it's
grace from beginning to end. In Christ we dwell, in God's
storehouse of infinite mercy. And with him who is the head
of all things. Christ is our beauty to adorn
us. The prophet say in Ezekiel, or
what did God say through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 16?
Your beauty was perfect. It was perfect through my comeliness
that I put upon you. That I put upon you. Christ is
our beauty to adorn us, gold to enrich us, our medicine to
heal us, bread to strengthen us, wine to comfort us, salvation
to crown us, and glory to follow us. All good things are transmitted
and conveyed to us through Christ. Every heavenly blessing sailed
to us through the red sea of Christ's blood. Christ is the
spiritual pipe through which the golden oil of God's mercy
pours into the soul of every believing sinner. Therefore,
there is never a lack of Christ or in Christ to supply our need
of grace. In him there is a fullness of
grace and it's all the time. Imagine that. Imagine that. It would be impossible, just
impossible, to try to calculate how much grace is required to
keep us centered for one day. One day. One hour. How much grace
is necessary? How much grace must be sufficient,
must be reigning, must be ruling must be abounding grace to keep
this sinner for one hour. God keeps a multitude of sinners
that no man can number. And that grace that comes to
those sinners is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not like
those ships setting out from the docks there in California,
isn't it? They're just loaded down, nobody
to unload them. Oh, not so in Christ. His grace
flows continually. abundantly, all the time, night
and day, from the glorious head Christ Himself. Christ has a
fountain in which to cleanse you. Oh, sinners plunge beneath
this flood, lose all their guilty stains. Christ has a road in
which to adorn you. Christ has wealth to enrich your
soul, and a glorious heaven to which He will bring you. He will
bring you. All his sheep are going to be
with him in glory. All those for whom he died will
be brought to glory. All those he redeemed will be
called. All the called will be kept and
preserved. All those will be with him in
heaven. Father, I will. I will. That's
sort of the icing on the cake in that wonderful prayer of our
great high priest, isn't it, in John 17? Father, I will. In addition, So everything else
that I've asked, that you would keep them, that you would make
them one, that you would love them, that you would preserve
them, that you would protect them while they're in the world. Father,
I will also, also, that they be with me where I am. I want
them with me where I am. Oh, that's the heaven of heaven,
isn't it? That's the glory of glory. I heard people talk about
mansions next to mommy. If that's all heaven is, it's
not going to be much. Oh, another star in my crown.
Listen to an old hymn. Oh, give me another star in my
crown or something like that. Oh no. The heaven of heaven is
this. Can you top this? Can you tell
me any greater blessing than this? Any more glory than this? They shall see his face. I was visiting with Brother Mike yesterday, Mike Giddens. He said, oh, Larry, I'm ready
to go home. Is that wrong? I said, no, no,
Mike, not at all. Not at all. It's natural. That's
what a believer wants. That's what we long for, to be
with our Lord forever. I said, that's not wrong. He
said, Larry, I just wondered what it would be like to see
his face. I said, oh, Mike, I can't imagine. My imagination just doesn't reach
that far. But I know according to God's
word, we will. Mike said, Larry, you think I'll
be able to touch him? Can you imagine touching him?
I said, Mike, yeah, I believe you will. I believe you surely
will. Oh, Mr. Pink made this observation. He said, the great mistake made
by most of the Lord's people is in hoping to discover in themselves
that which is to be found in Christ alone. And isn't that
true? We get depressed and so forth.
We have doubts and so forth about our acceptance by God because
we look to ourselves for that acceptance instead of looking
to Jesus Christ. I'm complete in Him. I'm complete
in Him. Nowhere else or by nothing else.
Do we need righteousness? We're made the righteousness
of God in Him. If Christ is my righteousness,
I can never be more righteous. I can never be less righteous.
in the righteousness of Christ. Do we need acceptance with God?
Of course we do. We are accepted and to be loved.
Do we need justification? We're justified truly by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Must
we be holy? Yes, we must. Be ye holy as I
am holy, God says. Holiness is ours in Christ. God
calls us saints. You know what the word saint
means? His holy ones, holy ones. Christ is our holiness, that
holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Do we need
forgiveness? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Forgiveness. It's written, there
is forgiveness with thee. There's forgiveness with thee
that thou mayest be feared. Pardon rich and free, complete,
irreversible pardon in Christ because he's abolished all our
sins. Do we need a clear conscience?
Yes, we do. Oh, the sweetness of that. The
blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled upon our hearts makes the conscience
clean. Perfect as pertaining to the
conscience, Paul said in Hebrews 9 and 9. The blood of Christ
proclaims in bold face, capital letters, not guilty. Not guilty. No condemnation. What a comfort. Does God require
perfection? Yes, he does. Yes, he does. If
he's perfect, he does. It's supplied by Christ who has,
by his one offering, perfected forever those who are sanctified. By his purpose, by his blood,
and by his grace, he presents us holy, unblameable, unreprovable,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Wow. Wow, that deserves
another wow. Look here in chapter 1, that's
exactly what Paul says here. Chapter 1 of Galatians verse
21, And you, and you, yes even you, who were sometimes alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now, now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. In His sight, in
God's sight. God in the person of His Son
says to every believer, I find no fault in you. You're perfect. Perfect in Christ. Yes. Is grace what we need? Parting grace, restoring grace,
strengthening grace, reviving grace, cleansing grace? The Savior
says, my grace is sufficient for you. It's sufficient for
you. Well, all my life long, the hymn
writer said I had panicked for a draft from some cool stream
that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt
within. Feeding on the husk around me,
religious tradition. Feeding on the husk around me
till my strength was almost gone. Long my soul for something better,
only still the hunger on. There must be more. There must
be. Oh, is this all there is to life?
My soul, here we stand on the verge of another new year. A few more weeks. Where did 2021
go? And then we're entering 2022.
Oh, my soul, is this all there is? Is this all there is to live? To get a little bit of this world
and then die like a dog? Is that all life's about? Oh,
no. The hymn writer said, hallelujah.
Hallelujah, I found him, whom my soul so long has craved. Jesus
satisfies my longings through his blood. I now am saved. How can I have this completeness?
That's the last question. And we've already dealt with
it some, haven't we? As Paul told a desperate sinner
on another occasion, this man fell trembling, was ready to
kill himself. And he said, what must I do to
be saved? And Paul said simply this, only this, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. We need a mediator
between God and us, and that is Christ. We need a high priest
to present his own sacrifice and prayers on our behalf, and
that too is Christ. You need a representative to
stand at all times before God, an intercessor to plead for you.
who shall be a daysman, a kinsman, akin to you and akin to God,
who can put his hand on both of you, and that is Jesus Christ. Whenever God looks upon you in
Christ, he sees in you all that ought to be there. Did he look
upon you apart from Christ? He would see nothing, nothing
except that which would condemn you, but you're accepted in to
be loved. Oh God, remind us of that. Even the omniscient God, Eye
of God detects nothing for which to condemn the soul which is
covered with the righteousness of God's Son. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect, it is God that justifieth. A
believer stands before God in Christ, complete, without a spot
or a wrinkle or any such thing. You that believe, you that come
to Christ, you who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are complete
in Him. You who were dead in trespasses
and sin are now complete in Him. You who in times past walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, are complete in Him. You who were
by nature children of wrath, just like everybody else, are
complete in Him. Ye, you who were once aliens
without Christ and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, without God in the world are now complete in
Him. And you that labor, child of
God, we all do. Under the toil and vexation of
hearts continually at war with that old, sinful, fallen nature,
Adam doesn't get any better. Adam doesn't get any better.
Old Adam is still fallen, and yet we are complete in Him. Do not be so intent upon your
own corruptions to forget the immaculate purity which you have
in Christ Jesus. The Lord said in his Sermon on
the Mount, blessed are they that mourn. And some folks seem to
think he said, blessed are they that mourn and mourn and mourn
and mourn. No, no, no, no. They shall be
comforted. We rejoice in our completeness.
in Jesus Christ. Don't be so mindful of your own
poverty to forget His infinite riches that we have. Don't be
so absorbed in your emptiness that you forget His fullness,
the fullness He has made yours by His grace. Christ's perfection
is yours. The perfection of His is yours. His virtue is yours. We are complete
in Him. God sees us only in His dear
Son. Aren't you thankful for that?
And he would have us see ourselves likewise in his dear son, accepted
in him, made perfect in him by his almighty grace. Let me come
to a close. Paul and Philippians said, oh,
I want to be found in him, found in him. If he abides in us, we
shall be found in him. At last, when the time of our
departure is at hand, it will be a joy for us and an honor
to Christ and to God's glory. when He finds us just wrapped
up, just enveloped in the righteousness of His own dear Son. To be found
in Him is to find us blameless and complete. All that we come
to experience in time is the fruit of our eternal union with
Christ. Redemption is the fruit of that
union. Regeneration is the fruit of that union. Resurrection is
the fruit of that union. Everything that we experience
of grace in time is ours by virtue of that union. in Christ. I am
His and He is mine. God's free love from everlasting
made me one with His dear Son. Blessed union, strong and unchanging,
I am with my Savior one. Once in Christ, in Christ forever,
thus His promise ever stands. Life and death in hell together
cannot tear me from His hands." Oh, I like that. He's all I need. Jesus is the living water that
quenched my thirst, the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger, the
snow-white robe to cover me, my sure refuge, my happy home,
my meat and my medicine, my solace and my song, my life and my delight. He is El Shaddai, God All-Sufficient. He's my portion, therefore we
are complete in Him. In Christ is all that you need
as a sinner and as a believer. all that you need now, all that
you need in life, and all that you'll need forever in eternity. Now may God help us to remember
this and find our real comfort and assurance in our completeness
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Savior, when before thy
bar all tribes and tongues assembled are, among thy chosen will I
be at thy right hand, complete in thee. Amen. Amen. God bless
you.