Brother Winston mentioned a passage
of Scripture to me last week in Ephesians chapter 3 and said, I'd like to hear you
speak from that sometime. And I went home and read the
passage over and felt that of God to say a few things about
it. My title this morning is Filled with the Fullness of God. filled with the fullness of God. Ephesians chapter 3 begins with
a declaration that must have been shocking to those who first
heard it. Our generation knows very little
about it. But it must have been shocking
to those who heard it for the first time. Verse 6, that the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel. What a statement! After thousands of years of separation
and wars and captivity and hatred and animosity, that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ
by the gospel. Let me see if I can bring that
a little closer to home. It would be like someone today
standing up in Jerusalem and telling Israel that all those
terrorist countries that surround them, that attack that bite at
them like dogs all the time. That all those terrorist countries
that surround them were chosen of God to be fellow heirs and
of the same body and partakers of all these precious promises
of God. Loved as Jacob was. Can you imagine saying that about
the president of Egypt or Syria? Think about what he is saying
here. Love like Jacob was loved. Blessed as Abraham was blessed. Had as much right to enter into
the holy place as they did. Took down the middle wall of
partition that was between us. Took it out of the way and said,
come on in. How can that be? How could these heathen idolaters
who practice gross immorality be fellow heirs with the very
people of God? How could those who waged battle
with God's chosen people who took them into captivity and
who committed wicked atrocities against them now be fellow heirs
with God's promises? I tell you how, He tells us right
here, in Christ, through the Gospel. Look back at chapter 2, verse
14. He is our peace. Christ is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to
you which were afar off, and to them that were not." For through
Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now, therefore, you are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and of the household of God. And so it is today that rank
sinners and ungodly men and women, persecutors of the church, men
and women who were raised in idolatry and false religion,
brought by the gospel of Jesus Christ to become heirs of God
and join heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me tell you
something. I was raised in idolatry. I was
raised in it. Raised in idolatry and false
religion. And the God that we worship was
not the God of the Bible. We worship God, but He wasn't
the God of the Bible. The Jesus they preached, we received. He was not the Christ of God,
had no similarity to the Christ of God. And I loved my father,
and when he took me to church, I wanted to believe what he believed,
because I loved him. He was sincere, he was genuine,
he seemed to have joy and peace, and I wanted what he had. And because of my love for him
and my brothers and sisters and friends in the church, I believe
what I was told. I practice what I was told to
practice. And this world is filled with
people just like me. They practice what they call
Christian religion because it's what their loved ones taught
them to be right. That's why they do it. Where are you going with this,
preacher? I'm laboring to point out to you that this so-called
Christian nation is nothing more than Gentile heathens practicing
what their fathers passed down to them. That's where I'm going.
I want you to see what Paul is saying to these Gentiles. You're
practicing idolatry. You're heathens. Don't forget
that. That's where God found you. Free will works religion is no
different than bowing down to a statue of Buddha. Not a bit
of difference. Their God is the God of their
imagination. He has no power except what they
allow him to have. He has no throne except the one
they allow him to sit on. He has no will, no purpose, no
design except whatever purpose, design, and will they decide
to give him. You and I have been duped into
believing that the religious masses in this country are saved
and that they know the truth and that it would be safe to
send our children to listen to them. That it would be good for
you and your spouse to worship there. And these Gentiles believed
in the God that their fathers told them was the true God. When they went down to that temple
to worship Diana, They believed just like we did when we were
in religion. They worshiped in the manner
taught them as a child. And then the Jews were even worse. They were even worse. Their salvation
was in their bloodline. Their hope was in their relationship,
their blood relationship to Abraham. Their concept of worship was
in the ceremonies and their ideas of godliness was in their obedience
to the law. And Christ Jesus had no place
for either one of them in either one of these religions at all.
Not at all. And out of this mass of idolatrous
flesh, God chose a people, both Jew and Gentile. That's the good
news of the gospel. And He chose out men to take
His gospel to those ungodly idolaters and reconcile them to Himself. That's what I read to you in
Ephesians chapter 1. You, Hathequchen, who were dead
in trespasses and sin, wherein in time past you walked according
to what? Huh? Where was you walking? According
to this world, this evil, idolatrous world. according to that spirit, according
to Satan walking after him. My guess is that in our day,
less than a few thousand people out of the billions of men and
women on this earth actually believe that the nation of Israel
is not God's chosen people. Most people you tell that to,
their mouth comes open. You see, if the Gentiles are
fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of God's promise
in Christ, then his elect had nothing to do with their relationship
to Abraham. Let me read you something over
here in Romans 9. Romans chapter 9, Paul prays for the salvation
of his kinsmen who were the Jews. They were deceived. in their
traditional understanding of Christ, as was the Gentiles.
In chapter 10, verse 2, he says that they had a zeal for God,
but not according to knowledge. In verse 3, he says they were
ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness and would not submit to the righteousness
of God. And oh, how his heart ached for
the salvation of his kinsmen. Now look here in Romans 9, verse
6. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are
of Israel. Are you listening? Neither because
they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in
Isaac shall thy seed be come. Isaac was the seed of promise.
At this time God said, I'll come and Sarah shall have a child.
You'll have an heir. Verse 8. That is, they which
are the children of the flesh, These are not the children of
God. But the children of the promise
are counted for the seed. And it goes on in Romans 9 to
show us the election of God established in the two unborn sons of Isaac,
saying, before they did any good or evil, the elder is going to
serve the younger, as it's written, Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. The Israel of God is a people
chosen in Christ before the world began, a people beloved of God,
chosen to be heirs, predestinated unto the adoption of children,
and made provision for by God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit. A holy mediator set in place
to bring us unto God. A holy representative and federal
head to establish our standing before God. A great high priest
ordained for men and things pertaining to God. A substitute chosen to
die in our stead. The God-man ordained to both
suffer and satisfy, to be touched with the feelings of our infirmities
and able to heal our broken hearts. Back to our text in Ephesians
2. Ephesians 2, verse 8, whereof I was made a minister. I was
made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God
given unto me by the effects of working of His power. One
less than the least, verse 9, of all the saints is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Oh, he's talking about those
who are steeped in their idolatrous religion. Is that not who we
preach to today? Men and women steeped in their
idolatrous religion. Steeped in freewillism. Steeped
in legalism. Steeped in ceremonialism. Is that not who we minister to?
No man is sufficient for that. Paul recognized that. He said,
I am less than the least of all the saints. But God, through
the working of His sovereign grace, has made me a minister. Made me a minister. See those steeped in their idolatrous
religion, practicing their ungodly worship, spreading their lies
to their own generations as they were handed down to them. God-haters. Oh, my soul. Appointed to preach
to these ungodly masses the glorious gospel of Christ and show them
in the Word of God that God's elect, which is in their midst
by divine gift of faith, shall be made manifest. Verse 14, And
for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth are named. Verse 16, That He would grant
unto you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened
with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ might
dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth
and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fullness of God. I just have one ambition this
morning, and that is that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. He'll take care of the rest.
He'll take care of the rest. I ain't talking about poor little
Jesus, boy. I'm not talking about that defeated
reformer preached by this ungodly world. I'm not talking about
that one who did all he can do and now it's all up to you. I'm
not talking about that one who wants to do something but can't
because his hands are tied. I'm not talking about that one
who loves men and then leaves them to themselves. I'm talking
about the eternal, all-sufficient, almighty Christ who rules in
the ease of His omnipotence. And He saves to the uttermost
those who He draws to Himself. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Me, He said. All those that the Father giveth
Me, they're going to come to Me. Why? Because they're all
taught of God. That's why. All taught of God. And to know
and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to know the breadth
and length and depth and height. Let's talk about the breadth
and length. The link seems to me to speak of eternity. Eternity. He said, I am Alpha and Omega. Now what he told John? He stood
there before John. John was just awed by his presence. Looked at him and told us how
he appeared before him. And he said, John, I am Alpha
and Omega. I am the beginning and I am the
end. Huh? That's the link. That's
the length. Here's eternity. Nothing else
in eternity but Christ. He's the beginning and He's the
end and He's everything in the middle. It's all Christ. Would you know something about
the length of this thing? Something about the... Oh, my
soul, I tell you, after years and years and years of religion
and everything in the moment, everything in the present, the
first time I heard about God's eternity, His eternality, that
He stands from the beginning to the end, that He fills all
the center, that He's all in all. That He was the Creator. Christ was the Creator. That
tiny babe that laid in that manger in Bethlehem created this world,
spoke it into existence. Made it, not only made it by
Himself, but made it for Himself. He's the firstborn, Paul said,
of creation. All things were made by Him and
for Him, and He can declare the end from the beginning. You want
to know who the Lord is? He tells you back in Isaiah.
You go through the 40s, 40, 41, 42, 43. Go through those chapters. He'll tell you who He is. I am
He that declares the end from the beginning. And from ancient
times, the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel
shall stand, and I'll do all my pleasure. While the isles
are nothing before Him, continents are nothing before Him, armies
are nothing before Him, just grasshoppers. And to the breadth, that speaks
of His fullness, don't it? The length of this thing speaks
of eternity. The breadth of it speaks of His
fullness. He fills eternity. Huh? He fills eternity. Paul said,
in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He tells
us that Christ is all and in all. And he said, for of Him
and through Him and by Him are all things to whom be glory forever
and ever. He's the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He might have the preeminence. Whether you
know it or not, He has the preeminence every day in the providence that
we walk. He has the fullness. One day
we'll see it. One day we'll see it. Right now I receive it by
faith. Why is that? For it pleased the
Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Would you try to make some sense
out of eternity, man's existence, his fall, his judgment, his hope
of salvation? You'll never find any wisdom
concerning these things in science and geology and history and philosophy. The answer lies in Him who is
the beginning. In the beginning, God. God. Would you try to make some sense
out of the history of man, his beginning, his corruption, Wars
and battles and nations rising and falling. You won't find any
wisdom in the books of men, but in the book of God we're told
that all creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons
of God. that the heavens which are now
by the Word of God are kept in store, reserved unto fire against
the day of judgment. Why? Because God is not willing
for those He chose in Christ and redeemed in Christ to perish,
not any of them, but that all should be called to repentance. Say what you will of this world,
But I'm telling you this, every day of time is filled with the
purpose, power, presence, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We just can't see it. And when you do, you lose your
breath. Paul is just talking along there in Romans, and he's
talking about election, and he's talking about salvation, and
talking about saving faith, and all of a sudden, he just gets
overwhelmed. And you can read it. He just leaves off his subject
and begins to tell you something about the glory of God. He is the length and the breadth,
and He is the height and the depth. Would you know something
about the height and the depth? See Christ in the heavens, one
with the Father. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And without
Him was not anything made that was made. See Him in the height
of glory. See Him in the heavens creating
all things. See Him in the heavens sufficient
in Himself. This is the height. And then
it tells us in the Word, this eternal Word which abode in the
height of glory was made flesh. You can't take that in, can you?
He was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and
took on him the form of the servant, and was made in the likeness
of men, from the height of glory to the depth of a dying lamb."
You can't take that in. From the throne to the tomb. Would you know something of the
height and depth? They can only be measured in
Christ. Can you see them? Can you comprehend with all the
saints the breadth and height and depth and length? Can you
see them? Can you comprehend them? Now
calculate this. The love of God in Christ who
did all of this to save guilty sinners for the glory of His
name. Calculate that. Love and grace
can only be measured in the personal work of Jesus Christ, who manifested
this love and commended this love in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Oh, John said, behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we, Gentile idolaters,
unclean, ignorant, Spend our lives walking in darkness. Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we
should be called the sons of God. John said here in his love, not
that we loved him, but that he loved us and sent his son to
be the propitiation for our sins. Try to imagine looking down at
a rotting corpse filled with wiggling maggots, little worms
feeding upon dead flesh. Now try, if you will, to imagine
a love that could so love them maggots as to take upon yourself
their form and dwell among them. My soul, you can't take it in,
can you? Be counted as one of them. be
treated as one of them. To take them unto yourself in
an irreversible union, an eternal union, to so love them as to
give your life for. You can't even imagine such a
thing, can you? Oh, my soul, the love of God
goes so far beyond that that the mind can scarcely take it
in. It is a love that passeth knowledge. My family had been to church
one Sunday. The preacher was especially blessed
of God that Sunday morning to preach on the substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bore our sins in His own body
on the tree. Put our sins away by the sacrifice
of Himself. And the family was walking back
home. The young son, who was usually
just into everything, jumping and running and talking, he was
quiet. He was walking along with his
head hanging down. And his father noticed the change. And he said, son, are you ill? He said, no, sir. No, sir. He said, I'm just... Well, he
said, you're awful quiet. He said, well, I've just been
thinking about what the preacher said this morning. And he said,
what was that? And he said, well, I just don't
understand how the death, how one man's death could put away
so much sin. And his father didn't know how
to answer him. He walked on a little farther,
and pretty soon he stopped. Tapped his young son on the shoulder
and he said, look down there. And there along beside the sidewalk
was a grasshopper sitting there nibbling on a piece of grass.
And the boy's father said to him, he said, reckon how many
grasshoppers it'd take to be worth the life of one little
boy. Oh, he said, all the grasshoppers
in the world. wouldn't be worth the life of
one more boy. And his father bent down and opened up his Bible,
and he read this passage to his son out of Isaiah chapter 40.
He said, this one who died on the cross is he that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and all the inhabitants thereof
are his grasshoppers. Grasshoppers. May God be pleased
today Give us the ability to comprehend with all the saints
the breadth and length and depth and height. And may we be able
to comprehend it in Christ, because that's where it is. Don't leave
Him. As you received Him, so walk
in Him. Because in Him is all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him. Would you have wisdom with the
saints? He's our wisdom. Isn't that what Christ said?
God made Him to be unto us wisdom. Wisdom. Oh, I think about all
that nonsense and superstition and all those things. And I wrestled
around in my mind as a child. No wisdom in it whatsoever, but
all in Christ, in Christ. I don't see why people ever leave
off preaching Christ. I don't understand it. I ain't
even tapped the surface of what's in Him.