I want us to turn this morning
to what is perhaps the most rapturous, glorious, inspiring descriptions
given in the word of God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. A long, long time ago, there was
a preacher of whom we know very little. His name was Brother
Epaphras. He was pastor of the church at
Colossae, and he was, for a brief period of time, a prisoner with
the apostle Paul at Rome. And the apostle tells us he was
a faithful minister of Christ. So really, we know all we need
to know about him. God, make me a faithful minister
of Christ. What an honor, what an honorable
memory, what an honorable testimony to a man called and gifted of
God to preach the gospel of his grace, the pathless, the faithful
minister of Christ. While Brother Epaphras was prisoner
with Paul at Rome, he talked to Paul about his dear family,
the Church of God at Colossae. And he spoke of them to Paul
with tenderness, affection, admiration. He expressed his concern for
them because of the heresies with which they were being confronted.
And his concern for them that they might remain faithful and
steadfast, understanding the Lord God and the will of God
and the purpose of God in all things. But he spoke of them
with delight, with enthusiasm, with thanksgiving to God. He
told Paul how that the word of God had come to them in power,
bringing forth fruit unto God. He told Paul of their faith in
Christ and their love for God's saints and the blessed hope that
God had put in them by faith in Christ Jesus and of their
faithfulness. It is always a good thing. to hear pastors speak well of
the churches they serve, and to hear the churches speak well
of the pastors who serve them. Well, Paul was so overwhelmed
by Epaphras' report concerning this church at Colossae that
he fell in love with them. Most of them he had never seen
face to face, but just hearing Epaphras talk about them, Paul
just fell in love with them. And he took down his pen and
wrote to them one of the most instructive epistles of the New
Testament. Let's look at this first chapter,
Colossians, beginning at verse 9. Beginning at verse 9. Some
years ago, I couldn't help but think about this, as those ladies
sang a little bit ago, what a Savior. Brother Bob Pontzer, the Lord
took him to glory last week, and he met with us in the office
before service one night and read the first chapter, Colossians. And when he finished reading
and prayed, as we got up and started to leave, Brother Merle
Hart, the other deacon in our congregation at home, said, what
a Savior. Oh, what a Savior. I want you
to know Him who is described here. What a Savior He is. What a Savior He is. Jesus Christ,
our Redeemer. Verse nine, Colossians one. Here
is Paul's prayer for God's people at Colossae. For this cause we
also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge
of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that
you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God. Oh, said I pray that you will
be filled with the knowledge of God's will, his redemptive
purpose, his will revealed in the scriptures, his will in providence
for you, what God's doing right now, knowledge of his will, that
you might be filled with the knowledge of God's will for you. with wisdom and understanding. Understanding the will and purpose
and revelation of God with wisdom. That is, with a God-given perception. With a God-given depth of knowledge. But knowledge, perception, with
understanding. understanding of the times in
which we live, understanding of the obstacles you face, understanding
of one another with wisdom and understanding that you may walk
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. You saints of God here, you and
I have been associated together for a long, long time. These
young people just saying for you, I've watched them be born
into this world and grow up and bring your own children into
the world. And you're dear to me. I urge you, never take lightly
the fact that you belong to God. And walk worthy of Him, who called
you by His grace, gave you life and faith in Christ. Don't ever
get the idea that how you behave is irrelevant. Walk worthy of
God unto all pleasing, as seeking to please Him. I said to a young
couple last week, preaching, and had a little baby with them,
beautiful little girl. I said to the father, who's obviously
cherished that little baby like daddies do, they're little babies,
especially little girls. I said, if somehow you can make
it your business Never to tell that child to do anything but
once. Don't tell them twice. If you
have to tell them twice, tell them with a pattern. Make them
do what you say the first time you say do it. And instill in
that little girl a great desire to please you. You'll have a
lot of the battle licked. Children of God seek in all things
that which is pleasing to God. honoring to God, honoring to
the profession of your faith in Jesus Christ, in the way you
speak, in the way you dress, in the way you behave, in every
part of your lives. Walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing. You all know Shelby and I had
just one child, our daughter Faith. And when she got to be
old enough to start going out with young people and going out
on her own, I said to her almost every time she ever left the
house, don't you ever forget who you are and whose you are. Everything you say and everything
you do and every place you go reflects on your mother and your
dad and the Grace Baptist Church and the gospel of God's grace
and the God we worship. Don't forget who you are and
whose you are, children of God. Walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing. Then in verses 10, 11 through
13, the apostle gives us some characteristics of faith, telling
us what it is to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
And he gives us seven specific distinct characteristics. that
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful
in every good work. Good works in the scriptures
always have to do with personal sacrifice and brotherly love. Always have to do with kindness,
forbearance, forgiveness, and generosity. and increasing in
the knowledge of God. This too is the characteristic
faith. It is a continual increasing
in the knowledge of God. We seek to know the Lord, to
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord God our Savior. And
while we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Redeemer, we
recognize the more we know of him, how little we know of him.
But oh, how much better we know him than we did just a few years
ago. We grow in the grace and knowledge of God. Strengthened,
strengthened. Believers grow in strength as
they grow to know their own weakness. Strengthened with all might by
Him who is our strength. According to His glorious power
unto all patience. Patience. Patience. Patience. Waiting for God. Patience, waiting for God. Wait for God to do what God will
do. Wait for God to do what God will
do. I'm like other folks, just like
you expect. I like to be in control. I just
like to be in control. And it's hard for me to acknowledge
that I'm never in control. And when I try to be in control,
I make a mess of things. I can't think of any time in
my life as an individual believer or as a pastor when I undertook
to straighten something out, I didn't make a mess of it. I
just, you make a mess of it. When I step in, I make a mess.
God teach me patience with your providence with your purpose
to wait for you to work your will. And longsuffering. What's he talking about longsuffering?
That means Bob Morrell put up with Don Fortner. That's what
it means. With patience, with longsuffering, kindness. Well,
he's such an oddity. Yeah, that requires longsuffering. But he can be so hard. That's the reason he requires
long-suffering. But he's so independable. That's the reason he requires,
or undependable. That's what requires long-suffering. People,
if you get along with them, and live with them, and work with
them, require long-suffering. It makes for a good marriage,
doesn't it, Vicki? Long-suffering, long-suffering. You have to put
up with a lot. I'm not gonna put up with that.
You will if you love me. I will if I love you. Believers
must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Redeemer. And as we do,
they're taught long-suffering with joyfulness, with joyfulness. I spoke to a lady just a couple
of weeks ago whose husband died a long time ago. And I was dealing
with our affliction, and I said, we are to rejoice in the Lord
always. And that doesn't mean you don't
hurt. And that doesn't mean you don't weep. That doesn't mean
you don't feel things. But in the midst of sorrow, we
rejoice in God our Savior. She came up to me afterwards,
she said, you know, Not many folks can understand that, but
she said, her husband Frank Tate, some of you knew Frank, she said
he'd been gone all these years and I still hurt missing him. And I still weep at night, but
I'm so happy for him. And I'm so thankful God took
him. So thankful for God's providence. Rejoicing. Faith brings joy to
the lives of God's people walking in this world. giving thanks
oh giving thanks giving thanks unto the father which hath made
us meet the word means fit are worthy he hath made us worthy brother todd if i didn't read
that right there i would never dream of it let alone say it
He hath made you and me worthy. Right now. As worthy as we shall
be when we stand before God our Savior in glory. Worthy to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness. Delivered us from the
influence of Satan over us. Delivered us from the influence
of our own dark, depraved hearts over us. Delivered us from the
bondage and death of sin in which we lived all the days of our
life in wrath against God. He delivered us from the power
of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. God took deep hearts out of the
pit of darkness and translated you into the kingdom of the son
of his love. God did that. That's what God
does for sinners. Now, look at verse 12 through
14. Go down to verse 14. Paul then just breaks out into
this thanksgiving, giving praise and honor to God as he's writing
to the Colossians about giving thanks. He gives thanks. He goes
on and says, We have redemption through his blood. In whom we
have redemption through his blood. Now, let me tell you what redemption
through his blood means. The forgiveness of sins. Every
sinner redeemed with the precious blood of Christ has been forgiven
all his sins permanently so that God will not charge his people
with sin. Today, tomorrow, or eternally,
God charged our sins to his son who was made sin for us. He punished
his son for our sins until justice was satisfied in his son. And
now we have the forgiveness of sins made worthy of heaven itself. Made worthy of heaven, having
our sins put away. Made worthy of heaven, having
the righteousness of Christ made ours. Now, read on, verse 15. Paul's gratitude and thanksgiving
turns to praise to God. We have this forgiveness of sins
in Christ Jesus, this worthiness in Christ Jesus, who is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For 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. Don't miss either word. All things
were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things.
And by Him all things consist. He's the one who holds all things
together. And He is the head of the body of the church. who
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things
he might have the preeminence. When Paul spoke about grace and
redemption in Christ, he couldn't resist the opportunity to extol
his Savior. He says, this one who is God,
our Savior, he is the image of the invisible God. That doesn't
just mean he's a picture of God. He is the image of the invisible
God. When God said, let us, when God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost said, let us make man in our image
and after our likeness. The Lord Jesus stood forth from
eternity before ever the world was made as God our Savior, our
surety, the representative man who in time would come in human
flesh, the image of God. And man was made in the image
of him who is the image of God. He is that one who alone is described
as the image of God. I'll say more about that in a
minute. He is the firstborn of every creature. Now, people jump
on that and say, you see there now, Christ is a God. Christ
is like God. Christ is the noblest creature
of God, the first creature of God. That's not at all what it
means. When it says he's the firstborn of every creature,
we're told exactly what that means in Revelation 3, 14. He
is the beginning of the creation of God. He's the beginning of
the creation of God. In the beginning was the word
and the word was with God and God was the word and all things
were made by him. He's the beginning of the creation
of God. The Lord Jesus is the creator
of all things, the beginning of all things, the ruler of all
things, the disposer of all things. He is eternal, verse 17. He's before all things. He is
the preexistent one. I don't even like that word,
preexistent. He is the eternal one. He is
before all things and by him, all things consist. We live in
this world where everybody worships mother earth. Everybody's concerned we're not
going to have enough frogs to last until the end of time, and
we're going to run out of rattlesnakes, and the world's just falling
apart. Let me tell you something. That which holds the world together
are not laws of nature. not ecological balance. That
which holds the world together is the will of Jesus Christ,
our Savior. By Him, all things consist. Well, aren't you worried about
us running out of fuel? No, not anytime soon. Aren't
you worried about the gases in there? No, don't bother me much. And it doesn't bother you much
either. You just fake it. You still drive your car. If it really
bothered you, you'd ride a horse. It doesn't bother you, no. You
just yak about it. It's just something else to fuss
about, something to get your mind off God. By Him all things consist. He's the head of the body, the
church. He's the head from whom all life
and knowledge comes. He's the head who rules all the
body. He's the head to whom all the
members are joined. He's the head of the body, the
church. He's the beginning of the resurrection.
Look at this verse 18, the firstborn from the dead. the firstborn
from the dead. He is that one by whom all who
live again live. That one by whom all who are
partakers of the first resurrection in the new birth are made to
live and by whom all who shall be raised in the glorious second
resurrection in the resurrection of these bodies are made to live.
In essence, Paul is telling us that God Almighty has put all
things in the hands of his son. that he might have the preeminence,
verse 18, that in all things, he, the son of God, our mediator,
our surety, that in all things, he might have the preeminence. Now, God the father doesn't give
anything to Christ the son. We're Trinitarians. The Scriptures
clearly teach there are three that bear record in heaven. The
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one.
The Father gives nothing to the Son. The Son takes nothing from
the Father. The Spirit gets nothing from
either. There are three. Coexistence, Triune, Godhead. but as our mediator, as our surety,
as our savior, as that one who stood forth from eternity and
struck hands with the father for the salvation of his people,
who agreed to do all that God requires for the saving of his
people. The father said, all right, I'll put everything in
your hands. And the father put all things in his hands by his
decree. All creation, all the scriptures
are put in His hand to give Him preeminence. In all salvation,
Christ has the preeminence. And in heaven at last, Christ
has the preeminence. Now, the reason for all this
is stated plainly. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell. It pleased the father that in
him should all fullness dwell. Now I like to tackle subjects
and texts that are indescribably bigger than me. So I'm going
to try to preach to you this morning on all fullness in Christ. And that means when I get done,
there'll be plenty of room for Brother Todd to preach to you
when I get done. And plenty of room for you to
go on studying it and others to speak about it. I won't even
scratch the surface. But in this text of scripture,
the Spirit of God teaches us that it is the purpose, the pleasure
of the triune God that all the fullness of grace and glory particularly,
All the fullness of all things, but all the fullness of grace
and glory particularly dwell in the Lord Jesus Christ, the
God-man, our mediator. Well, Brother Don, what does
that mean? Turn back to John chapter one. John chapter one. I want you to learn one thing,
just one thing in this message. If you're taking notes, you can
write down this one thing, and if you get it, It'll sail your
boat through a lot of troubled waters. Whatever we get from
God, whatever we get from God, whatever we get from God, we
get from the fullness of the God-man mediator, Jesus Christ. Every blessing of grace and glory
flows to sinners. through Jesus Christ, our mediator,
by the merit of his blood and his righteousness. John chapter
one, verse 14. And the word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory. John's
talking about the same thing Peter described over in 1 Peter
1 when he said we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. He's talking
about when Christ was on the Mount of Transfiguration and
Moses and Elijah stood with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration
and spoke to Him about the death He should accomplish at Jerusalem.
John says we beheld His glory. We beheld on the Mount of Transfiguration
the glorified Christ, that one who was transfigured before us,
giving us a foretaste, a prior revelation of what God had done
for him from eternity and was about to do for him when he cried,
it is finished. God's glory! All the glory of God is in him. We beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John, John the Baptist, bear
witness of him and cried, saying, this is he of whom I speak. He
that cometh after me is preferred before me. He's preeminent above
me. John, oh, what a great man he
was. John said, man, I'm nothing. He's preferred before me. And
here's the reason, for he was before me. He was before me. And of his fullness have all
we received and grace for grace. Grace that we might receive grace.
Grace because of grace. Grace heaped on top of grace.
Of his fullness have all we received grace for grace. All we to whom
God gives faith in Christ. All we chosen of God in eternal
love. All we who are redeemed by Christ's
precious blood, all we who are called by the Spirit of God from
death to life, believing on the Son of God, receive grace for
grace out of his indescribable infinite fullness continually. Now this great instructed chapter
back in Colossians 1 is all about our great Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ and God's salvation in him. Did you notice as you read
this chapter that over and over and over again, Paul uses a little
three letter word to describe him. All. All. All is a very little word,
but it describes a big thing. All things were created by him.
All things were created for him. By him, all things exist. He is before all things. By him,
all things consist. God the Father has given him
preeminence in all things. And all things, we're told in
verse 20, shall be reconciled to God by him. Now, let's look
at this 19th verse for just a little bit. For it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell. Paul means for us to understand
that there is in Jesus Christ our Savior, an infinite, superlative,
immeasurable wealth of grace and glory. He is an artesian
well of fullness. Everything is in him. Let's look
at that first. I want you to see and rejoice
in this fact. All fullness is in Christ. And I can just, as I said, scratch
the surface. What a word of comfort for our
souls. By nature, we're all emptiness. He is all fullness. In us, there's
an other lack of merit before God. a total absence of power
to gain any merit before God, and a complete absence of will
to obey God if we had the power to do so. But in Christ is all
fullness. Everywhere else in the universe,
there's nothing but emptiness, barrenness, and vanity. Everywhere else, you pursue the
world with all your heart. You pursue fame and fortune and
wealth and power and land and property and money and money
and money and money and money, and you give it all you've got
to get it. Work day and night, work your
fingers to the bone. Well, I'm doing this with my
wife and children. You lie. You're doing this because you're
greedy. And when you get it, You just keep preaching for more.
You keep preaching for more. How come? Because there's nothing
in this world that will satisfy the needs of your soul. Nothing. Oh, but in Christ is all fullness. All fullness. I want so much always to speak
the truth, especially here. I call God to my witness. You're
looking at a man who wants nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I have Christ. That means all
things are mine. Is that what the book says? All
things are yours for you're Christ and Christ is God's. He who is
the possessor of all things, the creator of all things, the
ruler of all things, the disposer of all things is God my Savior. He's my head. I lack nothing. Are you dead? Christ is life. Are you sin? Christ is righteousness. Are you naked? Christ is clothing. Are you hungry? Christ is bread. Are you thirsty? Christ is water. Christ is all. Let me do the
best I can to emphasize this. Christ is the substance of fullness,
not the shadow of it. I referred to Hebrews 10 last
night. Turn there for a minute if you will. Hebrews chapter
10. In all the revelation of God
given in the law, we had the shadow of fullness. We had the
shadow of this fullness that's in Christ, but just the shadow.
We had just the picture, not the substance. Hebrews chapter
10, verse one. for the law having a shadow of
good things to come, and not the very image of those things,
can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year
continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. Perfection
is all fullness. The law couldn't make you full.
The law couldn't satisfy the needs of your soul. The law couldn't
ease your guilty conscience. The law couldn't make you right
with God. The law couldn't put away sin.
The law couldn't fulfill righteousness. The law was just the shadow,
verse two. If the law had been able to do
this, then would they not have ceased to be offered? That is,
once the law gave you what you wanted, you didn't need the law
anymore. because that the worshippers
once purged, once purged, should have had no more conscience of
sins. Once purged, once purged. I wear
these white shirts and I get stuff on them. If I eat, I get
it on it. I just slop it. And my dear wife
cleans and cleans and cleans. She purges those shirts. She
scrubs them. She Cloroxes them and she scrubs
them. They're just as clean as they'd be when I put it up. Just
fine. The problem is I'll probably get it dirty again today. That's
not the kind of purging I'm talking about. The purging of your conscience
is such purging that it can never be defiled again. The purging
of your soul, such purging that it can never be corrupted again.
He that is dead hath ceased from sin, Peter says. Once purged,
they have no more conscience of sin. If the law had been able
to put away sin, If the law had been able to give us what we
needed in our souls, if the law had been able to make us right
before God, then the law would have ceased. Read on, verse three.
But in those sacrifices, in the exercise of those religious ceremonies
and sacrifices, there is remembrance again made of sins every year. And here's the reason. For it
is not possible, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats
should take away sin. You know, some people actually
thought so, and some people actually still do think so. They think
if they offer enough sacrifices, that'll do it. That's the reason
papacy is such a popular religion. Folks who want to live like hell,
and they just give a little money, do a little penance, and say,
now, I'll take care of it. Now, that's all right. It's all
over with now. And you go out and do whatever
you want to, and you come back, and you pay a little money, drop
a little money in the box, and say a few Hail Marys, and do
your penance, and you're all right now for another day. And
you go, and they actually think Their foolish sacrifices will
take away sin. Oh no, oh no, oh no. The blood
of bulls and goats, even those which God prescribed by law,
can't take away sin. Wherefore, wherefore, when he
cometh into the world, this is what the Savior said, sacrifice
an offering thou wouldest not. but a body hast thou prepared
me, and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure.
Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written to me, I delight to do thy will, O God. Above when
it said sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings and offering
for sin, thou wouldest not, neither has pleasure therein, which were
offered by the law. Now watch verse nine. Then said
he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And in obedience to God's
will, in the fulfilling of God's will, he taketh away the first,
that he may establish the second. By the which will, by the fulfilling
of God's will, through the obedience of Christ unto death, by the
which will, we are purged, sanctified, made whole again. through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ, one time, with finality,
once for all. In the Old Testament, men were
required when they came to God to sanctify themselves. That's
quite a command. That's quite a command. Sanctify
yourself. Make yourself holy. Make yourself clean. Well, they
did. They'd go and they'd wash and bathe and they'd separate
themselves and they'd make sacrifices and they sanctified themselves
to prepare to go before the Lord. They only did it ceremonially. They only did it ceremonially
in obedience to God's command. Washing their bodies, making
their sacrifices didn't make them one whit more holy. But
Christ, by his obedience to God as our substitute has made us
holy before God. Holy, read on, read on. Verse
11, and every priest and daily ministering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God. Years ago I had a dear friend
by the name of Paul Reniger who was a missionary in Italy. And
the papists have very few preachers who actually preach. There was
a priest who was well known, a well known papist preacher
in Italy. And one day he was observing
mass for a huge crowd of people. And he was reading this very
text of scripture. Reading it in Latin, but reading
this very text of scripture. Every priest, end of day there.
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which could
never take away sins. And he paused. And he read, but this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting to his enemies be made
his footstool. For by one offering, He hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. And he walked off
the platform where their altar was, walked out of the building,
and professed faith in Christ and became a faithful gospel
preacher. This man finished the work. He, with one offering, perfected
forever them that are sanctified. What's he talking about? All
fullness is in Christ. All the fullness of God's holy
law is in Christ. All that God requires of man
is in him. All the fullness of God's eternal
decree is in Christ. His work of predestination is
a marvelous, wonderful work. God Almighty from eternity decreed
that his son have preeminence, that he be the firstborn among
many brethren, and he is working all things in his providence
to bring to pass this one great end. I was sitting here thinking
a little bit ago, while y'all were coming in, sitting down
getting settled, I was sitting there thinking, I wonder, I wonder,
no, God, I pray, I pray. that someone comes in here today
you brought here for the purpose of giving them life and faith
in Christ, saving them by your grace. Reckon what it took for
God to get you here. Reckon what it took. Reckon how
come you're here. Reckon how come. If you're God's,
you're here because God Almighty raised up nations and tore down
nations. Because God Almighty preserved
households and destroyed households. Because God Almighty sent war
and sent peace. Because God Almighty arranged
everything in his providence to bring you here today to hear
his voice. And He does that for every chosen
sinner in His marvelous providence until at last all the race of
God's elect are conformed perfectly to the image of His Son in resurrection
glory and Christ stands preeminent above all. All fullness is in
Him. All the fullness of grace is
in Jesus Christ. All of it. He's the fullness
of the triune God. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And all the fullness of God's
grace flows out to sinners from Jesus Christ the Lord. So that,
come back to Ephesians one, Ephesians chapter one, look at this, look
at this. All the fullness of God's grace
resides in Christ. Verse three, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him. He chose us
in him that we should be holy and without blame before him.
Ah, there you see preacher, election is unto holiness. It is, but
not like you think. Folks say, he chose us so we'd
lead a holy life. That'd be a pretty good trick.
If you get it accomplished, let me know. That's not what we're talking
about. He chose us that we should be
holy and without blame before him. Holy and without blame before
him. Not holy without blame before
men. Holy and without blame before him. Watch this now. In love,
having predestinated us. Somebody said predestination
is a hard doctrine. No, it's full of love. You just
read it, didn't you? in love having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. The adoption
was done in eternal election, but he predestinated us unto
that final consummate experience of adoption in resurrection glory. He predestinated us to this by
Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. All fullness is in Christ. And all this fullness is in Christ
exclusively. You can't get it anywhere else.
You can't get it. It's not in the church. It's
not in doctrine. It's not in a creed. It's not
in an experience. It's in Christ. All fullness
is in Christ. And it's in Christ. Be notorious. You know what that means? That means
it's in Christ for us. This fullness is in him for sinners. resides in the God-man Christ
Jesus that he may give this grace and this glory that he has earned,
that he has merited, that he has won as our mediator by his
perfect obedience, that he might give it freely, unconditionally,
without restraint, constantly to needy sinners. He delights in mercy. He exists
as the God-man, our mediator, to give grace to sinners. He
sits upon the throne of grace to give grace to sinners. This
fullness dwells in Him for us, always. Always. In the night so dark you can't
see, There's fullness of grace in Christ. When the burden's
so heavy you can't get up off the ground, there's fullness
of grace in Christ. When your guilt's so oppressive
that it crushes you down to hell and you're terrified with your
sin and your guilt, there's fullness of grace for sinners in Jesus
Christ. When everything in the world
seems against you, there's fullness of grace in Jesus Christ. Wherefore? Let us therefore come boldly. Come with confidence. Come with
confidence. Please don't misunderstand me.
It's proper, it's right. Lord, we beg your mercies. That's
all right. Don't misunderstand me. We are
mercy beggars. Yes, we are. But mercy beggars
who come confidently. You preachers will know what
I'm talking about. I'm in my office every day, and
if somebody comes around who needs some grocery money, we
have that happen periodically, and you give them $20, $25, whatever
you can, and send them to the grocery store. They usually don't
want the grocery money. They just want some money, but
you give them some money, I'll guarantee you for the next month
you'll have somebody at your doorstep every other day. Every
other day. Because this fellow here, he'll
say, hey man, Old Skok's over there at an easy touch. He'll
give you some money and some glass for it. He'll give you
some money and some glass for it. And so they come expecting
it. Let me tell you something. The God of all grace is an easy
touch. He's more ready to forgive than
you are to confess your sin. He's more ready to give mercy
than you are to seek mercy. He's more ready to save you than
you are to seek his salvation. Therefore, let us therefore come
confidently to the throne of grace. Children of God, come
confidently to the throne of grace. Oh, poor, needy soul. Come confidently to the throne
of grace that you may obtain His fullness. Bet you may obtain
mercy. Mercy. That's what I need. And
grace. Grace to help. Oh, I need some grace to help.
Do you? Do you? Mercy in the time of
need and grace to help in the time of need. Amen.