Colossians chapter 3 and verse
11 onwards reads, There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian, civian, bond nor free, but Christ is
all and in all. Put on therefore as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all
these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which
also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body, and be ye thankful. Here in the latter chapters of
Colossians, as we've been saying in previous messages, Paul is
dealing with the walk of the believer. And here we have various
exhortations, put on therefore as elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.
If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you,
so also do ye. But behind the exhortations here,
and in all Paul's epistles, there's this constant reminder of the
gospel, and of the truth and of the foundation upon which
all the saints of God are founded, that which provides their motivation,
that which provides that love of God that springs up in their
hearts, that from which they are motivated to do everything
that they are exhorted. They forgive others as those
who have been forgiven much. And here, In verse 15, Paul reminds
the Colossians of that wondrous and that deep truth which he
began to open up when he spoke earlier of there being neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free, but in the new man which they have put on, in
the new man in which they are made, Christ is all and in all. for they have been called in
one body. They've been called in one body.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also
ye are called in one body, in Christ. When Christ died, he died for
his own, all his people, all those that the father gave him.
And when he rose, he rose for his own and they all rose in
him. They all rose in Him, and they
all rose in Him, for they are all in Him. Yes, all Christ's
people are in Christ, they are all one in Christ, they are all
one in Him. Christ's people are one, they
are one new man in Christ. And He is the head of this man,
He is the man, He is the head of the body. They are all united
as one in Him. He is all to each of His own. And He is all in each of His
own. He is all in His own. He is all
and in all. And they are one in Him, for
there is one body, Christ, of which He is the head. And they
are the members. You are all called in one body. all the earthly distinctions
are gone. Jews, Greeks, circumcision, uncircumcision,
barbarian, civian, bond nor free, all these things which divides
man, anything which divides man, colour, race, creed, upbringing,
riches or poverty, whatever the class, whatever the distinction,
whatever the nationality, in Christ None of these things matter. All the things which divide men
and set men one against another, which set men one above another
in this world, which cause men to lord it over each other, which
cause men to fight over each other, to divide from one another,
all is gone in Christ. All is absolutely irrelevant. There is only one thing that
unites every kind and every tribe and every kindred of men, there's
only one thing which can transcend all these things which divide
mankind, and that is Christ and his gospel. For in Christ, none
of these things matter. There's neither Greek nor Jew,
circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, civian, bond nor free,
but Christ is all and in all. All these things which divide
are of this earth, but that which is in Christ is of heaven. And
all who are in Christ, all who believe on Christ, all who are
brought to faith in Christ, are all part of Christ. They're all
one in Christ. He is all and in all. They are
part of His body. Part of His body. There's such
a union between they and Him. and between they and each other
that they are spoken of as being called in one body. Not just many, not just many
bodies, not just many people, but all members of one body. One body. But of course there
are those who are not members of this body. There are many
who are not members of this one body. There are many who are
outside of Christ. There are many who know nothing
of what it is to be found in Christ. There are those who did
not die with Christ and rise with Christ. There are those
whose affections are firmly set upon the earth and not upon things
above. There are those who are very
much alive to this world and the things of this world. Whatever
they may say and whatever they may profess, they are outside
of Christ. They may be members of churches,
but unless Christ is all in them and all to them, they are not
members of His body. They may be members of all sorts
of organizations upon this earth, But unless they are members of
Christ, they are not in his body. Simply being a member of a church
doesn't mean that that church is Christ and that being a member
you are a member of his body. Being a member of a golf club
won't save you, and neither will being a member of any other man-made
club, whether it calls itself a church or not. There must be
more than that which is outward. There must be more than that
which is a mere profession. We must be members of Christ's
body. And nothing short of the reality
of that will do. Professions won't do. Mere memberships
of churches on earth won't do. Any of our works and our deeds
and our claims to be good and right before God won't suffice
without Christ. Much prayer and fasting won't
do. Much dutifulness in the things
of religion, in attendance to meetings, in prayer and Bible
reading. If it stops short of Christ,
it just won't do. All is worthless, utterly worthless,
without Christ. Only if Christ is all and in
all, only if we are members of His body, will we know what it
is to be saved. Only if He is in us and we are
in Him, will we know deliverance from sin, and deliverance from
condemnation, and deliverance from death, and deliverance from
the deadness which reigns in the flesh and the nature of man
by nature. Nothing short of the reality
of Christ in us. Christ in you, the hope of glory,
nothing short of the reality of being in Him and He in us. members of his body will do. Are you in his body? Have you
been called as one body? Is Christ all to you? Are you in him? Are you? Are you? Well if you are, If
Christ is all to you, then you'll know that you are nothing, that
you yourself, outside of Christ, are nothing. For those who are
in His body, those to whom Christ is all and in all, those who
know Him as their Saviour, those who know Him as their Redeemer,
those who died with Him and rose with Him, Those who set their
affection on things above, on Christ. Those who are hid with
Christ in God. Those to whom Christ is their
life. Those who will appear with him
in glory. Those who have put off the old
man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Those
who are in Christ. those in whom Christ is all and
in all those these are those who know that by nature in themselves
they are nothing they are nothing they were nothing they were once
as those who in one time lived in disobedience those whom the
wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience in the which
ye also walked some time when ye lived in them these are those
who walked in disobedience and they know that they walked in
disobedience and they know that they are nothing and there is
nothing that brought such salvation to them but the wondrous love
the wondrous grace, the wondrous mercy, the overwhelming love,
grace, and mercy of God to those that deserved it not. Yes, these
who are in Christ, these who are members of his body are nothing. They are those who have been
broken. They are those who have been
brought low. They are those who have been
humbled. They are those who have been
convicted. They are those who know that by nature they are
sinners. They are nothing but sin. They
are nothing but corruption. They are nothing but corruption
from head to toe. and they are nothing, and they
are nothings, but those to whom God has shown great mercy. Those whom God has brought to
their knees to cry out to the living God of whom they have
been made aware, to cry out to him to whom they must give an
account, to cry out to him with whom they must deal, To cry out
to Him whom they know will judge them for their sins if they have
no answer for their sins. To cry out to Him whom they know
is the judge of all the earth. To cry out to Him whom they know
will do right and will judge justly and rightly. To cry out
to Him whom they know will find fault unjustly with all that
they have done, with all that they have done throughout their
lives before they came to Him. To cry out to Him to whom they
know they will be found guilty, guilty except He pardon them. They come unto Him and they have
cried out for mercy. They know that they are nothing
but sin, nothing but guilty sinners. And they have come to Him who
can judge them and damn them for all eternity. And having
come unto Him, and having cried unto Him for mercy, having cried
out unto the living God for mercy, they have found to their astonishment
and amazement that this God whose wrath once burned against their
sin, has forgiven them. He's forgiven them, because to
their amazement, they found that they have been chosen in His
Son from all eternity. And that Son came and He died
in their place, and He took upon Himself their sins. and he washed
their sins away, because he took the wrath of God that was due
unto them, and he drank it up, and he took it out of sight,
and he took their sins out of sight, and he took them as far
as the east is from the west. And this God, who they thought
was furious with them and their sins, they find has shown them
much love in His Son. This God whom they thought would
judge them for their sins, in astonishment they find has forgiven
them their sins. He's forgiven them, He's forgiven
them. And they who had sinned much,
they who had transgressed much, they find that they have been
forgiven much, they've been forgiven much, they've been forgiven all,
every sin has been forgiven, all their filthy deeds have been
washed away, this justice holy, this wondrous God, who they thought
would be angry with them, who they convicted and broken and
brought low, knowing that they are guilty, this God that they
thought would be furious with them, they find has forgiven
their every last deed and says, thou art forgiven. Thou art righteous
in my Son. Thou art righteous in my Son. Well done, thou good and faithful
servant. And they find that this One whom
they thought would hate them for their sins and their iniquities,
instead loves them for His Son's sake. He loves them. Yes, they've been forgiven much.
They're those who have been forgiven everything. And they're those
who owe everything to Christ. They owe all to Christ. all to
their savior, all to this one who died for them, all to this
one who is all and in all to them, all to this one who is
the head of the body of which they are the members, for they
have been called in one body. This head of the body of which
they are the members is he who washed and cleaned in his own
blood, He who loved them with an everlasting love. He who looked
upon them as his bride, that bride whom he would make spotless
and pure. He who took them to be his own. He who loved them from all time. Yes, he who is the head of which
they are the members. As one body. Yes, there is one
body. And all God's people, all these,
all such as these, all these who have been forgiven much,
all are members of this one body. None are outside of it. None
are apart from it. They may be members of this church. They may be members of that place.
They may not be members. But all God's people for whom
Christ died, all are members. of His body and all are members
of one body. For there is one body and many
members, many members, but just one body. Turn to 1 Corinthians
in chapter 12, we read in many places in the New Testament of
this one body, this wondrous, this deep truth of our union
in Christ, as our head of this mystical body of Christ, this
mystical body of his people, who are united together as one
people, one company, and one body in Christ. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, we read that as the body is one and have many members,
and all the members of that one body being many are one body,
so also is Christ. He's one body and they are in
him, many members but one body. For by one spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one
spirit. For the body is not one member,
but many. Yes, we're one body in Christ. And what unites Christ's people
as one body is the fact that by one spirit, they have all
been baptized into that body. Men may join the membership of
churches on earth, but that's something that they do and something
that they decide. But when we're brought into this
one body in our experience, it's because of that baptism which
comes from above. It's because of that wondrous
work of the Spirit of God, when He comes unto those who were
once lost, once dead in trespasses and sins, comes unto them where
they are, brings the sound of the Gospel to them, convicts
them and alarms them, awakens them, convicts them of their
sin, brings them to an end of themselves, brings them to their
knees before their God, and quickening them unto life, he breathes life
into them, and points them to that one who died to save them,
that one who is their head, that one of whom they become one body,
and in so doing they are baptized by that Spirit. Not baptized
with water here, but baptized by the Spirit as he quickens
them unto life. Not some second baptism, some
second experience to be experienced later on when you reach some
higher level of Christianity note, but that baptism which
is true of all God's people, all the members of this body.
That baptism of the Spirit when He quickens them unto life, when
they're born again of God, born again of God by the Word of God,
by the sound of the truth of the Gospel. For all who are born
again, all for whom Christ died, who hear the Gospel in the Spirit,
are quickened unto life, they're baptized into one body. And though be in many, there
is one body. They've all been made to drink
into one Spirit. They're all brought to drink
of that heavenly water which is Christ. That water which comes
from above, that water in which they're baptised by the Spirit,
as the Spirit reveals Christ to them and brings them into
a living awareness of Christ. A living awareness as it unites
them in Christ. and brings them to know that
they're no longer divided. They're no longer Jew or Gentile. They're no longer bond or free. They're no longer individuals
scattered throughout the world. They're no longer rich or poor. They're no longer unwanted and
abandoned. But they are those whom God loves
as one people. They are those who are brought
into a company, a great company, one company, many members, and
yet, one body. We read of the body again in
Ephesians, that wondrous epistle that sets forth the church of
God and the body of Christ in so many different ways and pictures. In Ephesians 5, we read of these
wondrous truths of the church of the body of Christ. Verse
23 we read that the husband is the head of the wife this picture
of Christ who is the head of the church and Christ is the
savior of the body therefore as the church is subject unto
Christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish So
ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, he that
loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, even as the
Lord the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. Oh, what a mystery
we see here, pictured by the husband and the wife, pictured
by that which is natural with the natural love of the husband
for the wife, and they're leaving their parents to cleave one to
another as one flesh. but a wondrous picture of Christ
and His Bride, the Church. Christ, the Head of the Church,
the Saviour of the Body, that Church, that Bride, whom He gave
Himself for, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
of water by the Word, that washing of water by the Spirit of God
through the Word of God, as the Spirit baptises His people through
the preaching of the gospel, as he uses that gospel to quicken
them unto life, and washes them by the truth of the word of God,
by which they come to know of the wondrous work of Christ,
who gave himself for that people, who gave himself for all his
own, who gave himself for the church, to what end? That he
might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, not even a spot or a wrinkle,
let alone the heaps of sins and corruptions that this people
once had. What a filthy, vile, base, degraded
company this was! What death of suffering Christ
went through to take away their sins! But he did it that he might
present that people, that church, that bride, that body to himself
as a glorious church. Not having one sin, not even
having one spot, not even having a wrinkle. No, he would present
it holy and without blemish. holy and without blemish. For
he loves that church as the husband loves his wife, as the husband
loves his own body. So also the Lord loves the church. Why? Because we are members of
his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. This is a great mystery. of the husband and the wife being
joined as one flesh, a great mystery. But I speak concerning
Christ and the church. Yes, there's one body, one body,
and the body is Christ's. Oh, you can see the union there
is here. We speak of churches, we speak
of the church. Men speak of going to church
to worship God, for how far short this stops of the reality of
Christ's church and of the worship of God's people for Christ, for
God. They don't go to church, they
are the church. They're not merely members as
a number of some society but they are the members of one body,
the church. They are one with Christ. They are united to Christ. They are members of his body. See how close this is, as the
wife and the husband are one flesh. So is the church. So is each member of the church,
the Christ. And so is each member of the
church, one with another. All earthly distinctions are
gone, they are knit and united in Christ. Why such union? Because we are flesh of his flesh
and bone of his bones. We are his body. We're not merely brought to be
in company with his body. It's not merely that there is
Christ in his body and we commune with him, but we are his body. We are one with him, as the woman
is one with the husband. In Genesis, we read of the creation
of man, and we read of the creation of his wife. In the garden when
God created Adam he gave him a wife. He said after creating
Adam that it is not good that the man should be alone. So the
Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept
and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof
and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a
woman. and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because
she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they
shall be one flesh. Oh, what a picture of Christ
and his church. What a picture of the last Adam.
the second man. For Eve was taken out of Adam,
taken out of his side and brought unto him. She was not created
out of the dust as Adam was, but she was created out of Adam.
And when Adam saw the woman, he loved her and said, this is
now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She should be called
woman because she was taken out of man. And what's true of Eve,
taken out of Adam? It's true of the church, taken
out of Christ. It's true of the bride of Christ. For she too was taken out of
her husband. She too was taken out of the
side of the man. She is of him. She is bone of
his bone and flesh of his flesh. She is part of his body. She
is his body, they are one flesh. She is one with him and he is
one with her. Guess when Christ died? God caused
a deep sleep to fall upon the last Adam. When he entered into
the darkness of the three hours upon the cross, he was united
to his people. in a wondrous and a mystical
union when God took that people as they were in the first man
Adam, as he took them as a corrupt and a base and a degraded people,
a sinful people, he brought that people unto his son as his son
entered a deep sleep in the darkness. And his son was made to be what
they are sin, and he bore their own sins in his own body on the
tree. and the vaults of heaven were
opened, and God's fury and anger against those sins, and that
sin was poured out upon his own son upon the tree. And such was
the love of his son for his bride, that he suffered the anguish
in his own soul, that he suffered the pouring out of God's contempt
and fury upon their sin. His father destroyed their sin
in the sun. He judged their sins in his own
son, that he might take it away. Oh, the fury, oh, the suffering,
oh, the anguish that his son went through in that sleep of
death. And why did he suffer? Because
he loved that one who would be taken out of his sight. For as
that company, as that bride of Christ, as they were in the first
man Adam, were united to Christ in him, so having taken their
sins away in judgment, when the free hours were brought to a
close, when Christ cried out at his finish, for there was
no more sin and no more sins left to judge, When he had taken
away every spot and every wrinkle and every blemish, then he could
cry out, it is finished. And at the end, he cried out,
it is finished. And he gave up the ghost and
he died. He died to save his own, whom
he loved. And in that sleep of death, as
he hung there dead, They came to break the legs of those whom
they had crucified. The soldiers came, and they broke
the legs of the one, and they broke the legs of the other,
but when they came to Christ, they saw that he was dead already. An unnatural death. For they
had not hung upon that cross in crucifixion long enough to
die naturally. For the transgressors on each
side, the legs were broken so that the pain would cause them
to have a quick death at the end. But with Christ they found
he was dead already. Why? Because sin and the judgment
of God against sin had slain him. And with Christ they broke
not a bone of his body. But they took a spear, and they
thrust it in his side, and out of his side came forth blood
and water. And that blood was the blood
which washed his bride from every sin. that blood which redeemed
her, that blood which purified her, and that water was the water
that pictures that water of the Spirit of God, of the word of
the truth of the gospel, by which they are baptised, by which that
gospel comes and washes them clean, and takes that blood and
applies it to their hearts. For out of the side came forth
blood and water, And out of the side, out of the side of the
last Adam, God took his bride. He took out Eve, as it were,
out of the side of the last Adam, that bride for whom he died. As Eve was taken out of the side
of Adam and presented to him as flesh of his flesh, as bone
of his bones, so Christ's bride was taken out of his side. she
whom he had died for, she whom he had purified, she whom he
loved. And that bride was taken out
of his sight to be presented to him by the Spirit of God in
time, as the Spirit came unto each and every member of that
body, and quickens them unto life, and brings them unto the
Saviour, as one body, as many members of one body, and brings
them and presents them to the Son, and says here's your bride
for whom you died so his bride was taken out of his side. Oh
the union there is between Christ and his people as the bride is
brought unto Christ he says unto her this shall be called woman
and they are one flesh for woman was taken out a man. You see
Eve was brought to him to Adam When God caused a great sleep
to come upon Adam and he took out of him and made out of his
rib, he made Eve. He then brought Eve unto the
man, he brought her unto him. She didn't go to him, she was
brought to him and presented unto him as his bride. So too
with Christ's bride. The Spirit of God seeks out every
member of his body. And having washed those members,
having baptised them, having brought them unto life, He brings
them unto the Son. He brings the bride unto the
Son. He brings Eve, the woman, unto
Christ, the Son of God, unto the man, and brings the woman
unto the man and says, here's your bride. And He looks upon
His bride whom He loves, and He cleaves unto her, and they
are one flesh. Oh, the union there is between
Christ and His people. Can you see the union? Do you
know the union? Are you part of this union? Child
of God, do you know it? Do you know your oneness with
Christ, your Saviour? Are you truly one with Him? Are you in Him? Is He in you?
Turn briefly to John and chapter 15. John 15, we read of this
wondrous union there is between Christ and his people, how close
it is. I am the true vine, and my Father
is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit
he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide
in me, And I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide
in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye
can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he
is cast forth as a branch and is withered. and men gather them
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide
in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and
it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father
hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. Oh, can you see the union? Can
you see how close it is? Not only to Christ, but with
all who are in Christ, with all who are members of his body.
For we're not just a collection of people in the church, we are
one body, united, knit together in Christ, knit together, united
by the gospel. It's the gospel and Christ that
is revealed in our gospel, that's our unity. There's no earthly
unity. We're not united simply by place
or location or society. It's our unity in Christ that
binds us together. We're one body, many members
of one body, of which he is the head. The head. Is it your head? Your Lord, do
you as the wife to her husband, do you submit to him your head
in all things? The head of the body. For he's
not held as the head by the world, nor is he held as the head by
its religion. They neither show it by their
obedience to his words, neither by their love of his word. But
he is the head of his body. and all who are in his body submit
to him as their head for they love him who first loved them
for they are one body and he is all and in all. Oh believer
believer don't look upon the outward things don't look with
the outward eye but with the eye of faith don't look upon
your brethren simply with the outward eye Look upon them with
faith, as in Christ. Here we have the flesh, we see
that which is of the flesh, we see that which is outwards. Everything
in us naturally, in our brethren, is stained with sin. Everything
we see there is fault to be found with. Often there's little to
attract us one to another and much to be disappointed in. I
know there's much in me to be disappointed in, and there's
much in each of us to be disappointed in. But look upon us each as
in Christ. For we're all in Christ, we're
one body in Christ. And in Christ none of these outward
things matter. It's another matter entirely
in Christ. We love each other as we are
in Christ. We forgive one another as those
who have been forgiven much. as those who have been forgiven
all. And this is what lies behind
Paul's exhortations to forgive one another, to walk in the peace
of God, for we're one members of one body. And it is Him in
whom we dwell, He who unites us, He to whom we are united,
Him in whom we are one with one another, He who is all and in
all. So lie not one to another, seeing
that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him. But Christ is all, and in all. Yes, we're one body in Christ,
one body, one body. Do you hear that? One body, do
you hear that? Well the sheep do, for the sheep
hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them
me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out
of my father's hand. And I am my father of one, yes,
the sheep here. And the sheep follow, for the
sheep are those of his pasture. The sheep are those who have
been forgiven much. The sheep are the many members
of one body, of whom he is all and in all. Yes, Christ is all
and in all. Is he your all? And is he in
all for you? Amen.