one verse of Scripture to us
this morning. A very amazing statement that
is familiar to most of you is found here in Colossians chapter
3 and verse 11. Colossians chapter 3 and verse
11. A very short statement But the
world itself could not contain the wisdom and the knowledge
that this statement reveals to us. He says here in Colossians
3, verse 11, Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, Circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, bond or free, and here it is,
but Christ is all, and in all. Christ is not a greater portion,
but Christ is all. Christ is not a part that makes
up the whole, Christ is all. Our sun that shines upon this
world that you and I live in is a great sun. Its light is
irresistible. It warms our earth by itself,
but it's only a part. We have the essential moon. We have the essential stars.
We have the essential atmosphere of the planets. The moon is only
a part, the sun is a part, the stars are a part that makes up
the whole, but it's not that way with Christ. Christ is all. Ain't that an amazing statement?
He's not a vital part. He's the whole. Christ is all. And what this verse here tells
us is that Christ is all in Christianity. For he tells us here in verse
11, there is neither Greek nor Jew. In Christianity, Jesus Christ
is all. In Him all nationalities have
their end. They mean nothing. You may be
a Jew, you may be a Greek, you may be American, you may be an
Asian, you may be an African, but in Jesus Christ nationalities
mean nothing. Christianity is Christ. It's not that these things have
a little to do with Christianity. It is that they have nothing
to do with Christianity. Christ is all in Christianity. And he tells us here in that
verse, all religious affiliations have their end in Christ. Denominations
have their end. Ceremonies, human creeds have
their end in Christ. In Christ, circumcision nor uncircumcision
means anything. Only Christ is all. And he tells
us here our social standings are eliminated. It doesn't matter
if a man is a foreigner, if he's a non-Greek, if he's a barbarian,
or Scythian, if he's a savage. It makes no difference. Christ
is all. Stephen the Jew sits down beside
the eunuch of Ethiopia. And there are only one in Christ,
but they are equal in Christ. What Christ was to one, he was
to the other. Christ is all. And he tells us
something else here. He says that whether a man is
a servant, that he is a slave, that he works for someone else,
or if he's a free man and has a fortune. In Christ they are
equally accepted, because in Christ the bond, as well as the
free, have Christ to be their all. Christ is the great leveler. That's what Paul's telling us. In Christ every valley is exalted,
and every mountain and hill is made low. In him the crooked
places become straight, and those things that are not plain become
plain, because Christ becomes all. He's the Great Lamb. And notice how the Apostle Paul
teaches us this in this epistle. Here in verse 4, Brother Larry
quoted it to us. Look what he said, in our salvation,
In salvation, Christ is all. He says here in verse 4, when
Christ, who is our life, shall appear. Who is Christ in salvation? He's all. He not only gives life,
but Christ is the life that He gives. What portion of life? Why, He's all. You take Christ
from us, and we have no life. He's all our life. And look in
chapter 1 of this epistle, and look here in verse 14. Christ
is all in redemption and in forgiveness of sins. He says here in verse
14, "...in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. In His death on the cross of
Calvary, there upon that tree outside the city of Jerusalem,
before you and I were ever born, our redemption was accomplished."
He was finished. He purchased us in full. And you and I have not one cent
to pay on our redemption. Jesus paid it all, in whom we
have redemption through his blood. A full redemption, a sure redemption,
an eternal redemption. And he adds quickly to this,
by the virtue of his blood, in whom even we have forgiveness
of sins. Even all trespasses he hath forgiven
us, all manner of sin and blasphemy. Christ is all in salvation. And notice here what he says
in chapter 2, in verse 10. Look at this. In chapter 2, verse
10, he says, And you are complete in him. You're perfect in him. You're perfectly righteous in
him. You're perfectly accepted of
God in Him, for you're accepted in the Beloved. What can you
add to perfection? Where is our perfection? Where
does perfection lie? Christ is all. What a tremendous
statement. What a tremendous person. And
he says here in chapter 1 in verse 27, look at this, Christ
is all our hope. to whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
and here's the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory." He's all in our hope. What hope do you and I have beyond
this grave? What hope do we have that our
bowel bodies will be redeemed and we'll have a heaven to go
to? What hope do we have that we'll receive an eternal inheritance
that fadeth not away? What hope do we have? Christ
is our hope. He's all in our hope. You take
Christ from us, we're hopeless as well as helpless. He's the
Son and Sonneton. He's all in our hope. And he
says here again in chapter 3, and look at this. Look at chapter
3 and verse 3. Look what a hiding place He is.
And we have no other refuge but in Jesus Christ. For ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God." What a hiding place. What a refuge in the time of
the storm. Jesus Christ is in God, and you
and I who believe in Him are in Him. Oh, he says this, Come,
my people, enter thou unto thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee, hide thyself, as it were, for a little while,
until the indignation be overpassed. We have a hiding place, and Christ
is all in that hiding place. What a place to hide. And our
text adds these three precious words here in verse 11. And look
at this. Three more precious words. Not
only did He say that Christ is all, but He said this, and He
is in all. He is in all. If Christ is your
all, then Christ is in you. He dwells in your heart, no matter
what nationality you are. No matter what tribe of man they
be from, no matter what sex, no matter what age, if Christ
is your all, then Christ is in you. And I tell you this about
that. Wherever you go, He will be with
you. And He will never forsake you.
To forsake you, He would have to forsake Himself. He is in
you. Oh, what must Jesus Christ be
then in Himself that He is our All in our salvation? What merit
must be in Him? What worth and what power must
be in this man that He is our All? And, listen to this, What must
He be in His unbounded universal presence that He dwells in us
all? Oh, what a statement this is,
the Apostle Matthew. Christ is all, and Christ is
in all. And I want us to look at some
things in this epistle. And you want to turn your Scriptures
with me, your Bibles with me, turn over to chapter 1. Christ
is all. And let's look at some things
here concerning Christ being all. Look here first of all in verse
17 of chapter 1. And look here at what the Apostle
Paul tells us about Jesus Christ. And He, Christ, is before all
things. He is before all things. Does that include all things?
Is He before everything? Is He before all creatures? Of course He is. Is He before
all creation? Yes, He's before all things. I never will forget the time
that Brother Donnie Bell and I were out in Montana. Hank Bowman, he's a church member
there at John Mitchell's. He lives way up in northern Montana. He and David Letterman live next
door to each other, 19 miles on a gravel road. And he said,
we went to visit him and he showed us his ranch, 7,000 acre ranch,
this man had. He was back on his ranch and
showed us his ranch and we went up to David Letterman's house.
And I wasn't too impressed with seeing David Letterman's house,
but I was impressed with what I saw there. We talked the hill
there, and we were looking just a few feet away. We were looking
at the Rocky Mountains right in the face. And the face of
that mountain was so vast, and it went up so high, up into the
clouds. The mountain actually looked
down upon the clouds. And I looked at the face of that
mountain. And my eyes couldn't focus upon
it. That's how huge it was. But you know there was a time
when that mountain never existed. A few days ago I was down in
Orlando. Me and Greg and Brother Donnie
went over to the ocean. I'm always amazed when I look
at the ocean. See those waves coming in that
no man contained? Imagine in the depths out there
that no human can fathom. But there was a time when that
ocean did not exist. You look at the heavens with
the sun and the moon and the stars and the vastness of it
all, and even the heaven of heaven in its high, and there was a
time that did not exist. This earth that you and I live
on, this ball, This rock covered with a little dirt that you and
I live upon and we exist upon, there was a time when this ball
itself did not exist. Man in his proud look and his
self-righteous heart, his boastful mind, but there was a time when
man did not exist upon this earth. What was Christ then? Where was
Christ then? And there's one more creature
that you and I don't want to leave out because he said he's
before all things. What about time? Time is a creature. Time had its beginning. Where
was Jesus Christ then? Before there was time, when God,
the Eternal Spirit, dwelt before time in eternity alone, eternally
happy, eternally sovereign, eternally free, eternally self-sufficient,
self-existent. When God dwelt there alone, what
was Christ then? Why, He was all. He was all then,
just as He's all now. Who does that make Him, brothers?
That makes Him more than a creature. Time is the first creature as
far as I know. And Christ was before time. And
you go back there and step off into eternity, and sail by the
wings of faith as far back as you can, and there you'll find
Christ. And when you'll find Him, you'll
have this written on His foreheads. Christ is all. Christ is all. That's what the Apostle Paul
tells us here. He is before all things. And notice what he says
here in verse 16. For by Him all things were created. He's before all things. And then He created time. And
then He created all things in time. There was a time in heaven. with all of its height, was not. All the moon, the stars, the
planets, the angels, men, there was a time when they did not
exist. What was Christ then? He was all in creation. The scripture says, Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou
hast created all things, and for Thy glory they are and they
were created. Jesus Christ not only created
all things, but brothers and sisters, He created it for His
glory and His pleasure. Some tell us in Genesis 1, verse
1, and in Genesis 1, verse 2, there's this span of time. Mr. Pink said, in the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth. And then between that and the
next verse, there's this unknown space of time that the earth
became without form and void. And then after it became void,
then God began to create. I don't know about that. I have
no idea about that. But I do know this. I do know
this. There's no doubt in our hearts
about this. In the beginning, the Lord laid
the foundations of this earth. And the heavens are the work
of his hands. You and I can be sure of this.
All things were created by Jesus Christ, and without him was not
anything made that was made. He's the author of all things
that are created. What is he therefore in creation?
He's all. He's all in creation. What is
Christ to creation now? Well, look at the last portion
of verse 17. He is before all things, and
by Him all things consist. If you could speak to this creation.
The rocks would cry out, the trees would clap their hands.
They'd all bear witness that Christ is their Creator. But
I'll tell you what else they would tell you. He upholds us. By Him we live, we move, we have
our being. The planets are held in force
by The sea doesn't come over the earth because He said it's
bound. The sun rises by Jesus Christ our Lord. It all consists
by Him. I heard a man the other day said,
if we're not careful, man's going to destroy this earth. Now, brothers
and sisters, I'm not for pollution. We ought to keep our air clean.
We ought to try to keep our water clean. I'm not for polluting
this earth. God help us to be careful. But
man is awful proud when he thinks he can destroy what Jesus Christ
upholds. And He upholds all things. And
not only that, but listen to this. He will uphold all things
until He, by the Word of His power, changes all these things. He was before these things, He
created these things, He's upholding these things today, and Christ
by His own hand will change all these things. Thou, O Lord, in
the beginning hast laid the foundations of this earth, the heavens are
the work of your hands, and you're going to change them.
Tell what He said. They're waxing old as just a garment. And as
a vest shall thou fold them up. It's just like you getting a
garment and folding up a t-shirt, or folding up a pair of socks.
That's what this universe is to Christ. He's just going to
fold it up, and He's going to change it. Oh, no wonder the
apostles said, Christ is all. Christ is all. And fourthly,
consider this. What will Christ be in eternity
to come? He was all back there in eternity
past. He's all now in salvation and
in providence. And in creation, what will He
be in eternity to come? He'll be all then too. He tells
us here in chapter 3 and verse 4, when Christ who is our light
shall appear, then shall ye appear with Him in glory. Whose glory? His glory. The Son of Man shall come in
His glory. Those saints that are around
the throne now, what do you think they think of Christ? He's all. That's their song. Worthy art
thou, O Lamb. All the glory and the honor they
attribute to Him, Lord. And when the mystery of God is
finished, and Christ has raised the dead, and He's put His foot
on all His enemies, And He's assigned to every man his long
haul. And the saints are there around
the throne worshiping. They'll say, we admire Thee,
O Son of God. We worship You. We adore You. You are all. And throughout all
eternity, things will never change. Christ Himself will be all. Let me consider this read just
a minute and I'll close. Consider this. Look here in chapter
2, verse 9. Christ in his humanity. Consider the Lord Jesus Christ
in His humanity, and in His humanity we'll see that He's all. Look
what He says here in verse 9 of chapter 2. For in Him, in Christ,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead of the divinity. That's what that word Godhead
means. It means divinity, deity. In Him, dwells all the fullness
of the divinity bodily. Bodily. There was a time when
Christ did not exist in His humanity. Back before He came in our likeness
to redeem us and put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,
He was an eternal, holy spirit. God is a spirit. And when He
came in time in His humanity, He never ceased to be what He
was back in eternity. Christ was not merely possessed
of God. God did not merely indwell Christ,
but Christ is indeed God. Christ does not contain a large
portion of God in His humanity. But he is indeed the fullness
of God in his humanity. If anything of the very essence,
now listen to this, if anything of the very essence of the eternal
God is lacking in Christ's humanity, then he is not fully God. He was not merely possessed of
a few attributes of God, or all the attributes of God, but he
was and is, in his humanity, the fullness of the divine, eternal
God. In his humanity. And he says
here, in Christ's humanity, dwelleth, look at that, dwelleth all the
fullness of God. And that word dwelleth means
to house permanently, to reside continually. In other words,
Mary conceived in her womb the fullness of God. Wherever you find Christ in His
humanity, At what point in his life you look upon him, in him
dwells the fullness of God. When he first was implanted in
the virgin's womb, that was the fullness of God that Mary conceived. When the infant Jesus hanged
upon his mother's breast, in him dwelt all the fullness of
God. Oh, brothers and sisters, no
wonder Paul said, great is the mystery of God. Oh, you ask Mary,
who is this infant sucking upon your breast? You know what she
would tell you? I've named him the mighty God. The mighty God? An infant? Nineteen and three quarters inches
long? Six pounds and one ounces? And
He's the mighty God? Yes! And in Him dwells the fullness
of God. Not a portion, but a fullness. When he increased in wisdom and
stature and in favor with God and man, in him at that time
dwelled the fullness of God. When Jesus grew weary and sat
on Jacob's weld array. When he was so tired he had to
lay down to sleep. When he was so hungry that he
had to eat. When he was so thirsty he had
to drink. When he prayed in the garden
till sweat of blood came from his pores. When they plucked
out his beard in the judgment hall. When they made long those
sparrows upon his back. When he cried out upon the cross,
It's finished. When he said, God into your hands,
I commend my spirit. All those places in him dwelt
the fullness of the Godhead in his body. Now ain't that amazing?
Heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain the eternal God,
but yet He was contained in this very person, Christ the Lord. Oh, how amazing He is. I don't
want to study anything else, do you? If He's not the center
of it, if He's not the circumference of it, I don't want anything
to do with it. Christ is the wisdom of God. There have been
some great men in this world, great presidents, great scientists,
great commanders and chiefs, preachers, songwriters, humanitarians,
fathers. There have been some great people
in this world, but there has never been a man like Christ. like Jesus of Nazareth. In Him
dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And if somebody would
ask us how He can by Himself accomplish our eternal redemption,
here's the answer. Here's the answer. If someone
would inquire as to how Jesus Christ, by His death upon the
cross, can reconcile us to God, here's the answer. It's because
of who He is. This is why He said to those
who are in Him, ye are complete. It's because of who He is, brothers
and sisters. Oh, is Christ all? Then make
sure, dear soul, that He's your all. Make sure that you're nothing
at all. In yourself you can do nothing
at all. In your own heart you know nothing at all. Say with
a husker, I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus
Christ is my all and all. Is Christ all? Then seek your
all in Him. Seek your eternal salvation in
Him. Give your soul no rest, but as you see yourself complete
in Him. Give no rest to your heart, but
that you can say and have God to bear witness to it too. He
is my Lord. He is my Lord. Is He your all? Is Christ your all? Is He all
to you in His offices? Is He your prophet to teach you,
dear soul? Is He your high priest to save
you? Is He your King to subdue you and reign over you? Is He
all to you in His Word? When you go home this evening,
will He be all in your home? When you're in your closet worshiping,
will He be all there in your closet? Is He all in the public
worship? When you go to your job, is He
all on your job? In all the relationship you have
with your fellow man, is Christ all? He's all. He's all. Dear soul,
seek to it. If Christ is all, then He's your
all. If Christ's your all, then you're
His. He's chosen you. He's redeemed
you. He's called you. And therefore,
if Christ is yours, and you are Christ's, put on, therefore,
as the elect of God, these holy and beloved vows of mercy and
kindness and goodness and gentleness. Be patient and tender hearted
and forgive one another as Christ has forgiven you. Is Christ your
all? Then put on Christ. Let Him be
the rule of your life. Let Him be your eyes. Let Him
be your ears. Let Him be your guide. Let Him
be your all. Christ is all. He is and be all. And bless God for the day when
he takes the soul of Tarsus, who is trusting in himself and
in his own righteousness, and brings him to see indeed Christ
is everything, Christ is all. God bless you. The Message.