Now let's turn to Colossians
chapter 1, verse 19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness
dwell. I read in the book of 1 Kings
of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon. And after she had
looked at his wisdom and his wealth and his glory and all
the treasures of Solomon, this is what she said. There is no
more spirit left in me. I heard of your glory, but I
did not believe until I came and mine eyes had seen thy wisdom,
and thy wealth, and thy glory. And behold, the half has not
been told." Now when I look at a verse such
as the one that is before me tonight, for it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. And when I start thinking
of all wisdom, not just the limited wisdom of Solomon, I'm talking
about all wisdom. When I think about glory, all
glory, not the glory of the kingdom of Israel, but the glory of the
kingdom of God, when I start thinking about reconciliation,
and righteousness and redemption, and all the fullness of God,
His mercy, His righteousness, His holiness, and all that fullness
dwelling in Christ, I can say with the Queen of Sheba, there
is no spirit left in me. There is no strength. And I tremble. And I'd like to engage someone
else to speak of this fullness. Someone who could give him the
glory that he is due and of which he is worthy. Someone who can
praise his name as he ought to be praised. O Lord, I think how
can my ignorant mind and my faltering lips or my deceitful heart imagine,
let alone speak, of the glory, the fullness of that glory which
dwelleth in Jesus Christ. Job said it's higher than the
heavens. What can I do? He says it's deeper
than hell. What can I know? He said it's longer than the
earth and broader than the sea. How can I by searching find God? But someone's got to speak. The
sons of men must hear. Our God says, whom shall I send
and who will go for me? And even the child Samuel answered,
Here am I, send me. So tonight we're going to look
at this text, limited as we are, frail as we are, filled with
inability as we are. We're going to look at it anyway
and ask God's Spirit to do what we can't do. accomplish what
we can accomplish. Let men see a little of the glory
of God that dwells in Christ Jesus. First of all, we're going
to ask this question, what are we talking about when we say
all fullness? And then secondly, we're going
to answer this question, if God will help us, where does it dwell? And the third question with which
we'll deal is this, why does it dwell there? And then fourthly,
when is this fullness in Christ? Now the first question is this,
what is spoken of? It says, it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness, all fullness. Thank God for these
two words. My heart rejoices that there's
such a thing in this universe, in this world of ours, as all
fullness. Everything I see is emptiness. Everything that I hear has a
ring of vanity and emptiness. Everything that I think is vanity. Everything that I say is filled
with sin and vanity. Solomon said, after considering
it all, and I suppose that he considered it more fully than
any man, after considering it all, everything concerned or
connected with the flesh, he came up with this, vanity of
vanities. All is vanity. And the Apostle Paul drew this
conclusion, in my flesh dwelleth no good. Absolutely no good. So summing up all flesh and everything
that this life has to offer, all the senses, hearing, smelling,
feeling, seeing, all things in this world are emptiness and
bitterness and vanity and death. But it says here Christ is all
fullness. All fullness. Fullness, not foretaste. Fullness, not shadow. Fullness,
not types. Now types may instruct. That's
what the early Jews had. They had types to instruct them.
They had patterns to teach them. They had ceremonies to reveal
things to them. But Christ Jesus is the heavenly
things themselves. No outward forms can make me
clean. I don't know why men cling to
these things today. They didn't serve the Jews too
well. I don't know why we put our trust
in the waters of baptism. The waters outside the tabernacle
didn't help the priest much, nor keep him clean. I don't know
why we put our trust in the wafer and in the wine when all of the
sacrifices offered on Jewish altars couldn't put away sin.
No outward forms can make me clean. The leprosy lies deep
within. How can these things that cleanse
my flesh touch my heart? How can these things applied
to my flesh do any good for my soul? No outward forms can make
me clean, don't give them to me, for the leprosy lies deep
within. I want not foretaste, I want
fullness, I want not shadow, I want substance. I want not
things that tell me about God, I want God. He is our sacrifice. He is our altar. He is our priest. He is our atonement. He is our
mercy seat. He is our tabernacle. And He
is all fullness. A little help won't do me any
good. It's not a little help that I need. A little mercy will
only mop me. A little grace will leave me
lost. A little wisdom will only confuse me. I need all things. And all fullness dwells in Him. In Him it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness. And all fullness dwells in Him
because of who He is. He's Alpha and Omega. He's the
beginning and the end. He's the first and the last.
He is the eternal Creator, He is the mighty God, He is the
everlasting Father. All fullness dwells in Him, not
only because of who He is, but because He purchased the right
with His own blood. Not only in creation, Does he
have the right to contain all fullness, not only in providential
purposes, but in salvation because of his sacrifice, he purchased
that right. He died that he might be Lord. When they came to Pharaoh during
the famine, and the storehouses of Egypt had been filled, they
said, Pharaoh, give us corn and wheat. And he said, Go to Joseph. Joseph filled the storehouses,
therefore the storehouses are in Joseph's hands. He giveth
it to whom he will. And all fullness dwells in Christ
because of who he is and because he purchased that right. He filled
the storehouses and they are in his hands to distribute as
he will. All fullness toward God. For
he honored the law and satisfied justice, all fullness toward
the sinner." Sinner, what do you need? Well, I need all things. Well, Christ is all. Christ is
all wisdom, all righteousness, all sanctification, all redemption. He of God is made unto us. All
these things. I want all things, and Christ
is all. Well, I want repentance. Well,
the Scripture says he's exalted to give repentance and the forgiveness
of sin. Well, I want a new heart. He
said, a new heart will I give thee. I'll take that old stony
heart out of your flesh and I will give thee a new heart. Well,
I want pardon. He says, I will remember thy
sins no more. Well, I want life. Well, the
Son quickeneth whom he will. In him is life. I want preservation. He says, No man can pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's
hand. Well, I want resurrection. Because I live, you shall live. These words shut out all other
men and all other creatures and all other ways. It pleased the
Father that in Him should all fullness all fullness, all of
the love, all of the grace, all of the mercy, all of the wisdom,
all of the glory, all of the beauty, and all of the power
of God Almighty. For he said, all authority, all
authority, not some authority, not a measure of authority, all
authority is given unto me in heaven and earth. I have all
power over all flesh. Christ never speaks of anything
given to Him by the Father in portion. It's always complete,
all fullness. Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
more than all in Thee I find. There's nothing that the law
can demand that He cannot produce. There's nothing that justice
and judgment can require that he cannot satisfy. There's nothing
that a sinner can need that Christ cannot fulfill, for in him dwelleth
all fullness. And the longer you live, the
more you see the need thereof. Everything you put your hand
on in this life, you cling to it for a little while, and then
you look and it's gone. This life is nothing but emptiness. and bitterness and failure. In Christ dwelleth all fullness. All fullness. Now, secondly,
where is this fullness? Well, the Scripture says here,
in Him. In Him. Where else could it dwell?
Where else would you find all wisdom but in Christ? Not in
an angel, not in a man, not in a demon. Where else would you
find all righteousness and holiness except in Christ? Where else
would you find all redemption, all glory, all love, all mercy
and all truth? For all fullness requires a vast
capacity to contain. Who could contain all fullness?
Huh? He who is the Father of light
can contain it. He who made the universe, and
in whom the universe dwelleth, can contain it. He who measured
the seas and the oceans, he who calleth the stars by name, can
contain all fullness. And all fullness not only requires
a vast capacity, only God can contain all fullness, because
all things are in God. And then all fullness requires
something else. It requires not only a vast,
infinite capacity, but it requires immutability. Now if any kind
of fullness, not all fullness, but just any kind of fullness
were put in you or me, we'd prove to be what? Broken cisterns that
hold no water. Because we change. A little riches can change us,
a little poverty can change us, a little sickness can change
us, a little disappointment can change us. Fullness can only
be trusted to one who cannot change. That's the reason we
put no confidence in the flesh. The flesh cannot be confided
in, it cannot be trusted, because it changes. It changes. But Jesus Christ is the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. All fullness requires not only
an infinite capacity, it requires immutability. Even the angels
cannot contain it, because they change. And then all fullness,
watch this. When we talk about all fullness,
this is the only place God can invest it, is in Christ. The church, no, no, the church
changes. It changes its messages, message
even. But all fullness can find a dwelling
place in Christ because he is of infinite capacity and he is
immutable, unchanging, and then he's the only one who has the
wisdom to distribute it. The Jews wouldn't give it to
the Gentiles. They can't be trusted with it.
The white man wouldn't give it to the black man. He can't be
trusted with it. And the black man wouldn't give
it to the white man. And the old wouldn't give it to the young,
and the young wouldn't give it to the old. And the Catholic
wouldn't give it to the Baptist, and the Baptist wouldn't give
it to the Methodist. It takes infinite wisdom to distribute
holiness. It takes infinite wisdom to distribute
grace. God will give grace only where
grace is appreciated. Fine. God will give mercy only
where he can get the glory. God's going to save all whom
he can wisely save. God's going to bless all whom
he can wisely bless. He has the wisdom to distribute
this grace. It dwelleth in Christ because
of his vast capacity to contain it. It dwelleth in Christ because
his unchangeable nature will not violate it. And all fullness,
all fullness dwelleth in Christ because of his wisdom. I have
all authority over all flesh that I should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given me. All fullness dwelleth in
him officially. It's by divine decree. All fullness dwelleth in him
personally. Someone said, in him, in him. His power to save life in his
person. His power to save life in his
person. In his person. Not just in his
words. Not just in his deeds. Death
on the cross will not save. It's got to be Christ's death
on the cross. I said last week, God as God
can save nobody. Nobody. But God as man can save
somebody. Man as man can save nobody. But man who is divine can save. His power to save lies in his
person. In his person. Somebody said,
I'm trusting the finished work of Christ. Be careful. Be careful,
the finished work of Christ has got to have Christ associated
with it. Don't you go to hell trusting
his work. Don't go to hell trusting his
work. Go to heaven trusting him. There's a difference. I know
what I'm talking about. You may not think I do, but I
do. His power to save is in his person. In his person. That's the reason he could save
people by his death on the cross before he even died. That's the
reason people could be saved in the Old Testament who didn't
even know anything about a cross. They were saved by a person who
would go to a cross. You see what I'm saying? That's
the reason Abraham saw my day, Christ said, and was glad. He
was trusting a person. And all that that person is and
all that that person does all that that person by grace will
do. A person, his power to save is
in his person. All fullness dwelleth in him
officially. All fullness dwelleth in him
personally. And thank God, all fullness dwelleth
in him graciously. Graciously. Why should you be
afraid to come and tell him all your case? He will not pronounce
your doom. He will not frown upon your face.
Will you dread Emmanuel? Will you dread the Lamb of God,
who to save your soul from hell shed his precious blood? All
fullness dwelleth in him graciously. He delights to show mercy. He
delights to show mercy. He delights in it. He freely
forgiveth. And then the third question quickly.
Why? is all fullness in Christ. It
says here, it pleased the Father. That's answer enough for me.
It pleased the Father. Why does all fullness dwell in
Christ? Well, the only answer given is
that it pleased the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell. He is all wise, let Him do what
He will. He is sovereign, shall I question
him? Ask the reason for the fall.
You'll get the same answer, please the Father. You ask the reason
for election and the answer comes back, please the Father. Our
Lord Jesus Christ himself said, I thank the Lord of heaven and
earth that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent
and thou hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, it seemed
good in thy sight." It pleased God that in him should all fullness
dwell, and that one answer will give you the reply to ten thousand
questions that you might have. And I say the believer says what
pleases God pleases me. Now that's the way God, that's
the position to which God brings a believer. If it pleases God,
it pleases me. And that's sufficient for a believer.
I got a letter from a lady down in Paintsville, Kentucky, who
watched a television program a few weeks ago. A few weeks
ago, I preached a sermon on the television program entitled,
Why Men Come to Christ. And I pointed out that men come
to Christ because they were given to Him by the Father. I pointed
out that men come to Christ because they're drawn to him by the Father.
And thirdly, I pointed out that men come to Christ because they're
taught by the Father. And she wrote and sent a check
to support the television ministry, a check for $100. And she said
in the letter, I don't understand election, but I guess it's all
right. It's in the Bible. And I guess
it is, don't you? Now that's a good attitude. I
don't understand it, but I guess it's all right, since it's in
God's Word. And when you ask me the question,
why does all fullness dwell in Christ? And my answer comes back,
a sufficient answer for the believer, it pleased the Father. You ask
me why God saved me and passed by somebody else? I'll give you
the answer He gave Himself. It pleased God to make you His
people. Why did Jesus Christ go to the
cross and suffer such a terrible death? It pleased God to bruise
Him. Why did Saul of Tarsus go along
for forty years before he ever knew the gospel? It pleased God
to reveal His Son to Saul. When it pleased God, that's what
the Scripture said. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, to reveal His grace in
me. But justice speaks and gives
us an answer. Justice says this. Justice says,
none but Christ could meet my demands. That's why all fullness
dwells in Him, because none but Christ can meet justice's demands. And then the law comes forth,
and the law says, I'll tell you why all fullness dwells in Him,
because the law must be honored, and only Christ could honor the
law. And then mercy speaks, and mercy
says, only Christ can bring God's mercy to sinners. Only Christ
can magnify God's attribute of mercy. And the glory of God steps
forth and says, only Christ can contain the glory of Almighty
God. Now last of all, it pleased the
Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. When is all fullness in Christ?
Look at the word, dwell. It pleased the Father that in
Him should all fullness dwell, yesterday, today, and forever. It is there in Christ, all fullness,
all wisdom, all righteousness, all sanctification, all mercy,
all holiness. It is in Christ, past, present,
and future, in all time. It's always been in Christ, our
divine surety. Our divine Redeemer. Abraham
found it there. Christ said, he saw my day and
he rejoiced. Moses found it there. And Moses
wrote of me. Isaiah found it there. He talked
about him growing up as a root out of dry ground, being wounded
for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement
of our peace laid upon him, and by his stripes we're healed. H-E-A-L-E-D. Healed completely,
totally, fully. Isaiah found all fullness in
Christ, and Job found it there, for he said, I've found a ransom. I've found it. I've searched
through all of man's wisdom and man's philosophy, and I've found
nothing but vanity. I've searched through all of
man's religion, and I've found nothing but emptiness. I've searched
through all of life in its infancy and in its youth and in its maturity
and in its old age and I don't find anything but vanity. But
I found a ransom, and that ransom is Christ. It's not the church,
it's not a denomination, it's not all the ecclesiastical powers
of the past, it's not the writings of the Puritans, it's not the
writings of the martyrs, it's not any of these things, it's
not in the law, it's not in the sacraments, it's not in the ordinances,
it's not in the doctrines, it's in Christ. I have found a ransom. a sufficient ransom, an effectual
ransom, a complete ransom, a full ransom, I found it in Christ. The answer to every question,
the solution for every problem, the comfort for every trial,
the friend for every need, I found a ransom. And thank God, because
all fullness dwells in Him, and I dwell in him, then in the sight
of God I have all fullness." Our Father, take this message
and magnify and exalt him who is worthy. Let these eyes, not
these natural eyes, but these eyes of faith which thou hast
given to us by thy grace, let them see in Christ all wisdom. all righteousness, all sanctification,
all redemption. All I need, all I need in this
life, in the life to come, in youth, in old age, in sickness
and health, in poverty and wealth, in all my days, He's all I need. And let me see the frailty of
the flesh the failure of the flesh, the foolishness of the
flesh, and see in Christ all fullness, the vanity of the flesh,
that I might give him the glory of which he is worthy, bow at
his feet, taking no glory to myself, for he will not share
his glory, that I might be able with the redeemed in glory to
sing unto him who loved and wash me from my sins in His own precious
blood. To Him be the glory. In the name
of our Lord we pray. Amen.