Living the Life

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ being all?

The Bible emphasizes that 'Christ is all and in all' (Colossians 3:11), asserting His centrality in salvation and the life of believers. In Colossians 3:11, Paul declares that 'Christ is all and in all,' highlighting the comprehensive nature of Christ's role in the lives of believers. This statement asserts that Christ is not only the focal point of the Gospel, but also the essence of all spiritual life and blessings. According to the Scriptures, Christ embodies everything necessary for salvation, righteousness, and life itself, as He is described as the embodiment of God's fullness (Colossians 2:9). Therefore, acknowledging Christ as all means recognizing that He is the source of our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Moreover, it emphasizes that apart from Christ, one cannot attain any merit or favor with God, as all things are found complete in Him.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand that Christ is all?

Understanding that 'Christ is all' is crucial for Christians as it grounds their identity and worth solely in Him rather than in personal merit or achievements. The understanding that 'Christ is all' is foundational for Christians because it negates all forms of self-righteousness or merit-based acceptance before God. As stated in Romans 10:3, a zeal for God that is not rooted in knowledge can lead to a misguided attempt at establishing one's righteousness. This reality is significant because it solidifies the believer's identity in Christ alone, rather than in any personal accomplishments, social status, or religious observance. Furthermore, it encourages believers to find their peace, purpose, and assurance in Christ's completed work on the cross. This transforms the believer's affections and priorities, leading to a life that reflects the love of Christ and honors Him above all else.

Q: How do we know that grace is not based on works?

The Bible clearly teaches that grace is unmerited and cannot be earned through works, as evidenced by Paul's letters to the Galatians and the Colossians. In his epistles, particularly Galatians and Colossians, Paul addresses the danger of mingling works with grace. He vehemently argues that any attempt to achieve justification through works nullifies the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). This central theme is also present in Colossians where Paul warns against relying on human traditions or religious duties for acceptance by God. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Therefore, the assurance of salvation lies in the sufficiency of Christ's atoning work, which is freely given to believers without conditions based on their performance.

Q: Why is Christ's perfection important for believers?

Christ's perfection is essential for believers as it is through His righteousness that they are justified and accepted by God. The perfection of Christ holds immense significance for believers because it is the basis of their justification before God. As stated in Hebrews 10:14, Christ has perfected forever those who are sanctified. This perfection means that His righteousness is imputed to believers, allowing them to stand justified before the Father. Without Christ's flawless obedience and sacrificial death, no one could meet the holy standard required for salvation. Believers grasping this doctrine experience security and assurance, knowing they are accepted not based on their imperfect works, but solely through Christ's completed work. Therefore, Christ's perfection assures believers that they lack nothing in their standing before God, as all spiritual blessings are found in Him (Ephesians 1:3).

I invite your attention back
to Colossians chapter 3 and verse 11. After Paul, in the Acts, decided that he was going to
try to win some Jews over by taking part in a religious Jewish
ritual, he found that that's not the way to preach the gospel.
And it doesn't do any good. He found that not only did the
Jews begin to doubt that he believed the gospel that he preached,
but that he was a turncoat. And what he tried to do ended
up making things worse for him. And after that, he wrote two
books. He wrote the Book of Galatians,
which is a scathing report on mixing works with grace
and he wrote this book which is also a scathing report about
mixing works with grace. Those two books he wrote immediately
after he had tried to win somebody by practicing their religion
and it didn't work. This phrase Here in this text, Christ is all and in all is one
of those passages that lends itself readily to a vast number
of applications. It's one of the few passages
in Scripture that can be taken in and of itself and just declared
in its fullness and its glory. And I know it will be and has
been the subject of countless sermons by anyone who preaches
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in religion today,
generally speaking, this is not a catchphrase. Men may say it,
but they, with their lives, practice a whole other deal. I've preached
from this passage and others, and always my messages end up
being the same. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ,
trust Him implicitly, and trust Him alone. And I've had men come
to me after I've preached and say, well, there's more to preach
than Christ. Listen very carefully. There
is no more to preach than Christ. No more. From Genesis chapter
1 to Revelation 22, this book is about the Lord Jesus Christ. My retort to such questions I
usually ask, is there anything better to preach than Christ?
And of course they'd say, no. And I'd say, well, I'm just going
to stick with what's best then, and you go whichever way you
want to. Christ is all. It's a wonderful
phrase. But the phrase is both restrictive
and inclusive. And it is at the same time both
extremely narrow and extremely broad at both times. Believers know that this phrase,
Christ is all, cannot be applied to everything. He is not all
to the world. In Lamentations, We have a picture
of Christ hanging on the cross in Lamentations chapter 3 when
our Lord says, It is nothing to you, ye that pass by, to see
what God has done to me, to see the suffering I have done. It's
nothing to you. It's nothing to the world. He
is not all to most of what is referred to as Christian religion.
And according to the teaching of the Word, He is nothing at
all to those who return to their former state of bondage. Our
Lord says, if you be circumcised, then Christ is nothing to you.
Paul repeated that twice. If you try to be justified by
your works, then Christ is nothing to you. He's nothing to you. He is nothing at all to those
who pursue acceptance by God on the basis of their own personal
righteousness or merit. Paul said in Romans chapter 10,
that he loved his people, his kindred according to the flesh,
and his desire that Israel would be saved. He said, I bear them
record they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
For they go about to establish their own righteousness, having
not submitted to the righteousness of God. And the righteousness
of God, the end of the law for righteousness is Jesus Christ. Romans 10, 1-4. They've not submitted
themselves to Christ. Believers know, however, that
when the subject is spiritual, that this phrase is all-encompassing. Christ is all of God. Christ is the God we know. The only God we know. He is the everlasting Father.
He is the Son. And He is the Spirit. He is the
Spirit. He is God-comprehended. He is
God essentially, possessing all the perfections of deity. For
in Him, Paul said to the Colossian church in chapter 2, verse 8
of this very book, in Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In other words, he's saying,
whatever and whoever God is, Christ is in a body. God in a
body. The grave is the mystery of godliness. God manifests in the flesh. God manifests in the flesh. And
one of the words used among the Jews to describe the Shekinah
glory of God is the word all. They would talk about the Shekinah
glory of God which dwelt between the cherubim and the holy of
holies as they had heard about it from the high priest in the
declaration of the word of God. And they said, that's all. Whatever
matters is right there between those cherubim. The glory of
God manifests. Now where does the glory of God
manifest? It manifests through the preaching of the gospel.
There we know that the glory of God is manifest in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ according to Scripture. 2 Corinthians chapter
4. There's a group of Jews called
the Kabbalists. They practice what's called Kabbalah,
Madonna. practices Kabbalah, which automatically
would make anybody with any reasonable sense but gray matter between
ears say I ain't gonna practice as she does, but she practices
Kabbalah. And Kabbalah is an occultist
interpreters of deity by secret codes and such. They use secret
codes and secret writings. But they use the word all in
reference to God. It's one of the names they call
God. All. He's all. Christ is all of creation. We
know that. Not anything was made that was
not made by Jesus Christ, according to John chapter 1 and verse 3. Christ is all of Scripture. He's
what Scripture is about. Scripture is about. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God. The same was in the beginning
with God. Our Lord looked at men who studied
the Scripture, in John chapter 5, who lived their lives endeavoring
to find out eternal life from this book. And He says, you do
study the Scriptures. For in them you think by the
studying of the Scriptures, by making yourself intellectually
sound in the Scriptures, you have eternal life. You think
that. He said, but the Scriptures, they are they which testify of
Me, and you will not come to Me that you might have life,
John 5.39. This book is about Jesus Christ. On the road to
Emmaus, I had a couple of disciples that were just fed up with being
Christians. They were really disappointed
that Christ hadn't set up an earthly kingdom. They were really
disappointed that He had died. They had not seen Him after the
resurrection. And He came alongside as they were walking to Emmaus.
He didn't reveal who He was. Their eyes were beholden so they
wouldn't know who He was. And He began to talk to them
about the Scriptures. And he asked them about what happened.
They said, well, you know, our Lord Jesus, He said He was going
to set up a kingdom and that didn't happen. We're just all
alone. It seemed like we didn't have
anything going on. Here's what He said in Luke chapter
24, verse 26. He says, Ought not Christ to
have suffered these things and entered into His glory? Wasn't
this promise predicted and purposed from Genesis chapter 1? And he says, and beginning at
Moses, what's Moses? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, and some of the Psalms. And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them all the Scriptures,
in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. In all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself. Then if you look down
at verse 44, He says unto them, and He said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me." This book is about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the key to
knowledge of this book. You want to understand this book,
you're going to have to see Christ. Or else you're just going to
come up with all kinds of things, like the Kabbalists do. Christ is
the Father. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. And Christ
is all to the Father. Christ is all to the Father.
Look at John chapter 3 and verse 35. Here John the Baptist is
speaking concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 3
and verse 35. He says, The Father loveth the
Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He's given everything
to Christ. The only way you're going to
have anything from God is to have Christ, because Christ's got all things.
One man said God has put all His eggs in one basket, and He
has. He's put everything in Jesus Christ. And He's the believer's
knowledge. He's the believer's understanding
of the Scripture. He is all the believer's wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and that by the
sovereign act of God. God has made Him to be unto us
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 1 Corinthians
1.30, Jeremiah 23.6 says, His name shall be called the Lord,
our righteousness. What is your righteousness? If
it ain't Christ, you don't have one. What you have is filthy
mistress rags that you're trying to pass off to the Father as
if they were of value. They're cursing. They're cursing
your righteousness. The one you have by nature is
cursing. Then we look at Jeremiah chapter
33 and verse 9. It says, "...the name by which
she shall be called is the Lord our righteousness." What does
that mean? The church, that's her name too. You see, we're
married to Christ, the church is, and we took His name when
we got married. His name shall be called the
Lord our Righteous. Her name shall be called the
Lord our Righteousness. He is our Righteousness. His
blood is all the payment of the sin debt of the believer. He
hath entered in once to the holy place and hath obtained eternal
redemption for us. Hebrews 9.12. He hath appeared
once in the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. A debt paid is a debt paid. I
heard a preacher down in Atlanta one time spend a whole hour trying
to tell people and explain to people how Christ paid the debt
but didn't actually pay the debt. And he did. He spent a whole
hour. And these people, you ought to see their faces. It's utter confusion.
If you pay your debt, the debt's paid. The check is written, the
debt's paid. So what if I don't want to pay
it? You ain't got nothing to do with it. You were dead when He paid that
debt. You were bought with a price. You are not your own. Jesus Christ
paid the debt for His people, and whoever He paid the debt
for, their debt is paid. And listen, that debt can never
be called up against them. It's very unjust to assume that
Jesus Christ paid the sinner's debt, and then He's going to
have to pay it again in eternity. in an eternity of hell. If Christ
paid your debt, your debt is paid. He hath appeared once in
the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
If your debt has been paid by Christ, you owe nothing legally
to God whatsoever. As we sang, we owe Him a debt
of gratitude forever. But we don't owe Him anything
legally because our debt has been paid. And He's all that
payment. His blood alone. Christ is the
believer's perfection. He has perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 14. He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. He is our perfection. He is the
entire message of the gospel and He is all there is to preach.
Paul said, If any man, an angel from above, a man from heaven,
a man from below, if any man come and preach any other gospel
than that which I preach to you, let him be accursed. Galatians
chapter 1 verse 8. And he said, just in case you
didn't hear me the first time, let me say it again in verse 9. If any man
preach any other gospel than that which I preach to you, let
him be accursed. God forbid, Paul said to the
Galatians church, that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto thee, and I am
crucified unto the world. God forbids for us to glory in
anything but Jesus Christ who is crucified. Christ is all of
faith. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured
the cross, despising the shame, is now set down on the right
hand of the Father. Hebrews 12. Christ is the cause of all true
love. We love Him because He first
loved us. Christ is all the believer's
assurance. We don't fear the judgment because as Christ is,
so are we in the world. 1 John 4. Christ is the source of all spiritual
blessings. Spiritual blessings. I know people
like to call things blessings that are temporal, but let me
tell you, the only thing that's a blessing is something that
lasts forever. The only thing that's a spiritual blessing is
something you can take with you when you go. Now we build up
a lot of stuff. Sometimes we tear down our barns
and build bigger barns. We do that. None of that stuff
is a blessing. It's simply God taking care of
us. He said, you seek my kingdom and my righteousness and all
this other stuff I'll take care of. You don't have to worry about
that. You should seek His kingdom and His righteousness. He says
what the world seeks after. Don't seek after that. They seek
after wealth. They seek after having stuff. They seek after
divining themselves by what they have. Don't do that. You seek
me and my righteousness. I'll take care of all the other
stuff. People like to call a blessing.
This is my new car. God blessed me with this new
car. Ask them this question. Who's paying for it? Well, me
and the bank, we got an agreement for the next seven years. God
didn't bless you with that car. He provided you with it. He provided
you with a job in order to pay it. But that's not a blessing,
because that car ain't going to last that long. And plus,
you're the one paying for it. Let me tell you about God's blessing.
God has given us all spiritual blessings in Jesus Christ. Ephesians
chapter 1 and verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Jesus Christ. So if you have a spiritual blessing,
it's in Christ. He's the source of it. And all
that other stuff, enjoy it because God provides it, but it ain't
a blessing. When you lay down in that grave,
what you got, what you got, what you can take with you, will be
a blessing. That's a blessing. Whatever you leave behind, somebody
else is going to call it a blessing, but it ain't no blessing, no
matter what it is. In Christ are all spiritual blessings. You can read John 1, Ephesians
1, verses 3-14 and see what he's talking about, the blessings
that the Father wrought for us, Christ wrought for us, and the
Holy Spirit brings about in us. One of the best scriptural expressions
of this truth is found in the Old Testament. In Genesis 33
when Jacob sent his huge gift of livestock to Esau to appease
his brother because he was afraid his brother was mad at him. And
then he finally met his brother and they embraced and they both
had something to say about the gift of Jacob's largesse. He
said, you know, he sent it to appease him. That's what the
word actually there is, to atone, to cover his face because he's
afraid Esau is going to kill him. Well, they met and Esau
said, I don't want all this stuff you've given me. I have enough. And Jacob says, well, I want
you to have it because I have enough. If you get a chance to
read that, you look in the marginal reading there, Esau said, I have
enough. And Jacob said, I have it all.
That's what Jacob said. Different in the Hebrew language.
Esau says, don't give this to me, I have enough. He says, I'm
giving it to you because I have it all. I have it all. That's an amazing thing when
you think about it. The inference is that even giving
up all things would not diminish what Jacob had. He has given up these things
to Esau, and he still has all things. What a profound statement
this is. If a believer gave up all his possessions, what he
had would not be diminished one iota. What you really have. All things
are yours. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, all things
are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God. Don't worry
about anything else. All things are yours. This is the inclusive and wide
application of Christ is all. But let's consider for a bit
the restrictive and narrow aspect of this phrase, Christ is all. Two words in the context make
this phrase, Christ is all and in all, to be a restrictive statement. Look back at our text, Colossians
chapter 3. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond of
free, but Christ is all in all. Two words, but and where. Those
two words make this a very restrictive statement. The first little word
is that conjunction, but. Whenever you see that word, wherever
that word is found, it is a declaration of what precedes it and what
follows it, or in opposition to each other, or opposites.
It is ever the need of humanity, however, in order to bolster
their own self-image, to categorize everyone who is not like them,
who is not like them, into a kind of a caste system. And our Lord
debunks that idea right here altogether. in order to establish
merit of righteousness to one's own mind, and all who are not
like him or do not agree with him are classified by religion,
education, social standing, race, and such. The free man looks
down on the man in slavery, doesn't he? That's just natural. The slave is suspicious of the
free. The Jew, the biblically religious,
looks down on the Greek or the Grecian who practices Hellenistic
religion and vice versa. The Greek looks at the Hebrew
and says, he's just crazy. The law keeper, the circumcision,
despises the lawless Gentile, the uncircumcision. All despise
the barbarian and the Scythian, but none of these things mean
anything to the believer. That's what this is saying. where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision or un-circumcision, barbarian nor Scythian, bond
or free, but the opposite is true for the believer, Christ
is all, and in all. It does not matter from which
nation a person originates, or the color of his skin, or what
religion he wants to embrace, or what his social standing is
in Christ, there is no such classification or distinction. It simply does
not exist. Christ is all, and in all believers. Christ is all. There is no social
standing. There is no religious hierarchy
in Christ. There is no racial distinction
among those who are in Christ. Such classification is the product,
now listen very carefully, such classification is the product
of sin, not grace. Always. Such categorization is
not grace, it's disgrace. That's what it is. When Christ
is all, and in all, that is the sole distinction for the child
of God. Do you know Christ? And you're my brother and my
sister. That's simple. Wait a minute,
I'm from out of town, that don't matter. Wait a minute, I come from a
foreign country, that don't matter. I've got brothers and sisters
in Mexico, love the Gospel of Grace. I've got brothers and
sisters in Benin, Ivory Coast, Africa, who love the Gospel of
David. They're my brothers and my sisters, and they feel that
way about me. No class distinction. You see, that's important, because
in the church, that can't exist. Because there Christ is all and
in all. All and in all. That's the sole
distinction. Are you in Christ? That's all is. That's it. Nothing else matters. Nothing
else matters. The other word to consider is
where. Look at verse 11. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, bond or
free, but Christ is all and all. Where? In this context, this
word is used as a conjunction designating a place or a situation. Such societal religious classifications
do not exist wherever this place or this estate is. This is a statement of fact.
Where, wherever that is, whatever that position, whatever that
standing is, where, there, there is no. Greek nor Jew. There, wherever that is, there
is no Greek nor Jew, no circumcision nor uncircumcision, no barbarian
nor Scythian, no bond nor free, but Christ is all in all. Wherever
that is, I'll tell you, that's where I want to be. Don't you
want to be there? That's where I want to be, where
there is no distinction at all between brothers and sisters
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, they may have different
functions in the church. Read Romans chapter 12. Read 1 Corinthians
11 and 12. They may have different functions
in the church, but that doesn't mean they're different. In fact,
if the Word of God is true, and we know that it is, those things
that are uncommonly are the most important things. Christ's church
is a body, and those things which aren't out front and seen of
people are the most important things. Because we can live without
eyes, we can live without arms, we
can live without legs. We can be a stump and live. Why? Because the most important
parts are not seen. So it's not the big outlandish,
boisterous member of the body that's the most important, it's
the one you never hear from. But who's there every Sunday,
who gives of what he has, who prays for the pastor and prays
for his brother and sister in silence, and nobody even knows.
Well, he's been a member of the church for every long I've been
here. What does he do? He shows up
every time. That's about all I know. God
says your liver is more important than your arm, your heart is
more important than your arm, and neither one of them is very attractive
to look at. The uncomely parts are the most important parts
in the church, saith the Scripture. But the uncomely parts and the
outward parts, they're the same before God in Christ. In Christ. Christ is all. Christ is all
somewhere. It says here. Christ is all somewhere. That somewhere is where Christ
is all in all. And the placement of this conjunction
refers to that which has been before described in the context
and teaches us where Christ is all in all. Because He's somewhere
He is. Christ is all in all where men
have, and this is in the past tense, have put off the old man
and his deeds. That's where Christ is all in
all. Look at verse 8 and 9. But now you've also put off all these
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of
your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that you put off the old
man and his deeds. Put off the old man and his deeds. What does that mean? You reckon Him to be dead. Experimentally,
experientially, you know that you have struggled with the old
man every day. You know you do. There's a struggle
going on in your bosom right now as you listen to the Gospel.
There's a struggle going on. Well, how do you deal with that?
You reckon Him to be dead. Well, you don't feel dead. Reckon
Him to be dead. Reckon that when Christ died
on the cross, you died with Him. You died that death, and that
death was to the old man, the nature which we are born with.
Christ is also all in all where men have put on the new man.
That's what it says. The newly created man, the man
created by the Creator Himself. Look at verse 10. And have put
on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of Him that created him. The new man. What is that new
man? That's Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's that new
creature. Whatever that is. Say, well,
I can't see it. Well, they couldn't see it in Christ either. He wasn't
a new creature. He was the perfect man, but they couldn't see his
perfection. Anybody see his perfection? Did Peter really see it? Not
until after Pentecost. That's when he began to see that
what everything Christ said was true, and he believed it. At
that time, he actually had some words with the Lord about things.
Got upset with the Lord about things. Went fishing and quit
the Christian business altogether. But where the new man is, this
new creature in Christ, created by God, where He is, Christ is
all in all. That's what that says, that new
man. Where's that new man? Well, that is that man whom God
has predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren, according to Romans
8.29. And Christ is all in all where there is a continual renewal
of the knowledge of Christ. Verse 10 says this in the latter
part, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of
Him that created Him. A renewal of knowledge. What's
that talking about? That's talking about growing
in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes by
revelation. It comes by revelation. Our Lord
said of a group of people who wouldn't listen to Him or John
the Baptist, He lifted his eyes to heaven and said, I thank Thee,
O Lord, Father, I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and reputed and
revealed them unto babes. No man knoweth the Father, but
the Son. No man knoweth the Son, but the Father, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. And then in 1 Peter 3, in verse
18, Peter says, Grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Grow in the grace and in the... How do you grow
in grace? Now think about that. Just roll that over in your skull
just for a moment. What is grace? It's unmerited favor. Isn't that
what grace is? Favor you can't merit. How do
you grow in being unmeritorious? How do you do that? Donnie Bell
said, it's like a cow's tail. It gets longer, but it gets closer
to the ground. We grow in the grace and in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't look for growth. That's
the problem when you see words like grow and people start looking
for growth. Dave said this morning, I have some Dunlop disease. He
didn't say that, but that's what, my belly Dunloped over my belt. I'll tell you, I didn't see this
happen. I grew, but I didn't see it happen. I can look now
and say, ooh, I've grown. I didn't see it happen. You ain't
going to see yourself grow. What do you do to grow? You provide
the nutrients you need to do it. That's how you grow. That's what my job is, to provide
the nutrients that you need. Will I see you grow? I ain't
going to see you grow either. But you can look back and say, I'm
not where I used to be. Not where I want to be, but I'm
not where I used to be. But you didn't see it happening
at all. Why? Because you don't see yourself
grow. What you do is you feed, you eat, you do those things
necessary for growth. And you grow. Grow in the grace
and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a continually
renewed knowledge in our mind. Christ is all where that takes
place. And all these things are in the past tense and all are
acts of the Creator on behalf of the elect. In verse 12, look
at how He words this. Put on therefore as the elect.
as the elect do, those whom I have chosen. That's what the elect
do. To such and them only is Christ in all. And according
to the context then, Christ is all the believer's life. I said
I was thinking about naming this Living La Vida Loca. Living the
Life. Christ is all the believer's
life. Look at verse 3. For you are
dead, or you died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Your life is hid. That's your
life. Christ is our life. That's what it says in the very
next phrase, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear. That means, I know religion likes
to say, won't you invite Christ into your life? You ain't got
a life if you ain't got Christ. He's your life! Won't you make
Him Lord of your life? You don't have a life if you
don't have Him. You're dead in trespasses, sin,
necross, stripped, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, graveyard
dead, dead, if you don't have Christ. But if you have Christ,
He's your life. And we understand that kind of
life. It's almost romantic, isn't it? I've said that about my wife.
She's said the thing to me. She's my life. And I meant it
when I said it, but she's not really my life. Because one of us is going to
die one day and the other is going to bury him. He's not really
my life. Christ is my life. He is it. I live because He lives. I rose from the grave in resurrection
when He rose from the grave in resurrection. I live. He's my
life. That's how He's all to me. What
more do you got than your life? You don't have anything else
in your life. Whatever your life is, that's what you have. Christ is all
the believer's death. What it says, you died, you are
dead in Christ. Your life is here with Christ.
You are dead. What does that mean? I'll tell you what it means. It means one day, if you're Christ
and He's all in all, one day death is going to come knocking
to your door. Physical death is going to come.
People like to paint Him as a grim reaper. You know that hooded
figure with a sickle in his hand, he's going to come. Listen, when
physical death comes to your door, you know who's going to
show up? Christ. He's going to be wearing a hood
and carrying a sickle. He's going to come with an open
arm. He's going to take you by the hand and take you to glory. In dying, you shall never die. He is our death. When Jesus Christ died on Calvary
Street, the debt I owed God, which was one death for my sin,
was already paid. And one day, I'm going to lay
down and go to sleep. I know my physical and natural body
is going to fight death like crazy. I know it is. Because
I've been by too many bedsides. No, that don't happen. Even those
who know Christ, they want to hang on to this life we have
here. But one day I'm going to die physically. That's what the
people are going to say I did. But here's what the Lord says,
you're going to fall asleep. Fall asleep. I like that. I like
falling asleep. I came back yesterday from cutting
wood and I laid down on the couch and I fell asleep. And last night
about midnight I went to bed and I fell asleep. It didn't
bother me at all. I wasn't worried about it. I
was so glad to do it. That's what's going to happen
to you if Christ is all in all. You're going to go to sleep.
There will be a sweet rest wherein you find sweet rest and eternal
rest. Christ died in my room instead
and thus what the world calls death is to the believer a peaceful
and restful sleep and rest. I shall not die because in Christ
I have died and will die no more. Ye are dead. Ye have died. That's what baptism is. Do you
realize that's what we do when we baptize people? We baptize
believers because a believer is saying, in everything he does,
the action he does in baptism is showing forth the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. What does he do? He puts himself
in the hands of somebody else. Now think about this. I go out
there in that creek right behind that rock, and you who I baptize,
you all came up to me, and you all stood in front of me, And
you put yourself in my hands. That's what you did. What did
I do? I put you in an environment that
you could not breathe. That's what I did. I put you in death. That's what
Christ did for us. And when I pulled you out of
that environment of death, that represented life in Christ. That's what you do when you're
baptized. You're saying, by putting yourself into someone's hands,
I put myself in Christ, in His hands. And He took me to death
with His life. And when He rose from the grave,
I rose with Him. I rose with Him. That's why we
take the Lord's table. We show forth the death of the
Lord until He comes again. Listen! God cannot charge you
twice for the same crime if He's already paid for one of them.
The old poet said, Justice cannot twice demand payment at my bleeding
surety's hand and then again at mine. On your record book, if such
a thing exists, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, it
says under there, the dead he owed was one death. And underneath
it said, paid with one death. When you're dead. And Christ
is all the believer's affection. It says, set your affection on
things above and not on things of the earth. And verse 2, this
is the motivation to live rightly before God and man. What? Our
affection for Christ. We love Christ. You see, when
you love somebody, that affects everything that happens, doesn't
it? It really does. If you love somebody, you want
to be with them, you want to hear about them, you want to
read about them, you want to know their friends so they can
be friends with you too, if you love somebody. And if you love
somebody, you want to make them happy or to please them. I spent 37 years with this woman
right here, actually more than that, but it took me 8 years
for her to convince her that she loved me, but nonetheless. Nothing makes me happier than
to see her happy. I'm serious. In this life, my
happiness is tied to her. It just is. That's love. And if your affection is set
on Christ, everything you do, the words from your mouth, the
life you live, the manner in which you live in this world
will be lived with Him in mind. That's what it is, to mind the
things of the Spirit, because He's all. He's all and
in all. And what follows then is most
instructive, and I will hurry, but we started late, so don't
be mad at me. I have, as all who declare the
gospel of grace, been accused of not preaching enough about
I've been called an antinomian, and I don't care. I think if
you really preach grace like it ought to be preached, somebody's
going to call you an antinomian. I've been accused of preaching doctrine
at the expense of practical Christian living. I'd like to see that
language anywhere in Scripture, practical Christian living. I'd
like to see that. If Christ is my life, how do you get more
practical than that? He's my life. He's my life. For the most part, by those people
who do that have never heard me preach at all, but that is
neither here nor there. When men accuse preachers of
this, they really mean that such preachers do not preach what
some term to be holy living or personal righteousness or personal
duty. And I admit to you, I don't preach
holy living. I don't preach personal righteousness,
because I've got another righteousness. Christ is my righteousness. And
I don't preach practical Christian living. I just don't do it as
men term it to be. The fact is I preach nothing.
Now listen very carefully. I'm going to tell you what I
preach. I preach nothing but doctrine. Oh, doctrine. He said the awful
word. You know what this is? Didactos. Doctrine. God's doctrine. The word doctor
means teaching. Many put a bad name on it because
they want to leave. We don't want to hear about that no more.
We don't want to hear about Christ. We want you to tell us how we
ought to live. Paul said, if I preach circumcision, why do
I yet suffer persecution? Because if I preach circumcision,
the offense of the gospel would be ceased. All I've got to do
is tell you to do something. That's all I've got to do. You
love me enough, I expect if I pressured you a little bit, you'd probably
do it. You'd do it for me. Because you love me. What I've done, I've removed
the gospel from you. And I've put righteousness, justification,
sanctification in your hands, and I'm telling you, you can't
handle it. And I'm no longer a gospel preacher
when I do. Because I have to give account for your soul. Nobody
else has to do that. Nobody here. You don't have to
give account for your souls. I have to give account for your souls
according to Scripture. I've got to answer to God what I told
you. So I'm not going to tell you something that I'm not sure
of in Scripture. Responsibility, if you want to
call it that, is carried out on the basis of affection and
love for Jesus Christ. or it is of no value whatsoever
spiritually. Now, it may make you a better
citizen. It may keep you out of the penitentiary. It may. But it ain't spiritual, and it's
of no value whatsoever. But if you do what you do and
live how you live because you love Jesus Christ, then that's
going to reflect on every aspect of your life, just like the fragrance
of a rose. A rose doesn't have to strain
to bear fragrance. It's a rose. It's going to smell
like a rose. And the grace of God will fragrance
your whole existence. Love for Christ will perfume
your whole existence because Christ is all. Any and every
other motivation is self-righteousness and generally a little more than
one person trying to get another to abide by his own personal
religious convictions. Since where Christ is all and
all, there is neither Jew nor Grecian, such propagators of
so-called practicality do not have a leg to stand on. Next
time someone says, well, I believe you ought to do this and do that,
say, Christ is all. Just say it. Reflect it in your
mind. Make it a motto in your heart.
Make it your mantra. When you meditate, don't say,
ohm. Say, Christ is all. And say it
over and over again. Say it until you mean it. Say
it until it's a part of your thinking. Now, once you get there,
you'll be surprised how it shuts up everybody. It's like the word,
no. It just shuts up everybody. I
don't say, Well, I don't want to do this, or I don't want to
do that. When I have a no to say, I say a no. One, two letters,
no. You can ask folks around here. They'll say, Preacher,
I think we ought to do this. I'll just say no. Why? Because that's
what I mean. You know, we're used to hymning
all around it, and to say no some other way. That's what I
mean. And when somebody says to you, well, I believe you ought
to do this, you've got to do that, you've got to pray this, you've
got to pray that, you've got to pray through it, you've got to read your Bible,
just say, Christ is all! Christ is all! Christ is all! You know what they'll do? What does that mean? That's what
they'll say. What are you talking about? Christ
is all! That's what I'm talking about. And every believer knows
exactly what you're talking about. They'll say, oh yeah, you're
right brother. That's exactly what I, that's it. That's the
message. Christ is all. And most would agree, including
myself, that the admonition declared in verse 5 is very practical
and replete with encouragement. Be responsible. Mortify, therefore,
your members which are upon the earth. Fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, concupiscence, covetousness, which is idolatry.
Anybody think any of those things are good things? Let me show
you a hand. Hey, preacher, let's have some
concupiscence here. Some inordinate affection. Let's have some of
that. Nobody thinks that's a good thing. So do I have to worry
you about those things? Not if Christ is all. Mortify them. How? Christ is
all. That's the key. You don't do
it on the earth. You don't do it in your flesh.
That's what it says here. You set your affections on things
above, not on things in the earth. And mortify your deeds that are
upon the earth. How? By setting your affections on things above.
That's the only way this is done. I know it makes no sense to anybody
but those who know Christ. But those who know Christ have
experienced day after day in their life this very principle.
You know it's true, Ethel, you know it's true. When your eyes
are upon Christ, you ain't got no problems. You don't see anything
but Him. There's nothing but beauty and
wonder and joy and peace when you see Him. The minute you take
your eyes off of Him, you're running downhill, buddy. You're
going to run into a tree. The minute you do it. Spurgeon says Christ is a heavenly
cordial. that comes from glory, and you
drink that cordial, you become drunk with Christ. So much so that you forget all
your troubles. You ever been drunk? I bet there's one or two
fellas, maybe even a few ladies in here have been drunk once
in their life. What happened when you did that? I forgot all my troubles, man. They just went away. Christ is
all. be not drunk with wine, wherein
its excess would be excessively filled with the Holy Spirit,
Christ." How do you do that? Singing psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, loving one another, encouraging one another. Christ is all. Christ is all. Where Christ is all, and in all
the believer by the Spirit, mortifies the deeds of the flesh by not
paying any attention to them, they starve for affection. and
they're finally removed from them as far as dominion goes.
The believer does not see this as things accomplished in his
life. Oh well, I don't smoke or drink no more. Remember I
told you about that fellow 70 years old stood up on my porch
when they knocked on the door. Knocked on the door. I didn't
know him from Adam. He was 70 some years old and
he wanted to tell me something about how old he was. I can't
imagine anybody doing that but he did. Opened the door, he says,
you pastor over here? I says, yeah. He said, well,
I want to tell you something. I've never went to a movie, I've never drank
a beer, and never smoked a cigarette in my life. Never. And you know how you want
to say something after they leave, you have something to say, but
you didn't remember, you weren't fast enough to get one? I wanted
to say so bad later, I wanted to say, well, man, you've missed
three of the best things in life. I just wanted to say that. A
woman came up to B.B. Caldwell years ago, I think it
was B.B., and began to tell him of all
the things that she had accomplished and done as a Christian. And
he says, Ma'am, you need to get drunk and puke all over yourself
so you get some idea of what you really are. I said, Well,
that's hard. Our Lord said, Those who think,
who stand by and say, I am holier than thou?" He said, there's
smoke in my nose. Makes God's eyes water. He says,
you make my eyes water when you say you're holier than somebody
else. Make my eyes water. Christ is all. When this flesh is subdued, and
it's only subdued by the Spirit, through the Spirit, with a look
at the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where Christ is all, and
in all. Make it your motto. Try it. You'll be so pleased with yourself.
You'll be so pleased with the outcome. People simply don't
know how to answer that. My wife told me one time she
was talking with a lady at school, and the lady was talking about
what they did at church, and what they planned at church, and all these
programs, and all the things they had planned at church, and
what she was doing. She was just telling Debbie, and asked Debbie
something, and Debbie said, well, Christ is all. Christ is all. My salvation is Christ and Him
alone. It's not anything I do or don't do. It's Christ is all.
And Debbie said, they just shut up the conversation. The woman
looked at her like she was crazy. Well, old Barney, you say ain't
nothing but a fool of a Christian believes something like that.
And that's the truth. Christ is all. And where Christ
is all. There is no Jew and no Greek.
Religion don't matter. Where Christ is all. There is
neither bond nor free. There's no slaves or free men
in Christ. No slaves or free men. There's
neither Scythian nor barbarian. We're all one in Jesus Christ.
I'm no different from you. In fact, if I understand grace
at all, I kind of figure God chooses the worst men to be preachers,
not the best. So if anything's done, Spokesmen
never say, well, Tim James had something to do with that. The
Lord would say, that thing? I chose him because he couldn't
do nothing. I chose him because he was the off-sky of the universe.
I chose him to preach because he can't do nothing without me.
He's empty! Vain! Proud! Everything he's done since the
day he was born is worthy of death, apart from the work of
Jesus Christ. That's why I chose him. Christ is all. He's all. Father, bless us for
understanding. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.

Living the Life

What does the Bible say about Christ being all?

Why is it important for Christians to understand that Christ is all?

How do we know that grace is not based on works?

Why is Christ's perfection important for believers?

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Living the Life

What does the Bible say about Christ being all?

Why is it important for Christians to understand that Christ is all?

How do we know that grace is not based on works?

Why is Christ's perfection important for believers?

Sermon Transcript

About Tim James

Comments

More from Tim James

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Same Scripture

Articles by Tim James

Books by Tim James

Joshua

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The Western Christian Tradition

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