Mar 22
6
“Christ Is All!” Colossians 3:11
It is not possible for any mortal to comprehend the full scope of those three words, but here are ten statements that might help to enlarge our understanding of them. After you have read this brief article, carefully study each statement, asking God the Holy Spirit to seal these words to your heart – “”Christ is all!”
Christ is all to be known. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). If you know Christ, you know enough, even if you are ignorant of other things. If you do not know Christ, it is nothing to have all other knowledge. “That I may know him” (Philippians 3:10).
Christ is all to be chosen (Matthew 13:44-46). There is no way to obtain this treasure and purchase this Pearl, but by selling all that you have. If you would save your life, you must lose it to Christ.
Christ is all to be trusted. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). His blood is atonement. His righteousness is acceptance with God. His advocacy is our assurance. His grace is preservation. His providence is our provision.
Christ is all to be loved. “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple”(Luke 14:26). All other loves must be burned upon this altar, so that nothing and no one comes between my heart and my Savior.
Christ is all to be desired. “The desire of our soul is to thy name”(Isaiah 26:8). Seek Christ to the exclusion of all else; and you will find everything you need in him, supplied from his fulness.
Christ is all our joy. “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). If a person has that which he desires above all else, he rejoices in it, and all who know Christ rejoice in him.
Christ is all to consume our thoughts. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 2:5). Think on Christ, and think of all things in the light of the knowledge of him (Philippians 4:6-8).
Christ is all to be followed. “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”(John 13:15). The rebel must be ruled by law. The mercenary is motivated by reward. The believer is ruled by love. “The love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Christ is all in the house of God (Colossians 3:11). In preaching, praise, and prayer, “Christ is all!” He is all our beauty, all our attraction, and all our entertainment. All our activities serve him. All our ordinances remember him and proclaim allegiance to him.
Christ is all our hope before God. “Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). His obedience is the basis of our hope, his coming its fulfilment, his presence its satisfaction, and his likeness its consummation. “Christ is All!” Don Fortner