Christ In You
\n
\nColossians 1:27
\n
\n
\nWhat we need in this thing of salvation is not merely to be acquainted
\nwith Christ but to have His righteousness! It is nothing to reform a
\nman, to get him religious and make some decisions for Jesus, but what is
\nneeded is regeneration from the Holy Spirit. \u201cBut when it pleased God,
\nwho separated me from my mother\u2019s womb and called me by his grace, to
\nreveal his Son IN me\u2026.\u201d (Gal 1:15,16a). The passage did not say to
\nreveal Christ TO me but IN me, now there\u2019s the difference for sure;
\nthat\u2019s the problem with today\u2019s preaching, the pulpiteer is more
\ninterested in the facts and trivia surrounding the Son of God than he is
\nin the Person of Christ. In John\u2019s gospel and the 14th chapter Christ
\nhimself is saying the same thing when he mentioned \u2018At that day ye shall
\nknow that I am in my Father and ye in me and I IN you.\u2019 We must have a
\nvital union with Christ Jesus for there to be life! He has eternal life
\nand this life is IN Him; \u2018\u2026Christ IN you, the hope of glory\u2019 (col.
\n1:27). Do you abide with Him, in Him? If not you will wither and fall
\naway like the grass that dries up and blows away or the chaff that is
\nsifted from the threshing floor. Oh, to be found IN him not having mine
\nown righteousness! Drew Dietz.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nChrist Is All
\n
\n
\nI like to garden. Nothing to me compares to the taste of fresh fruit and
\nvegetables. I wait patiently all winter and spring for the first sweet
\nbite of a fresh tomato or corn on the cob. I remember the first garden I
\never planted. I planted a tomato plant in just the right place expecting
\nit to grow and be a specimen plant. But to my surprise it did not.
\nAlmost overnight its leaves curled up and day after day they would turn
\nyellow and fall to the ground. I watered it, fertilized it, and kept the
\nweeds away but in spite of all my help it got worse until finally it
\nwithered and died. Later my dad, who had been gardening most of his
\nlife, told me the plant was diseased and doomed from the start.
\n
\n
\nMan, before he is born of God, is like this plant. All of the influences
\nof good have no affect on him. The glories of heaven are not enough to
\nmove him to praise, nor all the blessings of God to make him thankful.
\nLike a withered vine that receives no benefit from the sun or the rain
\nhis diseased soul is not touched by all the gracious influences of God.
\n
\n
\nWhat is needed in the man is a man. It is the man which God created that
\ndied in the garden. \u201cFor as in Adam all die— (I Corinthians 15:22,
\nRomans 5: 12, 18, 19, Ephesians 2: 1-3) It is man that died, not an
\nidea, creed, or doctrine. It is man himself that is lacking in this
\nthing of salvation. To be saved necessitates a new man. It demands one
\ndisconnected from Adam and that death which is passed on to him. It
\nrequires a totally new creation within. The message of Ephesians is what
\nwe are in Christ \u2013 The message of Colossians is what Christ is in us.
\nThe old man must be put off and the new man put on. But how does a
\nruined sinner put off or put on? Colossians 2: 11-12 says, \u201cIn whom also
\nye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting
\noff the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
\nBuried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
\nthe faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.\u201d
\nTo be saved is not a reformation but regeneration. \u201cTherefore if any man
\nbe in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away: Behold all
\nthings are become new.\u201d (II Corinthians 5: 17)
\n
\nIn this new creation Christ is all! Everything of our humanity flows
\ninto him as the little streams flow into a mighty river and become one
\nwith it. For the believer then to live is Christ and to die is gain. The
\nbeliever, having the mind of Christ, thinks Christ, walks in Christ,
\nunderstands in Christ, and considers others as he is in Christ. Christ
\nis made of God unto him wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and
\nredemption. And so in short \u2013 Christ is all and in all.
\n
\nDarvin Pruitt
\n
\nWhy Must Every Sermon Be Christ?
\n
\n
\n1. Christ is our Deliverer. (Col. 1:13) Why do we need deliverance? For
\nwe are captives of sin and Satan (2 Tim. 2:24-26). So I preach Christ,
\nthe Deliverer.
\n
\n
\n2. Christ is our Reconciler. (Col. 1:20-21) Why do we need
\nreconciliation? Because we are at enmity with God Almighty (Rom. 5:10).
\nCan you imagine that awful fact? So I preach Christ, the Reconciler.
\n
\n
\n3. Christ is the Bringer of Grace. (Rom 3:24) You do not go get grace;
\nChrist brings grace. How will poor sinners get grace if we preach not
\nChrist the Bringer? So I preach Christ, the Bringer of Grace.
\n
\n
\n4. Christ is Completeness. (Rom. 8:2-4) Who does not want to be
\ncomplete? So I preach Christ, our Completeness.
\n
\n
\n5. Christ is our Comfort. (2 Thess. 2:16-17) In all the perplexities of
\nlife, people need comfort. It is found only in Christ. So I preach
\nChrist, the Comforter.
\n
\n
\n6. Christ is the Supplier of Need. I said need, not want (Phil. 4:19).
\nHow can poor sinners have any hope without Him who fulfills spiritual
\nand physical need? So I preach Christ, the Supplier of Need.
\n
\n
\nSo, there is not more than Christ. He is the whole counsel of God.
\nPreach more than Christ? God Himself summed it up. Christ is all. What
\nis more than all?
\n
\nBruce Crabtree
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThe Union Of Christ And His People
\n
\n
\nIt often happens, in the Psalms, that you can scarcely tell whether it
\n
\nis David, or the Lord Jesus, or both of them, to whom the writer is
\n
\nreferring. Oftentimes you lose sight of David altogether, and are quiet
\n
\ncertain that he is not there; while, at other times, the words seem equally
\n
\nsuited either to David as the type, or to Jesus as the antitype. I think
\n
\nthat this fact is very instructive to us. It is as the Holy Ghost intended,
\n
\neven in those ancient times, to let God’s saints know that there is a
\n
\nmysterious union between Christ and His people, so that almost all things
\n
\nwhich may be said concerning Him may be said, also, concerning those who are
\n
\nin Him. They are so completely one, they are so intimately united in bonds
\n
\nof mystic, vital, conjugal, eternal union, that it would not be possible
\n
\nalways to keep the sayings concerning them apart. — Charles Spurgeon
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nHIS BLOOD ALONE!
\n
\nThe vital thing to understand about the blood of Christ is this: IT IS
\nENOUGH! Nothing else is needed to accomplish the salvation of all for
\nwhom His blood was shed. Not His blood plus my works; not His blood plus
\nmy \u201cdecision\u201d; not even His blood plus my faith \u2013 His blood purchased my
\nfaith. HIS BLOOD ALONE paid the price required by His justice, and His
\nblood alone can make a sinner clean. \u201cBy His own blood He entered in
\nonce into the holy place, having OBTAINED (not made possible) eternal
\nredemption for us\u201d (Heb. 9:12). \u2013 Donnie Bell
\n
\nWITHOUT TRUTH
\n
\nWithout Truth there is no regeneration; for it is by \u2018The Word of Truth\u201d
\nthat we are begotten and born again (James 1:18; I Peter 1:23). Without
\nTruth there is no justification; for we are justified by faith, which
\nfaith consists in crediting God\u2019s Truth, and so, gives peace with God
\n(Rom. 4:20-24; 5:1). Without the Truth there is no sanctification; for
\nthe Lord Himself says, \u201cSanctify them through your Truth: your Word is
\nTruth.\u201d And without the Truth there is no salvation, for \u201cGod has chosen
\nus to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
\nTruth (II Thess. 2:13). And as the Truth is the instrumental cause of
\nall these blessings, the divinely appointed means whereby they become
\nmanifested mercies, so Truth enters into and is received by all the
\ngraces of the Spirit as they come forth into living exercise. Thus,
\nwithout the Truth, there is no faith, for the work of faith is to
\nbelieve the Truth. What is all the difference between faith and
\ndelusion? That faith believes God\u2019s Truth, and delusion credits Satan\u2019s
\nlies. \u201cAnd for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
\nshould believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the
\nTruth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness\u201d (II Thess. 2:11-12). \u2013 J. C.
\nPhilpot
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n“And they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance, and found
\nhim not.”\u2014Luke ii. 44, 45.
\n
\nMay we not gather a lesson of sweet instruction from the anxious and
\nfruitless search the parents made for Jesus in the days of his flesh?
\nWhat kinsfolks and acquaintances shall we now search among for the
\nSaviour? My soul, how little of Jesus is to be found in this Christless
\ngeneration! What parlour conversation makes mention of his name? Is it
\nnot plain and evident, from the general, nay almost universal silence
\nobserved in all companies concerning his name, and offices, and
\ncharacters, and relations, that Christ is not there? Shall we seek him
\namong the professors of the gospel? Who are they that honour Jesus? Not
\nthey who deny his Godhead; not they who deny the influences of his Holy
\nSpirit; not they who set up their own righteousness as part, or the
\nwhole of their justification before God. Jesus is not in that house, in
\nthat family, in that heart, among that people who live in sensuality,
\nprofaneness, and impiety. Where shall we seek Jesus? Blessed Lord, mine
\neyes are unto thee to be taught. I would say unto thee, in the language
\nof the church, “Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest,
\nwhere thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. Oh when I shall find thee
\nwithout, I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who
\nwould instruct me; and I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the
\njuice of my pomegranate.”
\n
\nThe Poor Man’s Morning and evening portions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christ In You Colossians 1:27 What we need in this thing of salvation is not merely to be acquainted with Christ but to have His righteousness! It is nothing to reform a man, to get him religious and make some decisions for Jesus, but what is needed is regeneration from the Holy Spirit. \u201cBut when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5334,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions\/5334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}