Jesus was all and in all

JESUS WAS ALL AND IN ALL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Colossians3:11 11Here there is no Gentile or Jew,
circumcisedor uncircumcised, barbarian,Scythian,
slaveor free, but Christis all, and is in all.
All And All In All BY SPURGEON
“Christ is all, and in all.”
Colossians 3:11
IN our two texts there are three “alls” rising, one out of the other–the first
leading to the secondand the secondconducting to the third. You will notice
at once that the first two are in the presenttense. “Christ is all” and, “Christ
isin all.” The third one refers to the future–it is yet to be fulfilled. When the
greatconsummation shall come, then shall God be, “all in all.” I shall not
detain you with any sort of preface, for my sole endeavorat this time will be to
impress these texts upon your memory–in the hope that the Spirit of God may
make them a living and abiding influence upon your hearts and lives–thatto
you, Christ may be all, that Christ may be in you all, and that so, in all that
you do, and say, and are, God may be all in all.
1. We begin at THE FOUNDATION WHERE ALL BLESSING BEGINS.
“Christ is all.”
These are but few words, yet what Divine shall everfully expound them?
“Christ is all.” Here is sea-roomenoughfor all godly mariners! Yet with the
best wind that ever blew to speedthe ship along, and with every sailset and
filled with the breeze from Heaven, who shall ever be able to go from one
shore of this greatTruth of God to the other–“Christis all”? I shall not
venture upon such a voyage!I can but look across this sea and ask you to

kindly notice the connectionin which the text stands that we may learn
exactly what the Apostle meant. Writing, “to the saints and faithful brethren
in Christ which are at Colosse,”Paulsays, “There is neither Greek nor Jew,
circumcisionnor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but
Christ is all.”
That is to say, in the matter of salvation, That which had often seemedthe
most important thing inthe world is here thrown into the backgroundby the
Apostolic declaration, “There is neither Greek nor Jew.” Fora long time it
seemedas if the eternalLight of God was only revealedto the eyes of the seed
of the house of Israel. They sat in the brightness and all the rest of the world
lay in dense darkness. But, behold, the Christ has come, “a Light to lighten
the Gentiles,” andhenceforth salvationis “notof blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man,” but, “Christ is all.”
It is a greatprivilege to be born of godly parents, to have come of a race that
for generations has fearedthe Lord. But let no man trust merely in his natural
descent. If you had sprung from a lineage of saints. If every one of your
progenitors had feared God, yet still, nothing of all this could matter for your
own salvation. “Christ is all.” Now may the Gentile dog eat of the crumbs that
fall from the Master’s table where He feeds His Israel! No, the dog is
transformed into a child–he who was far off is made near! In the Personof the
Lord Jesus Christ, both Jew and Gentile are made one and all the sheepof the
GoodShepherd are sheltered in the same fold! We who believe in Jesus are
children of him who was calledthe father of the faithful and though,
according to the flesh, “Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israelacknowledges
us not,” yet by faith we become the spiritual seedof the greatfather of all
Believers!As he believed in a sonbeing born according to God’s promise, and
in a seedto which the Covenant promises were given, even so do we. And
entering into union with Christ Jesus, thatblessedSon of the promise, we
become joint-heirs with Him, “heirs of God, and jointheirs with Christ.” You
see, then, dear Friends, that it is not racethatsaves the soul, but that"Christ is
all."
Then Paul goes onto say, “There is neither circumcisionnor uncircumcision,”
from which I gather that there isnothing in outward ceremonies whichcan
save. Everything is still of Christ–“Christis all.” That circumcisionin the
flesh was ordained of God and it was the mark of the seedthat He had chosen.
It was not, therefore, lightly to be spokenof. But now, “we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
and have no confidence in the flesh.” At this day even the ancient Divine
ordinance is put in the background, for, “Christ is all.” So is it with every

other ordinance, whether ordained of God or of man. It must never be placed
in the front, as if it were the means of salvation! I sayto you who may have
been sprinkled, or to you who may have been immersed–to you who may bow
at your altars, or to you who may come to the Communion Table–Ido not
place all these rites on a level, certainly, for some are of God and some are not,
but I do place them all on a par in this respect–thatthey enter not into the
essenceofour salvation!And I say to all of you, “These things cannot save
you, for, ‘Christ is all.’” Be you who you may, and do you what you may, you
shall not be savedbecause ofyour natural birth, nor because ofany supposed
holy acts that you may perform! Neither shall you be saved by any
transactions that may be the work of a human priest! You must have Christ
as your Savior and you must rest in Him, alone, or you cannot be saved!He is
the one foundation and, “otherfoundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ,” for, “Christ is all.” The Lord Jesus Christsums up
everything that ordinances canpossibly mean and all that pedigree and
descentcanpossibly bring–and He is infinitely more than all of them!
Readon in this Epistle and you will find that as race and ceremonialismare
both put into the background, so also is culture. “There is neither Barbarian
nor Scythian, but Christ is all.” Of course it was for many reasons much
better to be a Roman citizen than to be a rude barbarian. And it is much
better, now, to be a civilized man than an untutored Indian of the Wild West.
But so far as vital godliness and the soul’s salvationare concerned, there is no
difference! The simplest and most illiterate, upon believing in Jesus Christ,
shall find that “Christ is all.” And the most learnedand most fully instructed,
if they bring any of their learning and their culture and put it side by side
with Christ as a ground of trust, shall sorrowfully discoverthat none of those
things can be placed on an equality with Him, but that, “Christis all.”
I rejoice, Brothers and Sisters, in this Truth of God! If the Gospelof Christ
were something eclectic whichcould only be receivedby a superior few, what
a poor prospectthere would be for the greatmass of people among whom we
dwell! If the Gospelof Christ were a matter so deep and profound that it
could not be understood except by years of educated thought, where would
they be who have never had any culture and, perhaps, canscarcelyreadthe
letters of a boy’s schoolbook, if, this day, they were lying upon the bed of
sickness, expecting soonto stand before God? Blessedbe God, we have a
remedy for sin’s sickness whichthe Great Physicianunderstands! And if He is
well acquainted with it, it matters not whether the patient fully comprehends
it or not! Blessedbe God, the effectof Christ’s medicine does not depend upon
the degree in which we can realize how it acts, but if we receive it by faith, if it

takespossessionofthe affections, it will work in us that wondrous change by
which we shall be delivered from the love of sinand savedboth from its
condemnation and its power! Thank God for a simple Gospel!Blessedbe His
name that “Christ is all”! If, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, you have
learned that Christ died for the ungodly. If you know that He is the Son of
God and the one greatPropitiation for sin, and if you acceptHim as such, you
have that which has delivered you from going down into the Pit, for God has
found a ransom even for you!
Once more. By this expression, Paul means us to understand that all
conditions and position of men in this life areput on a level before Christ, for
He adds, “There is neither bond nor free; but Christ is all.” When the Gospel
of Jesus Christ came into the world, it contemplatedthe saving of bondmen as
well as of freemen. Of course there was a greatdistinction betweenbeing bond
or free, and the Apostle wrote, “If you may be made free, use it rather,” but as
to the real powerof God’s Grace, there was no distinction betweenthe noblest
citizen of Rome and the poor slave who wore an iron collarand was fastened,
like a dog, at his master’s gate!Christ’s Grace could enter into the heart of
the servile, as well as into the heart of the noble–and could work alike in each.
Now, hear you, Sirs! It is well that you should be industrious, that you should
be thrifty and that you should make your way in the world. But this is not the
way to eternal life! What if you should work till your fingertips were raw?
What if you labor during the livelong day and night and deprive yourselves of
needed sustenance,that you may hoard up gold and silver? With all this, you
cannot buy salvation, or be an inch nearer to it. “Christ is all.” And if you lie
penniless upon a workhouse bed, there is that in Christ which can save you! If
you beg your food from door to door, yet shall you not stand at a disadvantage
with this greatand blessedGospel, forit comes freely to you with this message
and, as it asks ofyou no learning, so it asks ofyou no wealth, no rank and no
position–for, from first to last–“Christis all.”
Thus have I takenthe words in their connectionand they are full of important
teaching. Remember that they mean just this–that to the man who is saved,
Christ is all his trust. Our healing lies in His stripes. Our life lies in His
death.Our pardon lies in His having suffered the punishment due to us. Our
eternal life is in the fact that He once died for us and that He now lives to
make intercessionfor us. “Christ is all.” You must not add anything to Christ
as your ground of confidence, but just lean the weightof your sin, your
sorrow, your needs and your desires wholly and entirely upon Him who lives
to stand for you before God. Christ, then, is all our trust!

And, as for our belief, Christ is all our creed. What He has taught us
personally and by His Holy Spirit through theEpistles–whatHe gives us in His
Word–this is what we believe, and nothing else!The Bible and the Bible,
alone, is the religionof a Christian! “Christ is all”–andall the Truth that
there is in this Book is in Him. This revelation of the Word of God is the same
revelation as that which is made in the Christ, Himself, who is the true Logos,
the Word of God. “Christ is all” as our creed.
And, further, Christ is all as our example. would nothave done. You may
judge of the right or wrong of everything by this question–Whatwould Jesus
Christ do in these circumstances? Youmay thus know what you should do.
And what you cannotsuppose He would have thought of doing, you must not
venture to do, for, “Christ is all.” He draws a ring around us and we must not
go outside that circumference. He is the atmosphere in which we are to live.
He is about us. He is above us. He is beneathus. He is within us. He is
everywhere and, to us, if we are Christians, “Christ is all.”
There is the foundation of all our faith and hope–and I want you who preach
and you who teach the children to always keepto this one Truth of God–that
“Christ is all.” Many other things have a measure of instruction in them, but
Christ is all that is necessary. If you want to save men, if you truly wish to
elevate men, if you desire still further to exalt them to the very highest degree
of which human nature is capable, remember that “Christ is all” as your
lever, and in Him is your fulcrum, and in Him is the power to use the lever!
“Christ is all.” You need not go abroad for anything, for “you are complete in
Him.” The ship is furnished from stem to stern in Him. The house, from its
foundation to its rooftop, is all complete in Him. “Christ is all.” Oh, to know
Him! Oh, to have Him as our own! Oh, to live wholly upon Him! Oh, to grow
like He and always to keepbefore our mind’s eyes this greatTruth that,
“Christ is all”!
II. Now we are going a step farther to considerthe secondpart of our first
text–“Christis all, and in all.” This is amatter of experience and it reveals to
us HOW THE WORK OF GRACE PROCEEDS. Christis in all His people,
this gracious possessionis the work of the Spirit of God, by whose means
Christ is formed in us, the hope of Glory.
To my mind it is a very beautiful thing that the Lord Jesus Christ, when He
comes into the soul, does not annihilateany part of the personality, all His
people! There is, for instance, the Greek–the “Gentile”–shallbe the word.
Very well, the Grace of God does not turn the Gentile into a Jew. He remains
a Gentile, but Christ is in him and, therefore, he is made into a new creature.
There have been some beautiful specimens of holiness and Grace found in

many of the Gentile nations dwelling in the islands of the sea, or among all
sorts and conditions of men scatteredup and down the world–and Christ has
shone gloriously in them. Then comes the Jew. When he is saved, Christ is in
him. The Apostles of Jesus were mostly, at least, of that race, and many later
Believers have been of the seedof Abraham. But Christ has been in them and
He has gloriously displayed Himself in them. The Lord Jesus Christ, dwelling
in the Jew, leaves him still a member of the house of Abraham, but, through
the Presenceofthe Lord Jesus within him, how wondrously his whole
characteris exalted!
Then you have the man who is circumcised and the man who is
uncircumcised–andin eachof these, if he is saved, Christ dwells. And each
one, therefore, lives according to his light, his knowledge andhis standing.
Christ enters into the barbarian and though in certainnatural respects he
remains, to a large extent, what he was before, yet, as soonas Christ enters
into him, all of his barbarism that is sinful disappears!He still retains the free
spirit of the child of the wildernessorthe sonof the woods, but how grandly
has Christ displayed Himself in such men as he is! The personal piety of a Red
Indian, or of an African freshly takenfrom the wilds of the Dark Continent
has been as brilliant and as beautiful–certainly as fresh, bright, clearand
striking as the piety of the most educatedof the Caucasianrace!Whether he
is barbarian or Scythian, if Christ is formed in him, the hope of Glory, it is
only another form of the same exquisite beauty!
It is always a pity when our missionaries try to make other nations into
English people. If we have pride enough to think so, we may regard ourselves
as the model for others to imitate, but it would be a greatpity if we should be
such a model that every native of India must copy the Englishman! I like the
worship of our Black friends in Jamaica and in the Southern States of
America, with its delightful simplicity, its vivacity–yes, and I venture to say,
even its grotesqueness. And I would not have a black man begin slavishly to
imitate the white man. Let him continue to be a black man and let Christ
shine in the black man’s face right gloriously. Yes, let a man be a brown man,
or a yellow man, or a red man, or whatever colorGod made him! The more
he keeps to his own nationality and reflects the Glory of Christ from that
angle, the more will Christ’s Gospeltriumph and the more will Christ Himself
be honored!
The Apostle adds, as we have already noticed, “Neither bond nor free, but
Christ is all and in all.” May the day speedily come when there shall not be a
bondsman under Heaven! But in those days of the worstof all slavery, the
Christian slaves were among the most brilliant gems in the Redeemer’s

diadem. Oh, what brave deeds they did for the Crucified One! I should think
that it was harder to be a Christian freeman, in those days, than to be a
Christian slave. But whetherbond or free, whether the man took his place in
the Forum among the senators, orhis lot was castyonder among the slaves–
either case, if Christ was in him–the Light of God shone gloriously from Him
and God was magnified thereby! Christ is all, and Christ is in all His people,
eachone remaining the same in His individuality, but Christ shining in each
one!
I must againrefer you to the connectionof our text and ask you to read in the
9 th verses, where Paul says,“Youhave put off the old man with his deeds, and
have put on the new man, which is renewedin knowledge afterthe image of
Him that createdhim .” You recollectthat Adam was made in the image of
God and that he lost that image byhis sin. But when Christ enters into a man
and he is createdanew in Christ Jesus, then he receives afreshthe image
ofGod. for He is the express image of His Father’s Glory. He that has seen
Christ has seenthe Fatherand, inasmuch as Christ enters into all Believers
and makes them like Himself, the image of God is thereby restoredin all
Believers.
So, note againthat because Christdwells in him, every Believerbecomes a
copy of Christ. Read the 13th verse–“Forbearing one another and forgiving
one another, if anyone has a quarrel againstanother, even as Christ forgave
you, so also do you.” Is not that beautiful–Christ in every Believer–thatChrist
the image of God, and that Christian the image of Christ so that, just as Jesus
freely forgave, so does every Christian freely forgive! Do you find it difficult
to forgive one who has wrongedyou? Then you will find it difficult to get to
Heaven! If you cannot enter Heaven unless you are like Christ, how can you
be like Christ unless you canfreely forgive? This seems a grand opportunity
for you to stand on the same platform with Christ and, in some respects, to do
the works ofChrist when, having been slighted, ungratefully treated,
misrepresented, slanderedand injured, you can say, “I as freely forgive you as
the Lord Jesus Christforgave me."This is the tokenand evidence that Christ
is in you–when you become imitators of Christ as dear children!
It is a remarkable fact, as I have often said to you, that, although our Lord
Jesus Christ is more perfect than any other example–indeed, the only perfect
example–yetit is more easyto imitate Christ than it is to imitate some of
thebest of His people!That is curious, but it is a fact. I know a Brotherwhom
I greatly admire, an eminent Christian–I would not mention my own name in
the same day with his, he lives so near to God and is such a truly gracious
man–yet I could not imitate him. It is quite impossible that my nature should

ever become exactlylike his. Another Brother, whom I used to know–he is
now with God–was equallygood, but he was as different from the other good
man as anyone could be. They were as opposite as the poles in their
temperament and behavior. The first Brother I mentioned is solid, calm,
quiet, unexcitable. And I should think that he very seldom laughs and that
even then, he does not know that he has done it!
My other friend used to, sometimes, literally roar with laughter! He was full
of earnestlove for the souls of men and God blessedhim greatly in his service.
He had a merry vein and a humorous spirit–and I was more at home with him
than I was with the first one. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ is far more easyto
imitate than either of my two friends, for sometimes I am so depressedthat I
cannot show all the cheerfulness ofthe one. And at other times, having such a
humorous vein in my nature, I would be hypocritical and unnatural if I
suppressedit and always actedas if I were as solemn as death itself! But in the
case ofour Lord Jesus Christ, albeit that there is never any mention of
laughter, yet there were ripples of holy pleasantry in His life and in His
Characterthough He was “a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He
ismore of a Man than the best of other men, and more imitable, though
altogetherinimitable, than those who can be imitated and, perhaps, can even
be excelled.
What is more, Christ in eachone of these Believers createsthem all into one
body. Readthe 14thverses–“Andabove all these things put on love, which is
the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which
also you are calledin one body and be you thankful.” The same life is in all
Believers–inyou and in me–well, then, we are one1 The same life is in ten
thousand Christians–then they, also, are all one! If the same life quickens
them and they live under the same influences, and they act according to the
same rule, then are they one and Christ becomes the glorious Head of a body
which He renders glorious by quickening it with His own indwelling!
I like to think of this blessedTruth of God–Christ in all Believers creating
them into one body–this is the beginning of true unity. Here, for instance, is a
man who says that he is baptized as I am, but if he has not the life of God
within him, I cannot geton with him, whateverhe may call himself–I am not
in union with him. There, perhaps, comes a Methodist, and we begin to talk
about the Lord Jesus Christ and I find that he loves Him with all his heart,
and I know that I do, though I wish that I loved Him more. And directly we
two geton together–wefeelthat we are one in Christ because ofthe one Life
which quickens us. Do you not feel it to be so? Have you not been reading a
book, sometimes, and said to yourself, “Oh, what a blessedbook this is! How

full of the Divine life”? Yes, and after you have read it, you have been
surprised to find that the person who wrote it was a Romanist–forthere are
many books of that kind–or the writer was a member of some church that, in
many respects, lies in very dangerous error! You sayto yourself, “I do not
care where this man lived, or what he did, I am one with him as far as he is
one with Christ.”
The one common feeling of union to Christ and Christ being in us makes us
feel that we are one with eachother. Whereverthere is, as Augustine used to
say, “ aliquid Christi”–“anything of Christ”–there our love must go forth,
wecannothelp it! Christ in you all makes you into one body and unites you
togetherin a mysterious and unique manner. There is not a parallel to it
anywhere else–itgives such a living, loving, abiding, undeniable unity that
even if you wish to forgetit, you cannot! If the man is in Christ, you must love
him, do what you may, for you are one body with him.
Such is this manifestation of Christ in His people, that it leads, further, to the
offering of one oblation. Readthe 16thverse–“Letthe Word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with Grace in your hearts to the
Lord.” Yes, all God’s people love God’s Word! They all find a greatsweetness
in “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”Theyall delight to sing praises
unto the MostHigh. Montgomery truly wrote–
“The saints in prayer appear as one,”
but it is equally true that the saints in praise appear as one. And the saints in
love to the Word of God appear as one because Christ, being in them, and
Christ being one, they are knit to one another. Oh, how blessedit is for us to
have Christ in us!
And lastly upon this point, all that I have said leads up to eac h one acting to
the glory of one name, for if Christ is inyou, the 17 th verse is true of you–
“Whateveryou do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanksto God and the Father by Him.” What a life to lead–Christ
taking such entire possessionof a man that everything he does, he does as if
Christ, Himself, were doing it, because he does it in Christ’s name and by
Christ’s power! As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Whether therefore you
eat, or drink, or whateveryou do, do all to the glory of God,” so that it shall
no longer be yourselves that do it, but Christ that dwells in you. This shall
sanctify the most common actions of everyday life and make the whole of the
Christian’s careerto be sublime, so that while he treads the earth beneath his

feet, literally, he is also doing it spiritually– and all the while his conversation
is in Heaven.
I must just linger one minute here. You all agreedwith me when I spoke
about Christ being all. You understood clearly that He is the only ground of
our hope. Can you also go with me in this part of my subject–Christis in all
His people? Is Christ formed in you, Christ? Verily I sayuntoyou, the Christ
on the Cross will never save you unless there is also Christ within you! It is the
Christ on the Cross inwhom we trust, but the outcome of that trust is that He
is born in our hearts! His power comes from His love, His Grace, His truth,
Himself–and we live because He lives in us. Do you understand this? If you do
not, I pray God that you may, for, unless Christ is in you, you know what the
Apostle says–“Examine yourselves, whetheryou are in the faith; prove
yourselves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christis in you,
unless you are reprobate?” If you are disapproved of God, Christ is not in
you. If Christ is not in you, you are disapproved of God. But if He lives in you,
you are"acceptedin the Beloved" and that life of yours shall never die out,
but you shall, by-and-by, behold your Savior’s face in the kingdom of His
Glory.
Brothers and Sisters, we are not what we ought to be! We are not what we
want to be, we are not what we shall be! But we are something very different
from what we used to be. The change in us is as greatas in that blind man
who said, “One thing I know, that whereas Iwas blind, now I see.” The
change is not merely external, but it is vital! The Lord has taken awaythe
heart of stone out of our flesh and given us back the heart of flesh which
belongedto man in his unfallen nature–and then upon this heart of flesh He
has also workedwondrously, making it conscious to spiritual influences which
once did not affectit, and writing upon the fleshy tablets of that renewed
heart, His perfectLaw. Glory be to the name of Jehovah, a notable miracle
has been performed upon us! A miracle so marvelous that it is comparable to
the resurrectionfrom the dead and, in some respects, it even surpasses the
wonders of creation, itself! We shall tell this story in the streets of the New
Jerusalemand we shall draw around us attentive crowds as we narrate our
experience and tell the tale of the sin which ruined us, and of the mercy which
reclaimedus!
Thus have we gone up the secondrung of this golden ladder. First, “Christ is
all.” Next, “Christ is in all.”
III. Now kindly turn back in your Bibles to our other text–the 1 st thverse–
“ThatGod may be all in all.” First, Christ is all. Next, Christ is in all His

people, but THE CONSUMMATION, the top-stone of all is “that God may be
all in all.”
The passagein which this text stands seems to be a very difficult one to
understand. The common meaning that is given to it by nearly every
interpreter I have ever met with, I do not believe or accept. It seems to a great
many to be taught here that there is to come a time, called, “the end,” when
the Lord Jesus Christ, having conqueredall His enemies, is to resign His
position, abdicate His Throne and ceaseto be King, “that God may be all in
all.” Let us read the connectionof the passage–“Foras in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ
the first fruits; afterwardthey that are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes
the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the
Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy
that shall be destroyed is death. ForHe has put all things under His feet. But
when He says all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted,
which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued
unto Him, then shall the Son, also, Himself, be subject unto Him that put all
things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
The generalmeaning given to these words is that there is to be a time when
the mediatorial Kingdom of Christ will come to an end of itself and He will
deliver up the Kingdom to God, ceasing, Himself, to be King. I can only say
that if this is the teaching of this text, it is not taught anywhere else in the
whole Bible–nobody can find any parallel passageto it, or anything like it.
Neither do I believe that it is taught in the Bible at all–neitherhere nor
anywhere else!And I can say that for this reasonI cannot see that there is to
be any end whateverto the mediatorial Kingdom of Christ.
You perceive that it is the Sonwho is to be subject to the Father but it is of the
Son that we read in the first chapterofthe Epistle to the Hebrews, “Unto the
Son He says, Your Throne, O God, is forever and ever,” where the Father,
manifestly speaking to the Son, in His complex Persondeclares that His
Throne is to be foreverand ever. Brethren, in the day when the Christ shall
have overcome all His enemies and Death, itself, shall be destroyed, there will
be no abolition of His mediatorial kingdom! There still stands in the
Scriptures this promise of our Lord Jesus Christ–“To him that overcomes will
I grant to sit with Me on My Throne, even as I, also, overcame, andam set
down with My Fatheron His Throne.” Does that mean that we are to have a
temporary reign with a temporary Christ–a brief rule with a short-lived
Monarch? I do not believe it!

Moreover, the priesthoodenters into the mediatorial office most eminently,
yet “the Lord swore and will not repent, You are a priest forever after the
order of Melchisedec.”If the priesthood is to continue forever–and
Melchisedecwas king as well as priest–then the kingdom of Christ is to
continue, world without end. Moreover, in the Book of the Revelation–notto
mention the almostinnumerable passagesto the same effect–wefind that
when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, it is
added, “ and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” Whenthe
kingdoms are brought back, they will be the kingdoms of our God and of His
Christ. Then we read of “the throne ofGod and of the Lamb.” And when all
kingdoms are subdued and the Lord God Omnipotent reigns, then we are told
to expect the announcement, “The marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife
has made herselfready.” What does all this mean but a continuance of that
dispensationin which the Christ, the Son of Man, as the Son of God, shall be
still at the head of His people, still their Priest and still their King and still
reigning? And that is exactly what this passagesays, ifyou will kindly look at
it againand dismiss all previous prejudices from your minds!
The fact is our Lord Jesus Christ has performed and is still performing, a
work which will end in putting everythinginto its proper order. Now, the
proper order, according to the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the 11 th
chapter, and thethird verse, is this–“I would have you know that the head of
every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of
Christ is God.” This is how it stands–the womanwith the man for her head,
the man with Christ for his Head–and Christ with God for His Head. Such is
the Scriptural order–an order which has been disturbed all through except
with regard to the Father and the Son, for God has always beenthe Head of
Christ! Now, Christ has come into the world to restore that right order from
the bottom, right up to the top! And it is to be so restored, first, by Christ
becoming the Head of men–when He shall have put down all His enemies
under His feet and when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and
power, “for He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last
enemy that shall be destroyedis death.”
Christ is come into the world that all the evil that is in the world should be
subdued. And He will drive it out of the world. There shall remain no power
that shall dare revolt againstthe majesty of Heaven! Over the whole surface
of this globe, beneath the new heavens and on the new earth, there shall yet be
the Kingdom establishedof which Jesus Christ shall be the supreme Head and
over which He shall reign forever, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The
Lord hasten it in His own time!

Well, and what then?“ asks one. "Doesit not saythat He is to deliver up the
Kingdom to God, even the Father, and to be subject to the Father?” Exactly
so. Supposing that India had been in revolt against our Queenand that a
Viceroy had been sent there, and that he had warred againstall the rebellious
tribes and kingdoms, and they had all been conquered. He telegraphs to the
Queen, “Your Majesty’s empire is at your feet.” Does he therefore ceaseto be
Viceroy? Not necessarilyin the leastdegree!He may still remain as ruler and
yet have delivered up the kingdom. I believe that to be the meaning of this
passage–thatChristhas so conquered the Kingdom that it is all God’s.
But what does it mean when it says that then shall the Sonalso be subjectunto
the Father? It means that He is subject, now, and that even then He will
continue to be subjectto the Father, that is all. It cannotmean that at a
certaintime Christ will become subject to God, because He has been so ever
since that day of His glorious humiliation when, forHis people’s redemption,
he took upon Himself the form of a Servant–and that condition is not to cease.
He is still to be the Representative of God even when He shall have put down
all power and all authority under His feet and when God has put all things
under His feet. It is manifest that He that did put all things under Him is not,
Himself, under Him. And it is clear, from the text, that even then, God shall
be the Head of Christ. I do not know whether you catch my thought yet, but it
is just this–all evil subdued, all the saints having Christ dwelling in them,
Christ the Head of all these saints, and then God, still as God, all the more
surely and securelysupreme over all things–forthe Head of Christ is God and
God is all in all.
The conclusionof the whole matter is this, that every day this should be the
greatconsummation to be kept in view, “that God may be all in all.” For this,
the heroic labors of the Son of Man here on earth! For this, His cruel death!
For this, His rising again! Forthis, His grasping of the mediatorial scepter!
For this, His ruling in Providence! Forthis, His management of the world’s
affairs! Forthis, His SecondComing and the glory of His saints!All this,
while it continues to bring Glory to Him, has been done in subjection to His
greatFather’s will. He has accomplishedit all as the Father’s Representative
and Messenger,sentby Him to do it and then, when it is all done, and He shall
reign forever and ever, even then, the Son, Himself, shall continue in that
position in which He put Himself long, long ago, “that God may be all in all.”
Then will the whole universe, restoredand brought back to its proper place,
be ordered according to the eternalCovenant arrangement.
And the practical outcome of it all is this. I want you, beloved Friends, so to
live as to be persuadedthat it will be so one day, that God shall be all in all–

that there shall come a time when we shall stand before the Throne of God,
God in us all, and everything in us of God, when all His elect, all His
redeemed, all to whom Christ is all, and all in whom Christ is, shall only know
God as their All in All! God all in their very existence. Godtheir all in every
hymn. God their all in every pulsing of their joy. God their all in every hope.
God their all in every memory. Godall to them and God in all ofthem to the
very fullest–allredeemed, all delivered from the powerof sin, all quickened
into the Divine and God-like life, all summed up in Christ, Christ
comprehending them all–and then Christ Himself Head over all things to His
Church, standing and giving unto God the Glory forever and ever, that the
Father may be All in All.
I see no abdication of a throne here. I see not even a change of dispensation
and I do not believe in any! But, as surely as God lives, our King lives, and our
Prieststill ministers before Him. And He shall still be King over His people,
though still, as the Christ, in His infinite goodness, abiding as subject unto
God, Himself, God forever and ever, and yet, in His complex Person, making
the Fatherto be All in All. Looking forward to that glorious consummation,
we can join againin the jubilant hymn we sang just now–“Hallelujah!–hark!
the sound,Fromthe centerto the skies,Wakesabove, beneath, around,All
creation’s harmonies!See Jehovah’s banner furled,SheathedHis sword! He
speaks–‘tis done!And the kingdoms of this worldAre the kingdoms of His
Son.He shall reign from pole to pole,With illimitable sway.He shall reign
when, like a scroll,Yonderheavens have passedaway!Thenthe end–beneath
His rod,Man’s last enemy shall fall!Hallelujah! Christ in God,Godin Christ is
All in All.”
Now let us begin at the beginning. This is very simple–“ Christ is all.” Then
may the Spirit of God help us to go onto the next rung of the ladder–“Christis
in all His people.” There is the difficulty! Is He in you, Beloved? Have you
receivedHim by faith? Then comes the third step–this may be, at present, full
of mystery, but we shall see it in brighter light, by-and-by–God shall be all in
all. So shall He be to us even now! Amen and Amen.HYMNS FROM “OUR
OWN HYMNBOOK”–412, 355,813.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

All Distinctions Obliterated In Christ
Colossians 3:11
T. Croskery
Where there cannotbe Greek and Jew, circumcisionand uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is all, and in all. The old
distinctions which separatedman from man can have no existence in the new
spiritual life.
I. NATIONAL DISTINCTIONSARE ABOLISHED IN CHRIST. "Greek and
Jew." The peculiar privilege of Abraham's natural seedis gone. Mercyis
shown on exactly similar terms to Jew and to Gentile. Thus is manifest that
catholicity of the gospelwhich the Gnostics repudiated.
II. RITUALISTIC DISTINCTIONSARE ABOLISHED. "Circumcisionand
uncircumcision." The errorists in Galatia would have imposed circumcision
on the Gentile Christians, but neither circumcision nor the want of it availed
anything in Christ's kingdom, but "a new creation" (Galatians 6:15). Thus,
while it was an advantage to be born a Jew rather than a Gentile, it was none
to become as a Jew by conforming to its ritual (1 Corinthians 7:19).
III. NO DISTINCTIONIS RECOGNIZED AS TO CIVILIZATION OR
REFINEMENT."Barbarian, Scythian." The barbarian was the foreigner, the
Scythian the savage.The gospelturns the barbarian into a brother, and lifts
even the Scythians - the lowesttype of barbarians - into the dignity of
Christian fellowship.
IV. SOCIAL DISTINCTIONSARE ABOLISHED. "Bondman, freeman."
The gospelhas placedthem on one level of religious privilege.
V. CHRIST HAS OBLITERATED ALL THESE DISTINCTIONS."But
Christ is all, and in all." He has absorbed them all into himself, filling the
whole sphere of human life in its widest varieties of development. He dwells in
all, their true Centre; for the life of all believers is "hid with Christ in God."
This fact places the saints under immense obligations. Theymust consecrate
all to Christ and resignall to his wise and loving will. - T. C.

Biblical Illustrator
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew.
Colossians 3:11
The high level
T. Davies, Ph. D.
I. THE GOSPELPRODUCES THE NEW MAN.
1. Before man is made anew all influences fail to produce the change. The
glories of heavennever move him to praise, the riches of the earth never touch
his gratitude. Like a withered tree, which receives no benefit from sunshine or
shower, gracious influences made no impression.
2. But thrown into the crucible and mould of the Cross, he comes out a new
man. New thoughts crowdthe theatre of his mind, new emotions flower in the
garden of his soul, new prospects enliven his future, and impelled by new
convictions he builds up a new character. Whenignorant become learnedand
subjects kings, there is less change than when lions become lambs, and God's
enemies His friends.
3. The new man is possible to all. You cannotmake poets, painters, musicians,
soldiers, statesmenofall men, but the gospelcan renovate all.
II. THE GOSPELUNITES MANKIND UNDER ONE HEAD.
1. There were distinctions.(1) The national contrastbetweenJew and Greek
was strong. The boastof race, achievements, culture, etc., createdmutual
contempt. Those who gloried in Alexander and Socrateswere scornfully
reminded of David and Solomon.(2)The religious distinction was still
sharper.(3)That betweenhigh and low was observedwith rigour, there being
no middle class.
2. All these distinctions must be sunk and the race come up by another way.(1)
All men must humble themselves in the sight of God. The gospeldoes not
propose to readjust these various claims, but to press regenerationon all. Paul

once prided himself on his distinctions, but they vanished in view of the great
question, "Whatmust I do to be saved?"(2)The gospelleads to an exaltation
which leaves the most exalted human stations behind. Stars shine brightly till
the sun appears. The barbarian at the foot of the Cross is higher than Caesar
on his throne. He who embraces Christis rich, while the millionaire who
trusts in riches is poor.
III. THE GOSPELASSIMILATES HUMAN LIFE TO THAT OF CHRIST.
1. Christ absorbs every other condition which influences the mind. The river
which flows overmountain and dale preserves its name and identity all the
way to its mouth — then it is lost. So with him whose life-streams flow
towards Christ, they will be absorbedin the oceanof His love. We surrender
all to the claims of the Cross.
2. Christ is seenand felt in all the relations of life. Nature, duty, etc., which
before were Christless, are now full of Christ.
3. As Christ is all in all and we in Him, therefore all things are ours.
(T. Davies, Ph. D.)
Christ is all
Christ is all
C. H. Spurgeon.
There are two worlds, the old and the new. These are peopled by two sorts of
manhood, the old man, and the new man, concerning whom see verses 9, 10.
I. WHAT THERE IS NOT IS THE NEW. When we come to be renewedafter
the image of Him that createdus, we find an Obliteration of —
1. Nationaldistinctions: "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew." Jesusis The
Man. In the broadestsense He is neither Jew nor Gentile. Jesus furnishes us
with a new patriotism, loyalty, and clanship, which we may safelyindulge to
the utmost.
2. Ceremonialdistinctions: "There is neither circumcisionnor
uncircumcision." The separating rite is abolished, and the peculiar privilege
of a nation born after the flesh is gone with it.
3. Socialdistinctions:"There is neither bond nor free." We are enabled
through Divine grade to see that these distinctions are —
(1)Transient.
(2)Superficial.

(3)Of small value.
(4)Nonexistentin the spiritual realm.Whata blessedblending of all men in
one body is brought about by our Lord Jesus!Let us all work in the direction
of unity.
II. WHAT THERE IS IN THE NEW. "Christis all and in all."
1. All our culture. In Him we emulate and excelthe "Greek."
2. All our revelation. We glory in Him even as the "Jew" gloriedin receiving
the oracles ofGod.
3. All our ritual. We have no "circumcision." All Scriptural ordinances are of
Him.
4. All our simplicity.
5. All our natural traditions. He is more to us than the freshestideas which
cross the mind of the "Barbarian."
6. All our unconquerableness and liberty. The "Scythian "had not such
boundless independence as we find in Him.
7. All as our Master, if we be "bond." Happy servitude of which He is the
head!
8. Our Magna Charta:yea, our liberty itself if we be "free."Conclusion:
"Christ all and in all" furnishes a test question for us.
1. Is Christ so greatwith us that He is our all?
2. Is Christ so broadly and fully with us that He is all in our all?
3. Is He, then, all in our trust, our hope, our assurance,our joy, our aim, our
strength, our wisdom — in a word, "allin all"?
4. If so, are we living in all for Him?
5. Are we doing all for Him, because He is all to us?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
But Christ is all in all
T. Watson.
Here in the text Christ is said to be all; but in what sense is Christ all?
1. Christ is all by way of eminency; all goodthings are eminently to be found
in Him, as the sun doth virtually containin it the light of the lesserstars.

2. Christ is all, by way of derivation; all goodthings are transmitted and
conveyedto us through Christ; as your rich commodities, jewels, and spices
come by sea, so allheavenly blessings sailto us through the red sea of Christ's
blood; "through Him and to Him are all things." Christ is that spiritual pipe,
through which the golden oil of mercy empties itself into the soul. Christ must
needs be all, for "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead." He hath a
partnership with God the Father;"all things that the Father hath are Mine;"
so that there is enough in Him to scatterall our fears, to remove all our
burdens, to supply all our wants;there can be no defectin that which is
infinite. It shows us the glorious fulness of Jesus Christ; "He is all in all."
Christ is a panoply, a magazine and storehouse ofall spiritual riches: you may
go with the bee from flowerto flower, and suck here and there a little
sweetness,but you will never have enough till you come to Christ, for Be is
"all in all."Now, in particular, Christ is in all six respects:
1. Christ is all in regard of righteousness — "He is made to us righteousness."
2. Christ is all in regard of sanctification — "He is made to us sanctification."
This doth tune and prepare the soul for heaven;it turns iron into gold; it
makes the heart which was Satan's picture, Christ's epistle. There must be
first our days of purification before our days of glorification. What a blessed
work is this! A soul beautified and adorned with grace, is like the firmament
bespangledwith glittering stars. But whence is this? Christ is all; He is made
to us sanctification;He it is that sends His Spirit into our hearts to be a
refiner's fire, to burn up our dross, and make our graces sparkle like goldin
the furnace; Christ ariseth upon the soul"with healing in His wings."
3. Christ is all in regard of Divine acceptance. As Josephdid present his
brethren before Pharaoh, and brought them into favour with the king, so the
Lord Jesus carries the name of the saints upon His breast, and presents them
before His Father, so bringing them into repute and honour. Through the red
glass everything appears of a red colour;through the blood of Christ we look
of a sanguine complexion, ruddy and beautiful in God's eyes.
4. Christ is all in regard of Divine assistance;a Christian's strength lies in
Christ. Whence is it a Christian is able to do duty, to resisttemptation, but
through Christ's strengthening?
5. Christ is all in regard of pacification;when conscienceis in an agony, and
burns as hell in the sense of God's wrath; now Christ is all, He pours the palm
of His blood into these wounds, He maketh the storm a calm. Christ doth not
only make peace in the court of heaven, but in the court of conscience;He not
only makes peace above us, but within us.

6. Christ is all in regard of remuneration; He it is that crowns us after all our
labours and sufferings. If Christ be all, it shows whata vast disproportion
there is betweenChrist and the creature;there is as much difference as
betweenens and nihil; Christ is all in all, and the creature is nothing at all —
"wilt thou set thine eyes on that which is not?" In all our spiritual wants we
should repair to Christ as Jacob's sons did to their brother Joseph. He opened
all the store-houses,and "gave to his brethren corn and provision for the
way." Thus the Lord hath made Christ our Joseph;"in whom are hid all
treasures." IfChrist be all, see here the Christian's inventory, how rich is he
that hath Christ! he hath all that may make him completely happy. Plutarch
reports that the wife of Phocionbeing askedwhere her jewels were, she
answered, "Myhusband, and his triumphs are my jewels!" so, if a Christian
be asked, where are his riches, he will say, "Christ is my riches." How could a
Christian sit down satisfiedwith Christ? "Christ is all." What though he
wants other things, is not Christ enough? If a man hath sunshine, he doth not
complain he wants the light of a candle. Thou hast Christ with all His
perquisites and royalties!Suppose a father should deny his sonfurniture for
his house, but should settle all his land upon him, had he any cause to
complain? If God denies thee a little furniture in the world, but in the
meantime settles His land upon thee, He gives thee the field wherein the pearl
of price is hid, hast thou any cause to repine? A Christian that wants
necessaries, yethaving Christ, he hath the one thing needful; "ye are complete
in Him." What! complete in Christ, and not content with Christ? If Christ be
all, see the deplorable condition of a Christless person;he is poor, he is worth
nothing; "thou are wretched, miserable, and poor," etc.The sadness ofa man
that wants Christ will appear in these seven particulars.
1. He hath no justification.
2. He that wants Christ, wants the beauty of holiness; Jesus Christis a living
spring of grace;"full of grace and truth."
3. He that wants Christ, wants His freedom; "if the Son make you free, you
shall be free indeed."
4. He that wants Christ, hath no ability for service.
5. He that wants Christ, hath no consolation;Christ is called"the consolation
of Israel." A Christless soulis a comfortless soul.
6. He that wants Christ, hath no salvation.
1. If Christ be all, then seta high valuation upon Jesus Christ; "to you which
believe, He is precious."

2. If Jesus Christ be all, then make sure of Christ; never leave trading in
ordinances, till you have gottenthis pearl of price. In Christ there is the
accumulation of all goodthings.And that I may persuade all to get Christ, let
me show what an enriching blessing Christ is.
1. Christ is a supreme good; put what you will in the balance with Christ, He
doth infinitely outweigh. Is life sweet? Christis better: He is the life of the
soul; "His loving: kindness is better than life."
2. Christ is a sufficient good;He who hath Christ, needs no more; he who hath
the ocean, needs notthe cistern.
3. Christ is a sanctifying good, He makes every condition happy to us, He
sweetensall our comforts, and sanctifies all our crosses.
4. Christ is a select, choice good. Godshows more love in giving us Christ,
than in giving us crowns and kingdoms.
5. Christ is such a good, as without which nothing is good, without Christ
health is not good, it is fuel for lust: riches are not good, they are golden
snares;ordinances are not good, though they are goodin themselves, yet not
goodto us.
6. Christ is an enduring good;other things are like the lamp, which while it
shines it spends, the heavens "shall wax old like a garment."
7. Christ is a diffusive, communicative good;He is full, not only as a vessel,
but as a spring, He is willing to give Himself to us.But how shall I get a part in
Christ?
1. See your need of Christ, know that you are undone without Him.
2. Be importunate after Christ. "Lord, give me Christ, or I die!"
3. Be content to have Christ, as Christ is offered,A Prince and a Saviour.
1. Make Christall in your understanding, be ambitious to know nothing but
Christ. What is it to have knowledge in physic — to be able with Esculapius
and Galento discourse of the causesand symptoms of a disease,and what is
proper to apply, and in the meantime to be ignorant of the healing under
Christ's wings? What is it to have knowledge in astronomy — to discourse of
the stars and planets, and to be ignorant vi Christ, that bright morning-star
which leads to heaven? We cannot know God but through Christ.
2. Make Christall in your affections. Love nothing but Christ; love is the
choicestaffection, it is the richestjewelthe creature hath to bestow;O if
Christ be all, love Him better than all!

3. Make Christall in your abilities, do all in His strength, "be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of His might." When you are to resista tentation, to
mortify a corruption, do not go out in your ownstrength, but in the strength
of Christ: "be strong in the Lord."
4. Make Christall in your aims; do all to His glory.
5. Make Christall in your affiance;trust to none but Christ for salvation; the
Papists make Christ something, but not all.
6. Make Christall in your joy. "God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross ofour Lord Jesus Christ." When a Christian sees a deficiencyin
himself, he may see an all-sufficiencyin his Saviour: "happy is that people
whose Godis the Lord!" That servant needs not want who hath his master's
full purse at command: he needs not want who hath Christ, for "Christ is all
and in all."
(T. Watson.)
Christ is all
J. Fletcher, D. D.
The doctrine of the text —
I. ACCOUNTS FOR THE ESSENTIALSIMILARITY OF CHRISTIAN
CHARACTER. Innumerable are the causes ofdiversity — constitutional
peculiarities, external circumstances, accidentalassociations. Butamidst all
these, whether men are slaves or freemen, rude or civilized, etc., the Christian
principle equalizes all, us forming a common centre, a standard under which
all are enlisted, the source of their felicity, the rejoicing of their hearts. Christ
is all in all.
1. To those who believe in Him.
2. In all the felicities of an eternallife.
II. ILLUSTRATES THE TRUE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. To produce
unity uniformity has been attempted, but this is different from oneness of
spirit. No visible accordanceby subscribing to formularies or uniting in
observancescanrealize unity. There will be a period when this will be
realized; but amidst all that separates, amidstall that enemies and friends
have done to injure the cause', there is a realand effective unity between
Christians. Bring believers of every age, class, name together, and one chord
will vibrate in every heart, one topic be the theme of every song, one principle

the life of all. They are all in Christ and therefore one: one in relationship,
sympathy, joy, sorrow, hope.
III. PROVES THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN
DISPENSATION. This is the religion of man; adapted to him wherever you
find him, whether scorchedby Indian suns or blanched by northern snows.
All men are lost; Christianity comes to save all men. The religion of Christ,
unlike any other, has nothing localor restrictive. There are no circumstantials
in it to narrow its range. This universality —
1. Is founded on the condition of man in all circumstances.
2. Is proved by its actual results wherever received.
3. Is provided for by the security of the everlasting covenant.
4. Is guaranteedto the Church by the presence of Christ.
IV. CONSTITUTESTHE GREAT SUBJECT OF THE CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY, AND ASSIGNS THE TRUE CAUSE OF ITS EFFICIENCY. "I
if I be lifted up," etc.
V. EXHIBITS AN ADEQUATE SOURCE OF CONSOLATION AND
SUPPORT IN THE PROSPECTOF DEATHAND ETERNITY.
1. It secures a victory over the king of terrors.
2. It ensures an abundant entrance into heaven.
(J. Fletcher, D. D.)
Christ is all
These three words are the essenceofChristianity. If our hearts really go along
with them it is well. If not we have much to learn. Christ is all.
I. IN ALL THE COUNSELS OF GOD CONCERNINGMAN.
1. There was a time when this earth had no being, where was Christ then?
(John 1:1; Philippians 2:6; John 17:5, 24;Proverbs 7:23).
2. There came a time when this earth was createdin its present order. Where
was Christ then? (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16;Hebrews 1:10; Proverbs 8:27-
30).
3. There came a day when sin enteredthe world. Where was Christ then?
(Genesis 3:15).
4. There came a time when the world seemedburied in ignorance of God. For
4,000 years the nations of the earth appeared to have cleanforgottenthe God

that made them (1 Corinthians 1:21). What did Christ do then? Left His
eternal glory and came down to provide a salvation.
5. There is a time coming when sin shall be castout from this world (Romans
8:22; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter3:13; Isaiah 11:9). Where shall Christ be then? And
what shall He do? (Matthew 24:30;Revelation11:15;Psalm 2:8; Philippians
2:10-11;Daniel 7:14).
6. There is a day Coming when all men shall be judged. Where will Christ be
then? (John 5:22; Matthew 25:32;2 Corinthians 5:10). Now, if any think little
of Christ, he is very unlike God. He is of one mind and God of another. In all
the eternalcounsels of Godthe Father, in creation, redemption, restitution,
and judgment Christ is all (John 5:23).
II. IS THE INSPIRED BOOKS WHICH MAKE UP THE BIBLE.
1. It was Christ crucified who was setforth in every Old Testamentsacrifice
(1 Peter3:18).
2. It was Christ to whom Abel lookedwhen he offered a better sacrifice than
Cain (Hebrews 11:4).
3. It was Christ of whom Enochprophesied in the days of abounding
wickednessbefore the flood (Jude 1:15).
4. It was Christ to whom Abraham lookedwhen he dwelt in tents in the land
of promise (John 8:56).
5. It was Christ of whom Jacobspoke to his sons, as he lay dying (Genesis
49:10).
6. It was Christ who was the subject of the ceremoniallaw. The sacrifices,
altar, priesthood, etc., were emblems of Christ and His work (Galatians 3:24).
7. It was Christ to whom God directed the attention of Israelby all the
miracles of the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4; John 3:14).
8. It was Christ of whom the Judges were types.
9. It was Christ of whom David was a type.
10. It was Christ of whom all the prophets from Isaiah to Malachispoke (1
Peter1:11).
11. It is Christ of whom the whole New Testamentis full. The Gospels are
Christ living among men; the Epistles are Christ explained and exalted; the
Acts are Christ proclaimed. What is the Bible to you? A book of goodmoral
precepts, or one in which "Christ is all and in all"? If not the latter you have

used it to little purpose. You are like a man who studies the solarsystem and
leaves out the sun.
III. IN THE RELIGION OF ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS. Christ is all —
1. In a sinner's justification before God(Ephesians 3:12; Romans 3:26).
Wherewith shall man come before God? Shall we say we have done our duty,
and bring forward prayers, morality, church-going? Which of these will stand
God's searching inspection? None. We must come through Jesus.
(1)His righteousness is the only robe which can coverus.
(2)His name our only shibboleth at the gate of heaven.
(3)His blood the only mark that can save us from destruction.
2. In a "Christian's sanctification."
(1)No man is holy till he is united to Christ (John 15:5).
(2)None grows in holiness excepthe abide in Christ (Colossians 2:6-7).
3. In a Christian's comfort in time present. A savedsoul has many sorrows
and trials, which were unbearable but for Christ (Philippians 2:1). Jesus is a
brother born for adversity (Hebrews 4:15). We talk of the preciousness of
sympathy, but there is none like that of Christ (Psalm 94:19; Psalm124:5). In
Him alone there is no failure. Rich men are disappointed in their wealth,
learned men in their books, husbands in their wives, etc., statesmenin their
places;but none was ever disappointed in Christ.
4. In a Christian's hopes for time to come. He has a goodhope, the worldly
man has none. It is a blessedhope (Titus 2:13; Psalm62:5).
IV. IN HEAVEN.
1. Like the altar in Solomon's temple Christ will be the grand object in heaven
(Revelation5:6; Revelation21:23).
2. His praise will be our eternalsong (Revelation5:12-13).
3. His service will be our one occupation(Revelation7:15).
4. His presence will be our one everlasting enjoyment (Revelation22:4; Psalm
17:15). All this being the ease, then Christ ought to be all in all.
V. IN THE VISIBLE CHURCH Splendid buildings, gorgeousceremonies,
troops of ordained men are nothing in the sight of Godif Christ be not
magnified.
VI. IN THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. Its one work is to lift up Christ.
Conclusion:Learn —

1. The utter uselessness ofa Christless religion.
2. The enormous folly of joining anything with Christ in the matter of
salvation.
3. If you want to be saved to apply direct to Christ.
4. If you be Christians dealwith Him as if you really believed this; trust Him
far more than you have ever done.
(Bishop Ryle.)
Christ is all
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. BY WHOM THIS TRUTH IS RECOGNIZED.
1. There are many to whom Christ is nothing; He scarcelyenters into their
thoughts.
2. There are others to whom Christ is something but not much. They are
anxious to save themselves, and use the merits of Christ as a sort of make
weight to their own slight deficiencies.
3. Others think Him to be much but not all, and so want to feel more, repent
more, before they acceptHim.
4. Some regard Christ as all in some things, in justification, e.g., but not
sanctification, whereas itis said that He is "made unto us wisdom," etc. There
is no point betweenthe gates of hell and the gates ofheaven where a believer
has to say, Christ fails me here and I must rely on my ownendeavours.
5. This is a truth which every believerrecognizes, and on which the Church, in
spite of its divisions, is one. The man who cannotsay this is no Christian, the
man who can is.
II. WHAT THIS TRUTH INCLUDES.
1. Christ is all by way of(1) Nationaldistinction. As a man I may rejoice that I
am an Englishman, but not with the same joy as that I am a Christian. A
Christian foreigner is more allied to me than a godless Briton.(2)Subject for
glorying. The Greek said, "We are a nation of heroes, remember Sparta";but
when he joined the Church he boastedof a nobler victory through the Cross.
So the Jew laid aside his national traditions; the Scythian spoke the language
of Canaanas correctly as his Greek brother; the slave was no longera slave
when he breathed the air of a Christian Church.(3) Sinful national customs.

Eachaskedno more, What did my ancestors do? but what does Christ bid me
do?
2. Christ is all to us —(1) Godwards. We need a Mediator; Christ is that.
"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?"(2)Before ourenemies.
Satan, and the world with all its vicissitudes.(3)Within ourselves. If we look
into our inner nature we see all manner of deficiencies;but when we see
Christ there we know that He will destroy the works ofthe devil and perfect
that which He has begun in us.
3. Christ is all.(1) For us. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
"He made Him to be sin for us," etc.(2)To us. We have no other hope but in
His righteousness.(3)In us. Whateverthere is in us that is not of Christ will
have to come out. Christ on the cross savedus by becoming Christ in the
heart.
4. Shift the kaleido scope;Christ is all.(1) The channel of all. All the love and
mercy of God flow through Him. Other conduits are dry, but this is always
full.(2) The pledge of all. "He that spared not His own son," etc.(3)The sum of
all. When we travel we need only to take money which answerethall things.
So Christ has the sub stance of all good.
5. Christ is all
(1)we desire;
(2)canconceive.
III. WHAT THIS TRUTH INVOLVES.
1. The excellence ofChrist. Of whom else could this be said? There are many
goodthings in this world, but nothing that is goodfor everything. Some plants
may be goodmedicine but not goodcordial; but the plant of renown is good
every way. Goodclothing is not able to stay your hunger, but Christ is the
bread of heavenand the bestrobe.
2. The safety and blessednessofthe believer. Christ is all that he will as well as
does want; but we are devoid of all when destitute of Christ.
2. A rebuke for the doubts of many seekers. "Ihave not this or that," but
Christ has it if it be goodfor anything.
4. A rebuke for the coldness ofsaints, If Christ be all, how is it we prize and
love Him so little?
5. A means of measuring young converts. We ought not to expect them to be
philosophers or divines. Is Christ all in all to them? If so, welcome them.
6. A measure for ministers. Is Christ all in their preaching?

7. A help to estimate our devotions.
IV. WHAT THIS TRUTH REQUIRES — the exhibition of a Christlike life.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ all in all
S. P. Sprecher, D. D.
— Christianity is simply Christ. Without His person there is nothing left that
is distinctively Christian. Other religions may be separatedfrom their
founders; and we rosy take any feature awaywithout destroying its force. But
separate any truth of Christianity from Christ and it has lost its peculiar
character. Christ is the all in all —
I. OF CHRISTIAN MORALITY. Even sceptics admit the extraordinary
reformatory effectof Christianity. This is not due to any new truth of morals
Christ gave to the world. His system is original in the new form and power
given to truth. It would be absurd to deny the claim of an inventor to
originality, simply because the materials of his machine were knownbefore.
But the peculiar power which has made Christian morality so effective is the
living person of Jesus. Embodied in Him the truth is seenand felt and loved as
never before, We first love Him and then we love the purity, charity, etc.,
which make Him "the altogetherlovely," and enthusiasm for these follows.
When the sun has set, the mountains, plains, and rivers may be still visible,
but their glory has gone. When the person of Jesus is removed from His moral
system, its precepts and maxims are there still, but their charm has gone.
II. OF CHRISTIAN PHILANTROPHY. There is no such self-sacrificeand
devotion as in Christianity. Witness the history of missionary and charitable
effort. Its secretinspiration is "The love of Christ constraineth us," There are
other motives, and Christians feel them as much as non-Christians — the
beauty of self-sacrifice, the fine sentiment of humanity, the grandeur of heroic
effort. But the grand inspiration is as Paul puts it. A child will work wonders
under the approving eye of father or mother. A soldierwill fight marvellously
under the eye of his captain. A Highland chief fell; and his clan thinking him
slain beganto waver, but raising himself on his elbow he called, "My children,
I am not dead, I am looking at you." That turned defeatinto victory. At the
battle of Ivry Henry IV. said, "My children, when you lose sight of your
colours rally to my white plume. You will always find it in the way to glory."
So when every other motive fails; when the flags of humanity, sentiment, duty
have gone down, the Christian rallies round the Captain of his salvation.

III. OF CHRISTIAN CONSOLATION. It is not in any new philosophy of
suffering, or philosophical way of looking at it, that the Christian finds that
peace which the world knows not nor can give. Take to an afflicted Christian
even Paul's "These light afflictions," etc., and you elicit no peculiar response.
But speak to him of the personallove and sympathy of Jesus;say, "In all thy
affliction He is afflicted";point out to him in the dark valley he is treading the
bloody foot-prints of his Redeemer;show him in the furnace "one like unto
the Sonof Man," and mark the different effect.
IV. OF THE CHRISTIAN PLAN OF SALVATION. Conclusion:Learn —
1. The folly of that cant about retaining all that is essentialin Christianity
without the person of Christ.
2. That to be a Christian is to be in personalcommunion with Christ.
(S. P. Sprecher, D. D.)
Christ all in all
R. P. Buddicomb, M. A.
I. FOR THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE CHURCH. He is the Lord our
Righteousness. "He hath made Him to be sin for us," etc.
II. IN A SINNER'S ACCEPTANCEBEFOREGOD. "No man cometh to the
Father but by Me."
III. FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. "Made unto us...
sanctification."
IV. FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF A SAINT'S WEAKNESS. "Presenthelp in
time of trouble." "My graze is sufficient for thee."
V. FOR THE TRANQUILITY OF THE CHRISTIAN'S SOUL. "We have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The peace ofGod which
passethall understanding," etc.
VI. IN THE GRACIOUS REWARDS OFFEREDTO HIS DISCIPLES.
"Father, I will that... they be with Me." Inferences:
1. How greatthe difference betweenChrist as our portion, and all those
sources ofcomfort which earth canafford. The one is "the fountain of living
waters," the other "brokencisterns." All are yours if ye are Christ's.
2. The believer should glory in none but Him.
3. How deplorable the condition of those who have no interest in Him.

4. Let us make Him all in all to ourselves.
(1)In our understandings;
(2)affections;
(3)ability;
(4)every aim and action.
(R. P. Buddicomb, M. A.)
The Lord Jesus Christ all in all
W. Jay.
I. There are some persons who have no essentials intheir creed, and others no
circumstantials.(1)Some seemperfectly regardless ofdoctrinal principles; it is
nothing to them whether they address the Supreme Being as "Jehovah, Jove
and Lord," whether Christ is Divine or merely human, and whether His
sacrifice is an atonementor an example.(2)Others regard everything as
equally important, and lay as much stress upon discipline as on doctrine, on
the mode of administer. ing an ordinance as upon the ordinance itself, and
plead as much for "mint, anise," etc., as for the weightiermatters of the
law.(3)While one of these parties has no room for faith, the other has no room
for charity. Both extremes are to be avoided.
2. Surely there are differences betweenthings, betweenspeculative opinion
and a practicaltruth, the ornament of a bridge and the key-stone of an arch, a
man maimed and a man dead. The Scriptures, therefore, diminish the value of
inferior things in religion, and magnify the importance of the superior ones.
Hence, it everywhere shows that Christ is all in all. This is so —
I. IN THE OPERATIONS OF DIVINE GRACE.
1. Redemption. "Ye are bought with a price," and this price is "the precious
blood of Christ."
2. Justification. "ByHim all that believe are justified from all things." Men
talk of making their peace with God. That is made "by the blood of Christ's
cross";all that is required is to acceptit.
3. Renovation. We are "new creatures in Christ Jesus."
4. Perseverance. The righteous hold on their way not by their own resolutions
and efforts, but because He is able to save to the uttermost. We are "more
than conquerors through Him."
5. Glorification. "WhenChrist, who is our life, shall appear," etc.

II. IN THE TESTIMONYOF SCRIPTURE.The Bible is a revelation of
Christ, and is therefore called "the Word of Christ." Christ is all in all.
1. in the historical part. In Adam you see him as the head and representative
of his people; in Noah, as the restorerof the new world; in Isaac, as a burnt
offering; in Joseph, as humbled and exalted, and the saviour of his father's
house; in Aaron, as a high priest; in Moses,as a lawgiver; in Joshua, as the
leaderand commander of the people; in Solomon, as the Prince of Peace;in
Jonah, rising again the third day.
2. In the Levitical part, which was a shadow of which He is the body.
Everything in this dispensationreminds us of Christ: the smitten rock, of His
refreshment; the manna, of the Bread of Life; the mercy seat, ofHis
propitiation; the passover, ofHis blood sprinkled on the consciencesecuring
us from the avenger;the sacrifices, ofHis atonement.
3. In the prophetical part. "To Him gave all the prophets witness." "The
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
4. The promissory part. The promises are only "exceeding greatand
precious," as they are "Yea and Amen in Him."
5. The evangelicalpart.
6. The epistolary part.
III. IS THE WORKOF THE MINISTRY.
1. In its institution. When He ascendedonhigh He gave gifts to men, and gave
some apostles, etc., "forthe work of the ministry."
2. In its commission. "Go ye into all the world."
3. In its qualification. He only canmake men "able ministers of the New
Testament."
4. In its successes. He confirms the word by signs following.
5. In its theme. "God forbid that I should glory," etc. All other themes radiate
from or converge in Him — God, providence, heaven.
IV. IN THE ESTIMATION OF HIS PEOPLE.
1. This applies to Abraham, who "rejoicedto see his day"; to Moses,who
esteemedHis "reproachgreaterriches than the treasures of Egypt"; to Job,
who knew that his Redeemerlived; to David, to whom He was "fairerthan the
children of men"; to the Church, in whose sight He is "altogetherlovely";to
Simeon, who saw in Him God's salvation;to Paul, who esteemedall things loss
for the excellencyof His knowledge;to the first Christians, who exclaimed,

"Whom not having seenwe love";to the noble army of martyrs, who said,
"We cannot dispute for Him, but we canburn for Him."
2. This applies to His own people now, for He is all in all in their thoughts,
desires, experience, actions.
(W. Jay.)
Christ is a Christian's all
1. By a Christian is meant:(1) Negatively:not those who have nothing more to
declare them such than their baptism and professions (Revelation3:1). We
accountthem monsters who have faces of men and limbs of beasts, and they
are religious monsters who have the faces of Christians and the lives of
pagans.(2)Positively:those who are Israelites indeed.
2. To such Christ is all (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are foolish, but Christ is our
"wisdom";we are guilty, but He is our "righteousness";we are polluted, but
He is our "sanctification";we are lostand undone, but He is our
"redemption"; we are empty, He is a full fountain; we are necessitous and
indigent, in Him dwells all fulness of everything (Colossians 1:19;Colossians
2:3, 9, 10). The rich merchant was none the poorerfor parting with all for the
pearl of great price (Matthew 3:45-46).
3. When ever so much is said, there cannot be a greaterword than "all." The
Greeks deemedit an excellencyto speak much in few words; "an oceanof
matter: in a drop of words." The apostle gives us here gold in the wedge,
which we are to beat out. The two names given by the ancient philosophers to
God were "The Being," and "The All." These the apostle gives to Christ.
Physicians speak ofan universal medicine, but Jesus is a true panacea. There
are thousands of cases in which no other canhelp, but not one in which Christ
cannot help fully.
I. WHEREIN CHRIST IS ALL.
1. To all Christians, to free them from whatevermight hinder their
salvation.(1)Sin. This he does(a)by expiating its guilt, and so removing the
wrath of God (Ephesians 5:6; Romans 8:1). This neither legalsacrifices nor
goodworks could do; but Christ not only frees us from condemnation but
confers the adoption of children (Romans 8:14-16).(b) By cleansing its
pollution (Zechariah 13:1), and restoring us to purity (Isaiah 1:18).(c)By
conquering its tyranny, and reigning Himself where it once held sway.(d) By
redeeming us from its bondage, and giving us the glorious liberty of the
children of God.(2) The oppositions of Satan, his wiles and subtleties. These

are of greatimportance, as our first parents knew; and we, though redeemed,
are not exempt from them (2 Corinthians 11:3). But Christ hath spoiledhim
(Colossians2:15), and led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8). Christ is all, and
in that we may rely for resisting power.(3)The disturbances, allurements,
discouragements,smiles and frowns of a profane world. Be of goodcheer,
Christ hath overcome it: live by faith in Him who is your all, and you will
overcome.
2. To fill the souls of believers with all that goodwhich may capacitate them
for happiness. The experience ofgrace is essentialforthe enjoyment of glory.
Heaven must be brought down into our souls, before we canascendthither
(Colossians1:12;Ephesians 5:5). We are by nature unmeet, and could we
enter heaven in a state of nature, it would not be heaven for us (Romans 8:6,
7), because alldelight arises from the suitableness ofobject to subject. Now
Christ is all in this respect(John 1:16; John 10:10; Ephesians 5:8; Ephesians
2:5-10).
3. To fill all ordinances with power. These are means of salvation, and
through His concurrence effectualmeans. Yet they are but empty pipes unless
Christ is pleasedto fill them, who "filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). It is He
who baptizes with the Holy Ghost; and in the preaching of the Word speaks to
the heart (Luke 24:32). While the disciples fished alone they caught nothing;
but when Christ came they caught multitudes (John 21:3-6).
4. To fill every condition with comfort. The bestcondition is not good without
Him, nor the worstbad with Him (Psalm84:10; Psalm73:25; Psalm63:3).
The sense ofChrist's love enabled Paul to overcome all adversaries (Romans
8:38, 39).
5. To furnish us with strength to persevere. The way to heaven is no smooth
and easyway (Matthew 7:14; Acts 14:22): and inasmuch as the crownis
reservedfor the head of perseverance (Revelation2:10), we require a strength
greaterthan our own (Romans 7:24). In ourselves we cando nothing (John
15:5; 2 Corinthians 3:5), but in Him who is our all; we can do all things
(Philippians 4:13). Thus the Christian is complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).
II. HOW IS CHRIST OUR ALL?
1. Negatively:not so as to excuse us from all endeavours. Christ's sufficiency
does not excuse, but engage our industry (Philippians 2:12-13). It is God who
does all; therefore, do all you can.
2. Positively:(1) By wayof impetration, inasmuch as our salvationwas His
purchase. Whence is it that they who have brought themselves under the
deserts of hell, may have the hopes, means, and first fruits of heaven? All are

the price of Christ's blood (Ephesians 5:25-27;Acts 20:28;John 15:13). It was
by His own blood that He enteredheaven, and openedthe door for all who are
incorporatedinto Him (Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 10:19, 20).(2)By way of
application, inasmuch as He brings home the blessings He has purchasedinto
the soulof His people. He has not only purchased salvationfor them, but them
for it: not only the possibility of heaven, but the proprietorship, and this is
necessaryto every comfort. What are the treasures ofthe Indies to him who
only hears of them? Mere stories. Whatare the glories ofheaven to him
deprived of the enjoyment of them? Mere torments. But we enjoy all in
Christ. What the root is to the tree, the vine to the branches, the head to the
body, all this is Christ to believers (Colossians2:7; John 15:1, 5; Ephesians
1:22-23), viz., not only a treasury of all good, but a fountain continually
streaming down blessings into our souls.
III. WHAT ADVANTAGE IS IT TO HAVE OUR ALL IN CHRIST.
1. Becauseoursalvation canbe in no hands so safe as Christ's. Had it been in
ours, alas for us; but in His who is able to save to the utmost it is secure.
Hence, as we can have no other Saviour beside Him, we cannothave any other
like Him (Acts 4:12).
2. Becauseoursalvation could have been in no wayso comfortable. As God
has the glory of every attribute, so Christians have the comfort of every
attribute in this way of salvation.Application:
1. If Christ be all, then there is no ground for despondency, either from your
own deficiencies orthose of creature helps. You need nothing since Christ is
your all.(1) You have the sum of all. Though you have not estates,friends,
worldly comforts, you have Christ, who more than makes up for the want of
them. The cisternmay well be dispensed with by him who lives at the
fountain; and the light of a candle by him..., who enjoys the sun (2
Corinthians 6:10).(2) You have the pledge of all (Romans 8:82).
2. What cause have we to be thankful for Christ (Genesis 32:10;Ephesians
1:3).
3. How greatis their folly and misery who keepat a distance from Christ.
(John 5:40; Ephesians 2:12).
4. That Christ may be all in all to you.(1) Labour to get your judgments
settled in the belief that all things in the world are nothing without Christ.(2)
Castout" all inmates which, because they are unmeet companions for Christ,
may hinder His taking possessionof your souls. The ark and Dagoncouldnot
stand togetherin the same room (Amos 3:3).(3) Accept Christ on His own
terms.(4) Measure allthings by their reference to Christ.(5) Be serious in

resolving this greatquestion — Whether Christ who is all to sincere
Christians is all to you.(a) Are you conformable unto Christ (Romans 8:9;
Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17).(b) Are you all to
Him in your affections (Psalm63:3; Psalm 73:5; Hebrews 11:26; Matthew
10:87); in your acknowledgements(1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 5:20); in
your contentment and satisfaction(Hebrews 3:17-18);in your dependencies
and expectations;in your designs and aims (Philippians 1:20).
(W. Whitaker, A. M.)
Christ everything to the Christian
W. Jay.
The happiness we derive from creatures is like a beggar's garment;it is made
up of pieces and patches, and is worth very little after all. But the blessedness
we derive from the Saviouris simple and complete. In Him all fulness dwells.
He is coevalwith every period. He is answerable to every condition. He is a
Physicianto heal, a Counsellorto advise, a King to govern, a Friend to
sympathise, a Fatherto provide. He is a Foundation to sustain, a Rootto
enliven, a Fountain to refresh. He is the Shadow from the heat, the Bread of
Life, the Morning Star, the Sun of Righteousness — all and in all. No creature
can be a substitute for Him, but He cansupply the place of every creature.
(W. Jay.)
Christ all in all in death
FosterRutherford when dying said, "He has indeed been a precious Christ to
me; and now I feel Him to be my rock, my strength, my rest, my hope, my joy,
my all in all." RobertNewtonsaid, "Christ Jesus the Saviour of sinners and
life of the dead. I am going, going, going, to glory! Farewell, sin! farewell,
death! Praise the Lord!"
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(11) Where there is neither . . .—This passage naturally suggests comparison
with Galatians 3:28. “There is neither Jew nor Greek;there is neither bond

nor free; there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Jesus Christ.”
In comparing the passages(passing by the insertion here of “circumcisionnor
uncircumcision,” which is simply explanatory of “Jew norGreek”)we notice
in this—(1) The insertion of “barbarian, Scythian.” This insertion is clearly
intended to rebuke that pride of intellect, contemptuous of the unlearned,
which lay at the root of Gnosticism. The “barbarian” was simply the foreigner
(comp. 1Corinthians 14:11);the “Scythian” was the savage, towards whom
the contempt implied for the “barbarian” assumedexplicitness, and reached
its climax. (2) The omissionof “male nor female.” In the Oriental society, as in
Galatia, the dignity of women neededto be assertedagainst supposed
inferiority. In Greek orGræcisedsociety, as at Corinth, Ephesus, and
Colossæ, the new “freedom” of the gospelwas aptto be abused to license;
hence it was rather the “subjection” of womenwhich needed to be suggested.
(Comp. 1Corinthians 11:3-16;1Corinthians 14:34-35;Ephesians 5:22-24;and
1Timothy 2:11-15.)(3) Whereas in the GalatianEpistle the stress is laid on the
unity of all with one another in Christ, here (as usual) the greattruth is that
“Christ is all things and in all.” In 1Corinthians 15:28 we have this phrase
applied to God, in contradistinctionto the office of the Son in His mediatorial
kingdom. Here it is in reference to that kingdom that it is used. In it Christ
(see Ephesians 1:23)“fills all in all;” and by His universal mediation all “life is
hid with Him in God.” He is all that canbe needed, and that both “in all
things” and “in all persons.” Butunder both aspects the catholicity of the
gospelis equally brought out; here by the direct union of all alike with Christ,
there by the resulting unity of all with one another.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:5-11 It is our duty to mortify our members which incline to the things of the
world. Mortify them, kill them, suppress them, as weeds or vermin which
spread and destroy all about them. Continual opposition must be made to all
corrupt workings, and no provision made for carnal indulgences. Occasionsof
sin must be avoided: the lusts of the flesh, and the love of the world; and
covetousness,whichis idolatry; love of present good, and of outward
enjoyments. It is necessaryto mortify sins, because if we do not kill them, they
will kill us. The gospelchanges the higher as well as the lowerpowers of the
soul, and supports the rule of right reasonand conscience,overappetite and
passion. There is now no difference from country, or conditions and
circumstances oflife. It is the duty of every one to be holy, because Christ is a
Christian's All, his only Lord and Saviour, and all his hope and happiness.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew - See this fully explained in the notes at
Galatians 3:28. The meaning here is, that all are on a level; that there is no
distinction of nation in the church; that all are to be regardedand treatedas
brethren, and that therefore no one should be false to another, or lie to
another.
Circumcision nor uncircumcision - No one is admitted into that blessedsociety
because he is circumcised; no one is excluded because he is uncircumcised.
That distinction is unknown, and all are on a level.
Barbarian - No one is excluded because he is a barbarian, or because he lives
among those who are uncivilized, and is unpolished in his manners; see the
word "barbarian" explained in the notes at Romans 1:14.
Scythian - This word does not occurelsewhere in the New Testament. The
name Scythian is applied in ancientgeographyto the people who lived on the
north and northeastof the Black and Caspianseas, a regionstretchings
indefinitely into the unknown countries of Asia. They occupiedthe lands now
peopled by the Monguls and Tartars. The name was almost synonymous with
barbarian, for they were regardedas a wild and savage race.The meaning
here is, that even such a ferocious and uncivilized people were not excluded
from the gospel, but they were as welcome as any other, and were entitled to
the same privileges as others. No one was excluded because he belongedto the
most rude and uncivilized portion of mankind.
Bond nor free - See the notes at Galatians 3:28.
But Christ is all, and in all - The greatthing that constitutes the uniqueness of
the church is, that Christ is its Saviour, and that all are his friends and
followers. Its members lay aside all other distinctions, and are known only as
his friends. They are not known as Jews and Gentiles;as of this nation or
that; as slaves or freemen, but they are knownas Christians; distinguished
from all the rest of mankind as the united friends of the Redeemer;compare
the notes at Galatians 3:28.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
11. Where—Translate, "Wherein," namely, in the sphere of the renewedman.
neither … nor … nor … nor—Translate as Greek, "There is no such thing as
Greek and Jew (the difference of privilege betweenthose born of the natural
seedof Abraham and those not, is abolished), circumcision and
uncircumcision (the difference of legalstanding betweenthe circumcisedand
uncircumcised is done away, Ga 6:15)—bondman, freeman." The present
Church is one calledout of the flesh, and the present world-course (Eph 2:2),

wherein such distinctions exist, to life in the Spirit, and to the future first
resurrection:and this because Satanhas such powernow over the flesh and
the world. At Christ's coming when Satanshall no longerrule the flesh and
the world, the nations in the flesh, and the word in millennial felicity, shall be
the willing subjects of Christ and His glorified saints (Da 7:14, 22, 27; Lu
19:17, 19;Re 20:1-6; 3:21). Israel in Canaanwas a type of that future state
when the Jews, so miraculouslypreserved distinct now in their dispersion,
shall be the central Church of the Christianized world. As expressly as
Scripture abolishes the distinction of Jew and Greek now as to religious
privileges, so does it expressly foretellthat in the coming new order of things,
Israelshall be first of the Christian nations, not for her own selfish
aggrandizement, but for their good, as the medium of blessing to them.
Finally, after the millennium, the life that is in Christ becomes the power
which transfigures nature, in the time of the new heaven and the new earth;
as, before, it first transfigured the spiritual, then the political and social
world.
Scythian—heretofore regardedas more barbarian than the barbarians.
Though the relationof bond and free actually existed, yet in relation to Christ,
all alike were free in one aspect, and servants of Christ in another (1Co 7:22;
Ga 3:28).
Christ is all—Christ absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike,
everything that they need for justification, sanctification, and glorification
(1Co 1:30; 3:21-23;Ga 2:20).
in all—who believe and are renewed, without distinction of person; the sole
distinction now is, how much eachdraws from Christ. The unity of the divine
life sharedin by all believers, counterbalances alldifferences, evenas greatas
that betweenthe polished "Greek"andthe rude "Scythian." Christianity
imparts to the most uncivilized the only spring of sound, socialand moral
culture.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
He prevents the reasoning of those, who did not neglectregeneration, and
place religion in more externals, showing that in the new man, or true
sanctification, and real Christianity, there was sufficient to save us, in
communion with Christ, without those external observances false teachers did
stickle for as necessary.
If there there is neither Greek nor Jew;God, in effectually calling persons
into a state of regeneration, had no regard to those known distinctions then in

the world, of those who were born of the Gentiles or the seedof Abraham,
Matthew 3:9 John 8:39 Romans 2:11 10:12 Romans 11:7,11,12:See Poole on
"Galatians 3:28".
Circumcision nor uncircumcision; he works upon those who are not
circumcised, as well as on those who are circumcised, now Christ is come,
Galatians 5:6 6:15, since which the posterity of Japheth, constituting the
greaterpart of the Gentile church, do dwell in the tents of Shem, according to
Noah’s prophecy, Genesis 9:27, comparedwith Balaam’s, Numbers 24:24.
Shem and Ham are not excluded, yet (a learned man observes)the faith of
Christ from the ages ofthe apostles hath flourished most hitherto in Europe,
and the parts of Asia where Japheth’s lot lay; and as of old some of the latter
might, so we know of the former many of late have passedinto America. Upon
the apostle’s adding
Barbarian, Scythian, without conjunction either compulative or disjunctive,
some have inquired whether these two should be balancedin the like
opposition with the former? And it may be said, there is no more necessityfor
such exactness here, than elsewhere in the like form of speech, Romans 8:39 1
Corinthians 3:22: and the most think here is an increase of the oration,
understanding by
Scythian (which is now more strictly the Tartarian) the most barbarous of the
Barbarians. Yet, because the Grecians sometime accountedthe world, besides
themselves, (who were polished with human learning and philosophy),
Barbarians, if any think there ought to be an opposition betweenthe
Barbarian and Scythian, then by Barbarian(i.e. in the philosophers’
reckoning)may be understood the Jews;by Scythian, the Gentiles. So Jew,
circumcision, Barbarian, as in a parallel, are opposedto Gentile,
uncircumcision, Scythian. ForScythians being numerous, thereby some used
to express the nations, ( as Symmachus translates Genesis 14:9, Tidal king of
the Scythians), and so reckonthe whole world might be divided into the Jews
and Scythians, no otherwise than into circumcisedand uncircumcised.
Bond nor free; as to acceptance withGod in Christ, the distinctions of people
were abolishedwith their observances andpolities, because, some where they
were more free, having milder laws;some where they were more servile,

having more severe laws, whichwas an indifferent thing now as to their being
in Christ, concernedto submit to certain honestlaws, ordinances of
magistrates, 1 Peter2:13, though not Judaic or judicial ones. In every
condition, high or low, whether of service or freedom, Acts 10:34,35 1
Corinthians 7:20-22, whosoeverhath put on the new man in Christ is
accepted. Neitherthe eloquence of the philosopher nor the rudeness of him
who is uncultivated, neither the liberty of the freeman nor the bondage of the
slave, doth further or obstruct the work of the new creation.
But Christ is all, and in all; but they that are truly interested in Christ, have
really put him on, they are certainly privileged with that which answers all,
they are indeed the blessedwith faithful Abraham, whether they be of his seed
according to the flesh, yea or no, Psalm32:2 Galatians 3:7-9; having put on
Christ, Romans 13:14, they are all complete in him, Colossians 2:10. He is all
things to and in all those who are renewed, both meritoriously and
efficaciously, 1 Corinthians 1:30 15:10 Galatians 2:20: being by fiath one with
him who hath all, they have all, Ephesians 3:17, either for their present
support or their eternal happiness, Acts 4:12.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew,....Thatis, either in Christ, after whose
image the new man is created;see Galatians 5:6 or in the new man, and with
respectto
regeneration;or in the whole business of salvation: it matters not of what
nation a man is; this has no influence on his new birth, either to forward or
hinder it; for he is never the more a new creature, a regenerate man, and
interestedin salvation, because he is a Jew, which he may be outwardly, and
not inwardly; and he may be born again, though he is a Greek orGentile, as
the Syriac version reads;for God of his own will, and abundant mercy, and
not out of respectto nations and persons, begets souls againto a lively hope of
the heavenly inheritance:
circumcisionor uncircumcision; a man's being circumcisedin the flesh
signifies nothing; this he may be, and not a new creature; for that is not true
circumcision, but that which is of the heart, and in the spirit: and, on the
other hand, it is no objectionto a man's being born again, that he is
uncircumcised in the flesh; this may be his case, and yet may be circumcised
with the circumcisionmade without hands; neither one nor the other is of any
accountwith God, nor makes the man either better or worse.

Barbarian, Scythian; all such were Barbarians to the Romans, that did not
speak their language;and as were such also to the Greeks,who were not of
their nation, and therefore Greeks and Barbarians are opposedto eachother,
see Romans 1:14 and so they are here in the Syriac version, which reads
"Greek" and"Barbarian". The Arabic version, instead of "Barbarian",
reads "Persian", because itmay be, a Persianis so accountedby the
Arabians; and because the Scythians were, of all people, the most barbarous
and unpolished (z), and were had in greatdisdain by others, therefore the
apostle mentions them, as being within the reach of the powerful and
efficacious graceofGod; nor were the fiercenessoftheir dispositions, and the
impoliteness of their manners, any bar unto it. Remarkable is the saying of
Anacharsis the Scythian, who being reproachedby a Grecian, because he was
a Scythian, replied (a),
"my country is a reproachto me, but thou art a reproachto thy country.''
It matters not of what nation a man is, so be it he is but a goodman; especially
in Christianity, all distinctions of this kind cease. Itis added,
bond or free; the grace ofGod in regenerationis not bestowedupon a man
because he is a free man, or withheld from another because he is a bond
servant. Onesimus, a fugitive servant, was convertedby the Apostle Paul in
prison; and whoeveris calledby grace, if he is a free man in a civil sense, he is
Christ's servant in a religious one; and if he is a servant of men, he is, in a
spiritual sense, the Lord's free man. It is not nation, nor outward privileges,
nor the civil state and condition of men, which are regardedby God, or are
any motive to him, or have any influence upon the salvationof men:
but Christ is all, and in all; he is "all" efficiently; he is the first cause of all
things, the beginning of the creationof God, the author of the old, and of the
new creation, of the regenerationof his people, and of their whole salvation:
he is all comprehensively; has all the fulness of the Godhead, all the
perfections of deity in him; he is possessedof all spiritual blessings for his
people; and has all the promises of the covenantof grace in his hands for
them; yea, all fulness of grace dwells in him, in order to be communicated to
them: and he is all communicatively; he is their light and life, their wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, andredemption, their food and clothing, their
strength and riches, their joy, peace, and comfort, who gives them grace here,
and glory hereafter, So, with the Jews, the Shekinahis called "all" (b): and
this likewise, withthe Cabalists (c), is one of the names of the living God, and
well agrees withChrist, who has all things in him; and is the reasonthey give
for this divine appellation: and Christ is "in all"; in all places, being infinite,
immense, and incomprehensible, as God, and so is everywhere by his power,

Jesus was all and in all

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was all and in all

Similar to Jesus was all and in all (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was all and in all