Christ's Various Fullness

Colossians 3:11: But Christ is all in all.

The philosopher says, every science takes its dignity from the object; the more noble the object, the more rare the knowledge. Hence it is that Jesus Christ being the most sublime and glorious object, that knowledge which leads us to Christ must needs be most excellent; it is called the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:8). So sweet is this knowledge that Saint Paul determined to know nothing but Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2). And indeed what needed he to know more? For Christ is all in all.

In the text there is a negation and an assumption; something the Apostle sets down negatively, and something positively.

First, negatively. Saint Paul tells the Colossians what will not avail them — neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails, etc. Circumcision was a great privilege; it was a badge and cognizance to distinguish the people of God from those who were exterior and foreign; it was a fence between the garden enclosed and the common. The people of circumcision were a people of God's circumspection; they were under his eye and his wing; they were his household family. Rather than they should want, God would make the heavens a granary and rain down manna upon them; he would set the rock flowing and make it a living spring. How glorious was circumcision! Romans 9:4-5: Who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption and the glory, whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. What rich jewels hung upon Israel's crown! But in matters of salvation, all this was nothing — neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, etc. From where we may observe:

Doctrine. That external privileges commend no one to God; whether wise, or rich, or noble, this does not set us off in God's eye. 1 Corinthians 1:26: Not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God sees not as man sees; we are taken with beauty and abilities; but these things do not avail with God. God lays his left hand on these, as Jacob did upon Manasseh (Genesis 48:14). God often passes by those who cast a greater splendor and luster in the world, and looks upon those of an inferior alloy. The reason is that no flesh should glory in his presence (1 Corinthians 1:29). If God should graft his grace only upon wisdom and abilities, some would be ready to say, My wisdom, or my eloquence, or my nobility has saved me. Therefore not many wise, not many noble are called. God will have no pride or vaunting in the creature.

Use. Rest not in outward privileges or excellencies; these are not foundations to graft the hopes of salvation upon. Many of Christ's kindred went to hell. Paul is called the servant of the Lord (Romans 1:1), and James is called the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19). It is better to be the servant of the Lord than the brother of the Lord. The Virgin Mary was saved not as she was the mother of Christ, but as she was the daughter of faith. It is grace, not blood, that gives the precedency. A heart that has Christ formed in it is God's delight — and this brings me to the next point.

Second, the Apostle sets down something positively: but Christ is all in all — in which words there is:

First, the subject: Christ. His name is sweet; it is as ointment poured forth (Song of Solomon 1:3). It was Job's wish: Oh that my words were now written, that they were graven with an iron pen and laid in the rock for ever (Job 19:23). And it is my wish — O that this sweet name of Christ were now written, that it were graven with the pen of the Holy Ghost in our hearts for ever. The name of Christ has in it, says Chrysostom, a thousand treasuries of joy.

Second, the predicate: all in all. Christ is all fullness, all sweetness; he is all that is imaginable, all that is desirable. He who has Christ can have no more, for Christ is all.

The proposition from the words is this doctrine: that Jesus Christ is the quintessence of all good things — he is all.

First, sometimes faith is said to be all (Galatians 5:6): nothing avails but faith. Faith is all instrumentally, as it is an instrument to lay hold on Christ, whereby we are saved — as a man is saved by catching hold of a bough.

Second, sometimes the new creature is said to be all (Galatians 6:15): nothing avails but a new creature. The new creature is all dispositively, as it qualifies and fits us for glory. Without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). It is a saying of Chrysostom: at the day of judgment God will ask that question as our Savior did (Matthew 22:20): Whose image and superscription is this? So will God say, Whose image is this? If you cannot show him his image consisting in holiness, he will reject you. Thus the new creature is all.

Third, here in the text Christ is said to be all — but in what sense is Christ all?

First, Christ is all by way of eminence; all good things are eminently to be found in him, as the sun virtually contains in it the light of the lesser stars.

Second, Christ is all by way of derivation; all good things are transmitted and conveyed to us through Christ. As rich commodities, jewels, and spices come by sea, so all heavenly blessings sail to us through the red sea of Christ's blood. Romans 11:36: Through him are all things. Christ is that spiritual pipe through which the golden oil of mercy empties itself into the soul.

Reason. Christ must needs be all; for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9). He has a partnership with God the Father. John 16:15: All that the Father has is mine. So there is enough in him to scatter all our fears, to remove all our burdens, to supply all our wants. There can be no defect in that which is infinite.

Use 1. Information. And it has six branches.

Branch 1. It shows us the glorious fullness of Jesus Christ — he is all in all. Christ is a full armor, a magazine and storehouse of all spiritual riches. You may go with the bee from flower to flower and suck here and there a little sweetness, but you will never have enough until you come to Christ, for he is all in all.

Now in particular, Christ is all in six respects.

Christ is all in regard to righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30): he is made to us righteousness. The robe of innocency, like the veil of the temple, is rent in two; ours is a ragged righteousness. Isaiah 64:6: Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. As under rags the naked body is seen, so under the rags of our righteousness the body of death is seen. We can defile our duties, but they cannot justify us. But Christ is all in regard to righteousness. Romans 10:4: Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to those who believe. That is, through Christ we are as righteous as if we had satisfied the law in our own persons. Jacob received the blessing in the garment of his elder brother; so in the garment of Christ our elder brother we obtain the blessing. Christ's righteousness is a coat woven without seam. 2 Corinthians 5, last verse: We are made the righteousness of God in him.

Christ is all in regard to sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30): he is made to us sanctification. Sanctification is the spiritual beauty and embroidery of the soul; it is nothing else but God's putting upon us the jewels of holiness. The angels glory by it; we are made as the king's daughter, all glorious within (Psalm 45:13). This disposes the soul toward heaven; it turns iron into gold; it makes the heart, which was Satan's portrait, into Christ's letter. The virgins of the court (Esther 2:12) had their days of purification; they were first to be perfumed and anointed, and then they were to stand before the king. We must have the anointing of God (1 John 2:27) and be perfumed with the graces of the Spirit, those sweet odors, and then we shall stand before the King of heaven. There must be first our days of purification before our days of glorification. What a blessed work this is! A soul beautified and adorned with grace is like the starry sky, the firmament spangled with glittering stars. I may allude to that in Song of Solomon 3:6: Who is this that comes out of the wilderness with myrrh and frankincense and all the powders of the merchant? So, who is this that comes out of the wilderness of sin, perfumed with all the graces of the Spirit? Holiness is the signature and engraving of God upon the soul. But whence does this come? 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 gold in the furnace. Christ arises upon the soul with healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2). He heals the understanding and says, Let there be light; he heals the heart by dissolving its stone in his blood; he heals the will by filing off its rebellion. Thus he is all in regard to sanctification.

Christ is all in regard to divine acceptance (Ephesians 1:6): he has made us accepted in the beloved — that is, he has made us favorites. So Chrysostom and Theophylact render it; through Christ God is favorable toward us and takes all we do in good part.

A wicked person being out of Christ is out of favor; as his plowing is sin (Proverbs 21:14), so his praying is an abomination (Proverbs 15:8). God will not come near him; his breath is infectious. God will hear his sins, and not his prayers. But now in Christ God accepts us. Ecclesiastes 9:7: Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God now accepts your works. As Joseph presented his brothers before Pharaoh and brought them into favor with the king (Genesis 47:2), so the Lord Jesus carries the names of the saints upon his breast and presents them before his Father, bringing them into repute and honor. Through Christ God will deal and negotiate with us; he speaks to us as in Isaiah 62:4: You shall no more be called forsaken, but you shall be called My delight is in her, for the Lord delights in you. Through a red glass everything appears of a red color; through the blood of Christ we look of a healthy and beautiful complexion in God's eyes.

Christ is all in regard to divine assistance; a Christian's strength lies in Christ. Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ. From where does it come that a Christian is able to do duty, to resist temptation, but through Christ's strengthening? From where does it come that a spark of grace lives in a sea of corruption with the storms of persecution blowing, but that Christ holds this spark in the hollow of his hand? From where does it come that the roaring lion has not devoured the saints, but that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has defended them? Christ not only gives us our crown but our shield; not only the garland when we overcome, but the strength whereby we overcome. Revelation 12:11: They overcame him — that is, the accuser of the brothers — by the blood of the Lamb. Christ keeps the fortress of grace so it is not blown up. Peter's shield was bruised, but Christ kept it from being broken: I prayed for you that your faith might not fail (Luke 22:31) — that it might not be in a total eclipse. The crown of all the saints' victories must be set upon the head of Christ. Romans 8:38: In all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ. Write the name of Michael upon all your conquests.

Christ is all in regard to pacification; when conscience is in an agony, burning with the sense of God's wrath, Christ is all — he pours the balm of his blood into these wounds and makes the storm a calm. Christ makes peace not only in the court of heaven, but peace in the court of conscience. He not only makes peace above us, but within us (John 16:33): that in me you might have peace. All our golden streams of peace flow from this fountain. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you (John 14:27). Jesus Christ not only purchased peace for us, but speaks peace to us; he is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Peace is a crown jewel of his reign; he whispers his love to the soul and sends his Spirit, that blessed dove, which brings an olive branch of peace in its mouth. The peace which Christ gives is peace in the midst of trouble (Micah 5:5): this man shall be our peace, when the enemy comes into our land. Kings can proclaim war in a time of peace, but Christ proclaims peace in a time of war. This peace surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7); it is a foretaste of glory, a cluster of grapes from the true vine which cheers the heart. Thus Christ is all in regard to pacification — he makes peace for us and within us.

Christ is all in regard to reward; he it is who crowns us after all our labors and sufferings. He died to advance us; his lying in the winepress was to bring us into the wine cellar. He is gone before to take possession of heaven in the name of all believers (Hebrews 6:20): where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus. Christ has gone to prepare a place for the saints (John 14:2); he makes heaven ready for them and makes them ready for heaven. Thus Christ is all in regard to reward (Revelation 22:12): behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me.

If Christ is all, it shows us what a vast difference there is between Christ and created things. There is as much difference as between being and nothing. Christ is all in all, and the creature is nothing at all. Why would you set your eyes on that which is not? (Proverbs 23:5). When Solomon had sifted out the finest quality and distilled the best of all created excellence, the result was: all was vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:11). The Greek word for vain signifies empty. All earthly comforts are said to be void — void of that which we think is in them, void of satisfaction. Therefore they are compared to wind (Hosea 12:1); a person can no more fill his heart with the world than fill his belly with the air he breathes. The creature is said to be nothing in three senses.

It is nothing to a person in trouble of spirit; if the spirit is wounded, outward things give no more ease than a crown of gold cures a headache.

The creature is nothing to a person who has heaven in view; when Paul had seen that light from heaven surpassing the glory of the sun (Acts 26:13), though his eyes were open he saw no one (Acts 9:8). So he who has the glory of heaven in view is blind to the world; he sees nothing in it to attract him or make him willing to stay.

The creature is nothing to one who is dying; a person at the hour of death is most serious and able to give the truest verdict of things. At such a time the world is nothing — its sorrow is real, but its joy imaginary. What a vast difference then between Christ and created things! Christ is all in all, and the creature nothing at all. Yet how many destroy their souls for nothing?

It shows where the soul should turn in the want of all — go to Christ who is all in all. Do you lack grace? Go to Christ (Colossians 2:3): in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Christ is the great Lord Treasurer; go to him and say: Lord, I am poor in grace, but in you are all my springs of supply. Lord, I am blind — you have eye salve to heal me; I am defiled — you have water to cleanse me; my heart is hard — you have blood to soften it; I am empty of grace — bring your fullness to my emptiness. In all our spiritual needs we should come to Christ, as Jacob's sons went to their brother Joseph, who opened all the storehouses and gave his brothers grain and provision for the journey (Genesis 41:56; 42:25). The Lord has made Christ our Joseph, in whom are hidden all treasures (Colossians 2:3). Go to Christ; he is all in all. And to encourage you to come to him: there is in him not only fullness but freeness — come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. Christ is not only full as the honeycomb, but flows as the honeycomb.

If Christ is all, see here a Christian's inventory — how rich is he who has Christ! He has all that can make him completely happy. When asked where his riches were, the true saint says: Christ is my riches. A true saint cannot be poor; if you look into his house, perhaps he has scarcely a bed to lie on. Even to this present hour we hunger and thirst and are naked and have no certain dwelling place (1 Corinthians 4:11). Yet he can at the same time triumph with the apostle: as having nothing, yet possessing all (2 Corinthians 6:10). He has Christ who is all. When a believer can call nothing his own, he can say all is his. The tabernacle was covered with rough skins on the outside (Exodus 25), yet most of it was gold within. So a saint may have a poor covering, ragged clothes, but he is inlaid with gold — Christ is formed in his heart, and so he is all glorious within.

If Jesus Christ is all, then a Christian should be satisfied with Christ. What though he lacks other things — is not Christ enough? If a man has sunshine, he does not complain that he lacks a candle. Does not he have enough who has the unsearchable riches of Christ? I have read of a godly man who being blind, his friend asked if he was not troubled by the loss of his sight. His friend replied: Are you troubled because you lack what flies have, when you have what angels have? So I say to a Christian: why are you troubled for lacking what the reprobate has, when you have what the glorified saints have? Suppose a father should deny his son furniture for his house, but settle all his land upon him — has the son any cause to complain? If God denies you a little furnishing in the world, but settles his land upon you and gives you the field where the pearl of price is hidden, have you any cause to complain? A Christian who lacks necessities, yet having Christ, has the one thing needful. You are complete in him (Colossians 2:10). Complete in Christ and not content with Christ? Luther says the sea of God's mercy should swallow up our particular afflictions. Surely this sea of God's love in giving us Christ should drown all our complaints. Let the Christian take the harp and the violin and bless God.

If Christ is all, see the deplorable condition of a person without Christ; he is poor, he is worth nothing (Revelation 3:17): you are wretched, and miserable, and poor. The sadness of a person who lacks Christ will appear in these seven particulars.

He has no justification; what a glorious thing it is when a poor sinner is absolved from guilt and declared righteous! But this privilege flows from Christ; all pardons are sealed in his blood (Acts 13:39): through him all who believe are justified. He who is outside of Christ is unjustified; the guilt of sin clings to him; he must be answerable to justice in his own person, and the curse stands in full force against the sinner.

He who lacks Christ lacks the beauty of holiness. Jesus Christ is a living spring of grace (John 1:14): full of grace and truth. A person without Christ is without grace — he has not one thread of holiness. The branch must first be grafted into the stock before it can receive sap and life from the root. We must first be grafted into Christ before we can of his fullness receive grace upon grace (John 1:16). A person outside of Christ is red with guilt and black with filth; he is an unholy person, and dying in that condition is unable to see God (Hebrews 12:14).

He who lacks Christ has no true nobility. It is through Christ that we are kin to God, of the royal blood of heaven. It is through Christ that God is not ashamed to be called our God (Hebrews 11:16). But outside of Christ we are regarded as ignoble persons; whoever is his natural father, the devil is his spiritual father (John 8:44).

He who lacks Christ lacks his freedom (John 8:36): if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. A person outside of Christ is a slave even when he sins most freely.

He who lacks Christ has no ability for service; he is as Samson when his hair was cut — his strength is gone. He lacks a vital principle; he cannot walk with God. He is like a dead limb in the body, with neither strength nor motion (John 15:5): without me you can do nothing. The organ will make no sound unless you blow into it; so unless Christ by his Spirit breathes into the soul, it cannot make any harmony or put forth strength to any holy action.

He who lacks Christ has no consolation; Christ is called the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25). A person without Christ is without comfort. How can such a soul have comfort when he comes to die? He is in debt and has no surety; his wounds bleed and he has no physician; he sees the fire of God's wrath approaching and has no shield to keep it off. He is like a ship in a tempest — sickness begins to make a tempest in his body, and sin to make a tempest in his conscience, and he has nowhere to take shelter. Their faces shall be as flames (Isaiah 13:8) — such fear and horror shall seize upon sinners in the evil day that their countenances shall change and grow pale. What are all the comforts of the world to a dying sinner? He looks upon his friends, but they cannot comfort him. Bring him his bags of gold and silver — they grieve him to part with. Bring him music — what comfort is the harp and violin to a condemned person? Those who die without Christ, who is the consolation of Israel, are in such hellish anguish that no music can cure them.

He who lacks Christ has no salvation (Ephesians 5:23): he is the Savior of the body. He saves only those who are members of his mystical body. Christ leaped into the sea of his Father's wrath only to save his people from drowning. Those who die outside of Christ are cut off from all hope of salvation.

This reproves those who busy themselves with other things while neglecting Christ. If you gain all the world, you are but golden beggars without Christ. The physician finds out bodily diseases but is ignorant of soul-diseases, and while he gets remedies to cure others, he neglects the remedy of Christ's blood to cure himself. The lawyer, while he clears other men's titles to their land, himself lacks a title to Christ. The tradesman is busy buying and selling, but neglects to trade for the pearl of price. Those who so fix their minds on the world as to neglect Christ — their work is but spider-work (Habakkuk 2:13): is it not of the Lord that the people shall labor in the fire and weary themselves for nothing?

If Christ is all, set a high value upon Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:7): to you who believe he is precious. If there were a jewel which contained in it the worth of all jewels, would you not prize it? Such a jewel is Christ. So precious is he that Paul counted all things loss that he might gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). Prize Christ above your estates, above your relations. That person does not deserve Christ at all who does not prize Christ above all. Jesus Christ is an incomprehensible blessing; whatever God can require for satisfaction or we can desire for salvation is to be found in Christ. Let him be the highest in our esteem. Bernard said: no writing shall please me unless I read the name of Christ there. The name of Christ is the only music to a Christian's ear, and the blood of Christ is the only cordial to a Christian's heart.

If Jesus Christ is all, then make sure of Christ; never leave seeking in ordinances until you have gotten this pearl of price. In Christ there is the accumulation of all good things. Oh let not your souls be quiet until this cluster of myrrh lies between your breasts (Song of Solomon 1:13). In other things we strive for ownership — this house is mine, these jewels are mine — and why not: this Christ is mine? There are only two words which will satisfy the soul: deity and ownership. Augustine says: what is God to me if he is not mine? What was it to the world in Noah's day that there was an ark, as long as they did not get into the ark? And to persuade all to get Christ, let me show you what an enriching blessing Christ is.

Christ is a supreme good; put what you will in the balance with Christ, he infinitely outweighs. Is life sweet? Christ is better! He is the life of the soul (Colossians 3:4); his loving-kindness is better than life (Psalm 63:3). Are relationships sweet? Christ is better; he is the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Christ is a sufficient good; he who has Christ needs no more. He who has the ocean needs not a cistern. If one had a manuscript containing all manner of learning — all the arts and sciences — he need look in no other book. So he who has Christ needs look no further. Christ gives grace and glory (Psalm 84:11) — the one to cleanse us, the other to crown us. As Jacob said: it is enough, Joseph is yet alive (Genesis 45:28). So he who has Christ may say: it is enough, Jesus is yet alive.

Christ is a suitable good; in him dwells all fullness (Colossians 1:19). He is whatever the soul can desire. Christ is beauty to adorn, gold to enrich, balm to heal, bread to strengthen, wine to comfort, salvation to crown. If we are in danger, he is a shield; if we are disconsolate, he is a sun. He has enough in his wardrobe abundantly to furnish the soul.

Christ is a sanctifying good; he makes every condition happy to us, sweetens all our comforts, and sanctifies all our crosses.

Christ sweetens all our comforts; he turns them into blessings. Health is blessed, estate is blessed, relationships are blessed. Christ's love is like pouring sweet water on flowers, which makes them give a more fragrant scent. A wicked person cannot have that comfort in outward things that a godly person has; he may possess more, but he enjoys less. He who has Christ may say: this mercy is reached to me by the hand of my Savior — this is a love-token from him, an earnest of glory.

Christ sanctifies all our crosses so they shall be medicinal to the soul; they shall work sin out and work grace in. God's stretching the strings of his instrument is to tune it and make the music better. Christ sees to it that his people lose nothing in the furnace but their impurities.

Christ is a rare blessing; there are but few who have him. The best things when they become common begin to be despised; when silver was in Jerusalem as stones (1 Kings 10:27), it was apt to be trodden upon. Christ is a jewel that few are enriched with, which should both raise our esteem of him and quicken our pursuit after him. Those to whom God has given both the Indies, he has not given them Christ; they have the fat of the earth but not the dew of heaven. There are many who have Christ sounded in their ears, but few who have Christ formed in their hearts. Those who are without Christ should be restless.

Christ is a select and choice good; God shows more love in giving us Christ than in giving us crowns and kingdoms. God may give us other things and hate us; but in giving Christ he bestows the highest pledge of his love. God may give the men of the world the blessings of the footstool, but in giving Christ to a person he gives the blessings of the throne. Abraham sent away the sons of the concubines with gifts, but he gave all he had to Isaac (Genesis 25:5). God may send away others with a little gold and silver; but if he gives you Christ, he gives you all that he has. For Christ is all and in all (Psalm 145:16): you open your hand and satisfy every living thing. In bestowing the world, God does but open his hand; but in bestowing Christ, he opens his heart. Christ is a crowning blessing.

Christ is such a good that without him 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 without Christ; though good in themselves, they profit nothing without him. They are as breasts without milk, as bottles without wine. Without Christ they will not only be a dead letter but a savor of death — for want of Christ, millions go loaded to hell with ordinances.

Christ is an enduring good; other things are like a lamp which, while it shines, spends itself. The heavens shall grow old like a garment (Psalm 102:26). But Jesus Christ is a permanent good; with him are durable riches (Proverbs 8:18) that last as long as eternity itself lasts.

Christ is a giving and communicative good; he is full, not only as a vessel, but as a spring; he is willing to give himself to us. He calls: come to me all you who are weary. He would gladly have the match made up between us and him; if only we were as willing as Christ is! Now, if there is all this variety of excellence in Jesus Christ, it should make us eagerly desirous of an interest in him.

But how shall I get a part in Christ?

See your need of Christ — know that you are undone without him. The furnace of hell is heating for you, and what will you do without Christ? It is only the Lord Jesus who can stand as a screen to keep off the fire of God's wrath from burning you. Is there not need of Christ? Though Christ is offered to sinners, yet he will not throw himself away upon those who see no need of him. See yourself wounded, and then Christ that good Samaritan will pour in wine and oil into your wounds. He who believes not is condemned already (John 3:18). He who dies in his sin, not laying hold on Christ by faith, is as sure to be condemned as if he were condemned already.

Be importunate after Christ — Lord, give me Christ or I die. As Achsah said to her father Caleb: you have given me a southern land, give me also springs of water (Joshua 15:19). So should a poor soul say: Lord, you have given me an estate in the world, but this southern land will not quench my thirst — give me also springs of water. Give me those living springs which flow from my Savior's blood. Lord, I thirst after Jesus Christ; nothing but Christ will satisfy me; I am dead, I am lost without him. When the blind man was importunate, Jesus stood still (Luke 18:40) and healed him. Christ cannot deny a praying soul. As the tender mother opens her breast when the child cries for it, so when a humble, thirsty sinner cries importunately to heaven, God will open the breast of free grace and say: Here, take my Christ — be satisfied with him, let him be to you all in all, both for food and medicine.

Be content to have Christ as Christ is offered — a Prince and a Savior (Acts 5:31). Be sure you do not bargain with Christ; some would have Christ and their sins too. Is Christ all, and will you not part with something for this all? Christ would have you part with nothing but what will damn you if you keep it — namely your sins. Repent of this poison, and Christ will pour in the wine of his blood to cheer your heart.

Some bid fair for Christ; they will part with some sins, but keep a reserve. If you leave but one sin in your heart, it will be an egg for Satan to brood upon. If a man parts with many sins but retains love for one sin, he has an adulterous heart, and Christ will not make a covenant with him. Part with all for him who is all — part with your lusts, even your life if Christ calls.

This also exhorts us not only to get Christ, but to labor to know that we have Christ (1 John 2:3): by this we know that we know him. Some theologians call this the perception or sensible feeling of faith. Concerning this knowledge that Christ is ours — which is the same as assurance — I shall lay down four conclusions.

First, that this knowledge is attainable — it may be had (1 John 5:13): these things I have written to you who believe, that you may know you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. The meaning is: the apostle wrote to these believers that they might know they were believers and might be assured Christ was theirs. Indeed the papists deny this certainty of knowledge; it is inserted in one of their canons: let him be accursed who holds assurance. But that we may arrive at it, I shall demonstrate by these arguments.

Why else does God bid us make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), and to test ourselves whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), if assurance cannot be had? The Greek word for testing signifies to pierce through a piece of metal to see whether it is gold within. A Christian may thus pierce his heart by examination to see whether Christ is formed within him.

What are all the signs which Scripture gives of a man in Christ but so many marks, if the knowledge of this interest cannot be obtained? We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers (1 John 3:14). Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit (1 John 4:13). These signs are in vain if assurance cannot be arrived at.

There are some duties commanded in Scripture which are utterly impossible if the knowledge of an interest in Christ is not attainable. We are commanded to rejoice in God (Philippians 4:4) and to rejoice in tribulation (1 Peter 4:13). How can one rejoice in suffering who does not know whether Christ is his or not?

Why has Christ promised to send the Comforter (John 14:16), whose very work it is to bring the heart to assurance, if assurance that Christ is ours cannot be obtained? In Scripture we read of the seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), the earnest and firstfruits (2 Corinthians 1:22; Romans 8:23). The promise of the Comforter would be in vain, the earnest and witness of the Spirit mere phantoms, if the assurance of union with Christ were not feasible.

Some of the saints have arrived at this certainty, therefore it can be obtained. Job knew that his Redeemer lived (Job 19:25); Paul had this assurance (2 Timothy 1:12; Galatians 2:20). The apostle speaks of it as common to believers (Romans 8:35): who shall separate us from the love of Christ? He says not who shall separate me, but us — so by all this it appears that a believer may come to know his interest in Christ.

Caution one: not that the saints always have the same certainty, or that they have such assurance as excludes all doubt and conflict. There will be ebbs and flows in their comforts as well as in their graces. Sometimes David says God's loving-kindness was before his eyes (Psalm 26:3); at another time he cries: where are your loving-kindnesses? (Psalm 89:49). Paul at one time sets up the trophies of victory and sings his triumphant song (Romans 8:37): we are more than conquerors. At another time how did the feathers of his confidence fall — he was as a man in the middle of the sea, struggling with the waves, crying out: O wretched man that I am! (Romans 7:24). A saint in this life is like a ship at anchor — though safe, yet tossed upon the water. These doubts God allows in his children sometimes so they may long the more for heaven, where they shall have a constant flood-tide of joy.

Caution two: not that all believers have the same assurance.

Assurance is rather the fruit of faith than faith itself. As the root of a rose may be alive where the flower is not visible, so faith may live in the heart where the flower of assurance does not appear. Yet this is certain: there is so much wrought in the heart of every believer by God's Spirit that he can build his hope upon it. As for instance: a high prizing of Christ, a resting in Christ, a rejoicing in his image, a delighting in his word. The weakest believer has so much to show that he would not part with it for a world.

Assurance is difficult to obtain; it is a rare jewel, but hard to come by; not many Christians have this jewel.

God sometimes withdraws assurance from his people so that they may walk humbly. Through the corruption of our nature we are apt to abuse the richest mercies; the moth breeds in the finest cloth, the worm in the sweetest fruit. Pride is apt to breed in this sweet fruit of assurance. It is hard for Christians to lack assurance and be content, and to have it and be humble.

Satan does what he can to obstruct our assurance. He is called the red dragon (Revelation 12:3) — how he troubles the waters of a Christian's peace! If the devil cannot keep a believer from heaven, he will do what he can to keep him from a heaven on earth. He racks him with fears and anxieties. If he cannot blot a Christian's evidence, yet sometimes he casts such a mist before his eyes that he cannot read his evidence. The devil envies that God should have any glory, or the soul any comfort.

That we lack assurance is for the most part our own fault. We walk carelessly, neglect our spiritual watch, let go our hold of promises, comply with temptations. No wonder then if we walk in darkness and cannot tell whether Christ is ours or not. Our uneven walk grieves the Spirit, whose work it is to seal up assurance. If we quench the graces of the Spirit, no wonder if God quenches the comforts of the Spirit.

Assurance is very sweet; this wine of paradise cheers the heart. For lack of this knowledge — that Christ is ours — we often hang our harps on the willows and sit weeping (Psalm 137:1-2). A man who has a rich mine of gold in his field, yet if he does not know it is there, cannot take comfort from it. Hagar had a well of water beside her, but her eyes being held so that she did not see the well, she sat weeping. It is the knowledge of an interest that gives comfort. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:47) — not a Savior, but my Savior. He who knows Christ is his has a kiss from Christ's lips; he dies triumphing. Assurance puts a person in heaven before his time.

Assurance is very useful; it will put us upon service for Christ.

It will put us upon active obedience; assurance will not breed security in the soul as the Catholics claim, but agility. It will make us mount up with wings as eagles in holy duties. Faith makes us living; assurance makes us lively. If we know that Christ is ours, we shall never think we can love him enough or serve him enough. The love of Christ constrains us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Assurance is like wings to the bird, like oil to the lamp, like weights to the clock — it sets all the wheels of obedience going. Assurance is a whetstone to the graces; it stirs up hope, love, zeal. Faith makes a Christian walk; assurance makes him run. The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Assurance breeds such joy in the soul as derives strength for duty.

Assurance will put us upon passive obedience (Romans 5:3-5): we glory in tribulation, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. He who has Christ's love shed into his heart will be willing to shed his blood for Christ. He who knows Christ is his will come to him with Peter upon the waters. He comforts himself with this: though he loses all for Christ, he shall find all in Christ. That person who is assured Christ is his will risk the loss of all for him. He knows that though he may be a loser for Christ, he cannot be a loser by Christ; for Christ is all and in all. No wonder Paul was willing to be bound and die for Christ (Acts 21:13) when he knew that Christ loved him and had given himself for him (Galatians 2:20).

But how shall I get this jewel of assurance?

Make duty familiar to you; when the bride sought Christ diligently, she found him joyfully (Song of Solomon 3:4). The ordinances are the lattice where Christ looks forth and gives the soul a smiling aspect. As Christ was made known to his disciples in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:35), so in the use of holy ordinances Christ makes a glorious discovery of himself to the soul. Christ's parents found him in the temple (Luke 2:46). Those who would find Christ with comfort and have the kisses of his lips shall be sure to meet with him in the temple.

Preserve the purity of conscience; when the glass is dirty you will not pour wine into it, but when it is clean. So when the soul is cleansed from the love of every sin, now God will pour in the sweet wine of assurance. Let us draw near in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22). Guilt clips the wings of joy; he who is conscious to himself of secret sin cannot draw near to God in full assurance. Assurance is a flower that grows only in a pure heart. Before David prays for joy, he first prays for a pure heart (Psalm 51:10): create in me a clean heart, O God.

Be much in the active exercise of faith; the more active the child is in obedience, the sooner he has his father's smile. If faith is ready to die (Revelation 3:2), if it is like armor hung up or a sleeping habit in the soul, never look for assurance. God will not speak peace to you when you are asleep; it is the lively faith which flourishes into assurance. Abraham had a vigorous, sparkling faith (Romans 4:18): who against hope believed in hope. That is, against the hope of his senses he believed in the hope of the promise. How sweetly did God manifest himself to Abraham — he calls him his friend, he makes him of his inner counsel (Genesis 18:17): shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do? Would you have Christ reveal his love to you? Keep faith active. This is the bird which soars aloft and plucks a cluster of grapes from the true vine.

If Christ is all, then make him so to you.

Make Christ all in your understanding — be eager to know nothing but Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2): I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ. Augustine said of Cicero: he liked his eloquence, but he could not take so much delight in reading him because he could not find the name of Christ there. What will all other knowledge avail a person at his death who is ignorant of Christ? What is it to have knowledge in medicine, to be able to discourse of the causes and symptoms of disease, 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 of Christ, that bright morning star which leads to heaven? What is it to be skilled in trade and ignorant of that commodity which both enriches and crowns? What is it to be well versed in music and ignorant of Christ, whose blood makes peace in heaven and music in the conscience? O make Christ all — be willing to know nothing but Christ; let the knowledge of Jesus Christ have the preeminence, as the sun among the lesser planets.

This is the crowning knowledge (Proverbs 4:18): the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

We cannot know ourselves unless we know Christ; he it is who lights us into our own hearts and shows us the spots of our souls, whereby we abhor ourselves. Christ shows us our own emptiness and need; and until we see our own emptiness, we are not fit to be filled with the golden oil of mercy.

We cannot know God except through Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Outside of Christ God is terrible — he is a consuming fire. It is through Christ that we know God as a friend. Treasure up the knowledge of Christ; he is the golden ladder by which we ascend to heaven. To be ignorant of Christ is like a man who is poisoned, and there is an herb in the garden that could cure him, but he is ignorant of that herb.

Make Christ all in your affections.

Desire nothing but Christ; he is the accumulation of all good things. You are complete in him (Colossians 2:10); Christ is the Christian's perfection. What should the soul desire less? What can it desire more? Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25). David had his crown and his throne to delight in, but it was the presence of Christ he chiefly thirsted after. Without Christ all his other comforts were not only emptiness but bitterness.

Love nothing but Christ; love is the choicest affection, the purest stream of the soul, the richest jewel the creature has to bestow. If Christ is all, love him better than all; let your rivers still run into this golden sea. In Christ there are unsearchable riches (Ephesians 3:8). Though the angels have lived so long in heaven, yet to this day they do not know how rich Christ is. Neither man nor angel can set the full value of the pearl of price. Shall not Jesus Christ lie nearest our hearts? Shall he not have the best of our love?

If you love other things, when they perish your love is lost; but Christ lives forever to return your love.

You may love other things in excess, but you cannot love Christ in excess. Mary loved much (Luke 7:47), but not too much. If Christ cannot be prized enough, he cannot be loved too much; the angels in heaven cannot love Christ to his worth.

When you love other things, you love what is less than yourself; a fair house, a pleasant garden — these things are less than yourself. If I would love anything more intensely, it should be something better than myself, and that is Jesus Christ. He who is all — let him have all; give him your love who desires it most and deserves it best.

Make Christ all in your abilities — do all in his strength (Ephesians 6:10): be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. When you are to resist a temptation or mortify a corruption, do not go out in your own strength but in the strength of Christ. Some go out to duty in the strength of their gifts and go out against sin in the strength of resolutions, and they come home defeated. Do as David when he was to go against Goliath: I come to you in the name of the Lord. So say to your Goliath-lust: I come to you in the name of Christ. We conquer when the Lion of the tribe of Judah marches before us. Christ is called a horn of salvation (Luke 1:69); the strength of a creature lies in his horn, and so the strength of a believer lies in this horn of salvation. The bird might as well fly without wings as we can do anything effective without Christ (1 Samuel 2:9): by strength shall no man prevail.

Make Christ all in your aims — do all to his glory (1 Peter 4:11). Let Christ be the center to which all the lines of your actions are drawn. The hypocrite pretends Christ but drives on some self-interest (Hosea 10:1) — like one who pretends to court for his friend but is a suitor for himself. How many make the name of Christ a stepping stone to get into the saddle of honor and advancement? Make Christ all in your aims and designs. In every action ask yourself: will this make for the honor of Christ? Will this bring any revenue into his treasury? How happy were it if it might be said of us, as the angel said to the two Marys (Matthew 28:5): I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified! He who does not take a right aim can never hit the mark. He who does not aim at God's glory can never hit the mark of his own salvation.

Make Christ all in your trust — rely on none but Christ for salvation. The Roman church makes Christ something but not all; they trust partly to Christ and partly to their own merits. They pray to Christ and to angels; to Christ as Mediator of Redemption and to angels as mediators of intercession. They invoke the Virgin Mary for mercy, so mixing her milk with Christ's blood. But what is given to others superstitiously is taken from Christ sacrilegiously. The eagle's feathers will not mix with other feathers; Christ will not endure having his blood mixed with the merits of saints or the prayers of angels. Christ will be all in all, or nothing at all.

Is there not naturally a trace of this error in our own hearts? We would be grafting happiness upon the stock of our own righteousness. As Luther said: every man is born with a pope in his heart. How ready are we to idolize our duties and graces, drawing so much from the stream as to neglect the spring! Make Christ all in regard to trust; let him be your city of refuge to flee to, your ark to shelter in. Luther said: if I could keep the whole moral law, I would not trust to this for justification — I would bow to Christ's merits.

Make Christ all in your joy (Galatians 6:14): God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:47). The Virgin Mary did not so much rejoice that she was Christ's mother as that Christ was her Savior. How glad was Simeon when he took Christ in his arms! (Luke 2:29) How cheerful may that man be who has taken Christ in the arms of his faith! When the wise men saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy (Matthew 2:10). Christian, have you seen the Lord Jesus? Has this morning star shined into your heart? Then rejoice and be exceeding glad. Shall others rejoice in the world, and will you not rejoice in Christ? God has given the men of the world a crutch to lean on; he has given you a Christ to lean on. It reflects shame upon Christ when his saints are sad and drooping. Is not Christ yours — what more would you have?

But someone says: I am poor in the world, and that removes the wheels from my joy, and makes me drive heavily.

But do you not have Christ? And is not Christ all (Psalm 16:5-6): the Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. He who is united to Christ by faith has a title to all Christ's riches. A beggar married to a prince has a right and title to all his revenues.

If indeed I knew Christ were mine, then I could rejoice — but how shall I know that?

Is your soul filled with pantings and longings after Christ? Do you desire the water from Christ's side to cleanse you, as well as the blood from his side to save you? These sighs and groans are stirred up by the Spirit of God; by the beating of this pulse, judge of the life of faith in you. A wicked person has none of these breathings after Christ (Job 21:14): they say to God, depart from us. If the heart moves toward Christ, the Spirit as a divine magnet has been drawing it.

Have you given yourself up in universal submission to Christ? Are you his not only by upbringing but by dedication? This is a good sign that Christ is yours (Psalm 27:8): when you said, Seek my face, my heart said to you, Your face, Lord, will I seek.

Be thankful for Christ; God has done more for you in giving you Christ than if he had set you with the princes of the earth (Psalm 113:8). He has done more for you than if he had made you angels; for by virtue of your marriage-union with Christ, you are richer than the angels. God in giving you Christ has done more for you than if he had given you the whole world. He can make more worlds, but he has only one Son. As Naomi said to her daughters: are there any more sons in my womb? (Ruth 1:11) God cannot give a greater gift than Christ; for in giving Christ, he gives himself to us. All this calls aloud for thankfulness.

Here is a breast of comfort to every person who has Christ: Christ is all, and it is good to lie at this fountainhead. When a Christian sees a deficiency in himself, he may see an all-sufficiency in his Savior. Happy is that people whose God is the Lord (Psalm 144). That servant need not lack who has his master's full purse at command; he need not lack who has Christ, for Christ is all and in all. What though the fig tree does not flourish, if you have Christ the tree of life with all fruit growing there? In the hour of death a believer may rejoice — when he leaves all, he is possessed of all. As Ambrose said: I do not fear death because I have a good Lord. So may a godly person say: I do not fear death because I have a Christ to go to; death will but carry me to that torrent of divine pleasure which runs at his right hand forevermore. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Colossians 3:11: But Christ is all in all.

Philosophers say that every field of knowledge takes its dignity from its subject matter — the more noble the object, the more excellent the knowledge. Since Jesus Christ is the most sublime and glorious of all objects, the knowledge that leads us to Him must be the most excellent knowledge of all. It is called "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8). This knowledge is so sweet that Paul resolved to know nothing but Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2). And indeed, what more did he need to know? For Christ is all in all.

The text contains both a negation and a positive declaration — the apostle states something negative and then something positive.

First, the negation. Paul tells the Colossians what will not profit them — "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision," and so on. Circumcision was a great privilege — a mark that distinguished God's people from those outside, a fence between the enclosed garden and the common ground. The circumcised people were a people under God's watchful care — under His eye and His wing, members of His household. Rather than let them go without, God made the heavens a storehouse and rained manna down on them. He split the rock and made it a living spring. How glorious was circumcision! Romans 9:4-5: "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants... and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ." What rich jewels hung from Israel's crown! But in matters of salvation, all of this counted for nothing — "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision." From which we may draw the following observation:

Doctrine: External privileges commend no one to God. Whether a person is wise, wealthy, or noble — none of this makes him stand out in God's sight. 1 Corinthians 1:26: "Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth." God does not see as man sees. We are impressed by beauty and ability, but these things carry no weight with God. God places His left hand on these things, as Jacob did on Manasseh (Genesis 48:14). God often passes over those who shine most brilliantly in the world and looks instead upon those of humbler standing. The reason is so that "no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Corinthians 1:29). If God were to build His grace only on human wisdom and talent, people would say: "My intelligence, or my eloquence, or my social standing saved me." Therefore, not many wise and not many noble are called. God will have no boasting in His creatures.

Use: Do not rest in outward privileges or achievements. These are not foundations on which to build the hope of salvation. Many of Christ's own relatives went to hell. Paul is called "a servant of the Lord" (Romans 1:1) and James is called "the brother of the Lord" (Galatians 1:19). It is better to be the servant of the Lord than the brother of the Lord. The Virgin Mary was saved not because she was the mother of Christ, but because she was a daughter of faith. It is grace, not bloodline, that gives standing before God. A heart in which Christ has been formed is God's delight — and this brings me to the next point.

Second, the apostle makes a positive declaration: "But Christ is all in all." In these words there is:

First, the subject: Christ. His name is sweet — "like ointment poured out" (Song of Solomon 1:3). It was Job's wish: "Oh that my words were written down, that they were engraved with an iron pen on rock forever!" (Job 19:23). And it is my wish: O that this sweet name of Christ were written — engraved by the pen of the Holy Spirit on our hearts forever. The name of Christ contains, as Chrysostom says, a thousand treasuries of joy.

Second, the predicate: all in all. Christ is all fullness, all sweetness. He is everything imaginable, everything desirable. The one who has Christ can want for nothing more — for Christ is all.

The doctrine drawn from the text is this: Jesus Christ is the essence of all good things — He is all.

First, sometimes faith is said to be all (Galatians 5:6): "Nothing avails but faith." Faith is all instrumentally — as the instrument by which we lay hold of Christ and are saved, the way a drowning man is saved by grabbing hold of a branch.

Second, sometimes the new birth is said to be all (Galatians 6:15): "Nothing avails but a new creation." The new creation is all dispositionally — it prepares and qualifies us for glory. "Without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Chrysostom says that on the day of judgment, God will ask the same question Christ asked in Matthew 22:20: "Whose image and inscription is this?" God will say: "Whose image is this?" If you cannot show Him His own image — consisting in holiness — He will reject you. In that sense, the new creation is all.

Third, here in the text Christ is said to be all — but in what sense is Christ all?

First, Christ is all by way of eminence. All good things exist in Him in their highest and fullest form — as the sun contains within itself the light of all lesser stars.

Second, Christ is all by way of distribution. All good things are transmitted and delivered to us through Christ. Just as precious goods — jewels and spices — come to us by sea, so all heavenly blessings sail to us through the Red Sea of Christ's blood. Romans 11:36: "Through Him are all things." Christ is the spiritual channel through which the golden oil of God's mercy flows into the soul.

Reason: Christ must be all — for "in Him the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9). He shares everything with God the Father. John 16:15: "All that the Father has is Mine." There is therefore in Him enough to scatter all our fears, lift every burden, and supply every need. There can be no deficiency in what is infinite.

Use 1: For instruction. This has six branches.

Branch 1: This shows us the glorious fullness of Jesus Christ — He is all in all. Christ is a complete armor, a storehouse of all spiritual riches. You may go like a bee from flower to flower, drawing a little sweetness here and there, but you will never be satisfied until you come to Christ — for He is all in all.

Specifically, Christ is all in six ways.

First, Christ is all in regard to righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30): "He is made to us righteousness." The robe of innocence, like the veil of the temple, has been torn in two. Our own righteousness is in rags. Isaiah 64:6: "Our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Just as beneath rags the naked body is exposed, so beneath the rags of our own righteousness, the body of death is visible. Our duties can be defiled by sin — but they cannot justify us. But Christ is all in regard to righteousness. Romans 10:4: "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." That is, through Christ we are as righteous as if we had personally fulfilled the law in every point. Jacob received the blessing wearing the garment of his elder brother. In the same way, clothed in Christ our elder brother, we receive the blessing. Christ's righteousness is a seamless garment. 2 Corinthians 5:21: "We are made the righteousness of God in Him."

Second, Christ is all in regard to sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30): "He is made to us sanctification." Sanctification is the spiritual beauty and adornment of the soul — it is simply God placing on us the jewels of holiness. The angels are glorious through it. By it we become like the king's daughter — "all glorious within" (Psalm 45:13). Sanctification orients the soul toward heaven. It turns iron into gold. It transforms the heart, which was once Satan's portrait, into a letter written by Christ. The young women in Esther's time (Esther 2:12) had their months of purification — they were first perfumed and anointed before standing before the king. In the same way, we must first receive the anointing of God (1 John 2:27) and be perfumed with the graces of the Spirit — those sweet fragrances — and then we will stand before the King of heaven. Our days of purification must come before our days of glorification. What a glorious work this is! A soul adorned with grace is like the night sky — the firmament scattered with glittering stars. I may apply to it the words of Song of Solomon 3:6: "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the powders of the merchant?" So we may ask: Who is this coming up out of the wilderness of sin, perfumed with all the graces of the Spirit? Holiness is God's own signature engraved on the soul. But where does this come from? Christ is all — He is made to us sanctification. He sends His Spirit into our hearts as a refiner's fire, burning away our impurities and making our graces sparkle like gold in the furnace. Christ rises on the soul "with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2). He heals the understanding and says, "Let there be light." He heals the heart by melting it in His blood. He heals the will by breaking off its rebellion. In this way He is all in regard to sanctification.

Third, Christ is all in regard to divine acceptance (Ephesians 1:6): "He has made us accepted in the Beloved" — that is, He has made us favorites. As Chrysostom and Theophylact render it: through Christ, God looks on us with favor and receives everything we do with goodwill.

The wicked person, being outside of Christ, is outside of favor. As his plowing is sin (Proverbs 21:4), so his praying is an abomination (Proverbs 15:8). God will not draw near to him — his breath is infected. God will hear his sins but not his prayers. But in Christ, God accepts us. Ecclesiastes 9:7: "Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do." Just as Joseph presented his brothers to Pharaoh and brought them into the king's good favor (Genesis 47:2), so the Lord Jesus carries the names of the saints on His heart and presents them before His Father, bringing them into honor and standing. Through Christ, God will deal and communicate with us. He speaks to us as in Isaiah 62:4: "You shall no more be called Forsaken, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, for the Lord delights in you." When you look through red glass, everything appears red. Through the blood of Christ, we appear beautiful and full of health in God's eyes.

Fourth, Christ is all in regard to divine assistance. A Christian's strength lies in Christ. Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Where does a Christian get the strength to fulfill his duties and resist temptation? Through Christ's strengthening. How does a spark of grace survive in a sea of corruption, with storms of persecution blowing all around? Because Christ holds that spark in the hollow of His hand. Why has the roaring lion not devoured the saints? Because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has stood in their defense. Christ gives us not only the crown but the shield — not only the prize when we overcome, but the strength by which we overcome. Revelation 12:11: "They overcame him" — that is, the accuser of the brothers — "by the blood of the Lamb." Christ guards the fortress of grace so it cannot be blown up. Peter's shield was dented, but Christ kept it from being shattered: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:32) — not be entirely eclipsed. The crown of all the saints' victories must be placed on the head of Christ. Romans 8:37: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ." Write the name of Michael on all your conquests.

Fifth, Christ is all in regard to making peace. When the conscience is in agony, burning under the sense of God's wrath, Christ is all — He pours the balm of His blood into those wounds and turns the storm into calm. Christ makes peace not only in the court of heaven but in the court of conscience. He establishes peace not only above us but within us (John 16:33): "That in Me you may have peace." Every golden stream of peace flows from this fountain. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you" (John 14:27). Jesus Christ not only purchased peace for us but speaks it to us. He is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Peace is a crown jewel of His reign. He whispers His love to the soul and sends His Spirit — that blessed dove — bearing an olive branch of peace in its mouth. The peace Christ gives is peace in the midst of trouble (Micah 5:5): "This One will be our peace when the enemy comes into our land." Kings can declare war in a time of peace, but Christ declares peace in a time of war. This peace "surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). It is a foretaste of glory — a cluster of grapes from the true vine that gladdens the heart. So Christ is all in regard to making peace — He makes peace for us and within us.

Sixth, Christ is all in regard to reward. He is the one who crowns us after all our labors and sufferings. He died to lift us up. His being pressed in the winepress was meant to bring us into the wine cellar. He has gone ahead to take possession of heaven on behalf of all believers (Hebrews 6:20): "Where the forerunner has entered on our behalf, even Jesus." Christ has gone to prepare a place for the saints (John 14:2). He makes heaven ready for them, and makes them ready for heaven. So Christ is all in regard to reward (Revelation 22:12): "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me."

If Christ is all, this shows us the vast difference between Christ and created things. The difference is as great as between being and nothingness. Christ is all in all, and the creature is nothing at all. "Why do you set your eyes on what is not?" (Proverbs 23:5). When Solomon had sifted out the finest quality and distilled the very best of all earthly excellence, his conclusion was: all was vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:11). The Greek word for vanity means empty. All earthly comforts are said to be empty — empty of what we imagine they contain, empty of true satisfaction. This is why they are compared to wind (Hosea 12:1). A person can no more fill his heart with the world than fill his stomach by breathing. The creature is said to be nothing in three senses.

First, it is nothing to a person in spiritual distress. When the spirit is wounded, outward things bring no more relief than a golden crown cures a headache.

Second, the creature is nothing to a person who has heaven in view. When Paul saw that light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of the sun (Acts 26:13), though his eyes were open he saw no one (Acts 9:8). In the same way, the person who has the glory of heaven in view is blind to the world. He sees nothing in it to attract him or make him want to stay.

Third, the creature is nothing to a person who is dying. At the hour of death, a person is at his most serious — most capable of giving a true assessment of things. At that moment, the world is nothing. Its sorrows are real, but its joys turn out to have been imaginary. What an enormous difference, then, between Christ and created things! Christ is all in all, and the creature nothing at all. Yet how many people destroy their souls for nothing?

This also shows where the soul should turn when everything else is lacking — go to Christ, who is all in all. Do you need grace? Go to Christ (Colossians 2:3): "In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Christ is the great Lord Treasurer. Go to Him and say: "Lord, I am poor in grace, but in You are all my sources of supply." "Lord, I am blind — You have eye salve to heal me. I am defiled — You have water to cleanse me. My heart is hard — You have blood to soften it. I am empty of grace — bring Your fullness to my emptiness." In all our spiritual needs we should come to Christ as Jacob's sons went to their brother Joseph, who opened all the storehouses and gave them grain and provision for the journey (Genesis 41:56; 42:25). The Lord has made Christ our Joseph, in whom all treasures are hidden (Colossians 2:3). Go to Christ. He is all in all. And to encourage you to come to Him: in Him there is not only fullness but generosity — "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters." Christ is not only full as a honeycomb, but flowing like one.

If Christ is all, here is a Christian's account of his assets — how rich is the one who has Christ! He has everything that could make him truly and completely happy. When asked where his riches are, the true saint answers: Christ is my riches. A true saint cannot be poor in any ultimate sense. His house may be nearly bare — he may have scarcely a bed to lie on. "To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless" (1 Corinthians 4:11). Yet at the same time he can triumph with the apostle: "As having nothing, yet possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10). He has Christ, who is all. When a believer can call nothing his own, he can say everything is his. The tabernacle was covered with rough skins on the outside (Exodus 25) — yet within, most of it was gold. So a saint may have poor clothing on the outside, but he is lined with gold: Christ is formed in his heart, and so he is "all glorious within."

If Jesus Christ is all, then a Christian should be content with Christ. What if he lacks other things — is not Christ enough? If a man has the sun, he does not complain that he lacks a candle. Does not the one who has "the unsearchable riches of Christ" have enough? I have read of a godly man who was blind. His friend asked if he was not troubled by the loss of his sight. The friend replied: "Are you troubled because you lack what flies have, when you have what angels have?" So I say to a Christian: why are you distressed over lacking what the condemned have, when you possess what the glorified saints have? Suppose a father refuses to furnish his son's house but settles all his land on him — does the son have any cause to complain? If God withholds a little worldly comfort from you, but settles His inheritance on you and gives you the field where the pearl of great price is hidden — do you have any cause to complain? A Christian who lacks necessities, yet having Christ, has the one thing needful. "You are complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10). Complete in Christ — and not content with Christ? Luther says the sea of God's mercy should swallow up our individual griefs. Surely this ocean of God's love in giving us Christ should drown all our complaints. Let the Christian take up the harp and praise God.

If Christ is all, consider the desperate condition of a person without Christ. He is poor — he is worth nothing (Revelation 3:17): "You are wretched and miserable and poor." The misery of a person without Christ will be seen in seven particulars.

First, he has no justification. What a glorious thing it is when a poor sinner is acquitted of guilt and declared righteous! But this privilege flows from Christ alone. All pardons are sealed in His blood (Acts 13:39): "Through Him everyone who believes is justified." The one who is outside of Christ is not justified. The guilt of sin clings to him. He must answer to justice in his own person — and the curse stands against the sinner in full force.

The person who lacks Christ lacks the beauty of holiness. Jesus Christ is a living spring of grace (John 1:14): "full of grace and truth." A person without Christ has no grace — not a thread of holiness. A branch must first be grafted into the tree before it can receive sap and life from the root. We must first be grafted into Christ before we can receive from His fullness grace upon grace (John 1:16). A person outside of Christ is red with guilt and black with filth. He is unholy, and if he dies in that condition he cannot see God (Hebrews 12:14).

The person who lacks Christ has no true nobility. It is through Christ that we become kin to God — members of the royal family of heaven. It is through Christ that God is not ashamed to be called our God (Hebrews 11:16). But outside of Christ, a person has no standing before God. Whatever his earthly father may be, the devil is his spiritual father (John 8:44).

The person who lacks Christ lacks freedom (John 8:36): "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." A person outside of Christ is a slave even when he thinks he is sinning most freely.

The person who lacks Christ has no ability for service. He is like Samson after his hair was cut — his strength is gone. He lacks any vital spiritual principle and cannot walk with God. He is like a dead limb in the body — no strength, no movement (John 15:5): "Apart from Me you can do nothing." An organ makes no sound unless air is blown into it. In the same way, unless Christ breathes into the soul by His Spirit, it can produce no harmony and has no strength for any holy action.

The person who lacks Christ has no consolation. Christ is called the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25). A person without Christ is without comfort. How can such a person have comfort when death approaches? He is in debt with no one to vouch for him. His wounds bleed and he has no physician. He sees the fire of God's wrath coming and has nothing to shield him. He is like a ship caught in a storm. Sickness stirs up a tempest in his body, and sin stirs up a tempest in his conscience, and he has nowhere to take shelter. "Their faces will be like flames" (Isaiah 13:8) — such fear and horror will seize sinners in that day that their faces will go pale. What good are all the comforts of the world to a dying sinner? He looks to his friends, but they cannot help him. Bring him his bags of gold and silver — it only grieves him to leave them behind. Bring him music — what good is a harp and violin to a condemned man? Those who die without Christ, who is the consolation of Israel, are in such anguish that no music in the world can soothe them.

The person who lacks Christ has no salvation (Ephesians 5:23): "He is the Savior of the body." He saves only those who are members of His mystical body. Christ leaped into the sea of His Father's wrath to save His people from drowning. Those who die outside of Christ are cut off from all hope of salvation.

This rebukes those who busy themselves with other things while neglecting Christ. You may gain the whole world, but without Christ you are nothing more than a well-dressed beggar. The physician diagnoses physical diseases in others but ignores the disease of his own soul — and while he finds remedies for everyone else, he neglects the remedy of Christ's blood for himself. The lawyer spends his days securing other men's legal claims to their land, while he himself has no claim to Christ. The merchant is absorbed in buying and selling but never trades for the pearl of great price. Those who fix their minds so completely on the world that they neglect Christ are doing nothing but spinning spider-webs (Habakkuk 2:13): "Is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples toil only for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?"

Since Christ is all, place a high value on Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:7): "To you who believe, He is precious." Imagine a jewel that contained the worth of every other jewel combined — would you not treasure it above all else? Christ is that jewel. He is so precious that Paul counted everything as loss in order to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). Prize Christ above your possessions, above your closest relationships. The person who does not prize Christ above all does not deserve Christ at all. Jesus Christ is a blessing beyond full comprehension — everything God could require for our satisfaction and everything we could desire for our salvation is found in Him. Let Him hold the highest place in your estimation. Bernard said that no writing pleased him unless he found the name of Christ there. The name of Christ is the only music to a Christian's ear, and the blood of Christ is the only true comfort to a Christian's heart.

Since Jesus Christ is all, make sure of Christ. Keep seeking in the means of grace until you have obtained this pearl of great price. In Christ, every good thing is gathered together. Do not let your soul rest until this cluster of myrrh lies between your breasts (Song of Solomon 1:13). In other things we fight for ownership — this house is mine, these jewels are mine. Why not say: this Christ is mine? There are only two words that can truly satisfy the soul: deity and ownership. Augustine asked: What is God to me if He is not mine? What good was it to the people in Noah's day that an ark existed, if they never got into the ark? To persuade you to obtain Christ, let me show you what an enriching blessing He is.

Christ is the supreme good. Place anything you like on the scale opposite Him — He outweighs it infinitely. Is life sweet? Christ is better! He is the life of the soul (Colossians 3:4), and His loving-kindness is better than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Are relationships sweet? Christ is better still — He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Christ is also a sufficient good. The person who has Christ needs nothing more. If you have the ocean, you have no need of a cistern. If someone possessed a single manuscript containing all human learning — every art and science — he would need no other book. In the same way, the person who has Christ needs look no further. Christ gives both grace and glory (Psalm 84:11) — the one to cleanse us, the other to crown us. As Jacob said when he heard Joseph was alive: "It is enough" (Genesis 45:28). So the person who has Christ may say: it is enough — Jesus is alive.

Christ is a suitable good. In Him all fullness dwells (Colossians 1:19). He is everything the soul could desire. Christ is beauty to adorn, gold to enrich, balm to heal, bread to strengthen, wine to comfort, and salvation to crown. If we are in danger, He is a shield. If we are discouraged, He is a sun. His storehouse more than amply furnishes every need of the soul.

Christ is a sanctifying good. He makes every situation work for our good, sweetens all our comforts, and sanctifies all our hardships.

Christ sweetens all our comforts and turns them into blessings. Health is blessed, wealth is blessed, relationships are blessed. Christ's love is like pouring fresh water on flowers — it makes them give off a richer fragrance. A wicked person cannot enjoy earthly things the way a godly person can. He may possess more, but he enjoys less. The person who has Christ can say: this mercy reaches me through the hand of my Savior — it is a token of His love, a foretaste of glory.

Christ sanctifies all our hardships so that they become medicine for the soul — they work sin out and work grace in. When God tightens the strings of His instrument, He is tuning it to produce better music. Christ ensures that His people lose nothing in the furnace but their impurities.

Christ is a rare blessing — few people truly have Him. The finest things, when they become common, begin to be taken for granted. When silver was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones (1 Kings 10:27), people thought nothing of it. Christ is a jewel that few possess, which should both increase our appreciation for Him and sharpen our pursuit of Him. There are people to whom God has given the wealth of the entire world, but He has not given them Christ. They have the richness of the earth but not the blessing of heaven. Many people have Christ proclaimed in their hearing, but few have Christ formed in their hearts. Those who are without Christ should find no rest until they have Him.

Christ is a chosen and select good. God shows more love in giving us Christ than in giving us crowns and kingdoms. God may give us other things and still not love us. But in giving Christ, He gives the highest proof of His love. God may give worldly people the blessings of this earth, but in giving Christ to a person He gives the blessings of His throne. Abraham sent away the sons of his concubines with gifts, but he gave everything he had to Isaac (Genesis 25:5). God may send others away with a little gold and silver, but if He gives you Christ, He gives you everything He has. For Christ is all and in all (Psalm 145:16): "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." In giving the world, God opens His hand. But in giving Christ, He opens His heart. Christ is the crowning blessing.

Christ is such a good that without Him nothing else is truly good. Without Christ, health is not a blessing — it becomes fuel for sinful desires. Wealth is not a blessing — it becomes a golden trap. Even the means of grace are not truly good without Christ. Though good in themselves, they profit nothing without Him. They are like breasts with no milk, or bottles with no wine. Without Christ, the means of grace will not only be a dead letter but will become a means of greater condemnation — for lack of Christ, millions go to hell loaded down with religious observances.

Christ is an enduring good. Other things are like a lamp that uses itself up as it burns. "The heavens will wear out like a garment" (Psalm 102:26). But Jesus Christ is permanent. With Him are durable riches (Proverbs 8:18) that last as long as eternity itself.

Christ is a giving and generous good. He is full not merely as a vessel that holds water but as a spring that pours it out. And He is willing to give Himself to us. He calls: "Come to Me, all who are weary." He eagerly desires that the union between us and Him be completed. If only we were as willing as Christ is! Given all this variety of excellence in Jesus Christ, we should be filled with an eager desire to have a share in Him.

But how can I obtain a part in Christ?

First, see your need of Christ — recognize that you are completely undone without Him. The furnace of hell is being prepared for sinners. What will you do without Christ? Only the Lord Jesus can stand as a shield to keep the fire of God's wrath from consuming you. Is there not the greatest need imaginable for Christ? Though Christ is offered to sinners, He will not throw Himself away on those who see no need of Him. See yourself as wounded, and then Christ — that good Samaritan — will pour wine and oil into your wounds. "He who does not believe has been judged already" (John 3:18). The person who dies in his sin without laying hold of Christ by faith is as certainly condemned as if the sentence had already been carried out.

Second, be persistent in seeking Christ — cry out: Lord, give me Christ or I die. As Achsah said to her father Caleb: "You have given me land in the Negev; give me also springs of water" (Joshua 15:19). In the same way, a poor soul should say: Lord, You have given me an estate in this world, but this land cannot quench my thirst — give me also springs of water. Give me those living springs that flow from my Savior's blood. Lord, I thirst after Jesus Christ. Nothing but Christ will satisfy me. Without Him I am dead, I am lost. When the blind man cried out persistently, Jesus stopped and healed him (Luke 18:40). Christ cannot turn away a praying soul. Just as a tender mother opens her arms when her child cries for her, so when a humble, thirsty sinner cries out persistently to heaven, God will open the fountain of free grace and say: Here — take My Christ. Be satisfied with Him. Let Him be to you all in all, both food and medicine.

Third, be willing to receive Christ as He is offered — as both Prince and Savior (Acts 5:31). Do not try to bargain with Christ. Some want Christ and their sins as well. If Christ is all, are you unwilling to give up anything for this all? Christ asks you to give up nothing except what would damn you if you kept it — namely your sins. Turn from this poison in repentance, and Christ will pour in the wine of His blood to restore your heart.

Some make a partial offer to Christ — they will give up some sins but hold one back in reserve. If you leave even one sin in your heart, it will become an egg for Satan to hatch. If a person gives up many sins but clings to love for one sin, he has an adulterous heart, and Christ will not enter into covenant with him. Give up everything for the One who is everything — give up your sinful desires, and your very life if Christ calls for it.

This also calls us not only to obtain Christ but to labor to know that we have Christ (1 John 2:3): "By this we know that we have come to know Him." Some theologians call this the sensible awareness of faith. Concerning this knowledge that Christ is ours — which is the same as assurance — I will set out four conclusions.

First, this knowledge is attainable — it can be obtained (1 John 5:13): "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." The apostle wrote to these believers so that they could know they were believers and could be assured that Christ was theirs. The Roman Catholics deny this certainty of knowledge. One of their canons actually declares: let anyone who holds to assurance be condemned. But assurance can be obtained, as the following arguments demonstrate.

Why else would God command us to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), and to test ourselves whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), if assurance were impossible? The Greek word for testing means to pierce through a piece of metal to see whether it is gold all the way through. A Christian can similarly pierce his heart through self-examination to see whether Christ has been formed within him.

What purpose do all the scriptural signs of being in Christ serve if a person cannot actually come to know whether he has an interest in Christ? "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers" (1 John 3:14). "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit" (1 John 4:13). These signs would be pointless if assurance were beyond reach.

There are duties commanded in Scripture that would be utterly impossible if a person cannot know whether he has an interest in Christ. We are commanded to rejoice in God (Philippians 4:4) and to rejoice even in suffering (1 Peter 4:13). How can someone rejoice in suffering if he has no way of knowing whether Christ belongs to him or not?

Why would Christ promise to send the Comforter (John 14:16) — whose very work is to bring the heart to assurance — if assurance that Christ is ours were unattainable? Scripture speaks of the seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and the Spirit as a deposit and firstfruits (2 Corinthians 1:22; Romans 8:23). The promise of the Comforter would be empty, and the Spirit's witness and deposit would be illusions, if the assurance of union with Christ were not genuinely possible.

Some of the saints have arrived at this certainty, which proves it can be obtained. Job knew that his Redeemer lives (Job 19:25). Paul had this assurance (2 Timothy 1:12; Galatians 2:20). The apostle speaks of it as something common to believers (Romans 8:35): "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" He does not say who shall separate me, but who shall separate us — so all of this demonstrates that a believer can come to know his interest in Christ.

Caution one: this does not mean the saints always have the same level of certainty, or that their assurance is so complete that it leaves no room for doubt or struggle. Their comforts ebb and flow just as their graces do. At one point David says God's loving-kindness was before his eyes (Psalm 26:3); at another he cries out: "Where is Your loving-kindness?" (Psalm 89:49). At one point Paul raises the banner of victory and sings his triumphant song (Romans 8:37): "We are more than conquerors." At another point his confidence seems to crumble — he is like a man floundering in the middle of the sea, crying out: "Wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7:24). A saint in this life is like a ship at anchor — safe, yet rocked by the waves. God permits these doubts in His children at times so that they will long all the more for heaven, where they will have an unceasing flood-tide of joy.

Caution two: this does not mean all believers have the same degree of assurance.

Assurance is more properly the fruit of faith than faith itself. Just as the root of a rose may be alive even when the flower is not visible, faith may be alive in the heart even when the flower of assurance has not yet appeared. Yet this much is certain: God's Spirit works so much in the heart of every true believer that he can build his hope upon it. For example: a deep prizing of Christ, a resting in Christ, a delight in His image, a love for His word. Even the weakest believer has enough to show that he would not trade it for the whole world.

Assurance is difficult to obtain — it is a rare jewel and hard to come by. Not many Christians possess it.

God sometimes withholds assurance from His people so that they will walk humbly. Because of our fallen nature, we tend to abuse the richest mercies — moths breed in the finest cloth, and worms in the sweetest fruit. Pride is quick to breed in the sweet fruit of assurance. It is hard for Christians to lack assurance and be content, and to have it and remain humble.

Satan does everything he can to block our assurance. He is called the red dragon (Revelation 12:3) — and how he stirs up the waters of a Christian's peace! If the devil cannot keep a believer out of heaven, he will do everything he can to keep heaven out of the believer's experience on earth. He torments believers with fears and anxieties. Even if he cannot erase a Christian's evidence of salvation, he sometimes casts such a fog before the believer's eyes that he cannot read that evidence. The devil resents God receiving any glory and the soul receiving any comfort.

Our lack of assurance is most often our own fault. We walk carelessly, neglect our spiritual watch, let go of the promises, and give in to temptation. No wonder we then walk in darkness and cannot tell whether Christ is ours or not. Our inconsistent walk grieves the Spirit, whose work it is to seal assurance within us. If we quench the graces of the Spirit, it is no surprise when God withholds the comforts of the Spirit.

Assurance is deeply sweet. This wine of paradise cheers the heart. Without this knowledge that Christ is ours, we often hang our harps on the willows and sit weeping (Psalm 137:1-2). A man may have a rich gold mine in his field, but if he does not know it is there, he gains no comfort from it. Hagar had a well of water right beside her, but because her eyes were kept from seeing it, she sat down and wept. It is the knowledge of our share in Christ that produces comfort. "My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47) — not a Savior, but my Savior. The person who knows Christ is his has received a kiss from Christ's lips and dies in triumph. Assurance brings a person into heaven before his time.

Assurance is very practical — it will drive us to active service for Christ.

Assurance produces active obedience. Contrary to what the Roman Catholics claim, assurance does not breed complacency — it breeds energy. It makes us soar in holy duties like eagles on the wing. Faith makes us alive; assurance makes us lively. If we know that Christ is ours, we will never feel we have loved Him enough or served Him enough. "The love of Christ compels us" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Assurance is like wings to a bird, like oil to a lamp, like weights to a clock — it sets all the gears of obedience in motion. Assurance sharpens the graces; it stirs up hope, love, and zeal. Faith makes a Christian walk; assurance makes him run. "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Assurance fills the soul with such joy that strength for duty flows from it.

Assurance also produces passive obedience (Romans 5:3-5): "We also rejoice in our tribulations, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts." The person who has Christ's love poured into his heart will be willing to pour out his blood for Christ. The person who knows Christ is his will step out to meet Him, as Peter stepped out onto the water. He comforts himself with this: though he may lose everything for Christ, he will find everything in Christ. The person assured that Christ is his will risk losing all for Him. He knows that while he may be a loser for Christ, he cannot be a loser by Christ — for Christ is all and in all. No wonder Paul was willing to be bound and to die for Christ (Acts 21:13) when he knew that Christ loved him and gave Himself for him (Galatians 2:20).

But how can I obtain this jewel of assurance?

First, make the means of grace a regular part of your life. When the bride sought Christ diligently, she found Him joyfully (Song of Solomon 3:4). The ordinances are the lattice through which Christ looks out and gives the soul a glimpse of His face. Just as Christ made Himself known to His disciples in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:35), so through the use of the holy ordinances Christ makes a glorious disclosure of Himself to the soul. Christ's parents found Him in the temple (Luke 2:46). Those who want to find Christ and experience the kiss of His lips will surely meet Him there.

Second, keep your conscience pure. You would not pour wine into a dirty glass — you pour it into a clean one. In the same way, when the soul has been cleansed from the love of every sin, God will pour in the sweet wine of assurance. "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience" (Hebrews 10:22). Guilt clips the wings of joy. The person who knows he is hiding some secret sin cannot draw near to God in full assurance. Assurance is a flower that grows only in a pure heart. Before David prays for joy, he first prays for a clean heart (Psalm 51:10): "Create in me a clean heart, O God."

Third, be vigorous in exercising faith. The more a child obeys, the sooner he receives his father's smile. If your faith is near death (Revelation 3:2) — like armor gathering dust or a habit that has gone dormant in the soul — do not expect assurance. God does not speak peace to you when you are spiritually asleep. It is lively faith that blossoms into assurance. Abraham had a vigorous, active faith (Romans 4:18): "In hope against hope he believed." That is, against the hope offered by his senses, he believed in the hope held out in the promise. How graciously God revealed Himself to Abraham — calling him His friend and taking him into His confidence (Genesis 18:17): "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" Do you want Christ to reveal His love to you? Keep faith active. This is the bird that soars high and plucks a cluster of grapes from the true vine.

Since Christ is all, make Him all to you.

Make Christ all in your understanding — be eager to know nothing but Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2): "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Augustine said of Cicero: he admired his eloquence, but he could not take full delight in reading him because he could not find the name of Christ there. What good is all other knowledge to a person at the hour of death who is ignorant of Christ? What is it to have medical knowledge — to be able to discuss the causes and symptoms of disease — and at the same time to be ignorant of the healing found under Christ's wings? What is it to know astronomy — to discuss the stars and planets — and yet be ignorant of Christ, that bright morning star who leads to heaven? What is it to be skilled in business and ignorant of the one commodity that both enriches and crowns? What is it to be well versed in music and ignorant of Christ, whose blood makes peace in heaven and music in the conscience? Make Christ all — be willing to know nothing but Christ. Let the knowledge of Jesus Christ hold first place, as the sun holds first place among the lesser planets.

This is the knowledge that crowns all other knowledge (Proverbs 4:18): "The prudent are crowned with knowledge."

We cannot truly know ourselves unless we know Christ. He is the one who shines light into our own hearts and reveals the stains of our souls, causing us to see ourselves clearly and be humbled. Christ shows us our own emptiness and need — and until we see our emptiness, we are not ready to be filled with the golden oil of God's mercy.

We cannot know God except through Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Outside of Christ, God is terrifying — He is a consuming fire. It is through Christ that we come to know God as a friend. Treasure up the knowledge of Christ. He is the golden ladder by which we ascend to heaven. To be ignorant of Christ is like a man who has been poisoned, while in the garden nearby there is an herb that could cure him — but he does not know it exists.

Make Christ all in your affections.

Desire nothing but Christ — He is the sum of all good things. "You are complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10). Christ is the Christian's fulfillment. What should the soul desire less? What could it desire more? "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth" (Psalm 73:25). David had his crown and his throne to take pleasure in, yet it was the presence of Christ he chiefly thirsted after. Without Christ, all his other comforts were not just empty but bitter.

Love nothing but Christ. Love is the finest affection, the purest stream of the soul, the richest gift a person has to give. Since Christ is all, love Him above all. Let your rivers flow into this golden sea. In Christ are "unsearchable riches" (Ephesians 3:8). The angels have lived in heaven for ages, and to this day they do not fully know how rich Christ is. Neither man nor angel can set a full price on the pearl of great price. Should not Jesus Christ lie nearest our hearts? Should He not have the best of our love?

If you love other things, when they perish your love is lost. But Christ lives forever to return your love.

You can love other things in excess, but you cannot love Christ in excess. Mary loved much (Luke 7:47), but not too much. If Christ cannot be prized enough, He cannot be loved too much. Even the angels in heaven cannot love Christ to the full measure He deserves.

When you love other things, you love something less than yourself — a fine house, a pleasant garden — these things are below you. If you want to give your deepest love to anything, give it to something better than yourself, and that is Jesus Christ. He who is all — let Him have all. Give your love to the one who desires it most and deserves it best.

Make Christ all in how you use your abilities — do everything in His strength (Ephesians 6:10): "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." When you face a temptation to resist or a sinful habit to put to death, do not go forward in your own strength but in the strength of Christ. Some go to their duties relying on their own gifts, and go against sin relying on their own resolutions — and they come back defeated. Do as David when he faced Goliath: "I come to you in the name of the Lord." Say the same to whatever sinful desire towers over you: I come against you in the name of Christ. We conquer when the Lion of the tribe of Judah marches before us. Christ is called a horn of salvation (Luke 1:69). The strength of an animal lies in its horn, and so the strength of a believer lies in this horn of salvation. A bird might as well try to fly without wings as we can accomplish anything effective without Christ (1 Samuel 2:9): "For not by strength shall a man prevail."

Make Christ all in your aims — do everything for His glory (1 Peter 4:11). Let Christ be the center to which every line of your actions runs. The hypocrite claims to act for Christ but is really advancing his own interests (Hosea 10:1) — like a man who pretends to court a woman on behalf of his friend but is actually a suitor for himself. How many use the name of Christ as a stepping stone to climb into positions of honor and advancement? Make Christ all in your aims and intentions. In every action ask yourself: will this honor Christ? Will this bring any gain to His kingdom? How blessed it would be if it could be said of us, as the angel said to the two Marys (Matthew 28:5): "I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified." A person who does not take a right aim can never hit the target. The person who does not aim at God's glory can never reach the goal of his own salvation.

Make Christ all in your trust — rely on no one but Christ for salvation. The Roman church makes Christ something but not everything. They trust partly to Christ and partly to their own merits. They pray to Christ and to angels — to Christ as Mediator of Redemption and to angels as mediators of intercession. They invoke the Virgin Mary for mercy, mixing her intercession with Christ's blood. But what is given to others through misguided devotion is taken from Christ by sacrilege. Eagle feathers will not blend with feathers from other birds. Christ will not share His glory by having His blood mixed with the merits of saints or the prayers of angels. Christ will be all in all, or nothing at all.

Is there not a natural trace of this same error in our own hearts? We naturally want to build our hope of salvation on the foundation of our own righteousness. As Luther said: every person is born with a pope in his heart. How easily we idolize our duties and our graces, drawing so much confidence from the stream that we forget the spring! Make Christ all in regard to trust. Let Him be your city of refuge to flee to, your ark to shelter in. Luther said: even if I could keep the whole moral law perfectly, I would not trust in it for justification — I would bow to Christ's merits alone.

Make Christ all in your joy (Galatians 6:14): "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." "My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). The Virgin Mary did not rejoice so much that she was Christ's mother as that Christ was her Savior. How filled with joy was Simeon when he took Christ in his arms! (Luke 2:29) How much more joyful should the person be who has taken Christ in the arms of faith! When the wise men saw the star, "they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (Matthew 2:10). Christian, have you seen the Lord Jesus? Has this morning star shined into your heart? Then rejoice and be filled with great joy. Will others rejoice in the world, while you do not rejoice in Christ? God has given the men of this world a crutch to lean on. He has given you a Christ to lean on. It reflects poorly on Christ when His saints walk in sadness and discouragement. Is not Christ yours — what more could you want?

But someone says: I am poor in this world, and that takes the joy out of me and makes my life heavy going.

But do you not have Christ? And is not Christ all (Psalm 16:5-6): "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places"? The person united to Christ by faith has a claim to all of Christ's riches. A beggar who marries a prince has a right and title to all of the prince's wealth.

But if I truly knew that Christ was mine, then I could rejoice — the question is, how can I know that?

Is your soul filled with longing and thirsting after Christ? Do you desire the water from Christ's side to cleanse you, as well as the blood from His side to save you? These sighs and longings are stirred up by the Spirit of God. By the beating of this pulse, you can judge the life of faith within you. A wicked person has none of these longings after Christ (Job 21:14): "They say to God, 'Depart from us.'" If your heart is drawing toward Christ, it is because the Spirit — like a divine magnet — has been drawing it.

Have you surrendered yourself fully to Christ in complete submission? Are you His not only by upbringing but by wholehearted consecration? This is a good sign that Christ is yours (Psalm 27:8): "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I shall seek.'"

Be thankful for Christ. God has done more for you in giving you Christ than if He had seated you among the princes of the earth (Psalm 113:8). He has done more for you than if He had made you an angel — for through your union with Christ, you are richer than the angels. In giving you Christ, God has given you more than if He had given you the whole world. God can create more worlds, but He has only one Son. As Naomi said to her daughters-in-law: "Do I have any more sons in my womb?" (Ruth 1:11) God cannot give a greater gift than Christ — for in giving Christ, He gives Himself to us. All of this calls loudly for thankfulness.

Here is a wellspring of comfort for everyone who has Christ: Christ is all, and it is good to drink at this fountain. When a Christian sees a deficiency in himself, he can look to his Savior and find there an all-sufficiency. "Happy is the people whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 144:15). A servant who has his master's full purse at his disposal will lack nothing. The person who has Christ will lack nothing, for Christ is all and in all. What does it matter if the fig tree does not blossom, if you have Christ — the tree of life bearing every kind of fruit? In the hour of death a believer may rejoice — for when he leaves everything behind, he enters into the possession of everything. As Ambrose said: I do not fear death because I have a good Lord. So any godly person may say: I do not fear death because I have a Christ to go to. Death will only carry me to that river of divine pleasure that flows at His right hand forever. Therefore, "comfort one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:18).