Christ is all, and in all — Colossians 3:11, October 19th - 22nd
Christ is all, and in all — Colossians 3:11, October 19th - 22nd
October 19—Morning—Isaiah 65:20
"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old, but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed." —Isaiah 65:20
My soul, reflect this morning on the wonderful and blessed transformations brought about in the lives of people by the gospel. Not only will there be new heavens and a new earth, but also new hearts, new minds, and new dispositions to enjoy them. "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come." Among the many blessed changes resulting from Jesus’s salvation, premature deaths will be no more. Indeed, for those in Christ, there is no such thing as an untimely death, for a voice from heaven declares blessed all who die in the Lord. A child, though newly born, if born in Christ, even if their life lasts but a single day, is just as ready for glory as someone who has lived a hundred years. In Jesus, they are counted as having lived that long.
What a sweet and profound thought! What a blessedness, dearest Jesus, your great salvation has brought into the lives of your people. But what a sobering thought it is for the unawakened, unregenerated sinner, whose life, even if extended to a hundred years, only prolongs their misery. As they entered the world, so they journey through it, and leave it—still unrenewed. Oh, what distinguishing grace! Oh, what a great salvation!
October 19—Evening—Psalm 47:4
"He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah." —Psalm 47:4
My soul, to whom else but the all-lovely and all-loving Jesus could this blessed verse refer, even without the little word Selah placed at the end, marking the emphasis of the Holy Spirit? Who else would be worthy to choose the inheritance of His people but He who is both their Lord and their eternal inheritance and portion? It was God the Father who chose Him to be the excellency of Jacob, when He gave Him as a covenant to the people. And when, in the infinite wisdom of Jehovah, this one glorious Person, in all the holiness and purity of His nature, was revealed, upon Him the Lord placed His choice.
And had all His people been present—had it been possible for all the chosen of Zion to be consulted in this choice—would not every soul have fixed its longing eyes upon Him? From every heart and tongue, the universal voice would surely have resounded in agreement, proclaiming these delightful words from this scripture: "He shall choose our inheritance for us; the excellency of Jacob, whom He loved!"
Hail, dear and blessed Lord! You are indeed our inheritance and our portion forever! And hail to You, glorious and gracious Father! Your choice, Your gift, and Your appointment give us, confirm, sweeten, and sanctify this eternal and unspeakable mercy. And hail, Holy and Blessed Spirit! May You cause my soul to live by grace here and, in glory, to all eternity, on this excellency of Jacob, whom Jehovah loved!
October 20—Morning—Colossians 3:11
"Christ is all, and in all." —Colossians 3:11
Hail, you great, glorious, and universal Lord! To you, blessed Jesus, every knee shall bow. You are all in all in creation, redemption, providence, grace, and glory. You are everything in your church and in the hearts of your people—in all their joys, their happiness, their trials, and their privileges. You are all in all in your word, in ordinances, and in the means of grace. You are the sum and substance of the entire Bible.
Do we speak of promises? You are the first promise in the sacred word and the fulfillment of every promise that follows—for all are "yes and amen" in you. Do we speak of the law? You are the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Do we speak of sacrifices? By your one sacrifice, you have forever perfected those who are sanctified. Do we speak of prophecies? "To you, all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in you receives forgiveness of sins."
Yes, blessed, blessed Jesus, you are all in all! Be all that I need in time, Lord, and surely you will be my all in all through eternity.
October 20—Evening—Psalm 21:5-6
"His glory is great in your salvation; honor and majesty you have laid upon him; for you have made him most blessed forever." —Psalm 21:5-6
My soul, it is the most delightful thought when you are meditating on the glories of your Redeemer to remember that God the Father is glorified even as you are made joyful in the salvation Jesus has accomplished through His blood and righteousness. Indeed, it was God the Father who called Jesus to the office of Redeemer and equipped Him with all that was needed for the vast work He undertook. But the primary goal of the Redeemer's work was the glory and honor of Jehovah. This is why Jesus, during His earthly ministry, always connected His glory with the glory of the Father.
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him! Father, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.”
Therefore, when Jehovah placed honor and majesty upon the blessed Jesus and made Him most blessed forever, it was all to the Father’s honor and glory. Never was God the Father’s glory more fully revealed than through the salvation accomplished by His beloved Son, Christ Jesus.
See, my soul! I charge you, never lose sight of this precious truth: God the Father’s glory is magnified in your redemption through your adorable Redeemer. Say continually, and dwell with joy on this blessed thought: "My God, my Father in Christ Jesus, is glorified—greatly glorified—in His dear Son. Through Jesus, God has worked out a salvation that brings more glory to the Father than all the works of creation. It is to the honor and glory of Jehovah that sinners are saved through this blessed way of His own appointing."
Shall I not, then, come to Him through Jesus? Shall I not rejoice in telling my God and Father how great His glory is in the salvation brought by Jesus? Shall I not bless and glorify my God and Father as the Author and Giver of such great salvation?
Yes, most blessed God and Father! I bless You, I praise You, and I desire to love You in and through Jesus. As my soul rejoices in the person, work, and offices of Jesus, I will always keep in mind that it is You, most gracious and almighty Father, who has made Him most blessed forever. Surely then, Your glory is great in His salvation! And the glory of the Son of God is great in Your salvation!
October 21—Morning—1 Corinthians 3:22-23
"All are yours; and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." —1 Corinthians 3:22-23
Oh, what a rich inventory is listed here! All things, all blessings, all gifts, all grace, all mercy—everything belongs to the Christian. And notice, my soul, what this is contingent upon—"If you are Christ's." And whose are you, my soul, but His? Has not the Father given you to Him? And has not the Son of God bought you with a price? Have you not voluntarily surrendered yourself to Jesus and given yourself to Him in an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken?
Oh yes, this is certain. Lord, grant me grace and faith in active exercise, so that I may take hold of all the blessedness of this truth by anticipation, until I come to fully realize it in the joy of eternal glory. Christ is mine, and with Him, heaven is mine. God the Father is mine, the Holy Spirit is mine, all covenant blessings are mine. Ordinances, means of grace, the holy word of God—all are mine here and will be my portion forevermore. Hallelujah!
October 21—Evening—Song of Solomon 4:13-14
"Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphor with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices." —Song of Solomon 4:13-14
Listen, my soul, to what Christ, your Husband and Savior, says to the church! And since you are part of that church in Him, take it to heart. Surely the church of Jesus is His garden, and every plant in it, which the heavenly Father has planted, must flourish with all the growth that God gives, like trees planted by the Lord’s right hand. Even the tenderest plants, the youngest of His people, are part of this orchard of pomegranates. For each one has been taken out of the wild wilderness of nature and brought, by sovereign and distinguishing grace, into the Lord’s garden, His church. And like pomegranates—fruit that is large, abundant, sweet, and delightful—these believers are most pleasing in the eyes of Jesus because of the beauty and comeliness He has bestowed upon them.
Observe how gracious your Lord is in describing not only the "pleasant fruits," but also the "chief spices." These represent the various graces of His blessed Spirit that are evident in His people. They partake of all that belongs to Him and derive their beauty, fragrance, and fruitfulness from their Lord, just as a branch draws life from the vine. These graces—faith, love, hope, joy, and peace in believing—are like sweet fruits under His nurturing and ripening influence.
See to it, my soul, that these fruits appear in you and that they abound in you through the Holy Spirit. Oh, the blessedness of knowing and enjoying these things! And how wonderful to be distinguished with such love tokens from Jesus, as rare and precious as the spices of the East. You know that if you are like an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, it is wholly because of Jesus. Nature alone could never produce these fruits, nor could it bring them forth or cause them to flourish.
Oh, dear Lord! If I am, by sovereign grace, precious and pleasant in Your sight, may You be eternally praised and glorified for this distinguishing mercy. For from You, through You, and because of You, I am what I am. And oh, let Your grace live in me, to Your praise and to the glory of His grace, "who has made me accepted in the Beloved!"
October 22—Morning—Psalm 42:8
"The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." —Psalm 42:8
Both night and day are sources of comfort when Jesus is present and when He sanctifies those moments. Indeed, my soul, how can you not be comforted when Jesus is with you, revealing Himself to you? Notice the sweet expression in this verse: your Lord, your Jesus, not only creates blessings but also commands them. His loving-kindness, which is better than life itself, will bring light into your soul even when it feels like night. His love shines like stars in the darkest night, with even greater brilliance when dark providences surround you. Jesus will even give songs in the night, when everything else seems out of tune. So, Lord, do command Your loving-kindness both by day and night, and my prayer and praise will rise to You, the God of my life. This will put more gladness in my heart than when corn, wine, and oil increase.
October 22—Evening—Acts 4:30
"Thy holy child Jesus." —Acts 4:30
There is something so very sweet and precious in this expression that, my soul, you should meditate on it. Surely the apostles had a special meaning in calling the Lord Jesus "the holy child Jesus," and no doubt the Holy Spirit inspired them to express themselves in this way for a reason. It is worth your time to inquire why. You will not find this phrase elsewhere in Scripture. The Redeemer is referred to, in His infancy, as "the child Jesus," and at twelve years old He is still called "the child" (see Luke 2:27, 34, 43), but nowhere else, that I recall, does He receive the unique appellation "the holy child Jesus."
It would be presumptuous to assert the exact reason for this distinction, but there is no harm in pondering it. In Scripture, "child" and "servant" often carry a similar meaning. The apostle Paul notes in his letter to the Galatians that "the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all" (Galatians 4:1). Therefore, this phrase may be understood as referring to Christ’s servanthood, which aligns with the message of the entire Bible (see Isaiah 42:1, compared with Matthew 12:18).
Nevertheless, I am inclined to believe that there is even more intended by the use of "holy child Jesus" in this prayer of the apostles. Perhaps it alludes to His holy nature, which stands in stark contrast to the unholy hands that crucified Him. In this light, the expression becomes even more beautiful and significant. Christ was crucified according to the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, but it was unholy hands that spilled the blood of God's "holy child Jesus."
The phrase "holy child Jesus" serves as a powerful reminder of the holiness of Christ’s nature. From the womb, He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." This is why the angel, before Christ’s incarnation, referred to Him as "that holy thing" (Luke 1:35). The phrase emphasizes not only His holiness but also the cause for which He came: The holy child Jesus became the holy representative of His entire church and people. He is, and forever will be, the head of His body, the church. In the sight of Jehovah, Christ and His members are one.
Now, my soul, considering this phrase in such a light, what a wealth of life, light, and joy it brings to the believer’s heart! Lamb of God! I would say, "Holy child Jesus!" In Your holiness, may I always see myself standing before God and my Father. For I am certain that if the Lord Jehovah made You, who knew no sin, to be sin for Your people, it was with the express purpose that we should be made the righteousness of God in You.