CHRIST IS ALL “Christ is All in All.” – Charles Spurgeon

Christ is All in All

Colossians 3:11

The Apostle was arguing for holiness. He was earnestly contending against sin and for the maintenance of Christian graces, but he did not, as some do who would like to be thought preachers of the Gospel, resort to reasons inconsistent with the Gospel of Free Grace. He did not bring forward a single legal argument; he did not say, “This do, and you shall merit reward”; or, “This do not, and you shall cease to be the Beloved of the Lord.” He knew that he was writing to believers who are not under the Law but under Grace, and he therefore used arguments drawn from Grace, suitable to the character and condition of “the Elect of God, holy and beloved.” He fed the flame of their love with suitable fuel, and fanned their zeal with appropriate means.

Holiness and the New Life in Christ

Observe in this chapter that he begins by reminding the saints of their having risen with Christ; if they indeed have risen with Him, he argues that they should leave the grave of iniquity and the grave clothes of their sins behind, and act as those endowed with superior life, which accounts sin as death and corruption. He then goes on to declare that the believer’s life is in Christ, “for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” He also infers holiness from this; shall those who have Christ for their life defile themselves with guilt? Is it not inevitable that if the Holy One of Israel is in them as their life, their life should be fraught with everything virtuous and good?

Christ as the Distinguishing Mark of the Christian

Then, he brings forward the third argument: in the Christian Church, Christ is the only distinguishing mark. In the New Birth, we are created in the image of Jesus, the Second Adam, and in consequence, all distinctions that belonged to the old creation are rendered valueless. “There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is All, and in all.” The argument from this fact is that, since the only abiding distinction in the New Creation is Christ, we should take care that His image is most clearly stamped upon us so that we may not only confess with our tongues that we are Christians, but that our conversation and entire character will bespeak us as such.

Christ-Likeness as the Mark of the Christian

As you may recognize the Jew by his facial features, the Greek by his gracefulness, and the barbarian by his uncouthness, so should the Christian be known by his Christ-likeness—by the light, love, and life of Christ streaming forth from him! This is the seal of God set upon the forehead of the faithful, and this is the mark of election engraved on the right hand of all the elect. Now, as the only distinction which marks the Christian from other men, and the only essential distinction in the new world of Grace, is Christ, we are led to see beneath this fact a great underlying doctrine.

Christ is All in All in the Realm of Grace

In the realm of Grace, things are what they seem; Christ is apparently All because He is actually All. The fact of a man’s possessing Christ is all in all in the Church because, in very deed, Christ is All in All. All that is real in the Christian, all that is holy, heavenly, pure, abiding, and saving is of the Lord Jesus. This great granite fact lies at the basis of the whole Christian system; Christ is really and truly All in All in His Church, and in each individual member of it.

I. By Whom Is This Truth Recognized?

Paul does not say that Christ is All in All to all men, but he tells us that there is a new creation in which the man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him,” where all national and ceremonial distinctions cease, and Christ is All and in all. It is not to every man that Christ is All and in all; alas, there are many in this world to whom Christ is nothing. He scarcely enters into their thoughts; some of the baser sort only use His name to curse by. As to many others, if they have a religion, it is a proud presumption which excludes a Savior.

The Christless Soul’s Condition

The creed of the self-righteous has no room for the sinner’s Savior; the Justifier of the ungodly is nothing to them. The worldly, the frivolous, the unchaste, the licentious—these do not permit themselves to think of the Holy Redeemer. Perhaps some such are now present, and though they will hear about Him this morning, and of nothing else but Him, they will say, “What a weariness it is,” and be glad when the discourse is ended. Jesus is a root out of a dry ground to multitudes; to them He has neither form nor comeliness, and in Him, they see no beauty that they should desire Him.

The Judgment Day of the Christless

Ah, what will they do when He is revealed in the glory of His power? They thought it nothing to them as they passed by His Cross, but they will not be able to despise Him as they stand convicted before His throne! O you, who make Jesus nothing, kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little! Without Christ, you are today without peace, and will be forever without hope! Nothing remains for Christless souls at the last but a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation.

The Self-Righteous and Their Contempt for Christ

I could well pause here and say let us pray for those who are unbelievers, and so are living without a Savior, that they may not remain any longer in this state of condemnation. There are others in this world to whom Christ is something, but not much. They are anxious to save themselves, but since they must confess some imperfections, they use the merits of Christ as a sort of makeweight for their slight deficiencies. Their robe is almost long enough, and by adding a little fringe of the Redeemer’s grace, it becomes all they can wish. They say prayers, they go to church to take the sacrament, to observe Good Friday—these are the main reliances of many a religionist. When the carriage sticks a little deeper in a rut than usual, they call in the help of the Lord Jesus, and hope that He will put His shoulder to the wheel.

The Vile Contempt of Christ as a Partial Savior

They commonly say, “Well, we must do our best; then Christ will be our Savior, and God is very merciful.” They allow the blessed and all-sufficient work and sacrifice of the Savior to fill up their failures, and they imagine that they are extremely humble in allowing so much as that! Jesus is to them a stopgap, and nothing more; I know not whether the condition of such people is one whit more desirable than that of those to whom Jesus is nothing at all, for this is a vile contempt and despising of Christ indeed—to think that He came to help you to save yourselves; to dream that He is a part Savior, and will divide the world and honor of salvation with the sinner!

The Fullness of Christ’s Work

Those who yoke the sinner and the Savior together as each doing a part rob Christ of all His glory; and this is robbery indeed, to pilfer from the bleeding Lamb of God the due reward of His agonies! “He trod the winepress alone, and of the people, there was none with Him.” In the work of salvation, Jesus stands alone; salvation is of the Lord. If Christ is not All to you, He is nothing to you; He will never go into partnership as a part Savior of men. If He is something, He must be everything, and if He is not everything, He is nothing to you.

II. What This Truth Includes

There are many who unconsciously think Jesus Christ to be much, but they do not understand that He is All in All. I allude to many seeking souls who say, “I would put my trust in Jesus this morning, but I do not feel as I ought.” I see—you think that there is at least a little of your feeling to be added to the Savior’s work before it can avail for you! “But I am not as penitent as I should be, and therefore I cannot rest in Jesus.” I see, your penitence is to add the topstone to the Savior’s yet unfinished work!

Complete Salvation in Christ

Perhaps it is one of the hardest works in the world, so hard as to be impossible except to the Holy Spirit Himself, to drive a man away from the idea that he is to do something, or to be something, in order to his own salvation. Sinner, you are the emptiness, and Christ the fullness! You are the filthiness, and He the cleansing! You are nothing, and He is All in All, and the sooner you consent to this, the better! Have done with saying, “I would come to the Savior if this, and if that,” for this quibbling will delude, delay, and destroy you! Come as you are, just now, even at this moment—for Christ is not almost all—He is ALL IN ALL!

Christ as All in Justification, Sanctification, and Perseverance

There are some, too, who think that Christ is All in some things, but they have not yet seen the full teaching of the text, for it says “Christ is All, and in all.” “He is All,” say they, “in justification; He it is who pardons all our sins and covers us with His righteousness, but as to our sanctification, surely we are to effect that ourselves! And as to our final perseverance, it must depend wholly upon our own watchfulness! Are we not in jeopardy still? Are there not some points which depend upon our own virtue and goodness?”

Christ in All Phases of Salvation

Beloved, God forbid I should say a word against the most earnest watchfulness, against the most diligent endeavors, but I beseech you not to place them in the wrong position, or speak as though the ultimate salvation of the believer was based upon such shifting sand! We are saved in Christ; we are complete in Him; we are sanctified in Christ Jesus—“And He is made of God unto us Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption.” Christ is ALL, not in my justification only, but in my sanctification, too. He is ALL, not only in the first steps of my faith, but in the last. “He is Alpha and Omega; He is the Beginning and the Ending,” says the Lord. There is no point between the gates of Hell and the gates of Heaven where a believer shall have to say, “Christ fails me here, and I must rely upon my own endeavors.”

Christ Alone from Start to Finish

From the dunghill of our corruption up to the throne of our perfection there is no point left to chance, or set aside for us to supply; our salvation has Christ to begin with, Christ to go on with, and Christ to finish with, and that in all points, at all times, for every man or woman born that ever shall be saved. There is no point in which the creature comes in to claim merit, or to bring strength, or to make up for that which was lacking. “Christ is All, and in all.” The saints are “perfect in Christ Jesus.” He said, “It is finished,” and finished it is! He is not the author of our faith only, but the finisher of it, too; He is All in All, and man is nothing at all! This is a truth of God which every believer has recognized.

III. The Unity of Believers in Christ

There are many differences among believers, but there can be no difference as to this essential point. Unhappily, the Christian Church has been divided into sections, but those divisions do not affect our agreement upon this one point, that Christ is All! It is no unkindness if I say that the man who does not accept this is no Christian, nor is it too wide a liberality to affirm that every man who is sound in heart upon this point is most certainly a believer. He who trusts alone in Christ, who submits to Him as his only Teacher, King, and Savior is already a saved man.

Christ’s Glory and His Role in Salvation

But he who gives not Christ the glory, though he should speak with the tongues of men and of angels, though he should have the gift of prophecy and all knowledge, and though he should have all faith, and could remove mountains; and though he should appear to have all virtue, yet he is no Christian if Christ is held in light esteem by him, or is anything less than All in All! In the New Creation, this one thing stands as the mark of the newly created, that “Christ is All, and in all” to them, whatever He may be to others.

Without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, is the entire Church as seen in the Person of Christ Jesus, her Representative and Head; Christ is All for us before the Throne of God! But alas, we need someone to stand between us and our enemies. There is Satan—how shall I meet him? He will accuse me; who shall plead my case? Christ is All in All for that. Whatever fiery darts Satan may shoot, Christ is the Shield that can quench those darts. If Satan tempts me, Christ shall plead for me before the temptation comes; whenever I have to contend with Satan, this is the Weapon with which I should arm myself. If I reason with him, if I bring forward any strength of my own to oppose him, he may well say to me, “Jesus I know, but who are you?” But if I bring Jesus into the conflict, and wield the Merit of His blood, and the Faithfulness of His Promise, Satan cannot overcome the sprinkled blood! We overcome through the blood of the Lamb. Christ Jesus is both Shield and Sword to us, Armor and Weapons of war!

Christ in Our Trials

So in our conflict with the world, whatever trials you have, my dear Brothers and Sisters, Christ is All in All to meet them. Are you poor? He will make you rich in your poverty by His consoling Presence. Are you sick? He will make your bed in your sickness, and will so make your sickbed better than the walks of health. Are you persecuted? Be it for His sake, and you may even leap for joy! Are you oppressed? Remember how He also was oppressed and afflicted, and you will have fellowship with Him in His sufferings. Amidst all the vicissitudes of this present life, Christ is all the Believer needs to bear him up and bear him through. No wave can sink the man who clings to this Life Buoy. He shall swim to Glory on it!

Christ Within Us

So, too, within myself, Christ is All. If I look into the chambers of my inner nature, I see all manner of deficiencies and deformities, and I may well be filled with dismay; but when I see Christ there, my heart is comforted, for He will both destroy the works of the devil, and perfect that which He has begun in me! I am a sinner, but my heart rests on its Savior; I am burdened with this body of sin and death, but behold, my Savior is formed in me the Hope of Glory. I am by nature an heir of wrath, even as others, but I am born into the Second Adam’s household, and therefore I am beloved of the Most High, and a joint-heir with Christ! Is there Christ in your heart, Beloved? Then everything that is there that would make you sorrow may also suggest to you a topic for joy!

Christ as the Source of Joy

The saint is grieved to think that he has sin to confess, but he is glad to think that he is enabled to confess sin. The saint is vexed that he should have so much infirmity, yet he glories in infirmity because the Power of Christ does rest upon him! He is grieved day by day to observe his wanderings, but he is also rejoiced to see how the Good Shepherd follows him and restores his soul! All the evils and shortcomings in me which make me weep also make me glad when Jesus is seen within, for all I see within myself lacking or sinful, I see a sufficient remedy in Christ, who is All in All. Thus, I have given you a second way of meditating upon our Text. Christ is not only All by way of distinction, but He is All to God, All between us and our enemies, and All within ourselves.

Christ is All for Us, to Us, and In Us

We may see another phase of the same meaning if we take a third division. Christ is All for us, He is All to us, He is All in us. Christ is All for us, the Surety, the Substitute in our place to bear our guilt—“For the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him.” “He has made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him.” He is also the Worker standing in our place to fulfill all Righteousness for us. He is the end of the Law for Righteousness to everyone who believes. All that God requires us to be, Christ is for us; He has not presented to God a part of what was done, but has to the utmost farthing paid all that His people owed. Acting as our Forerunner in Heaven, He has taken possession of our inheritance, and as our Surety, He secures to us our entrance there. For us all, Jesus is All, and this day He is All to us. We trust wholly in Him.

Faith in Christ’s Finished Work

I often question myself upon many Christian graces, but there is one thing I never can doubt about, and that is I know I have no other hope but in the blood and Righteousness of Jesus Christ. If a soul can perish relying with all its power upon the finished work of the Savior, then I shall perish; but if saving Faith is an entire reliance upon Him whom God has sent forth to be Propitiation for sin, then I can never perish until God’s Word is broken! Can you not say that, dear Brothers and Sisters, and will it not yield you comfort? Have you anything else you could trust? Have you one good work that you could rely upon? Is there a prayer you have ever offered, an emotion you have ever felt that you would dare to use as a buttress, or as in some degree a prop to your hope of Salvation? I know you reply, “I have nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing! Christ my Savior is all my Salvation and all my desire, and I abhor the very idea of putting anything side by side with Him as a ground of my dependence before God.” Oh then, assuredly you have the mark of Christ’s sheep, for to all of them Christ is All.

Christ in Us—A New Creation

I said also that Christ is All in us, and so He is. Whatever there is in us that is not of Christ and the work of His Spirit will have to come out of us, and blessed be the day in which it is ejected. If I am growing and advancing, but it is a growth in the flesh, and an advance in self, it is a spurious fungus growth, and like Jonah’s gourd, it will perish in a night. Wood, hay, stubble are quick building, but they are also quick burning—only that which belongs to “Christ formed in me the hope of glory,” will prove to be gold, silver, and precious stones. These may seem slow building, but they will abide the fire. O Christian, pray much and labor much to have Christ in you, for He is all that is worth having in you! He is only the husk of a Christian who has not the precious kernel of Christ in his heart! Christ on the Cross saves us by becoming Christ in the heart. Jesus is indeed All for us, All to us, All in us!

Christ is the Channel, the Pledge, and the Sum of All

Shift the kaleidoscope, and take the same Truth of God in another way—Christ is the channel of all, the pledge of all, and the sum of all! The channel of all: all Love and Mercy flow from God through Christ, the Mediator. We get nothing apart from Him. “No man comes unto the Father but by Me.” Other conduits are dry, but this channel is always full. “He is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.”

Christ is the Pledge of All

Christ is the pledge of all. When God gave us Christ, He did as much as say, “I have given you all things.” “He that spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” He is a Covenant to us, the title deeds of the promised rest. And indeed Christ is not only the Channel of all, and the Pledge of all, but the Apostle says He is All—so I take it He is the Sum of All. If you are going to travel on the Continent, you need not carry a bed with you, or a house, or a table, or medicine, or food. If you only have gold in your purse, you have these condensed! Gold is the representative of everything it can buy—it is a kind of universal charm, producing what its owner wishes; I have never yet met with a person in any country who did not understand its meaning. “Money answers all things,” says the wise man, and this is true in a limited sense. But he who has Christ, has indeed all things—he has the Essence, the Substance of all good.

Christ is the Essence of All Good

I have only to plead the name of Jesus before the Father’s throne, and nothing desirable shall be denied me. If Christ is yours, all things are yours! God, who gave you Christ, has in that one Gift summed up the total of all you will need for time and for Eternity, to obliterate the sin of the past, to fulfill the needs of the present, and to perfect you for all the work and bliss of the future.

Christ is All We Need, Desire, and Can Conceive

Once more, let us view our text in another light. Christ is all we need, all we desire, and all of good that we can conceive. He is all I need. Jesus is the Living Water to quench my thirst, the heavenly bread to satisfy my hunger, the snow-white robe to cover me, the sure refuge, the happy home of my soul, my meat and my medicine, my solace and my song, my light and my delight. He is all I desire, and when most covetous, I only covet more of His Presence; when most ambitious, it is my ambition to be like He; when most insatiable in desire, I only long to be with Him where He is.

Christ—The Glory of Heaven

He is all I can conceive of good. When my imagination stretches all her wings to take a flight into realms beyond where the eagle’s wing has been, yet even then she reaches not the height of the Glory which Christ Jesus has promised her; she cannot conceive with her most expanded powers of anything more rich and precious than Christ, her Christ, herself Christ’s, and Christ all her own! Oh, if you want to know what Heaven is, know what Christ is, for the way to spell Heaven is with those five letters that make up the word JESUS. When you get Him, He shall be All to you that your glorified body shall need, and all your glorified spirit can conceive. O precious Christ, You are All in All!

IV. What Does This Truth Involve?

I have shown you, then, in a very hurried way, what it is that this Truth includes. Now, with greater brevity still, WHAT DOES THIS TRUTH INVOLVE? It involves a great many things. First, it involves the Glory and Excellence of Christ. Of whom else could it be said that He is All in All?

The Glory and Excellence of Christ

There are many things in this world that are good, but there is nothing that is good for everything. Some plants may be a good medicine, but not a good cordial. The plant of renown is good every way. Good clothing is not able to stay your hunger, but Christ, the Bread of Heaven, is also the Father’s best robe. You cannot expect any finite thing to be good for all things, but Christ is Infinite Goodness. This Tree of Life bears all manner of fruits, and the leaves are for the healing of the nations. He is Strength and Beauty, Safety and Sanctity, Peace and Plenty, Healing and Help, Comfort and Conquest, Life here, and Life forever! Glory be to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Christ as God

What can He be less than God, if He is All? “All.” Is it not a synonym for God? We say there cannot be two Gods, because the one God is everywhere, and fills all space. And who, then, can He be who is called “All in All,” but “very God of very God”? Worship Him, my Brothers and Sisters, with all your hearts! Rejoice in Him! Bless Him from day to day! Let not the world think you poor who are so rich in Him; never allow men to think you unhappy, who have perfect happiness in the ever blessed Immanuel!

The Safety and Blessedness of the Believer

See, in the next place, the safety and the blessedness of the Believer. Christ is All. But the Believer can add, “And Christ is mine.” Then the Believer has all things—all that he will need, as well as all he does need. No emperor who has not Christ is half as rich as he who has Christ and is a beggar! He who has Christ, being a pauper, has all things, and he who has not Christ, possessing a thousand worlds, possesses nothing for real happiness and joy. Oh, the blessedness of the man who can say, “Christ is mine.”

The Wretchedness of the Christless Soul

On the other hand, see the wretchedness of the man who has not the Savior, for if Christ is All, you who believe not on Him are devoid of All, in being destitute of Christ. But you say, “I try my best; I attend public worship; I do a great deal that is good.” You have nothing if you have not Christ! Do not flatter yourself that you are getting on and adding goods to goods in spiritual things; if you have not a Savior you are naked and poor and miserable. You are without All if you are without Christ, who is All!

The Doubts of Seekers

The Christian, then, is rich, but everyone who is destitute of Christ is poor to the extreme of poverty. See, too, in the Truth of God before us a rebuke for the doubts of many seekers. They will say, “I have not this, I have not that.” Suppose you have it not—Christ has it—if it is good for anything. “I would gladly cast myself upon the Mercy of God in Christ this day, but”—Ah, away with your “buts.” What do you need? “I need true belief,” says one. Come to Christ for it, then. “I need a broken heart,” says another. If you cannot come with a broken heart to Christ, come for a broken heart—“True belief, and true repentance. Every grace that brings us near, without money, Come to Jesus Christ and buy.”

The Folly of Self-Reliance

We have an old proverb about the folly of taking coals to Newcastle, but what folly must that be which makes a man think that he can take something to Christ, when Christ is All? Come, come, come, come to Him, poor sinner, and let Him be All in All to you! Simply rely upon Him and be at peace.

Rebuking the Coldness of Saints

How this again rebukes the coldness of saints. If Christ is All in All, then how is it we love Him so little? If He is so precious, how is it we prize Him so little? Oh, my dull, dead, cold heart, what are you doing? Are you harder than adamant, and baser than brutish, that you are not much more moved with ardor and fervent affection towards such a Lord as this? Christ is All, my Beloved, yet look how little we offer to Him of our substance; how scant a portion of our time; how slender a part of our talents! God stir us to holy fervency, that if Christ is All for us, we may be all for Christ! May we lay ourselves out without reservation to the utmost stretch of our power, asking fresh strength from Him that we may do all that can be done by mortal men! And by His Grace may all be done with us by God that He shall see it to be compatible with His Glory to do!

Measuring Young Converts and Ministers

Again, by our text, another lesson is furnished us. We learn here how to measure young converts. We ought not to expect them to be philosophers or divines—Christ is All. If they know Christ, and are resting in Him, we are bound to say, “Come, and welcome.” Be they poor, be they unlettered, if Jesus Christ is formed in their hearts, even though we can see Him there only as a dim outline, we are to open wide the gate, and receive them as Jesus received us.

Measuring Ministers by Christ

Here is a measure, too, by which to measure ministers. The fashion of the world is to admire him most who shall speak most rhetorically. Accursed be the day in which oratory was tolerated in the Christian pulpit; it has been the ruin and plague of the Church of God! This labor after flowery speech; this seeking after polished periods and gaudy sentences; what is it but a pandering to the world, and a prostitution of the ministry of reconciliation? Had men learned what the Apostle meant when he said, “I, brethren, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom,” they would have preached far otherwise than they have done. We should strive to speak the Gospel simply from our hearts, and then men’s hearts will be impressed with the Truth of God.

The True Measure of Ministry

Alas, this toying with fair words, and seeking after pleasing expressions; this dressing up of the Truth of God in the flaunting finery of falsehood degrades rather than adorns the Gospel! And it has done incalculable damage to souls, and to the advance of Truth. Measure ministers by this—what is there of Christ about them? That ministry which has no savor of Christ in it, be it what it may, is a ministry which the Lord will not acknowledge, and that you ought not to either! It is not God-sent, and ought not to be received by you; give me Christ Jesus, though the speech in which He is set forth is of the most uncouth kind, rather than the choicest inventions of the most ingenious thinkers, from which Jesus Christ is absent, or in which He is not exalted.

Living for Christ

Brothers and Sisters, this will also help you to estimate your own devotions. You came to the Communion Table the other day, but you did not enter into fellowship with Christ. Ah, then there was a lost opportunity! You were in your closet this morning in prayer, but you did not plead the name of Jesus. Ah, then again there was a lost season of devotion! You are a Bible reader, and your eyes glance over the Holy Words, but you do not see Jesus in each page—then your reading has failed! You have been giving to the poor of late, but have you done it for Christ’s sake? You have sought to win souls—have you done it in Christ’s Strength? If Jesus is absent, you have offered a sacrifice from which the heart is gone, and among the Romans, no omen was supposed to be as damaging as the absence of the heart from the sacrifice! No Christ, then there can be no acceptance! But a fullness of Christ proves a fullness of acceptance with God.

Conclusion: Christ is All in All

May we truly live with Christ in all things, and let every action, word, and thought testify that He is indeed All in All to us. May we honor Him in every way, and may the world see His glory in our lives.

God bless you all.

PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON—COLOSSIANS 3; 4:1-6.

Charles Spurgeon

CHRIST IS ALL “Christ is All in All.” – Charles Spurgeon

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