I had the joy of preaching from Colossians 2:6-10 this past Sunday. I believe this is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Paul’s writings, especially verses 9-10, “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Paul, in one statment, paints a perfect picture of Christ.
Christ is whole…he is not one part of God. He is not partially God. He is whole. There is nothing that can be added to him or subtrated from him. He is whole. I can not add any value to him, I can only gain value from him. I am not whole…but he is whole. The gospel is all satisfying and sufficient, because he is the whole fulliflment of what I could never fulfill. Christ is whole.
Christ is fully God. He has possesses all of the rights and attributes of God. He is love, He is omniscient, He is omnipotent, He is soveriegn, He is the creator, sustainer, and savior of the universe. He is king. He is not plan b…His plan has been in action from the beginning of time. God’s plan did not fail in Eden…it was enacted. He is fully God and he fully intends that we glorify Him as the all satisfying sufficient savior. We do not glorify him by choosing him…we glorify him by being eternally gratefuly and passionately vocal concerning the reality that he chose us from the foundation of the world. Christ is fully God.
Christ is fully man. He accomplished what I could never accomplish. He never sinned, yet was tempted in every way that I am tempted. Christ is fully man…but perfect, holy, sinless. I can never attain perfection, but it has be purchased for me by the precious blood of Christ. What a gift! He is my satisfaction, because he satisfied his own requirement, the shedding of blood to cover my sin…perfect, man, the God-man. The All Satisfying Sufficient Savior.
Christ is king. He is king of the universe. He is the head of the church. He has a name above all names. If man were able to see Him for who He is, every man woud choose Him. But we can’t, we are dead in our trespasses. The king, the one with authority over life and death, the one with all authority has to enact His divine initiative to save. NO ONE CAN COME UNLESS HE IS DRAWN…unless he is given the right to become a child of the King. WOW!
- Tad Thompson
www.habc.net
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Well said.
Isn’t it sad that so many Christians miss the WOW!
Amen, Tad. I was particularly struck by the statement “We do not glorify him by choosing him … [but] by being eternally grateful … that he chose us …” It reminded me of the old Josiah Conder hymn text “My Lord, I did not choose Thee for that could never be; My heart would still refuse Thee had Thou not chosen me.” The choice is God’s.
Greg – I love the words of that hymn! What hymn is that?
That same statement reminded me of Grudem’s comment on God’s sovereign grace. He says that something had to be more important to God than saving everyone. It was either maintaining man’s “free will” or His glory. I’m with Grudem that it was God’s glory that was more important. He is glorified as we are eternally grateful for His choosing of us. If it were about man’s free will, we would simply glory in ourselves by being grateful for our making such a wise choice. But I think Paul says NO! to that in Ephesians 2.
Tad,
This hymn is given a modest update in The Baptist Hymnal ‘91 as “My Lord, I Did Not Choose You” (#289). Here are the lyrics to this rich hymn (I only wish Conder had written more stanzas):
My Lord, I did not choose You,
For that could never be;
My heart would still refuse You,
Had You not chosen me.
You took the sin that stained me,
You cleansed me, made me new;
Of old You have ordained me,
That I should live in You.
Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my op’ning mind
The world would have enthralled me,
To heav’nly glories blind.
My heart knows none above You;
For Your rich grace I thirst.
I know that if I love You,
You must have loved me first.
In TBH ‘91 it is set to the tune WHITEFIELD (“I Saw the Cross of Jesus”), but it can be sung to other familiar tunes as well: AURELIA (“The Church’s One Foundation”), WEBB (“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”) and LANCASHIRE (“Lead On, O King Eternal”).
Thanks Tad for those great reminders of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. That hymn text of “My Lord, I Did Not Choose You” is wonderful. That hymn text, coupled with what Tad wrote, “The king, the one with authority over life and death, the one with all authority has to enact His divine initiative to save. NO ONE CAN COME UNLESS HE IS DRAWN…unless he is given the right to become a child of the King,” made me think of another anonymous hymn text (about 1880) we sing in our church entitled, “I Sought The Lord” –
1) I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.
2) Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm vexed sea.
’Twas not so much that I on Thee took hold,
As Thou, dear Lord, on me.
3) It was my sin that bound me fast in pain
You broke the bonds of hell and set me free
‘Twas on that day that life I found in Thee
As Thou forgavest me.
4) I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole
Of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee!
For Thou were long beforehand with my soul,
Always Thou lovest me.
The third verse was written by one of the men in our church. He loved the original text and how we sang it but thought it was too short. I challenged him to write an additional verse or two. Verse three above was his contribution. Truly, “salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9).
Ed Godfrey
HopeCBC.org