Complete in Him

Complete

To whom God did will to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; Whom we preach, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. For this cause I also labor, striving according to His inner working, which works in me with power.
(Col 1:27-29 AFV)

Complete in Him

Complete

Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps “imperfection”; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters “imperfection.” You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you-you are “perfect in Christ Jesus.”

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In God’s sight, you are “complete in him;” even now you are “accepted in the Beloved.” But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed.
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; And you are complete in Him, Who is the Head of all principality and power In Whom you have also been circumcised with the circumcision not made by hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; Having been buried with Him in baptism, by which you have also been raised with Him through the inner working of God, Who raised Him from the dead.
(Col 2:9-12 AFV)

Be Pure

Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said-

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“With my Saviour’s garments on,
Holy as the Holy One.”
As obedient children, do not conform yourselves to the former lusts, as you did in your ignorance. But according as He Who has called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct; For it is written, “You be holy because I am holy.”
(1Pe 1:14-16 AFV)

We Shall Know

Then shall we know, taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, “Complete in Christ.” Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean. Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in his glory, peerless in his beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ.

Rejoice

Rejoice

Rejoice

Evening

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” — Luk_2:20

Praise God

What was the subject of their praise? They praised God for what they had heard-for the good tidings of great joy that a Saviour was born unto them. Let us copy them; let us also raise a song of thanksgiving that we have heard of Jesus and his salvation. They also praised God for what they had seen. There is the sweetest music-what we have experienced, what we have felt within, what we have made our own-“the things which we have made touching the King.”

Living Faith in

It is not enough to hear about Jesus: mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music. If you have seen Jesus with the God-giving sight of faith, suffer no cobwebs to linger among the harp strings, but loud to the praise of sovereign grace, awake your psaltery and harp. One point for which they praised God was the agreement between what they had heard and what they had seen. Observe the last sentence-“As it was told unto them.” Have you not found the gospel to be in yourselves just as the Bible said it would be?

He Gives Rest

Jesus said he would give you rest- Have you not, enjoyed the sweetest peace in him? He said you should have joy, comfort, and life through believing in him- Have you not, received all these? Are not his ways of pleasantness, and his paths; paths of peace? Surely you can say with the queen of Sheba, “The half has not been told me.” I have found Christ much sweeter, than his servants ever said he was.

The Kings Beauty

I looked upon his likeness as they painted it, but it was a mere daub compared with himself; for the King in his beauty outshines all imaginable loveliness. Surely what we have “seen” keeps pace with, nay, far exceeds, what we have “heard.” Let us, then, glorify and praise God for a Saviour so precious, and so satisfying.