Outline of Colossians

… The second chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come. But the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, a-knit together increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. God bless that reading of his word to all our hearts. Shall we turn again to the epistle to the Colossians, chapter 1. I want to speak a little, an outlined way, first of all, of this first chapter and perhaps of this epistle. Might I just open with a few personal remarks as to the Lord exercising hearts. I have been directed to this wonderful epistle in a very special way this past year. And it means very much to me to come here to London and find the dear brethren guided by the Spirit of God to choose this very epistle, this first chapter especially, and we've had the third chapter before us Saturday evening. It encourages me. The Spirit of God is working everywhere. It began in my own soul last summer on a little camping trip, for a little relaxation in the open air, and I felt directed to this epistle and brought back again and again. And in the months that followed. And I've been led to speak here and there. And some of the things I believe God has shown me. In a way it's the old truth, but he brings it home to us in special little ways, simplicity. I'd like to share some of this with you. Only last Lord's Day evening we had the fourth meeting in my home assembly over a period of time in our traveling on this epistle. I'm sure that the Spirit of God is speaking and directing us in a special way for our needs at this very time. This great truth of the person of Christ, our head, and the resources in him, and the dangers that are round about, and the remedy, the antidote for these dangers. Let me just say, as I looked at this first chapter, it opened up over a little period of time to me in a simple way. I'd like to give you seven peas. A little dish of peas. I call them vitamin peas. They give you pep and perseverance. We need that in these days. And so, as we look at this chapter, the first eight verses, perhaps we could call the preface, or the prologue, or the prelude, the introduction. And then we find the Apostle, from verse seven, or nine rather, praying. This has been referred to in our meetings, and I'd like to gather up some of the things we've had as we go home, with a fresh reminder and impetus of what the Lord has been bringing us here. The prayer, and how important this is, prayer. What a wonderful privilege is prayer, beloved. Access to the throne of grace, to obtain help in time of need. And the Apostle, before he would go on further, he speaks of what he was praying for of the saints. Prayer. Sometimes we wonder what to pray for. Maybe some younger brothers in the prayer meeting might feel, well, what should I pray for? Maybe the older brothers just say they prayed for everything. And we older ones have to watch about that. We want to encourage the younger ones, leave a little space for them. Don't take in everything. But here are some things to pray for. Read the scriptures. What did Paul pray for? Well, here it is. What he said. I don't have time to look at that, but there's the prayer. And then, beginning with verse 12 through verse 14, or coming in there, we have noted the praise. The things he gave thanks for. Praise. Prayer and praise must never go together. And then, as we have had so specially in our reading meeting and other meetings on Saturday, the person. Or, if you will, the personal glories of this wonderful person who is our Savior, Lord, and Head. And of the one that we have already heard of in the second chapter, Christ is all, and in all, or it's the third chapter. The personal glories. And we were looking Saturday at some ten titles that we can find here. It would fill our hearts with this wonderful person. And he is our Head. And it is stressed in the second chapter that we must hold the Head. It doesn't say hold the truth of the Head. That's important. But perhaps it's more important that we know what it is to livingly and really hold, have a hold of Christ the Head. As it's been expressed, realized union with Christ our Head and depending upon Him for everything as the source of supply to meet our needs constantly. And it would fill our hearts as He has in these days with the glories of this wonderful person. As Peter says, whom not having seen, we love. And we're going to see Him face to face. And in all eternity learn more of the wonders of His blessed person. As was said, all that we shall ever know of God. What we will see in the Son, who is the image of the invisible God, are the glories of this wonderful person. And we remarked that there are some four dangers mentioned that were before the Colossian saints that are found in the second chapter. And I won't go to them now because we'll come to them. There are dangers surrounding us, beloved. Satan is ever active and if he can't get us in one way, he'll get us in another way. And what may not be a snare to you may be a snare to someone else. And he'll bring something else to me or to you that may not tempt someone else. He's ever busy. He takes no holidays. He works night and day. And what will keep us? The Apostle was led to present this glorious Christ and all that we have in Him to stay our souls. It's the same today as it was in his day. He could say to the Corinthians, I fought with beasts at Ephesus. At the end of his life he could say, I fought the good fight. His life was a fight. It was conflict. And we must expect the same in various ways. So the remedy is, whether it is in the time of the Colossian saints or for us in 1972 until he comes, the remedy, the provision is the same as we have here in the Holy Scriptures. So we have the fourth P, the personal glories of this Savior of ours. Then I want to read now from the 20th verse of this first chapter, and we will find the fifth P here. Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight, if ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature, which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery, which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. You'll notice here what's often been called attention to, that twice he speaks of himself being made a minister, and in each case he speaks of something different. In verse 23 he speaks of the gospel, the hope of the gospel, which you heard, which is preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. There is the ministry of the gospel, the wonderful gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the glory. He was made a minister of that. But he goes on to say, there's more, in verse 24, afflictions of Christ to my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister. There is the wonderful ministry of the assembly, the church of the living God. Here's a twofold ministry that's very important, and for our pea here I would like to say we have the priority of the two ministries. Do you know any other ministry that has priority over these two? The wonderful gospel of the grace of God. It isn't just the gospel of the kingdom. It isn't just the gospel that Jesus died for your sins. That's wonderful, but it goes beyond that. Paul speaks in Acts 20, the gospel of the grace of God. And then he also speaks of my gospel or the gospel of the glory. This is a full gospel. There are people who talk about the full gospel, and they bring in miraculous things and so on and seek to things that are occupied with the earth. I tell you the gospel that Paul presents to us is a gospel that comes from the glory, from that glorified Christ, and it links us up with a man in the glory. It comes from heaven, and it will make us heavenly. It is heavenly in character as the church is, and its destiny is heaven. This is the ministry of the church as well, beloved. We must give priority to these two ministries. They go side by side. Then the 6th P here, I'm coming back to this, but the 6th P is in verse 28, whom we preach. Here's the preaching. What did he preach? He preached a person, this great and wondrous person with all these glories. We saw some ten titles or glories of his person here. And then the purpose, the 7th, the purpose is that I may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, complete in Christ Jesus. And also in the 2nd chapter, the 2nd verse, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God. This is his wonderful purpose. So look at this chapter in this way, the preface, the prayer, the praise, the personal glories, the priority of the two ministries, the preaching of Paul, and the purpose. And then as we look at the 2nd chapter, just to give you this little outline as it's come to me, it's been touched on a little already. In the 2nd chapter we find so much of in him, in him. In the 2nd chapter it's all about what we have in him, in this great and glorious person. And he tells us that we're filled full in him. And that's what he wants us to realize in our souls. The fullness of our portion in him, in Christ. And the end of this, well, the 27th verse, he said that this mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And I believe that's what the 3rd and the 4th chapters are all about, Christ in you. We had it so beautifully brought before us by our brother on Saturday evening in the 3rd chapter of Colossians. The practical manifestation of Christ in us. And that's so needed today. Ever it was needed. More needed now than ever. First of all, first to get a hold of his person as our head and what we have in him. And really enjoying that. And not seeking elsewhere for something else. I don't care what it is. There are all kinds of frivolous things and Satan is very clever through Christians, not just through unsaved people and false doctrines, but through Christians who may be very sincere. He would seek to occupy us with things that really belong to the old man, that really belong to this earth. But if we're filled full with what we have in Christ, and Christ is all. A lot of these little things that I would dare to say are like playthings. Play around with some things. In a religious way, they would drop off. And we would be thrilled and filled with Christ. Say he's sufficient. Then we could go forth to show that Christ is in us. Think about that expression, Christ in you, the hope of glory. What does it mean? I'm not going to dwell on that now, but I ask you to think of it. Christ in you, Christ in me, the hope of glory. He's dwelling in our hearts now and giving us a real and living realization of the glory that we're called to. And if we enjoy that glory, we will be having a heavenly character down here and represent the man in the glory here on earth. That's what we're called to. Now I want to go back to that 20th verse. Having made peace with the blood of his cross to reconcile all things unto himself. We spoke of the gospel. And I believe it wouldn't be complete at this conference if we didn't sound out a word of gospel. There may be someone here tonight that doesn't have peace with God. You don't know what the good news of salvation is. Perhaps you're troubled and trembling. You've heard it. You may have been brought up in the truth, cradled in it, and yet not have peace with God in your soul. It's possible. An audience like this in a time of conference, we shouldn't fail. Give the invitation of the glorious gospel. And so I ask, is there anyone here tonight that doesn't have peace with God? Well, the way you can have peace with God is to surrender to the one who's made peace by the blood of his cross. He has answered to God for all your sins, all your guilt. God is satisfied with Jesus. Are you? Have you given your soul to him? Paul said, I am persuaded that he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. First of all, he committed his soul. Then, of course, there was much more, the testimony that he had labored in. But have you committed your soul to him? Are you reconciled? We read here that he might reconcile all things unto himself. And he says, and you, there were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. Are you at peace with God, the one you have sinned against, the one you have to answer to? For the Lord Jesus Christ died for you, and that he might reconcile you to God. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul preaches, he has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. We beseech you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. There's man's part. There's your part, to be reconciled to him, to be brought into proper relationship and to know your place as a child of God. This is something of what the glorious gospel of Christ brings to us. We had in the 14th verse, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin. How wonderful to know our sins forgiven. This is what the gospel is. And beloved, we must ever love this glorious gospel and proclaim it. There's the two ministries, where some may say, well, it's important to speak of the assembly and stress the assembly. Yes, it is. But you begin with the gospel. It's been well said, if you don't preach the gospel and go out with the gospel, you soon will not have anybody to preach assembly truths to. The older ones will die off and they're gone and you'll lose the young ones. And so we've ever got to be carrying the glorious gospel of the grace of God and then teach them to the ministry of the assembly. As I said this afternoon, we feel so important to go out from the assembly with the gospel and to return to the assembly, bringing souls to show them their place as members of the body of Christ and to teach them to gather to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't just be all taken up with the gospel and not bring them into this other ministry. They go hand in hand. We must emphasize both. Now there's suffering connected with this. You may have many more listening to you. You preach the gospel. And the more truth is brought, the fewer that will follow. But nevertheless, it is blessed and precious to know what this truth of the mystery is. Gentiles brought into union with Christ. In Ephesians we have that it is the Jew and Gentile united in one body. Here we are writing to the Colossians who were Gentiles, especially stressing these Gentiles having this wonderful hope too, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And so Paul preached. And so we must preach. In our preaching we must present this wonderful person. He said whom we preach. He didn't say what we preach. It's all centered in this wonderful person. And I believe in these days also we need to stress the judgment side. This same person is coming again. What do we read in Romans 1 where Paul speaks of the gospel that he was not ashamed of, ready to come to Rome. Romans 1, 16. And he says he's not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. Does he stop there? No, he goes on and he says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. This is a part of the gospel. Not only the good news of salvation but of judgment, the wrath of God that abideth upon everyone that believeth not in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of the judgment that is coming. And in these days when we're so close to the very closing of the day of grace and the ushering in of the day of the Lord, the tribulation period, we need to preach the judgment. I find that in Enoch's testimony. It was a very bad day in which Enoch lived just before the flood and we read in Jude that he said, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment against all the ungodly. And your ungodly speeches, I think ungodly is used five times there. It's part of it. Warning sinners to flee from the wrath to come. And again, if there's anyone unsaved here tonight, think about it. Flee from the wrath of God and find refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ, this wonderful Savior. Well, let's go on a little bit into the second chapter to see what we have in him. In our version, verse three, it says in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He's speaking about the mystery of God and the new translation has in which. But it's God, whether it's the mystery or God, there are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Remember, the Colossian saints were in danger of philosophy, the thoughts of men. As was said Saturday, these teachers came around and they said, Well, it's all right what Paul's been telling you, but we have far more. And they used the word pleroma, which means fullness. They said, We've got the fullness, the pleroma. And we find the apostle Paul, he meets that. And he says in this second chapter, In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body, and you're complete in him. So we have in him all these wonderful things. Now he says in verse six, As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Very practical. Some of us were speaking and our brother Wilkes closed this morning from as high and wonderful truths of the person of Christ, the firstborn. And we had other ministers, but he then closed and really brought us right down into our living rooms and our kitchens and daily life. And I told him that's good. Not that he needed to be told by me, but it confirmed. Christianity is very practical. It's been said that Ephesians begins in the heavenlies and ends up in the kitchen. The ordinary paths of life. Christianity is very real and practical. If it isn't, what is it worth? This is the way the scripture presents it in its objective views and its subjective truths. We need to hold the balance of these truths. Objective ministry and subjective. Hold them in balance. We are always so prone to get out of balance. Yes. We need these practical things. You know, it's been said, some saying it in a kind of a sarcastic way perhaps, that we may be so heavenly minded that we're no earthly good. I don't find that in scripture. I don't find that in Ephesians. I don't find that in Colossians. Because Paul insists that we might be heavenly minded and then manifesting Christ here on earth. This is being earthly good, isn't it? And so we have all these things. To walk in him and then rooted and built up in him was to go on, go on. That reminds me, maybe I shouldn't be reaching out to other fields, a Syrian brother came to us one time and I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a young believer and he spoke of the epistle to the Philippians and he said it was the go epistle. In the first chapter you go out with the gospel. In the second chapter you go down to the lowly mind of Christ. The third chapter you go up to Christ in glory, pressing on. And the fourth chapter he says you go on. You go on. Just go on. That's what it is. Go on with Christ, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, abounding with thanksgiving. Now we have that warning, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. After the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, we're in danger of being spoiled. Education is stressed. Education has been greatly stressed. In America especially, well, no doubt here. And one wouldn't decry any bit of education you can really get. But a Christian man who had schools, Christian schools, college, he said this, if I can pass it on. I didn't say it. I'm just repeating what he said. He said some of the biggest nuts he ever met were doctors of philosophy. He said they had learned how to make a living and hadn't learned how to live. And those who are in trouble in America for jobs today are those that have the high degrees of education. Now I'm not decrying this. I'm just speaking a fact. There's a turn away from some of this today and there's a realization of where we're being brought to. Professing to be wise, we become fools, the scripture said. And we're in danger, young people especially, of the philosophies of men. We have the revelations of God, the thoughts of God in scripture. Anything that gives Jesus Christ the place and owns him in education, fine. But beware. And then there's vain deceit, legalism, Judaism, legal patterns. One of your early beloved brethren, great writers among us, wrote, there are two villains, legality and levity. Two villains. Beware of either of them. Then we have in verse 9, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In him. In the man Christ Jesus, all the fullness of the Godhead is pleased to dwell. And he says, and ye are complete in him. If you look at Mr. Darby's footnote in the new translation, you will see that he tells you the meaning of the original word here is really filled full. And I like that. I like to read it in that way. You're filled full in him. And you know when you're filled full, nothing else attracts you. Someone may offer you some very lovely things to eat and so on, but you say, well, I'm full. Oh, but have another piece. No, I'm full. Some of us show that we've gotten filled up. But when you're filled, you don't crave anything else. And it's like the hymn says, O world, a pomp and glory. Your charms are spread in vain. I've heard a sweeter story. I've found a truer game. This is the only preservative against the snares of the world. We fill full with him. What do we want? Of even miraculous gifts that the Corinthians were so proud of and so active in. And you'll notice that they're mentioned last in the list. If you don't know, just read that list in 1 Corinthians 12 of the gifts there and what he puts last. Some are putting that first today. We don't have any of these things. We have Christ and all the solidity of his person The person is a wonderful gospel. The spirit of God doesn't address itself to our nervous system. To go into a lot of emotionalism, we have a soul. Yes, I like heart. And I enjoy hearty singing as I've heard here at the conference. But we don't get carried away with emotionalism and carried off our feet to various things. A lot of these things is like the foam. I don't know if you have root beer over here. It's a non-alcoholic beverage. But when you get a glass of root beer, there's a lot of foam, fizz you call it. And you think you're getting a full glass and when it settles down, you've only got a half a glass. What good is all that fizz, that foam, that excitement? It won't build your soul up, but Christ will. Built up in Him. Established and strengthened and rooted and grounded. And it will hold you. This is what we need these days. He's the head. Now it says in verse 11, in whom, in whom ye are circumcised. With the circumcision made without hands and putting off the body. Leave out the words the sins of. They're not in the best of manuscripts. Putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. There are two very important truths here. As one of your early writers has remarked as to this. That there are two things that are necessary if we're going to realize Christ as our head. In a practical way. We must first of all realize that we're complete in Christ. Complete in Him. And secondly, we must realize this 11th verse that the body of this flesh has been put off in the cross of Christ. As we had Saturday evening in the third chapter. You have put off the old man and have put on the new man. All that is associated with Adam. Our standing and state in Adam has been put off in the cross of Christ. And he says, you're circumcised. That means cutting off. This has been cut off. And there's so much that we minister to really ministering to the old man. One of the writers, too, it helped me much. He says, you can exhort and pound. He says the old man and the believer, well, it's the flesh, the sin that's still within us, can stand all the pounding you've given. That won't help. But to draw the hearts out to Christ, reach the affections, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have exhortation. But there's the putting off, the circumcision, like at Gilgal, and crossing the Jordan, knowing what it is that not only Christ has died for you on the cross, but that you have died there, too. I remember as a young believer hearing, and said, one person said in his experience, he took three looks at the cross. First, he looked at the cross and he saw a historical Christ dying. And that's all the cross meant to him. But as he went on and he got into the conviction of sin, the burden of sin, he looked to the cross of Christ and he saw Jesus, the Lamb of God, dying for him. That was something different. He laid hold of that and he got peace through his cross. But as time went on, as he went on as a Christian, he took another look at the cross and he saw there not only two thieves crucified with the Lord, but he saw that he himself was crucified there, too. Died with Christ. That's the teaching we get here again and again. And have we come to that place, young believer? Have you come to see that not only Christ has died at the cross, but that you died there, too? The body of the flesh was put off. One of your dear old brethren came from these shores and ministered to America years ago when I was a lad. And I'll never forget what he said. He said, the flesh is ended, not mended. Many are trying to mend up the flesh, the old man. No, it's ended in the cross of Christ. And this is the only way for deliverance. You see, we've come to an end there and we're in Christ. And I want to bring you what has been said. Three of the ABCs of the Christian position. We get the two in Ephesians. The A is accepted in the Beloved. The B is blessed with all spiritual blessings into heavenliness in Christ. And here we get the C, complete in him. That's quite enough, isn't it? Accepted in the Beloved, blessed with all spiritual blessings into heavenliness. Christ, nothing can touch him there. And we're complete in him. Enjoy that. Realize that God is looking at you now according to his view. Find yourself and see sin within you and failure. He's looking at you as he sees you in his Beloved Son, complete in him. And that gives you strength to say, well, I failed again. But then he came home to me with power as a young believer. Well, how wonderful that what I am in Christ hasn't failed. It hasn't changed. And that gives you courage to go on again. So this is very important. Then buried with him in baptism. This is what we confessed in baptism. Identification with him. That's what we have in Romans 6. We've been identified with him in the likeness of his death. Using the words of the new translation, identified with him in the likeness of his death. Have you been baptized? Have you taken this place of open public identification with Christ in the likeness of his death? This is blessing. And then risen with him and quickened together with him, forgiving you all trespasses. Then he gives a warning again in the 18th verse of another danger. Beware lest any man spoil you or beguile you rather. The voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. Mainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. This has been called oriental mysticism. And this is growing today. You know, as men and women turn away from Christianity, they turn away from the revelation of God in the Bible and in Christ, there's a vacuum and Satan steps in. We can't live in a vacuum. As people turn away from the revelation of God in Christ, Satan steps in and we have this oriental mysticism. All pagan religions are popping up tremendously in many places. Same as it was in that time. Now he says in verse 20, if you're dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, not only ourselves, the old man ended there in the cross, but from the principles of this world. We have the principles of the kingdom of God. The principles of Christ in the scriptures. And we're dead to the rudiments of the world, should be. And the warning in, in the 23rd verse, the fourth thing, as to will worship, humility, neglecting of the body or harsh treatment of the flesh. This has been called asceticism, carnal asceticism. You can gain favor with God by harshly treating your flesh. Various systems of religion. No, all this is just will worship. False humility. For self is the center of it. Christ should be the center. As we had in the third chapter, Christ is all and in all. And finally, we want to reach the top. We already had it a little bit last night, or Saturday night, but I want to bring it in in the third chapter. If you've risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. And then in our line here of in him, we have in verse three, you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. There's again, in him. Your life hid with Christ in God. I heard a great preacher, H.A. Ironside, one time. He spoke to a group of young people and he referred to this. I always think of it and I read it. Your life is hid with Christ in God. And he told of a new convert that was troubled about this thing that he could be lost again. As many preach, you know. Some who claim to have more spiritual blessings than we have. But as one of my friends said to them, what you have, you can lose according to your faith. But what I've got in Christ, I can't lose. You think you have more than I. But what I've got, I cannot lose. And so he's worrying about this and he read this scripture. Your life is hid with Christ in God. And Mr. Ironside said, he burst out in joy and he said, my, who ever heard of anybody drowning with his head so high above water? That settled it. Your life is hid with Christ in God. That's pretty high up. You'll never drown. Preserved and kept. Yes. Get a hold of that for your soul. And then we have, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. That's identification, isn't it? The very last. He's our life. And when he's going to appear, that is when he will be manifested, not just the rapture, when he will appear and be manifested, we're going to appear with him in glory. As J.N. Darby said, wrote, said to one one time who was troubled, there's no future but glory for the Christian. Isn't that a grand thought? No future but glory for the Christian. We're on our way to the glory. This is the highest. With him in glory. He'll not be in glory and leave us behind. He's going to complete the story. And we might enjoy that now. And so in closing, just emphasizing, in this third chapter now, we have Christ in you. This was brought out. And this is what we're to show while we wait his coming, as we enjoy himself and we occupy with him, something of Christ is going to shine out. It'll be like one of our brothers said, it's in piecemeal down here, a little piece here and a little piece there. It's not in perfection, not in completeness, but something of Christ. And as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal bodies. This is what the world needs. And this is what will give power to our testimony. They see Christ. Enough. Wonderful indeed. May God keep us in the enjoyment of this. We go on our way rejoicing, praising him. …