The All in All King

Well, this morning we’re going to continue a series of lessons that we’ve been having this year on Christ the King, which is a study from the book of Colossians, and so I hope you have your Bibles with you. Open to Colossians chapter 3, and we’re going to be looking at verses 8 through 11 this morning. Colossians chapter 3, verses 8 through 11.

But first of all, let’s remember Colossians 1, 13 through 14, the great theme of the book of Colossians. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into what? The kingdom of the Son of His love.

That’s Christ’s kingdom. And Christ is the King, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. And so Paul continues on then in the book of Colossians to talk about Christ the King and that He is preeminent, you know, over all, He tells us.

But as we get to Colossians 3, verses 8 through 11, we’re going to see the all-in-all King. That Christ is King over all and in all. And we’re going to talk about that this morning. So let’s read those verses here in just a moment. As we remember that in all things He may have the preeminence, Colossians 1.18, that Christ is King.

So, look at verses 8 through 11 of chapter 3. But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”

And that’s where we get the title of our lesson this morning. Christ, the all-in-all King. All right? And so let’s think about this today as we think about Christ, the King. And the all-in-all King lives within and among us. Christ is all and in all. I don’t want you to notice that expression. He’s all and in all.

And so that means, as Christians, He’s in us. And how is it that Christ is in us? And Paul is explaining that here as he goes through these verses in verses 8 through 11. You see, Christ, the all-in-all King, can only live in, first of all, an emptied heart. An emptied heart. And that’s why we have to put off all these things.

And secondly, a renewed heart, a heart that is new. And that’s why we have to put on the new man. And third, a transcended heart. And that is a heart that goes beyond this world and everything in it. So let’s think about those three things this morning as we think about Christ the King. First of all, He lives in an emptied heart. And what do we mean by an emptied heart?

Well, let’s look at Colossians 3, 8 through 9. You’ve got to put off all these. You’ve got to empty your heart of all these things. What is it? Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy, language out of your mouth, lying. You’ve got to put off the old man with all of his deeds.

If the heart is full of self, there is no room for Christ. That’s what Paul is saying here. For Christ to live in our lives, we must empty ourselves. Ask yourself this question, which cup can you fill? The one that’s empty or the one that’s already full?

Well, you know the answer to that. You can only fill a cup that is empty. If you try to fill a cup that is full, you don’t fill it because it’s already full. And so we’ve got to empty our heart so that we can fill ourselves with Christ.

And that means we have a heart of repentance, a heart that is going to empty itself of all of the things that don’t need to be there. Think about what is said in 1 John 1, verse 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How can you cleanse a cup or a plate? If it still has something on it, it’s not cleansed, is it? You cleanse it by taking everything off of it, by taking everything out of it. If there’s something in that cup, you pour it out, and then you wash it out, and then you rinse it out, and then what? Then it’s cleansed. And you see, that’s what Christ does for us because we are always emptying ourselves of the things that shouldn’t be there. And those things come from us. Those things come from our own heart. And so we’ve got to empty our heart of ourselves.

David wrote, and Paul quoted in Romans 4, 7-8, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. This is forgiveness. That’s what we’re talking about. And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

The Christian has forgiveness because he has confessed and he has repented of his sins. And that’s an opportunity then to begin again. Think about that cup that we just looked at a minute ago. What happens when we cleanse it and rinse it out? What do we do with it?

We put it up in the cupboard or wherever you keep your cups. Maybe you don’t keep them in the cupboard. I don’t know. But you put it up, so what? So it can be used again. And that’s what Christ does for us. He cleanses us so that we can be used again, but not for sin, but for righteousness.

Think about this list of sins. It’s not a comprehensive list, but we’ve got to put these things off. And where do they come from? From within. And so it’s a constant battle. It’s a constant fight. Every day, as we face this world and all of the sin that’s in it, we’ve got to resist the devil.

James says that each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Those desires, they come from inside of our heart. And we’ve got to tackle those things and wrestle them so that they don’t control us.

We’ve got to think about lying, for example, as one of those things that we put away, and particularly, lying to ourselves. Jeremiah 17, verse 9 tells us, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jeremiah says, and He’s telling us, God is telling us through Jeremiah, something about me and something about you that we are, in many ways, our own worst enemy, right?

And because of that, we’ve got to put away lying, and especially lying to ourselves. These sins, when we don’t put away these sins, they fill us up so that there’s no room for Christ. So they must go. And once we’re emptied of those things, we’ve got to put something in, Then, because if we stay empty, that’s just going to invite things that we don’t want in there. Look at this parable that Jesus speaks in Matthew 12, 43 through 45, about a man who emptied himself, but then he didn’t do anything with that emptiness. He just left it there. It says, When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none. Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation. What is Jesus talking about?

He’s talking about how that sometimes when we fight against what is wrong and we put that away from us, that we don’t then put something good into our life. It’s not enough, you see, just to put something out. Something has to replace that. Something good has to come in so that there’s no room for that wickedness to come back.

And what is that? Putting on the new man? Putting on Christ? Letting Him live within our life? Think about Colossians 1.9. For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask, that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

It’s not enough to put off these things. Yes, we’ve got to put them out so that we can be empty, but then once we’re empty, we need to be filled with Christ and His knowledge. We need to let the King come into our heart and reign there. Think about Romans 6 and verse 6.

Verse 6, “…knowing this, that our old man was crucified Him, that the body of sin might be done away,” and there’s the putting out, “…that we should no longer be slaves of sin, and that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man,” there’s the putting away, “…which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” We’ve got to put away all of those things to have an empty heart, because the all-in-all king can only live In an emptied heart. But then, as we said earlier, we’ve got to fill it with something, and that’s our next point. We’ve got to have a renewed heart. A heart that has something in it that isn’t evil anymore, but that is good. And that heart is a heart that’s filled with Christ. Look at Colossians 3, verse 10.

“…and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” The new, that is, look at the renewed man. The new man, that would be the Christian who is renewed in knowledge, and that knowledge is what kind of knowledge?

It’s knowledge according to the image of Him, that is, Christ, who, that is, Christ, created what? He created Him, the new man. Okay, that’s what this is saying here. And so, we’ve got to be renewed. We’ve got to have an empty heart so that Christ can come in, and then when He comes in, we are renewed.

In Roman culture, a new man was a slave that had been freed. And many slaves were freed in Roman culture, but that’s what they called them. They called them new men. And so this is a play on words of that culture. The new man is the one who’s been made free.

Jesus said in John 8, 34-36, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. And Christians are new men. They’ve been freed from slavery.

Think about Romans 6, 17, and 18. But God, we think that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, there’s the emptying. You became slaves of righteousness, and we fill ourselves with Christ, who is our righteousness, renewed to be a new man, renewed in knowledge.

Which Paul tells us that the new man is renewed in knowledge. Going back to John 8, look at verse 31 and 32. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, if you abide in my word, then you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

So, abiding in the Word, knowing the truth, that’s what we’ve got to fill ourselves with, with this knowledge of Jesus Christ. Peter wrote, 2 Peter 1, 2 through 4, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue.

“…by which have been given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” There’s the emptying. You escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. And then we see the renewing above that.

And so Christ lives in that emptied heart, and He lives in a renewed heart, renewed in knowledge. And we’re renewed in the image of Him who created Him. We’re renewed in His image, in Christ’s image. That’s what baptism is all about.

Understanding baptism means we understand we’re being renewed in the image of Christ. Romans 6 and verse 4 says, Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Whereas many of you as were baptized into Christ have done what? What? Have put on Christ. Baptism brings us to a new life, to newness of life because when we do that we’re putting on Christ. And so we’re renewed after the image of Him who created Him, the new man.

Christians are therefore created in the image of Christ by Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is, what? A new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Ephesians 2, verse 10 says, “…for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” There’s the new creation, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in there.

When we’re baptized into Christ, we put on Christ, we’re created anew as a new person, one who is in the image of Christ. And Romans 8 and verse 29 says, “…for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The all-in-all King lives in a renewed heart.

And then finally, the all-in-all King lives in a transcended heart. Colossians 3 and verse 11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. What are these categories that Paul is talking about here? They’re categories that the world defines, right? Humans love to pit one group against another group, don’t they? If you don’t know that, you just haven’t been watching the news lately.

Oh yeah, we love to pit one group against another group. Just look at all the division that’s out there in the world. In Paul’s time, there was the division of Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised. Barbarian, which is just another word for foreigner, foreigners and citizens. Are we still working on that one, aren’t we?

And then Scythians, that’s nationality, one nationality versus another nationality. And then this category, slave or free. And while we’ve made some progress in that area, it’s still the case that there are some slaves in this world today. Just on a side note here, someone once asked me the question, well, why in the world does the New Testament address some of its teaching to slaves? And my response to that is, because God loves them too. And He wants them to have the gospel too.

And do we realize that most cultures don’t consider slaves to be people, cultures who have slavery? And yet God does. There is a good reason for why God addresses slaves in the New Testament. And if you don’t think there’s slavery in the world today, just go to India or some other foreign country or Africa. You’re going to see there is still slavery today in this world, in some places.

God loves slaves, and He wants them to be saved too. If God never addressed slaves in the New Testament, then do you think that those preaching the gospel would address it? Probably not. But now God has addressed it, and so we need the gospel to go to them also. They are people just as much as anyone else.

And so, these categories, these are categories that man creates. They’re categories that humans make, not God. But what is God? Christ. But Christ is all, and in all. In other words, when you become a Christian, all of these other categories get put away. And all that’s left is Christ.

Why are these categories not something that we should pay attention to? Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3.23, all slaves have sinned and all free men have sinned, all foreigners have sinned and all citizens have sinned, all Democrats have sinned and all Republicans have sinned, all Jews have sinned and all Gentiles have sinned.

And in the other category you can think of, they have all sinned. And so every single one of them needs Jesus Christ. And we’ve got to have a transcended heart for Him to come in. That is, we’ve got to put away these categories of man and make it all about Christ.

But that’s the only way that we’re going to be free. There is no identity politics in Christ Jesus. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you’re all one in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3.28.

No identity politics in Christ. Just one. Just one. Christ Himself. And so we want everyone to transcend and to be in Christ because He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Paul said, “…I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am.” He meant a Christian, except for these chains, he says. Christ transcends human categories. Christ transcends worldly categories. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you can come to Christ.

You’ve got to put off the old man, though, so that you can put on the new. You’ve got to empty your heart so that Christ can fill it. And you’ve got to transcend these provincial matters that men create and let Christ live in your life, because Christ is all.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Christ is all. That’s what the prophecy said, Isaiah 2 and verse 4, “…He shall judge between the nations,” there’s the categories of men, the nations, “…and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore, because in Christ is wonderful, beautiful peace.”

In Christ, we’ve transcended all the categories of man and come together. And there’s the prophecy. Now look at the fulfillment here. Revelation 5, verses 9 and 10. They sing a new song saying, You are worthy, you, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us Kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.

Christ transcends all the categories of man and He wants you to have a transcended heart so that He may live within. Christ is the all-in-all King. He is all and He is in all, but He can only live in an emptied heart, a renewed heart.

Would you empty your heart today and let Christ come in through hearing His Word and believing it, repenting of your sin, confessing Him as your King, and being baptized so that you may put off the old man and put on the new. Why not do that this very morning while together we stand and while we sing?

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!