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“Christ is all, and in all.”
(Colossians 3:11)
Christ is all to us that we make Him to be. I want to emphasize “ALL.” Some see Him as “a root out of dry ground,” “without form or comeliness” (Isaiah 53:2). He is nothing to them; they don’t want Him. Some Christians have a limited Savior, unwilling to receive Him fully or let Him do great things for them. Others have a mighty Savior because they make Him great and mighty.
To know what Christ wants to be to us, we must first see Him as our Savior from sin. When the angel announced His birth, he said, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Have we been delivered from sin? He came to save us from our sins, not in them. We know people in three ways: by hearsay, by slight introduction, or by intimate acquaintance over years. Similarly, there are three groups today: those who know Christ only by hearsay, with a historical Christ; those with a slight personal acquaintance; and those who, like Paul, yearn to “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). The more we know Christ, the more we’ll love and serve Him.
Image inspired by Colossians 3:11, depicting unity in Christ among diverse peoples.
Look at Him on the Cross, where He put away sin. He appeared to take away our sins; to truly know Him, we must see Him as our Savior from sin. The angels told the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). Isaiah, seven hundred years before, said, “I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).
In 1 John 4:14: “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” Unlike heathen religions that teach working up to God, Christianity is God coming down to save and lift us from sin’s pit. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We start from the Cross, not the cradle. Christ opened a new and living way to the Father, removing all stumbling blocks, so everyone accepting Him as Savior can have salvation.
But Christ is more than a Savior. I might save someone from drowning, preventing an early death, but could do little more. Christ is more. When Israel was behind the blood, it was their salvation, but they’d still have heard the slave-driver’s whip without deliverance from Egypt. God delivered them from Pharaoh’s hand. I have little sympathy for the idea that God saves us then leaves us enslaved to besetting sins. He delivers us, giving victory over evil tempers, passions, and lusts. Are you a Christian enslaved to sin? To overcome, know Christ more intimately. He brings deliverance for past, present, and future: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom we trust that he will still deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).
Like Israel at the Red Sea, we often grow discouraged when all seems dark, saying with Peter, “To whom shall we go?” (John 6:68). But God delivers, leading us through the Red Sea into the wilderness, opening the way to the Promised Land. Christ is not only our Deliverer but our Redeemer, buying us back. “You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money” (Isaiah 52:3). We were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold (1 Peter 1:18). If gold could redeem, couldn’t He have created worlds of it?
After redeeming Israel from Egypt and leading them through the Red Sea, God became their Way in the wilderness. I’m thankful the Lord hasn’t left us in darkness about the right path. “I am the way,” says Christ (John 14:6). Following Him ensures the right way and doctrine. Who could guide Israel through the wilderness like God? He knew its dangers and led them to the Promised Land. Their unbelief delayed them at Kadesh Barnea, turning them back for forty years. Many of God’s children still wander in the wilderness. He’s delivered them from Egypt and would lead them to the Promised Land if they followed Christ. Christ has smoothed rough places, lit dark ones, and straightened crooked paths. Following Him brings peace, joy, and rest.
In the frontier, a hunter “blazes the way” by cutting bark from trees to mark his path back through trackless forests. Christ has “blazed the Way” on earth; now ascended, if we follow Him, we’ll stay on the right path. To know if you’re following Christ, consider: if slandered or misjudged, do you respond as He would? Without a loving, forgiving spirit, no church or minister can make you right. “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Christ is not only our way but the Light upon it. “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46). “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” No one following Christ walks in darkness. If your soul gropes in fog, you’ve strayed from the true light. Only light dispels darkness. Admit Christ into your heart; He is the Light. I once liked a picture of Christ knocking at a door with a lantern, but now I’d turn it to the wall. A lantern beside the Sun of Righteousness is absurd. It’s our privilege to walk in His unclouded light.
Many seek light, peace, and joy, but Scripture doesn’t tell us to seek these. Admit Christ, and they follow. As a boy, I tried to catch my shadow. One day, facing the sun, I saw my shadow follow me. The faster I went, the faster it followed. When our faces are toward the Sun of Righteousness, peace and joy follow. Someone asked, “Moody, how do you feel?” I hadn’t thought about feelings in so long I had to pause. Some Christians obsess over feelings, losing joy when they don’t feel right. If we focus on Christ, we’re lifted from darkness and trouble.
During the Civil War, after six months of defeats, including Bull Run, a gloomy meeting reflected our discouragement. Speakers seemed to hang their harps on willows. An old man with shining white hair stood and said, “Young men, you don’t talk like sons of the King. Though it’s dark here, it’s light elsewhere. If dark everywhere, it’s light around the Throne.” He shared a story from the east: a friend climbed a mountain to see the sunrise but faced a storm. Urged to turn back, the guide said, “We’ll get above the storm.” Soon, they reached calm, while the valley raged below. “Though it’s dark around you,” he said, “come higher, and the darkness will flee.” When discouraged, I recall this. If in the valley’s fog, get higher, nearer to Christ.
When Christ died, the world’s light was extinguished. God sent His Son as the light, but men hated it for exposing their sins. As they tried to extinguish it, Christ told His disciples, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). He intercedes above, but wants us to shine here. “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We shine, not to draw attention, but to show Christ. Our light is borrowed. A young Christian was told, “Converted! It’s moonshine!” He replied, “Thanks for the analogy; the moon borrows light from the sun, and we borrow ours from the Sun of Righteousness.” If Christ’s, we shine for Him until He calls us home.
A blind man sat by the wayside with a lantern. Asked why, since he couldn’t see, he said it was so others wouldn’t stumble over him. More stumble over Christians’ inconsistencies than over skepticism. Cold formalism and worldly conformity harm Christ’s cause most. The world watches us. George Fox said every Quaker should light up ten miles around. If we shone brightly for Christ, those nearby would be reached, and praise would rise to heaven.
People say, “I want the truth.” Christ says, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Know Christ to know truth. Others seek life, trying to generate it themselves. You can’t sustain spiritual life that way. Christ is the author of life. For true spiritual life, know Him. Meetings are good, but without contact with the living Christ, life remains spasmodic. It must flow perpetually, bearing fruit to God.
Christ is our Keeper. Many young disciples fear they won’t hold out. “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). Christ keeps us; if He does, we won’t fall. If Queen Victoria guarded England’s crown herself, a thief might steal it, but it’s safe in the Tower, protected by soldiers. We’re no match for Satan’s experience, but our Keeper never sleeps. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). “He is able to keep you from stumbling” (Jude 24). “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Christ is our Shepherd, caring for, feeding, and protecting His sheep. “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). “I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15). In John 10, Christ uses “I” twenty-eight times, declaring His role. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). “No one” includes devils or men. “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). How secure!
A man heard of a shepherd calling his sheep by name. Visiting the pasture, he saw the shepherd call one sheep, which responded while others ignored. He called a dozen this way. Asked how he distinguished them, the shepherd noted their flaws—a toe-in, a squint, missing wool, a black spot, a notched ear. He knew them by their failings, as none were perfect. Our Shepherd knows us similarly.
An Eastern shepherd said his sheep knew his voice and wouldn’t follow a stranger. A gentleman tested this, donning the shepherd’s clothes and mimicking his voice, but no sheep followed. Asked if they ever followed a stranger, the shepherd admitted sickly sheep might. So, weak Christians may follow false teachers, but those in spiritual health discern truth. A true messenger’s words resonate in a Christian heart.
Christ is a tender Shepherd. You may think He’s harsh when under the rod, but “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). The rod isn’t proof of His displeasure. A friend lost all his children to scarlet fever, one by one. Loving his family deeply, he and his wife wandered through Britain and Syria. They saw a shepherd carry lambs across a stream, leading the flock to follow. The bereaved parents learned not to murmur; their Shepherd had taken their lambs to a better world. If you’ve lost loved ones, He calls you to “set your minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2). Follow Him faithfully.
Christ is our Mediator, Sanctifier, Justifier, and more—volumes couldn’t exhaust His roles. I read a description of Christ, source unknown, that refreshed my soul:
“Christ is our Way; we walk in Him. He is our Truth; we embrace Him. He is our Life; we live in Him. He is our Lord; we choose Him to rule us. He is our Master; we serve Him. He is our Teacher, instructing us in salvation. He is our Prophet, revealing the future. He is our Priest, having atoned for us. He is our Advocate, interceding for us. He is our Savior, saving to the uttermost. He is our Root; we grow from Him. He is our Bread; we feed on Him. He is our Shepherd, leading us to green pastures. He is our true Vine; we abide in Him. He is the Water of Life; we quench our thirst from Him. He is the fairest among ten thousand; we admire Him above all. He is ‘the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’; we strive to reflect His likeness. He is the upholder of all things; we rest on Him. He is our Wisdom; we are guided by Him. He is our Righteousness; we cast our imperfections on Him. He is our Sanctification; we draw holy power from Him. He is our Redemption, redeeming us from iniquity. He is our Healer, curing our diseases. He is our Friend, relieving our necessities. He is our Brother, cheering us in difficulties.”
From Gotthold: “My soul is a hungry, thirsty child; I need His love for refreshment. I am a lost sheep; I need Him as my Shepherd. My soul is a frightened dove; I need His wounds for refuge. I am a feeble vine; I need His cross to cling to. I am a sinner; I need His righteousness. I am naked; I need His holiness for covering. I am ignorant; I need His teaching. I am foolish; I need His Spirit’s guidance. I can never do without Him. Do I pray? He prompts and intercedes. Am I accused by Satan? He’s my Advocate. In affliction? He’s my Helper. Persecuted? He defends me. Forsaken? He’s my Support. Dying? He’s my life. In the grave? He’s my Resurrection. I’d part with the world before Him. God be thanked, He’s neither able nor willing to do without me. He’s rich; I’m poor. He has abundance; I’m needy. He has righteousness; I have sins. He has wine and oil; I have wounds. He has cordials; I hunger and thirst. Use me, Savior, as You require. Here’s my heart, an empty vessel; fill it with grace. Here’s my sinful soul; refresh it with love. Take my heart for Your abode, my mouth to spread Your glory, my love and powers for Your people, and never let my faith’s steadfastness wane, so I may always say, ‘Jesus needs me, and I Him; we suit each other.’”
Born in Northfield, Massachusetts, Dwight L. Moody overcame a poor upbringing and limited education to become a leading 19th-century evangelist. Converted in 1855, he left a successful Chicago business career for ministry, founding the Moody Church and leading the Chicago YMCA. His powerful revivals with singer Ira D. Sankey drew millions in America and Britain. Moody’s simple, heartfelt preaching on salvation transformed lives. He established the Moody Bible Institute and Northfield Schools, leaving a lasting legacy in modern evangelism.
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In the: by God, thanks of God by to God of the state of being: merits the favor rests gift from God called grace, in that, be to God of Psalm 68:5, Father to the fatherless, and by Psalm 8 of the Heavenly beings in that in Luke 2, God had Sent the Angelic host of Angels of God, and Jesus, Name thereof, is Jesus of Nazareth born in Bethlehem, and,
“But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
– ref Luke 18:8.
God’s Speed and the light from God of daily life on lifelong journey in God helping by companionship of the Holy Spirit, of Whom hears from God and leads in all truth,
” If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – ref Luke 11:13, and by inherent human thankfulness, this has thank you for your consideration.
In the: by God, thanks of God by to God of the state of being: merits the favor rests gift from God called grace, in that, be to God of Psalm 68:5, Father to the fatherless, and by Psalm 8 of the Heavenly beings in that in Luke 2, God had Sent the Angelic host of Angels of God, and Jesus, Name thereof, is Jesus of Nazareth born in Bethlehem, and,
“But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
– ref Luke 18:8.
God’s Speed and the light from God of daily life on lifelong journey in God helping by companionship of the Holy Spirit, of Whom hears from God and leads in all truth,
” If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – ref Luke 11:13, and by inherent human thankfulness, this has thank you for your consideration.