'I shall conclude in a few words of application to work upon that which has been said. First, if it be thus, let us stand awhile and admire the depths of the counsel of God and the infinite glory of the riches of His grace to mankind that God should ever have such thoughts towards such poor worms as we are; that He should not rather have let such despicable creatures eternally perish than go in such a strange way to show mercy to them. Truly, brethren, God has done more in bringing a poor soul to Himself than in creating heaven and earth. The work of creating heaven and earth is only a low piece of work in comparison to this wonderful way of conveying grace and mercy to the children of men through His Son. This is the masterpiece of all the works that God has ever done or ever will do, and therefore He is to be admired and adored in this.
We are to glorify God in every creature, but how is God to be glorified in His Son, then, wherein so much of His glory already appears? If it is a sin for us not to sanctify the name of God when we behold His glory in His lowliest works, oh, what a sin it is not to sanctify the name of God in beholding the mystery of the gospel and His shining in the face of Jesus Christ! God expects that those who live under the gospel should spend their days and their thoughts and their talk about the glory which He has manifested in His Son. Oh, you who have such light, drossy spirits, who can spend your precious thoughts upon such poor things as you do, know that here is an Object to take up your thoughts, and your sin is abundantly the greater in this: that you spend your thoughts about such vanities when God sets before you so glorious an Object to raise up your hearts unto Himself. You that spend a great deal of your lives in vanity, know that this day you have heard a truth that, above all things in the world, should take up your time and thoughts in contemplating it.
You that have more time and estates than others and are not put upon to get your bread as others are, and so have greater opportunities for the worship and service of God, instead of searching into this truth, you spend your time in vanity and light things as if therewere no greater matters to take up your hearts! It is a sign of a vain and frothy spirit that when God propounds such glorious things to you, your souls should be content to baffle out your time in vanity and things that will not profit. If you seek evidence for your souls that Christ is all in all to you and shall be for all eternity, look to this: if God has ever opened your eyes to see His glory in the mystery of the gospel and your heart is taken with it and overcome by it, it is an argument that you are indeed the soul which God has received to mercy in His Christ. But, says the Apostle, II Cor.4:3, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
There are a great many to whom the gospel is preached, and yet it is hidden to them. And it is hidden to you if you speak of Christ only in a formal way and think it enough to say, “I hope to be saved by God in Jesus Christ.” But do you see that in the gospel which raises your heart with admiration and that darkens all the glory of the world? Do you see more of the glory of God shining in that one sentence, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life than you see in the whole frame of the creation of heaven and earth? You hope, you say, to go to heaven. But what would you do there? The work of saints and angels in heaven joined together is to magnify God for this great work of His. Then begin the work here and give God the glory for the great things He has done for the children of men.
The second use is this: if Christ is all in all, then let us bless God that ever we knew Christ, and that the great mystery of the gospel has been revealed to us. For otherwise we would have been without God in the world, and what would have become of us had not this grace of God in the gospel been revealed to us? Could it ever have entered into your heart? Certainly not, nor into the heart of any creature in heaven and earth. Therefore, blessed are your ears that hear the things you hear. Blessed are your eyes which see the things you see, and know that when you come to live under the ministry of the gospel, you enjoy the greatest mercy that you have enjoyed since you were born.
Coming under a powerful ministry that reveals Christ and brings the day of salvation to the soul is none other than the fruit of prayer of Jesus Christ for that soul. Compare Is.49:8 with II Cor.6: 1-2 and you shall see this. Is.49:8 says, Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation I helped thee. Now it is apparent by the context that this is to be understood of Christ, that God the Father here speaks to His Son. Well, what is this acceptable time and day of salvation in which Christ is heard? Look at II Cor.6, verses 1 and 2. In the chapter before, Paul had told them that they were ambassadors for Christ. We then as workers together with God, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. What is this grace of God? It is the ministry of the gospel,for he saith I have heard thee in a time accepted, and mark how he applies it, behold now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. It is as if he should say, “The acceptable time and day of salvation in which God the Father has heard Christ is now. Now that we, the ambassadors of Christ, have come and opened the mystery of the gospel to you, now is the time wherein God the Father hears the Son for you.”
What a mercy is this! What an engagement upon you that, when you hear anything of the mystery of the gospel opened to you, you are to look upon it as the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ. So when God sends a faithful minister to any congregation, it is the fruit of the prayer of Christ. Christ prays to the Father that there might be an acceptable time for such a people, for such a man and woman. It may be that they have gone a long time in ignorance and profaneness, aye, but Christ has been praying to the Father for them and, when this acceptable time comes, then God disposes of them. This man shall go out of such a wicked family and shall live in a godly family or shall come to hear a sermon. There he shall hear the wonderful things of the gospel opened to him and shall come to understand this great mystery of God’s letting Himself outthrough Christ to His people. There the Lord will renew him by a work of grace and bring his heart over to Himself. This is the acceptable time when God reveals the mystery of the gospel to any soul. Therefore, bless God for this.
Thirdly, this shows how dear Jesus Christ should be to us. Oh, how we should delight and take contentment in Him who brings the treasuries of grace from the bosom of the Father and opens them to us. And He not only opens the mind of God the Father to us, but comes and lets out the treasure of God’s goodness to us. It was stopped before, but Christ opens the floodgates and lets the current of grace and mercy in upon us. Oh, how dear, then, should Christ be to us? It was the speech of that martyr, Master Lambert, “None but Christ, none but Christ.” Yea, when he suffered martyrdom for Christ, then none but Christ was dear to him because he saw that Christ was the way of conveying all good to him. If God were now to make a man the means of conveying a great deal of good to a nation, every man will be ready to have his eye upon that man. But there was never such a way of conveying good to us as Christ. Therefore, how should our hearts love Him, prize Him, and rejoice at the very thought of Him?
If you have a dear friend, and God makes that friend an instrument of mercy to you, how does it endear you to that friend? If the husband is an instrument of good to his wife or the wife to her husband, if a minister to his people or people to their minister? And so it is in all relations. When we can look upon others as a means of conveying God’s mercy to us, it is a mighty argument to knit our hearts unto them, and indeed this is the way to obtain love. It may be the wife complains that her husband does not love her or the husband complains that his wife does not love him. Why, now, be as instrumental as you can to convey the goodness of God to them, and this will mightily endear and knit them to you. And if it does so between man and man, how should it do so much more between us and Christ, who is indeed the Husband of His church, and through whom the fulness of God is let out to His people? Oh, how dear and precious, therefore, ought He to be to us!
Fourthly, is Christ all in all? Then if we have an interest in Him, it should satisfy and content us though we have nothing or though we are nothing. Why? Because if we have Christ we have all. Though you lack parts, friends, estates, outward comforts, know Christ is to be your all, and is He not enough? As He said, Am I not better to thee than ten sons? So Christ says to the soul, “What do you lack? You lack this comfort and the other comfort, but am I not all in all to you, and better than all?” Yea, be willing to be made nothing, for all is made up in Christ.
Again, it should have put us upon this, to be willing to give up all we have to Christ. Alas, our all is but a poor all, yet give it to Christ. Our parts, our estates, our names, let Christ have all because He is our all. Let Him be the rule of our prizing things. As far as we see anything of Christ, prize it suitably. It is reported of Master Bucer that if he could see anything of Christ in any man or woman, though they were never so poor and mean, his heart would close with them. It is said of Austin that before his conversion he took great delight in reading Cicero’s works, but afterward he said, “I did not find the name of Christ in all of Cicero,” and that took his heart off of him. So in all you enjoy, look how much you see of Christ in it. So far let your delight and esteem be carried out towards it and no farther.
With what mighty intention of spirit should the heart be put forth towards Jesus Christ in all things! Though God gives you an estate and honor in the world, if you have not Christ you have nothing. You have not that which makes way for you to eternity. Therefore, do not be satisfied with anything without Christ. As Abraham said, What wilt Thou give me Lord, seeing I go childless? So you say, “Lord, You have given me a portion in this world. You have given me credit and reputation among men, but, Lord, what is all this to me if I go Christless and do not have Him that is the conveyance of grace to my soul, Him that is all in all? Oh, Lord, You have taught me this day that such is the distance and breach between You and me that, unless it is made up through a Mediator, I must eternally perish. Therefore, give me Christ, whatever else You deny me.”
Do not satisfy yourselves with anything without Christ! Many hypocrites satisfy themselves with gifts. If they have gifts, then they are content. Consider that parable in Matt. 13:45-46, The merchant man sought after goodly pearls, but when he had found the pearl of price, then he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Now gifts and parts and other achievements are these goodly pearls, but Christ is the Pearl of price. Therefore, whatever you have, be willing to part with it for Him. If God has revealed to you the Pearl of price, let no goodly pearls satisfy you. Many souls perish eternally because they are satisfied with goodly pearls and do not endeavor to obtain this Pearl of price. In your seeking God, be sure to take Christ along with you.
I will give you just this note: if it were your last time to pray to God and your everlasting estate depended on God’s mercy, should you seek God never so earnestly, if it is only in a natural way as your Creator, your condition would be very dreadful and you would perish eternally. If God should lay any of you upon your sick or death beds and you should cry to God for mercy, be sure to take Christ along with you and look upon God through Christ, or else all your cries will be of no avail. Luther said that God, looked upon outside of Christ, is most dreadful and terrible. And it proves a great deal of ignorance in us when we think we can go to God and find mercy in Him without considering Him as a God that will be reconciled to us only through His Son.
To conclude all, as Christ says, If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me. So this is the work of our ministry. We have spent time among you so that we might labor to lift up Christ to you and, oh, that God would be pleased to draw all your souls to Himself.'
'Christ Is All In All'
by Jeremiah Burroughs
(1600-1646)"Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all." - Colossians 3:11Extracted from 'The Saints' Treasury'
In concluding his sermon, Burroughs writes,
We also warmly recommend these superb writings, "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." by John Charles Ryle, "Bible Reading" by John Charles Ryle, and "A Call To Prayer" by John Charles Ryle, to our readers.
You'll also find a selection of J.C. Ryle's books further down on this page. They make for some of the most profitable, edifying, encouraging and uplifting Christian books available, and are classics which have stood the test of time!
If you appreciate the writings of the godly Bishop Ryle, you'll certainly delight in those of the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, whose sermons were flashed around the world by telegraph and reprinted in full the following day in newspapers from New York City to Sydney, Australia! We particularly recommend "All of Grace", "Justification by Faith", "The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit", and "A Revival Sermon".
And how could we adequately describe the preaching of the incomparable Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whose pulpit ministry in Britain had an effect felt around the world! We warmly recommend his sermons, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", "God and Mammon", "The Light of the World", "The Salt of the Earth", "Jesus on Prayer". "The Call to Battle", and "A Living Hope of the Hereafter".
And for a moving witness to steadfast Christian faith under persecution, see "The Scottish Covenanters".
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books by, and on, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
![Bestselling Christian Books by, and on, Charles Hadden Spurgeon ['C.H. Spurgeon'] from Toronto Christian Book Centre, your single source for Christian Bibles, Christian books, Christian music, Christian videos, Christian children's books, Christian computer software, and Christian DVDs, serving global customers online from Toronto, Ontario, Canada](spurgeonban.gif)
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books by, and on, C.H. Spurgeon at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
![Bestselling Christian Books by John Charles Ryle ['Bishop J.C. Ryle'] plus 'Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers' by John Charles Ryle, 'Holiness Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots' by J C Ryle, 'Old Paths' by John Charles Ryle, 'Knots Untied' by John Charles Ryle, 'Practical Religion' by John Charles Ryle, 'A Call To Prayer' by J C Ryle, 'Thoughts for Young Men' by John Charles Ryle, 'How Readest Thou' by J C Ryle,.'The Christian Leaders of the Last Century' by John Charles Ryle, 'Faithfulness and Holiness The Witness of J. C. Ryle An Appreciation' by Dr J I Packer, 'The Christian Race and Other Sermons Vol 3' by John Charles Ryle, 'Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers' by John Charles Ryle](ryleban.gif)
"Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots" - J. C. Ryle
"Old Paths" - John Charles Ryle
"Knots Untied" - John Charles Ryle
"Practical Religion" - John Charles Ryle
"A Call To Prayer" - John Charles Ryle
"Thoughts for Young Men" - John Charles Ryle
"How Readest Thou?" - John Charles Ryle
"The Christian Leaders of the Last Century" - John Charles Ryle
"Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J. C. Ryle: An Appreciation" - Dr. J. I. Packer
"The Christian Race and Other Sermons Vol.3" - John Charles Ryle
"Shall We Know One Another and Other Papers" -John Charles Ryle
We have provided in the box below a live, continually-updated listing of the current bestselling books on Sanctification at Amazon.com. Please click on any of these titles to read extracts from, or reviews of, these books. You can also place an order for any of themt at the same time with Amazon.Com, if you wish, and enjoy speedy delivery plus the low Amazon.Com price!
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