General Conference Bulletin, vol. 1
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS — NO. 7
J. H. DURLAND
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10.
COMPLETE IN CHRIST
THIS morning we enter upon the study of the second chapter, which we shall divide into two divisions. To the first of these, verses 1-15, we will give the name, Complete in Christ, which is really the subject of the chapter, — in fact of the whole book. The second division, which takes in the rest of the chapter, we will for convenience call, Eating and Drinking. The first division may be considered under three heads: (1) The treasures that are in Christ, and how obtained. (2) Our union with Him. (3) The extent of this completeness. GCB February 13, 1895, page 120.2
“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. What did Paul tell the Colossians he had prayed for? “That ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Colossians 1:9. The prayer was that the Colossians might be filled with the very things of which Christ is the treasure house. The same thought is brought out in Ephesians 1:17. “That the god of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” You will notice that it is not something that we can work out ourselves, but every text tells us of wisdom that God gives us. It is a constant thing, coming all the time like a flowing stream. We read in Ephesians 1:8, “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” That means, that it is God’s will that we have this wisdom in abundance; or as another translation renders it, “to overflowing.” “Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. GCB February 13, 1895, page 120.3
This thought is expanded in Ephesians 3:17-19. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” This treasure which we have in Christ is not put up in a vault or safe. It is a dominion, a kingdom. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” Ephesians 1:11. When we accept of Christ we receive with him this inheritance, and our life after that is spent in exploring it. Our daily work is becoming acquainted with the height, depth, and breadth of all that he has given us. that is the Christian life. It is something that we experience and keep experiencing. The Christian’s experience will always be new. We will find wonderful things in the word of God, and the best way to make them known to others, is through the new experience that they give us. We need not talk so much to other people about what they ought to do, but we can tell them what the Lord is doing for us. Then we can say with David, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” GCB February 13, 1895, page 120.4
Keeping these thoughts in mind, let us read psalm 32:8: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” To instruct is to impart knowledge. Who is it that wants to be our teacher? Christ. And do we want to be taught? If, then, he wants to teach us, and we want to be taught, surely there is nothing in the way of our getting knowledge. Yet the result depends largely upon how we relate ourselves to the work. Years ago, when I was teaching school, a young man came to me, and wanted to receive instruction. He had a certain amount of work which he wished to do in a given time. With this we began the work. It went well for a time, but I soon found out that he was trying to teach me. He thought he knew more than I about the studies. Do you think that I could be of any help to him while he was working in this way? No. It became necessary for me to make things very difficult for him, and then press him hard to master them. When this was done he soon found out that he knew very little, and in fact he rather went to the other extreme and began to think that he never would be able to know anything. But this brought him in a condition where I could begin to teach him. Many of us come to the Lord that way. We want to teach him. Instead of drawing out of the treasure house, we want to fill it up. So the Lord has to bring us into tight places till we begin to see that we don’t know anything and can’t do anything. At this point he can begin to instruct us. While we remain at the foot of the cross, he is filling us every day with knowledge and wisdom. So the word of God is opened up to us, and we get a better view of Christ and his wonderful love. GCB February 13, 1895, page 120.5
We read in Proverbs 3:5, 6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Over and over again we read in the Scriptures that the Lord will give us wisdom and knowledge, and will lead, guide, and direct us every day of our lives. GCB February 13, 1895, page 121.1
As ye have therefore received Jesus Christ 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.” Colossians 2:6, 7. We received him by faith. “But faith cometh by hearing.” So, then, we see the need of instruction and knowledge. “The just shall live by faith.” “Being justified by faith we have peace with God.” Faith is what connects us with God. But faith is a thing that we have not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. If a man has no faith, no goodness, no strength, and no knowledge and wisdom in himself, about how much is there to him? There is nothing; and he is as though he were dead. Do men naturally look at themselves that way? No. They will more likely compare themselves with somebody else, and think how much better they are. It is also natural for them to want the Lord to remember how much they have surrendered in order to serve him. Instead of looking to the treasure house, men look to themselves, and think there is a little faith, and a little goodness in themselves. Paul says: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” Galatians 2:19. Or, as some render this passage: “I through the law, when I fully understood its meaning, became dead to the law.” But men want life, they don’t want to die; that is the trouble. Paul continues: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” When the law is spoken to the sinner in the demonstration of the Spirit, and he is aroused to see its meaning, he sees himself under the death sentence. “The wages of sin is death.” There is no remedy, for the penalty of the broken law must be met. But there are two ways to die. One is to meet the penalty of sin ourselves and thereby die. When the law is understood, it seems to slay the sinner, because it holds him to meet the penalty of the transgression. The other way is to die in Christ who met these sins of ours. To accept this death is to count ourselves as to have died, and no longer reckon ourselves as alive. In the last verse of the chapter we read: “I do not frustrate (another rendering is, “reduce to nothing”) the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law (or by doing, for that is virtually the idea here), then Christ is dead in vain.” That is, Christ would have died without there being any reason for his death, if the work which he came here to accomplish could have been accomplished through the law. It means that if there is anything in us by which we can do the smallest fraction of that which Christ came to do for us, it makes his coming in vain. GCB February 13, 1895, page 121.2
In Ephesians 1:19, 20, Paul speaks of the “exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” It requires resurrection power to believe, and that is the reason why we cannot have faith of ourselves. Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” That same power is in the gospel to-day, and it is that which brings men to believe. Faith comes by hearing, not by doing. It was the word preached that brought faith to the Galatians, and the same word brings faith to every one of us. GCB February 13, 1895, page 121.3
“Rooted and built up in him.” What does that word rooted suggest. A good foundation? True, but it means more. All that a house needs is a firm place on which to stand; but a tree must go below the surface both to get firm support, and to obtain nourishment that it may grow. So we must be rooted in Christ that we may stand firm, and maintain constant growth in the spiritual life. GCB February 13, 1895, page 122.1
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Romans 10:10. So then faith means heart work. it is the life principle. Let us have it in our lives. GCB February 13, 1895, page 122.2