"Christ is all and in
all" (Col. 3:11). "Whatsoever things are true … honest … just …
pure … lovely … of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any
praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
Christ is the One in whom God
finds all His delight. He is the center of His counsels, the One in whom all
things meet and are blended together in a harmonious display of God’s glory. It
is for us, then, if we would be of one mind with God, to find all things in Him
also, for He is the only One who can truly satisfy the needs of the human
heart.
The passage in Colossians declares
that for the new man Christ is ALL. The lesson conveyed by new creation is that
all centers in Christ, the glorious Head of it. Therefore all that is of new
creation will be found in relation to Him. We who believe are of the new
creation, and all growth therein depends on making Christ our all. This
preeminence of Christ is the great foundation thought in Colossians (1:18).
Philippians develops our life and
practice in relation to this:"For me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain," says the devoted man to whom "Christ is all." And why?
Because, absent from the body, he would be present with the Lord, and to be
with Christ, in his estimation, was "far better" (Phil. 1:23). If he
speaks of our manner of life, it is that it may "become the gospel of
Christ" (1:27); that we may be ready "to suffer for His sake"
(1:29); that while all around us seek their own things, we should seek
"the things of others" (2:4); that the same lowly mind of love
"which was also in Christ Jesus" may dwell in us (2:5).
In Philippians 3 the apostle Paul
tells out the whole-heartedness and the finding of all things in Christ, which
is the secret of power. Well might he say, "Brethren, be followers
together of me" (3:17). Nor does he leave it there, but proceeds, in the
fourth chapter, to give us that course in detail. Since all is so fully
centered in Christ, we are to "stand fast in the Lord"—to find our
all in Him (4:1). From this alone flows one-mindedness among God’s people, and
also the tender care, one for the other, that is so needful (4:2,3). We are to
"rejoice in the Lord always," and this will we do if, first of all,
we stand fast in Him (4:4). Then joy in the Lord will make us moderate in all
things (4:5). There will be no following of extremes, in one direction or
another. All men will see that we possess what satisfies the heart. There
follows, therefore, the lovely admonition, "Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known unto God" (4:6). Disregarding this, how much in our
lives is broken by useless, even sinful, anxiety!—sinful because it
springs from unbelief. On the other hand, how blessed to be able to take everything
to God in prayer, and that with thanksgiving! If we do this, what peace fills
us—"the peace of God," that garrisons both mind and heart (4:7).
Every arrow of anxious care with which the enemy would pierce our souls is
turned aside, and unruffled calm is ours.
Finally, in the passage especially
before us, the apostle characterizes the things we are to think about. They are
the things that reflect Him in whom we stand, and before whom we come when
making known our requests. Let us consider these eight things that belong to
the new man to whom "Christ is all."
1. "Whatsoever things are
true." Truth is the reality of things. Where shall we find this?
"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). In Him alone can
we find the true interpretation of all things. Every mystery of the counsels of
God is solved by bringing Him in. All centers in Him. He said, "I am the
… truth" (John 14:6).
2. "Whatsoever things are
honest [or venerable]," that is, worthy of reverence or worship. He of
whom we speak, His goings forth have been from of old, even of eternity (Mic.
5:2). "In the beginning was the Word … All things were made by Him"
(John 1:1,3). In those coming ages of glory shall He not, therefore, be hailed
as "the Father of eternity" (Isa. 9:6)? All creation shall at last
fall at His feet and worship Him. Hence, shall we not hold in reverence all
things that are linked with Him?
3. "Whatsoever things are
just." Here we necessarily think of what is free from all charge of
injustice or taint of evil. How could "a just God," who required the
cross of Calvary to be a Saviour, be ever linked with anything unjust?
Impossible! All things linked with our Lord must be just. To trace the actions
of His life is to trace a path in which everything was just. Therefore, all
suffering for the sake of justice finds sympathy in His heart now, and will
find a reward in the coming day when He shall rule in equity throughout the
whole creation.
4. "Whatsoever things are
pure." Purity is closely associated with justice. Christ is truly the Lamb
without spot or blemish—absolutely pure. Thus only could He be the fit One for
that mighty sacrifice that Justice demanded for the accomplishment of God’s
purposes of grace and glory.
5. "Whatsoever things are
lovely." Creation is full of lovely things. Why? Are they not the
reflections of the loveliness that is in Him who made them, the
"altogether lovely" One? Every department of nature, grand and
beautiful as it may be in itself, can only yield its full and precious lesson
in proportion as it is made to show forth His supreme beauty. Thus it receives
its true interpretation as being linked with Christ, its Author. It is this
bringing together of the creature and the Creator that imparts true loveliness
to us also. But its full expression is through redemption only, so that the
things lovely in creation will be freed from idolatry only as we realize all
things to center in Christ Jesus.
6. "Whatsoever things are of
good report." What an endless list of evil reports issues from all the
ends of the earth! How defiling to all whose minds are engaged with it! How
different the report we have from our Lord Jesus Christ concerning the country
from which He came, to which He has returned, and of which He is the Door! What
a report is that of His life among men, and of the issues flowing out of what
He has passed through! How peace-giving and sanctifying is that report!
Was it not a good report that made
us find out our need on the one hand, and the perfect answer to it on the
other? Then contemplate our place in Christ, and all its attendant
blessings—oh, what a report! To think of these things gives us triumph over
evil. They are linked with another sphere; they center where Christ is at the
Father’s right hand.
7. "If there be any
virtue." Here the thought is, as in 2 Pet. 1:5, of that soldier-like
courage that presses on steadfastly to the end, triumphing over every obstacle.
Our thoughts should cherish everything that leads to this, for it is an
important element in our character.
8. "If there be any
praise." That is the grand final object. See the end of the Church’s path
in Revelation 4 and 5. In this is all power for testimony and service. Dwelling
on the glories and virtues of Christ can alone produce it.
"Think on these things."
How important, then, that our thoughts should dwell on suitable things! May our
souls follow hard after them.