Brethren, let's turn in our Bibles to Colossians chapter 3. Paul says in verse 1, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Let's go to our Lord before we begin. Our gracious Heavenly Father, holy, sovereign, ever-present with your people, we come to you in Christ Jesus our righteousness, our holiness, We ask You, Lord, that You bless Your Word now and make us hear and turn our affection to Christ above. Forgive us our sins, Lord. Make us look only always to Christ. In His name we ask it. Amen. The Apostle Paul had never met the Colossians face-to-face. He never met the Laodiceans face-to-face. But he had a fear for them, which is the fear that all God-sent messengers have for those to whom they are sent to minister. It's the fear I have for you. It was the fear that the devil and his false teachers would beguile them. would beguile them, deceive them. Let's go back up to Colossians 2. I'm going to just give sort of an exposition here back down to chapter 3, not every verse, but I want you to see the context here. Colossians 2.1, Paul said, I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted." That's what he wanted, that their hearts might be comforted. Being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding through the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ. in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." If you want wisdom and knowledge, go to Christ. That's in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. Now, the beguiling, deceiving, enticing words are words that turn us from Christ to things below, from Christ above to things below, to you. God in His Scripture never, ever tells a believer to look within himself, never. But he repeatedly teaches us to look out of ourselves to Christ alone. The deceiving message tells you to turn from Christ above to things below. Puts something between the believer and Christ. Something between the believer and Christ. Something required of your hand to make you accepted of God. Paul knew they had received the Lord Jesus by God-given faith. That's the only way you'll receive Christ. He gives you a new heart and He gives you faith. And you receive in the sense that Christ is given to you. Christ is formed in your heart. And He knew that it happened by faith. And so He writes in verse 6, As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. You receive Christ by grace, you receive Christ by faith, so walk by the grace of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what he says there, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, established in Christ, as you've been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Now the devil and his false teachers deceive by telling you Christ is not all. Christ is not all. They tell you walking by faith in Christ is not enough. But listen to what the Spirit of God moved Paul to write right here. He said in verse 8, Beware lest any spoil you, lest any man lead you away from Christ and rob you of Christ. That's what he means. by spoiling you, through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Philosophy is natural reason that turns you to natural things. Vain deceit is anything that exalts the sinner. That's vain deceit. The tradition of men are things that men add as a must to salvation. after the rudiments of the world. The old covenant law are called the rudiments of the world, the first principles, the ABCs. The ABCs. Deceivers turn you again to the law. They turn you again to your law obedience. And we're going to see what that means, the rudiments of the world. We'll see that in a moment. But for now, it's turning you back to the first principles of the law. The best way to recognize these things, the best way for you and me to recognize if the message we're hearing is true or if it's false is this. He said that at the end of verse 8, these teachings are not after Christ. If the message you're hearing is not declaring Christ is all, that Christ is all and the believer is complete in Christ, and not declaring His glory as the head of the church working all in the midst of His people. If it's turning you from Christ to you, it is not after Christ. It is not after Christ, and that is a lie. Now, God's true preacher is going to turn you from you and turn you from the things below to Christ, because that's what the Spirit of God does in our hearts. That's what He does through the Word as He's turning us from us to Christ above. who is our salvation. He's teaching us to walk by faith in Christ. Not by carnal sight. Not by what you see. Not by what you feel. Christ alone. Christ alone. Verse 9. He says, For in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power. When He tells us here that the Lord Jesus, the man Christ Jesus, is the fullness of the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, dwelt in His body and dwells in His body now at God's right hand. He's the fullness of the Godhead bodily and He is the head of all principality and power. That means the man Christ Jesus has all power in heaven, earth, and hell, working His will, working in His church, working in His people, and is able to bring His purpose to pass. All powers His. And believer, for you that God has sanctified and given faith in Christ, this is the good news. This is what the Spirit of God keeps teaching us. You are complete in Christ. Complete means there is nothing left to add. You are complete in Christ. When it says there, in Him dwelleth all the fullness, that is the same word as complete. And it's saying to you, as fully as all fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ, that's how fully complete you are in Christ. As perfectly as the triune God dwells in Christ's body, so that He is completely God and completely man, so you are complete in Christ. That's how fully complete you are in Christ. That is the good news of God. Nothing to add. You're complete in Christ. Now on the cross, this is how this came to be. When our Lord Jesus came down on the cross, verse 11, in Christ also you're circumcised with a circumcision made without hands and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. He uses circumcision here to declare what Christ did on the cross because that was the first thing that lawbongers required. to be circumcised and be brought under the old covenant law. And so he says that earthly circumcision that God gave was a sign and a token of what God in Christ had done for Abraham. And he's talking here first about the cross. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ circumcised his people with a circumcision made without our hands or with anybody else's hands. Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross took all the sin of his people and the body of our sins, our filthy, corrupt sins, the body of our sin was put off, was circumcised, was cut away by Christ on the cross. That's what he accomplished on the cross. Verse 12 says, buried with him in baptism. We're still talking about the cross here. Baptism means immersion. And on the cross we were immersed in the justice of God and the judgment of God when Christ was immersed in that judgment. That's the baptism. Christ said, I have a baptism to be baptized with and how am I straight until it be accomplished? On Calvary we were immersed in the justice of God and then we were buried with Him. Buried with Him in baptism. Wherein also you're risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God who raised Him from the dead. When He arose, all His people arose in Him. Our body of sin died and was buried and our new man arose in Christ. And then He sent the Gospel of Christ to us, and He circumcised us in the heart. Verse 13, and you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. He came and quickened us and regenerated us and gave us faith in Christ and made us to know, the Spirit bearing witness with our new spirit, that we're forgiven all our trespasses. He imputed the righteousness of Christ to us, made us know we're justified from all our sins by Christ's finished work, that we are forgiven of all our trespasses. And what else did he do? He took the law, he redeemed us from the law. He says, verse 14, he blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took the law out of the way, nailing it to his cross. Let me give you this from Romans chapter 7. Paul said, you know, brethren, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. But if he's dead, the law has nothing else to say to it. Well, Paul's declaring in Colossians, we died when Christ died. And here's the result. He said, wherefore, my brethren, you also become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you should be married to another, even a Christ who's raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when you were in your flesh, The motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we're delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held. We're dead to a law, and a law's dead to us. That being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit, not in the oldness of the letter, not in the oldness of that legal covenant, but now we're serving God in newness of spirit. and newness of spirit. And so by Christ doing this, back in Colossians 2, our Lord Jesus conquered the devil and He conquered all our enemies by His work on the cross and His work in our heart. Verse 15, and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Now He said all that to say this, let no man therefore judge you. Your judgment was settled at Calvary. Let no man judge you for what you eat or drink or because you do not go back and observe those old covenant days and months and ceremonies. Verse 16, let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. That's how they were the rudiments of the world. That's how they were the first principles. Those things were just shadows. They were figures and types. But Christ is the one they all pictured. He's the body. He's the body. For instance, the dietary laws. God gave the dietary laws. And by those dietary laws, he kept the Jews separated from the Gentiles. And the purpose of it was to teach his people that it's God who separates his people and sanctifies his people and makes his people pure. That's what Peter was taught. The Lord was going to send Peter to the Gentile Cornelius and he let down that sheep. had all these unclean beasts in it forbidden by the law. And he said, Peter, arise, kill and eat. Peter said, not so, Lord, I've never eaten anything unclean. And the Lord spoke to Peter and he said, what God hath cleansed, that's sanctification, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. That was the picture in the dietary laws But Christ is the one who does the sanctifying and makes us pure. And then he sent him to Cornelius and he preached the gospel to him and God saved that Gentile. God said, before the Sabbath day, I'll provide you with everything you need to eat and rest. And so when the Sabbath day comes, you just rest on that day, let your beasts rest, let your servants rest, everybody gets to rest on that day. And all those Sabbath days are a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Sabbath rest of His people in whom we rest from all our works because all has been provided by God in Christ. Now, if any man puts anything between the believer and Christ, or requires anything in addition to Christ, that's a deceiver, brethren. Look here now in verse 18. Let no man beguile you, deceive you of your reward. What's your reward? Christ Jesus is our reward. He's called our inheritance, our portion, our reward. Let no man rob you of Christ your reward, your inheritance, your all. And how will they do it? In a voluntary humility. That means they exalt man's will, claiming it to be free, and claiming that it's by your will that you accept or reject Christ, it's by your will that you make his work effectual, and it's by your will that you mortify your flesh, it's by your will, it's your will, your will, your will. That's the devil's sin. I will, I will, I will. The pride of Lucifer. and also worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen. In those days, deceivers taught believers that they couldn't just come to Christ, they had to come to angels. They put angels between them and Christ. That's why the Hebrew writers spent so much time at the beginning of the Hebrew letter exalting Christ above the angels. And in our day, men put the Pope, they put preachers, they put a thousand different things in between the believer and Christ, saying these things are necessary. Let no man put anything between you and the Savior. Here's the problem when that is the case, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. and not holding the head from which all the body by joints and bands have nourishment ministered and are knit together and increased with the increase of God. Any man who does not declare Christ is all, He's all the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption of His people. Paul said down there in Colossians 3, he said that in Christ there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. If you're ever going to learn the gospel, this is what we're going to have to learn. Christ is all. In Christ there is no distinction based on these things that we once put so much weight upon. There's no Jew and Greek. The races of people don't make a difference. It's not circumcision or uncircumcision. It's not whether you've kept the law or not kept the law in your flesh that makes the difference. It is not barbarian or Scythian. Those were educated and uneducated, civilized and heathen, uncultured. That doesn't make a difference. It's not whether you're born bond or free. Christ is all. Christ is all. Christ is all. And the man that doesn't declare Christ is all and that the believers complete in Christ exalts the sinner, exalts the sinner's will and the sinner's work, and it's because they are vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind. Vainly puffed up, proud, and not beholding Christ the head. That's God's word on it, brethren. That's God's word on it right there. God the Father made Christ the head over all things to the church. And he says clearly right here, it's Christ who calls his people through the gospel and he knits us together with bands, he knits us together by the same Holy Spirit by which we're born, giving us one faith, one hope, one Lord, one salvation. He makes us one in Christ Jesus. Christ does that. He does it through the preaching of the Word from His throne in glory. That's His glory to do it. And then through the same gospel, Christ our Head ministers all nourishment to His people. We saw Thursday night, Christ is the bread and His people will never be found begging bread. He is the bread and He is ministering to His people through the preaching of the gospel and He is giving us nourishment. Through the Spirit, He's building you up in Christ. He's rooting you in Christ. He's making us to know more and more Christ is all. That's what He's doing. And it's Christ our Head that's making each believer increase with the increase of God. He's God, and He's making us increase with the increase of God. Read it again there again. They're not holding the head, verse 19, they're not holding Christ the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore, now if this is your case, and you've been circumcised for that circumcision made without hands, and you've been given faith to trust Christ, and you've been redeemed from the law, this is what he says in Colossians 2.20. Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, if you're dead with Christ from the law, why, as though living in the world, Are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men? The rudiments of the world, they're the ABCs, they're the tutors and governors that taught the Jews all through that Mosaic age until Christ came. The Hebrew writer talked about going from milk to meat. from milk to meat. And unreligious men think that means you get beyond Christ and you grow in the law and they take you to the law and you go further and further into the law. The Hebrew writer said the rudiments of the world are the shadows of that old covenant law. The washings, the baptisms he's talking about are those washings in that old covenant. The laying on of hands was when they laid their hands on a lamb and the picture of the sins being imputed to the lamb. That was the milk in that day. And the meat is Christ, and going from milk to meat is learning more and more of Christ, more and more of His person, more and more of how complete you are in Him, what He's accomplished, what He's doing now, is to learn more of Christ. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Let me show you that. Go into Galatians chapter 4, just to your left a few pages, Galatians 4. This is what Paul declared to the Galatians. This was what they were being beguiled to do. He says there in verse 1, and the heir, as long as he's a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he's Lord of all. He's under tutors and governors, teachers, until the time of one another father. Even so we, and he's speaking there about the Jews. Gentiles, you and me, were never under that old covenant law. Period. He's talking here about the Jews. He said, even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world, under those rudiments. But when the fullness of time was come, God set forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you're sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Now you're no more a servant but a son." Now look at verse 8. Howbeit then, when you knew not God, you did service unto them which by nature know God. You were serving those ceremonies and those old covenant laws. But now, after you've known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and times and years, I'm afraid of you lest I bestowed upon you labor in vain. He said, you've been delivered now and you could plead in Christ, why do you want to go back to the rudiments, to the ABCs, back to the milk and be entangled in that again? Go back with me to Colossians 2 and read this down to verse 22 without the parentheses. Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines of men? See, it's men that are teaching that. They're adding that. It's their doctrine. If God's given you faith in Christ, then you die to the law in Christ, and you're risen in Christ, and you're living unto God now in newness of spirit, walking by faith. Why then would you act as though your life's in this world? Why would you act as though your life's in this world by subjecting yourself to touch not, taste not, and handle not to those kinds of ordinances, acting as if that's your life and that's how you're going to be made righteous and accepted. Look there, touch not, taste not, handle not, are all to perish with the using. If our righteousness is in what we do and don't do, what we eat and don't eat, if it's in our observance of the law, then when you die, all your so-called righteousness is going to die too. Why do those works appeal to natural man? They appeal to natural man because natural man teaches this is how you mortify your flesh. This is how you mortify your flesh. But that's not what these things do. These things actually feed your sinful flesh, your sinful nature, and just puff up the sinful nature more in self-righteousness. Look here in verse 23. Which, Colossians 2.23, which things have indeed a show, it's a vain show, of wisdom in will worship. It's the worship of a man's will. And false humility, not the true humility God makes, false humility, neglecting of the body. That's why they call the circumcision, they cut the flesh, cut out things. and think that is making them righteous. But he says that's not in any honor to God, and it satisfies the flesh. That's a little complicated to understand the way it's worded, but it only satisfies the flesh. That's all it does. It makes the flesh be inflamed. The flesh loves that kind of stuff, because that's putting the work in your hand. And you know that's what he's saying because read on now, he says, if ye then be risen with Christ. He said, now if you're dead with Christ, don't submit to those things. But if you're risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you appear with Him in glory. Now, that was my introduction. Here's my first point. Here's my first point. Are you risen with Christ? Are you risen with Christ? How do we know if we're risen with Christ? There's only one way you know. The answer is faith. Do you believe that Christ is all and that you are complete in Christ? That's how you know. Do you believe that you are complete in Christ? Faith believes that God our Father in Christ Jesus the Lord has made us meet, fit right now to be partakers in heaven with all those that are already there. Look back at Colossians 1.12. We give thanks unto the Father which hath passed in. He hath made us meet, fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. That's another way of saying He's made us fit to enter into heaven with the Holy God. who hath delivered us past tense, he hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." If you've been made meat, it's because you're justified by Christ's righteousness. It's because you've been born of the Spirit, Christ has been formed in you, so that that new man in you is a holy new man. And your old man of sin has died and been crucified in Christ before the law of God. You see, I said this the other day too, when a Hebrew writer talked about the spirits of just men made perfect, that's not just the saints that are already in glory. That's you who are born of the Spirit of God. You have a new spirit that's holy. You've been justified by Christ and His righteousness has been imputed to you through faith. And in Christ you're complete, you're perfect. That describes every believer in this earth and in heaven. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. That's talking about the new man. For Christ's seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he's born of God. There is a new man in us that does not sin. Every believer has that holiness without which no man will see the Lord. Now here's the truth of the matter. That what's made us meet to inherit heaven and to inherit Christ and to inherit that eternal inheritance is Christ alone. Now, either we believe Christ is all our fitness and that He's made us fit right now to enter into glory. If we died right now, we're fit to enter into His presence. Either we believe He's made us meet or we do not believe it. We believe there's something yet to be added by us. And if we believe there's something yet to be added by us, we do not believe the gospel. We do not believe the gospel. Either Christ is all, or He's nothing. Either Christ is all to you, or He's nothing to you. But the child of God, if you believe Christ is all your righteousness, you believe He is all your sanctification, you believe you're complete in Him and He's your fitness for heaven, then you're risen with Christ. Because the only way you can believe that is by the Spirit of God revealing Christ into you. And this is His command to us. Seek those things which are above where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Why? Because, verse 3, you're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God, and when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. That's what true God-given faith believes. Christ is my life. And my life, you know, I said to you Thursday, life is righteousness. Righteousness is life. Romans 8 tells us that. If you have life, Christ is in you. The Spirit's life because of righteousness. The body's dead because of sin, but your spirit's alive because of righteousness. And brethren, it's because, here's what Paul said, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God, because if righteousness come by the law, if I have to add one thing of my hand, then I'm saying Christ died in vain. See, He is all to the believer. Now, I want you to see this last thing, and this is the whole point Paul's been making. The whole point. Paul said, by setting our affection on things below, touch not, taste not, handle not, what men think is really mortifying your flesh. He said that's inflaming our flesh, but on a vain show, and it's not mortifying our flesh whatsoever. And then he says, but when the Spirit of God sets our affection on Christ, that's how your flesh is mortified. Look here in verse five. Mortify therefore, and the word could as easily been translated, mortify thereby your members which are on the earth. You've been sitting here hearing the gospel priest, and when you hear Christ exalted, and the Spirit speaking into your heart, and you're looking to Christ, and your affection is set on Christ above, you're not regarding your flesh. You're not regarding yourself. You're treating your flesh like it's dead. And that's what mortifying the flesh is. Treat it like it's dead. Don't look to it. as having done anything negative to change your life with God, your righteousness with God, and don't look at it as having done anything positive to add to your righteousness with God. The flesh has been crucified before God under the law, and He's dead and buried, and now the only thing that exists in the eye of God is His people in Christ Jesus, and your life is right there at God's right hand. Now, all these things he says here, these sins he says put off, if we're trying to mortify our flesh, by our flesh, we may not commit any of these things outwardly, but thinking that we have, by not committing these things outwardly, by touching not, tasting not, not doing these things, we've really mortified our flesh, we have committed all these sins spiritually. It's fornication, verse 5, it's uncleanness, it's inordinate affection, it's evil concupiscence, it's covetousness, which is idolatry. And all of that is idolatry. Which things sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience, into which you also walked in some time when you lived in them. But now you're dead, and your life's at God's right hand. If we touch not, taste not, handle not, and ask our righteousness before God, then when the brother falls, all these other sins are what we'll commit in our heart, if not in our words and deeds. Verse 8, put off these also, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth, lie not one to another. That's exactly what Paul said when I was Saul of Tarsus and I was trying to mortify my flesh by the law. He said, sin, taking occasion by the commandment. You know Paul said in Philippians 3, I was a Pharisee a Pharisee, as touching the law blameless. And by all of that, thinking he had really mortified his flesh, sin was taken occasion by the commandment, he said, and it wrought in me all manner of concupiscence, all manner of wickedness. For without the law, sin was dead. When he couldn't hear what the law said, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, when Christ spoke and set his affection on Christ, That's when sin revived and all his self-righteous soul died. And he had never mortified his flesh. And that's the first time his flesh was mortified, when he saw Christ. When a spirit turns our affection to Christ above and a spirit makes us regard our flesh as dead, that's how he enables you to put off the old man and put on the new man. Verse 9, seeing that you put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man, here's how it's done, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ that created him. Whether it's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, but Christ is all and in all. And he makes you, seeing his mercy continually, he makes you merciful. Verse 12, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy, beloved, vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, if any have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all these, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Let the peace of God rule in your heart, to the which also you're called, in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual song, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. You see, what I'm trying to show you is, it's not by turning back to touch not, taste not, handle not, that's going to mortify your flesh. It is having your affection set on Christ above. That's why whenever Paul wrote to the Corinthians, and he had heard about what was going on in their strife and division, that's why Paul said, I was determined to know nothing among you. I didn't want to know about it. I didn't want to know about your trouble. I didn't want to know the second causes. I was determined to preach Christ and Him crucified to you. Because that's the only cure. When the Lord turns you to Christ and makes you behold Him. So this is the Word of our Lord, brethren. This is our head speaking. And if you're His, and He's ministering nourishment to you, this is what He'll make you do through this Word. If you're risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ sits on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. Mortify thereby your members which are on this earth, and put on a new man. That's how it's done, brethren. Keep your hearts set on Christ. That's how you'll put off the old man and put on the new, by the Spirit of God. All right. Father, we thank you for this Word. Lord, we pray that you would truly minister to us now, speak into our hearts, truly make us set our heart, one affection, single-hearted on Christ. Look away from ourselves and our sin nature. Look away from any good we've done. Look away from any sin. And behold, that's not our life. Christ is our life at God's right hand. Lord, teach us this. We pray you help us never be deceived and beguiled. Make us continually know Christ is all and we're complete in Him. In Christ's name we ask it. Amen.