If you turn to the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter 1, in my subject for this morning, the position of the Christian, the pattern to which the Christian is being formed, and the practice that is demanded and ought to be displayed in terms of this glorious position and pattern. In Colossians chapter 1, The Apostle Paul highlights and brings together the three great terms that we oftentimes think about when we think of Christianity. And those terms are faith, love, and hope. All three of those terms mentioned by the Apostle Paul right here in verse 4 and verse 5 of Colossians chapter 1. In verse 4, we have the word faith and love. And then in verse 5, we have the word hope. So in verses 4 and 5, we have faith and love and hope. Now, this is something that is oftentimes done in the New Testament, where these three terms are brought together. For example, in Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 5, we have these three terms connected together. We read about faith in Romans 5 verses 1 and 2. We read about hope in Romans chapter 5 verses 2, 4, and 5. And we read of love in Romans chapter 5 verse 5. So if you look at verses 1 through 5 of Romans chapter 5, these three are brought together. If I come to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the great love chapter, the last verse of the chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 verse 13, and that one verse, we have the three mentioned together. Faith, hope, love. Those three in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 13. If I'm reading Galatians chapter 5, and I come to verses 5 and 6, I read of hope and faith in verse 5, and I read of love in verse 6. So in Galatians chapter 5 verses 5 and 6, you have these three terms linked together. Hope, faith, love. If I come to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 3. In that one statement, we have faith and love and hope. And then when I come to the last of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 8, in that one verse, I have the three terms linked together again. Faith, love, hope. So in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1, verse 3, chapter 5, verse 8, I have those three terms. If I come to Hebrews chapter 10, And I read verses 22, 23, 24. In those three verses, I have these three terms linked together. In verse 22, I have faith. In verse 23, I have hope. In verse 24, I have love. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 22, 23, 24. If I'm reading 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 21 and 22, I have these three terms linked together again. In first Peter chapter one, verse 21, I have faith and hope. And in verse 22, I have the word love. So oftentimes when I'm reading through the new Testament, whether we're talking about Romans five or first Corinthians 13 or Galatians five or first Thessalonians one and chapter five or Hebrews chapter 10 or first Peter chapter one, I have these words linked together, faith, love, hope, and I have it here. In Colossians chapter 1 verses 4 and 5 where I read of faith and love and I read of the word hope in verse 4 and in verse 5. Now I want you to notice the way Paul writes. In Colossians chapter 1 and verse 3 he makes this comment. We're giving thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. praying always concerning you. What's motivated you to give thanks and to pray, Paul? Here it is, verse 4. When we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, when we heard of your initial faith, when you were saved, And when we heard of your ongoing faith, because the only way that you can live the Christian life is to live by faith, the righteous will live by faith. When we heard of your initial faith and your ongoing faith in Christ Jesus, we gave thanks and it prompted us to pray always concerning you. Now when you read the concept of faith, When we heard of your faith, if you think of faith, remember, faith is knowledge plus action. So you have to have information, you have to know something, and then you have to act upon that knowledge. Now that's true in terms of initial salvation, that's true in terms of ongoing sanctification, in terms of the Christian life. I have to know, I have to have the information, and then I have to act upon that information in terms of the gospel, in terms of what the Bible says to me, in terms of living the Christian life since I've embraced the gospel. So when I think of faith, I have to recognize knowledge. plus action, and you have to have both. Or we could say, if we're talking about faith, we recognize that there are three elements involved with faith. First element, there is knowledge. There has to be information. I have to know something, number one. Number two, There has to be assent. I recognize this information to be true and I recognize this information to be supremely and vitally important for me. Third, there has to be trust. So I have to have number one, knowledge. I have to have number two, assent. And I have to have number three, trust. In other words, cognition has to pass into conviction, that has to pass into confidence. That's faith. And if I do not have knowledge and action, if I do not have the information, the knowledge, and the ascent, and the trust, then I'm not saved, and it is impossible for me to live this Christian life. because I'm saved by faith and I live the Christian life by faith. So I read the statement here in verse four, Paul says, we're giving thanks, we're praying always concerning you. When we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, which tells me what is important is not the amount of faith but the object in which one trusts. The object is all important. And here, it's in Christ Jesus. Now, if we think of Christ, we're thinking of the title. We're thinking of the Messiah, because Christ is Greek for Messiah, which is Hebrew. So if I think of Messiah, Mashiach, or if I think of Christ, Christos, Hebrew, Greek, mean exactly the same thing, the anointed one. So when I think of the Christ or the Messiah, I'm thinking of the promised one of the Old Testament, first introduced in Genesis 3.15 as the seed of the woman, and then what the seed of the woman's going to do. So when I think of the Christ, I think of the promised Messiah, the anointed one, prophet, the prophet, priest, the priest, king, the king, all three anointed in the Old Testament. He's the prophet, the priest, the king. He's the promised one who's going to come. And I recognize, these people recognize that the Messiah, none other than Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah. So the early confession was, Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Messiah. So when we think of Jesus, we think of his personal name. When we think of the Christ, we think of the title given to him. Jesus is the Christ. Well, when you read the statement here, Paul says, we were giving thanks, we were always praying, because we heard something. We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. We heard that you were saved, that you believed in the truth of the gospel, and we heard this is the way that you are living. So we have the statement here in verse 4. When we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. And let me make it very plain to all of us here. The only way that I'm going to be saved is to recognize the truth of the gospel. And the truth of the gospel is, I'm a sinner. There's not one thing that I can do to merit salvation. Jesus Christ is the Savior. He is the only Savior who can save me from my sins. And I have to turn away from myself, and I have to trust in Him. I have the knowledge. I certainly believe that this is true and vitally important for me. Otherwise, I'm lost and damned and condemned. So I turn away from myself and I put all of my trust in Him, in Him. That's what saves me. So there are a lot of people that have rhetoric, there are a lot of people that have a veneer of religion, and yet they're not genuinely saved. I think our churches are full of people like this. I have to tell you, I'm absolutely amazed at the staggered ignorance. When we talk about people who are in churches who know absolutely nothing about the Bible, and knew absolutely hardly anything about the Christian faith. It's just absolutely staggering to me. Because if we say we're Christians and we're believers, obviously we ought to know what it is that we're to believe. And the only way that we know that is from the Bible. So obviously you would think that the Bible would be proclaimed, and the Bible would be taught, and the Bible would be expounded upon. But it's hard to say it's not. So I think we have a lot of people who have a little veneer of religion in the church, and yet that's all it is. There's no regeneration. They're not saved because they don't understand what faith is all about. Faith is not intellectual knowledge and stopping with intellectual knowledge. Faith is not some emotional ascent, and that's all it is to it. Faith is me understanding. Faith is me understanding this is vitally important for me, and faith means that I'm trusting in Him and not in myself. And Paul says, we're giving thanks because we heard this about you, it prompted us to pray always concerning you, and then we have the statement. And it's right here in verse four. When we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. Now look at the next statement. And the love which you're having towards all the saints. Wouldn't we say, that the love expressed towards the saints demonstrate the faith of these believers? Wouldn't their love for believers demonstrate that they truly were saved? And the love which you're having towards all the saints, So when you say if there's faith in Christ Jesus, then that faith has to demonstrate itself and it demonstrates itself here by love, love towards all of those who belong to Christ. Saints. Doesn't that make sense? Now hold your place here. And I want you to turn to the parallel statement in Ephesians chapter one. And I want you to notice what Paul says in Ephesians chapter one. And verse 15, are you getting a little warm in here? Nancy, will you just check that and make sure that that is on? And I appreciate so much you doing that. I think it was a little warm in here when we first got here and it may take a while for that to cool off, I don't know. Now look at this in Ephesians chapter one, And look at the 15th verse. Now look at this statement, it parallels what we read in Colossians 1. On account of this, I also, when I heard of, literally the faith according to you, but you'd bring it over into English, your faith, now look, in the Lord Jesus, I mean the key is the object. When I heard of your faith, in the Lord Jesus, now look, and the love towards all the saints. And then that prompted him not only to give thanks but to pray for them. As you read it in verses 16 and following. So he mentions here faith in the Lord Jesus and then he mentions here the love towards all the saints. And what I'm saying is that outward love is an indication of one's inward faith. If I have faith in Christ Jesus, then that ought to be displayed in a certain way. And Paul says in Ephesians 1 and Colossians 1, it's displayed in your love towards all the saints. Now listen to a statement from Jesus as he's in the upper room and he's speaking to the disciples. And he says to the disciples in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35. Now listen to this. A new commandment I'm given to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Then I read this, John 13, this is verse 34, now this is verse 35. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you are having love for one another. So the way in which you demonstrate that you're a follower of me is the love that you have for one another. Isn't that John 13, 34 and 35? Now he comes back to it in John chapter 15. Now listen to this as I read it. In John chapter 15, and I read this in verse 12. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Then he comes right back to it in verse 17 of John 15. These things I've commanded you, that you love one another. So in John 13, 34 and 35, in John 15, verse 12 and verse 17, this is indicative that you are, my disciple, a follower of me. And furthermore, this is what I'm commanding you to do. I'm commanding you, I'm ordering you to love one another. Now that's what I read. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. These things I'm commanding you that you love one another, that you love one another. Now he is commanding us to do it. So obviously if we love him, we're going to obey his commandments, correct? We're told this explicitly. Listen to the words of Jesus. John 14, still upper room. I read this in John 14, verse 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14, 15. Listen to verse 21 of John 14. The one who has my commandments and is keeping them, that's the one who loves me. Or listen to verse 23. of John 14. Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Or listen to verse 24. The one who loves me not will not keep my words. So if I read John chapter 14, verse 15, verse 21, verse 23, verse 24, Jesus says that if we truly love Him, we're gonna follow His commandments. And one of His commandments, we're to love one another, and this demonstrates that we truly are His disciples. Now what I read here is stated over and over again in 1 John. Now I want you to listen to just a couple of statements as I read it in 1 John. Listen to 1 John chapter 2 and listen to verses 9, 10, and 11. The one who says to be in the light and is hating his brother is in the darkness and in denial. The one who loves his brother abides in the light. There's no scandal in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and is walking in the darkness and doesn't know where he's going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Now that's 1 John 2 verses 9, 10, and 11. Now listen to 1 John chapter 3 and listen to verse 11. This is the message which you heard from the beginning that we should love one another. Then I come down to verse 14, 1 John 3. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we're loving the brothers. Well, what if we're not loving the brothers? Then we're still in death, we're not in life. We know we passed out of death into life because of this. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we're loving the brothers. The one who is not loving abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that every murderer is not having eternal life abiding in him. 1 John chapter 3 verses 14 and 15. Now let me read one more. Listen to 1 John chapter 4 and listen to verses 20 and 21. If a certain one should say, I'm loving God and should hate his brother. He's a liar. For the one who loves not his brother whom he has seen is not able to love God whom he has not seen. And we're having this commandment from him that the one who loves God loves also his brother. You see it? How can someone say he loves God? He's never seen God. How can someone say he loves God? and that he doesn't love this one who belongs to God. So John says that is utterly impossible. You cannot say you love God, whom you've never seen, and you say you love him, and you don't love this person who belongs to God, whom you can actually see. And then he says, and we're having this commandment from Kim that the one who loves God loves also his brother. I mean, no question about it. So when I read this sermon here in Colossians chapter 1, and Paul is talking about giving things, and Paul is talking about praying always, it's all on the basis of what was communicated to him. And something was revealed to him in terms of, number one, their faith in Christ Jesus, and a demonstration of it, the love which you're having towards all the saints. But then he mentions this in verse 5, on account of, because of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, which hope you heard before him by the word of the truth of the gospel. You see this? We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you're having towards all the saints. Because of, on account of, this is what really motivated you. Because of, on account of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven. Now let me just pause. If we talk about the word hope, we're talking about being absolutely assured about something. We're talking about an absolute certainty. So when we talk about hope in terms of the New Testament, it's not as though there's any contingencies here or as though the hope may not be realized. You have to throw that out. The hope is an absolute confidence that what we read in scripture is absolutely going to take place. How do we know? Because it comes from a God who cannot lie. It is impossible for him to lie. And furthermore, it comes from a God who's absolutely in control of everything, who is all-knowing and all-powerful. So if this God sets forth a promise, He's always going to be reliable, dependable. He's always going to be faithful to the promise. So whatever He says in terms of a promise in Scripture is going to be realized. So when we talk about hope, we're not thinking, oh, I hope this happens as though it may not. That's absolutely valid in terms of you and me, because circumstances can change, the person can change, there are all kinds of contingencies all around us that can change the plan, but not with God. So when we talk about this hope, we realize this is an absolute certainty, and that ought to be certainly within our minds when we think about it. So I'm reading this and he says, on account of, because of the hope, now look at this, that is laid for you in heaven. You know what that means? You know what that verb means? This is being reserved for you, awaiting for you in heaven. And you know what's interesting about it? Usually when you read the word heaven, whether you're talking about Hebrew or Greek, in Hebrew Shemayim, in Greek it's Ouranos, oftentimes it's plural, heavens, because of course there are three heavens. And one day we're going to be in the third heaven, and the third heaven is where God is. Now when you read this I want you to notice it says in verse 5 Colossians 1, On account of the hope, I'm thinking certainty, that is being reserved for you in the heavens, in the heavens, which, and the antecedent is hope, which hope you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. Now, if we talk about hope, how will we define hope? How about this? The totality of blessings awaiting the Christian in the life to come. The totality of blessing awaiting the Christian in the life to come. Hope for blessedness. And the hope is absolute certainty of blessedness. We're gonna bless in heaven. So when I'm reading this, This is reserved for you, it's waiting for you in heaven, which hope you heard before him by the word of the truth of the gospel. The word of, it says, the message of truth, truth is reality, is that which corresponds with what's real of the gospel. Gospel is good news, gospel is what communicated this reality to me. Now, when we talk about hope, I think this is important to think about it. Let's go back to Romans chapter 5, and let me just point it out. This is Romans chapter 5, and I want to talk about the hope. Now, look at Romans chapter 5. Now, look at Paul's statement. Let me just pick it up in verse 1. Therefore, and I'm gonna read this in a causal way, because we have been justified by faith, we are having peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom, our Lord Jesus Christ, we have access by faith into this grace, in which grace we stand. And we're boasting, now here's the phrase, And we're boasted in the hope of the glory of God. We're boasted in the hope of the glory of God. The absolute certainty of the glory of God. Okay? Then I read verse three. But not only are we boasted in the hope of the glory of God, but also we are boasted in the tribulations. Why, Paul? Because tribulation is work and endurance. And endurance is working to prove character. And to prove character is working. Now look, here you have the word again. Hope. And then he picks it up again in verse 5. And the hope. The hope. Well, what does he mean by the hope? Well, isn't he taking me back to verse 2? The hope of the glory of God? And the hope, namely the glory of God, is not being disappointed. Why? Because the love of God has been lavishly poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us, which absolute guarantees. So we're boasted in the hope of the glory of God. We're boasted in the tribulations because tribulations remind us this isn't what it's all about. This is all, this is all, Problematic, we have all kinds of difficulties here. All of it's a reminder to us this isn't home. And it's reminding us we're looking forward to the hope and the glory of God. So we're boasted in the hope of the glory of God. We're boasted in the tribulations because the tribulations remind us of the hope of the glory of God, where we're not too comfortable here. And then you come to the last verse, verse 11. And not only are we boasted in the hope of the glory of God and boasted in tribulations, we are boasted in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's all because of Him. But when you read this, wouldn't it be true to say that all of the difficulties we encounter here are a reminder to all of us This isn't really what it's all about. We're here for a brief period of time. And if the Lord dares, we're all gonna die. And we know no one knows when. Anybody could die at any moment of time. And the tribulations and difficulties are a reminder. The only thing that really matters is the certainty of the glory of God, the hope of the glory of God. That's what it's all about. So I'm reading it here. Hope, the hope of the glory of God. Now I want you to come please to Romans chapter 8. Let me pick up the reading. In verse 23. Romans 8, verse 23. Romans 8, 23. Notice this. And not only, and in the context, is creation groaning, but also we ourselves, who are having the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves are groaning in ourselves, waiting for the adoption. Then he tells us what we're waiting for and what the adoption entails, a redemption of our body, the redemption of our body. Now look at the next statement of verse 24. For we were saved in the hope. What's the hope? Well it's a future aspect when salvation is completed and our bodies have been redeemed and the hope of glory has been realized. Isn't that it? For we were saved in the hope. But then he says, but hope being seen is not hope. For that which a certain one sees, is he hoping? No. Why? Because hope has been realized. I mean, hope is something that you're anticipating to take place. Otherwise, it's not hope. So hope is something that you're expecting, you're anticipating it's going to take place. And then when it takes place, now it's realized. Now you actually see it. So he says, when you read his statement in verse 24, but hope being seen is not hope. For that which a certain one sees, is he hoping? Of course not, because there's no longer hope. But then he says, but if that which we are not seeing, we're hoping, we're eagerly anticipating or waiting through endurance. That's what's prompted us to persevere because we know all of this one day is going to be realized. And what he's talking about is the redemption of the body. What he's talking about is the hope of glory on account of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven. That's what he's talking about. Now, let me read one more in Romans. Look at Romans chapter 12. And in the midst of all of these little succinct statements, Paul will have this one. Romans chapter 12. And look at verse 12. Rejoicing, you see this? Rejoicing, you know what? It says in, there's an article there. The hope. Rejoice in it. The hope. Well, what's the hope? Well, the hope is Romans 5. The glory of God. The hope is Romans 8. The redemption of the body. When salvation is completed. That's the hope. So we're rejoicing in the hope. And the hope is none other than Jesus Christ. Everything that we have in Jesus Christ. Now, if I'm reading 1 Timothy chapter 1, And I'm reading the opening statement. I want you to just listen to it as I read it. This is in first Timothy chapter one. And Paul will say this in the opening statement, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, according to the commandment of God, our savior and Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus. You see, and then the next phrase is our hope. Christ Jesus, our hope. And when you read our hope, it's an opposition to Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, namely, that is our hope. In other words, apart from Christ Jesus, there's absolutely no hope. Our hope is found in Him. Our certainty is found in Him. So when you talk about a non-Christian, when we say a non-Christian doesn't have any hope, I mean this is not what I say, this is what Paul says. Paul would say a non-Christian has absolutely no hope. Why? Because Ephesians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 say that he's in the world apart from Christ, apart from God, and as a result he has no hope. Now those are his words. In Ephesians Chapter 2, verses 12 and 13. Anybody who's apart from Christ is an individual who's apart from the one true God. And anyone who's apart from Christ and apart from the one true God is in the world without any hope. Do you remember what he says in 1 Thessalonians 4 when he talks about those who have died in Christ? Do you remember? He says that you experience sorrow but you're not experiencing sorrow like those who have no hope. And when you read that statement there in 1 Thessalonians 4, 13, those who have no hope are unsank people. So if I read Ephesians 2, verses 12 and 13, or 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13, you're talking about a non-Christian, and a non-Christian is someone who has no hope, because he doesn't understand the gospel, he doesn't understand what this life is all about, he doesn't understand there's a hereafter, he doesn't understand Jesus Christ, he doesn't understand himself, and consequently he's trying to fill this vacuum in his life with all of these things that are just absolute emptiness because he doesn't really understand the meaning of life. So when I come to the statement here in Colossians chapter 1, Paul's going to say, We are giving thanks, Paul's going to say, we are constantly praying, and then he's going to tell us, tell these believers the reason why. And we read it here in Colossians chapter one, verse four. When we heard, and the we would be Paul and Timothy, when we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and love which you're having towards all the saints, on account of the hope that is being reserved for you in the heavens, which hope you heard beforehand by the word, by the message of truth, which corresponds with that which is real, of the good news of the gospel. Now look at the same chapter, come down to verse 23. Look at the phrase in verse 23. The hope of the gospel which you heard. See that phrase? The hope of the gospel which you heard. Now come down please, and let me pick up the reading in verse 25. Colossians 125, of which, antecedent being church, of which church I became a minister according to the administration or the management, the dispensation of God that was given to me to you to fulfill the Word of God, the mystery that has been concealed, hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now was made known to his saints, to whom God wished to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, The hope of glory. Now, when you read this, let me make just a point. He's going to talk about mystery. He's going to talk about this word eustachian, which is a word that is prominent in Paul's writings. Mystery. You have it here in verse 26, and you have it in verse 27. If you talk about mystery, remember, mystery doesn't mean something that is mysterious. esoteric. That is not the word mystery. Mystery in terms of the way Paul uses it simply means that something has been hidden and concealed and then later on it's manifested or it's revealed and the only way that you would know it is for God to reveal it. So if we talk about mystery, there are three components. Something is hidden, something is then made known, and the only way you know it is God makes it known. Otherwise, you would never know it. God makes it known. God reveals it. And all three of those components are found here. Now let me read it again. Look at verse 26. The mystery that has been hidden, concealed from the ages and from the generations, but now was made known. Was made known. Who made it known? God did. God made it known. But now it was made known to His saints. To whom God willed to make known. I mean, He's the one who wants us to know it. To whom God willed to know what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles." Now look, which is Christ in you. And then he says, the hope of glory. Christ in you is the hope of glory. Now think about what he's saying. If I'm reading through Colossians chapter 1, this is an unbelievable Christological proclamation of Jesus of Nazareth. I mean, if you want to see an unbelievable statement about the Christ, Colossians 1 doesn't disappoint. And if you pick it up in Colossians 1 verse 15, just think about the way he describes it. In verse 15 of Colossians 1, he says, Christ is the image of the invisible God. He is the manifestation of the invisible God. That's verse 15. Verse 16 says, He created everything, things that we can see and things that we cannot see. Everything that's been created, He created. That's verse 16. Verse 17 says, everything that he created, he sustains, he holds it all together. So not only is Christ God, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, he is the creator of everything and the sustainer of everything. Then you come down to verse 18, he's the head of the church and the church is his body. So Christ is God, Christ is the creator, Christ is the sustainer, and Christ is the head of the church. And then he brings it all the way down to us. This is the one who's in you, and this is the reason why you have the certainty of glory. You see this? So he's bringing this one that we read about in verse 15 all the way down, and then I'm reading this in verse 27, this incredible statement. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Because there's no hope apart from Him. Everything is about Him. So I read this and it raises a very good question, doesn't it? Why does He say Christ in you? Why does He say the Holy Spirit in you? Because if you remember in the upper room discourse, he said to his disciples, I'm going to leave, but I'm not going to leave you as orphans. I'm going to send one to take my place. And the one who's going to take my place is the Holy Spirit. So I'm going to go away and I'm going to send another polyclete And the paraclete is not going to just be with you or alongside of you. He is going to be in you and he's going to bring all of these changes within you. So I'm going to go away and I'm going to heaven and I'm going to send the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is going to take my place and the Holy Spirit is going to do this. Now that's the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And yet I read a statement like this, and he says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Why does he say Christ in you? Why does he talk about the Holy Spirit? Now there are several passages in the New Testament where we have this, but it's always qualified. And so when we read it, we have to understand what he's saying. So let me read two passages. Would you go back to Ephesians, and I want you to notice a statement in Ephesians 3. This is Ephesians 3. This is in the midst of his prayer as he's praying for these believers in verses 14 and following. But I want to pick up in the middle of the prayer in verse 16, and I want you to notice what he says. Now he's praying and this is what he's petitioning the father to do. In order that he might give to you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power. Now look. Through his spirit in the inner man. Through his spirit in the inner man. Now look now. Look at the next verse. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. He mentions Christ dwelling in their hearts. But in verse 16 he says, it's through his spirit. Through his spirit. So I'm reading of the Holy Spirit and then I'm reading of Christ dwelling in our hearts. Now I want you to turn to Romans chapter eight and let me read one more. This is in Romans chapter eight. And notice the way Paul says this. Romans chapter 8 verse 9, But you are not in flesh, but in spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God is dwelling in you. But if anyone is not having the Spirit of Christ, this one is not of him. Now let me just pause. Isn't this a blanket, straightforward statement? that anyone who doesn't have the Holy Spirit, by definition, is not a Christian. Isn't that what we're reading? If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person doesn't belong to God. So by definition, you would say anyone who doesn't have the Holy Spirit is a lost person. All believers have the Holy Spirit. All believers have the Holy Spirit. That's not to say that the Holy Spirit has all the believer. But all believers have the Holy Spirit. So I'm reading the statement here, verse 9. But you are not in flesh, but in spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone is not having the Spirit of Christ, this one is not of him. Now let me ask a further question. Why does Paul say Spirit of God and then Spirit of Christ? Why does he say Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ? Because God the Father and God the Son both sent the Spirit. The Spirit came from God the Father and the Spirit came from God the Son. God the Father, God the Son, sent the Spirit. So we could say the Spirit from God, or we could say the Spirit from Christ. They're both true. So I'm reading the statement. But you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If indeed the Spirit of God is dwelling in you, and the conditional clause is, he certainly thinks this is valid and true. But if anyone is not having the Spirit of Christ, This one is not of him. Now look at the next statement. But if Christ in you, now I'm speaking of Christ in you, but if Christ in you, now look, the body on the one hand is dead on account of sin, but on the other hand, the spirit is life on account of righteousness. Now follow it, verse 11. But if the spirit who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you. The one who raised Christ from the dead will make alive also your mortal bodies through his spirit who is dwelling in you. Now he talks about Christ in you, but over and over again he's talking about the Holy Spirit in you. So what does he say? He's saying that Christ in us means Christ is in us by His Spirit. That's what he's saying. So when he says, Christ in you, the hope of glory, we understand Christ is everywhere. Christ is God. So Christ is everywhere. Two people are gathered together, He's there. But when you talk about specifically The ministry of the Father and the Son and the Spirit, it is the ministry of the Spirit to bring changes within the heart of the Christian. Christ is in heaven praying for the Christian, the Holy Spirit's within the heart of the Christian, praying for the Christian, and also working within the life of the Christian. There's an interesting volume by Sinclair Ferguson that is on John Owen. It's a little biographical study of John Owen's life by Sinclair Ferguson. And he talks about the three members of the Godhead and the way John Owen talked about it and the way Sinclair Ferguson as well. But John Owen makes this statement. It is impossible to worship any one person and not worship the whole Trinity. I mean, if you're thinking of the one person, you're thinking of all the three persons. I mean, they're united together. And so Sinclair Ferguson weighs in and says, in God's activity, whether it is three personal being, all three persons are always involved and engaged. Think of creation. Think of redemption. We have the three persons of the Godhead, all three involved. In God's activity, whether it is three personal being, all three persons are always involved and engaged. In everything God the Trinity is and does, each of the three persons relates to and engages with each of the other persons. He talks about this choreography between the members of the Godhead. But then he makes this comment. This reality is clearly present in the New Testament, in which a specific action is attributed to the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit, yet almost always within the context of reference being made to one or both of the other persons. It may be God the Father that specifically does this and you read of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Or God the Son that does this and then you read of the other persons of the Godhead. Or God the Holy Spirit even though you read of Christ and God the Father. So it makes this point, I think the point is valid. This reality is clearly present in the New Testament in which a specific action is attributed to the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit Yet almost always within the context of reference being made to one or both of the other persons. So you can speak of the special working of the father or the special ministry of the son or the special work of the spirit. So when I read this Christ in you, the hope of glory, I recognize Christ in me through the ministry of the Holy spirit. But the hope of glory is found in Christ and all that I have in Christ. So when I'm reading the statement here, in Colossians 1, verse 27, Christ in you, the hope of glory, isn't he talking about union with Christ? Isn't he talking about participating with Christ? Isn't he saying that we're partakers with the divine nature, what Peter does in 2 Peter 1? So if we talk about Christ in you, you remember what Jesus said in John 14, 20? There's going to be a day, a day is going to come and you're going to know something. And the day is the day of Pentecost, Acts 2. That day you're going to know that I'm in the Father and you in me and I in you. Do you remember that phrase in John 14, 20? You're going to realize something on the day of Pentecost. You're going to realize that I'm in the Father and you in me and I in you. You are going to be placed in me through Spirit Baptism, which happens in Acts 2. Now you're a member of the body of Christ. And I in you through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So there's this union that's going to take place. There's this participation that's going to take place. I mean, we're going to be in Christ. We're going to be in Him. If I read Ephesians 1, 3 through 14, and I read that prayer 10 times, 10 times, I'm going to read, I'm in Christ or I'm in Him 10 times. That is union. That is participation with Christ. I think of the words. of Edmund Clowney who said, the status of Christians depends upon the status of Christ for they are joined to Him. We are joined to Him. So if I'm reading this in Colossians, I read the statement, I want you to notice this, in Colossians chapter 1, I read this statement concerning Christ. verse 27 Christ in you and then I read the hope of glory now I want you to turn to chapter 3 of Colossians and I just want to read this phrase look at verse 3 look at the phrase your life is hidden with Christ in God See that phrase? Your life is hidden with Christ in God. And then I read the phrase in verse four, Christ your life. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ your life. Christ is your life. Now I'm just reading those phrases there. So what does it mean to say that I'm in Christ? What does it mean to say I'm united to Christ, I participate with Christ? What does that mean? It means that we benefit from everything that Christ did on our behalf. We're in Christ, we're in him, we are in the beloved one. That is our position. So when I read Colossians chapter one, Look at the 13th verse, Colossians 1, look at verse 13. God rescued us, delivered us from what? From the authority of darkness. And what did he do? He transferred us into the kingdom of the son of Islam. So you mean at one point we were here under the authority of darkness belonging to the devil? We've been snatched out of that position and now we're in a brand new position. We've been transferred. We've been removed from this place to this place. We've been transferred into the kingdom of the son of his love. And that's where we are. So I think of my union. By union with Jesus Christ, I think of all the things that happened with Christ at the very moment of salvation. Like what? We died with Christ, which means we were crucified together with Christ. We were buried with Christ. We've been raised together with Christ. We ascended up into heaven, the third heaven, with Christ. We're seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's our position. And all of that's factual. All of that's happened. So I'm reading this, and he's going to say it over and over again. He's going to say it in Ephesians, and he's going to say it in Colossians. Now let me just make the point. You know, you just want to just jettison it. But if I did, everybody would be screaming and running out. So I'll stop here. I'm making my way to Colossians 3, because I want to understand my position. I want to understand the pattern to which now I'm being formed as a Christian, and consequently, what is my practice to be like? because he's going to spell it out in clear-cut terms. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word. We thank Thee for our position in Jesus Christ to realize that all of this happened the very moment we exercised faith in Christ Jesus. We thank Thee that we belong to Christ. We're united to Christ. We know He's the head. We're the members of the body. We know that we're united to Him and united to all of those who belong to Him. And we thank Him that we can love fellow believers and we can recognize this hope that has been reserved for us in the heavens. And we think of the certainty, our Father, of one day realizing this hope of glory, the redemption of the body, when all of these problems that we experience in the here and now will be things of the past. May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us, give us understanding as we read and think about the scriptures. For I pray in Jesus' name, amen.