" ALL THINGS IN CHRIST -

FULFILLED "

By Wayne Shelton

We are going to begin a study now in something the Lord has impressed in my heart for some time. And the theme is: ALL THINGS IN CHRIST. And what a term "all things" really is! What we should ask ourselves is: what is "all things" We’ll look at this in Ephesians 1:12.

A few years ago the Lord began to deal with me regarding this. I had been ministering from Colossians 1:27, " Christ in you, the hope of glory." And the Spirit of the Lord began to deal in my heart: ‘What do you mean - Christ in you, the hope of glory? What are you saying?’ And I began to realize that truly I had very little comprehension or understanding of "Christ in you". And the Lord was speaking in me to define "Christ in you"; that it is a great realization for the Church to come to the realization that Christ is in the believer, that Christ has come to dwell in His saints, that He has come by His Spirit, and He is in us. But now, once we come to that realization, and that understanding breaks upon us, it is the Lord’s heart that how He is in us would be defined; that we would come to fully understand and see The Christ in us, and how He is in us in relationship with us. And that’s what I hope in this study of "All Things in Christ" that we come to realize.

Let us look in the scripture in Ephesians 1:1-12, " Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption, through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself; That in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."

Now I would like to gather our minds to verse 10, " That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one ALL THINGS IN CHRIST, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." ALL THINGS IN CHRIST. In this lesson we will not deal so much with the fulness of times, but let me just make this brief statement: this is NOT a future time. The "fulness" there - that is a Greek word #4138 in Strong’s: ‘ repletion, or completion, what fills as content, supplement, multitude, or what is filled as container, performance, or period.’ And what this is speaking of is that time: the law and the prophets came by Moses as recorded in John; and this is speaking of the completion of that time - that the time is complete; in the completion of the time. And the completion of the time is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: that He would gather together all things in one, all things in the heavens and on the earth - IN CHRIST. This is the completion of all times - all things in Christ.

Now with that thought, let us just look again at these scriptures. Verse 3, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." See, all the spiritual blessings, the heavenly places - where are they gathered up? They are gathered IN CHRIST! God has blessed us in Christ! Verse 4, "According as he hath chosen us in him..." Look, the choosing of God, the blessing of God, the predestination of God, the redemption (vs. 7), the forgiveness of sins, the riches of His grace... ALL THINGS IN CHRIST!

We must hear this! Just allow the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart, open the hearing - let us hear this. Where do we first find the blessings? We find the blessings in the scripture: God promising the blessing to Abraham. "In thee shall all the nations be blessed." And we find this blessing carried right on down into Israel: that God promised Israel the blessing. And now the completion of the blessings is ALL spiritual blessings IN CHRIST. Just for an example: All things in Christ - what are "all things"? All things in the scripture - in Christ. Look in Ephesians 1:17-23 where Paul is praying for The Church. " 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: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."

This is what we need to see: The Church, which is His Body, the FULNESS of Him that filleth all in all. This is the same word "fulness" - the completion of Him. We read this in verse 10: in the fulness of times; the fulness of Him, the completion of Christ."...that filleth..." And that is the Greek word #4137, and the word "fulness" comes from this word "filleth". So The Body is the container of ALL THINGS that is fulfilled in Christ. In other words, all these things fulfilled in Christ is in relationship to The Body of Christ, which is The Church - His fulness, His expression. And they are in The Church to be expressed.

This is what we have to come to see: the "all things" in Christ. The Lord has challenged my heart about "Christ in you, the hope of glory." What about it? Define that! And He defines that in all things that He gathers up in Christ, and now THE CHURCH IS THE CONTAINER OF CHRIST IN ALL THESE THINGS! In other words, He is ministering to His Body all of these things: that The Body may be the expression, the vehicle for all of these things in the earth. And here it is in the scripture: The Church, His Body, the fulness of Him that fills. He that fills all, He that is filling all things - the fulness of Christ that fills all things in all The Body! Can we hear this? ALL THINGS! Just allow The Lord to bring our minds to "all things". What is "all things"? I ask that again. All things in the scripture. So, what is the scripture? What I mean is all things between Genesis and Malachi; all things that God had said as Hebrews 1 says: "He spake at sundry times and in divers manners unto the Fathers by the prophets." He spake in different ways by the prophets, but now, He is speaking to The Church, IN SON - by His Son. In these last days He has spoken unto us by His Son!

See, in the former time He spake by diverse ways by the prophets. And Christ is the fulfillment, is the completion of everything that God has spoken by the prophets, and I want to give you some examples of this. I want us to see what I’m saying. In Genesis 1:1-5 the Bible reads, " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Now John 8:12, " Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Listen, here in Genesis God said, "Let there be light." He created the heavens and the earth, He created the natural and He said, "Let there be light." And then here in John, Jesus says, "I AM THE LIGHT." See, JESUS IS THE FINAL DEFINITION OF LIGHT! In Genesis in reference to the creation we are talking about natural light. But it’s fulfillment is NOT natural light; the fulfillment of the light of the sun and the moon that God hung in the universe: the fulfillment of the light is that Jesus said I AM the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.

And if you look in the book of Ephesians chapter 5 it says "Ye were darkness, but now are you light IN THE LORD." See, the Christian was sometime darkness; at that time of the old man he was in darkness, but now IN CHRIST he has come to the light of the world, to the light that is Christ! And see, the fulfillment of light is CHRIST. Another place is in Genesis 1:26,27, " And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Now turn to 2 Corinthians 4: 3,4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Here again we see the same thing that we saw in the earlier passages. God says ‘Let us make man in our image’. And so, God created man. But the fulfillment, the completion - ALL THINGS - the image of God is gathered up INTO CHRIST, Who is the image of God. God spake it - God made it in a type in the natural, and now Christ is the fulfillment, is the completion of the image of God.

We find it again in Genesis 1:28 where God tells Adam to have dominion over the earth: God gives Adam dominion over the earth. Now look in Hebrews 2:6, and this actually is coming out of the book of Psalms. " But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. BUT WE SEE JESUS, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." We do not see all things in subjection under the first man, but...WE SEE JESUS! And what did we read earlier in Ephesians 1? That He put ALL THINGS under His feet (Ephesians 1:22). So now we see Jesus, and now we see the fulfillment of what God spake to Adam.

We could look at this with the Priesthood and the Great High Priest, the Priesthood of Aaron. Look in Hebrews 5, and have in mind as you look here the Priesthood of Aaron. In the scripture we have Aaron’s Priesthood that was defined beginning in Exodus and now in Hebrews 5:1-6 the writer writes: "For every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins, And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also CHRIST glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." So here we find the ultimate Priesthood IN CHRIST. The completion, the definition of a Priesthood that was a type and a shadow under the law becomes fulfilled in Christ. He gives it definition - ALL THINGS IN CHRIST. And this lesson is nothing more than an introduction. We could take each of these subjects: the Priesthood, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the man, the offerings, the sacrifices - we could take each of these subjects and show how all of them are defined IN CHRIST.

Now turn to Hebrews 10:1, " For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Then look at Hebrews 8:1-5, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."

Do we see that everything under the law, everything in the scripture, everything there was speaking of a shadow, a type that Christ fulfills! He becomes the completion of all things in the scripture. Now Ephesians 1:10 makes a lot of sense; that in the completion of the time, He gathers together all things IN CHRIST; in the fulness of the times all things are gathered up into Christ. So no longer do we have the Priesthood of Aaron: the ministry of the Priest is gathered up from Aaron and is fulfilled in Christ. No longer do we have the animal sacrifices: the animal sacrifices for sin and for the various other offerings are gathered up and they are completed and given their definition in Christ! We can go on with every element under the first - all finds its fulfillment IN CHRIST. That is the "all things"!

Now turn to Luke 24:25-27. This is Jesus speaking to them as they walked together. " Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in ALL THE SCRIPTURES the things concerning HIMSELF." Listen - beginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded unto them in ALL the scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF. Verse 44-47, " And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that ALL THINGS must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Look what He is saying: that which is written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms is concerning HIM. And He opened their understanding that they could understand the scripture. JESUS OPENS THE UNDERSTANDING. See, without Him, we have no understanding of the scripture. That is why we have preachers in the same denomination preaching different things: because Jesus is the light of the scriptures - the scriptures testify of Him. That’s what He says in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of ME." And then He says in verse 40, " And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Search the scriptures, in them you think you have life, but the scriptures testify of Me. And one of the reasons we have division in The Church is because we do not see that the scripture is speaking of Christ. And what I mean by "the scripture" is that from Genesis through Malachi. We try to interpret it to mean everything BUT Christ!

And what Daniel’s prophecy is testifying of is CHRIST! What Jeremiah’s prophecies are testifying of is CHRIST! What Ezekiel’s prophecies are testifying of is CHRIST! What Isaiah is testifying of is CHRIST! What the rolling back of the Red Sea was testifying of is CHRIST! What the children of Israel crossing the Jordan River into Canaan land was testifying of is CHRIST! What the children of Israel themselves were testifying of is CHRIST! Search these scriptures; in them you think you have life. But these testify of ME! See, the scripture testifies of Him; it doesn’t testify of anything but that which is CHRIST!

Look now in the book of Acts 28:23, " And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening." Look where Paul preached Jesus. Paul is declaring Christ out of the scripture - out of the law, out of the prophets. It’s the same thing as in John 5 - search the scriptures; these speak of Me. And that’s truly the place where God would bring His Church: that we would see the scripture testifying of CHRIST. One thing to remember: I made a comment about all the prophets testifying of Christ. Well, they had a natural prophecy, and those NATURAL prophecies were fulfilled in Israel. But the ULTIMATE view of Jeremiah, of Isaiah, of Ezekiel is THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. "Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have life; but these are they that testify of Me." And saints of God, that is what we must search the scriptures to see - JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!

May we bless the Lord! And The Lord sure is good. May we be increased in the knowledge and wisdom of your Son. We pray this in the name of The Lord Jesus. May our hearts increase in Him!

" THE FULNESS OF TIME "

It is wonderful for us to come together in these lessons, and it is wonderful to set our minds into the Mind of Christ. We are going to look again in Ephesians 1:1-12 and into the study of "All Things in Christ", and in particular in this study, "THE FULNESS OF TIME."

But before we go into that I want to read a scripture in Hebrews 1 that is dealing with the same thing. Verses 1,2, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." God, who at sundry times and in different ways spake in time past... Look at this word "time past". " Hath in these last days..." ( or at the end of that time, the completion of that time) He hath spoken IN SON. In the past time He spoke by the prophets; God’s speaking was unto the fathers by the prophets. But NOW He is speaking IN SON. See, God spoke to Israel, the fathers, Abraham; He was speaking by the prophets. Everything He was doing was speaking: He was speaking in the parting of The Red Sea, He was speaking in the crossing of the Jordan, He was speaking in the birth of Samson. Samson was born a Nazarite, but Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of that in the New Covenant scriptures - Jesus was called a Nazarene. See, in the speaking that God did in Samson, he was speaking of that which is Christ, of that which is fulfilled, that which is finished and complete IN CHRIST.

It is just like the Sabbath Day: the Sabbath Day speaks of a day of rest, but the true rest is only found, the true peace is only found IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - a people resting from their labors. People can ONLY rest from their labors in the Lord Jesus Christ - He is the fulfillment of the Sabbath Day! He is the fulfillment of the scripture! We must come to see that all things are fulfilled in Christ! And we must come to understand "all things" - all things in Christ. That’s where the Lord has me captured: ALL THINGS IN CHRIST. A while back I had been reading some sharings of a brother who was relating everything in the scripture to Christ or to the Old Covenant Israel. And I began to look there, and things began to open up for me. The scripture relates to a Seed; and you had all the types and shadows of the true Seed (that Seed which is Christ), but you had God working through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, through David, through Solomon, through Samson, through Joshua, through Ezra. All of this was working until The True Seed had come, just like is written in Galatians, that the promises are made to. And now we are dealing, not with something that God has to do: because The True Seed has come - Christ HATH come, and He HATH fulfilled the scripture, and now we, that are the Body of Christ, are seeking to understand and see, and apprehend all things that are in Christ.

Now we read Ephesians 1:1-12. Let us consider the essence of this, and look at how much this scripture relates back to Israel - redemption, the chosen, the predestination, the inheritance, the blood, the forgiveness of sins. If we take it and read the books of the law, we find these things in those books. And it’s not a coincidence that Paul is talking about these things, because these things are gathered up: redemption is gathered up, inheritance is gathered up, chosen is gathered up, the blessing is gathered up - and it is all gathered up IN CHRIST. ALL THINGS GATHERED IN HIM: all things on earth and in heaven - in Him! So here we come in verse 9 and 10, " Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Look at this: God having made known...that in the dispensation of the fulness of times... What is the dispensation of the fulness of times?

Let’s look at the Greek word: dispensation". In the Strong’s it is #3622. It’s a word that means "administration, specifically an economy." So we are dealing with an administration of God. And the word "fulness" is the word #4147, and that word means "repletion or completion, what fills as contents, or what is filled as container." So we are dealing with the administration of the completion of a time. The word "time" is #5550 in the Strong’s and it denotes a particular period. So we are dealing with the administration of the completion of time.

Now let’s look at Galatians 4:1-7, " Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the FULNESS OF THE TIME WAS COME, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." But when the fulness of the time WAS COME... - the fulness of time. "In the fulness of times God would gather all things in Christ." "... when the fulness of the time was come..." - NOT the fulness of the time that is coming, but WAS COME! "...God sent 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 ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Well, think on this; and in particular I want us to look at verse 2, speaking of the child being under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father - the appointed time. Verse 3, " Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come... (when the time when God had appointed WAS COME), God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law..." " To gather all things, all things in the scripture: gather them up into Himself." Verse 5, "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." And if you look at these Greek words, "might receive" is #681 and it means "to receive" and "adoption of sons" is #5206 and it means "the placing as a son". So this could read, "to redeem them that were under the law, to receive the placement of the son"; showing that THE SON IS THE FULNESS OF TIME, that the placing of The Son, of all things being placed in The Son is God’s appointed time. This was God’s thought. This was God’s work from the beginning. Going back into creation: when God said "Let there be light"...Jesus then came saying, "I am The Light of the world." See, this was what God was seeing - This Son, and all things gathered up into This Son! And we gathered in Christ; we finding our Life in Him!

If we would just see "all things" in Christ, and quit trying to find things outside of Christ, trying to read scripture and finding them outside of Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Jesus is THE TRUTH of all scripture: HE gives the scripture its proper definition, HE defines, HE fills all things! HE is the One filling all things to The Church. So, the fulness of the time is the COMPLETE time - it’s not a time that is "in part". See, that time under the law was "in part", but Jesus took that which was under the law, He took the working of the High Priest under the law, He took the covenant that was under the law. He was made under all of these elements of the law - He took them in Himself, and brought them to The Cross, and raised them up ANEW - in a new understanding by The Spirit of God.

A good example of this is in John 2:19-21. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body." See, He was under the law, He was born under, just like Galatians 4 says, under the law; but to redeem them that were under the law, to the placement of The Son. So He took the identity of the temple from that structure, that building, that earthly house under the law; and raised it up NEW into The Body of Christ. So now, the temple of God is NOT an earthly building, the temple of God is NOT the church building on the corner. The temple of God is CHRIST IN HIS BODY!

How many times in the scripture does Paul write that ye are the temple of God; ye are the building of God; ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, growing into an holy habitation. Through the New Testament Paul writes this over and over in the epistles. And then Peter writes that you are a spiritual house, and many Christians miss that, and they still go into a natural building, and they still call it "the House of God". They still see it as the place of worship; even though Jesus told the woman at the well: neither in Samaria nor in Jerusalem shall the true worshippers worship the Father. But the TRUE worshippers shall worship The Father in Spirit and in Truth. AND JESUS IS THE TRUTH! So here we must come to seeing the temple, seeing time, seeing the Priesthood, seeing the Covenant - ALL THINGS IN CHRIST!

So we find HIM fulfilling all things. In the book of Luke, chapter 16:15 and 16, " And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since THAT TIME the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." Since "that time" - the time of the law and the prophets, until John. Since that time - the kingdom of God. What is declared is NOT the law and prophets, but what is declared is the kingdom of God. Look in John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." See, here again you have two times: the time of the law coming by Moses, and the time of grace and truth by Jesus Christ. This is the same thing that is in Luke. Look at Mark 1:14,15. " Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." THE TIME IS FULFILLED! See, Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of the time, the fulfillment of the time of the law and the prophets. Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of all things spoken in the law and the prophets. The time is fulfilled: repent ye, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

So here we move from one time into another, but how do we make this transition? See, it’s not a natural day transition where we pass from Friday to Saturday, which is a type. But the transition is Christ Himself! THE CROSS IS THE TRANSITION OF TIME: the death, burial and resurrection is the transition. The death, burial and resurrection takes us from this time - the time of the law and the prophets, into that time, which is the kingdom of God. Out of the reign and rule, and administration of the law - into the administration of Christ! Yes, indeed!

Look in Hebrews 9, beginning at verse 23, speaking of the pattern, speaking of the tabernacle, the natural pattern of the True Tabernacle. "It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Remember in Ephesians 1: "all things in earth and in heaven gathered in Christ"? "...should be purified with these (with blood); but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true: but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once in THE END OF THE WORLD hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

What I want us to see here is verse 26 and in particular, "but now once IN THE END OF THE WORLD hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." What does that mean - "the end of the world"? Now when Jesus died, the natural things didn’t end, the plants didn’t quit growing, the water didn’t quit running! The word "world" here is "an age, a period of time". Now once in the end of THE AGE hath he appeared to put away sin. Jesus is the fulfillment of the age of the law and prophets - He is the fulfillment. See, He is dividing the time: to them which look for Him, He shall not appear the second unto sin, but unto salvation. He’s not appearing again to take away sin: He’s appearing unto the Salvation of the Lord. He’s appearing unto the time appointed of the Lord. He’s appearing in the fulness of the high thought of the Lord!

See, He paid the price, He paid the appointment of death. He became the appointed man, He became the One who in verse 27 it is said ‘it is appointed unto MEN once to die.’ And unfortunately I know how that’s preached. It’s preached that everybody is physically going to die - and then they are going to face the judgment. But Jesus took the appointment of death for ALL MEN, for didn’t John write that we have passed from death unto Life? See, we pass from death unto Life IN CHRIST. We pass from one time, from one age, into another in Christ. That is my point in coming to this scripture. We must see that we move from under the law to the placement of The Son. Our view moves from the law of Moses...but unfortunately that’s where most Christians are. They are in the view of the law of Moses; they judge themselves according to the works of the law, and not seeing Christ. They don’t see that HE is my judgment, that HE is my righteousness, that HE is my redemption, that HE is my holiness, that HE is my salvation. Missing that whole thing means we miss the work of God. When we sit and judge ourselves according to ourselves, we miss the work of God. "For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

Our life is hid with Christ in God; our life is that which is in Christ in God - that’s our life! But see, we still believe our life is the natural man: the natural man doing good things. But our life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ appears... Think about what Paul writes in Galatians 1: "When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, to reveal His Son in me..." See, a revealing is an uncovering, or appearing, a showing. When Christ, who is our life shall appear. Paul began to see the appearing of Christ in him, and he began to understand that I no longer live by the flesh, but I live by the faith of the Son of God in the flesh. And he wrote in his epistles: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST liveth in me." "I am crucified to the world, and the world is crucified unto me." And all of this is found IN CHRIST.

So we must find ALL THINGS in the scripture in Christ. We must be a people that come to see Him as the definition of "all things." Just a word that the Lord spoke in me several years ago, and this word caused a tremendous shaking in me. That word was, ‘It is all in My Word.’ And many of the views I had of heaven, of Salvation, of holiness and different things were not necessarily in The Word, and that began to shake me up, because I had the wrong views. See, all the view of Christ is in The Word; all The Truth is in The Word - The Word He is, The Word that the scriptures speak of. But, HE DEFINES THE WORD - HE FILLS ALL THINGS!

One last place to go in dealing with "the filling of ALL THINGS" is Ephesians 4:8-13, "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of THE FULNESS OF CHRIST."

May the Lord open our eyes to see that HE FILLS ALL THINGS!