Superiorities in Christ

Tonight I'd like to refer you to the first chapter of Colossians, Colossians chapter 1. And I think I'll just break in, Paul's sentences are so long. Oh, I think we can begin at verse 9. It is caused we also, since the day we heard it, to not cease to pray for you, and desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge that is will, and all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, and of all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saintly light, who 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, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him and for him, and is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Tonight I would like to consider Eight Superiorities of Christ.

Eight Superiorities of Christ. Now, not too long ago, and I can't remember just how long ago, I took up with you seven glories of Christ as revealed in Hebrews chapter 1. If you recall that study perhaps. Those wonderful things that are spoken of our Lord Jesus.

Well I used to have seven here and I had to add the eight, so that's my perfect number. But that's alright. If it's true of the Lord, I want to talk about it.

Now these things are found beginning at verse 15. Who is the image of the invisible God? Here we have Christ as the revealing one. We'll understand what that means a little later.

The firstborn of every creature, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth. We have the creating one. Visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him and for him.

And by him all things, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. The marginal reading in some Bibles has it, by him all, and he is before all things, and by him all things hold together. And so he is the sustaining one.

Now this is logical regression. He creates the universe and then he sustains it. Then we read in verse 18, and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have a preeminent.

Here, as the head of the body, the church, and we'll understand this a little better later, he is the uniting one. And then the firstborn from the dead, he is the living one, the life-giving one, that in all things he might have the preeminent. He's the preeminent one.

And then in verse 19, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. He is the glorified one. Then verse 20, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.

Here we have him as the reconciling one. Eight superiorities of Christ. They're very, very full.

This is a tremendous portion of scripture. I've always been thrilled by the way the Apostle Paul, of course led by the Spirit of God, compacted into such a short faith so much truth about our Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's something that is very precious to me in this portion of scripture.

We have verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet the partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. And then from here on out, our Lord is not referred to except by personal pronouns. Now this is interesting, because the antecedent is his dear Son.

Now for every one of those pronouns, you can just substitute the words if you want to, his dear Son. Makes it very, very precious. We have he, and him, and his, and each and every individual case just substitutes the words his dear Son.

That's the antecedent in each of these instances. Now notice please the superiorities of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. He is the revealing one.

God is now known. He is the image of the invisible God. We know God now.

The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This is almost like the first chapter of Hebrews. And yes, there are distinguishing characteristics between this, it's just a burst of praise.

You recall the first two, first three verses of the first chapter of 1 Peter, speaking of the superiorities of Christ, and the theme verse of the epistles of Hebrews is the word better. And Christ is superior, better, than all of these others. Well here we have the same kind of truth, just hitting us with all its force, in the first chapter of Colossians.

God just wants us, he just overwhelms us, so to speak, with a wave of glory, concerning our Lord Jesus. It's just hard to find more about the Lord, in a few words, any place in the Scriptures. So he is the image of the invisible God, and I think I will refer you to Hebrews chapter 1 in just a second.

Hebrews chapter 1, I'll just run through these, the superiorities of Christ. Verse 2, Well, There he's the revealer. He's the sustainer.

He's the redeemer. Because so much of the time in the book of Hebrews, we have him sitting in his office as our great high priest. Now, notice please who is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.

Now man was created in the likeness, and in the image of God that he destroyed, that was destroyed by Satan. But here is the one who is the image. Now there is a difference between a likeness and an image.

A likeness resembles, but the image represents. And our Lord Jesus Christ is the image. He is the essence.

He is the effulgence. He is the shining out of the glory of God. And back in Colossians chapter 1, who is the image of the invisible God.

He is the word. The word capitalized, the logo. The complete expression of God.

I know what God is like. There was one time when I think it was Nathaniel wasn't it? That asked the Lord, show us the father in it. It was twice a thousand.

And the Lord said, Nathaniel have I seen you? I'm going to check on that. I wouldn't want to attribute that to somebody that I didn't see Nathaniel. Have I been so long time with you and you've not seen me? The father is Philip.

Philip saith unto him. I'm mixing up the first chapter and this chapter. Philip saith unto him.

Lord, show us the father in it that suffices us. Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you? And thou hast not known me, Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen the father.

And how sayest thou then, show us the father? He was the complete outshining of the father. I know what the father is like. Because I've seen Christ.

And he redeems the father. Now this is wonderful as far as you and I are concerned. Because it is hard in an abstract sense to comprehend the spirit.

And God is the spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. But our Lord Jesus Christ could be seen, handled, felt.

He was a man. Now that makes him so much more accessible. You know, I think that God did such a wonderful job in the Garden of Eden because he knew that in the coming days his son would be a man just like him.

Set apart. And he did a good job because he wanted his son in that image. And incidentally he didn't do a bad job on you and me.

I think he just did a wonderful job. Then you start to think of him as a creation of God. But particularly our Lord Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.

Now that is significant. God is invisible. But Christ wasn't.

You see, God gave us something to see. And know. Be.

And we don't know how to be thankful enough for that wonderful truth. Christ incarnate. Now we think of Christ as being made incarnate for the whole purpose of redeeming us from our sins.

He was given a body so that he could die. Well I think we're very selfish in that, really. But I think God wants us to be selfish sometimes.

After all, when David says the Lord is my shepherd We'll permit that selfishness, won't we? Yes, of course. We want to appropriate the Lord and all his glory. But.

Now think of it if you will. He wants to be known. And he revealed himself to you and to me.

Now we think. We think that he was made flesh solely for the purpose of our redemption. That's not true.

That's not true. It's part of it. Certainly.

Certainly it's part of it. That is we might know God. That we might see him.

That language is used advisedly. Who is the image of the invisible God. Aren't you glad that that verse is there? He's the image of the invisible God.

I know what the Godhead is like. I've seen Christ. I don't think we can be thankful enough that he did become incarnate.

Because we know God now. Even as Philip. I was thinking of Nathanael in the first chapter but I got mixed up there.

Philip's the father and it's the height of that. And I think Philip is speaking sincerely. And the Lord says you don't need to.

You've seen him. If you've seen him you've seen God. Alright.

So he's the revealing one. Now he is the creating one. The first born of every creature.

And by him were all things created. Or by him. Were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth.

Visible and invisible. Whether they be throne or dominion or principality or power. All things were created by him and for him.

He is the creating one. And you know why I think he did such a wonderful job. I'm thankful for good eyesight.

I love this universe. I love the sunset. I love the flowers.

I love the mountains. I love the blue sky. I love this.

Of the many, many things that he's created. Didn't he do a superb job? Isn't he wonderful? I think that if anybody in all the world can appreciate this verse. Verse 16.

You don't have to be a Christian. You don't have to be the Christian that realizes that my Lord made all these things. And he was well pleased with what he made.

Well now if God is well pleased with what he made. I am too. And I think he did a wonderful, wonderful job.

And we haven't seen anything yet. Wait until the millennium. Wait until the new heaven and the new earth.

He's the creator. He made them all. He spoke the words of existence by the word of his power.

And this is all spoken of Christ. His dear son. Well.

This is a wonderful, wonderful creation. The fourth chapter. The fourth chapter of Revelation.

And in the fifth chapter. This has probably been brought to your attention many times. In the fourth chapter of Revelation we have the worship that is generated when we consider the creation.

And then in the fifth chapter we have the worship that is generated when we consider the new creation or redemption. But believe me. The angels worship.

Simply because of God's creation. And I recall as a child. I recall as a child of worshiping.

Now this was before I knew the Lord. I was made to worship. God said a wonderful creation.

Just to lay on my back on a spring day and see the clouds, the cumulus clouds float over and the birds fly by. I worshiped God. My admiration for him just went out to him.

I worshiped. Psalm 19 tells you that you don't need the Bible to worship God. There are voices heard in all the earth.

And what is it? It's creation. God speaks. And it's only him.

I think that any Christian should be well equipped to admire and to enjoy the beauty of the creation of our Lord Jesus. He is in power. Now he not only created this universe, but he sustained it.

And he is before all things. You know this is a logical progression. And he is before all things.

He's the antecedent of all things. The firstborn as it's put in verse 15. The source of life.

This is closely allied to the first chapter of John's Gospel. That's what that means. He is before all things.

He's the antecedent of all things. And by him all things consist for a whole together. We have the same truth in the first chapter of Hebrews.

A whole together. Now I'm not here to deliver a lecture on physics. But each atom is composed by a nucleus and electrons that revolve around that figure.

Now those electrons revolve around that figure at the rate of 4 quadrillion times a second. Now that's inconceivable. Use it and your mind will press.

Those electrons revolve around that figure. 4 quadrillion times a second. That creates some centrifugal force.

Do you remember that in school? If you don't remember it in school, remember when you tied a string on a rock. And you swung that thing around and around over your head and let loose. And that thing went up into the wild blue yonder.

Trailing that string, flopping around. Well it went up there because of your centrifugal force. You whirled it around and around and around and around.

And the faster you whirled it, the more you let loose, the higher it went. And I suppose that maybe you whirl it around maybe two or three hundred times a minute. I don't know.

Depends on the length of the string. But think of a particle rotating at the rate of 4 quadrillion times a second. Think of the centrifugal force that is there.

Now man, in a very limited way, did release some of this centrifugal force. When he released the atom bomb, and the hydrogen bomb, and the cobalt bomb. Who holds it together? Who holds the whole thing together? By him all things consist.

By him all things hold together. He created it. He sustained it.

He didn't create it to simply let it go on its wild course. And just take chances it came. He ordered it.

And this universe is orderly. Very orderly. Now there's a clock.

There's a clock in Boulder, Colorado called the atomic clock. I may have told you about that clock. If I did, don't stop me, I won't tell you again.

That clock, time, gives us correct time by the rotation of those electrons around the atom. Now you look at that clock and that is the last thing you think it was, was a clock. Because there are tubes, and dials, and chambers all over the place, all over this room.

I saw it. They allowed us to see in there. That is now incidentally the standard of the time of the world.

It used to come out of Greenwich. It used to come out of Annapolis, Maryland at the Naval Academy. It does not any longer.

It comes out of Boulder, Colorado. And then it broadcast to the world through a station that the dear Christian brother Philip, who was an R.S.M. there in Boulder, he built the station. And that sends out that time signal all over the world.

Now that atomic clock is so accurate, that had it begun in the time of Christ, it would not yet be more than one or two seconds off. In 2000 years. Now what is the timing? The timing is that little tiny electron.

Now that's how stable, and that's how constant it is. Christ created that. The structure of an atom, I said I don't want to make this a lecture in physics.

I don't. But this thrills me. I don't know what it is.

But that little atom is this constant in its reaction. We ordinarily think of little things as being all more or less erratic. Big things are much steadier.

Not so with the atoms. The force of that little atom is just as constant as the rotation of the earth around it. And the earth is always on time.

And that little atom within the atom is just as constant. And Christ is the creator of every atom. And he holds us together by his own power.

I don't appreciate this to the full. And neither can you. But it's here.

It's here. He is the sustaining one. And he is before all things.

He is the antecedent of all things. And by him all things consist. All things hold together.

And his hand is over us all. And we don't need to be afraid that man is going to explode the universe by the atom bomb. And can do a thing that the Lord doesn't permit.

And he is head of all, of the body, the church. Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. That in all things he might have the preeminent.

Now in as being the head of the body. Now I suppose. I suppose.

That you could find a number of different things. You could find different ways of describing that. But I'm going to use the phrase.

He's the uniting one. He's the one that unites. As far as the physical creation is concerned.

He holds us together. As far as the church is concerned. He holds us together.

But he unites us. And I think that we can see this very plainly. Now I'm going to allow you.

If you can find a better one. If you find a better one. Tell me please.

The caption for that phrase. And he is head of the body, the church. He is the head of the body, the church.

I'm going to call it the uniting one. Because of the scripture that is found in Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Verse 11. Verse 11.

The blood of Christ. For. In that conjunction of for.

Connected with what has gone before. For he is our seed. Who has made all one.

You intend that. And has broken down the middle wall of partition. Between us.

You intend that. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity. Even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.

For to make in himself a plain one new man. So making peace. He is the head incidentally.

And that he might reconcile both. Under God in one body. By the cross.

Having claimed the enmity thereby. And came and preached peace to you. Which were afar off.

And to them that were nigh. Afar off would be the Gentiles. And to them that are nigh.

The Jewish people. For through him. We both have access by one spirit.

Unto the Father. He is the uniting one. He unites the Jew and the Gentile.

The church is composed of Jew and Gentiles. And he unites us. Having claimed the enmity.

When he died on the cross. The law of commandments that was against us. Now in verse 18.

We have one of the largest verses in the Bible. There are only 13 words. But I wanted to show you what's there.

For through him. That's Christ. We both have access by one spirit.

Unto the Father. You have the Trinity. In that verse.

There are very very few verses. In the Bible where you have the whole Trinity mentioned in one verse. Did I say Galatians? Oh I'm so sorry.

I'll tell you what I may have done. When I was looking for Ephesians. I may have gone by Galatians.

So what do I say? When I look at the word. What do I do? I say it. Ephesians.

Sorry. Now I don't think that. I think probably the most of you.

Were reading. Were following me. Were you? It's easy.

Easy. Okay. I won't need to read it again.

Thanks. Thanks a lot. I can't believe sometimes that I do those things.

Until I monitor my faith through the radio broadcast. And then I say, why did I do that? And thank the Lord I can monitor. I can change those tapes and put them in the right place.

But this time I wasn't monitoring myself. Because I didn't meditate. Now.

Verse 18 of Ephesians chapter 2. For through him. That's Christ. We both.

You and Jennifer. Have access by one spirit. Unto the Father.

Now there are some. Tremendous prepositions in that verse. Through him.

By one spirit. Unto the Father. Now that's the whole order.

Of our relationship to God. And we both. Takes in both Jew and Gentile.

Now imagine if you will. Getting both Jew and Gentile. And all three members of the Trinity.

In one verse. With 13 words. And there they are.

Now. God has given you and me. The privilege.

Of being with the Jew in that church. Because. The church is one new thing.

And I could have gone to the third chapter of Ephesians. And I don't believe I did. Where it speaks the fact.

The mystery of the church. Paul. Says.

Well we might. We're there. Let's look at the third chapter.

He says in verse 6. That the Gentiles. Should be fellow heirs. And of the same body.

And partakers of his promise. In Christ by the gospel. Whereof I was made a minister.

According to the gift of grace. Of God. Given unto me.

By the effectual working of his power. Well. Verse 6. Is the composition of the church.

That's the mystery. That's the mystery. That the Gentiles.

Should be fellow heirs. And of the same body. And partakers of his promise.

In Christ by the gospel. Now. As the head of the church.

He's the uniting one. He unites the Jew. And the Gentile.

Together. In that church. They have one head.

Now I realize. And I haven't given this to myself. That when you.

Link Christ with the church. You can go beyond. That one phrase.

The uniting one. Because think of all his relations to the church. But I've chosen it.

And I'm just going to leave it with you. It rings before us. When we say.

Now I'm back in Colossians chapter 1. When we say. And he is the head. Of the body.

The church. He is the uniting one. He's the living one.

Who is the beginning. The first born. From the dead.

I like this. He's the living one. And he says.

Because I live. We shall live also. Who came into that church.

Because he was the living one. The first born. From the dead.

And I suppose. That we would have to say here. The first born is the pre-eminent.

You're thinking of the pre-eminent one. In connection with the church. He's the wave chief.

In connection with. He is the first proof. The first proof.

As far as the church is concerned. He's resurrected first. And because he was resurrected.

We will be resurrected. Because he is the living one. We are in him.

And we are going to live. forever. As he is.

Now. He is. Also.

In verse 18. The pre-eminent one. That in all things.

He might have. The pre-eminent. I think of another version.

A verse. In Colossians. Ephesians.

And this time. It is Ephesians. Ephesians chapter one.

That's exactly what I did a while ago. I turned up Galatians. And when I saw the word.

I said it. Galatians chapter one. And.

Oh. Where do you. Where do you break in.

In Paul's sentence. Verse eight. Wherein hath he 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 fullness 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 a saying in the inheritance. And so on. Now.

Garvey. And I like Garvey's translation. Of verse ten.

Very much. That in the dispensation. Of the fullness of time.

He might. Head up. All things in Christ.

I like that translation. That he might head up. All things in Christ.

Now this is what that means. To me. Christ is going to be the head.

Of everything. Now we talk about. The business world.

We talk about. The educational world. We talk about.

The music world. We talk about. All.

The different worlds. And of the people. That are prominent.

In those worlds. In that day. Everything is going to be headed up.

In Christ. That in all things. He might have.

The preeminent. He's going to be the center. Of everything.

Now I think. That this will take. Certainly take place.

During the time. And I think it's going to. Carry on.

Into eternity. That in all things. He might have the preeminent.

Now. Here is. Here is a thought.

That I like. In connection. With this 18th verse.

Now. We have been considering. In verses.

15, 16 and 17. The material creation. And it's wonderful.

I think. It is wonderful. We have seen him.

As the revealing one. The creating one. The sustaining one.

Revealing one. In the character of God. Even in creation.

It won't go into the type. And the reflections. Of what God is.

By. His. His creation.

But. We do find in the scriptures. That he's the lamb.

Of the child of Jesus. We find out. He's the lamb.

Of God. Those animals. Bring forward to us.

Characteristic of Christ. And. He's the rose.

Of Sharon. And. Suggesting his beauty.

And pregnance. These. These.

Particles. These wonderful. Creations.

That he has. Reflections. And that's part of the.

Of the image of the invisible God. He reveals from him. We find something else.

About his character. In his creation. And.

But now in verse. 18. We talk about.

In his creation. We're talking not. About material things.

Now. Not about physical things. We're talking about flesh and blood.

Men and women. Soul. And spirit.

Now. Notice please. That in all things.

He might have the preeminent. Now that is the last phrase. That's the last part of the 18th verse.

Notice the way the verse starts. And he is the head. Of the body.

The church. Now I wonder if we realize. What.

Place of prominence. What exalted position. That church has.

And the verse ends. That in all things. He might have.

The preeminent. Now he's the head of the church. That he might have the preeminent.

Now. I don't know whether you can catch this. Or not.

I. I. I have trouble catching it myself. Thinking what that church is. That God would say.

He is head. Of the body. The church.

That. He might have. Preeminent.

In all things. What does that make the church? It makes the church. The new creation.

Of God. His. Absolute.

Master. That in all things. He might have the preeminent.

He's head of the body. The church. That he might have.

Preeminent. In all things. Now.

Separated as they are. You. You don't get the connection.

But the connection is there. And it's wonderful. The exalted position that God gives us.

He talks about creation. And the wonders of it. Ah.

There's something more to talk about. The church. That masterpiece of God.

That in all things. He might have the preeminent. He's the head of the church.

And. We could talk about that indefinitely. But we won't.

About. His. Body.

That he might have. ministry. To the church.

Because he is the head. Ah. And his connection.

He directs it. But. We won't consider that.

Any further. Now. He's glorified.

One. In verse. Nineteen.

For it pleased the Father. That in him. Should all fullness dwell.

Now. Marginal reading. In.

The school field Bible. And I like this. For in him.

All the fullness of the God. That was pleased. To dwell.

Now. Since Christ was the visible one of the Godhead. The image of the invisible God.

Thank God he was made visible. So we could see him. Ah.

Here we have. Did it please. And you notice the word.

The Father there. They are in italics. You notice that.

They shouldn't be there. But. I think the better rendition is.

The better translation. Is for in him. All the fullness of the Godhead.

That pleased to dwell. Now. Now.

He is the glorified one. God has permitted. All his glory.

To be exhibited. In Christ. Now that's a little hard to grasp.

Now God. God is not jealous. The Godhead is not jealous.

Now we see a little bit of this. A little. Over in the next chapter.

Ah. Paul says in chapter two. For I would.

If he knew. What great conflict. I have for you.

And for them at Laodicea. And for as many. As had not seen my face in the day.

That their hearts. Might be comforted. Being knit together.

In love. Unto all riches. Of the full assurance.

Of understanding. To the acknowledgement. Of the mystery.

Of God. And of the Father. And of Christ.

In whom I give. All the treasures. Of wisdom.

And knowledge. That are centered in Christ. We can see him.

And God wants us. To see him. God wants us.

To see. All the fullness. Of the Godhead.

So what does he do? He reveals it. In Christ. And when we see Christ.

We see everything. Now this is very important. This is very important.

In the book of Galatians. Galatians. I'm sorry.

This is very important here. Because the results of our teaching. In that day and age.

That. There was a. There was a. A mystery about the angels. There was a. A kind of a. Of a. What shall we say.

Of a. Mysterious things are always interesting. Have you ever noticed. People get.

Together sometimes. And have a very interesting. Siege of a conversation.

Talking about mysterious things. That have happened in your life. And you can't explain.

And all that sort of thing. And get going on that subject. And man oh man.

What you can bring up. Okay. Now in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the glorified one. And you don't need angels. He.

He. He. He.

He. He. He.

He. He. He.

He. He. He.

He. He. He.

He. He. He.

In all principality. In power Verse eighteen. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility.

And worshiping of angels. Intruding into those things which you have not seen. Vaguely huffed up by his fleshy might.

As not holding the head. Capital H ahead of the church. from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, uniting, that's the uniting one, knit together, and increasing with the increase of God." They didn't hold a head.

Now, the Spirit of God takes particular pains to bring it forth. But the glory of God is centered in Christ. For him it is pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.

I like 2 and 9, for in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead, and God in us. When you've got Christ, you've got it. You've got all that the Godhead intended that you do have, in Christ.

Because all the glories of God are collected in him. And I wonder, we're going to see, oh, we're going to see. Sometimes I'm hurting me.

So here's the reconciling one, verse 20. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him shall reconcile all things unto themselves. By him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, the blood of his cross.

Of all the glories of grace spoken, I think the glory of redemption probably to you and to me is the greatest of all. Having made peace. Harmony.

The underlying thought of the word peace here is harmony. You can substitute the word harmony, that's what it means. Having made harmony through the blood of his cross.

There's harmony now between the soul of God and the reason of death, precious blood. By him shall reconcile all things unto themselves. By him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, all.

Let's put this verse on as part of that. All right. We've been talking about the wonders of Christ.

The revealing one, the creating one, the sustaining one, the uniting one, the living one, the preeminent one, the glorified one. Now he's talking about thanks that were brought in, initiated into this wonderful, wonderful association with Christ. How? By his blood.

Thank you.