Ephesians 4:9-10 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?… I. HOW CHRIST FILLS ALL THINGS. Not with His body — for as it has been well said, "Christ's body may be anywhere at any time; but Christ's Spirit is everywhere at all times." Of that body of Christ — of spiritual body at all, still more of spiritual body glorified — we know, and we can know, nothing; but, as far as our faculties can reach, body must occupy definite space. How, then, does Christ fill all things"? 1. By His influence. We know that even here a person may occupy a much larger sphere than he actually "fills" with his presence. Carry on that idea of the power of extending influence infinitely, and we shall be arriving at some conception of the way in which Christ can "fill all things." The effect of such a life and death — the beauty of that unparalleled character — the effect of that upon a world, who can estimate? How it has moulded the mind — how it has raised the tone — how it has determined the conduct of all mankind. 2. But there is more than influence, there is sovereignty and care. The queen fills her realms, and we are always conscious of the power of our queen. How much more does the royal, superintending power and love of Jesus fill the universe; There is nothing so small, that it is below it; and there is nothing so great, that it is above it; nothing independent of it; nothing despised by it. 3. By the presence of the Holy Ghost. II. WHAT DOES CHRIST FILL? "All things." 1. Heaven. Every spirit in heaven reflects Him. Every tongue tells of Him. Every joy is full of Him. Every holiness glorifies Him. 2. And there is a solemn sense in which Christ "fills" hell. A rejected Saviour — nothing else. 3. Christ "fills" all nature. You will miss the sweetness of nature, if you do not feel this. Christ is in the leaf and flower — in the morning blush and the evening glow — in the. song of the little bird — in the loneliness of solitude — in the harmony of the landscape. 4. And providence — i.e., the ordered course of human events — it is all Christ. What is providence? The "working together" of all things for the sake of God's people. Who administers God's great empire with the delegated power? Christ. "He hath put all things in subjection under His feet." Is it a sorrow? Christ "fills" that sorrow. Is it a joy? Christ "fills" that joy. And this is the true meaning of life; an inner current of Christ always running along parallel with the flow of events. 5. But, still more, the Church — "the Church, which is His fulness" — because He "fills" it. All ordinances, all gifts, all communications of the Spirit, all prayer and preaching, all our sweet worship, all our blessed sacraments, all our fellowships, all our sympathies, all our diversities, all our oneness — it is all Christ. Nothing would be real without Him. It is as He is there, that anything has power to teach, or to comfort, or to bless. III. WHY DOES CHRIST FILL ALL THINGS? 1. That all honours should be to Him in every degree; that all should owe all always to Him; that He should be the light and joy of the whole world. 2. That no man upon this earth should ever find any real satisfaction out of Christ. If you do, the voids will be always greater than the comforts. Other things may promise — but He is truth. Other things may trifle with you — but He loves you. Other things may please — but He "fills." 3. That there may be always, in Christ, a fulness suited to every man's want. If we only look high enough, there is the fountain "filled": — a full pardon — a full Bible — a full smile — a full rest — a full life — and a full heaven. 4. And so it comes at last to pass, that, in everything, it is not the thing, but the Christ that is in it — for He so "fills," that He becomes the thing He "fills"; and, little by little, the crust drops off — like the shell horn the fruit; or, like the covering from the blossom. The external ceases; the material falls away; the material passes; and the Christ which it contains, stands out alone — the All in all of His servants' souls: so that we have, and desire to have, in either world, only Him! (J. Vaughan, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? |
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