An excerpt from Good Tidings of Great Joy
Christ’s Incarnation the Foundation of Christianity
by Charles H. Spurgeon
There is, in Christ Jesus, a fulness of blessings unspeakable, unknown; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is in Him a fulness at all times; a fulness by day and a fulness by night; a fulness of comfort in affliction, a fulness of guidance in prosperity, a fulness of every Divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it is impossible to survey or to explore. There is in Him everything summed up in a grand total, as Paul says, in writing to the Ephesians, “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.”
“It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.” In vain we strive to recount the holy wonder; this is a theme which would exhaust an angel’s powers – the fulness which resides in Jesus our Head, and ever abides to answer our need. We may realize a little what a fulness this must be, when we think of the multitude, which no man can number, all of whom have received of His fulness, grace upon grace. There is not one of them who has received only a little grace; they are all, as Rutherford has it, “drowned debtors to His mercy;” or, as we might put it, “over the head and ears” in debt to Him. They are so indebted that they will never fully know how much they owe to their Lord, but they feel that an eternal song will not be too long for the expression of their grateful praise.
Christ’s fulness is an abiding fulness. John says, “Of His fulness have all we received;” yet he calls it a “fulness” still, for it never becomes any less, however many partake of it. It was a fulness before a single sinner came to it to receive pardon; it was a fulness before a solitary saint had learned to drink of that river, the streams whereof make glad the Church of the living God; and now, after myriads, and even millions, of blood-redeemed souls have partaken of this life-giving stream, it is just as over-flowing as ever. We are accustomed to say that, if a child takes a cupful of water from the sea, it is just as full as it was before; but that is not literally true, there must be just so much the less of water in the ocean. But it is literally true of Christ that, when we have not only taken out cups full – for our needs are too great to be satisfied with such small quantities – when we have taken out oceans full of grace – and we need as much as that to carry us to Heaven – there is actually as much grace left in Him as there was before we came to Him. Although we have drawn upon the exchequer of His love to an extent so boundless that we cannot comprehend it, yet there is as much mercy and grace left in Christ as there was before we began to draw from it. It is a “fulness” still, after all the saints have received of it.
There is also an abiding fulness of truth in Christ; after you have heard it for fifty years, you see more of its fulness than you did at first. Other themes weary the ear, sooner or later. I will defy any man to hold together a large congregation, year after year, with any other subject but Christ Jesus. He might attract hearers for a time; he might charm them with the discoveries of science, or with the beauties of poetry, and his oratory might be of so high an order that he might, for a while, draw the multitudes who have itching ears; but they would, in time, turn away, and say, “This is no longer to be endured; we know all he has to tell us.” All music but that of Heaven becomes wearisome before long; but, oh! if the minstrel doth play upon this celestial harp, though he keepeth his fingers always among its golden strings, and be but poor and unskilled to handle an instrument so divine, yet the melody of Jesus’ Name, and the sweet harmony of all His acts and attributes, will hold his listeners by the ears, and thrill their hearts as nought beside can do. The theme of Jesus’ love is inexhaustible; though preachers have dwelt upon it century after century, its freshness and fulness still remain.