COMPLETE IN HIM (Colossians 2:8-19)

COMPLETE IN HIM (Colossians 2:8-19) INTRODUCTION I recently heard a story about a farmer whose horses kept slobbering all over everything. He saw an advertisement in a farm magazine offering a cure for this for a fee of $20. He scraped together the money and wrote asking for the secret. A few weeks later he received a very thin envelope containing a single sheet of paper, on which were written the words, Teach your horses to spit. Now you say, that s a pretty silly story - and it is. But, what s happening today to many people is very serious. We live in a world full of deception - and that deception is very serious when it comes to our salvation - our eternal destiny - and especially our relationship with Jesus Christ. The world offers us many secrets of life. Most of them are as deceptive as teaching a horse to spit. There is only one secret of life and that is Jesus Christ. The title of my message today is Having the Complete Package. When we have Christ we have the COMPLETE package of salvation because Jesus Christ is the complete package. This is what verses 9 and 10 (NKJV) are saying: {9} For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; {10} and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. All other religions teach that Jesus is not the complete package. We may need Jesus, but we also need this or that. There are some Christian teachers that teach that Jesus is not the complete package. They say that we must add something to Christ to have the complete package of salvation. We must add a certain way of baptism, we must add certain sacraments, and we add certain experiences. Or we must obey only certain teachers who are the only authorized teachers of the truth. Now there is no insufficiency in Christ that we have to add anything to Him to have all that God wants us to have and all that we need. Let s look at how Paul gets this across to us in this passage. Now let s work our way through this passage to see some of the ways Paul warns us about those who would undermine the sufficiency of Christ. March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 1

PAUL WARNS US AGAINST TWO SOURCES OF TROUBLE 8: First Paul warns us against PHILOSOPHY and traditions of men in verse Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Paul uses a word cheat when he warns about philosophy cheating you. That word means to kidnap or to take captive. Human tradition and false philosophy actually can kidnap you, or drag you from your faith if you are not on guard. After I graduated from college and seminary I began to realize that I didn t know much about philosophy, so I enrolled in several philosophy courses in Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. I enjoyed the courses but I began to see quickly that for some whose mind is more philosophical in nature, philosophy can be very addictive like a drug. But it actually takes you away from Christ and gets you focused on such esoteric things like Plato s forms, Aristotle s substances, Plotinus emanations, etc. You know the definition of philosophy I like best is Learning more and more about less and less until you know everything about NOTHING! Beware that you don t get cheated by philosophy. Paul mentions the basic principles of the world or elementary spirits of the world. The view of the ancient world was that there were four basics elements to the universe: earth, fire, air, and water. All things in the universe are based on the combination of these things. These are what controlled the universe and the harmony of them would ensure well-being. Now today we divide up the basic elements of the universe a little differently with much more complexly. But what is the same today is that our worldview says that all things can be reduced to some material elements even if it is atoms and subatomic particles. All things are matter or material. There is no real spiritual world. Those who say that matter is all that matters in the universe crowd out a need for Christ or even deny the existence of Christ. Another way elementary spirits of the world was taken in Bible days was the view that the stars controlled our lives. Look to the stars and get your guidance from them. When I was a kid it seems that people talked more about following their horoscopes. I don t hear much about that today. Do people still believe that the stars guide their lives? Also when I was a March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 2

kid there were things like séances and weegie boards. Do people still dabble in that today? Well if you do, then you are being taken captive by these demonic things. Your confidence in Christ is not what it should be. You are being cheated, robbed, and removed from the fullness of Christ. Another area that Paul warns about that will rob you of your confidence in the sufficiency of Christ is listening to those who would judge you for not putting your faith in certain religious PRACTICES. He mentions some that the Colossians were being hammered on in verses 16-19: Colossians 2:16-19 NKJV (16) So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, (17) which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (18) Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, (19) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. These were some Jewish practices of that day. There were some saying that you Christians still need to add certain dietary rules to your life. You need to keep certain special days to truly enjoy the fullness of salvation. Or you need to be more spiritual and live more in tune with angels and unseen spirits. Now we aren t necessarily tempted by these things today, but the principles are still there. We think that we if we don t eat meat on Fridays, we will be more spiritual. We think that if we observe Lent or Advent or some special day, we will be more complete as Christians. But Paul says, no. These things may have their place but they are only the shadow of the reality in Christ. You are already complete in Christ. Jesus is the complete package and if you have Jesus you have all you need. Now Paul goes into more detail to explain how we our complete in Christ. COMPLETE IN HIM First, he mentions that body of sin or our old man has been put off by what Christ has done in our life. He uses the Old Testament practice of circumcision to teach this. Verses 11-12: {11} In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, {12} buried with Him in March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 3

baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Circumcision was the Old Testament sign that the person was trusting in God s promise to Abraham and that they were part of the covenant family of God. It was an outward sign that they were truly believers. The New Testament counter-part of Old Testament circumcision is water baptism. Our water baptism is an outward sign that we trust in the promises of God given to us in Jesus Christ. It is not the baptism that saves, but faith in Christ that saves. Our baptism is a sign that we are truly believers. When we are saved by Christ it can be said that we receive a spiritual circumcision, our old man or the body of the sins of the flesh as Paul says here, is cut off from us. We are free from our sins through the work of Christ in our behalf. We have been spiritually CIRCUMCISED by Christ. Therefore we are whole, we are made complete in Christ. We don t look to outward signs or seals, even good ones, to make us complete. We look to Christ. When we receive Christ we receive the whole package of salvation. We don t need to add anything to him to be make complete before God. Second we are complete in Christ because we have been made ALIVE in Christ and are completely forgiven of all our sins. Verse 13 {13} And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, We are alive spiritually because of our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We have no need to add to Christ any religious ritual to be any more alive in Him. We are complete in Jesus as far as our spiritual life is concerned. We have new life in Him. Third, we are complete in Christ because we are free from our GUILT of sin. Verses 14-15 {14} having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. This is another one of Paul s great word pictures to teach us what Christ did for us on the cross. March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 4

wiped out the handwriting of requirements When a judge passes judgment on a criminal he usually reads the charges and the violations of the law. The charges that can be brought against us because of our violation of God s law has been wiped clean. In those days they wrote on vellum or papyri paper. In many cases if they wanted to use it again they could actually wipe it clean. This is our record against God. It has been wiped clean by the blood of the cross! We have been declared righteous. Or declared not guilty or declared acquitted. This is what it means to be justified by faith. Our sins have been nailed it to the cross Not only has it been wiped clean, it has actually been nailed to the cross and the penalty has been paid in full by Jesus. We have the complete package of salvation in Christ. Fourth we are complete in Christ because Christ has given us the VICTORY over sin, Satan, and death. {15} Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. In the Cross Christ disarmed Satan. Satan is called the Accuser of the Brethren. He always tries to bring up our sins to God and to our consciences to cause us to walk in defeat and to pay more attention to him than to Christ. When Jesus wiped our record clean and nailed it to the cross He disarmed or removed the basis for which Satan can accuse the Christian and cause him doubt. Romans 8:33-34 NKJV Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Not only did Jesus disarmed them, He made a public spectacle of them As in the Roman era the victorious general would parade the captives down the street of Rome to show their subjugation and being conquered, so has Jesus marched the forces of hell down the streets of glory to show that they have been conquered. No longer is the strong man able to come into the house. Jesus has bound Satan through the Cross. We are complete in Jesus because He has given us complete victory over sin, Satan, and death. CONCLUSION There are many people who admire Christ but not many believe in Christ as the One and Only Complete package of salvation. March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 5

Gandhi had many good things to say about Jesus, but he didn t believe that you had to believe that He was God to benefit from his life. Dr. Amy-Jill Devine is the New Testament professor at Vanderbilt. What is interesting is that she is a practicing Jew. She believes basically that some Jews in the 1 st century AD chose to believe that Jesus was God, others didn t. Either way is fine with her. She chooses not to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. But it is because in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily because He is God, you are complete in Him. Without Him being who He says He is, you have no confidence that you are complete in Him. Yes, when you receive Christ you get the whole package of salvation. Because in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principalities and powers. What are you to do with this? You are to be alert to any teaching that would take away your confidence in Christ. Beware of FALSE claims against Christ. Avoid them. Run from them. Don t put your faith in the shadows of the reality of Christ. Even good religious practices can rob us of our completeness in Christ. So be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and stand against all things that seek to tear down your confidence in Christ. Christ is the complete package of salvation and Him alone! Amen? Amen! March 11, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 6