Colossians 2:10 – Complete In Him (edited) – Bible study

Colossians 2:10 Complete In Christ Tonight, I want to look at a section of Scripture that, to be honest, is beyond my comprehension. I think the statement is just too deep for me to comprehend, but at the same time, the statement is too powerful to ignore any longer. I suppose what I want to do is to think out loud with you. Whether what I say tonight will pass for preaching or not remains to be seen. In studying these verses, I am convinced that the truths contained here are great and awesome. However, getting a handle on exactly how they fit together has proved to be a challenge I have not yet achieved. My outline tonight (and I do have an outline) will consist of three points. I. \#Col 2:10\ A Statement A. Paul makes an amazingly deep statement. 1. This statement is only five words in length, but I am convinced that its depth is unfathomable to us. 2. The statement is-We are complete in Him. B. The word that I want to draw your attention to is the word COMPLETE. 1. The word means to be full, or to be fulfilled. 2. It means all, entirely, wholly. 3. It means every bit. 4. It means 100%. C. The statement means that in Christ, we have and are everything that God intended us to be. 1. This is an amazing statement. 2. We know that God originally created man to behave perfectly and to have a perfect relationship with God. 3. Then sin entered and destroyed all of that. 4. Gods original plan was destroyed so badly that one cannot even recognize what God intended us to be. 5. But, by and through Jesus Christ, things have been set into motion that will ultimately restore all things to what God intended in the beginning. a. I think that even though the verb tense is present, i.e. we ARE complete in Him, it is something from our perspective is not complete yet. b. I certainly dont see myself as being complete. In fact, i see myself as a mess. c. But God, not being confined by time, knows that every- thing needed for the completion to take place as already been done. d. Some years ago, our church started moving into the computer age. We could not afford all of the programs needed but I felt we needed a program to keep the church finances on but it needed to be something that would allow searches by dates, by amounts, by individuals. We needed to be able to print annual giving reports. So I decided to see if I could create such a database with Microsoft Access. I worked on for months, but at a point, I felt like it was finished, complete. Now it wasnt. It did not have any information (data) in it all, but the everything was there so that no matter what else would be added, it was finished. That is what God did for us in Jesus Christ. We may not have the power yet, all of the knowledge yet, all of the character yet, but everything needed to get us there is complete! felt like it was complete. D. What has been provided in Christ that makes us complete. 1. We are 100% forgiven. 2. We are 100% restored to God. 3. We have 100% of Gods power. II. Reasons – Why are we complete? A. Because we are IN HIM. 1. It actually has very little to do with us. 2. We are complete because we are IN Jesus. 3. That placement is produced by our salvation. a. Everything we are, have, or will ever be or have is because of Jesus Christ. 4. That placement is more than just us being inside of Jesus. a. Jesus is not hauling us around like kangaroo carries its baby. b. This is a much more complicated bonding and reaction. c. It changes us like dropping a block of wood into the fire. (1) The wood doesnt change the fire at all but the fire sure changes the wood. (2) When we are placed in Jesus, He doesnt change but we do and we change for the better. (3) We are dropped into God and that burns away the fleshly, the carnal, the corrupt. (4) But even that is not the whole of it because Jesus not only burns away the corrupt that is there but it also adds the holy which is not there. B. What is it about Jesus that reacts so with us? that changes us into His image and completes us? Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 1. Jesus Person-He is all of the Godhead. a. All of God was in Jesus body. b. That means that Jesus is 100% God. c. That is why this bonding effects only me and not Him and why it produces good in me and does not consume me. d. Because Jesus is God and that is what He wills. 2. Jesus Authority-He is head of all principality and power. Col 2:10 which is the head of all principality and power: a. The word PRINCIPALITY means BEGINNING or ORIGIN. (1) When applied to a person, it seems to mean the person who starts or begins something. (2) The notion being that as the one who begins something, that one is the leader or ruler. (3) This passage says that Jesus is over all who are in charge. (4) A similar thought would be both the titles "The beginning and the end" and "King of kings and Lord of lords." (5) Jesus position is that He is over every ruler whether it be a physical or spiritual ruler so if He says we are complete, we are COMPLETE. b. If that is not plain enough, the verse also asserts that Jesus is Head over all power. c. There is no thing and no power that stop the completion work that Jesus has degreed. (1) Jesus has the authority to do what He declares and He declared us complete. (2) As Mr T. used to say, "I pity the fool that tries to stop Him!" 3. \#Col 2:11-14\ We are complete because of Jesus actions. Three actions are mentioned. a. \#11\ He cut away the corrupt flesh. (1) In the Old Testament, circumcision was a procedure done on the Jewish males to show they were a part of the Old Covenant. (2) It was an outward manifestation of their inward faith. (3) Of course today many males (most all who are in the US) are circumcised, but it has nothing to do with the Old Covenant. (4) Today, it is a medical procedure done to remove un-needed skin that, if left, might harbor disease and cause harm to the body later in life. (5) Here, the Bible says all Christians (male and female) have been circumcised with a circumcision not by human hands (one done by God Himself). (6) What does that mean? (a) It means God has cut away the carnal skin that always holds us back and down! (b) It is the flesh that hinders the spirit God has cut that carnal flesh off us so that we can enjoy His completeness! b. \#12\ Then He buried the dead flesh. (1) Jesus burial pictures our sins being carried to the grave and left there. (2) This morning, Charles Davis told me about finding a dead mouse under the house and having to bury it. (3) Why did he bury it? To get that sticking carcass out of there! (4) You say, "But something came out of the grave!" c. \#13\ Yes, it was a new creature. (1) Someone new was quickened, brought to live, out of that grace. (2) Someone who has no sins, no past, no corruption. d. \#14Jesus actions removed every against us. (1) The phrase "the handwriting of ordinances" is a reference to the charges that were against us (our sins). (2) The custom of the Romans when they crucified a criminal was to write the charge for his crucifixion on a board and nail it to the cross. (a) This was done as a deterrent to crime. (b) Pilate wrote Jesus charge, "The King of the Jews." (3) Here, Paul was telling us, that although unseen to the human eye, God wrote our sins upon the placard that hung above Jesus head! (4) It was our sins that crucified Jesus and in dying on the cross, He took every charge against us away! III. Results A. \#Col 2:16\ No one can judge me. 1. No Christian has to keep Old Testament diets, observe their holy days, or even worship on the Sabbath, 2. Why? Because the message being conveyed by those laws has been completed. a. They spoke of the coming of Jesus and He has now come. b. We dont have to worry about being judged by others on these issues because Jesus has taken care of it. 3. That truth relates to all areas of the Christian life. a. Although I may not approve of all you do and you may not approve of all I do, we dont have to worry about what each other thinks. b. Why? Because Jesus will take care of it. c. The Holy Spirit will teach, guide, and convict. d. It is best for us to let the Master take care of His own servants! B. \#Col 2:18-19\ No one should beguile me into not following Jesus. 1. I am IN Him. 2. From that unique position, how could I NOT follow Him? 3. Context – The Judiazers were trying to trick the Christians into go back under the Law and abandoning Jesus. C. \#Col 2:8\ No one can spoil (or ruin) me by substituting philosophy or tradition for Christ. 1. When something spoils, it ruins. 2. A ruined fruit or vegetable is then good for nothing but to be cast away. 3. The Judiazers wanted the Christians to go back to their traditions and opinions rather than follow Jesus. 4. Many today have allowed philosophies and traditions to turn them from the Christ. I wish I could comprehend better Pauls statement. But even with my dimly lit mind, I believe this statement is a treasure trove of spiritual wealth to us. Explore it. Pray over it. Meditate on it. And remember it. You are complete in Him!