Today's message is called Complete in Christ and we'll head to Colossians Chapter 2 in just a minute with Dr. Don, but I want to invite you as we begin to study the Word together to meet us online as well.
We're at www.tewonline.org God's Word this morning is Being Complete in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be complete in Christ Jesus? Let's begin by reading this morning in Colossians Chapter 2 and beginning at verse 9.
I'm going to stop just once or twice as I do from time to time because there are some very important statements to make as we read God's Word together. The Bible says in verse 9, for in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. Now we've already discussed that, but I want to remind you that what the Apostle Paul was saying at this point to these people at Colossae was that everything that ever needed to be and everything that we ever needed to have is found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right there in verse 9 he says for in Christ Jesus all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. Now it's interesting to note here my friends that what the Apostle Paul is talking about is the fact that Jesus Christ was not only fully God but he was fully man.
He put on himself the human flesh. We're going to discover in just a few moments that one of the ways by which you and I become complete people is when we become participants in the fullness of who Jesus Christ is. Now you'll notice this as we go into the next verse because in verse 10 Paul says and you, speaking about you and me, you have been given fullness in Christ. By the way I really think that that could be better read and you have been made complete in Christ Jesus. The King James Version I believe is very accurate at that point and you have been made complete in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let's read the rest of it. Verse 10 you have been made complete you have been given fullness in Christ who is the head over every power and authority in Christ. You will also circumcise in the putting off of the sinful nature not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with a circumcision done by Christ Jesus having been buried with him in baptism and then raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all of our sin having cancelled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. What did he do? He took it away nailing it to the cross.
Verse 15 and having disarmed the powers and authorities Jesus made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts. Are you a complete person? I wonder how we would define a complete person. I've watched some athletes over the years and of course I have tried to fancy myself to be just like them and I've looked at them and I've thought how complete they are. You just think of Bo Jackson.
You just think of some of the super athletes that we've got the great quarterbacks. Just look at me for example and you immediately begin to think of how complete a person can be. We think in terms of completeness in terms of the way we look don't we? We spend a lot of time on trying to be complete too.
People are doing everything that they possibly can to try and make themselves complete. I will guarantee you that the ladies in this congregation this morning woke up at the crack of dawn to make themselves complete. I remember about 10 years ago going on a mission trip with a whole lot of young people. They're about 30 teenage girls and we all got ready to go to Ohio on a mission trip and we arrived there at six o'clock in the morning and the young ladies said that they had been getting ready since four a.m in the morning. I got up at five to six.
I thought I looked alright just as I was. We go to extraordinary lengths to make ourselves complete. You see friends when the apostle Paul was writing to the church at Colossi and particularly here in verse 10 of chapter 2 what he was focusing in on was the fact that our completeness is only made complete in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
In fact I'm going to submit to you today that some of the most complete people I have ever met are people who seem to have it all together but who have their lives firmly rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and some of the most incomplete people I have ever met. They're super athletes. They've got a wonderful bank balance. They have families. They have things to do and places to go and yet there is something missing in them.
There is a vacuum. There is an incompleteness and the Bible tells us that because of the fall of Adam, because of the sin of Adam all people are incomplete. We're incomplete number one spiritually. We're incomplete spiritually my friends because our sin separates us from God. We're incomplete spiritually because we have no fellowship with God.
I want to say to all of those here this morning that have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior my friends more than anything else in the entire world I want you to know that you are incomplete because you are incomplete spiritually. You have no fellowship with God whatsoever. The Bible says that my sin separates me from God. My sin causes God to turn his face from me just as he turned his face away from the Son of the living God. When Jesus hung upon that cross God turned his face away from the Savior.
Why? Because he came became sin for us even though he knew no sin. God will have nothing to do with sin. There is no fellowship with sin. There is no communion with sin. We are incomplete spiritually but we're not only incomplete spiritually because of the fall of Adam.
We're incomplete morally, morally. It shouldn't surprise us my friends that that the world behaves the way the world behaves. It ought not to surprise us at the way in which people behave out there today who don't know Jesus Christ. We should not be surprised at what we see on Geraldo Rivera and Oprah Winfrey and Sally Jessie Raphael and Phil Donaghue and on and on it goes my friends.
We ought not to be surprised at the absolute trash and the garbage that you see on television today. Why? Because the Bible says that outside of Christ my friends you and I are incomplete morally.
You know why? Because we have no fellowship with God. We're incomplete spiritually and when we're incomplete spiritually and we have no fellowship with God we are incomplete morally because we don't operate according to God's standards but we're not only incomplete spiritually morally we're incomplete mentally.
We're incomplete mentally. The Apostle Paul was refuting the Gnostic heresy. These were the people at Colossae who were endeavoring to say that we could know about God in our heads and it would suffice we're going to discover here that there were people who would say that you could come to know God by being circumcised in the flesh by following religious ritual and the Apostle Paul here is about to lower the boom and say listen my friend if you are incomplete spiritually and you're incomplete morally it means that you're incomplete mentally because you do not know what ultimate truth is. Jesus said John 14 and verse 6 he said I am the way the truth and the life no man can come unto the Father but by me and so what happens when we are complete in Christ when you and I my friends when we give our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ what Paul said in Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 becomes the real reason for thanksgiving there is now therefore no more condemnation to those who are in union with Christ Jesus.
Why? Because we become complete in him. How do we come become complete? Well you've got it already you've already got those three points down we become complete spiritually that's right because we are united together with God we are amalgamated with him we are fused with him we become one flesh with him it is the enfleshment of God with his own children created in the image of God with the express purpose of knowing God intimately and purposely we can know God one on one eyeball to eyeball we become complete spiritually if we become complete spiritually we become complete morally you see our behavior my friend is going to be determined by our completeness in Christ what Paul is saying to these people at Colossi he was saying it's not just what you do in order to become a born again believer it is what you become in the daily walk of life my moral expression my moral flavor my moral fortitude my moral responsibility my moral behavior is a direct a direct telescope to the reality of who I am because I have been circumcised in the heart because I have come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ I not only become complete spiritually and morally I become complete mentally I want to tell you friends as I sit there in my home and as I sit here in my study at the church and as I begin to study God's word I just see more and more and more food it just drives me deeper and deeper into the word of God already as I was studying even as late as last night there was a a passage even within the passage that I've read I said God was saying to me preacher you cannot ever move on from that without preaching on that what does the bible say how does the sin which operates in my life reflect in terms of my completeness in and through the Lord Jesus Christ I become complete mentally do you know why because the word of God just begins to feed into my system and begins to run down into my soul and begins to ignite a fire within my heart and soul so that I'm able to live this life why because I am becoming complete spiritually I am becoming complete morally I am becoming complete mentally and the apostle Paul says here in verse 11 of chapter 2 he says you are complete in him well I want to ask two questions today my friends as we study this passage what are the requirements in order to become complete and once I have fulfilled the requirements of becoming complete in Christ what are the results I always like to know the results don't you I'm famous for that folks I'm very famous for that I'll go on diet in the morning and I want to see results immediately I want to know that I've lost 20 pounds on the spot just like that and when I don't I give up and go and have lunch anyway you see we're a result oriented people we we want to see results do you know that the bible teaches us that God is the God of results God is the God of his word the proof is in the pudding there are not any requirements in order to become complete why because God is the God of condition but when we meet God on God's terms God meets us on God's terms and God gives to us the results of his grace in glory we're going to look at the requirements for completeness and then the results three requirements four results you ready you can write these down they're wonderful they'll nourish your heart what is the requirement to be complete in Christ according this passage number one there must be a putting off of the old nature there must be a putting off of the sinful nature look with me at verse 11 the bible says in him you were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature not with the circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ Jesus himself all young Jewish males on the eighth day were circumcised according to the law of David their circumcision in their flesh became the sign of their relationship with God their salvation if you please was inextricably intertwined with a religious ritual and the apostle Paul writing to the church at colossi is saying that my salvation is not dependent upon the circumcision done by the hands of men my salvation is not dependent upon a religious ritual my salvation is not dependent upon my church membership my salvation is not dependent upon my birthright my salvation is not dependent upon my singing in the choir my salvation is not dependent upon my going to a seminary my salvation is dependent upon on the circumcision done by Christ Jesus, when he put off the flesh of the man and he hung upon that cross and he died upon that cross and gave his life in order that I might live.
There must be a putting off of the sinful nature. What does that mean? It means my friends, that in order for me to become complete, a decapitation has to take place. A cutting off has to take place. A severing has to take place.
A putting away has to take place. I have to put away my old sinful nature. I have to nail it to the cross of Christ Jesus. I have to place myself firmly in the grasp of him who died for me upon the cross.
There must be a putting off of the sinful nature. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of today's message, complete in Christ. But Dr. Don wants me to remind you, we're here for you. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. We're available 24 hours a day and would love to pray with you and for you at 866-899-9673 or meet us online at TEWOnline.org.
That's TEWOnline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. But I want you to notice in the second place, there must also be a burial with the Christ Jesus who is our Lord. The Bible says very clearly in verse 12, having been buried with him in baptism, having been buried with him in baptism. Some people have argued that this passage here speaks to the fact that baptism and salvation are the same things. That's not what the apostle Paul is suggesting here. Paul wouldn't replace one ritual with another one. What Paul is presenting here is the completeness of the requirement for salvation.
What Paul here is presenting, my friend, is the totality of who we are in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. What is baptism, my friend? The Bible teaches adult believers baptism. The Bible does not teach infant baptism. The Bible does not teach sprinkling baptism. The Bible only teaches adult believers baptism by immersion. It is biblical. Baptizo means to baptize under the water. These people went down into the water with Philip and they came up out of the water. They were baptized in accordance with the commandment of God in full identification with the express commandment of God and with his death and burial and resurrection upon the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they did it, my friend, because of what the Bible teaches. There is absolutely no question about it whatsoever. What takes place at baptism?
It is the place of my public confession of faith. When Jesus died, he didn't swoon upon the cross. He didn't faint. He didn't just go to sleep.
He didn't just have a little daydream. The Bible says Jesus died and he was buried. He suffered death. They put him in a grave. They prepared his body for burial. And the Bible says that when I come to know Jesus Christ, in order to be made complete in him, number one, there must be a putting off of my sinful nature. Number two, there must be a burial with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why? Because this is the picture of the reality of my salvation experience. Number three, there must be a rising up.
I like that, don't you? There must be a rising up. The Bible says in verse 12, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through God, through your faith in the power of God who raised him up from the dead. Writing to the church at Rome, the apostle Paul said in chapter 10 and verse nine, he said, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, if you believe in your heart that God has raised him up from the dead, you will be saved. You see, there must not only be a putting off, there must not only be a burial with, but they must be rising up with the Lord Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life with him. When we baptize someone symbolically in these waters of baptism, the worst thing that could ever happen is for them in the water.
I'll tell you why, because if I left them in the water, they'd be stone graveyard dead, that's why. Well, was Jesus left in the tomb? Uh-uh, boy, I can just imagine those old devils sitting around there saying, aha, we got him now.
Yes, sir, he's in the grave. That's the end of that little troublemaker. He's been threatening our treasury. He's been upsetting the status quo. That'll fix him, put that stone over there.
I mean, you fix him up once and for all. All of a sudden, the earth began to tremble. All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. All of a sudden, that stone began to roll away.
All of a sudden, the earth began to quake. All of a sudden, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords appeared right out there from in the empty tomb came the Son of the living God. He is alive, he's alive, and he's alive forevermore. He has risen from the grave. And the Apostle Paul is saying, here, my friends, if you and I are ever going to be complete in him, there must be a putting off of the old sinful nature. There must be a burial with Christ, identifying with that death. And there must be a rising up to walk in newness of life with him.
I want to ask a question today. Have you risen up out of the grave? Is there a newness of life in your life? Are you changed?
You see, the Bible says in Second Corinthians five and verse 17, therefore, listen, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he or she is a new creature. Old things are what? You got old things, what happened? Old things are, you know what that means? Passed away, it means kaput. It means over Kedavas.
It means 10 foot under. It means dead, buried, cease to exist, non-exist. Old things are passed away.
Here it is. Behold, all things are become new. There must be a putting off. There must be a burial with, and then there's gotta be a rising up. There's gotta be a change.
There's gotta be a change as we walk in newness of life with Christ Jesus. We become complete in him. Well, what is the result? Four results, you ready?
Write these down quickly. If you become complete in him, four things have happened. Number one, death to self will have occurred. Death to self will have occurred. The Bible says very clearly in verse 13, when you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, death to self must and will have occurred. You must have died to self. Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, if any man will come after me, he must what?
Deny himself and then take up his cross and follow after me. Number one, death to self must have occurred. Number two, all charges will be dropped. All charges have been dropped. These are the results. Number one, death to self will have occurred.
Number two, all charges will have been dropped. Look with me very quickly, quickly at verse 14. He says he forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. What did he do with him? What did he do with him?
Well, he says it right here in this great passage. Jesus took it away, nailing it to the cross. All charges will have been dropped. Am I perfect or just forgiven? What does it mean to be forgiven of God in Christ Jesus?
The Bible says all charges will be dropped instantaneously because of what Jesus did upon the cross. How far is eternity? What extent eternity? Where is it? Where do you ever get? Goes on and on and on and makes me giddy just thinking about it.
Where is it? How big is eternity? How big is God? How great is God that he rules this mighty universe and yet he's so small that he can live within our hearts and within our lives. And the Bible says, my friends, that when Jesus took my sin and he nailed it to the cross, he took my sin and he cast it as far as the east is from the west and he remembers it no more.
I'm here today to tell you, my friend, if you are complete in Christ, death to self will have occurred and all charges will instantaneously be dropped. But I want you to notice in the third place that God's power will be made evident. God's power will be made evident. Right there in verse 15, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, talking about the fallen angels, talking about Satan himself, having disarmed the powers and authorities, God made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. In Hebrews chapter two and verse 14, listen to what the writer to the Hebrews in chapter two and verse 14 says, since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death, Jesus might destroy him who holds the power of death. That is the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. What happens when you are complete in Christ?
What are the results? It's unbelievable. It's right there in God's word, death to self will occur. All charges will be dropped and the power of God will be made manifest, will be loosed upon the earth and lives will be transformed and people will be changed and families will be brought together again and new life will be made manifest.
Why? Because of the power of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's a fourth result. Real life will be given. Real life will be given. Going back to verse 13, God has made you alive with Christ.
Real life will be given. You say to me then, preacher, what is completeness? Completeness is the transformation. As we have read about, completeness is the pardon that we receive. Completeness is the total victory that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Completeness, my friend, is knowing Jesus Christ in all his power, in all his risen glory, in all his grace.
The completeness that we know and have because of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Do you know him today? Do you know him today?
That's a question you'll hear from Dr. Wilton often. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Here's the good news. If you have any doubt whatsoever, today is the day to settle that doubt. If you'd like to talk to one of us one-on-one and we're here at 866-899-WORD, you can call us. Jot the number down.
As a matter of fact, I'll slow down. 866-899-9673. Or perhaps right now, you don't need to talk to us. You need to let Dr. Don share with you how you can talk to Jesus. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.
This is exciting news. If you just gave your life to Christ or rededicated your life, Dr. Don has wonderful free resources he wants you to have. If you'll call us, we'll send those out this week at 866-899-WORD.
I can jot this number down, store it in your cell. 866-899-9673, Dr. Don wants you to have these free resources that'll help you grow in your faith. Each and every day, we're seeing lives changed by the power of God's word and the encouraging word and people are asking, how can you get involved? How can you pray and financially support us? Well, it's by becoming what we call encouragers.
John 3.16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We aspire to reach as many people as possible with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Will you join us in this mission? We need your support. Become an encourager today. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 to request information on how you can help support the work of the encouraging word. The encouraging word is a viewer and listener-supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Again, you can discover more on our website, TEWONLINE.ORG. We are here because of the prayerful and financial support of many friends like you and we're very grateful. We are here because of the prayerful and financial support of many friends like you and we're very grateful.
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