Col 2:6-10 says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the principles of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.”  We are complete in Christ Jesus.  Let’s get into the Word of God.

Complete in verse 10 means replete, filled to overflowing, and crammed full of!  That is how much of Jesus the Christian receives at the new birth.  All the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus, so all the fullness of God dwells in us when we receive Jesus!  This is very important to understand.  The Apostle Paul warned the Colossians in chapter 2, that they must understand this truth in order to avoid deception.  Deception thrives on dissatisfaction, or the lie that we are missing something.  Satan came to Eve with this lie, and he does the same today.  “God knows you’ll be like Him.  He’s holding out on you.  You are missing something.  You need what I got.”  All lies.  If you have Christ, you have it all.  You don’t need anything else.

Cults and the occult all have this in common: they have a “secret” you don’t have.  They have inside information.  They have secret knowledge.  You have to unlock this mystery and achieve this level and climb the mysterious ladder to reach this enlightened place.  They prey on the weak minded, who fall for the same trick Eve did.  “I’m missing something.  I need this info I don’t have.”  Don’t be deceived.  Don’t fall for it.  The Word of God is transparent.  The mystery has been revealed - Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Become as children to enter into the Kingdom.  It is the simplicity of the Gospel - not the difficulty and confusion of it.

Gal 3:26-29 says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  Simple heart faith in Jesus makes you a child of God.  You become Christ’s, which makes you Abraham’s seed, which makes you an heir of God according to the promise.  All you can do to receive it is believe it. 

You cannot work for salvation, acceptance, righteousness, etc.  Jesus doesn’t 99% save: He saves to the uttermost.  It doesn’t say we are going to be complete in Jesus - it says we are complete in Jesus.  Done deal! Not after we do A, B, and C, do we become complete.  No, upon conversion, you become a new creation (2Cor 5:17) - and you are complete in Christ.  This happens in your spirit (Rom 8:9). 

All the fullness of God dwells in Christ (Col 1:19-20).  Christ is all and in all (who believe) (Col 3:10-11).  When we receive Christ, we receive God’s fullness - and grace for grace (Jn 1:16).  When we receive Jesus, we receive all God is and has.  The Christian life is not trying to get something from God, for He has already given everything.  The Christian life is learning what we have, and exercising faith and obedience in what we have.  In other words, we already have the gift; we just need to open it up and unpack the contents of it.

Jesus is the fullness of God, and when He dwells in us, we become the fullness of Him!  We become His body, which is the church.  No particular church or denomination, but rather all true, born again believers in Christ make up the true church - the church of the first born (Heb 12:23).  Through faith, we are all members of His body.  This is our standing.  This is our inheritance.  This is New Testament truth.  We must grasp this essential truth to walk in victory and to avoid deception.

As you have received Christ, so walk in Him (Col 2:6, Gal 3:1-5).  In other words, if you received Christ by grace through faith, then you continue to relate to Him and function by faith.  We don’t get right through faith, and then stay right through works.  It’s grace through faith until the end.  Of course, a saving faith will result in good works and good fruit - but they are results of, not causes of, right standing with God.  You are complete in Christ!  Stand firm on that truth!  Until next time, rejoice in The Lord!