R204 Complete In Christ

Today's message is called complete in Christ and were headed to the Colossians chapter 2 adjustment with Dr. Don but I want to invite you as we begin to study the word together to make this online as well with TW online.org letter to the Colossians in chapter 2. Paul's letter to the Colossians in chapter 2 are subject from God's word this morning is being complete in Christ Jesus.

What is it mean to be complete in Christ Jesus. Let's begin by reading this morning in Colossians chapter 2 beginning at verse nine going to stop just once or twice, as I do from time to time because there are some very close to my be law class all this deity lives in bodily form that we've already discussed that I want to remind you that what the apostle Paul was saying at this point to these people or colossi 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 nine he says, for in Christ Jesus all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form that's interesting to note My friends that what the apostle Paul is talking about is the fact that Jesus Christ was modern he fully God, but he was fully man. He put on himself. The human flesh we going to discover in just a few moments that one of the ways by which you and God become complete. People is when we become participants in the fullness of who Jesus Christ is.

Now you will 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 wife.

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 and authority in Christ. You were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature marked 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 raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins. And in the circumcision of your sinful nature. God made you alive with Christ. People gave us all about sin having canceled the written code with its regulations. That was against us, and that student opposed to us what entity do.

He took it away, nailing it to the cross verse 15 having this on the powers and authorities, Jesus made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. I the Lord righties word upon our hearts. Are you a complete person.

I wonder how we would define a complete person. I bought some athletes over the years and of course I have tried to fancy myself to be just like them. I've looked at them and I thought how complete they are. You just think of Bo Jackson.

You just think of some of the super athletes that we got the great quarterbacks just just look at me. For example, an and you immediately begin to think of how complete a person can be wheat we think in terms of completeness in terms of the way we look not. We spend a lot of time on trying to be complete to 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 her the whole lot of young people there about 30 teenage girls and and and we all got ready to go to Ohio on a mission trip in and we arrived at 6 o'clock in the morning.

The young lady said that they had been getting ready since 4 AM in the morning I got up at 5 to 6. I thought I looked all right. Just as I want. We go to extraordinary lengths to make ourselves complete, see friends when the apostle Paul was writing to the church or 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 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 I do have their lives firmly rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and some of the most incomplete people I have ever met by super athletes. They brought a wonderful bank balance.

I have families that have things to do and places to go and get there is something missing in them. There is a vacuum. There is an incompleteness in the Bible tells us that because of the fall of Adam.

Because of the sin of Adam. People are incomplete, where incomplete, number one, spiritually where incomplete. Spiritually, my friends, because our sin separates us from God, where 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. Bible says that my sin separates me from God by 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 up on that cross, God turned his face away from the Savior. Why, because he claimed 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 complete spiritually when not any incomplete spiritually because of the fall of Adam, where 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 Jesse Rafe Alan Phil Donahue and on and on it goes.

My friends we ought not to be surprised at the absolute trash and garbage that you see on television today why because the Bible says that outside of Christ, my friends, you and I are complete, morally you know why because we have no fellowship with God. Where incomplete, spiritually, and when were incomplete spiritually and we have no fellowship with God. We are incomplete, partly because we don't operate according to God's standard and not any incomplete spiritually barley where incomplete, mentally, where incomplete, mentally. The apostle Paul was refuting the Gnostic heresy. These were the people or colossi who are endeavoring to say that we could know about guarding our hands and it would suffice. We going to discover here that there were people who would say that you could come to know God by being circumcised in the fresh by following religious ritual and the apostle Paul here is about to lower the boom and Silas and my friend.

If you are incomplete, spiritually and your incomplete morally. It means that your incomplete mentally because you do not know what ultimate truth.

Jesus said, John 14 in verse six he said I am the way, the truth and the life no man can come under the father but by me.

And so what happens when we are incomplete in Christ when you and I my friends when we get our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. What Paul said in Romans chapter 8 verse one becomes the real reason for Thanksgiving or there is not, therefore, no more condemnation to those who are in your with Christ Jesus, why because we become complete. How do we come become complete value 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 within it is the enforcement of God with these 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, virtually we become complete. Spiritually, we become complete, morally see our behavior. My friend is going to be determined by our completeness in Christ.

What Paul is saying to these people or colossi even 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 time into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.not only become complete, spiritually and morally become complete mentally. I want to tell you friends.

As I sit there in my home and as I sit here in my study of 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 passage even within the passage that I read I said God was saying to me, preacher. You cannot ever move on from that without preaching on that. What is the Bible say how does the sin which operates in my lap reflect in terms of my completeness and through the Lord Jesus Christ. I become complete mentally. You know why because the word of God just begins to feed into my system and begins to run down into my soul and begin strick not a fire within my heart and soul so that I'm able to live this life. Why, because I am becoming complete spiritually. I'm 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 will I want us to question survey my friends as we study this passage.

One of the requirements in order to become complete. Once I have fulfilled the requirements of becoming complete in Christ. What are the result I was like to know the results that you I'm famous for that folks. I'm very famous for that. I'll go on back in the morning. I want to see results immediately. I want to know that I've lost 20 pounds on the spot.

Just like it and when I don't.

I give up and don't have lunch anyway. You see we were result oriented people. We we want to see results to know that the Bible teaches us that God is the God of result, 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 or God's terms. God meets us on God's terms and God gives to us the results of his grace in glory. We gonna look at the requirements for completeness and then the results three requirements for results. You ready you can write these down a wonderful level nourish what is the requirement to be complete in Christ according this passage number one, they must be a putting move of the old nature. They must be a putting all of the sinful nature look with me in 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. David then 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 seminary my salvation is dependent upon the circumcision done by Christ Jesus. When he put off the flash of the man and he hung up on that cross and he died upon the cross and gave his life in order that I might live. They must be a putting of the sinful nature. What is that mean 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 savoring has to take place a putting away has to take place. I have to put away my old sinful nature. I have to mail it to the cross of Christ Jesus, I have to place myself firmly in the gospel of him who died for me upon the cross, they must be a putting move of the sinful nature.

Please forgive the eruption will be back in just a moment with the rest of today's message complete in Christ.

The doctor done.

Want me to remind you we are here for you. Our phone numbers 8668 were available 24 hours a day and would love to pray with you and for you at 866899673 or me this online tewonline.org.org T EW online.org now back today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. I want you to notice in the second place, they must also be a burial with the Christ Jesus resolvable 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 just 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 thinking baptism. The Bible only teaches adult believers baptism by immersion.

It is biblical baptism so means to baptize under the water. These people went down into the water was 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 these different 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 in baptism is the place of my public confession of faith.

When Jesus died, he didn't swoon upon the cross Eden frame even just go to sleep even just have a little daydream.

The Bible says Jesus died and he was very he suffered did they put him in a grave. They prepared these bare 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 all of my sinful nature.

Number two, they 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 adventure.

They must be a rising up 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.

In 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 day you will be so you see them is not any be a putting all them is not any be a burial with, but they must be rising up with the Lord Jesus Christ to end-users 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 tell you why, because of I left them in the water they'd be stone graveyard. That's why well was Jesus left in the two or I can just imagine those all debris sitting around there saying regarding now.

Yes sir, is in the grave. That's the end of that little troublemaker he's been traipsing out treasury he's been upsetting the status quo that affects input that started over there. I mean you fixing up once and for all. All of a sudden the earth began to trim 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 suddenly to disappear right out therefrom in the empty tomb came, the son of the living God is alive is alive and he's alive forevermore has risen from the grave and the apostle Paul is saying here, my friends, if you and I are ever going to be completing him.

They must be a putting off of the old sinful nature.

There must be a burial with Christ identifying within this, and they must be. I rising up to walk in newness of life with him. I will not ask a question you risen up out of the grave as they are newness of life in your life you change see the Bible says in second Corinthians 5 in verse 17 therefore listen if any man be in Christ Jesus.

He or she is a new creature, old things are what you got all things. What happened, all things are part you know that means pasta means kaput and means overcome those means 10 foot under it means did very ceased to exist nonexistent.

All things apostolate guarantors behold all things are become new. They must be a putting off. They must create burial with and then there's going to be rising up is going to be a try. There's going to be a try as we newness of life with Christ Jesus, we become completing him. What is the result for results ready write these down quick if you become completing him for things that happen number one this yourself will have occurred this yourself will have occurred.

The Bible says very clearly in verse 13 when you were dead in your trespasses and sins in the circumcision of your sinful nature – to serve mass and will have occurred, you must have died to self speaking to his disciples.

Jesus said if any man will come after me, you must work deny himself, then take up his cross and follow after me this yourself must have occurred.

Number two, all charges will be dropped all charges have been dropped. These are the results number one death yourself will have occurred. Number two, all charges will have been dropped. Look at me very 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 Dexter deposed us what he do with what he knew them well uses Roger in this great passage, Jesus took it away, nailing it to the cross all charges will be dropped and my perfect you just forgive what is 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 when you ever get goes on on the owner makes me giddy just thinking about where is how big is eternity. How big is God, how great is gone that he rules this mighty universe and getting 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 constantly 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 yourself 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 in verse 15, and having this on the powers and authorities talking about the fallen angels talking about Satan himself. Having this on the powers and authorities, God made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14.

Listen to what the right writer to the Hebrews in chapter 2 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 will their lives were sold into slavery by their fair what happens when you are complete in Christ.

One of the results. It's unbelievable. It's frightening God's word day after self will occur. All charges will be dropped and the power of God will be made manifest will be loose upon the earth and live will be transformed and people will betray and families will be brought together again and you live will be made manifest.

Because of the power of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. There's 1/4 result real life will be given real life will be given going back to verse 13 God has made you alive with Christ real 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 his grace the completeness that we know and have because of who the Lord Jesus Christ is do you know him today. You know him today. That's a question you will 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's the day to settle that doubt you'd like to talk to one of us one-on-one and were here at 866-899-WORD. You can call us got the number down. As a matter fact I'll slow down 866899673 or perhaps right now you need to talk to us. 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 they're gone. I know that I miss and I know that Jesus died for me today.

I repainted my sin and by faith I receive you into my in Jesus night, my friend. I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting news, but you just gave your life to Christ to rededicate your life. Dr. Don has wonderful free resources he want you to have if you call us will send those out this week at 866899 word contract is numbered and stored in your cell 866-899-WORD 9673 Dr. Don Wilton to have these free resources will help you grow in your faith each and every day were sitting lives changed by the power of God's word and The Encouraging Word and people asking how can you get involved. How you can you praying and financially support us by becoming what we call encouragers. John 316 says for guidance and left the world only sign whoever shall not perish but have eternal life. We aspire to reach as many people possible with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Will you join us in this nation support becoming encouragers today, 866899 right next 866-899-WORD 973 to request information on how you can help support the work of Encouraging Word The Encouraging Word as a viewer and list your supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Can you discover more on our website TW online.org.

We are here because of the prayerful and financial support of many friends like you were very great