Complete in Christ - Colossians 2:8-23

From spiritual growth and its outworking, Paul turns to warning us believers against deceit by man’s philosophy which is based on tradition and elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than Christ. From encouragement to walk in Christ he begins to outline the issues we may come to have that tear us away from that life in Christ.

Complete in Christ

Paul says that we need not be distracted or deceived by such things because we are complete in Christ, who is the fullness of God. This ‘complete’ is a grand word that can even be translated from Greek as ‘to cram’, so I imagine myself crammed full of so many stuffed animals that it is difficult to zip me up in my being, my skin. The fullness we have in Christ is from the abundance of power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The abundance is such that it overflows (after having been crammed full!). (v.9-10)

This complete is more than just full of Christ, but it is full to measure that he intended for us to be, the unique person that we each are. He makes us into that person that we were designed to be and walks with us step by step to carry out the life and actions that we were designed for.

Sinful nature cut away

There is enough space for the fullness of Christ because he has also cast off the sin nature that we had before our coming to him and our baptism in him. The New Living Translation says it beautifully, ‘Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature,’ (v. 1). Our sinful nature was cut away and so Christ moved in while we were still dead to raise us up, to fill that hole, to make us whole.

Resembling Christ

He raised us with him, the Greek actually means ‘to revivify (spiritually) in resemblance to’. We were raised to life again in and with Christ resembling him. I find it so cool to think that we were raised to resemble him. By having stripped us of the sinful nature, we are already primed to follow him, but this newness of life is more than that. We are made alive and resemble him. We don’t just look like him, but we act like him, we do like he does, we think like he thinks. Amazing that this Spirit has crammed us full of his life and we now resemble him.

Disarmed the principalities

We have been released from all that was against us now that we are in Christ. We are released from sin, from past charges against us, our corruption, our obligations to the ceremonial law. All is taken away by Christ, including the weapons of the spiritual rulers and authorities. We have been set free from all of this, so Paul continues, we must not be taken in by lies that they are still in place or have power over us.

Paul begins to name specific laws that we may find our selves tied up in rather than following the life of Christ and walking with him. The rules of the world do not release us from the desires we are surrounded by. They do not release us from the power of legalism into the realm of grace.

Many of these statements refer to the legalism in us, don’t, don’t, don’t. But in Christ we are encouraged to grow. I admit I struggle with legalism and the ‘fairness’ of things when someone else hasn’t followed the rules or laws. And that is me, with the ‘sinful mind that has made me proud’ (v. 18) rather than the humble woman who accepts that none of us is good and right all the time. Rather than the woman who forgives others and seeks Christ to right wrongs and find justice.

Fullness in Christ

I am complete in Christ and have no need to care for what others do or think. I am crammed full of the Holy Spirit - power and gifts. I need to learn how to better show them.

You are complete in Christ, resembling Christ and crammed full of the Holy Spirit.