Bible Truths – “Complete in Christ”

“And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power.”
Colossians 2:10

The Bible clearly warns us of false teachers who will bring false doctrines into the church, deceiving many people. Jesus called these men “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15). We read in II Timothy 3:13 that these “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” In II Peter 2:1 we read, “there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies.” As Christians, it is simply a fact that we must always be on alert, ready to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).

Throughout history, a prevalent false teaching has been this: Jesus Christ alone is not enough. This is the topic of Colossians, chapter two. We are warned of men who will attempt to “beguile you with enticing words” (v4). We are to “beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men…and not after Christ.” (v8) In II Corinthians 11:3 we are told not to be “corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Evidently, our adversary, the devil, (I Peter 5:8) loves this deception.

False teachers have taught that, to be complete Christians, we need to keep Old Testament laws in addition to our faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, however, that Jesus Christ has “blotted out” (v14) the Old Testament law and that He “took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” (v14) We don’t need to keep Old Testament laws, which are merely a “shadow of things to come.” We are complete in Christ!

False teachers have taught that we need to add mystical experiences to our faith in Christ to be a complete Christian. We are told in the Bible, however, to “Let no man beguile you of your reward in…worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” (v18) We don’t need to seek mystical, supernatural signs and wonders in order to be a complete Christian. We are complete in Christ!

What a joy it is to know that, in Jesus Christ, we are complete. Whether you have been a believer for ninety years or are a newly saved Christian, we are all complete in Him. Does that mean we should not grow as followers of Christ? God forbid! We can and should grow in our faith. But how? We are told in Colossians 2:6, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.” We receive Christ as our Lord (1) by faith, (2) by the power of the Holy Spirit, and (3) by the hearing of God’s Word. That is exactly how we should “walk in Him”. We should grow, as Christians, by (1) faith, by (2) the power of the Holy Spirit, and by (3) the Word of God.

The message of Colossians, chapter 2, is this: “Let no man beguile you…” (v18) into thinking you are not a complete Christian if you don’t do this, or don’t have that. We need to understand that we are complete in Jesus Christ if we have received Him as our Lord and Saviour. We are “complete in Him”!

Pastor Lee Smith