Complete in Christ

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again, dear radio friends, how in the world are you? Are you doing alright today? Well, I trust so. Bless your heart. Yes, it’s your friend, Dr. Cook, I’m glad to be back with you. My heart is filled with the joy of the Lord and the peace that He can give, and I’ve just been praying that He may put His truth and love and blessing and power into the words that I say to you, that even the tone of my voice may somehow say something concerning God’s love to you, my beloved friend.

We’ve been looking at Colossians 2 and commenting on the verses that follow. 2:10, “Ye are complete in him in Christ.” What does it mean to be complete in Christ? It means to give Him the authority, principality and power. In Him, He’s the head of all principality, and power. Principality is stated authority; power is exercised authority, and you need to give Him the right to do both. Make Him Lord of your life, that’s the starting point. You’ll never really enjoy Jesus until He is running things. You know that? A lot of people endure their religion, the reason being that they’re trying to run things themselves. You’ll never really enjoy the Lord Jesus until He’s running things in your life. Stated authority and exercised authority.

And then His mark upon your life. Circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, God’s mark on your life, so that all of your creative abilities are under His control. The human being is a vast and complex combination of potentials, and there is a creative possibility in your life that goes far beyond anything you could ever imagine. You can become something under God that will be way beyond anything you can imagine. “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him, but God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit.” The in-dwelling Holy Spirit of God can create in you, my friend, potentials that you never knew you had. Letting put His mark upon the creative abilities of your life.

And then, “Buried and risen again, quicken together,” made alive. You see, before you were saved, you were dead. Paul says in Ephesians 2:1, you “were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in in time past ye walked them and lived every minute of every day according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now working though the children of disobedience.” Dead in sin, that was our condition before Jesus came and rescued us and made us alive. But now he says, “Quickened, together, with Him.” Quickening involves hearing. Jesus said it in John 5:25. He said, “The day is coming and now is when they that are dead will hear the voice of the Son of Man and they that hear shall live.” He said it’s already here, “I’m here,” and that means that dead spirits and dead hearts and even dead bodies, in his case, ’cause He raised the dead, didn’t He? Shall live. But for us, that scripture means listen to God and harken. “They that harken,” here means listen and do something about it. That’s what that word really means.

They that listen and do something about it, or harken, shall live. And the outpoured resurrection life of Christ is yours as part of being complete in him. It’s dependent, however, upon whether or not you harken to him. The flow of divine life through you, beloved, depends on whether you listen and do something about it. Alright? The flow of divine life through you depends upon whether you listen to God’s voice and do something about it. You could discuss these things all you wish, but if when God whispers to your heart to do something about His will, then obey, because that opens the floodgates, so to speak, of the work of the Holy Spirit of God through your life.

Peter said it, “We are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him.” Obedience to the voice of God is the hallmark of miracle power through the in-dwelling Holy Spirit in your life. Do you understand me? When God speaks to your heart about something, obey him. He’ll always speak in agreement with His written Word, the infallible and inerrant Word of God, the Bible. He’ll always speak in agreement with His Word. There will never be any of these wild, left-field ideas that you might mistake. You’ll always know the voice of God because it agrees with his Word. The Holy Spirit of God is faithful, “My sheep know my voice,” He says. “I know my sheep, and have known, and am known of mine. My sheep hear my voice.” Jesus guarantees that he’s never gonna lead you astray. If you want to know the will of God, you can know it and do it. But the flow of divine power through your life depends upon whether or not you are willing to obey when God speaks to you. You follow that?

“They that her hear,” “harken,” that means listen and do something about it, “shall live.” And he said, “Having forgiven you all trespasses.” Nothing left as unfinished business. Put it all by faith, beloved, today under the blood. There’s some things that scare you and some that make you ill as you think about them. You remember some of your failures, and you’re afraid of some of the future things that you may say or do. I know. Jesus died for them all. Put them by faith all under His precious blood, all trespasses.

Now, we go on and says, “He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances as it was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” See, the law was given to show us that we’re sinners and that we need saving. The law was never given to save anybody; it was given to be our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, Paul says in Galatians. Now, he says here in Colossians the completeness in Christ means that you look at the law and you say He fulfilled it all for me, and when he died on the cross, He nailed that old ceremonial law to the cross. And every point at which the law says you deserve to die, Jesus said, “I died for that already. Let him go.” Isn’t that wonderful? Oh, he that shall offend in one point is guilty of all, the Bible says, so that however good you and I may have been from time to time, we have erred, we have broken God’s holy law, we know it. And so the Bible says if you offend in one point, even, you’re guilty of all of it. And there isn’t any hope for us, but when we look at that law that says you deserve to die, Jesus said, “I already died for it. Let him go.”

“Nailing it to his cross,” “They are nailed to his cross,” the old song used to say. “They are nailed to his cross, my sins and all of that, nailed to His cross. Hallelujah for that.” Somebody needs the reassurance today that your failures and the points at which you have been in disagreement with God’s holy law and thus have felt the condemnation of that law, Jesus paid the price. “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow,” goes the old song. And you and I can have peace today in our hearts, knowing that our Savior paid the price, died for us, and now, every one of those failures, look at them, your failure is nailed to his cross, and they won’t be taken down, and you’re free. “God hath made him to be sin for us, he who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Oh, the blessing of knowing that everything that could ever condemn you and me has been nailed to His cross.

And so Paul says, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who also maketh intercession for us.” There’s a living, wonderful person in the glory who represents you and me. His name is Jesus, and he is naming your name before God. Oh, that’s a precious word there in Romans 8, isn’t it? “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elected? It is God that justify it. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” The price is paid. The condemnation has been suffered by another on my behalf, and God looks at me through Him. And all of the things that would condemn me have been nailed, Paul says in this passage in Colossians 2, “nailed to the cross of Christ.”

And not only that, but you and I realize the we’re up against a deadly enemy whose name is Satan, and all of his forces arrayed against us in this whole world. “Be sober, be vigilant,” says Peter, “because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may may devour.” Paul the Apostle said we’re not ignorant of Satan’s devices, and he warned against another place, “lest people be taken in by the snare of the devil.” So you’ve got the threats of the devil, and the devices of the devil, and the snare of the devil, and the undying opposition of Satan to anything that would honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. You’re in a battle.

“We wrestle not,” says Paul, “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God.” You’re in a battle. It’s a battle with Satan and all of his hosts. But you’re in a victorious battle, because in the past tense, it says, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them, openly triumphing over them in his cross.”

Not only is the law, taken care of, but the opposition of Satan is taken care of, and Satan has no legal right to your life or any part of your whole family. You can, by faith, remind your adversary that he has no right to touch you. And you can hide under the righteousness of Jesus Christ, your living Lord, and you can claim the victorious power of the one who spoiled, that’s a military term which means he won the battle and took the loot away, he spoiled principalities and powers. Satan is a defeated foe. Don’t give him any room in your life. By faith, you can live victoriously because Jesus is victor. He won the victory at the cross. And you and I, by faith, can accept that victory in our own lives. Hallelujah for that. “Spoiled principalities and powers, triumphing over them in his cross.”

Complete in Christ. Oh, how wonderful that is. Complete in Christ. How does it work? It says, “In him, dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily.” All you’ll ever need to know about God is in Jesus. Give him the authority, principality and power, stated authority and exercised authority. Let Him put His mark upon your life. Let him give you His resurrection life. That involves listening to Him and obeying him. Let Him give you the peace of all trespasses forgiven, and all the handwriting of ordinance is nailed to his cross, and then let Him give you the victory over every power that would oppose you.

Interestingly enough, this passage we’re studying, these few verses from the Colossians 2:10 to 2:15, starts with principality and power, he’s the head of all principality and power, and it ends with principalities and power. He’s the victor over every other authority. Jesus is Lord of all. Confess Him as such and obey Him as Lord of all. Amen?

Dear Father, today, thank you for the victory that is in Jesus. Help us enjoy it, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!