So, okay, let's get started. The name of my lesson today is Complete in Christ. Turn to Colossians chapter 2, and my lesson will be on verses 8 and 9. This will be our study today.

For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. When we think of something as complete, it means that nothing else is needed. Nothing needs to be added or taken away from it. It is perfect. When it comes to our salvation, it is complete in Christ. Jesus said it all on the cross. It is finished. John 19, verse 30. We cannot add anything or take anything away from our salvation. Jesus did it all. It is complete. It is complete in Christ.

In Hebrews 2, verse 14, it tells us, For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. For that one perfect offering was Christ himself on the cross. When he shed his blood for his chosen people, he gave us a complete and perfect salvation. It made us complete in Christ.

I have several points to share with you why we are complete in Christ. First up, all that is necessary to secure and to complete our eternal salvation is found in Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 tells us, but my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ. There is a difference between a need and a want. We all have our wants. But that is completely different from our need. And we only have one true need, and that need is, notice that it says need, not needs, too. Christ is our only need. When we have Christ, what else could we possibly need? When we have Christ, we are complete.

Our salvation is complete because Christ did it all for His chosen people on the cross. It is a complete work. There is a completion or a complete filling up in Him so as to leave nothing lacking in the center. In the Lord Jesus Christ dwells the fullness of God, John 1, 16 tells us, and His fullness have all we receive. We have received God's fullness because Christ bestows His grace upon His chosen people. on His chosen children. As a result, we lack nothing when it comes to our complete salvation. Christ done it all. Christ is perfect, and the believers standing in Him is perfect. We will not be seen in heaven as the sinners that we are now, but we will be seen in Christ as perfect because Christ is perfect.

I'm a long ways from being perfect. You can ask my wife about that. But we will be perfect in Christ according to 1 Corinthians 1.30. But in Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. What better place could we be than to be standing in Christ? How much more complete can we be when we are in Christ? Christ will present us to his father as blameless. Colossians 1.22 tells us, in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be considered to be perfect. I am just an undeserving sinner and certainly not holy or perfect by any means. How can this be? Let's turn to Romans and look at chapter 5. and we'll look at verses 19 and 20. It tells us here, for by one man's disobedience, that is Adam's, many were made sinners, so that by the obedience of one, that's Christ, shall many be made religious. Moreover, the law entered that the offenses might abound, but where sin abound, grace did much more abound. We're all sinful thanks to Adam's disobedience. But no matter how great our sins are, God's grace is much greater. It will destroy all of our sins. But this does not mean that we can go out and do sinful things. Wayne preaches about that all the time, that we are not free to go out and, you know, do whatever we want. We are restrained. made to feel, I don't know if guilt would be the right word to put right there or not, but we are restrained from guilt. We feel bad when we do sin, but no matter what our sins, we are still forgiven. The Holy Spirit works in us to restrain us from that.

We are still a sinful creature. We will never be sinless until we get to heaven. Only then will we be completely sinless when we have been washed in the blood of Christ and stand in him. Christ's perfect obedience is our righteousness. Christ became a man and sacrificed himself on the cross for his people.

Turn to Philippians 1. And we will look at verses 7 and 8. tells us, but made himself, that's Christ that's talking, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. And being formed in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. If Christ had not been obedient, then we would have no salvation for anyone. Christ had to do it because we cannot do it ourselves. It is of Christ and Him alone.

Christ's sacrifice for our sins is our atonement. In Hebrews 2.17 tells us, Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Now that's not all people, that's His people. Christ became a man, but was still God at the same time. So He could have mercy and grace on His chosen people. He does not have mercy and grace on everyone, as some people want you to believe.

We have seen the billboards along the highways that say, God loves you. Well, they kind of take that out of context. They imply that God loves everyone in the world. I tried to find a verse in the Concordance, Strong's Concordance, but it does not say that anyplace, that God loves everybody. I may have overlooked it, but I did not see it. I did see in Romans, in Romans 9, verse 15 and 16. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. This clearly tells me that God does not love everybody, everyone in the world. It says, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. So that definitely implies that he does not love everyone.

God has a chosen people and he'll have mercy and compassion on them. Ephesians 1-4 tells us, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. We were a chosen child of God before the foundation of the world, before we were even born. His words are our salvation, or our instruction. 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The Bible should be our God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22, 37, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Then in verse 39 it goes on, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. These two verses are just examples of instructions. But I don't want to get into how to live. That's not why we're here. Wayne and I both are here to preach Christ and Him crucified. That is the message every week that Wayne preaches, so don't want to get into the instructions. Some churches preach about holy living and stuff like that, but we preach Christ and Him crucified, and that's our job.

His power is our protection. 1 Peter 1.5 says, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. There is nothing more powerful than God himself. How could we need any more protection than that of an all-powerful God?

His blood sacrifice is our justification. Romans 5-9 tells us, much more than being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. The blood of Christ is our complete justification. There is nothing for us to add to that. Christ did it all. It is a complete justification.

His grace is our salvation. In Romans 3-24, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that grace is given to us. We do not earn it by our good works. Our works are not good in any way in the eyes of the Lord. Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9, for by grace are ye saved. through faith, and not that of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. The grace of God is a complete grace. Without grace, there is no salvation. There is nothing that we can add to or that we can even take away from the salvation and the grace that God has given us.

His eternal love is our security. Let's turn to Romans 8, and we'll be looking at verses 32 to 39. Starting in verse 32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that commandeth, condemnedth rather? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again. Who is at the right hand of God? Who also maketh intercessions for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, or phantom, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all things we are more conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. nor heights, nor depths, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We have complete security when we are in Christ. Nothing will separate us from that complete love and security we have in Christ.

I remember when I was a kid, we used to sing a song in church. I don't know if it was Jesus or God has the whole world in His hand. I can't remember which was. But, you know, if you're in God's hand or Christ's hand, who can take us out of it? You know, there's nothing that we can, we can't run away from it. We can't fall out of His hand or anything like that. God's got us and He's definitely gonna keep us.

His everlasting mercy is our hope. Laminations 3, verses 22 and 26 tells us about the Lord's mercy. and hope. It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him. To the soul that seeketh Him, it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait, for the salvation of the Lord.

The Lord's complete mercy is our only hope for salvation, and that's the only thing that we actually need. Without His mercy, we have no hope, but because He does have grace and mercy on us, we have complete salvation. His fullness is our completeness.

John 1 16 tells us about the fullness of Christ, and His fullness have all all we received and grace for grace. Christ does not give us a little taste of grace and let us go. He gives it all to us. So we are filled by the grace of our Lord. Christ is full of grace and at the same time, He completely fills us with His grace. His grace is unlimited.

His immutability is our salvation's strength. Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Christ will never change His mind about our salvation. He will -- if you are a child of God, He will never leave you.

People talk about how some people will lose their religion. When that happens, they probably just never had it -- they never had it to start with. It is not possible to lose your religion when you are a chosen child of His.

Malachi 3 verse 6 says, So He does not change His mind about giving us grace and then taking it back away from us or our salvation. Our salvation is secure in Christ. Our salvation is strong because it is complete in Christ, because He will never, ever change.

Our names were put in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world, and as a result, Christ knew who His children would be. And if your name is in that book, you know, you're one of His. There's no doubt about that He's going to be with you forever and take us to heaven.

His resurrection is the guarantee of our final glory. Christ tells us in Revelation 1, 18, I am He that liveth. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. So He is alive forever. There is no beginning and there is no end of God. Christ is declaring in this verse that He is alive even though He was crucified on the cross. Not only is He alive, but telling us that He will be alive forever.

Then in Romans 4, verse 25, Paul writes, who was delivered for our offenses? Who was raised again for our justification? His resurrection guarantees our salvation. Christ had to go to the cross to die and to be resurrected to pay for the sins of His chosen people. No other sacrifice was acceptable in the eyes of God.

The blood of goats, calves, or lambs was not sufficient to wash away our sins. Hebrews 9, 12 says, neither the blood of goats and calves, but His own blood, that is the blood of Christ, as He entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Christ died and was resurrected for our sins. It guaranteed our salvation. Christ did not have any sins of His own, so He wasn't going for His own sins, but for sins of His own people.

His intercession is the assurance of all our deliverance from sin. First John. Chapter 2 verse 1 tells us, My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Christ himself will intercede on our behalf to the Holy Father. What more could we ask for to be pardoned of our sins by Christ himself? I can't imagine what that's going to be like, but it will happen for us. What could possibly - we possibly want then to be - want when all the Godhead is engaged to make the believer complete in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8, verses 29 and 30, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, when he also called, and whom he called, he also justified, and whom he justified, he also glorified." So that shows us that Christ did everything. We have nothing to add to it or take away. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot justify ourselves, we can't say we accept God or Jesus, you know, like some of the churches, they want to have you go up and say a prayer, and then they think you're saved. But that's not the way it works. If Christ foreknew, predestined, conformed, called, justified, and glorified His chosen people, what would we need to do to help Christ with our salvation? Christ does not need our help. Nothing, because we have complete salvation in Christ. He did it all.

In Jude verse 24 it tells us, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Not only does Christ present us, but it brings him great joy to do so. He presents us in himself to God and we are perfect when we stand in Christ. If we're outside of Christ, we're not perfect and we have no salvation. When we are found in Christ, we have an eternal union with him. We have all things and all spiritual blessings in Christ. We are complete in Christ.

I will finish with this, turn to Ephesians chapter one. Let's read verses three to seven to sum up. Ephesians is one of my favorite books because it just is so directly, you know, it doesn't beat around the bush as such. It just tells it like it is. Blessed be the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. So right there it just tells us that he's given us everything according as he hath chosen us before the foundation of the world. He chose us, we did not choose him. that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." And I can't imagine what it'd be like to be considered holy. I'm definitely not a holy person, but we will be when we're in Christ.

Having predestinated us onto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, that's His will, not our will, to the praise and the glory of His grace, again, His grace, not anything we can do, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved. We cannot do anything to be acceptable in the eyes of God or Christ, in whom we have redemption through His blood. That's complete redemption. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. It's all of Him. It's His grace and His mercy. There's nothing else that we can add to the