If you would, please turn to
Colossians chapter two. I'm gonna read beginning in verse
nine again. 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, in whom also ye are
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, and putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ. Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. and you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. Man, that's a blessed passage
of Scripture. I'm gonna start today in verse
12, but first things first. I told you last week that Paul
was warning us about those who lie about God. because lying
about Christ is lying about God. In him is all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily. He doesn't go into specifics
of how they're trying to beguile you with enticing words or what
they're trying to beguile you to, but this is where he starts. That in him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. So like I said last week, I'm
still confident They were denying the deity of Christ. Either directly or indirectly. You understand, they can say,
this is the beauty of the way religion is and the way religion
still is today. They can say that God has all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, he's sovereign, and you better
do something. You understand? They'll say,
salvation is of the Lord, but you better work. You better come
to the front of the church and kneel and make a prayer. You
better do something. You understand? Paul says it
right here boldly and clearly, and ye are complete in him. So the question is, are you complete
in him or are you not? Now I'm not talking about what
Paul read afterwards. What Paul read this morning,
excuse me, where Peter's talking about you're gonna have some
fruit. You know why you're gonna have
some fruit? You know why you're gonna be profitable? Because
you're complete in him. That's what happens after. And
that's not what Paul's writing about here. He goes on to tell
you about the walk later. But that's not what he's dealing
with here. They'll try to spoil you with philosophy and vain
deceit after the rudiments of the world, the traditions of
men, and not after Christ. Matter of fact, Peter wrote in
2 Peter, chapter three, about false teachers among you. What? Bringing in damnable heresies. They with feigned words want
to make merchandise of you. Why? Because of covetousness. Greed. Wanting. Because if somebody's begging
you for money, those are feigned words. You understand? Those are feigned words. I'm
not against money. If you want to give something,
If you wanna send this church, this chapel, this ministry money,
we will take it and thank God for it. It's the love of money
that's the root of all evil. And there are people who would
make merchandise of you and take you for everything you have.
They're false teachers. I'll never tell you that if you
give to this assembly, God will bless you monetarily. Because
he might and he might not. That's up to him. You understand,
that's up to him. But Paul starts warning us here
directly of them speaking against the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ
by confidently and completely assessing Proclaiming it that
in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and You
are complete in him who is the head of all? principality and
power That's the one in whom ye are complete The one with
all power the one with who's over everything Then he begins
to tell us what he has done for us. In verse 12, it starts with
this. Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. Buried with him in
baptism. We are to publicly identify with
our Lord in baptism. In baptism, we are proclaiming
and affirming that we believe in his life, his death, and his
resurrection. We say, period, this is our Lord. This Christ, who lived and died
and rose again and ascended into heaven, that's the Lord we believe. Romans 6.3, Paul wrote this.
Know ye not that so many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ,
were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so should we
walk in newness of life. And then that other faithful
saying, 2 Timothy 2 and 11 says this. It's a faithful saying. It's a faithful saying. For if
we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. Because not only are we identifying
and confessing him, we are saying by baptism, it is he that has
saved us and not we ourselves. The only life we have, the only
way we can be complete is if he lived and died and rose again
and ascended. That's it. That's what this whole
book was about. The Old Testament was coming,
he was coming, he was coming, he was coming, it told us how
he was coming. Born of a virgin, made of the
flesh. Then it says he was here and
what he did and now we're looking for him to come again. Now let's be clear, kind of have
to do this, baptism doesn't save us. And the lack of baptism doesn't
damn us. The thief on the cross proves
that. That man had no chance, but he publicly confessed the
Lord Jesus Christ right there on that cross. And Jesus told
him, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise. I got no reason
to doubt any of that. Matter of fact, I believe it
with all my heart. So why be baptized? Christ said
to. The apostles said to. Repent
and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't make, and I can understand,
Somewhat, because I'm a little, because of my background, a little prickly about baptism at times. Because I was sprinkled as an
infant, and I know there are people all around that still
do that. That's not baptism. That's not even, Walter, you
can call it christening. But I'm gonna tell you something,
it's of absolutely no value whatsoever. The Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip,
what does hinder me from being baptized? And Philip answered
him, there's an answer in the scripture. There's an answer
in the scripture, and that answer is, you can if thou believest. We refer to it as believer's
baptism for that reason. Baptism does not put away the
filth of the flesh, 1 Peter tells us that. Period. What we have here in
verse 11. In whom also ye are circumcised
with a circumcision made without hands in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. But Christ said be baptized. Here's the question I want to
ask. Why would anyone refuse to be baptized in the name of
the one who circumcised your heart and ears. There's no reason,
no reason, no reason. And he did it without hands.
The circumcision without hands. And besides that, Jesus Christ
said this. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
him I will confess before my father which is in heaven. But,
whosoever shall deny me before men. Him will I also deny before my
Father, which is in heaven. Then what does he say right after
that? Think not I come to bring peace. I came not to send peace, but
a sword, a sword. But what's Paul telling us? and
ye are complete in him. Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God. Buried with him in baptism, wherein
ye are risen with him. Now Paul doesn't say this is
through your choice, because that's not what he's talking
about. Through your decision for him, through your coming
to him, through your own free will, What's it say? You're risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God Here's the point We are risen
with Christ And we are risen with Christ when he is arose
When Christ rose from the dead so did his people So did his
people and now the son quickens whom he will we'll get to that
in the next verse But who does he quicken He quickens all those
who were raised with him by God's work by the operation of God,
buried with him in baptism, where also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God who raised him from the dead. Faith is the operation of God. You know what? People ask, what
about our believing? I believe. Yes, we do. Yes, we
do, but our believing is of the operation of God. It sounds an awful lot like,
let me turn back there, Ephesians 1 and 19. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to usward, toward us, who believe? Who believe according to the
working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when
He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right
hand in the heavenly places, and where's that? Far above all
principality and power and might and dominion and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come, and hath put all things under His feet and gave him to
be the head over all things to the church, which is his body,
which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. That sounds a lot like Colossians
chapter two. What do we have? All the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, you're complete in him and he's the
head of all principality and power. My goodness Ye are risen together
with him by the operation of God And ye are complete in him
in him And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together
with him having forgiven you all trespasses, verse 13. You
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh. Paul never sugarcoats anything.
He's such a sweet talker. The scripture never uses enticing
words when describing the state of man. You were dead. That's what he
said. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, that's where every single
one of us were. And you are completed him now. Everyone that was or excuse me
everyone that is alive in Christ today was dead So what's that mean about those
that are not in Christ today? That means they're still dead
In their sins and in the uncircumcision of their flesh in the uncircumcision
of their heart and their ears You were dead in your own sins
and and in your own uncircumcised heart. Then he says this, hath he quickened
together with him. Understand, there is a sense,
there's a sense in which we were made alive when Christ rose from
the dead. We were made alive before we
were born. There's a sense. What do I mean? Well, when Christ rose from the
dead and ascended and was accepted by God, we were reconciled to
God. God accepted us in Christ, right
then and right there, complete. And as far as God is concerned,
we were alive in Christ at that time. I thought about this. The Old
Testament high priest. All of the high priest garments
for the day of atonement were all special. Everything was.
But in particular, what I thought of was you had the breastplate
that went over the ephod. And in that breastplate was 12
stones. And on those 12 stones were the
names of the children of Israel, according to the 12 tribes. But
not only that, he had on his shoulder a couple of onyx stones
that had the names of the children of Israel on his shoulders. And when that high priest, Aaron
at first, and all the others, when he would go in to what they
called the Holy of Holies, he went before the presence of the
Lord at the mercy seat to sprinkle that blood. Right there on his
heart was the names of the 12 tribes. Right here on his shoulders,
both shoulders, were the names of the 12 tribes. They were the
names of the congregation of Israel. He carried before him
as representative for those people, the people of God. And guess
what? The beautiful thing about this,
I got the thing, it hit me. You know, when he came out, after
he made that sacrifice, after he sprinkled that blood on that,
and it was accepted, and he came out, guess what? He still had
those 12 names on his heart. And he still had those 12 names
on his shoulders. And I thought, my gosh, that's
glorious. On that breastplate, those 12,
Jesus Christ carries us in his heart and on his shoulders today. Today, what's that mean? And
ye are complete in him. It's not you were, although you
were. You are, present tense, right now in his heart. and on his shoulders he is carrying
us in love and in his strength. You can't get any more complete
than that, than to be in him. We live because he lives. We live in him. His people are in his heart and
upon his shoulders and he carries us everywhere he goes. You understand? Him seated at
the right hand of the father, seated at the right hand of the
majesty on high, he carries all of us in his heart. And he's
carrying all of us on his shoulders. He is the true, the one true
high priest. While we were yet without strength,
Christ died for the ungodly. But God commends his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And when he died, he had all
of us in his heart and on his shoulders. And he took all of
our sins in his own body on the tree, what, and nailed it to
the cross. Nail it to the cross. And ye
are complete in him. Having forgiven you all trespasses. You are forgiven because he carried
you and he carries you. You are forgiven because he bore
your sins and trespasses in his body on the tree. You are forgiven. only by the operation of God. You are forgiven because you
are a part of his body now, and he is your head, and ye are complete
in him. This is blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us. and
took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. This is the
actual verse that caught my attention at first, when I first started
looking at this. I read it in a bulletin, somebody
had quoted it, and I got to thinking about it. Because it's that age-old
question. What about the law, Walter? What
about the law? Well, the handwriting of ordinances
were blotted out. Blotted out. You know what that
means? Smeared out. Obliterated is the
word. I like that. By his shed blood
on the cross. Christ's death accomplished it. He did it. He didn't try to blot
out the handwriting of ordinances. These ordinances, blotting out
the handwriting of the ordinances against us was done, nailing
it to his cross. I wasn't even born yet, but he
did that for me. You weren't even born yet, but
he did that for you if you are in him, if you believe him. But I liked what it said. It
says, the blotting out, the handwriting, the ordinances, that was against
us, which was contrary to us. That's the thing. The law was
against us. Why? Well, there's no fault in
the law, folks. It must be us. It's us. The law is holy and the commandment
holy and just and good. And we are not. We're not. So what do these ordinances
have against me? Well, you break them every day.
Still. And I looked at that word, it
says they are contrary to us. Which was contrary to us? You
understand, the law isn't contrary, it was contrary to us. To us. See, there's the problem, it's
us. It's always us when you're talking
about the problem. But here's the thing. What that
word means is the law was opposite to us. It's opposite. You understand? The law is what? Holy. The commandment is holy
and just and good and we are not. But in him ye are complete. Understand? The law would still
be contrary to us if Christ hadn't nailed it to his cross. And here's the thing, the law
still hasn't gone anywhere. It's still there. It's still
holy and just and good. But not toward me. I'm not boasting,
folks. The only reason the law leaves
me alone is because Christ said for it to. Christ took it and
nailed it to his cross. He blotted it out against us. Against us. Oh, I like that thought,
I do. Because see, the ordinances are
light and we were darkness. And you, which were sometimes
darkness. And here's the thing, those ordinances,
which were blotted out, right? Those handwritten ordinances
couldn't fix our darkness. Now they're light. They're right,
and we're wrong, but they could not fix our problem. At best, they could show us where
we failed. At best, the law will tell you
that you're guilty before God, because you've broken it. The
law couldn't fix our darkness. The handwriting of ordinances
could never make us light in the Lord. Jesus Christ did. You who were sometimes darkness,
now are ye light in the Lord. Now walk as children of light. Why? Because we are children
of light. Now are ye the sons of God. Why? because you are complete
in him. So walk as the children in light.
Children of light. We are complete in him because
he nailed it to his tree. He nailed it to the tree. And
you understand, he was resurrected. He arose from the dead. But those
ordinances can never be brought again against a child of God. Yes, we sin, but bless God, his
holy name, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute
sin. It doesn't say blessed is the
man who doesn't sin. Because that man was blessed,
and is blessed, and is Christ. He's the only one who never sinned. But it does say, blessed is the
man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Why? Because the Son of God nailed
it to his cross. He gave himself. I talked about this a little
last week. Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. And I'll say it again,
he whipped them. While he was on the tree, he
was bruising Satan's head. And this is the thing. And having
spoiled, past tense. past tense. You understand, Jesus
Christ is not still having to spoil principalities and powers.
He did it. He did it. He bruised Satan's
head. He is the sovereign God of everything. I don't know how to say it any
clearer than that. and he did it openly. This thing wasn't
done in a corner. These principalities and powers
are spoiled, have been spoiled, whether we know it or not. I mentioned it last week. The
way preachers talk about Satan, they think he's almost an equal
to God. That's a lie. That's a bald-faced lie. Satan can't do anything unless
God specifically allows it. Then there's other preachers
that get out there and they talk like they whip Satan every day.
I don't believe that either. He's far above us. The only thing
that protects us is God. You understand? Job had a hedge
about him. And Satan said, I can't touch
him. And he couldn't until God gave him permission. And guess
what? That turned out to be for Job's
good. Everything he went through, Job
learned a lesson. He comes to the end of that,
you look at the end of that book, there's a lot of stuff in there.
But here's the thing, he says, I've heard of thee, talking to
God, I've heard of thee with the hearing of the ear, but now
mine eye seeth thee. Guess what? He got a fuller understanding,
and it says what? I hate myself. I abhor myself. And repent. And repent. It's not enough just to hate
yourself, lots of people hate themselves, but they don't repent.
And they don't repent toward God. They might decide to change
their ways. And they might decide to make
the community a better place to live. And it may be. But here's
the thing. I abhor myself and I repent in
sackcloth and ashes. Why? Because I see you. Mm. God doesn't have to keep spoiling
the principalities and powers. They're spoiled. They're spoiled. He triumphed. He arose, the victor
over death, hell, and the grave. And I don't know what the principalities
and powers thought when he died, but it doesn't matter what they
thought. This is what happened. They may have thought they gained
the great victory for a little bit. I don't know. They may have
seen trouble ahead. I don't know, but here's the
thing, it doesn't matter what they think. He spoiled them,
right then and right there. And he spoiled them openly, because
here's the thing. God always wins. I mean, it's three words, very
simple, but you understand? God always triumphs. That's sort of the definition
of God. He is over all principalities
and powers. His will is being done on the
earth, under the earth, and in the heavens. His will is done. And ye are
complete in him. and this one, because the only
way to be truly saved is to be complete in him. If you know him, if he has brought you to himself,
ye are complete in him. You can rejoice in him, you can
praise his holy name, and you can tell others, whether they
believe it or not, Paul wrote of the deity of Christ
and what God has done for us. So what's the conclusion of this?
What happens now? You're complete in him. Let no
man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of
a holy day or of a new moon or of the Sabbath days. That's verse
16. Which are a shadow of things
to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no man judge you. Now, they
probably will anyway. Let's just be honest, folks.
They probably will anyway, but here's the thing. Don't pay any
heed to what men say about you. You believe Christ. You love
one another. And they can say whatever they
want. Because they will anyway. Let no man judge you. Don't take
it to heart. Don't let anybody spoil the joy
of your salvation. You're complete in Him. You're
complete in Him. Don't let any man depress you. You understand? You can bring
up my sins all day long, and I'll have to agree with them.
Now, I might get mad. because I have a tendency to
do that, especially when I've been caught. But this is the
thing, even when I'm mad, I'm complete in Him. Even when I've
been caught, even when I've not been caught, I'm still complete
in Him. Because you understand, when
it says when you're complete in Him, I told you last week,
crammed full. Understand, here's the thing,
if I'm crammed full in Him, There's no place in me where my righteousnesses
have to do anything. If I'm complete in Him, I don't
have to, I want to walk after God. I want
to walk as the children of life. I want to bear fruit. And sometimes
I think I do. But most times, I have no idea. But I'm complete in Him. even
if my mind goes and I forget. When I'm asleep and unconscious,
Walter, will you go under your surgery? You're complete in him,
no matter what happens. No matter what happens. And I
did like this. It says, Let no man therefore
judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day,
or the new moon, or the Sabbath days, which are a shadow. See, you named five or six things
there, but it says it's one shadow. Because those one things were
the shadow of Christ. It's only a singular shadow,
even though there's many aspects to it in the Old Testament. Let
no man beguile you, he says it again, in verse 18, because you're
complete in Him. Let no enticing words or philosophy
or vain deceit hinder you from holding to the head of the body
Jesus Christ, for ye are complete in Him. Verse 20 says this. Wherefore,
if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why
is through living in the world are ye subject to ordinances,
touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish
with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men? Let no man judge you in meats
and drinks or keeping of holy days. Believe Jesus Christ and
love one another Love the brethren and ye are complete in him Heavenly
Father thankful again this time this place Lord Most of all for
your son You have done all for us You've done wondrous things
to us and there's more yet to come. I Please be with Walter as he comes
to preach your gospel and your wonderful word. Help us to understand
and to believe and to rejoice in Christ Jesus, in whose name
we pray.