If you'd like to follow along
I'm gonna be in Colossians chapter 2 Colossians chapter 2 and I
want to begin reading in verse 9 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. I'm gonna stop right there, because
that's more than I could ever possibly preach. Because this is a magnificent
passage of scripture. I mean, this is just plum wonderful.
Paul the Apostle wrote this under the inspiration of the Spirit
of God. And these are the words of God
concerning our Lord, his Son, Jesus Christ. God's Son. But now, I didn't read it, but
I'm gonna talk about it because where Paul started on this, he
was, before this, warning us. He was warning us to look out
for, watch out for, those with enticing words who speak according
to philosophy and vain deceit. Because there are those out there
that are not for Christ. And that's just as plain as I
can be. They're against him. They're against Christ. Now they
may speak well, It says enticing words. Oh, and vain deceit. You know, not just deceit, vain
deceit. They think they can convince
you that they're right. And sometimes they even know
they're wrong. Sometimes they're sincerely wrong.
It doesn't change the fact that they're wrong, but sometimes
they're sincere. Sometimes they're not. Sometimes
they're not, it's vain deceit at times. I mean, they may speak
well, and they may even compliment Jesus. Say nice things, oh, he
was the greatest teacher that ever lived, that ever walked
this planet. But here's the thing, what they
teach, and what Paul tells us, is after the traditions of men,
and after the ways of the world. And then he adds it in, and not
after Christ. Because you understand, the ways
of Christ are not after the traditions of man. The ways of Christ are
not the ways of the world. Not at all. Now they may use
words, oh, like grace, faith, and redemption. But they don't
mean what this book says about grace, about faith, or about
redemption. They don't speak after Christ.
These men do not speak, teach, or believe in the Jesus Christ
of the Bible. That's what Paul's warning us
about. He told us, Christ himself told the disciples, and in turn
told us at the same time. He that is not with me is against
me. Don't be carried away with the
enticing words of men. There are men around who speak
far more eloquently than I can. There are smarter men out there
who can speak far more intelligently than I can. But what Walter and I try to
do is preach just the pure word of God. What the Bible actually
says. Now I know a lot of people say
that. But they don't preach this Christ. They don't preach to
Christ. See, this is where Paul starts,
because he doesn't really tell us what their vain, enticing
words are, what their vain deceit is. He doesn't tell us. He tells
us it's after the traditions of men, and it's after, what,
the ways of the world. What's the first thing he says
after he gets done? For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. So I, you know, I have this thought
in my head. That's what they were preaching
against. They were, in some way, shape or form, denying the deity
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason I think that is
because that's exactly what men are doing today. Oh, they don't think they are.
They don't think they are. but they are. If you deny, and there were those,
the Gnostics among them, what is it? I remember it now. German higher criticism. They
preached that Jesus was here in spirit. Paul says bodily. I don't know that. Paul says he's
still bodily. That's what people wanna stay
away from. That's what people don't wanna
deal with. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh. In the flesh. He was manifested
bodily. And in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Verse eight tells us who in him
is, it's Christ. Because that's where Paul left
off. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudence of the
world, and not after Christ in him. In Christ dwells. I looked at that word dwells.
And you know what it says in there in Strong's Concordance?
I like this. It says housed permanently. That's what that word means,
dwells. I mean, it's alive, abide. He lives. Jesus Christ lives. But here he is. He has housed
himself permanently in a body. Earl said it. I remember the
first time I'd ever heard anybody say it. I'm gonna say the first
time I ever heard anybody say it. The first time I ever heard
anybody say it. There's a man sitting on the right hand of
the Father right now. There's a man in heaven. Yes, he's the
God man. Yes, all the fullness of the
Godhead is in him bodily. He's got a body. This was a new
thing. This was not something anybody
saw coming that was there at the time. There's angels standing
beside the disciples. when Jesus ascended, and they
told them this same Jesus, the very same one, who was there
by, touch me, handle me, see, he ate with them. He consumed
food in their presence. He wasn't a spirit raised from
the dead. He was a man still. And when
he ascended, he ascended as a man. As who? As our near kinsman.
And he was accepted of the Father. The Father sat him down at his
right hand, expecting that his enemies be made his footstool.
He dwells, he dwells housed permanently in his body. And he said, this
same Jesus, whom ye seen go, He's gonna come back. Guess what? He's coming back in like manner
as you've seen him go. How'd they see him go? Well,
they see him go up under his own power. He's coming back under
his own power too. But this is the thing I'm talking
about here. They saw him go bodily. Guess what? He's coming back
in a body. He's coming back in a body in
whom all the fullness of the Godhead resides. Oh, I like that. He dwells, he abides. He's the
same yesterday, today, and forever. And right now in him is the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. I and my Father are one. I am one. The Father, the Son,
and the Spirit, these three are one. You understand? You can't get
any more God than Jesus Christ. And in Jesus Christ, you're not
having any less of God. There's a lot of people who wanna
go that way. Well, there's God the Father, then there's Jesus,
and then there's the Holy Spirit, who has to slum around here with
us. No, they're the same. They're separate, and they're
the same. They are one. Jesus Christ is right now and
forever the fullness of the Godhead bodily bodily Jesus Christ is
God completely and totally And I said it he's not spirit
he's not a spirit he has a body and he ascended bodily and This is a thing that I don't
know that people get, but I don't even know if they even think
about it. Jesus Christ is still flesh. He's still flesh. He came to this earth. Yes, he
humbled himself. But yes, he also took on the
form of a servant. He became man. He gave himself for our sins. He became our near kinsman who
had both capabilities. He was able to redeem and he
was willing to redeem. Yes, he gave himself for our
sins. Yes, he rose from the dead. Yes, he was fully God. And yes,
he is fully God. And he's coming again. And he's
coming again as a man, but he's gonna have written on his vesture
and on his thigh, King of kings and Lord of lords. I like that. Jesus Christ is
a fullness of God made known in the flesh, manifest in the
flesh. Then Paul says these six words,
which I think are some of the six best words in the world combined
together. And ye are complete in him. That's the title, Paul. Ye are
complete in him. And ye are complete in him. Now who's the ye? You wanna know
who he's talking to, who he's writing to? Well, this letter
in Colossians 1 and 1 was addressed from Paul and Timothy. Verse
two, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are
at Colossae. That's still me, Mason. That's
still you. You understand, if this letter's
good enough for the saints and the faithful brethren at Colossae,
it's good enough for the saints and faithful brethren today.
Wherever they are. Because this is the word of God.
And what did it say in verse four? Since we heard of your
faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which ye have to all the
saints. That's the commandments of Christ.
You believe Christ and you love the brethren. That's it. You
see, Paul wrote this letter to believers. At Colossae at the
time, but guess what, that's still us. That's still us. Ye are complete. What's that
mean? It means believers are complete
in him, in him. Believers are complete in him.
And I looked at this word complete, that was another word I looked
at. And I'm gonna tell you, I like this. I never knew this, I never
looked at it before. But it means complete. It means finished. You're finished in him. Now you're
not finished done for, you're finished he's done with you.
As far as on this world goes. You are finished in him. You
are what? He hath made us meet. He has made us fit. But here's
the word I like. Believers are literally, this
is what the word means, crammed. Crammed full. You are crammed
full in him. Now I like that thought. He got
as much in you as you could take. Actually, there's more in you
than you can take. There's more in you than you actually know. I like that. And ye are crammed
full in him. I like that, I do. You understand,
because one of these days, one of these days, we're gonna face
a holy God. We're gonna face a holy God.
We're gonna face a righteous God. We're gonna face a just
God. We're gonna face the God who
says that the plowing of the wicked is sin. Ain't nothing
wrong with plowing, but there's something wrong with the plowing
of the wicked. This is the whole point, you know? We're gonna face a God who is
absolutely just, absolutely holy, and absolutely angry with the
wicked every day. We're gonna face the God, the
God, the one true God, who will not at all acquit the wicked. Now how you gonna stand in that
day? How you gonna stand in that day? Well you better be crammed
full of Christ. You better be complete in Him
or you ain't got nothing. Because I'm gonna tell you something,
your good works aren't gonna work for you. Paul doesn't start
with any good works in this passage. He doesn't finish with them either.
He starts with all the fullness of the Godhead bodily is in him,
and you're complete in him. Guess what, it's the same him.
You are complete in Christ. There's only one way You can
stand before a just and holy and righteous God, and that's
these six words. And ye are complete in him. Any son, any son. You understand, the only man
that God acknowledges, the only man that God approves of, the
only man who is well-pleasing, was his son. And if you're not
in him, you're nowhere. You're nowhere. He will not acquit the guilty. But if you're complete in him,
you're not guilty. You're not guilty. Understand? The plowing of the wicked is
sin. But you're not wicked. If you're complete in Him, He
has forgiven all of your trespasses. The Son took upon all of our
sins and all of our guilt and nailed them to the tree. That's
what it says here. Nailed them to the tree. We are
complete in Him. Then it says this. It tells you
who Him is. Who is the head of all principality
and power. Now I know it says which, but
it's who. You can say which, it's the Christ.
You can say who, it's Jesus Christ. It's Christ Jesus the Lord, it's
the Son of God, that's who he's talking about. He is the head
of all, all principality and power. He's in charge. Jesus Christ is in control. Jesus
Christ is sovereign over all principality and power. He's
the head. What the head says is what the body does. Now in my case, it's what my
body's capable of. That's not his problem. What
he says happens. His word is law. His word is
action. His thoughts are deeds. You understand, if Jesus Christ
thinks it, it's happened. We may not know it, we certainly
half the time don't understand it. But you don't understand,
I trust him. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? The judge of the earth is Jesus
Christ, and yes, everything he has done, is doing, and shall
do is right. In him dwelleth all the fullness. of the Godhead bodily. What? All the fullness of love, all
the fullness of power, all the fullness of righteousness, all
the fullness of holiness. Everything is in Christ. He's
the head of all principality and power. All determinations,
all the orders come from the head. But it says principality,
and that says chief, top, Top rank, number one. And it says
powers, that means above human. He's talking about above human.
Potentates. Actually, in Strong's Concordance,
it used the word superhuman. He's above it all. Because there
are powers greater than us. Let's not even be crazy and think
about it. A lot of people like to think
we're it, we're the apex. No, no, we're not. We're a fallen
apex at best, but we're not even the apex. There are principalities
and powers far above what we are. But here's the thing, no
one is above Jesus Christ. You understand? No one is above
Jesus Christ. He's far above all powers and
principalities. I hear stupid preachers. I don't
know what else to call them, okay? Satan and God are battling. No, they're not. No, they're
not. You understand? He's above everyone and everything. As a matter of fact, by him,
everything and everyone consists. And their bosses. He's above
the principalities and powers. There is no giant struggle between
Satan and God. God's already won. I got the end right here in this
book, folks. He's declared the end and then
declared it from the beginning. And then he had people write
it down, at least what we could handle. Well, part of what we
could handle. He's above it all. And guess
what? and ye are complete in him. That's the him. You understand? This is what Paul's trying to
tell us here. All the fullness of the Godhead bodily is in him.
All principalities and powers are under him. And some of them
are his enemies and they're gonna be under his feet. When he sat
down on the right hand of the majesty on high, what did he
say? Expecting his enemies to be made his footstool. You understand,
that means he's gonna put his feet onto them. And they're gonna
be under his foot. Nobody moves unless Christ says
so. And sometimes he tells you you'll
never move again. You understand? Everything and everyone was made
by him. But not only that. for him, for
him. The only reason Satan exists
is that Jesus Christ has a use for him right now. That's what
boggles my mind. People don't understand, they
don't understand the sovereignty of God. But the reason they don't
understand the sovereignty of God is they don't understand
God at all. If you know who God is, you're
gonna know he's sovereign. He'll show it to you. He'll show
it to you. You read his scriptures. Guess
what? All things work together for good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to his purpose. How is that possible
if he's not sovereign? Even my idiot mistakes are for
my good. That doesn't make him any less
idiotic. That don't make him any smarter. It doesn't make
me any smarter. That just makes him in control. And he knows exactly what's going
on, where it's going on, and when it's going on. He is the
head of all principality and power. And you understand, this
is a funny thing, he uses those exact same words where it says,
You are completing him which is the head of all principality
and power. Look at verse 15, I read it. And having spoiled,
what? Principalities and powers. Guess
what? Those are the exact same words.
That's why they're translated the exact same way in here, in
English. Those are the exact same words.
Christ spoiled principalities and powers. What's that mean?
That means he whipped them. That's what it means. And he
whipped them openly. Openly, openly. He took them
behind the woodshed. He schooled them and their boss. Because you understand, the seed
of the woman at the cross bruised the head of the serpent. And
I think I've told you all this before and I'll tell you again,
I'm sure. And I'm gonna do it anyhow right now. Staten's still
kicking around, but his head's still bruised. And I am reminded
very, very, very clearly of the story of David and Goliath. When
you understand, David swung that stone through it with a sling,
it hit Goliath right here in the head. And the stone embedded
in his forehead. You understand, you know what's
behind here is bone. You know? Luckily, mine's pretty
thick because I banged it against some things in my time. But here's
the thing, that stone was embedded in his head and it said David
slew Goliath with a stone. And that's what it says. David
slew Goliath with a stone. Then it says David picked up
Goliath's sword and cut his head off. And then it says David slew
Goliath with his sword. He killed him twice. Guess what? That's what's gonna happen to
Satan. Satan's bruised. But his head's gonna be cut off
one day. There's a lake of fire in his future. I've read the
end of the book, folks. I know what it says. He's over
all principalities and power. And he did spoil them. He spoiled
them. And he showed them that he is
the head of all principality and power. and ye are complete
in him. In this one, in this one. Oh
man, I like that. 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. Man,
I like that verse. See, not only are we circumcised
in heart, Paul says it earlier, I'll get to it. By Christ, we
are circumcised in the heart. But here it says, we are circumcised
in Christ. In Christ. In whom also ye are
circumcised. with a circumcision made without
hands. Believers are sealed and set
apart by Christ in Christ. I like that. What's that mean? That means and ye are complete
in him. Circumcision of the flesh was
an ordinance. It was an ordinance, but it was
just a shadow. of circumcision of the heart.
And even before it was an ordinance, Abraham was circumcised. Paul
had heard all about somebody being uncircumcised in heart
and ears. Paul heard that when Stephen
was being stoned. He was there. I was consenting unto the death
of Stephen. And Stephen said it toward the
end of his sermon, you're just like your fathers. uncircumcised
in heart and ears and what happens? You do always resist the Holy
Ghost. As your fathers did, so do you.
Paul knew that. But here, the saints and faithful
brethren in Christ Jesus have been circumcised with a circumcision
made without hands. Not talking about the fleshly
circumcision. Not the fleshly circumcision. Paul is writing
here of the new heart. The new man. He's writing of
Christ in you, the hope of glory. He's writing here of being born
from above, born of God, being given seeing eyes, hearing ears,
and a heart that can believe. Not only that, a heart that does
believe. Because if you've got this circumcision,
the circumcision made without hands, guess what? You do not
always resist the Holy Ghost. That's the difference. That's
the difference. And you are completed him. You
are completed him. Romans 2 and 29, Paul wrote this,
but he is a Jew which is one inwardly. And circumcision is
that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, not in
the law. Whose praise is not of men, but
of God. Philippians 3 and 3 says this,
for we are the circumcision. The circumcision made without
hands. which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ
Jesus. And have no confidence in the
flesh. Can't leave that off. There are those who have confidence
in their flesh. There are those who have confidence
in their works. There are those who have confidence
in their thoughts. You know, I'm not as dumb as he is. You
may not be. But that ain't got nothing to
do with nothing. The question is, are you completing him? In
this one right here, the one who practices, the one who does
the circumcision without hands. What's that mean? It's got nothing
to do with man. The circumcision of the heart
and ears has absolutely nothing to do with man, it's the circumcision
without hands. And ye are complete in him. God, I like that. It says putting
off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
You understand? The circumcision made without
hands worships God in spirit, The circumcision made without
hand rejoices in Christ Jesus, and the circumcision made without
hands has no confidence in the flesh. What's it say? Putting off the body of sins
of the flesh. Let's be clear. Paul's not saying
we are putting off the body of sins. We're not. We're not putting
them off by our works, we're not putting them off by our deeds,
we're not putting them off by our righteousnesses, we're not
putting them off by our willpower. Paul's not writing, and stop
me if you've heard this before, no don't, but Paul's not writing
what some people say, I'm baptized by the Holy Ghost and I live
above sin. Okay, if you've ever heard that,
I'm gonna tell you this, you've heard a lie. That's all that
is, okay folks? If you've ever said that, you're
lying. Because it ain't so. That's why
Paul didn't say it, because it's not so. It's a lie. Anyone who
ever tells you they are above sin or don't sin is lying to
you. Now, whether they know it or
not, they're lying. At best, they're deceived, and
they don't know that they're lying. At worst, they're lying
to gain an advantage over you. But here, there's only one reason
why someone would say something that heinous, that bad. And I'm not gonna tell you that
it's because they don't know Christ, because it is possible they don't
know Christ if they say stuff like that. But here's the thing.
Henry Mahan pointed this out in a sermon the other day, so
I'm gonna share it with you. Because if you think you don't
sin, the problem is you don't understand sin. You don't understand sin at all.
Because sin is not what I do, it's what I am. And just, there
is a new man in me, but that don't mean the old man's gone
anywhere. And in my body, there's a war going on. And you know
what? That very war is a sin. To fight against the spirit of
God in me, that's a sin. To struggle with my unruly tongue,
to have to struggle with my unruly tongue, that's a sin. To not
love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, every day,
every moment of the day, that's a multitude of sins. I'm above
sin. No, the only one above sin is
Him, who's above all principality and powers. And here's the thing,
are you complete in Him? In Him. Christ Jesus, He put off the
body of sins in me. What does it say? I mean, what
does it say? In putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ. What's circumcision? That's circumcision made without
hands. He gave me life when all I knew
before was death. He lives in every single one
of his people. That he has circumcised without
hands. The Holy, no you're not, that
the Holy Spirit lives in you, right? He's called the Holy Spirit. He's called the Holy Ghost. He's
also called the Spirit of God. And there's one more. He's also
called the Spirit of Christ. You know, that's what it is.
That's what he is, Christ in you, the hope of glory. by the circumcision of Christ
has come the putting off the body of sins of the flesh. And no other way, no other way. He's above all principalities
and powers. He's above the power of sin in
you. And here's the thing though,
I am complete in him. I am crammed full. I am finished
in him. God doesn't see me. God looks
at me, God looks at you. If you believe Christ, if you
believe Christ, God will look at you and see his son. And you
are complete in him. You are complete in him. Because in him, you have no sin
by the circumcision of Christ. No sin. And guess what? Paul also wrote, quoting, blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Ah, I like that, I do. That's
one of my favorites. Because you know, the man to
whom God will not impute sin is one that is complete in him. If you're complete, you don't
need anything or anyone else. Now, why are you coming here? Because I want to. I want to
hear about the one who completed me. I wanna learn about the one
who circumcised me without hands. I wanna know of the one above
all principalities and powers. Just because I'm complete in
him don't mean I'm complete here. Grow in the grace and the knowledge
of what? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And I'm not talking about progressive sanctification by any shape,
because you're complete in him from the first moment you believe
to the first. There's no more to the completion other than
being circumcised without hands. You're complete. Now grow. You ain't gonna get no bigger,
but you might get a little smarter. And you might not get a little
smarter, but you might just at least be a little more knowledgeable
of the one in whom you are complete. Do you wanna know him? That's
a good sign you are complete. Do you wanna gather with his
people? That's a good sign you're complete in him. If you wanna
sit off in a corner all by yourself and pout and whine and whatever,
you might be complete in him, you might not. I got no idea. And it's not up to me. But I
wanna be with the people of God. And what's it say? Saints and
brethren, when I heard of your faith in Jesus Christ, and what?
Your love of all the saints. Believe Christ and love one another. Why? Because you are complete
in him. Our Heavenly Father, I'm thankful
again for this time and this place. Lord, you have given us
so much. You have given us completeness
in your Son. You have given us grace and mercy
and love that we didn't deserve, none of it. Thank you, Lord. Be with Walter as he comes to
speak here, to praise your holy name. We want to do that, in
Christ's name we pray.