[0:00] I'd ask you to take your Bibles and turn to the New Testament book of Colossians. Colossians chapter 2. Our scripture reading this morning, I'll be reading the entire second chapter of Colossians 2.
[0:16] I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in hearts and united in love so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding.
[0:33] In order that they may know the mystery of Christ or mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments.
[0:48] For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit in delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
[1:02] So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.
[1:17] See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
[1:31] For in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority in him.
[1:45] You were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with a circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
[2:05] When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us.
[2:23] He took it away, nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
[2:38] Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
[2:48] These are a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.
[3:05] Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the head from whom the whole body supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews grows as God causes it to grow.
[3:26] Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belong to it, do you do you submit to its rules? Do not handle.
[3:37] Do not taste. Do not touch. These are all destined to perish with use because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body.
[3:58] But they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Is Jesus Christ enough for you?
[4:12] That's the question we're looking at this morning. Is there in Christ all that you need for salvation? All you need to be made right with God. Is there in him everything you need for living a life of godliness?
[4:29] Do you find in him all the wisdom and knowledge that you need? All the strength for living the victorious Christian life. For defeating. Evil spirits that would oppose you.
[4:43] Or is there something more? Something in addition to Christ that you need? Now that has often been the strategy of the devil to introduce false doctrines and heresies into the life of the church by offering something more than Christ.
[5:03] In other words, he does not deny our need for Christ. That would be too obvious to introduce a heresy into the church, a Christian church.
[5:16] So instead he would say, well, of course you need Christ. Good for you. But you also need something more. Something more that you really can't do without to complete your salvation.
[5:29] To really give you fullness in the Christian life. And so the Judaizing heresy of the Galatian churches comes to mind.
[5:41] And many other churches as well. That in addition to Christ, they thought they needed to, were being taught that they needed to be circumcised in order to be saved.
[5:52] Of course Christ. But Christ plus circumcision. And then there was Christ plus obedience to the law in order to be saved.
[6:02] That in addition to Christ's work of salvation, you need your own works of salvation to complete the task at saving you. A common heresy that remains with us alive and well to this day.
[6:15] There was the Roman church in the time of the Protestant Reformation saying, of course, Christ, we can't be saved without Christ. But it's Christ plus the sacraments administered by our priests that you need to be saved.
[6:29] There's Christ plus a subsequent baptism of the Holy Spirit. And speaking in tongues in order to be saved. Just to mention a few. Now some of these Christ plus teachings are damning and will take you to hell.
[6:47] Others are not damning, but are serious false doctrines that are harmful to the Christian life. Sure, you need Jesus to be saved. No one can be saved without him.
[6:59] But if you want full salvation, you need something more. If you want to experience fullness, Christ is not enough. If you want to live a higher life above the struggle, a complete salvation.
[7:16] Then you'll need something more. Maybe these ecstatic experiences of speaking in tongues. Maybe gaining some secret knowledge and wisdom through dreams and visions.
[7:27] You need to learn the secret techniques of deliverance from demons and so on. And so the devil is ever sowing his seeds of making believers feel like they're missing out.
[7:41] And that Christ is not enough. For the Christian life. There's something more. To really live. To really know fullness. But in offering us more than Christ, we inevitably end up with less.
[7:58] Because anything that draws our focus away from Christ. That draws our faith away from the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. It diminishes us.
[8:10] Because Christ is our life. And all of our blessings are found in Christ. And if we're being drawn away from, then we're being diminished, you see. Of all that is ours in the Lord Jesus.
[8:23] He is all we need. And if we're looking elsewhere for something we need. Then to that extent, we're not looking to Jesus and receiving it from him.
[8:34] Now such was the problem in the church at Colossae in the first century. It is most difficult to really know exactly what the heresy was that was troubling the church.
[8:47] It seems to have had many elements put in the blender and stirred up a syncretism, a mix. For sure it had Christ.
[8:59] But it was a diminished Christ. It was not the Christ of the Bible. Not the Christ who is fully God. But a lesser intermediary between God and man.
[9:14] And because less than God, then he is not enough, you see. And so too, Christ was added the worship of angels. And then there were elements from Old Testament Judaism.
[9:28] The requirements to keep Old Testament ceremonial laws. As we read toward the end of chapter 2. The Jewish calendar days. We've got to keep up those Jewish calendar days. And all the food laws and so on.
[9:40] And then there were ideas from the Greek philosophies of the day. That tended toward later Gnosticism. That said anything material.
[9:51] Anything physical is evil. And taught the asceticism therefore of the body. The self-denial of legitimate things that God has given us to enjoy.
[10:05] And so their war cry was. Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch. You see. The physical things. They're bad. And it included a false humility then.
[10:16] That results from keeping those man-made commands and rules. And then there was even a mix of sheer paganism. Of being whipped up into an ecstatic state.
[10:28] During which they would gain some secret knowledge and wisdom. Through visions. Enabling them to arrive at a more complete salvation.
[10:41] Some secret truths just for the initiates. Don't you. You need that. You need more than what you have. And then there were even worldly ideas on how to be delivered from fear of the demonic forces.
[10:52] And how to placate them. And how to placate them. And all of this you see. Had an appearance of wisdom as we read. An appearance of wisdom. With their self-imposed worship.
[11:03] Their false humility. And their harsh treatment of the body. But it lacked any value whatsoever. In restraining sensual indulgence. In really enabling a man or woman to actually live a holy life.
[11:16] So being. Offered more. They were left with less. And that's ever the devil's lie. We see it in his first lie to.
[11:27] Eve don't we. Offering her more. And oh giving her so much less. The aim. The effect of this heresy in the church.
[11:38] Was to erode their confidence in Christ. As their all sufficient. Lord and Savior. Now one of the reasons we don't know the exact.
[11:50] Form of this heresy. Is that Paul didn't make that his focus in this letter. If he had. We would. Maybe be more experts in our understanding.
[12:01] Of what that first century heresy was. We'd come away with a fuller knowledge of that. First century heresy. But rather.
[12:12] Paul makes the sufficiency of Christ. The main point. That he pounds home in this letter. And of course that makes this letter. All the more valuable and helpful to us.
[12:23] Because we don't live with the. Colossian error. We don't live with that first century error. Exactly as they had it. But because Paul focuses on the sufficiency of Christ.
[12:37] We have this standing remedy. Against all in any. Heresy. Any false teachings. That would try to draw us away from Christ. By telling us we need something more.
[12:49] And there are many of them in our day. As the devil. The devil never tires. Of stirring up an appetite. For something more than Christ. Ever saying Christ is not enough. To experience real fullness.
[13:01] To be complete. As a Christian. You've got to go elsewhere. To accomplish that. So. Paul's response to the Colossian heresy.
[13:13] Is Christ is all you need. His theme song is. He's all I need. He's all I need. Jesus is all I need. I have in Christ.
[13:25] All that I need. For full. And complete. And eternal. Salvation. For the fullest experience. Of the Christian life. I have it.
[13:36] In Christ. You believer. Have it. In Christ. So. Look at our big text. In Colossians 2. 9. And 10.
[13:46] A. Let's put that up on the wall. If we might. This is our big text for today. Colossians 2. 9. And 10. A. Having warned them. Against being.
[13:57] Ensnared. By these. Hollow. And deceptive. Philosophies. He says. For in Christ. The fullness. Of the deity. Lives in bodily form. And you have been.
[14:08] Given fullness. In Christ. Now. There are many ways. In this letter. That Paul shows. The total sufficiency. Of Christ. For his people.
[14:19] But I believe. Our text. Is at the very heart. Of the whole book. And we have two statements here. And we'll take them in order. We first have doctrine. And then we have application.
[14:31] Growing out of that doctrine. Now the word fullness. Seems to have been a favorite. Word. Of the heretics. As they taught.
[14:41] That something. More than Christ. Was needed to experience. This fullness. And there were many things. That they. Had to add to Christ. To get this fullness. Of the Christian life.
[14:52] And so Paul. Takes up their word. Fullness. You see it here. And he applies it. First to Christ. In verse nine. And then. To us believers. In verse ten.
[15:03] So we're at verse. Nine. First. This fullness. Found in Christ. This is the doctrine. For in Christ.
[15:14] All the fullness. Of the deity. Lives in bodily form. Now. I want to say. Right up front. That doctrine matters.
[15:25] And that's what Paul. Is telling us here. And especially. The doctrine of Christ. Matters. What you believe. About. Jesus Christ. The second person. Of the Godhead.
[15:36] It's the very foundation. Of the gospel. You know. That people. Can believe in Jesus. And be lost. Forever. Forever. If it's not the Jesus.
[15:48] Of the Bible. If it's the Jesus. Of the Jehovah Witness. The Jesus. Of the Mormons. The Jesus. Of the liberals. It's not the Jesus. That saves. It's only the Jesus.
[16:01] Revealed in scripture. That. Is mighty. To save. And that's why. I say. Right up front. Paul says. To the church. Be sure. You have the right. Doctrine.
[16:11] Of Jesus Christ. Christ. No wonder. The doctrine. Of Christ. Was one of the first things. The devil attacked. In the early church.
[16:23] And the church. Had to hold councils. What do we believe. About Christ. Some people said. He wasn't fully God. Other people said. He wasn't fully man. And Paul here. In our text.
[16:34] Clearly states. That Christ. Is both fully God. And fully man. Notice how he puts it. In verse nine. For in Christ. All the fullness. Of the deity lives.
[16:46] Fully God. In bodily form. Fully man. Now. That's to say. That Jesus.
[16:56] Is fully God. Then. Every divine attribute. Of God. That is found. In the father. Is found. In the son. Equally. The fullness. Of all.
[17:08] That it means. To be God. God. Is found. In Christ. Nothing lacking. The entire. Divine nature. And it seems.
[17:19] That was particularly. Denied. By these heretics. And his wife. Paul took such pains. To state it. In. Chapter one. Verses. Fifteen. To twenty.
[17:29] Twenty. Two. He. He. He. Dwells on this. That. That Christ. Is the image. Of the invisible God. Christ. Makes visible. This invisible. God. He is God.
[17:40] And. Yet. He's. In. A body. And so. That we can. See him. He's the firstborn. Of all creation. The honored son.
[17:50] Over it all. Not a part of creation. For verse sixteen. Says. For by him. All things were created. Things in heaven. Things on earth. Visible. Invisible. Whether thrones.
[18:01] Powers. Rulers. Or authorities. All things were created. By him. And for him. He's God. The creator. Jehovah. The old testament. Made all things.
[18:13] Out of nothing. And they all exist. For him. He's before all things. Verse seventeen. And in him. All things hold together. And he's the head of the body.
[18:25] The church. The beginning. And firstborn. From among the dead. So that in everything. He might have the supremacy. For God. Was pleased. To have. All his fullness. Dwell in him. There it is again.
[18:35] All his fullness. And through him. To reconcile. To himself. All things. Whether things on earth. Things in heaven. By making peace. Through his blood.
[18:46] Shed on the cross. These are some of the highest. Statements in scripture. On the deity. Of Jesus Christ. This man. Jesus of Nazareth. Walking around. With a human nature.
[18:56] As real. As ours. A real soul. With a mind. That thought. Like a human being. With. With human emotions. Everyone that you have. And.
[19:07] And. A will. These emotions. And will. They were human. He had a human body. A body that. Got tired.
[19:17] That got hungry. That got thirsty. That got sick. That could even die. And did die. These are things. That mark out humanity. And he. He had them to the fullest.
[19:29] Fully God. Fully man. And it's of him. That three works of God. Are attributed. In this passage. In. Chapter 1.
[19:39] 15 to 22. Creation. Providence. And salvation. Creation. That's the work of God. Some of the youngest children.
[19:50] Here know that. The first verse in the Bible. Says. In the beginning. Who created the heavens. And the earth. God. Created the heavens. And the earth. And now Paul says.
[20:02] All things that were created. Were created by Jesus. Christ. He is God. He has created all things. Before the mountains were born.
[20:14] Are you brought forth. The earth and the world. From everlasting. To everlasting. You are God. And Paul says. That is Jesus. Jesus.
[20:25] Is the one. That brought forth. That gave birth. To the mountains. The. The earth. The whole cosmos. The world. And so this Jesus of Nazareth.
[20:39] That. Climbed. Many of those mountains. In Palestine. Was climbing mountains. That he had created. This is.
[20:50] The Jesus. Of the Bible. The uncreated creator. Of all that exists. And then we see. The providence of God. Is also a work of God.
[21:02] It's his. Un upholding. And governing. Of all things. And all their actions. All the time. To fulfill his purpose. Who but God. Can do that. Providence. Is an act of God.
[21:13] And yet. Paul says. Here of Christ. In verse 17. He's before all things. And in him. All things. Hold together. Right now.
[21:23] This morning. Everything. Is holding together. In the whole universe. Because of the power. Of Jesus Christ. He upholds all things.
[21:35] By his powerful word. Hebrews 1. 3 says. So. As he was being rocked. In his mother's arms. As a baby. In Bethlehem.
[21:47] He was holding. The whole universe. Together. Father. He's God. Fully God. The God of providence. And then he's the God.
[21:58] Of salvation. Is salvation. The work of God. Or man. Jonah says. Salvation is of the Lord. David often refers to God. As God. My Savior. Indeed.
[22:08] The word Jesus. Means. The Lord saves. And here. In verses 20. To 22. Of chapter 1. It's Christ. Who accomplishes. The work of salvation.
[22:19] Reconciling men. To God. Making peace. Through his blood. Shed on the cross. In a real body. That bled. And suffered. And died.
[22:32] So Christ. Is not some lesser. Intermediary. As the heretics. Taught. For in Christ. All the fullness. Of deity. Lives. In bodily form.
[22:43] Now that bodily form. Presses home. The full humanity. Of Christ. And that's what. Made it hard. To believe. That he was fully God. He looked just like. James. And John.
[22:53] And Peter. And any other. Hebrew. Walking around. On the street. And so they couldn't. Get their heads around. That this is the eternal. God.
[23:04] That created. All things. God. And what. What is more. The gnostic air. That could not swallow. That God. Could have ever. Joined himself. To a human nature. And a human body.
[23:14] Because remember. That's evil. You can't have a holy God. Joined with a. An evil body. But Paul doesn't. Shy away. From Christ. Human body.
[23:25] That was so offensive. To these. False teachers. He talks about. The fullness. Of deity. In him. Bodily. In him bodily.
[23:36] And he boasts. About that body. Because of what. God did. In Christ. Through that body. Because it was only.
[23:48] In God. Becoming man. That he could die. Suffer and die. On the cross. That we. That death. That we deserved. And. Thereby. Reconcile us.
[23:59] To God. And that makes. His humanity. All the more. Endearing to us. Rather than. Offensive to us. And notice. The present tense. Of this statement. Verse nine.
[24:09] It was made. Years after. Jesus had already. Died. Risen. Ascended into heaven. He's there. As the great high priest. And. And Paul can make. This statement. Notice the present tense. For in Christ.
[24:20] All the fullness. Of the deity. Lives. Present tense. Right now. He lives. In bodily form. Our great high priest.
[24:30] Still has his body. There is one in heaven. That bears our. Nature. Now it's that nature. Glorified. To be sure.
[24:41] But it's our nature. Still. And so in the incarnation. He who was from eternity. Just pure spirit.
[24:51] Without a body. Took a body. The word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And while he was in the body. He. He did not empty his deity.
[25:02] As we said. He. He was still holding up the universe. As a baby. In the arms of Mary. No. He remained. Eternal. Infinite.
[25:13] Unchangeable. God. Forever. Even while he was here. In a body. And now that he's gone back. Into heaven. He has not shed his humanity.
[25:26] He still remains. Truly man. As well as truly. God. Indeed. As Paul says in first Timothy. Chapter three. Verse 16.
[25:36] Great is the mystery. This mystery of God. Appearing. In a body. So that's Paul's statement. On the doctrine of Christ. And we need to cling to it.
[25:48] With every. Bit that we have. Second comes the application. Of that doctrine. To our lives. We who are in Christ. By faith. The application.
[25:59] Growing out of that doctrine. Now the Puritans. Often spoke of application. As uses. So they would give their doctrine. And support it. From scripture.
[26:10] And then they would give. Use number one. Use number two. Use number three. And so on. What they were doing. Was saying. This is how you use this doctrine.
[26:22] Here's the truth. Jesus is God. Now use number one. Here's how you make use of it. In your life. And so on.
[26:32] It went. John Owen said. A sermon without uses. Is useless. This. And he's reminding us. Preachers. That we need to do more than. Set out the truth. As it is in Christ.
[26:43] The true doctrine. We need to show you. The uses of that doctrine. How it's to be used. In your everyday life. To benefit you. To bring you to this savior. And to every benefit.
[26:53] That's found in him. So. Paul's a good preacher. He now tells us. That this fullness. That the heretics. Were offering. Is actually found.
[27:04] In Christ himself. They said. It's something more. Than Christ. That you need. And Paul is now saying. Oh no. No. This fullness. Is actually found. In Jesus. Christ.
[27:16] And nowhere else. Notice the statement. Here in verse five. Verse 10. A. And you. You believers. You have been given. Fullness.
[27:26] In Christ. Do you follow. The divine logic. If the fullness. Of deity. Lives in Christ. And you.
[27:36] Are in Christ. Then you. Have been given. Fullness. In Christ. If he's fully God. And you are in him.
[27:47] How could you ever need. More than what you have. In Christ. Who is the fullness. Of the deity. What more could you lack.
[27:58] When you have him. Your fullness. Then. Is to be found. In his fullness. You see. The. Your fullness. In the. Verse 10. Is to be found. In his fullness.
[28:09] In verse nine. Now kids. Do you know. What a thimble is. Hold up your hand. If you do. If you don't. You can Google it. Or ask mom.
[28:21] But it was just. A little silver. Kind of. An elongated cup. That ladies would put. Over their finger. When they were sewing. With a needle and thread. I can still see my mother.
[28:32] Mending our socks. With that thimble. And instead of. Poking her finger. As she pushed. The needle. Through the material. It would. Hit that. Metal.
[28:43] Silver. In color. Thimble. And that was. Its use. At least one of them. It's not just a. A game marker.
[28:54] And monopoly. To move around the board. It actually had a real. Serviceable use. Now think of. Things this way. If the fullness of God.
[29:06] In Christ. Is the bottomless. Ocean. Ocean. Of deity. And you. Are a finite being.
[29:18] Just one little person. A thimble of a person. Compared to deity. Then there is more than enough.
[29:28] In the ocean of Christ. To fill you. The thimble. That's what Paul is saying. There's an ocean.
[29:39] A bottomless ocean. In Christ. And you. Are filled up to the full. In him.
[29:52] Notice this fullness. Is only found in union. With Christ. This language. To be. In Christ. To be. In him. That's the language. Of being. Joined to Jesus.
[30:02] Union with Christ. What happens. When we. By faith. Trust in him. To save us. We're joined to him. We're married to him. And all of his fullness.
[30:13] Then. Becomes ours. That means. There's more than enough. Then. In the ocean.
[30:24] Of Christ's deity. To fill up. Our lives. To give us fullness. Of life. Then perish the thought.
[30:34] Of ever needing something. More than. Other than. What is found in Christ. Look no further saints. It's in Christ alone. John 15 compares this.
[30:47] Being in Christ. As. As a branch. Is in the vine. In the vine. And so. As Christ is the vine. And we are in Christ. Like a branch. In the vine.
[30:58] All the sap. Of grace. Found in the vine. Is also found. In the branches. We share. In that fullness. I'm not saying.
[31:08] We become God. I'm saying. That he is. Full of grace. John 1. 14. And. From his fullness. Have all we receive.
[31:20] Grace upon grace. Like the waves. Of grace. For everything we need. Breaking upon the shore. Of our little thimble. From this ocean. Of him. Who's full of grace.
[31:31] And faith. Is the empty hands. Remember we saw. Faith is the receiver. That receives this grace. From Jesus Christ. And so we come with empty hands. And we receive.
[31:42] From the ocean of grace. Found in him. So. What do you need. That's not found in Christ. In whom is the fullness. Of deity.
[31:53] Do you need wisdom. And knowledge. The heretics. Promise some secret wisdom. Apart from Christ. Through visions. And trances. But Paul tells us.
[32:03] In chapter 2. In verse 3. That is it. That it is Christ. In whom. Are hidden. All the treasures. Of wisdom. And knowledge. Do you see it. He's the.
[32:13] He's the treasure chest. And all the treasures. Of wisdom and knowledge. Are in him. Then why would we ever. Hanker after some. Secret knowledge. That could be had.
[32:24] As these cultists. Would tell us. Is it hope. For the future. That you need. Paul tells us. In chapter 1. Verse 27. Christ. In you. The hope.
[32:36] Of glory. Is it. Spiritual life. You need. Chapter 3. In verse 4. Says Christ. Who is our life. We have life.
[32:46] In Christ. Is it. Reconciliation. With God. Is it. Forgiveness. Of sins. It's Christ. Who makes peace. Through his blood. Shed on the cross. Able to reconcile.
[32:56] Us. To God. Through his physical body. Through death. To present you. Holy. In his sight. Without. Blemish. And free. From accusations. Who can do that.
[33:07] For you. Other than. Jesus. Christ. Is it. Power. You need. Power. To obey. All the commands. Of chapter 3. Many.
[33:18] Many. Commands. In chapter 3. You need. Power. For that. Beyond your own. Where. Where. Should we. Should we. Turn aside. To something. To some man-made. Ideas.
[33:31] About the spiritual life. How to live. The higher Christian. Or should we. Should we. Come to Christ. Who is our life. And has all power. Who is almighty. God. And has power.
[33:42] To give us. To live a holy life. To put sins to death. Colossians 3. 5. To clothe ourselves. With compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness.
[33:52] And patience. To bear with each other. To forgive. Whatever grievances. We may have. Against one another. To forgive. As the Lord forgave you. To raise your children.
[34:04] To obey your parents. To love your wife. To submit to your husband. To do your work. As unto the Lord. All of these commandments. Require power. That is more than our own.
[34:15] And Paul is saying. You don't need to go anywhere. Outside of Christ. To find this power. It's found in him. In him.
[34:25] They were saying. This is the way. You need to deal with the demons. And they had their own. Hocus pocus. Ways of dealing with. You don't need that.
[34:36] He is head over. All the demonic powers. He's created. He governs. He controls. Is it. Love you need. Is it peace.
[34:48] Is it joy. It's all found in Christ. Christ. So we bring. Our little thimble. To the. The bottomless sea.
[35:01] Of the grace. Found in Jesus. And we're filled. And we have fullness. In Christ. What a wonderful way to live. To wake up.
[35:13] To this reality. Whether it's. Three in the morning. And you're not ready to get up. But you're awake. And you're thinking about. All your troubles. And you can't get back to sleep. Or maybe it is.
[35:24] Time to get up. And the first thoughts. That cross your mind. Are all the problems you've got. Well that's a bummer. That's a. That's not a healthy way. To wake up. Unless you.
[35:37] Right away say. Oh Lord Jesus. I am empty. I don't have what it takes. To face these things. But you are full.
[35:50] The entire deity. Dwells. Fully in you. And my. Little. Thimble of me. Can be more than adequately met.
[36:02] By you. Oh come and help me. And thank you. That my fullness. Is in you. That I don't need. Anything else. I need you. Now come and help me.
[36:13] And we get up. And we go. And we depend. We trust. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. So do we want more.
[36:24] Than what we're presently. Experiencing. Of fullness. I trust so. I hope so. I sure do. I want more. Don't you. Or have you arrived.
[36:35] And there's nothing more. To be desired. But. But what we want. Is more. Of Christ. Christ. Rather than.
[36:46] Something more. Than Christ. So I have three words. Of application. And we're done. First of all.
[36:56] Continue. Continue. Continue. Notice how. Paul puts it. In chapter. Two. Verses. Six. And seven. So then. Here's something. Of a. Of an application.
[37:07] A summarizing. Of. So then. Just as you. Receive. Christ. Jesus. As Lord. Continue. To live. In him. There's our word. Continue.
[37:19] Don't move on. To something. More than Christ. Don't move on. To something. Other than Christ. Don't say. Well. I've come to Jesus. I have. Justification. In him. Now. Now. I'm glad.
[37:29] For that. But now. I need something else. From somewhere else. No. No. Continue. Continue. To walk. To live. In him.
[37:40] Keep turning. To Christ. In all your neediness. Keep living. Upon his fullness. By faith. Receiving. From him. All that you need. Just. Continue on.
[37:51] Continue on. Like you began. The Christian life. Receiving. With empty hands. The Lord Jesus. Go on. Go on. Like that.
[38:03] And then he gives us. Two metaphors. That urge this. This increase. In growth. That we long for. We want. We want more. But. But it's more. Christ. That we want. And he gives us. Two metaphors. Of how we can continue.
[38:15] To live in Christ. First of all. Rooted in him. Rooted in him. Continue. Rooted in him. Like a tree. In the soil. Where it draws. All of its nourishment.
[38:28] So Christ. Is the soil. And he's all you need. So drill down deep. Send your roots. Down deeper. Into Christ. And suck.
[38:39] And suck. Draw. All that you need. From him. Looking to him. Not looking somewhere else. Looking to him. For all that you need. And then built up in him.
[38:51] As a building. That keeps going up. It's not a one story. There's many stories. To this building. Of the Christian life. Till we see Christ. But they don't.
[39:02] Pull it off. Its foundation. And start building it. Further over here. No. It's built up in Christ. He's the foundation. And you just keep building on up. In Christ.
[39:13] Continuing in Christ. And that's how we're built up. In him. Continue. You see. Continue. Don't be moved. Away from Christ.
[39:25] Strengthened in the faith. As you were taught. Not running after some new truth. Oh you mean. There's dreams that I can figure out. Things about my future.
[39:37] Don't be running after. Such nonsense. But rather what he says is. Strengthened in the faith. As you were taught. As you receive the truth.
[39:49] As it is in Jesus. Just keep on. Keep on. That's the way. You're strengthened in the faith. As you keep the rule of faith. The word of Christ. Before you.
[40:01] Faith grows. As you keep Christ. The object of faith. Before you. Faith grows. Continue. Looking to Christ. His word. Strengthening your faith.
[40:12] As you were taught. And. The last words. Of verse seven. Overflowing with thankfulness. Now what is this you ask? Overflowing with thankfulness.
[40:23] Well this is the result. Of a. Of a believer. Who daily keeps finding. That their fullness in Christ. Is enough. They keep running to him.
[40:34] They keep resting. On him. They keep receiving. From his fullness. And they're continuing. To experience. The joy. Of finding. In this ocean of Christ. Enough to fill their thimble.
[40:48] And it's because. They're continuing. To live upon. The fullness of Christ. That thankfulness. Is a continuing. Overflowing reality. In their life. I want to live more that way.
[41:04] Then we take up. That song of David. That because the Lord. Is my shepherd. I will not be in want. I will not be in need.
[41:17] How can my thimble. Be left. Unfilled. With such a shepherd. Such a savior. Such a God.
[41:28] As Jesus. And that leads to my second word. Immunity. Immunity. Immunity from the thousands. Of strategies of Satan.
[41:39] To lure us away from Christ. Stirring up this appetite. To find something more. Something more satisfying. To fill our hearts. Now there's a great debate.
[41:50] As you know today. About how to achieve immunity. Against COVID-19. And it's ever changing. Strains and variants. But to have full immunity.
[42:00] Would be to be unfazed by COVID. To be out of its reach. Out of its ability to harm us. And whatever you think about immunity. From COVID. Paul is saying here. That immunity.
[42:15] From all that the world. Your flesh. And that the devil. Would tell you. That you need. To give you fullness. In the Christian life. Something more than Christ.
[42:26] Something other than Christ. There is an immunity. To that attraction. There is an immunity. To that tug. Of war.
[42:36] On your heart. It's this. That when your heart. Is so satisfied. In the fullness. In Jesus. That it's overflowing. Constantly. It's full.
[42:46] Your little. Thimble. Your cup is full. And flowing over. With thankfulness. You've been to the ocean. In the morning. You went. Mid-morning.
[42:57] You went. In the afternoon. You went. On your way home. From work. You went. In the night. Hours. As you lay. On bed. And you can. Come to the end. Of the day.
[43:08] Or the beginning. Of the day. Or the end. Of some. Some help. From heaven. And you overflow. With joy. And thankfulness. That you found.
[43:18] Fullness. In Jesus. Another day. With this problem. This thing. That you didn't think. You could handle. And he enabled you. And so you're overflowing.
[43:28] And that is your immunity. That's the immunity. The Colossians needed. To not pay attention. To this. Colossian. Heresy. Oh but when we're not content.
[43:42] With Christ. We're not finding. Sufficiency. In him. We're doubting it. We're not drilling down. Deeper into him. We're not coming to him.
[43:53] We're looking elsewhere. Then we fall prey. To Satan's. Many alternatives. To Christ. When is a man.
[44:06] Most inoculated. From the lure. Of other lovers. Than his wife. It is when fully. Enjoying. All that he has. In her. Daily overflowing.
[44:17] With thankfulness. For her. When are your employees. Safe from being. Stolen away. By the offers. Of the job hunters. It's when they're.
[44:27] Overflowing. With thankfulness. To work for. A boss like you. When is a beggar. Kept from knocking on. Other doors. For food. Well when he's finding.
[44:39] Everything he could dream. At your door. So are you. Daily. Developing. Immunity. To the endless. Variance. Of temptation. To find.
[44:49] Fullness. Outside of Jesus. Are you finding. Your fullness. In him. Are you finding. Out the greatness. Of his fullness. Greatness. Greatness of his love.
[45:01] The greatness. Of his grace. Of his wisdom. His power. His faithfulness. There's more of Christ. To know. After all.
[45:12] The fullness. Of deity. Is in him. There's more. Of Christ. To know. And to know him. Is to love him. And to love him. Is to enjoy him. And to enjoy him.
[45:24] Is to be. Overflowing. With thankfulness. Which is to be. Immunized. Against. Any sinister. Temptation.
[45:36] To find. Fullness. Somewhere else. You see it. So walk. Closer to him.
[45:47] Listening to him. In his word. Pouring out your heart. To him in prayer. Bringing your emptiness. To his overflowing. Fullness. And finding. Your fullness. In his fullness.
[45:59] This is what's given you. Christian. In Christ. Don't listen to the lies. That would tell you otherwise. Claim your inheritance. Live upon your portion. And then the third word.
[46:11] Complete. Complete. Continue. Immunity. And complete. This is just another translation. Of the word fullness.
[46:21] I think the King James uses it. You're complete. In him. Verse 10. You. Are complete. In him. You have fullness. In him.
[46:33] Nothing lacking. All that I need. To be. Complete. To be whole. To be all that God. Made me. And saved me. To be. I'm complete.
[46:44] In Christ. So what does it take. To complete you. To make life worth. Living. To make you. Overflow with.
[46:54] Thankfulness. And joy. Is Christ enough. Or is he not. If I only had. This.
[47:05] I'd be complete. If only this were such. In my life. Then I could be complete. For 25 weeks. Naomi Osaka. Was the top. Women's tennis player.
[47:16] Of the world. Winning. Major events. She had earned. Over 100 million dollars. And then the pressure. Got to her. And she began. To lose. As long as she was winning.
[47:28] She was happy. But when she lost. She would sink. Into deep depression. And it led her. To withdraw. From many. Major tournaments.
[47:40] And she hasn't. Made it back. To the top yet. In a candid interview. She said this. And I don't have. The exact words. At the first part. Of it.
[47:51] It was in World Magazine. Several months ago. If I'm not winning. As a championship. Tennis player. This was. Word for word. Then what. Am I.
[48:03] If I'm not winning. At tennis. Then what am I. What does it take. To complete me. What gives me fullness. Fulfillment.
[48:14] A reason to live. Her answer. Winning. In tennis. Hitting a little rubber ball. Covered with felt. In the right place. At the right time. One more time.
[48:24] Than the guy. Or the girl. On the other side. Of the net. It is sad. It is sad. To see the things. That people think. They need. To complete them.
[48:37] And apart from Christ. We'd be in the same. Feudal search. We were made for God. And we will be restless. Until we find our rest. In him. Augustine said.
[48:49] And we find. Our rest. In God. In the Lord Jesus. We find. Fullness in him. Completion. Are you finding. Enough in Christ. To complete you. If not.
[49:00] My friend. The problem. Is not in Christ. He's full. Of everything. That's good. He's full of. Everything. That is deity. And if you're willing.
[49:11] To repent. Of your sins. And all your. Christ substitutes. He's ready. To save you. He's just that good. And if you're willing. To receive him. As savior. And Lord. He's willing. To give you himself.
[49:22] And fullness. In him. Who then. Needs more. Than Christ. What more. Could you want. Or need. Or get. Than what you find. In the Lord Jesus.
[49:34] Then let your search. End. And come. And welcome. To Jesus Christ. We're going to sing. Down from his glory. It's a. It's a song. That. Explains.
[49:47] How the great. Creator. Became our savior. Just what Paul. Is saying. And. And how he has now become. My all in all. My. All sufficiency.
[49:59] In all situations. And it's all because that. All God's fullness. Dwells. In him. The Lord Jesus. So let's stand. And. And rejoice.
[50:10] And let our song. Overflow with thankfulness. As we sing. Of what our savior. Is to us. Three verses. Is what we'll sing. And. Thank you.