BEING COMPLETE IN CHRIST

Col. 2:10a ... "In Him you have been made complete."

      When we enter this world at birth, we come with gross deficiences of many kinds and then spend the rest of our lives trying to fill them in and become complete in our constitution. In the first moment of life an infant must learn to breathe, or else it will die. During the first day he must learn to take nourishment. As more time passes, the developing person must learn to sit up, crawl, walk, talk, feed himself, etc. When the child reaches the age of about five, his formal education begins. For the next dozen years, and then perhaps for another four to eight past that, he will invest great amounts of time, energy, and money in the effort to progress through grade school, college and maybe graduate school so that his education will be complete enough for him to enter the profession of his choice.

      One of the most serious human deficiences, however, involves the soul. Because man is a fallen creature, his soul has been greatly weakened from what God originally intended it to be. It is inclined to sin, which impairs, pollutes and fully brings about its destruction. We are emphatically told in Rom. 3: 23 that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." When Isaiah had the vision of God in the Temple and beheld His resplendent glory, he could not help but cry out, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." (Isa. 6:5). All people are in the same position that Isaiah was, no matter how "good" we, or others, might think ourselves to be. And in our weak and seriously deficient condition we have no means within ourselves to heal the disease that afflicts our souls, or to repair the breaches in our characters, or to lift ourselves up into a complete state for acceptable presentation to our Creator. When Paul contemplated where he stood. he proclaimed, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24). But there is no need for despair, for God has provided the necessary means by which our souls can be perfected.

      Because God loves us, He has given His Son to lift us up and reclaim us. We are told in Rom. 5:8-9 that "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." By the power of Jesus' blood shed on Calvary our sin can be removed from our souls, which are then healed and restored to the power and capacity that our Father designed them to possess. This is accomplished when we submit to baptism into Christ, for it is there that our former sinful nature is put to death and "newness of life" is granted, (Rom. 6:3-4). The Lord then admits the new convert into His church (Acts 2:47), which is the assembly of all who have been "rescued from the domain of darkness (sin)," (Col. 1:13). And within the church God has set up various offices "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature [complete] man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:12-13). In other words, in Christ we have the removal of the sins that make us incomplete; and in the church, which is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23), we have necessary assistance for growing into a complete person in Christ.

      By diligent effort in education a person might be able to approach close to mental perfection. By arduous training one might manage to come close to physical perfection. But unless a person comes to Christ and submits his life to that superior Teacher-Physician, he will continue spiritually in a state of waste and impotency bound for eternal ruin.

WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE LORD

Col. 1:10 ... "So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

      The ultimate goal in the life of a Christian is to conduct himself from day to day in such a manner that the Lord will be fully pleased as He looks down upon him. The standard for such noble, acceptable conduct is the one God Himself has given us in the Holy Scriptures. So, as a person increases in the knowledge of the divine word through diligent study and exercise in the application of its precepts to his life, he is enabled to progress toward that ultimate goal. When Paul addressed the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he referred to this supreme standard which he called "the word of His grace" and proclaimed to be sufficiently powerful to reconstruct a human life to meet the requirements of God. In v.32 he declared, "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." It is therefore a matter of the greatest importance for a Christian to progress constantly in gaining the knowledge which God has revealed and in submitting his life to its holy precepts.

      It is also important to take notice that God's word imposes the doing of good works of many kinds upon those who seek His favor and acceptance. A "good work" is specifically any deed that God requires of us, either through a direct command, an approved example, or a necessary inference. Generally speaking, it is any deed which honors God, blesses men, or perfects the soul of the one who performs it. Good works are not defined by men, and their identification is not the prerogative of men. Works of human description are the products of pride, self-trust, and self-direction. They do not honor God, but rather the one who formulates and then enacts them. They might to a certain extent bless people, but to a far greater extent they increase the pride of their performer. We are informed in Eph. 2:9 that our salvation is not "a result of works, so that no one may boast." It is part of our weakened human nature to take pride in what we accomplish, and the greater the deed the greater the pride. Such deeds do not therefore perfect the soul of the one who does them, for "pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling" (Pro. 16:18).

      The individual who submits himself to the standard of God's will in the sincere desire to glorify and please God will learn the good works it teaches and undertake them to the limit of his ability and opportunity. He will not be doing them to attract attention, elicit praise, or advance his position in society. To the contrary, his motivation will be to conform to the divine purpose stated in Eph. 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Every good deed performed by a Christian is actually a fruit offering to the Lord. Its purpose is to glorify God who blesses us with the life, the energy, the resources, and the opportunity to do it. If someone could generate for himself these prerequisites to a deed, then he would be justified in claiming the glory that follows. Since that is impossible, no one has the right to strut and preen when he has performed a virtuous deed. Much the rather, a discerning Christian will lay the deed at the feet of God with thanksgiving that he has been enable to offer it. Since the fulfillment of a good deed is a fruit offering to God, every Christian should pray for himself and for his brethren that "the God of peace, who brought up from the dead ... Jesus our Lord [to] equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ," (Heb.13:20-21).

BEING CONTENT IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE

Php. 4:11b ... "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." 

      The breeding ground of sin is discontent with one's situation in relation to worldly goods and also to one's place in society. This is not to say that such discontent MUST lead one into sin, but only that it gives sin an opportunity to enter the person's life. There is no sin in being discontented with poverty, for it may serve as the motivation to work one's way out of its misery and humiliation. But there is sin in being discontented with one's possessions to the point that the desire for greater becomes insatiable and takes control of the person's life. In ancient Israel King Ahab owned abundant and highly favored lands, but he was dissatisfied. He coveted the small tract owned by Naboth that adjoined the royal gardens. When the humble farmer refused to part with his ancestral inheritance, Ahab became deeply depressed. When his wicked and unscrupulous wife Jezebel seized the land, after having Naboth framed as a blasphemer and executed, Ahab was delighted to add the land to his possessions.

      Often a person's lust is not so much for wealth as for a higher place in society. When this burning desire drives him to rise to the higher position where he can better serve others, it is worthy and good. For example, someone may not be content to spend his life in an assembly plant where his work benefits a limited number of people. So he invests ten or twelve years and a small fortune in training to become a physician so that during the rest of his life he can cure diseases, alleviate suffering, and even save the lives of hundreds of people. But more often there are those like Abimelech, son of Gideon, whose story is related in Judges 9. He was not content to be one of the seventy honored sons of one of Israel's most illustrious judges who had turned down the popular appeal to make him king. In his lust for power, Abimelech put all his brothers to death, except Jotham who was able to hide. Abimelech then persuaded the people of Shechem to proclaim him king. From this base he tried to extend his rule over the rest of the country, until he was killed in the attempt to seize the small town of Thebez.

      We are warned in Jas. 1:14 that a person "is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." Temptation begins within a person, not from without, when he develops a desire for that which is not good for him to have. Controlling desire so that it leads in pathways that are good and towards ends that are righteous requires divine assistance. This is pointed out in Php. 4:5-6, "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." He knows our real needs and will guide us toward their fulfillment if we ask Him for them and then trust Him to respond. More commonly, however, people do not choose to look to God for help. Gathering together whatever resources are available at the moment, they seek the quickest and shortest track from their place of discontentment to the object of their desire. All too often this course passes through the field of sin, which gladly supplies its energy and encouragement to the venture.

      Evaluating desire to distinguish what is legitimate from what is corrupt also requires God's help, which is available to all who seek it through prayer in faith, (Jas. 1:2-5). Our featured text does not forbid discontent and desire so much as it emphasizes our need to identify what it is that we desire, what it is that makes us discontented, and why these mental constructions have been formed within us. At the same time, it urges self-restraint as we attempt to satisfy our desires. As we undertake this introspective examination, it is important to remember the words of Jesus in Mat. 6:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM

Php. 3:10 ... "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

      As He looked forward to the Messianic Age, God spoke through His prophet, "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," (Jer. 31:34). It is the will of God that everyone  should come to know Him, for He is their creator, their sustainer, and their only hope for eternal life. Furthermore, throughout the Bible there emerges evidence of God's desire to fellowship with man whom He created in His own image. God has revealed Himself to an extent in the wonders of nature, (Psa. 19:1; Acts 14:17), although this knowledge of Him speaks more of His deeds than His personality. God has also revealed Himself to a far greater extent in the Holy Scriptures, so that we may know His will for us. But most of all, God has shown us His character in the life of Christ, who is "the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature," (Heb. 1:3). As God desires us to know Him through the image of His Son, we should also keenly desire to know Jesus and through Him to come to know God.

      To "know Jesus," however, involves far more than factual knowledge. Many avowed enemies of Jesus are very informed on the details of His earthly life, and even on the substance of what He taught. To know Jesus even requires more than the acquaintance with Him that comes from understanding and appreciating His life and its grand mission. Really knowing Jesus involves active participation in His experience; that is, a kind of reenactment of His life in one's own. This begins when one becomes a Christian, since in baptism one unites with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We read in Rom. 6:3-5, "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection."

      After this initial union with Christ, the Christian continues inseparably therein throughout the balance of his life in a fashion that is almost mysterious. At least we are at want for words to try to explain it. The nature of it is outlined by Paul in Gal. 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." This statement applies to every true Christian as much as it did to Paul. In one's conversion he shares in Christ's crucifixion, undergoing a very real type of death. But in dying he is reborn to a new life, one in which the life principle is Christ who dwells within him. Life in the flesh goes on, not as before when the person chose his own course, but rather as faith in Christ directs him. This living relationship with Jesus involves "knowing Him" in the truest sense.

      As one attempts to reenact Jesus' life in his own experience, he will devote himself to adopting Jesus' model of thinking and conduct as the normal standard by which he himself is governed. Without regret or complaint he will endure whatever hardships that follow in the shadow cast by Jesus' own agony. In the end he will die in the faith and for the faith in imitation of the Lord, looking up out of the "valley of the shadow of death" with unwavering hope. For the Christian is persuaded that sharing his life with Jesus will lead to the ultimate experience of Jesus' sharing with him His resurrection when He returns at the end of the age to summon His disciples from their graves.

WITHOUT GRUMBING OR DISPUTING

Php. 2:14-15a ... "Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God."

      The church is sometimes called a "community of believers." A community is a group of people who share or participate in something in common. In the case of the church this happens to be the conviction that God is real, that He has revealed Himself to us through inspired Scripture, that He sent Christ to be our Savior, that He has given us a law to govern our lives, and that He has given us citizenship in His kingdom which is eternal. All who hold this conviction and make the proper response thereunto are citizens in this "community of believers." The activites of sharing or participating in this common faith constitute the norm of Christian behavior. This norm, however, is not one which is set by those who participate, for the church is governed by God and not by man. Paul informed Timothy, his young  assistant, "I am writing these things to you ... so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth," (I Tim. 3:14-15). This statement indicates that there is a defined way in which Christians must conduct themselves as members of a Christ-centered community and that this way is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Those who reverence God and strive to please Him will mark this way and publicly submit their conduct to it. And since that conduct is the outward expression of one's attitudes, they will first of all submit their will to the will of God. The statement to Timothy concerns our conduct as members of the "household of God," and our response to it will go a long way toward determining how strongly we are committed to being the community of believers who make up the Lord's church.

     The integrity, health, and strength of a congregation is impaired in direct proportion to the degree of personal disaffection that arises within it. Grumbling and disputing are the result of the individual preferences and desires contrary to what are held in common by the body as a whole. In other words, these detrimental activities within the church spring from individuals who elevate themselves above the group, esteeming their own condition, feelings, and ambitions as superior to those of others. We read of such an individual in the early church in III John 9-10: "Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say ... unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren ... and forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church."

      Such attitudes and practices constitute a violation of the Christian principles of fellowship and love. In I Cor. 13 we are taught that love "is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly," and "does not seek its own." A heart filled with love will therefore not grumble when its own preferences are not chosen as the mode for the group. The same text also proclaims that love "is not provoked." Therefore, it does not dispute when it meets resistance to what it urges. The fellowship that should prevail in the church requires the surrender of personal considerations to it, or it will not long be true fellowship. To insist on one's own goals at the expense of the welfare of others is a denial of the common sharing that is the essence of fellowship. When "grumbling or disputing" arise wthin the church, it exposes the body of Christ to reproach by those who are without. Those who engage in these negative actions also weaken themselves to a point where they are exposed to spiritual harm. In fact, as the closing phrase of the lead text indicates, they imperil their identification as "children of God." In the long run, he who surrenders his personal desires to the good of the church receives in return blessings far greater than those he has willingly sacrificed. Such a person truly exhibits the attitude (or mind) of Christ," (cf. Php. 2:5-8). 

STANDING FIRM FOR THE FAITH

Php. 1:27b ... "Whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."

      Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote these words to the Christians in Philippi in Macedonia, and they show the concern he had for them and his hope for what they would do: stand fast in the faith and be united in their thought and purpose. God has always willed that His people stand fast against the pressures of evil constantly being exerted from all sides upon them. The New Testament writers often give notice that Christians are engaged in the cosmic struggle against evil, thus making every disciple a soldier of Christ. One of the worst things that can happen in warfare is to expose a flank to the enemy. If some part of the battleline falls back for whatever reason, it opens a gap and exposes the flank of the rest of the line. If the enemy follows up the advantage, he can "roll up" the line from side to side and rout the other army. It is one thing to fight an enemy face-to-face, but it is very difficult to fight one force head on and another simultaneously on the left or right. This principle applies in spiritual as well as in physical warfare, but in spiritual conflict "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). The church must present a solid, continuous line against this array of evil, yielding no advantage to the malign adversary.

      In I Cor. 15:58 we are urged strongly to be "steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." In Eph. 4:14 we are warned not to let ourselves be "tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming." And in Jas. 1:6-7 we are advised that "the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord." In fact, our identity as Christians is maintained by our unyielding position with respect to immorality, worldliness, and false doctrine. If we ebb and flow with the tide of society in its tastes, habits, and fashions, we send out a confusing signal to people in general about who we are and what we stand for. The line between the church and the world must be kept very distinct. When we yield to the sins of society, it becomes hard to distinguish the difference between Christians and the unregenerate. The church takes on shades of worldly color until finally there is no contrast visible. To a great extent this happened in the Ephesian church and provoked this warning from the Lord, "Remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place" (Rev. 2:5). To have your "lampstand" removed "out of its place" is a figure to indicate the Lord is rejecting you as being any longer one of His own. This is what you forfeit when you fail to keep "standing firm ... (and) striving together for the faith of the gospel."

      The goal of firm resistance to sin and clear identity in Christ can be achieved most easily when Christians surrender their individual preferences and desires to the church to establish common policy, rooted and grounded in the truth of the gospel. That is the idea conveyed in the words "with one mind striving together." An army cannot succeed on the field of battle if various units go off in different directions to accomplish self-conceived objectives. The annals of war abundantly contain accounts of defeat resulting from such lack of union and coordination. The army that stays together more often wins the victory, even though it may be smaller and not as well equipped. Jesus prayed fervently in John 17 for the unity of His church, stressing that in such unity "the world may believe that You sent Me" (v.21). The fragmentation of the church, followed by secularism, infidelity, and anti-religious sentiment in the world, reveals the reality of what Jesus prayed might be avoided. The only countermeasure to this real danger is the reunification of the church and "standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."

STANDING FIRM AGAINST SATAN

Eph. 6:11 ... "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

      In His great prophetic discourse in Matthew 24, Jesus said that "you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars ... for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (vs. 6-7).  The foremost of these wars is that between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. It began before the world was created and shall not end until the climactic battle described in Rev. 20:7-10, when  Satan and his allies will be "thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone" to be "tormented day and night forever and ever." Before that grand conclusion the war goes on relentlessly, and no one is able to stand clear of its movements. Jesus declared in Mat. 6:24 that "no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Everyone is either in the army of the Lord fighting Satan, or in the army of Satan fighting God. In our current philosophy we rebel against such either/or propositions; but whether it suits our mentality or not, such is reality.

      Everyone wants to be on the side that will win, and the Bible makes it emphatically and distinctly clear that God shall stand Victor in heaven when Satan lies supine in utter defeat in the torment of hell. And those who follow him will lie writhing in perpetual agony there about him. To avert this mistake we must take the advice of the inspired apostle in the lead text above. God conscripts no one into His army, but He joyfully accepts every volunteer to be mustered in. To be inducted one must put his faith in Christ, repent of his sins, confess his allegiance to Christ, and accept baptism for the remission of sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then God issues to each Christian soldier the armor that will enable him to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Satan is a highly skilled fighter, having practiced and perfected his art over the past several millennia. The word translated "schemes" indicates this, for it was a military term that meant "strategies." Nevertheless, with all his expertise and cunning, the devil cannot overcome the soldier of Christ who always wears every piece of this wonderful armor. 

      It consists of five defensive implements and one that is offensive. The first is the truth which is revealed in the gospel of Christ. It is the wide, thick belt (girdle) that protected the abdomen of a Roman foot soldier. The second is righteousness, or living by the standard of God's word and its modeled application in the life of Jesus. It compares to the metal breastplate that guarded the heart and lungs of an infantryman. The third is the preparation of the gospel of peace. The Christian soldier must always be "ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (I Pet. 3:15). The answer comes, of course,  from the Holy Scriptures which the Christian has stored in his memory. With such answers Jesus decisively repelled the attack of Satan in Mat. 4:1-11.  Such preparation answers to the footgear worn by a Roman soldier.  Fourth is faith, the shield of a Christian which enables him to "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The fifth implement of the Christian armor is salvation, which serves to secure him as surely as the steel helmet which could withstand the direct blow of a battle ax. Finally, the one offensive weapon given to a Christian is the word of God, a spiritual sword. With it he can go on the attack against evil and come out victor. By becoming a Christian soldier, wearing all of this armor and using it throughout life as intended, the disciple will indeed be able to "stand firm" and share forever in the victory celebration in heaven in the presence of his Commander-in-Chief, (cf. Rev. 7:9-17).