Ye are Complete in Him

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«For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.» Col. 2: 1-10.

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Mark the words of the last clause, «Ye are complete in him.» Is not this a wonderful statement? Notwithstanding all our various temperaments, our different defects and imperfections, notwithstanding the attacks of the enemy, his grievous temptations and suggestions, we are said to be complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. Very much is presented before you in the words which I have read; but we shall be able to notice only a few of the points contained in this scripture. But we desire that you should be able in some measure of comprehend the possibilities to which we may attain in our Christian life. We are to walk even as Christ walked, or the words of inspiration would not so present the course of the follower of Christ. «As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.»

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In order to attain to this high calling of God in Christ Jesus, you must begin the day with your Saviour. The very first out-breathing of the soul in the morning should be for the presence of Jesus. «Without me,» he says, «ye can do nothing.» It is Jesus that we need; his light, his life, his spirit, must be ours continually. We need him every hour. And we should pray in the morning that as the sun illuminates the landscape, and fills the world with light, so the Sun of righteousness may shine into the chambers of mind and heart, and make us all light in the Lord. We cannot do without his presence one moment. The enemy knows when we undertake to do without our Lord, and he is there, ready to fill our minds with his evil suggestions that we may fall from our steadfastness; but it is the desire of the Lord that from moment to moment we should abide in him, and thus be complete in him, accepted in the Beloved. God designs that every one of us shall be perfect in him, so that we may represent to the world the perfection of his character. He wants us to be set free from sin, that we may not disappoint Heaven, that we may not grieve our divine Redeemer. He does not desire us to profess Christianity, and yet not avail ourselves of that grace which is able to make us perfect, that we may be found wanting in nothing, but unblamable before him in love and holiness.

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I hear one say, «I can never reach that standard.» But this is what you must be, or you will never enter heaven. We want to gain heaven; for there, there is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, «I am sick;» no burial trains there, no mourning, no death, no parting, no broken hearts; but Jesus is there, peace is there. O, we must be with him; for in his presence is fulness of joy, at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. And it is here that we must behold him, and become changed into his image. «We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.» How much comfort it gives to behold him here by the eye of faith, that we may by beholding be made like him, but what will it be to behold him as he is, without one dimming veil between?

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And who is he? He is the One who has made an infinite sacrifice in our behalf, the One who has brought eternal redemption to our view, and should we behold in him all he is to us, how gladly would we yield our hearts to him, to love him and obey him. Can we not do this now? Is there not need that we behold him by faith and become changed into his image, when we know that the world is covered with moral darkness like the pall of death, that as we reflect light into the gloomy pathway of those who are in perplexity and error, that may see that there is brightness and attractiveness in the Christian’s hope? But all this depends upon your reception of the Holy Spirit. It is your privilege to be anointed from on high, or you cannot represent Jesus as he is, and the world cannot take knowledge of you that you have been with him and have learned of the divine Teacher. You are to walk in him, to love him because he first loved you.

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Jesus did not seek you and me because we were his friends; for we were estranged from him, and unreconciled to God. It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. But he has promised to give us his Holy Spirit, that we might become assimilated to his nature, changed into his image. Therefore we must put away everything like passion, impatience, murmuring, and unrest, and find a place for Jesus in the heart. We must have the buyers and the sellers cleared out of the soul-temple, that Jesus may take up his abode within us. Now he stands at the door of the heart as a heavenly merchantman; he says, «Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and will open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.» «Open unto me; buy of me the heavenly wares; buy of me the gold tried in the fire.» Buy faith and love, the precious, beautiful attributes of our Redeemer, which will enable us to find our way into the hearts of those who do not know him, who are cold and alienated from him through unbelief and sin. He invites us to buy the white raiment, which is his glorious righteousness: and the eyesalve, that we may discern spiritual things. O, shall we not open the heart’s door to this heavenly visitor?

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But every one who is Christ’s, who has tasted of the powers of the world to come, has crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. As the physical nature is sustained by the food we eat, so the spiritual nature must be sustained by the Word and Spirit of God. God desires us to have a healthful experience. We shall be feeble and dying Christians if we have the experience described by the apostle as fashioned after «the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.» We must have Christ abiding in our hearts by faith, and then we shall manifest the fruits of the Spirit, which the Word of God declares are «love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.»

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But sometimes those who profess to be followers of Christ, will say, «You must not be surprised if I am rough, if I speak bluntly, if I manifest temper; for it is my way.» But is not Heaven surprised at such manifestations, since the plan of salvation has been devised, since an infinite sacrifice has been made on Calvary’s cross, that we might reflect the image of Jesus? Will your way lead to heaven? Suppose one should come up to the pearly gates, and say, «I know that I have been rude and unkind, and it is my disposition to lie and to steal; but I want an entrance into the heavenly mansions;» would that way give him an entrance into the portals of the heavenly city? — No; it is those who keep Christ’s way that will enter there. He says, «I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.» If any one thinks he can climb up some other way, he will find that it will not lead him to the mansions of glory. We want Christ’s way. His life must be in us, even as blood is the life that nourishes the body. Jesus has said, «Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. . . . He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.» We should study that we may understand the meaning of these words; for they are of vital importance to us. Jesus has explained their significance. He says, «It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.» ( To be continued .)

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Text: Col. 2: 1-10. We should take time to study the Bible; for we must know what saith the Scripture. The Bible is the garden of God, and as we see the lovely flowers of promise that have been placed there, we should gather them to our souls. For «exceeding great and precious promises» are given unto us, that by these we might become «partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.»

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«Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.» Does this mean that you are not to associate with the world? — No; for how can you bring to them the light of truth if you do not come in contact with them? But you cannot do them good if your association with the world leads you to beg the world’s pardon for your faith in Christ; for then you do not mould the world, but the world moulds you. Jesus has signified what is to be your position in the world. He says, «Ye are the light of the world.» «He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.»

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Since God has given us this assurance, why is it that we see so many clouded, mixed experiences? It is because many of the professed followers of Christ have given heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. It is because they have not responded to the drawing of Christ. When you do this, you draw others to him by your consistent life and Christian example: for by faith you become rooted and grounded in the truth. You must search the precious Word of God, that you may know what is truth. Jesus prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth. And no one can be safe in thinking that he can permit himself to indulge in any sin, however secret it may be; for God requires truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts wisdom. You need not feel complacency because you are sure that your brethren do not know of your misdeeds. Does not One who is acquainted with your brethren know all about your life? Does not he read your heart as an open book? You cannot indulge in any sin, and still be a witness for the Lord, for in works you deny him. Where is the holy boldness that should characterize your faith and prayers, because you are not condemned before man and God, but can lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting? Where is your ringing testimony on the side of truth? If you are indulging in known sin, you cannot utter words to the glory of God, because there is something in your heart that condemns you. The Spirit of God is not in your soul. But let the heart with all its affections be just where it belongs, surrendered to God, and you will have joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. Your intellect, your ability, your powers of soul, body, and spirit, have been purchased at an infinite price by the Son of God, and they all belong to him. And yet though Christ has redeemed men, how few render to him that which is his own. How many rob him in thought and in service. O, shall we not gird up the loins of our minds, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and hope unto the end for the grace that shall be given unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ?

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You cannot enter heaven with any deformity or imperfection of character, and you must be fitted for heaven now in this probationary life. If you would enter the abode of the righteous when Christ shall come, you must have the deep movings of the Spirit of God, that you may have an individual experience, and be complete in Him who is the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Through the power of the righteousness of Christ, we are to depart from all iniquity. There must be a living connection of the soul with its Redeemer. The channel of communication must be open continually between man and his God, that the soul may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. But how many do not pray. They feel under condemnation for sin, and they think they must not come to God until they have done something to merit his favor, or until God has forgotten about their transgressions. They say, «I cannot hold up holy hands before God without wrath or doubting, and therefore I cannot come.» So they remain away from Christ, and are committing sin all the time in so doing, for without him you can do nothing but evil. Just as soon as you commit sin, you should flee to the throne of grace, and tell Jesus all about it. You should be filled with sorrow for sin, because through sin you have weakened your own spirituality, grieved the heavenly angels, and wounded and bruised the loving heart of your Redeemer. When you have asked Jesus in contrition of soul for his forgiveness, believe that he has forgiven you. Do not doubt his divine mercy, or refuse the comfort of his infinite love.

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If your child had disobeyed you, and committed wrong against you, and that child should come with a breaking heart to ask forgiveness, you know what you would do. You know how quickly you would draw your child to your heart, and assure him that your love was unchanged, and his transgressions forgiven. Are you more merciful than your merciful Heavenly Father, who so loved the world that he «gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life»? You should go to God as children go to their parents. Ask your Heavenly Father to forgive your errors, and pray that through the grace of Christ you may be able to overcome every defect of your character.

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Jesus came to this world to save his people from their sins. He will not save us in our sins, for he is not the minister of sin. We must respond to the divine drawing of Christ, and repent of our sins, and unite ourselves to Christ as the branch is united to the vine. Jesus says, «And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.» Jesus is drawing all men; who will respond to this drawing? Many will be greatly influenced by the life and example of those who profess to have responded to this divine love that is drawing the hearts of men. Many will watch you who profess his name, to see whether it makes you better men and better women. They will watch to see if you are Christlike, kind and courteous in your family. The Lord has said, «By their fruits ye shall know them.»

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Your home life is an index to your Christianity. What a man is in his family, is just what he is in the sight of God. Those who profess to be followers of Christ will reveal just what is their attitude towards Christ in the home circle. As the mothers brought their children to Christ that he might place his hands upon them, and bless them, so parents should take their children to him to-day. Talk to your children of Jesus, tell them of his love, and how desirous you are to have them Christ’s children. The agencies of heaven will co-operate with you in your work of drawing the children to Jesus.

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God is a lover of the beautiful, but that which he most loves is a beautiful character. These lovely flowers on the desk to-day are an expression of the love of God to us. Flowers are the adornments that God has made for the earth. Christ has said, «Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Jesus tells us that there is something higher for our consideration and aims than what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed. It is beauty of character that shall not perish, but last through the ceaseless ages of eternity. «Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in what which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.» 1 Peter 3: 3,4.

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Jesus would have the fathers and mothers teach their children this beauty of character. He would have them teach their children that God loves them, that their natures may be changed, and brought into harmony with God. Do not teach your children that God does not love them when they do wrong; teach them that he loves them so that it grieves his Spirit to see them in transgression, because he knows they are doing injury to their souls. Do not terrify your children by telling them of the wrath of God, but rather seek to impress them with his unspeakable love and goodness, and thus let the glory of the Lord be revealed before them. ( Concluded next number .)