Colossians 1:28
(NASB)
We proclaim Him,
admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may
present every man complete in Christ.
What does it mean for you to be “complete in
Christ”? The word “complete” in the
Greek (“teleios”) means “brought to its end, finished, nothing more necessary
to completeness, perfect, full grown, mature”.
This same Greek word is used in Matt 5:48 when Jesus said in His Sermon
on the Mount that “you are to be “teleios” just as your Father in Heaven is
“teleios”. Romans 12:2 says that by not
conforming to this world by a renewing of your mind that you will prove the
“teleios” will of God. And James 3:2
says that he who is able to control his tongue is a “teleios” man. To be “teleios” or complete in Christ means
to be like Christ in how you speak, act, and think. It means that you speak wise and uplifting
words. It means that you act humbly and
gently as He did (Matt 11:29). It means that “you take every thought captive to
the obedience of Christ” (II Cor 10:5).
Paul wrote that his ministry was focused on proclaiming
Jesus Christ and admonishing (urging, pleading, appealing) to every person and
teaching every person with all wisdom to become complete in Christ. So how do you get to the place where you are
complete in Christ? I think like most
spiritual journeys, it begins and ends with saturating your mind with the Word
of God. Why? Because Paul in II Tim 3:16-17 wrote that the
Word of God (Scripture) is profitable (useful, needed, required) for teaching,
reproof, correction, and training in righteousness so that he who studies and
applies the Word of God may be what?
Perfect! The word for perfect in
II Tim 3:17 is “artios” but its meaning is the same as “teleios”, to be
complete and perfect.
To study and apply the Word of God seems like a simple
statement, but one of the most difficult pursuits and challenges in life. The “teleios” Christian person takes his/her
Bible and makes it part of his/her life.
Just like you eat food several times a day for your physical
nourishment, you take in the Word of God every day for your spiritual
nourishment. The goal of Paul’s
ministry, the goal of every pastor in charge of a flock of Christian people,
the goal of every Bible teacher is to take the Bible and help people see that
it is spiritual nourishment for every day for the rest of their lives. A Christian matures and becomes “teleios”
because you feed on the Word of God.
Do you believe that the Bible has the ability and the
capacity to make you perfect? You say,
“no one can be perfect and certainly not I”.
Yet the perfection referred to here is to be complete in Christ. No, you humanly alone can never be perfect,
but your life dedicated to Christ and proving that dedication by studying and
applying the Word of God daily in your life makes you perfect in Him. Think about this----do you not believe that
Jesus Christ through His Word has the capability of perfecting you? Oh, indeed, someday He will make you like
Him, if you let Him, perfect and completed, lacking in nothing (James
1:4). Philippians 1:6 says that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it
Candidly answer this question----is the Bible part of
your daily nourishment? Do you take as
much time and effort studying and applying the Bible as you do to eat? Are you ready and willing for the Lord to
work in your life to complete you in Christ?
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