Complete In Jesus

Have you ever wondered about your salvation; about whether or not you are going to heaven when you die? Some questions we might have are, “What am I supposed to do in order to gain God’s acceptance and love?” “Do I have to read the Bible all the way through?” “Do I have to knock on a million doors?” Allow me to begin enlightening our understanding by sharing an illustration:

Think about a small lake frozen over in the dead of winter. A young boy walks out on a boat dock over the ice, but suddenly his sister calls from the shore. As he turns around to see her, he loses his balance, one of his feet lands on the ice, and he crashes into the icy water. You see, as long as both his feet were solidly planted on the wooden dock, the boy stood securely. But as soon as he shifted one foot to the ice, even though by mistake, he toppled into the water.

As long as we keep our trust totally on Christ’s finished work on the cross, we stand assured of God’s promise of eternal life. But as soon as we rest any weight on the thin ice of our own efforts, we will topple into the icy waters of insecurity.(1)

Some of us might think we have to do many different things to gain God’s love, but there is only one requirement, and that is to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we put any weight on the thin ice of our own efforts, we will drown in sin and never make it to heaven; but, if we stand on the promise of the cross, then we will be firmly secure in our salvation and relationship with Jesus Christ.

This morning we are going to see how the apostle Paul addressed the issue of our salvation in Jesus. In our passage of Scripture, Paul encountered some believers who thought they had to do more to gain salvation, than just believe in Christ. So let’s see what Paul revealed about our salvation.

Walk in Jesus, and Be Rooted in Him (vv. 2:6-7)

6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Paul said in verse 6, that we need to walk in Christ. Walking in Christ will keep us from being deceived by the world; for when we are deceived by the world we begin doubting our salvation in Jesus. Believers can avoid being deceived by maintaining a strong stand, and by moving forward with steady progress. “When we stop going forward, we stall; [and] when we stall, we can fall.”(2) When we accept Jesus into our heart we can’t stop there and expect our life to be perfect from that point onward. We have to continue growing in our relationship with Jesus by studying the Scripture, by spending time with the Lord in prayer, and by putting into practice what we are taught by the Holy Spirit. We have to walk forward in Christ; not stand still in the world.

Paul said in verse 7, that we must be rooted in Christ, be built up in Christ, be established in Christ, and then be abounding or overflowing in thanksgiving. We see here a steady progression that we are to have in our Christian walk, or our growth process. “Steady progress is [only] possible when we are grounded or rooted. Christians are not to be tumbleweeds with no roots, blown about by every wind of doctrine. We avoid this when we are firmly rooted in Jesus Christ. Roots don’t exist for themselves: they exist to give the plant strength and help the plant grow. We are to be rooted and then built up and strengthened.”(3)

So how are we to grow? We are to grow in the “faith [we] were taught,” as Paul said. “We have no need to seek [any other kind of knowledge besides what is revealed by Jesus and the Bible]. We are to grow in knowledge of the truth already revealed in Christ . . . [and] Paul wants us overflowing with thankfulness. This comes when we recognize that we are complete in Christ.”(4) By accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have everything needed to gain eternal life. Sometimes we fail to realize this truth, and so we try to do other things to gain God’s acceptance. Right now, let’s look at some of the things Paul identified as ways that we try to gain God’s approval.

You Are Already Complete in Jesus (vv. 2:8-10)

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.