Completely (Part Two)

COMPLETELY (part two)

Last week we talked about having complete joy, complete unity and completing the task. There's joy and then there's complete joy-the joy that is constant and not temporary; the joy that is there despite my circumstances.

In John 15, Jesus communicated his love for the disciples. Then he told them to remain in his love. That means we are to stay in his love and operate in his love; part of which is loving one another. Jesus said if you love me you will obey what I command. Love is an action word so we show our love when we are obedient to his will.

Vs. 11 says that Jesus told them this so their joy would be complete. The word complete means to make full. Jesus wanted us to have the fullness of his joy. And that would come through deepening our relationship with him and obeying him. We experience joy when we know we have pleased God. Our complete joy in found in Christ.

Then there's complete unity. In John 17 Jesus prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. Jesus wants our unity to be like his and the Fathers-complete. Here, the word for complete means to perfect. It makes sense-Jesus' unity with the Father is perfect and he wants us to strive for that perfect unity.

There's unity and then there's complete unity; the unity that is throughout all areas of Christian living. Complete unity doesn't allow bitterness or anger to continue. That doesn't mean we'll always agree but being completely unified will cause us to resolve issues and reconcile with any fellow Christian with whom we've had a problem with wherever possible.

Then we looked at the importance of completing the task. In Acts 20 we learn that although Paul suffered hardships and imprisonment for the faith, his focus didn't change. His purpose was to carry on the work of the Lord and complete his task.

That's what we need to be focused on. It needs to be our top priority. Not that nothing else is important, but we can focus on doing the Lord's work in other things that are important to us-our families, jobs, friends, hobbies, etc.

Today we continue looking at completeness.

1) God's love made complete in us.

In John 15 Jesus talked about his love for his disciples and to remain in his love. He told them these things so their joy would be complete. In 1st John 2, John talks about God's love being made complete in us.

1st John 2:1-6, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

We see that what John is writing them in this letter was to help them abstain from sin. In chapter one he writes about having fellowship with him, the Father and with Jesus. In vs. four it says that we write this to make our/your joy complete. This goes with what Paul wrote in Phil. 2 about how unity in the Philippian church would make his joy complete.

In the remainder of chapt. 1, John talked about walking in the light and that if we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light we will have true fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. He goes on to say in vs. 9 that if we confess our sins, God forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness. Twice in chapt. one John states that if we claim to have no sin we deceive ourselves and we make God out to be a liar. And then we have our opening vss. in chapt. two.

So the church John was writing to was having a problem with sin. Perhaps now having been born again they thought it was no longer something they needed to be concerned about since Jesus had already dealt with it on the cross. But they were wrong. Jesus may have forgiven us but that doesn't mean sin is no longer an issue.

Our fellowship with God and each other is at stake when sin is taken lightly. Our joy is at stake when sin goes unaddressed. We deceive ourselves if we claim to be close with Christ yet walk in darkness, as John pointed out in chapt. one. We have a duty now to walk in the light so we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness.