Fullness, Nothing Less

OPENING PRAYER:

Dear Father, as I meditate today on the words of joy and truth in the gospel let them change me in ways that are according to your will.

READ: COLOSSIANS 2:6-15

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[b] was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]

Footnotes

[a] Colossians 2:8 Or the basic principles; also in verse 20

[b] Colossians 2:11 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 13.

[c] Colossians 2:11 Or put off in the circumcision of

[d]Colossians 2:13 Some manuscripts us

[e] Colossians 2:15 Or them in him

COLOSSIANS 2:6-15

REFLECT:

What is lacking in your life? What need is unfulfilled? What effect is that having on your walk with God? Bring those reflections to our Father now. He’s big enough to handle the truth.

Paul the prisoner calls on the Colossians to avoid captivity! Is this a cruel joke? Or is Paul unaware of the irony? No. He knows all about the chains that matter in our lives. They are not made of metal, but ideas. Paul is completely free and the Colossians are in danger of being imprisoned. Clever people with attractive voices are calling them to put their faith in ‘hollow and deceptive philosophy’ (v 8). Our faith is in a person, Jesus, not philosophy or traditions.

We were effectively dead. Now we are alive in Christ (v 13). No obedience to law or adoption of Jewish traditions can add to what Jesus has done. But these might change our thinking so that we believe we have contributed to our salvation or that some- thing is missing.

That is the trap Paul warns them to avoid. We have been given ‘fullness in Christ’ (v 10). We can’t add anything more. Following Jesus is the correct response (v 6), not trying to do the work he has already done. Overflow with thankfulness for this amazing gift!

APPLY:

Two big words today: fullness and overflowing. God is not mean. There is no good thing he holds back from his children. Bring your needs before him now. Trust him to be faithful and wise in response.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, you are the way to God, the truth about God, and the life in God. You are all I need. I praise you for my new life in you.

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