Joshua, chapter one, reading verses one through nine. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nile, Moses' assistant, saying, Moses, my son, is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, and giving to them, the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as Christ said to Moses. From the wilderness and this land, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and in the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you, nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance, the land which God swore to their father to give them. Only be strong and really courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses, the servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and have good courage. Do not be afraid or be dismayed, for the Lord, your Father, is with you wherever you go. Turn now to the New Testament reading, which is taken from He also says, 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. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hand, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of the tyrants that was against us, which was contrary to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having discerned principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of it, triumphing over them in it. Thus far the reading of God's word. Imagine for a moment that I had a PhD in language studies from Harvard University. Imagine that I were a published author in English and several other modernized say German, French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Arabic, and a few dialects of Chinese. Imagine that I were also able, with perfect ease, to read and write in Latin, ancient Greek, biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Old Phoenician, and a few other ancient languages. Then imagine What I would say, if you suggested that I ought to spend my time memorizing the English alphabet, learning my ABCs, that would be a rather foolish step, that way. Or imagine that I had PhDs in physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy from Yale and MIT and other universities. Imagine that I were a consultant to NASA and to various high-tech industries regarding the way things work and life in various environments, like outer space, deserts, high altitude, deep oceans, and so on. A recognized authority in what you might call environmental life studies. Then imagine what I would say If you suggested that I ought to spend my time studying Aristotle's primitive explanation of the universe made up of four elements at the center, earth, air, fire, and water, and a fifth superior element, air, which makes up the heavens, rather than the hundred or so naturally occurring Paul wants us, with the Colossians, to see that in Christ we have to which he has referred in verse eight. But it won't seem foolish to us if we think and act like small children who don't yet know their ABCs or anything about elements. If we don't remember that we have our PhDs, we'll fall into the trap of trying to learn the alphabet and the elements from the false teachers That's the point of verse 10 of Colossians 2. While defending his ministry for the Colossians in chapter one, verse three, through chapter two, verse five, Paul also displayed the person and work of Christ. That display of the person and work of Christ is the foundation for his exhortations his calls to obedience, which follow with his instructions, his warnings, and commands. There are four basic exhortations, or groups of exhortations, in chapter 2, verse 6, through chapter 4, verse 6. The first was in chapter 2, verses 6 and 7, which was to say, walk on the foundation which is in Christ. The second is in chapter 2, verse 8, to chapter 3, verse 4, that might be summarized as, walk in contrast to those outside of Christ, those who oppose Christ, or those who would lead you astray from Christ. Paul started out this excellent your view of life. Don't let your view and your life itself be captured, limited, and governed by the false teachings of the world. Rather, line yourself up with Jesus. Live life according to Christ. In verse 9, we saw about six months ago, that teaching, thinking, and living according to Jesus will reflect the fact that he is both God and man, that all the fullness of God dwells in him. Everything that God is, Jesus is. Now, in verse 10, Paul continues to spell out what is according You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Or as the NIV more literally translates the verse, you have been given the fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Or as the ESV translates it, you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule. Jesus is the Son of Righteousness, and we are like the moon reflecting the light of the sun. Or perhaps closer to the point of the verse, you're like the earth, full of the light and warmth of the Son of Righteousness, which rises with healing in His Name. But this still doesn't quite say what Paul was saying. The words in him are very important here. The idea they express is the chief subject that runs through verses 10 through 15. In other words, beginning with verse 10, Paul is spelling out what it means for us to be in him. When Paul says that you are in him, he's talking about union with Christ. where he compares our union with him to his union with the Father. He says, I pray that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent them. Union with Christ is also The life I live is divine. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And it's the subject of John 15, where we read, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in one. Neither can you bear fruit unless If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask for an image, and it will be given you. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. Notice, We're in by a spiritual union, which means we share his life and experience. True love is in union with Christ. Our relationship to Jesus is like the bride's relationship to her husband, or like the relationship of a branch to a tree. The life of the branch depends upon the life and your life depends on the life of Jesus. That's what it means to be in him. Now that doesn't just mean that you live because he does something for you or because you get something, some power from him. It's not just You receive Jesus himself, and he receives you, so that you share his love. In him, you are made alive. But Paul doesn't stop with that. Indeed, the main point he makes in verse 10 is that you are more than alive. You are full. The word which the New King James Version translates, are complete. The New American Standard translates, have been made complete. The ESV translates, have been filled. And the NIV translates, have been given fullness. It's related to the word fullness in verse nine. If I took a cup and filled it to the brim with water, as in verse 9. And we would also say that the cup was filled full. It was full, filled. That's the idea in verse 10. You are completely filled, perfectly filled, completed, perfected in Christ. Now, not you will be, but you are at present. you already have been fulfilled. Our tendency is to play down the impact of this point, to pull its punch when we throw it out to others. Perhaps we're afraid to hope in such a wonderful state of affairs. It seems to our doubting fearful eyes too much to believe. We're afraid that this can't be true. We don't want to be disappointed so we lessen our claims of what God has done. But Paul is driving it home with full force. He puts all his apostolic weight behind it. When we draw away from this truth, when we forget it, we cripple ourselves. So that we don't forget the point, let's consider what does fulfilled mean here? To see that, we have to realize God created man in His own image, the image of God, to reflect His glory, the righteous presence, and to praise Him with all our lives in thought, word, and deed, and thus to enjoy Him. God's purpose for us is that we be mirrors. Sin prevents us from fulfilling that purpose. Instead of being good mirrors in which others can see God's reflection, we are like old tin pots, dented and tarnished and crusted. We are incomplete, separated from God, driven from his presence. The man outside of Christ is dead. unable to do what is right, or even to understand the purpose for which he was created. That's why so many people today, not just young, are looking for fulfillment. But if they look outside of Christ, they cannot find it. Now we begin to see what it means to be fulfilled. by Adam's disobedience as repaired by Christ, who was obedient in all things. When the Holy Spirit made you alive in Christ, he filled you up. So Paul says in Romans 8, verse 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, graciously give us all things. The Apostle John says in verse 16 of the first chapter of his gospel, and of his fullness, we have all received in grace with grace. We see what we are to be like as complete in Christ, in whom all the fullness dwells. He is the picture of our perfection. Christ has filled you with Himself. So Peter says in 2 Peter 1 verses 3 and 4, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. so that through them, you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. We are our takers in the divine nature. Now, of course, neither Peter nor Paul is saying that we become God, but they are saying something astounding. They're saying that we are made new, alive, complete, perfect. Although it's also true that God is still bringing to completion the good work which he has begun in us. We're complete, fulfilled, and that we can now perform the purpose for which we were created as the image of God. We can reflect the glory of God. because in Christ you are fulfilled. In him, God has fully given himself to us. To receive Christ is to be filled. Forgiveness and redemption are precisely the gift of fullness. Have you come to Christ for salvation? Has He drawn you to Himself and taken you by His hand? If so, then you have found in the Lord fullness of life. The man filled in Christ is like an old tin pot which now, filled with pure water, will reflect your image. Jesus is full. perfection and holiness. We receive from Him, by His Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We are like empty vessels filled with Jesus Christ. Our nature being itself empty of the glory of God, our Lord Jesus Christ fills us from His own abundance. He clothes us with His righteousness that we may appear before the throne of His Father, freed from fear of His anger. He illumines us by His Spirit with saving knowledge. He comforts us with His peace and gives us eternal life. Then we can see that Christ has made you whole, complete, perfect. He is himself God. In him, the fullness of God dwells. Since you have Jesus Christ, since you are in Christ, and he is in you, there is no need to go to others. Paul emphasizes that point in the last half of the verse. There he says that Christ is the head of all principality and power, or as the NIV puts it, the head over every power and authority, or in the ESV, the head of all rule and authority. These principalities and powers, or powers, God has put all the hosts of heaven under the feet of Christ. The holy angels, that is those who have never disobeyed God, submit to God willingly. But the hosts of hell, Satan and those angels who followed him and fell on his side, and all of whom are the enemies of Christ and his people, these had to be subdued along with those Jesus has indeed subdued them. He did so on the cross. Paul talks about this in the next verses. He says that the cross is God's heavy artillery, his surgical airstrike, his iron assault, his Normandy invasion, his special forces raid against Satan. He began from the grave and ascended into glory. He conquered and subdued every power and authority to himself. He defeated and brought into his control safely with his henchmen who first tempted Adam so that we were broken by sin and made incomplete. So Paul can write to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 45 to 54 through 57, The saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no power or authority which is not under Christ. Because of the obedience and death and resurrection and ascension of Christ, even your sin is subdued by him. So it's worse than pointless to seek fulfillment outside of Christ. It's disastrous. It's like throwing away all that you have earned in earning your PhD. forsaking the victorious pain to seek help from a defeated soldier who is your enemy from start to finish. It's like dumping the pure water out of the bucket, bagging it with a rock, filling it with dirt, and hoping to get a better reflection. That we are complete in Him means that we are not to seek fulfillment by some other method, belief, or person. You are complete if you are in him. The believer already shares Christ's fullness and victory. Christians are freed from the dominion of darkness and don't need to fear those demonic powers anymore. The question is, do you live like him? What difference does it make that you are fulfilled, complete, free, How does it affect the way you live? Paul will have more to say about this, but for now, consider. Why do you worry? Is it because you've forgotten that you're fulfilling Christ and you're seeking something? Either something which he has already provided or something outside? Or you get angry. Is it ever because you're frustrated in your desire to have something, to be fulfilled by something outside of Christ. Why do you fear? Is it because you forget that Christ, who fills you, is the conqueror over every power and authority that might oppose, attack, or accuse you? Why do you get depressed? Why do you lose yourself in your work and neglect your family? Is it because you think that by your labor there is something, anything that you can gain that Christ has not already provided for you? Those powers and authorities which Christ has conquered and which we are not to know for fulfillment, outward beauty, popularity, greed, knowledge, control of circumstances, power over others, addiction to drugs or alcohol, family and friends, love, achievement, or lust. Jesus is the head over every power and authority. He has subdued them by His life and death. You are complete if you are in Him. This week, live like it. Don't go back to the ABCs of life. Don't go back to the primitive view of the elements of life. Look to Jesus. Jesus, whose fullness has filled you.