Complete In Him

Complete in Him: Our Empowering Identity in Christ

Bible Passage: Colossians 2:10–15

Summary: In Colossians 2:10-15, Paul emphasizes that believers are complete in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. He illustrates how Christ’s sacrifice on the cross nullified the charge of our legal indebtedness and triumphed over spiritual forces.

Application: This passage reassures Christians that their identity is secure in Christ, which can be transformative during times of doubt and spiritual attack. It encourages them to live from a place of completeness rather than striving for validation or acceptance through worldly standards.

Teaching: The sermon teaches that our fulfillment and identity come from our relationship with Christ, and we are no longer bound by the guilt of sin. It highlights the importance of recognizing our status in Christ to combat feelings of inadequacy and to stand firm against false teachings.

Big Idea: Believers find their complete identity and power in Christ, liberating them from the weight of sin and the need for worldly approval. Through Christ, we are empowered to live boldly and assuredly.

Welcome to Mountain View Baptist Church today. We are honored to have you in attendance. The weather has been rather cool and wet, but the Lord has been wonderful. If you are a first time guest, please stop by our welcome center as you leave today. We would love the opportunity to connect with you.

In a world of social media and high profile people in the media, it seems more and more people are looking for identity. They want to build their identity from what they do rather than what they are. Arguably there are certain athletes and musicians who are very good at what they do, but they are not as good with who they are. If our identity is in the self-made man, we will be disappointed with ourselves. When we seek fulfillment in what we do, there will be many disappointing times in our life.

The false teachers were corrupting the truth of the gospel by teaching that you are to add something to your Christian life in order to be accepted. Several years ago, a lady accepted Christ in our church. I believe she was genuinely saved and wanted to serve the Lord. In about 8 months, she started asking what else she needed to do. She had been listening to false teachers who were telling her she needed more than the gospel. She needed more than just Jesus in her life. Eventually she fell out of church altogether.

This morning, I want to give you a message from the cross that points you to the fact that your identity is completely in Christ. As we remember the cross, our identity is secure. On the eve of Pro Golfer Scottie Scheffler to win his first major, the reporters were asking him about his game. They fired off questions like: if you win, how will your life change? Will you be a different person because of your victory tomorrow? His reply was most encouraging, “Whether I win or lose, my identity is found in Jesus Christ. I will do my best but it doesn’t change who I am. I identify with Christ.” Great response for all of us to keep in mind, regardless of what happens in your life, if you know Christ, He is your identity. He is our fulfillment and there is no need for worldly approval. Please notice four principles about our identity in Christ.

Principle 1. . .

1. Complete in Christ Alone

Colossians 2:10–11

As you look at the cross, you realize the value of our relationship with Him. He came to die on the cross for our sins. His payment speaks of His love and what value He places on our relationship with Him. Once we receive Him as our personal Savior, there is nothing else we do or need to do to be forgiven and be right with God.

Our completeness, our fulfillment is in Him and Him alone. It is not in Him and what we do or who we are or how much we give or what we have or have not done. It is complete in Him meaning in His person, in His power, and ability.

Our spiritual fullness comes from Him who is the Head over all powers. When we realize who He is in our lives, our understanding of ourselves causes us to rise about our inadequacies and worldly pressures knowing our completion and empowerment comes from Christ alone.

He is the One who is worth living for.

The world tells us it is foolish to trust Christ, to be a follower of Christ, to live for Christ. The reason is because spiritual matters can only be understood by spiritual people.

I Cor. 214 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

A person who does not know Christ, cannot comprehend the completeness we have in Christ. Heb 9:14

Hebrews 9:14 KJV 1900

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

It is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs rest in Him must be cured at once, and it is not cured by being ignored, but by coming to Jesus Christ.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

Jesus gives you fulfillment and worth through your relationship with Him. There is account given in Luke 16 about a man named Lazarus and a about a rich man who cared nothing about God. Lazarus was a poor beggar in this world. He even ate crumbs from the rich man’s table. However, he sought his value and his worth in Christ. When they both died, Lazarus went to heaven and rich man went to hell. This is a reminder to us that living the good life here and having great wealth doesn’t mean everything is right with God. Jesus says in this account: Luke 16:24-25

Luke 16:24–25 KJV 1900

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Our identity and fulfillment in Christ assures us of a better place than this world. It is called heaven and it begins when we realize we are sinners. Religion or good works won’t take us to heaven. No church can take us to heaven. We must come by way of the cross. We realize that Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins because He paid a price we could not. He is willing to save you today if you will call upon Him.

Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with His people but it also had a spiritual significance. The spiritual operation is where God circumcises our heart at salvation. Israel depended on the physical operation rather than a spiritual operation of the heart.

2. Identified with Christ alone v. 12

Principle 2 . . .

The word baptize means to dip or to immerse. There is a literal and figurative meaning here. The figurative meaning has to be identified with Christ. The Jewish nation in I Cor. 10:1-2 was baptized unto Moses referring to being identified with Him. There is no amount of water that could bury a person with Christ or make a person alive in Christ. Salvation only comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

At salvation we are baptized spiritually into the body of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:12–13 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

This is the operation of God in His grace to identify us with Him and His people.

We are to embrace the reality that we are spiritually resurrected and alive in Christ. This is our new identity.

Several years ago, I met a football lineman for the New York Giants. He was in the team in their heyday years. He told me that when he first become a player, he was instructed that he was identified with something few people would ever have in their life. He had an identification card that gave him privileges more than he could ever imagine. When you are identified with Christ, you are given privileges more than you can ever imagine.

He walks with us, answers our prayers, comforts us, gives us peace, and a promised home in heaven. The Christian life is not just about going to heaven but also about being identified with Christ.

3. Sin destroyed by Christ alone

Principle 3 . . .

Colossians 2:13–14

We were sinners and there is nothing we can do to change it. Only Jesus can deliver us from our sin by dying on the cross for us. When He died so that we can be forgiven, His forgiveness cancels the debt of sin.

“It was a custom in Rome, when a man was adjudicated guilty, condemned for a crime, if he were put in prison, they would take something and nail it to the prison door. It was called a “certificate of debt.” On that certificate of debt would be written the crime that this man was guilty of, the number of years that he would stay in prison—days, months, or whatever. And when he had fulfilled his duty to the law, his certificate of debt was marked “paid in full.” It was taken, given to the judge, who would have it notarized, and he would carry it with him. And if anybody were to accuse him of that crime again, he could pull out the certificate of debt and say, “Yes, I may have been guilty, but I have paid in full. You’re not going to bring me into double jeopardy; I’ve already paid for that crime.”11 Adrian Rogers, “Nailed to the Cross,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Col 2:13–15.

Paul is celebrating the triumph over sin by nailing it to the cross. We rejoice in our freedom from sin and embrace the pardon of sour sin’s debt on the cross.

Jesus destroyed the penalty and power over sin through His sacrifice on the cross.

The cross of Christ destroyed the equation religion equals happiness.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Lutheran Pastor)

4. Triumph over Satan by Christ alone.

Principle 4. . .

Colossians 2:15 KJV 1900

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

720The less you make of Christ, the less gospel you have to trust in. If you get rid of Christ from your creed, you have at the same time destroyed all its good news. The more gospel we would preach, the more of Christ we must proclaim.—35.174

Charles Spurgeon

While the world may try to defeat us and our walk with Christ, in Him we have the victory over them. In Ephesians 6 we learn there are powers and principalities which are forces of evil in heavenly places and earthly places. Christ’s victory on the cross conquers these powers.

This victory offers believers peace and confidence we stand victorious in Christ. While we may face spiritual battles, we can trust in the power of Christ to overcome these enemies in our lives. It is at the cross we see power of Christ to overcome these forces of evil. We can live courageously in this world against those forces.

Our attitude towards sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We are more concerned about our own “victory” over sin than we are about the fact that our sin grieve the heart of God.

Jerry Bridges

Consider a young man who struggled his whole life with feelings of inadequacy. He sought approval from friends and accomplishments but never found peace. One day, he encountered Ephesians 2:10, realizing he is 'God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus.' This revelation transformed him; he understood that his identity is rooted not in what he does but in whose he is. What a joy it is when we grasp our true identity in Christ!

What about your life today? Have you been trying to find your identity in the world. If you yield to the temptations of the world, you will compromise your Christian life? You don’t have to listen to the filthy jokes at the water fountain or drink with the crowd or give in to the immorality of the world. You don’t have to get the most likes on social media or be admired by others. Your identity should rest solely on Jesus Christ. You may need to come today here to surrender to the identity of Jesus Christ?

Perhaps you are here today and have never accepted Christ? Will you turn to Him today and ask Him to be your Savior?