In Christ you have been brought to fullness. Colossians 2:10
The deer in our neighborhood and I have two different opinions about sunflowers. When I plant sunflowers each spring, I’m looking forward to the beauty of their blooms. My deer friends, however, don’t care about the finished product. They simply want to chew the stems and leaves until there’s nothing left. It’s an annual summertime battle as I try to see the sunflowers to maturity before my four-hoofed neighbors devour them. Sometimes I win; sometimes they win.
When we think about our lives as believers in Jesus, it’s easy to see a similar battle being waged between us and our enemy—Satan. Our goal is continual growth leading to spiritual maturity that helps our lives stand out for God’s honor. The devil wants to devour our faith and keep us from growing. But Jesus has dominion over “every power” and can bring us “to fullness” (Colossians 2:10), which means He makes us “complete.” Christ’s victory on the cross allows us to stand out in the world like those beautiful sunflowers.
When Jesus nailed the “record of the charges against us” (the penalty for our sins) to the cross (v. 14 nlt), He destroyed the powers that controlled us. We became “rooted and built up” (v. 7) and made “alive with Christ” (v. 13). In Him we have the power (v. 10) to resist the enemy’s spiritual attacks and to flourish in Jesus—displaying a life of true beauty.
Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,j continue to live your lives in him,
7 rootedk and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,l and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,m
which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forcesa of this worldn rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullnesso of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the headp over every power and authority.q
11 In him you were also circumcisedr with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Your whole self ruled by the fleshb s was put off when you were circumcised byc Christ,
12 having been buried with him in baptism,t in which you were also raised with himu
through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.v
13 When you were dead in your sinsw and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made youd alivex with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,y
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,z
which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.a
INSIGHT
- In what areas does the enemy try to nibble away at your growing spiritual maturity?
- Why is it vital for you to call out to God when you experience spiritual attacks?
In Colossians 2:6–13, Paul highlights the idea of fullness. In verse 9, he uses the word plērōma, which refers to filling to capacity, to describe the extent to which Christ exemplifies and demonstrates deity. There’s no part of Jesus in which God doesn’t dwell; He’s fully God (see Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:3).
Conversely, in Colossians 2:10, Paul uses the verb plēroō to describe our being brought to fullness in Christ. Rather than fullness being something we have, it’s something that’s done to us and in us; we’re completed in Jesus. This word is often used to describe the fulfillment of prophecies about Christ—they were fulfilled—giving the word the sense of completion or accomplishment.
PRAYER
Loving God, make my life beautiful for You. Help me to resist the enemy through Your power because I can’t do it on my own. Thank You for Jesus’ death and resurrection—my source of hope, power, and courage. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Colossians 2:6-14 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 7-9; John 1:1-28
