Perfect and Fully Assured in the Will of God
God's desire is for us to Mature and be Established in the reality of "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory"
As I was reading the Scriptures this morning, I was struck by a phrase in Paul’s closing comments in his letter to the Colossians.
Paul thought it important to mention two aspects of the prayers of Epaphras for the believers in Colossae to whom he had originally shared the gospel: “perfect” and “fully assured.”
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.
Perfect
Perfect comes from teleios, meaning brought to completion, fully matured, become fully what you were created to be.
Paul and Epaphras labored and taught the Body to this end: that every person be made to realize the reality of the indwelling Lord Jesus, Christ in them, their hope of glory, and to fully mature and manifest His life.
Colossians 1:27-28 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
Fully Assured
Fully Assured comes from plērophoreō, meaning to be fully convinced and established with certainty, brought to full measure, and complete.
This is the same word Paul uses to describe Abraham’s faith in God that God credited to him as righteousness:
Romans 4:20-22 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Will of God
In all the will of God - God’s will is His ultimate desire and plan for us to be made like Christ and united with Him.
This is not something that happens from the outside in, us working on being better and attaining righteousness and pleasing God through our own works. This is as important after salvation as it is before we are saved.
But rather it is from within - the full manifestation of the life of Christ in you through the indwelling Spirit - Christ’s perfect life lived in and through you, the willing, sanctified, but weak vessel.
This is God’s will and ultimately brings God great glory and honor and praise.
Christ in You
What does this reality of “Christ in You” look like? Paul has devoted much of this letter to revealing the truth about this life:
Colossians 1:9-12 …filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Colossians 2:2-3 …attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith
Colossians 2:10 …in Him you have been made complete
Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him
Colossians 3:15-16 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…
Ultimately, the will of God boils down to one fully manifested, fully assured, perfect reality within your soul:
Colossians 1:27 …Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Your Reality
Paul’s purpose in laboring for the Colossians is the same reason I am writing here today:
Colossians 1:28-29 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Is His life manifested in your body?
Are you maturing in the lived experience of God taking up residence in your body as His Temple?
Is His life transforming you into His image?
Are you walking with Him, with undistracted devotion, sharing each moment of your life with your Lord?
This is our hope of glory!
How have you walked out the indwelling life of Christ? How has Christ transformed your heart and life? I’d love to discuss more in the comments below.