“Perfect In Christ Jesus”

Colossians 1: 23-28

23) If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

24)  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

25) Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

26) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

27) To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

28) Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Preface

W

hen we know Who Jesus is, we are able to operate in His authority. Rather than that authority being conferred upon us just by our saying His name, authority comes by us operating in His authority. After all, it is He Who has purchased all for us. Through Him, we have our being and because of this, we are to do nothing independent of Him. All that we have and all that we do is by and for Him.

In Him, we are complete, but too often, we miss the blessings that come from having faith in what He has already done. This is because as human beings, we are so determined to be “in control” and to “run” something.

Main Thought

Frequently, we hear from both the clergy and laymen alike that “nobody’s perfect.” Teaching “down” like this does nothing but give people an excuse to make little to no effort to know the truth that God would have known.

The “truth” is that no one expects there to be “human perfection,” least of all, God. Since it is He Who made us, Who better to know how “flawed” humankind is? Since we are “born” this way, there is no solution to this problem but to “put the ‘old man’ to death.” It was John who said that what is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. One does not “morph” into another, any more than the proverbial “leopard can change his spots”

In order to be “perfect in Jesus Christ,” we must first be spiritual. We cannot be spiritual unless we know what being “spiritual” involves. First of all, spirituality, by definition, must embody the “absence of flesh.” If one would be identified with the One Who inhabits him, he must be free of self.

Salvation has become so “bastardized” that it is difficult to change the perception of Man concerning what it really is, Part of this is because though Man undergoes a “drastic” change, as he beholds his physical self, he may appear to be no different (except for what he can change cosmetically).

You see, Man is a creature very much influenced and subsequently, ruled by his senses and hence, that that is external. Because of this, he tends to be shallow and therefore, unless he seeks an intimate relationship with the Lord, he will fail to get beyond the external.

For many years, the mistake made in the Church has been made by teaching people as if they can become “better human beings.” This is a mistake because it is the antithesis of what Jesus came to do. He came that we might be changed from that creature that keeps us from His will to that one which will allow us to be like Him.

You see, it is possible that one could become a better human being and never become spiritual. This would do him no good at all for he would still be lost. In contrast, one born of the Spirit of God becomes a full time spiritual being!

True “misery” is the life lived “flip-flopping” between being a human and a spiritual being. Actually, if one is doing this, he is out in “limbo,” somewhere. Rather than this uncertainty and turmoil, the Lord has “better” for us—and that “better” is not possible through human effort.

It seems as if the people of God fight perfection “tooth and nail.” By this, we mean that we fight tests and trials—the only means by which to be “proven.” You see, the problem that we have with testing comes from the fact that we attempt to predetermine what we want to happen not on the basis of what might be necessary or even good for is, but purely upon what we do not want to bother our flesh.

Well, in that we were promised to be made “new creatures,” we were evidently not meant to remain fleshly. Not only is flesh the “death” of Man (both literally and figuratively) but it also prohibits us from receiving information from God. Since God’s information is truth, if we don’t receive from Him, we don’t live.

God’s information is so vital because the very nature of Man makes him “process” information incorrectly and therefore, he is incapable of seeing properly. Therefore, we are easily deceived because in that we do not “see” how something really is, we assume that it is the way that we see it. Thus, we become convinced that we are correct! Without the Lord in our lives, we are one pitiful, hopeless being.

“Perfect(ion) in Jesus Christ” will be reached only by one who is spiritual for only that which is spiritual is perfect or capable of being perfect. It is time for those of us who know the truth to stop allowing “perfection” to be spoken as a “dirty” word. n