We Have Everything, Fully, in Christ

Introduction

There's a phrase from the apostle Paul that, if you truly receive it, changes the way you live every day: "You have been given fullness in him" (Colossians 2:10). In this sermon delivered at Impact Centre Chrétien on April 28, 2024, Pastor Célestin YAO takes up this verse as a contribution to apostle Ivan Castanou's teaching on "Christ, the foundation that protects you from false doctrines."

The message is clear: you have nothing to add to what Jesus Christ has already accomplished for you. Not a tradition, not a ritual, not a secret knowledge, not a self-inflicted suffering. Everything is in him, and it is fully in him. Yet we still need to understand why Paul insists on this so strongly, and which heresies he was fighting in the church of Colossae.

Outline of the message

1. The context of the letter to the Colossians

Colossae was a city in Phrygia, in the Roman province called "Asia," located in what is now part of Turkey. It bordered two more important cities: Laodicea and Hierapolis. Its population was mostly pagan, but it also had a strong Jewish community.

The church in Colossae was founded by Epaphras, a fellow worker of Paul. Epaphras was originally from Colossae. When he was touched by the gospel during the three years Paul taught in Ephesus, he went back home to share the good news. That's how the church was born. Paul mentions this in Colossians 1:7-8 and 4:12: "He is always struggling on your behalf in his prayers."

This church, however, faced real threats. The letter to the Colossians is the most preventive letter in the New Testament: in it, Paul warns believers against heresies that were quietly rising. A heresy is an opinion or teaching that does not conform to the standard received from the Word of God.

2. The dominant philosophy of the first century: Gnosticism

The worldview that ruled in Colossae was called Gnosticism (from the Greek gnosis, knowledge). Gnostics taught this: everything divine is good, but everything material (including the body) is evil. To reach God, then, you needed intermediaries, which explains the worship of angels. To them, Jesus was just a "good emanation," on the same level as an angel.

Once you understand this, you understand the origin of many doctrines still present around us today. There's nothing new under the sun. This is a battle the church fathers already fought. Paul writes to Colossae to warn them: inside this Gnostic wrapper, several specific heresies were threatening believers.

3. First heresy: denying the humanity of Jesus

Since matter is evil, they said, Jesus (a "good emanation") could not be human. A sub-movement called Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, to seem) went even further: Jesus only seemed to suffer, seemed to feel pain, seemed to die.

But our Christian faith, our creed, is that Jesus is 100 percent God and 100 percent human. If Jesus is not truly human, he could not have taken on your sins, he was not tempted as you are, and his sacrifice loses its meaning. Paul answers in Colossians 1:21-22: "He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death." Jesus truly became flesh.

4. Second heresy: denying the divinity of Jesus

Following the same logic, they refused to accept that God, who is good, would come to dwell in matter, which is evil. To them, Jesus wasn't God. Just "a good man."

Paul's answer is in Colossians 2:9: "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." This is the mystery hidden for ages but now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Paul writes the same thing to the Philippians: though he was equal with God, Jesus emptied himself, took the form of a servant, died on the cross, and God gave him the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:6-11).

5. Third heresy: the work of Christ isn't enough, you need to add "knowledge"

For the Gnostics, what Jesus did on the cross was good, but insufficient. You needed to add a special knowledge, obtained in particular through the worship of angels and visions. Humans always want to have their part in it.

Paul answers right at the heart of the matter in Colossians 2:10: "You have been given fullness in him." Everything. Salvation, healing, deliverance, financial favor, the joy of God, peace, marriage, eternal life. And fully, not halfway. When Jesus says on the cross, "it is finished," there is nothing left to add.

6. Fourth heresy (Judaizing): adding circumcision

The Judaizers went around in every church Paul had founded, saying: "The gospel of grace being preached to you is too simple. You need to add circumcision, as a sign of the covenant given to our father Abraham."

Paul firmly refuses. He writes in Colossians 2:11: "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ." True circumcision is that of the heart, in Christ.

7. Fifth heresy: asceticism, punishing the body to earn merit

Since matter was evil, some, influenced by the Jewish sect of the Essenes, who lived remotely in the countryside and were often vegetarian, promoted asceticism: depriving yourself, cutting the body, multiplying fasts to earn something from God.

Be careful: this isn't always framed this way, but Christians fall into this too. We fast to "buy God off," to make up for a sin, as if our bodily suffering could add to Jesus' sacrifice. Paul exposes this in Colossians 2:20-23: these rules of "do not eat, do not touch" have an appearance of wisdom, but "are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh."

We fast and pray out of love for God, not to earn merit. We're not delivered from a sin by fasting, but by the revelation of the Word that we grasp.

8. Sixth heresy: imposing the Sabbath, new moons, religious diets

Still on the Judaizing side: you supposedly had to observe the Sabbath, new moons, Jewish festivals, and the dietary rules of Leviticus. Paul's answer is in Colossians 2:16-17: "Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

Jesus himself, during his life, "enjoyed" healing and delivering people on the Sabbath, to show that everything finds its true meaning in him. That is also why he rose on the first day of the week (Sunday), and why Christians, from the first century on, gathered on that day.

Key takeaways

The letter to the Colossians is preventive. Paul warns against heresies coming from paganism (Gnosticism) and Judaism.
Jesus is 100 percent God and 100 percent human. "In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9).
There is nothing to add to the work of Christ. No secret knowledge, no circumcision, no asceticism, no Sabbath, no religious diet.
Everything is in him, fully. Salvation, healing, deliverance, favor, peace, eternal life.
Stay rooted in Christ so you are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Personal application

Do you actually live as if Jesus were enough, or are you quietly adding rituals, works, or merits to be "acceptable" before God?
Which doctrines or practices have you adopted without ever checking them against the Word? Pick up your Bible again.
When you fast, pray, or give something up, is it out of love for God, or to squeeze a blessing out of him like a contract?
Do you genuinely recognize that your healing, your deliverance, your peace, and your favor are already in Christ, or are you still looking for them elsewhere?
What specific decision will you make this week to root yourself more solidly in Christ?

Verses cited

FAQ

What does it mean that "we have everything, fully, in Christ"?

According to Colossians 2:10, everything a Christian needs (salvation, healing, deliverance, peace, favor, eternal life) is found entirely in Christ. Nothing needs to be added to his finished work on the cross.

Why did Paul write the letter to the Colossians?

It is the most preventive letter in the New Testament. Paul warns the church in Colossae against heresies coming from paganism (Gnosticism, Docetism) and Judaism (imposed circumcision, Sabbath, religious diet) that were trying to add human requirements to the work of Christ.

Do we need to add works, fasting, or rituals to salvation in Christ?

No. Jesus said on the cross, "it is finished." Trying to earn salvation through deprivation, observances, or traditions amounts to denying the sufficiency of Christ's work. Fasting and prayer remain precious, not to buy God off, but out of love for him.

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