The Names of God - We Are Complete When God Is With Us

Hello Friend,

Did you know that you can be complete in Christ? It’s ok to go for that promotion, finish that degree, run that marathon, or marry the person of your dreams. All of that is great, but it isn’t what completes you. We become complete when, by faith, we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.

You’ve been on my mind often. I hope you are doing well. I know we’ve been talking about the Names of God and I wanted to associate one of His names with being full and complete, but I couldn’t find a name like that listed anywhere. Then I found this verse from Colossians, where Paul writes, “Christ is the fullness of Deity in bodily form (v9).” And that made me think – Immanuel, God with us. Now, I’m no bible scholar but follow my train of thought here.

Names of God complete in Christ-gray stacked stones

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For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.–Colossians 2:9-10 (Berean Study Bible)

At the moment of salvation, we accept Jesus, who is then with us and in us as the Holy Spirit. So, we must be complete the very moment we say I believe, Jesus save me. Have you done that yet, friend?

I was raised knowing about Jesus and going to church. But, I didn’t accept Him by faith until I was in my forties. So, I’m not judging you if you haven’t, but I ask you why not? Take time to think about it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If you, by faith, want to be complete in Christ, just ask Him. He’s waiting patiently to meet you. (Click this link to read more about meeting Jesus.)

Table of Contents

A simple prayer

If you want to invite Jesus into your heart, but you can’t find the words first, I want you to relax. You don’t have to be nervous about anything (Philippians 4:6-7). Instead, just say this simple prayer:

Lord, I admit I am a sinner. I need and want Your forgiveness. I accept Your death as the penalty for my sin and recognize that Your mercy and grace is a gift You offer to me because of Your great love, not based on anything I have done. Cleanse me and make me Your child. By faith, I receive You into my heart as the Son of God, my Savior, and Lord of my life. From now on, help me live for You, with You in control. In Your precious name, Amen.

Congratulations! Now, remember that because Christ is complete and He is in you, you are complete.

Now, I’m giving you some homework.

Further study about being complete in Christ

A mini word study on Fulness

The Names of God - God with us stack rock on seashore

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Fulness or pleroma? We’re learning a new word today.

Notice in verse nine, For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.

In Strong’s Concordance, the Greek transliteration of fulness (#G4138) is pleroma, meaning repletion or completion that is what fills or what is filled.
In the Greek Lexicon, pleroma means “the body of believers, as that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ.”

Even Google defines pleroma as the totality or fullness of the Godhead which dwells in Christ. And if Christ dwells (lives) in the believer, then they must be complete in Him. We must be complete in Christ.

More on Colossians 2:9-10 from Elliot’s Commentary for English Readers

Literally, ye have been filled up in His fulness, as in John 1:16. So St. Paul had prayed for the Ephesians that they might be “filled with (or rather, up to) all the fulness of God,” and “grow into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19; Ephesians 4:13). To partake of the divine pleroma is not the special privilege of the initiated; it belongs to all who are united to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And from the Pulpit Commentary:

Verse 10. – And (because) ye are in him made complete; or fulfilled (Ephesians 1:3, 7-11, 23; Ephesians 3:18, 19; Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 4:19; Galatians 3:14, 24; Galatians 5:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 2:2). A complete Christ makes his people complete; his pleroma is our plerosis. Finding the whole fulness of God brought within our reach and engaged in our behalf (Philippians 2:7; Matthew 20:28) in him, we need not resort elsewhere to supply our spiritual needs (Philippians 4:19).

Taking time to read the cross-references from these two excerpts will be helpful to you.

A little study usually pays off, and it paid off in a big way for me. I hope this information helps you, too. You can do and quick or deep word study using several Bible apps. So don’t be afraid to give it a try. I’ll list a few websites at the end of this letter. Now, go back and re-read Colossians 2:9-10 and see if this new information deepens your understanding.

Study Aids to get you started – but the best place to start is in your Bible

You can find the commentary referenced at Bible Hub.com
biblestudytools.com
biblegateway.com

I know this has been a long and heavy letter. But I hope it makes you take time to think about Christ and your value to Him. And if you still haven’t decided for Christ, please know that I’m praying for you, friend. You never have to think of yourself as lacking anything when You are complete in Christ.

Your sister in Christ,
Suzette

P.S. You may have noticed FULNESS and FULLNESS used in the verse and commentary excerpts, which I left as is. According to Thesaurus.plus the words are related and you can use either word. I prefer to use Fullness with (two l’s), and that’s why you see both used in this letter.

Featured image – stacked stone photo by Brad West on Unsplash

Join me for this series where we’ll explore the Names of God in letters to my friends, prayers, and excerpts from touching devotionals. I wrote a collection of prayers and words of encouragement to a dear friend and mentor struggling through an illness. My friend is fully recovered now (praise the Lord), but I was so encouraged in the process that I wanted to share that encouragement with you in this year’s 31-Day Writing Challenge over on the Five Minute Fridays. Our host, Kate Motaung provides daily prompts which you’ll notice in the Table of Contents on the page liked below.