Colossians Chapter 1 Part Two

Colossians 1:13 

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:"

“Delivered us”: The Greek term means “to draw oneself” or “to deliver,” and refers to the believer’s spiritual liberation by God from Satan’s kingdom, which, in contrast to the realm of light with truth and purity, is the realm of darkness (Luke 22:53) with only deception and wickedness (1 John 2:9, 11).

“Kingdom”: In its basic sense, a group of people ruled by a king. More than just the future, earthly millennial kingdom, this everlasting kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11) speaks of the realm of salvation in which all believers live in current and eternal spiritual relationship with God under the care and authority of Jesus Christ (see Matt. 3:2).

“His dear son”: Matt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35; Eph. 1:6; 2 Pet. 1:17; see John 17:23-26. The Father gave this kingdom to the Son He loves, as an expression of eternal love. That means that every person the Father calls and justifies is a love gift from Him to the Son. See John 6:37, 44.

“Darkness” is the religious state in which unbelievers exist, namely, that of spiritual ignorance with its attending immorality and misery.

In the last lesson, we began by speaking of how we are to walk in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Light does away with darkness. Darkness is the absence of Light. Darkness does not need a generator, Light demands a generator. The source of all power of Light is Jesus Christ who is the Light.

Darkness has no power over Light. Light destroys darkness. Before we come to Jesus, we are living in darkness. Paul was very familiar with this, because it was the Light of Jesus that stopped him in his tracks and turned him around. This power of darkness is the dominion of Satan. Satan cannot survive when the Light of the world is applied. Darkness is, and always has been, opposed to the Light.

Acts 26:18 "To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."

When we become a Christian, we are snatched away from Satan and become, immediately, sons of God.

Colossians 1:14 

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins:"

“Redemption”: The Greek word means “to deliver by payment of ransom,” and was used of freeing slaves from bondage. Here it refers to Christ freeing believing sinners from slavery to sin (Eph. 1:7; 1 Col. 1:30; see note on Rom. 3:24).

Some later manuscripts follow “redemption” with “through His blood.” Verse 20, a reference not limited to the fluid as if the blood had saving properties in its chemistry, but an expression pointing to the totality of Christ’s atoning work as a sacrifice for sin. This is a frequently used metonym in the New Testament (see Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19).

The word “cross” (as in verse 20) is used similarly to refer to the whole atoning work (see 1 Cor. 1:18; Gal. 6:12, 14; Eph. 2:16). See Rom. 5:9.

“The forgiveness of sins”: The Greek word is a composite of two words that mean “to pardon” or “grant remission of a penalty.” Psalm 103:12; Mica 7:19; Eph. 1:7; see 2 Cor. 5:19-21.

“Blood” reminds the Colossians of the enormous price and sacrifice paid to secure their redemption. Redemption, then, is achieved by the atonement wrought by Jesus’ death (Eph. 1:7).

It was the precious shed blood of Jesus that abolished our sins. The blood of an animal in the sacrifices in the Old Testament, could not do away with sin, or clear the conscience of the sinner. The blood of an animal covered the sin. The precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, abolished sin for those who will believe.

Revelation 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"

We will see in the following Scripture that Jesus paid the price for our sin, when He shed His blood on the cross to remove our sin.

Matthew 26:28 "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

This next Scripture says it all.

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Verses 15-20: One component in the heresy threatening the Colossian church was the denial of the deity of Christ. Paul combats that damning element of heresy with an emphatic defense of Christ’s deity.

Colossians 1:15 

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:"

“Image of the invisible God”: See Heb. 1:3. The Greek work for “image” is eikon, from which the English word “icon” derives. It means, “copy” or “likeness.” Jesus Christ is the perfect image – the exact likeness – of God and is in the very form of God (Phil. 2:6; John 1:14; 14:9), and has been so from all eternity. By describing Jesus in this manner, Paul emphasizes that He is both the representation and manifestation of God. Thus, He is fully God in every way (2:9; John 8:58; 10:30-33; Heb. 1:8).

“First-born” here signifies two things: (1) Temporal priority. As the firstborn child in a family is born before his brother and sisters, similarly Christ existed before Creation. He existed before the universe was created. “And owing to the privileges usually given an oldest child, “first-born” also signifies:

(2) Positional priority. The firstborn in a family was customarily accorded more honor, greater authority, or large share of the inheritance, and so held a privileged position supreme over the universe. Therefore, when Paul declares Christ to be “the first-born of every creature,” the apostle does not mean that He is the first person whom God created; Paul instead means that Christ is earlier than, as well as preeminent in, all creation.

We are now looking at the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the image of the Father.

John 14:9 "Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?"

This one Scripture lets us know that Jesus is the image of His Father. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. You and I are sons of God through adoption. Jesus is Creator God. We are His creation.

Psalms 89:27 "Also I will make him [my] firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth."

The Spirit of God hovered over Mary and she conceived of the Spirit of God. Jesus was the firstborn Son of God. Christians are the sons of God being purchased for the Father with the precious shed blood of Jesus. God is a Spirit. He is, also, the presence of the greatest Light there is. Jesus is the reflection of the Father, not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense.

Colossians 1:16 

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:"

“Thrones, or dominions or principalities or powers”: 2:15; Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; 1 Pet. 3:22; Jude 6). These are various categories of angels whom Christ created and rules over.
There is no comment regarding whether they are holy or fallen, since His is Lord of both groups.

The false teachers had incorporated into their heresy the worship of angels (see 2:18), including the lie that Jesus was one of them, Merely a spirit created by God and inferior to Him.

Paul rejected that and made it clear that angels, whatever their rank, whether holy or fallen, are mere creatures, and their Creator is none other than the preeminent One, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The purpose of his catalog of angelic ranks is to show the immeasurable superiority of Christ over any being the false teachers might suggest.

“All things were created by him and for him”: Rom. 11:33-36; see notes on John 1:3; Heb. 1:2. As God, Jesus created the material and spiritual universe for His pleasure and glory.

This verse provides the reason Christ is called the “first-born” in verse 15. Paul’s rationale is that: Since “by him were all things created,” then (1) Christ must have existed before the universe, and (2) He must be greater than all He made.

“Thrones … dominions … principalities … powers” all refer to angelic beings (Eph. 1:21; 3:10). “Thrones” refer to angels who sit on thrones as rulers; “dominions” refer to domains or kingdoms over which these heavenly beings reign, “principalities” refer to rulers, and “powers” refer to angelic monarchs who wield regal power.

Since Christ created these various ranks of angels, He is supreme over them. Striking a blow at the Colossian heresy advocating angel worship (2:18), this text forbids Christians to pay homage to angels or other heavenly beings created by God.

As we said before, the One we call Jesus, who was the Word of God in heaven, is Creator God.

John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "The same was in the beginning with God." "All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made."

The universe, and everything in it, was created by the Lord. We see in the next verse why He created them.

Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

God is Spirit, so we can see that it would not be just the things we can see with our physical eyes that He created. Actually, man is a spirit. We are made in the image of God, and if God is Spirit, then we are spirit. We live in a house of flesh, but the real person within that flesh is spirit.

We could get into a deep study here on the fact that all things that exist, are actually existing in His power. He gave all things, whether visible or invisible, the power to be. It is the Lord who really decides who will be president or king. This is one reason we must respect the office. Sometimes we cannot respect the officeholder, but we must respect the office.

It is a creation of the Word of God. All existence was in Him from the beginning. The purposes of God are sometimes carried through by those He has given power and authority on the earth.

Colossians 1:17 

"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

“He is before all things”: When the universe had its beginning, Christ already existed, thus by definition He must be eternal (Mica 5:2; John 1:1-2; 8:58; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 22:13).

“Consist”: Christ sustains the universe, maintaining the power and balance necessary to life’s existence and continuity (Heb. 1:3). That is, by Him all things are held together; Christ now preserves all that He made in Creation.

We read in Genesis, In the beginning God. This word used for God is covered in the following Scripture.

1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

They are all the Spirit of God. Each is separate, but are all in total agreement in the Spirit. Notice, in the few words from Genesis, it says "in", not at. We are speaking of the great I Am. I Am, means, the Eternal One who exists. I Am is the present tense, but that present tense is for all of eternity.

God is God of those who live. We live, and move, and have our being in Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Colossians 1:18 

"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence."

“He is the head of the body” means, “He himself is the Head of the body.” The word himself translates the Greek intensive pronoun signifying that Jesus, rather than any angelic being, is the churches’ Head (leader).

Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for the church, of which Christ serves as the “head.” Just as a body is controlled from the brain, so Christ controls every part of the church and gives it life and direction (Eph. 4:15; 5:23 see 1 Cor. 12:4-27.

“Who is the beginning” (or, “He is the beginning”) justifies calling Jesus the Head of the church (verse 18a). Beginning means “cause,” “origin” as in Revelation 3:14. Why then, is He the church’s Head? Because His is the “origin” from which the church comes, or the “cause” of her existence; also, because He is “the first-born” from the dead, that is, the first of a new creation – the church – to be resurrected, never to die again.

“That in all things he might have the preeminence” (or, “so that in all things He alone has become preeminent”): Now that Jesus is Head of the church, He “alone” holds the preeminent position in both the first creation (the universe) and in the new creation (the church).

This refers to both source and preeminence. The church had its origins in the Lord Jesus (Eph. 1:4), and He gave life to the church through His sacrificial death and resurrection to become its Sovereign.

Thus Jesus should hold first place in the believer’s life. This occurs when one bows to His authority, obeys His Word, yields to His Spirit, submits to His church leaders, does His will, and bestows his chief affections on Him.

“The firstborn from the dead”: Jesus was the first chronologically to be resurrected, never to die again. Of all who have been or ever will be raised from the dead, and that includes all men (John 5:28-29), Christ is supreme.

The body of Christ is His church. Every believer in Christ is part of that body. Jesus is the first of the firstfruits. Because He arose, we shall rise, also. We are the inheritance of Jesus Christ. He has quickened our spirit to everlasting life in Him. Flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom.

John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. It is the spiritual body which makes up the body of Christ. We must bear in mind that He is the head, we make up the body.

 Verses 19-20: “For” gives two reasons for Jesus’ “pre-eminence” (verse 18): (1) all the “fullness” of deity is in Him. Since He is fully God, He ought to be preeminent. (2) By Christ’s death God reconciles the universe to Himself (verse 20).

Colossians 1:19 

"For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fullness dwell;"

“All fullness dwell” a term likely used by those in the Colossian heresy to refer to divine powers and attributes they believed were divided among various emanations. Paul countered that by asserting that the fullness of deity – all the divine powers and attributes - was not spread out among created beings, but completely dwelt in Christ alone (2:9).

We will see in the next chapter of this book the following.

Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

Actually the Spirit of the Father, Word, and Holy Ghost were all caught up in the working of the Spirit within the body of Jesus. They all agreed on the plan of salvation, even at the beginning. Just as all 3 were present at the baptism of Jesus. Jesus, being baptized, the Voice from heaven saying this is my beloved Son (Father), and the Dove of the Holy Spirit which lit upon Jesus.

Their plans were being carried out in Jesus. They were all pleased with their plan in Him.

Colossians 1:20 

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven."

“Reconcile all things unto himself”: The Greek word for “reconcile” means “to change” or “exchange.” Its New Testament usage refers to a change in the sinner’s relationship to
God. See Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-21. Man is reconciled to God when God restores man to a right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

An intensified form for “reconcile” is used in this verse to refer to the total and complete reconciliation of believers and ultimately “all things” in the created universe (Rom. 8:21; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 2:1). This text does not teach that, as a result, all will believe; rather it teaches that all will ultimately submit (Phil. 2:9-11).

“Having made peace”: See Roman 5:1. God and those He saved are no longer at enmity with each other.

“The blood of his cross”: See verse 14.

Jesus is the One who reconciles and He is the reconciliation, as well. The blood of Jesus Christ puts all who will believe in reconciliation with God. It is very difficult to separate Jesus from the Father here. Jesus opened the entrance to the Father when the veil was torn from top to bottom in the temple when He was crucified.

His blood makes it possible for all who believe to stand in front of Jesus (the Judge of the world) justified. In that sense, He reconciled us to himself and with the Father with His shed blood at Calvary.

We know, also, that Jesus is the King of Peace. To know that you are just as if you had never sinned (justified) would bring you perfect peace. Jesus (the Word) is Creator God. It is understandable that He would be the One to justify His creation. Since He created all things, He also justified all things.

Colossians 1:21 

"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled"

“Alienated and enemies”: The Greek term for “alienated” means “estranged,” “cut off,” or “separated.” Before they were reconciled, all people were completely estranged from God (Eph. 2:12-13).

Unbelievers hate God and resent His holy standard because they love “evil deeds” (John 3:19-20; 15:18, 24-25). Actually, there is alienation from both sides, since God hates “all who do iniquity” (Psalm 5:5).

Reconciliation is the act whereby God, through Christ’s atonement, brings men who are at odds with Him back into a peaceful, proper relationship with Himself.

To be "alienated" is to be away from God. The mind is an enemy of God, before it is changed to the mind of Christ.

Romans 8:7 "Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

The carnal mind is enemy of God, because it is of the flesh. All of mankind had a fleshly nature, before they came to God. The mind of man is really not what the Lord Jesus wants He wants your heart. When our heart is stayed upon God, then the mind will follow.

Colossians 1:22 

"In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"

“Reconciled (ending of verse 21) … death”: Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross that paid the full penalty for the sin of all who believe made reconciliation possible and actual. See 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 3:25; 5:9-10; 8:3). Also see verse 20.

“In the body of his flesh through death” (or, “by His fleshly body through death”): The Colossian heretics may have argued that Jesus’ humanity and death indicate His inferiority to the angelic beings in the universe. Paul turns this argument against them, showing that His death points to His superiority; for His death is the divine means of achieving reconciliation to God.

“To present you holy … in his sight” (or bring you holy … into His presence”): This expresses the ultimate purpose of reconciliation: it is to eventually usher the believer, made perfectly holy, into the heavenly presence of God.

“Holy” refers to the believer’s positional relationship to God – he is separated from sin and set apart to God by imputed righteousness. This is justification (see Romans 3:3:24-26; Phil. 3:8-9). As a result of the believer’s union with Christ in His death and resurrection, God considers Christians as holy as His Son (Eph. 1:4; 2 Cor. 5:21).

Christians are also “blameless” (without blemish) and “beyond reproach” (no one can bring a charge against them; (Rom. 8:33; Phil. 2:15). We are to be presented to Christ, when we meet Him, as a chaste bride (Eph. 5:25-27; 2 Cor. 11:2).

It was the body of the Lord Jesus Christ that suffered death for our sins. It is very important for them to realize that Jesus had a physical body. He suffered on the cross in His body of flesh, as you or I would suffer. We are without blemish, without blame, in fact justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus made us acceptable before the Father, when He washed us in His precious blood. It is Jesus who made us acceptable to stand before Himself as Judge of the world. He, also, opened the way to the Father for us.

Colossians 1:23 

"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;"

“Continue in the faith”: Acts 11:23; 14:22. Those who have been reconciled will persevere in faith and obedience because, in addition to being declared righteous, they are actually made new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) with a new disposition that loves God, hates sin, desires obedience, and is energized by the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 8:30-32; 1 John 2:19).

Rather than defect from the gospel they heard, true believers will remain solid on Christ who is the only foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), and faithful by the enabling grace of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:11-13).

“Preached to every creature”: Mark 16:15. The gospel has no racial boundaries. Having reached Rome, where Paul was when he wrote Colossians, it had reached the center of the known world.

“If ye continue in the faith” (or, “since you will persevere in the faith”): the Colossians’ future entrance into God’s heavenly presence depends on whether they remain in the Christian faith. The words “since you will persevere” indicate that they will remain loyal to Christ. Perseverance in the Christian’s faith is a test of the reality on one’s trust in Christ. This verse implies that true believers will persevere.

Paul is expressing the fact that they must continue in the faith they have received. The only way to be "grounded and settled”; is to study the Bible, and have faith in it.

Paul says, that the Word of God had been preached to every human. Probably, this means the known world at that time. It could even mean the world around Israel. Paul is saying, he has done all he could to spread the Word to all of humanity.

Colossians 1:24 "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:"

“My sufferings”: Paul’s present imprisonment (Acts 28:16, 30). Paul’s motivation for enduring suffering was to benefit and build Christ’s church. (Phil. 1:13, 29; 12:9-10.

“Fill up that which is behind”: Paul was experiencing the persecution intended for Christ. In spite of His death on the cross, Christ’s enemies had not gotten their fill of inflicting injury on Him. So they turned their hatred on those who preached the gospel (John 15:18, 24; 16:1-3). It was in that sense that Paul filed up what was lacking in Christ’s affliction (see notes on 2 Cor. 1:5; Gal. 6:17).

“The afflictions of Christ:” Since Paul is a member of the body of Christ; the Lord Himself suffers when His apostle suffers. These afflictions are more Christ’s that Paul’s. Rather than detracting from his ministry, Paul’s afflictions actually enhanced it, as they exist “for his body’s sake, which is the church.”

Paul counted it a pleasure to suffer for Christ. He was willing to suffer so that these Colossians could know the truth. The body, in the verse above, is the body of Christ, the church.

Colossians 1:25 

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

“Dispensation” meaning stewardship: 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 9:17. A steward was a slave who managed his master’s household, supervising the other servants, dispensing resources, and handling business and financial affairs. Paul viewed his ministry as a stewardship from the Lord.

The church is God’s household (1 Tim. 3:16), and Paul was given the task of caring for, feeding, and leading the churches, for which he was accountable to God (Heb. 13:17). All believers are responsible for managing the abilities and resources God gives them. (see 1 Peter 4:10).

The expression “according to the dispensation of God” might be rendered “because of the divine assignment.” Paul was a “minister” or servant to the church because of the divine assignment given him.

That assignment was “to fulfill the word of God,” that is, to preach the gospel over a wide geographical area, winning converts to Christianity. The Greek word translated here as “fulfill”: is rendered in Romans 15:19 as “fully preached.”

“Fulfill the word of God”: This refers to Paul’s single-minded devotion to completely fulfill the ministry God gave him to preach the whole counsel of God to those to whom God sent him (Acts 20:27; 2 Tim. 4:7).

Colossians 1:26 

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

“Mystery” is the divine truth which, because it is too profound for man to discover and comprehend without help, was previously unknown but is now disclosed to man by God through His apostles and prophets. 2:2; 4:3. See notes on Matt. 13:11; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:4-5. This refers to truth, hidden until now, but revealed for the first time to the saints in the New Testament.

Such truth includes the mystery of the incarnate God (2:2, 3, 9), Israel’s unbelief (Rom. 11:25), lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7), the unity of Jew and Gentile made one in the church (Eph. 3:3-6), and the rapture of the church (1 Cor. 15:51). In this passage, the mystery is specifically identified in verse 27.

1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; To those who do not accept Jesus as their Saviour, it is foolishness.

Colossians 1:27 

"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:"

“Gentiles … Christ in you”: The Old Testament predicted the coming of the Messiah and that the Gentiles would partake of salvation (Isa. 42:6; 45:21-22; 49:6; 52:10; 60:1-3; Psalms 22:67; 65:5; 98:2-3), but it did not reveal that the Messiah would actually live in each member of His redeemed church, made up mostly of Gentiles.

That believers, both Jew and gentile, now possess the surpassing riches of the indwelling Christ is the glorious revealed mystery (John 14:23; Rom. 8:9-10; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 1:7, 17-18; 3:8-10, 16-19).

The specific mystery here is “Christ in you.” It was no secret in the Old Testament that Gentiles would be saved; but that Christ would dwell in Gentile converts was unknown at that time. In further explaining this “mystery” Paul equates “Christ in you” with “the hope of glory.”

“The hope of glory”: The indwelling Spirit of Christ is the guarantee to each believer of future glory that is, for a Christian it is the joyful and confident expectation of salvation. (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:3-4).

“Glory” here refers to the glorious state to be enjoyed by the believer in heaven. Thus the hope of glory refers to the certainty of heaven. That Christ’s life, character, virtues, values, thoughts, attitudes, and deeds are present in a Christian is evidence that he is headed toward glory (heaven).

It is the will of God for those who believe in Jesus Christ to receive the knowledge of the mystery, which is, Christ in you, and is your hope of Glory. We have discussed before that what really happens when a Christian is baptized is, he is buried in a watery grave and rises to new life in Jesus.

The life that this Christian lives after he, or she has received Jesus, is actually Jesus living in them. The Christian is dead to the lust of the world through the desires of the flesh. They are now quickened in their spirit to everlasting life in Jesus Christ. The hope is in the resurrection.

Colossians 1:28 

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

“Perfect”: To be perfect or mature – to be like Christ. See Romans 8:29; Phil. 3:12-14, 19-20; 1 John 2:6; 3:2. This spiritual maturity is defined in 2:2.

This is what I call making Jesus Christ Lord of your life. We are not perfect in the flesh, but in the spirit. The Christ in us is perfect. We have put on Christ, as well as having Him inside of us.

Not only that, but He has clothed us in a white linen garment (free from sin) washed in His blood. We have put on His righteousness.

Colossians 1:29 

"Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."

“I also labor, striving according to his working”: Here is the balance of Christian living. Paul gave the effort to serve and honor God with all his might. “Labor” refers to working to the point of exhaustion. The Greek work for “striving” give us the English word “agonize” and refers to the effort required to compete in an athletic event.

At the same time, he knew the effective “striving” or work, with spiritual and eternal result was being done by God through him (see Phil. 2:11-13; 1 Cor. 15:10, 58).

This is simply saying, Paul desires them to have the same relationship with the Lord Jesus that he has. He worked hard to win them all to Christ. His striving was not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the people he preached to. Paul knows that even the desire to help them, is Christ in him wanting to help them.