In verse 28 Paul says that he warned every man. After some are convinced and subdued by our announcing of Christ, they need to be warned. Hearing of the all-inclusive Christ, they may want to be filled with Christ and to live Christ. But many negative things may rise up in opposition to this. The enemy is like a crouching beast, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on us and to keep us from living Christ. If you were to love the world and care for worldly amusements, having no heart to be filled with Christ or to live Christ, the enemy would not pay much attention to you. But if you are one who loves the Lord and seeks to live according to Him, you will face opposition.
Years ago, certain of the children of the Christian leaders in my home town became very worldly and pursued worldly enjoyment. After a church had been raised up in that place, a number of these young people turned to the Lord and to the church. In many cases, their parents rose up against them, even though they had not opposed them for their worldliness. But when these young people came to the church to seek after Christ, they encountered fierce opposition. This shows that the enemy is crouching, waiting for an opportunity to attack those who pursue the Lord.
At the time Paul wrote to the Colossians, Greek philosophy and Judaism were among those things which were distracting the believers. Those in favor of Greek philosophy sought the opportunity to convert the believing Gentiles back to Greek philosophy. Likewise, the Judaizers wanted to seduce any Jews who had believed in Christ. Because Greek philosophy and Judaism were endangering the believers, Paul warned every man. In the short book of Colossians, Paul gives a number of warnings. In 2:4 he says, “This I say that no one may delude you with persuasive speech.” In 2:8 he says, “Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit.” In 2:16 Paul warns the Colossian believers to let no one judge them in eating, drinking, or in respect of feasts, new moons, or of Sabbaths. In verse 18 Paul says, “Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize.” Paul realized that many things were there to be utilized to lead the believers astray from Christ and the church life. The same is true today. Believers may not be opposed for their worldliness, but they will be opposed if they turn to the Lord’s recovery and pursue Christ in the church.
To be full grown in Christ is to be filled and saturated with Christ. We remain ourselves, but we are permeated, saturated, and filled with Christ. Then our living spontaneously is Christ. We should not simply say, “Christ lives in me.” We must be absolute with the Lord to allow Him to live in us day by day. If your husband or wife gives you a difficult time, do not defend yourself or vindicate yourself. Simply let Christ live in you. However, we must admit that it is easy to talk about this, but it is difficult to practice it.
The proper Christian life is not a matter of ethics, morality, or improved character or behavior. The Christian life is Christ living in us. We should live according to Christ, not according to our natural mildness, humility, or frankness. We need to live Christ. Christ must saturate us, permeate us, and fill us. Then in our living He will be expressed from within us.
Our relationship with Christ can be illustrated by the grafting of a branch from a wild olive tree into a cultivated olive tree. Christ is the cultivated olive tree, and we are branches from the wild olive tree. First, we are cut off from the wild olive tree and then placed into the cultivated olive tree, in the spot where an incision has been made. After this, the branch from the wild olive tree is bound to the cultivated olive tree. This is grafting. Through the process of grafting, the life juice in the cultivated olive tree flows into the branch from the wild olive tree, permeates it, saturates it, and fills it. Eventually, the branch will bear fruit. Likewise, we are branches grafted into Christ as the cultivated olive tree. If we are permeated, saturated, and filled with the life juice from the cultivated olive tree, we shall be able to say, “To me to live is the cultivated olive tree.” When a branch reaches this stage, it will be full grown in the cultivated olive tree. This illustrates what it means to be full grown in Christ. To be full grown in Christ is to be saturated and filled with Christ. It is to have every part of our being occupied with Christ. This is the full growth in life and maturity in Christ, the issue of the life revealed in the book of Colossians.
The Greek word for full grown in 1:28 is the same as that used in Ephesians 4:13, where Paul says, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is simply a full-grown man. Eventually, this maturity will issue in the Body, the corporate expression of Christ. We all need to grow and become full grown so that Christ may have a corporate full-grown man, the Body, as an organism to express Him.