Wholeness in Christ

It’s important to recognise that we are a tripartite being: spirit, soul and body (1) and they are intricately and beautifully interwoven.

Let’s explore what that means: to be made complete.

This is who we are and our essence is from God our creator and that makes us whole. Eph 2: 10 tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus”. Our whole self was created to function as a complete unit. We would be incomplete without a soul or without a spirit. We are equally incomplete when one of these parts are damaged, injured, wounded or impaired. These can be inflicted on us by sin, by circumstances or choices that we make.

In Greek the word is pepleromenoi and means: I fill, fulfil, complete, to be full or fill to individual capacity (2).

God gives fully of Himself to us. So we can also say that as Christians we are pervaded or richly furnished with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit; rooted as it were in Christ, i.e. by virtue of the intimate relationship entered into with him (3).

So we have access to all that God has to give. It’s part of the deal, the trade, the exchange that took place at the cross. We surrender our lives to Jesus and we have access to His nature, His abilities, His wisdom, His gifts so that we are empowered to become more and more like Him. That is a great blessing and a privilege that we should not take for granted.

As we take our woundedness to the cross, Jesus sanctifies us, He restores us and we can become whole. 2 Cor 5: 17 says that “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT). So the operative word there is “become”. That tells me it’s a process, a journey. It takes time to restore damage, to get healed, to be made whole again. And it’s all possible because of what Jesus did for us at the cross.

You see. God wants us to be complete, whole in body, soul and spirit. That would include our mind, will and emotions (soul). God is in the restoration business!

Let’s explore that restoration process, that restoration journey.

1. SALVATION

The first thing is that we surrender our lives to Jesus, to be born again. In John 3:3, Jesus replied to Nicodemus “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” This simply means that we are rescued or delivered from sin and eternal separation from God. Salvation is the first step toward regaining complete wholeness – in mind, body and spirit. So aspects of our self that have been tainted by sin require healing and restoration. We are whole in Christ – “and in Him, you have been made complete” Colossians 2: 10

2. SANCTIFICATION

The second is Sanctification. John 17: 17 tells us that “we are sanctified by Your truth. Your word is truth. “

Well, what is sanctification? “It is the act or process of acquiring sanctity, of being made or becoming holy. To sanctify is to literally set apart for particular use in a special purpose or work and to make holy or sacred.” (4)

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we now have an opportunity to become whole in our soul because it became scarred through sin, wrong thinking and wrong emotion. As we yield ourselves to God we are commanded to not “copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (5)

This is something that we have to be very intentional about – to do it daily, to re-align our thoughts with the truth of God’s word. That’s the plumb line. We must equally walk towards complete holiness because we fear God. (6) It is our responsibility is to purify ourselves from all that contaminates us (7). This is so that we can better carry and reflect the full image of Christ. This is part of working out our salvation (8).

And so as we sanctify our souls, we also have access to healing in our bodies through this process of restoration (9). In Romans 12:1 Paul pleads with us to “… give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?”

So in all of this, we can be confident that the work God began in us He will complete.

God is a complete God and He desires for you to walk in His restoration and completeness for you.

Be blessed, be made whole and healed in Jesus name.

Dési

© Désirée Borchert

References:

1. 1 Thess 5: 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Strong’s Concordance # 4137
3. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
4. Wikipedia
5. Rom 12: 2
6. 2 Cor 7: 1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God
7. Phil 2: 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling
8. Is 53: 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.
9. Phil 1: 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus