Fullness in Christ

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:9-10

When we look at the Christian life, we can approach it in one of two ways. We can either think, “I have to attain to a standard that has been set before me,” or we can say, “All I need to live this life is in Christ.”

Paul the apostle encourages the Colossian church toward the second mindset. His reasoning is two-fold. First and foremost, in the humanity of the Lord Jesus is the fullness of the Deity, God incarnate in man. This truth in itself is awe-inspiring, but if that were not enough, he goes on to say that we have also been given fullness in Him.

The word “fullness” is translated “complete” in some translations. It means “to fill up” or “to fill to the brim”. It can also be translated “to carry though to the end”, or “to bring to realization”.
The Christian life is not a mystery, because Jesus brought a clear “realization”, a full understanding of God for us. We don’t have to wonder about the nature of God any longer. We don’t wonder what He thinks about sinners, about the sick, what He would do for someone enslaved and in bondage. We know how He views the outcast, the lonely, and the broken. We know what He thinks about anger, divorce, the poor, and the religious. We know what His world-view is, because Jesus brought full disclosure regarding the nature and heart of God.

But even more remarkably, we now are to do the same in 21st century America. We are to “carry through to the end” making known the character, compassion, and conduct of this eternal God as we live our lives out in front of a watching world.

“How is this possible?”, you ask. The same way Jesus did it. By living a life of obedient faith, by learning to hear the Father’s voice, and by living in the power of the indwelling Spirit. We will not be sinless as was Jesus. But more and more as we are conformed into His image we will reflect the heart and will of God to a lost and hurting generation. The bar has been set. It cannot be lowered. But it isn’t a matter of attaining to its demands. It is only a matter of living out of the sustaining provision of His life in us. In Him we are complete, full, and able to bring to full realization the freedom and life of the age to come.

This reality cannot be deterred because He is head over all authority and every power. All the legions of hell cannot stop the church as it fulfills its mission and calling. Ours is a high calling. To walk in a matter worthy of that calling is a great privilege.

R Martinez