The fullness of God in Jesus Christ

(Colossians 2:9-10)

This scripture today speaks about fullness. It looks at the fullness of God in Jesus Christ and how that also affects us as Christians.

This is what we are seeking when we come to Christ. To be filled with the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.

We come to Him as empty and broken vessels. We come to Christ with a “God sized hole” in our lives, and we seek that emptiness to be filled by the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us look at this and how it all works.

The whole fullness of deity

Before going too far let’s take a moment to consider the scriptures in question.

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)

The first part of this quote tells us that the “whole fullness of deity” dwells bodily in Jesus Christ. That is, all the power, wonder, and majesty of of the fullness of God can be found in Him.

This is not surprising since all things have been handed to Jesus Christ. All rule and authority has been given to Him, along with all judgement as we are told in various scriptures including this one and also in the words of Jesus.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)

And again;

22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. (John 5:22-23)

So we see in these scriptures that ALL of the power, authority, and judgement resides with Christ because it was given to Him by the Father. In fact the ONLY thing that is not under the power of Jesus Christ is the Father Himself.

27 “For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection under him,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one. (1 Corinthians 15:27-28)

So when the scripture says that the whole fullness of deity, that is of God, dwells in Jesus Christ, we can see how and why this is so. And it dwells within Christ because of His sacrifice and His obedience to the Father. This is why we see the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.

Fullness of life in Him

The next part of this verse today states that as the fullness of God in Jesus Christ exists, so too we receive fullness of life in Him. In Jesus Christ we receive the fullness of life as a gift from God when we have faith.

Consider these words for a moment:

3 For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:3-4)

We see here quite clearly that Christ is our life.

What life we have here now belongs to Him. And after this life is done, our eternal life will be found in Him also for He is our life. The gift of eternal life to those who believe will be found through believing in Him. It is perhaps no more clearly shown than in the words of the most recognised scripture in the Bible.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

It is by faith in the name of Jesus that we receive the gift of eternal life. And it is by faith that the Lord protects us in this life, training, teaching, and nurturing us to be transformed into His image.

But how does this take place? And how is the fullness of God in Jesus Christ manifested in His people?

The Holy Spirit

One of the things we are told is that God works with His people at two levels. Firstly, as individuals and secondly, as the Church. We see the working and the fullness of God in Jesus Christ spoken of in the letter of Paul to the Ephesians where he says the following.

“…he [God the Father] has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

There is no doubt that the work in the Church is guarded and guided by the Holy Spirit. The first few chapters of Revelation show that the churches have an angel or a Holy Spirit watching over them.

But when it comes to the life we have in Jesus Christ and the manifestation of the fullness of God in Jesus Christ in us, we need to consider the individual.

One of the promises given by God was that He would pour out the Holy Spirit to all His people. This was spoken by the prophet Joel, and re-quoted by Peter in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in the sounds of wind and flames of fire.

But what is the impact of receiving the Holy Spirit in relation to the fullness of God in Jesus Christ in us?

The primary work of the Holy Spirit is one of transformation. It is His job to transform the people of the Lord into the image of Jesus Christ.

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Slowly but surely, the Holy Spirit is changing us into the image of Jesus Christ. It is a slow process because it happens “from one degree of glory to another.” One degree at a time the Holy Spirit is revealing to us our faults and showing us how to defeat them so we can have victory over the flesh, not by our own doing, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and the working of God and Jesus Christ in us.

Furthermore we see that the nature of Christ is being formed in us as the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit God has given to us.

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

Now we know that God is love. The love of God is the only thing that remains forever because God is love.

We know also that Jesus Christ is the image of God the Father, and so it is evident that Jesus is love too.

So when we see the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, then it is evident that the fullness of God in Jesus Christ has been given to us through the receiving of the Holy Spirit. And we are given the Holy Spirit so that we can be taught and changed into the image of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God the Father.

So the most important things that we can do as Christians are:

• Believe in what God has done in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Also, believe you are freed from sin and the law by His death
• Believe that you are a new creation in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and have been justified by Him
• Believe that God in His grace has given you the free gift of righteousness by faith
• And finally, ask God to give you the Holy Spirit to teach you all things and to pour God’s love into your heart

These things will lead us to the fullness of life in Jesus Christ as the fullness of God in Jesus Christ dwells bodily. And this is the start of the path to eternal life in Christ Jesus.

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