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It is the privilege of every person to recognize their completeness in Christ. This can be done first,
BY RECOGNIZING CHRIST'S FULNESS
"For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" ( 2:9)
Alford paraphrases this verse - "For in Him all the complete perfection essential to the Godhead abides corporeally, substantially, and really, and not in the manner of
shadows."
CHRIST'S FULNESS is resident in His Person - ("in Him" - en auto). This phrase is given the emphatic position in the verse, and draws our attention first to the
One Who has the FULNESS, The Holy Spirit wants us to see Him, even before we see HIS FULNESS. This is important.
We must also recognize the Permanence of this FULNESS in the word "dwelleth (Gr. katoikei). This word means "to settle down, to be at home." Deity is at home in
Christ, and dwells so in a permanent way.
There is also the Plenitude of this FULNESS as seen in the words, "all the fulness of the Godhead" (Gr. pan to pleroma tes Theotetos). To make this matter exceedingly
clear, the Apostle uses the word "pan" (all), emphasizing that the FULNESS is complete. There is no portion of the plenitude that is not present. Paul is pointing out further by the use of the
word Theotetos (Godhead) that not mere quality of God resides in Christ, as seen in Romans 1:20 by the use of the word Theiotes; but the absolute essence of God dwells in Christ. CHRIST IS NOT MERELY LIKE GOD,
THAT IS DIVINE, BUT HE IS THEOS -GOD. This was Paul's declaration against the Gnostics before Athanasius had to oppose Arius (who said that the Son is not of the same substance as the Father, but was
created as an agent for creating the world).
IN THIS FULNESS OF CHRIST we also recognize the place in the word "bodily" (somatikos). This is an adverb modifying the verb "dwell," pointing to the
manner. It means "bodily," or "in bodily manifestation." This does not mean a mystical dwelling, nor a mere spiritual dwelling, nor a limited bodily dwelling. It does mean an
eternal bodily dwelling. There can be only one tenable explanation and that is, that Christ was and is God. All the fulness dwelt in Him before the incarnation, during the incarnation, and continues so
permanently. Since "in Christ" the plenitude dwells permanently and bodily, there is the manifestation that gives the lie to all forms of Gnosticism, which perverts the truth about the person of
Christ.
If the foregoing exposition is true, and it is, then certain things follow in logical sequence..
CHRIST IS HEAD OF ALL CREATION. "For by Him were all things created, . . . all things were created by Him, and for Him." (Col. 1:16-17). In creation Christ is
preeminent. Every form and kind of matter, simple and complex were created by Him. The atom and the star, the sun and the cloud, every grade of life from the worm to the angel. every order of intellect and
being around and above us, the splendors of Heaven and the nearer phenomena of the earth are the product of the first-born of all creation. Three prepositions are used in relation to Christ as Creator - en,
dia. and eis, - "in Him," "through Him," and "for Him." Christ is the source, the means, and the end of all creation. He is also the conserver of all - "by him all things
consist" (Col. 1:17). He impresses upon creation its unity and solidarity, making it a cosmos instead of a chaos. He feeds the sun with fuel and the sparrow with corn. He guides the planets in
their courses, and keeps the heart beating in man. He cares for the tiniest insect that makes the coral and the mightiest leviathan which plows the deep. He guides the seraph and the cherub in their
inter-spacial missions. The helm of the universe is in His hands that were nailed to Calvary for you and me. Everywhere we behold His footprints; out of every storm and solitude we hear His voice across
the darkness saying: "It is I, be not afraid. "
CHRIST Is ALSO HEAD OF ALL REDEMPTION. "And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself' (Col. 1:20). He
is both the "Author and Finisher" of our faith; the "Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End" of our redemption. When He cried' "It is finished," it was finished. Nothing
was left undone, and nothing need be added. In the incarnation He became both God and man; in the crucifixion He became our means of peace and provision for every spiritual blessing; In the resurrection He
became our power over death, the grave, and Lake of Fire; in His ascension and seating at God's right hand, He became our guarantee of all future glory with Him. Nothing has been left undone for our future
glorification with Him "in the Heavenlies. "
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH, HIS BODY. "And He is the Head of the body. the church" (Col.l:18). The head is the glory of the body. There the chief
beauty of manhood dwells. Christ is fairer than all. We are circumcised with Him, baptized with Him, risen with Him, ascended with Him, and seated with Him in glory. What a complete
identification! It is the head which unifies the body, coordinates all its movements, regulates all its actions. From the head comes the mandate which lifts the hand and moves the foot.
CHRIST IS AGAIN THE HEAD OF OUR HOPE. "When Christ Who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4). Christ takes care
of all our sorrows, sufferings, trials and tribulations. Matthew Amold shows the failure of the Greek religion to take into account the sorrows of life. It was only a fair weather religion. Twenty
miners were once buried in a coal pit in Wales, standing in water to the waist, until but five remained. Yet they were singing, "In the deep and mighty waters there is none to hold my head, But my only
Saviour Jesus, Who was offered in my stead." The South Sea Islanders have a palm tree that they use for bread, drink, clothing. shelter, light, material for books, cordage for boats, and for
needles. So our Lord Jesus Christ is all and in all. We are God's heavenly people; our citizenship is in Heaven, and from thence we look for our Saviour. "Looking for that blessed hope and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).
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Complete In Christ - Page 2
