Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Colossians 2:9-10 "The Fullness"

Read Colossians 2:9-10.

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives...." NIV
Wow, I don't think I've ever realized the richness of Colossians before. I can't move forward more than a couple of verses at a time. I keep getting stopped dead in my tracks.

Here, Paul is very clearly declaring the divinity of Christ. The fullness of the Deity would be all power and authority that God holds, Christ equally holds. There is no separation of duties, no hierarchy of position. Equal beings with equal powers. One and the same.

Paul is obviously addressing the heresy of the Gnostics that was so rampant at the time. But his "proclamations" (See May 2nd post.) of Christ as Deity is relevant to the foundations of the beliefs of all Christians. If we are going to be Christ-followers, rooted in Him and His power, we must know that we are following the one true God. God incarnate -- full and complete though in human form. And that is exactly what Paul is declaring here.

I love the word, fullness. Christ was not just part God. He didn't just get the spectacular miracle-worker part. He didn't just embody the great orator portion of God. He was completely God in all aspects. He was the all-knowing, all-seeing God. Nothing was hidden from Christ in knowledge or power. He was all He could be as God.

Now here's the kicker -- because Christ was all He could be as God (fullness of the Deity), we are all we can be in Christ (been given fullness in Christ.) I am absolutely as complete in Him as I can be on this earth. What all that completeness includes will be discussed in the rest of Chapter 2, but for right now, I just bask in the great mystery and wonder that I have been given fullness in Christ. And in that fullness, I am truly free!

Further Thoughts:
  1. Search for other passages that address the Deity of Christ.
  2. We will continue to grow while on this earth, but do you live as one that is complete in Christ? If no, what needs to change?
  3. How would your life change if you truly lived the fullness of Christ?

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