Paul the apostle was
addressing false teaching and heresy that was being promoted within
the church in Colosse. The Gnostics who denied the deity of Jesus
Christ were infiltrating the church, so Paul showed the Colossians
how Jesus was responsible for their deliverance, redemption, and
creation itself. Paul wrote
of Jesus' preexistence before all things, headship “of the body
– the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence”. In chapter
one and verse nineteen of his letter to the Colossians, Paul begins
to tell why the Heavenly Father was pleased with “all fullness”
to dwell within Jesus. We read:
The
verse begins, “For it pleased the Father
...” Paul begins a new
paragraph in his letter by writing, “For it pleased”
which means “it seems good to one or is one's good pleasure” “the
Father” which is written in
italics and means these two words were added by the translators of
the Bible. The inference is that the Heavenly Father was the
orchestrator and recipient of what is about to be announced.
The
verse continues, “...that in him should all fullness
dwell;” The Heavenly Father
thought it seemed good and was pleased “that in him”
that is in Jesus “should all fullness”
which means “abundance and completeness of the presence,
power, agency, and riches of God and Christ” “dwell” or
“pervade, prompt, govern, settle or inhabit”. There was nothing
lacking in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to fulfill every desire of
the Heavenly Father.
As we ponder this verse, we
may have difficulty comprehending fully what it means, however, we
may know this: In Jesus Christ everything that was necessary for our
creation, existence, deliverance, redemption, and salvation was
within Him. Nothing fell short, and as Paul exalted Jesus to
repudiate the heresies of the Gnostics, we see the magnificence of
the Lord Jesus presented before us in such a manner that it would be
foolish not to trust in Him. May the Lord help us to know the
“fullness” that Jesus not only embodies but has extended
toward us that we may exist and forever live with Him.
Next
time Paul will write about peace and reconciliation,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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