We have been looking at the preeminence of Christ as seen in Colossians 1. I would just like to share an additional thought or two on the fact that our sufficiency is found completely in the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Colossians, “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,” (Col.2:9,10 NIV). In our blog today I want to briefly look at verse nine, which is once again a very strong statement about the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, verse nine explains the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Christ and is probably one of the most important verses, if not the key verse in the entire letter. “In Christ” speaks of the place of residency of the Almighty God. In the Old Testament, the presence of God was demonstrated by the Shekinah glory cloud which dwells in the holy of holies. In the New Testament, the presence of God dwells in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of the Godhead. Jesus is the essence and content of the divine being and He completely demonstrates the presence of God. The fullness of the divine nature dwells in Jesus Christ, and He is sufficient alone to represent God on earth.
In the Greek language the words “bodily form”, is highlighted. Paul is highlighting the fact that Jesus is God in human flesh to dispel the false teaching of the Gnostics, who thought it was unthinkable that God would ever take on the human body. As I mentioned earlier, in the Old Testament God’s presence dwells in the temple in the form of the Shekinah glory cloud. That was the special presence of God, and it covered the mercy seat in the holy of holies. Now the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ with respect to intimacy, closeness, and union with the Father. What we share in the Lord Jesus Christ is our sufficiency and being made perfect by the Son of God in the world to come. Christ is the center of all true philosophy and the center of all true science. The scriptures teach us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and the very essence of true knowledge is the Lord Jesus Christ. Churches and other Christian organizations that drift away from their vision of serving Christ are really losing the absolute presence of our heavenly Father. It’s important for us as believers to stay connected with the Lord Jesus Christ, who has come to reveal the God of the universe to us. Next week, Lord willing, we will explore further how Christ is our sufficiency and that our completeness is found in Him. Until then I hope that you are rejoicing and walking with the Lord on a daily basis and allowing Him to fill your life with His presence.
Sufficient in Christ,
Pastor Rich Sivo