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COLOSSIANS - Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians

Part 2 - The Recognition of the Mystery of Christ Guards Against False Teaching (Colossians 2:1-23)

10. Who Comprehends the Fullness of Deity of Christ? (Colossians 2:8-10)


Colossians 2:8-10
8 Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, 10 and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power;

As a result of his own studies and the persecution he experienced during ministry, Paul knew how penetrating and well-versed representatives of earthly teaching and demonic wisdom could be when it came to influencing those who believed differently. Therefore, he stepped up schooling the churches in Colosse and Laodicea. In so doing, he did not first and foremost attack the false teachers, who were causing the churches problems. Rather, he repudiated, more or less in a secondary manner, all of their error. Much more, he expounded the wonderful and unique possession of the churches and heightened them in their knowledge of the person of Christ, their Lord. He revealed to them their own special relationship to Him, as well as their spiritual standing in regard to all other spirits and powers.

In his matter of fact way, Paul warned all of Christ´s followers to not allow themselves to be taken captive by vain deceptions and bold teaching, none of which had the living God as their central focus and goal. In the end, all of these remain refined deception, even when they are praised and propagated as fantastic wisdom or signposts to discovery. The honoured traditions and customs of the nations are, in the end, all “on the wrong track” - one that has no destination, as long as they are not grounded in the true revelations of the Holy Spirit.

There are illusory inspirations, visions, religions, world-views and regimens of life that, in the end, remain purely antichristian. Long-held natural laws, human rights and Masonic lodge principles are, in the event they are propagated without putting the crucified and risen One at their very center, either spiritually dead or suffering under the “sickness that leads to death”. In his introductory sentence, Paul shook off all of these human wisdoms as if they had no value. There was no reward in talking about them. He had much more to offer them!

In one condensed sentence, the missionary to the nations revealed the mystery of the person of Christ, and, with Him, the mystery of His church. He confessed that in the Son of God the entire fullness of deity dwellt bodily. The evangelist John, as well as the prophet Isaiah, confirmed this revelation:

Jesus was spiritually begotten of the Holy Spirit in Mary, so that the fullness of the Spirit of God already dwelled in the newborn, just as is written: “For God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34-35).

Following His substitutionary baptism on our behalf in the Jordan, when He took the sin of the world upon Himself, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove to alight upon the suffering and “willing to die” Lamb of God. From then on He testified to listeners: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…” (Luke 4:18).

No one could ever take upon himself the unspeakable burden of depravity and corruption of all mankind except God Himself. Therefore, Paul, in himself overwhelmed, confessed: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself…For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:15.21). No mortal was or is sinless. Therefore, God became man, so that this single man could live without sin and be authorized and empowered to die as a flawless sacrificial offering in the place of all sinners.

God has always been one, yet for the sake of our justification He revealed Himself as a Trinity. In His high-priestly prayer, Jesus testified of this mystery to all who trusted in Him (John 17:21-23). Thereby, He confirmed the reason why the promised Messiah had already been called “Everlasting Father” in the Christmas prophecy of the Old Testament (Is. 9:6). In the birth of Jesus, the Father God became man. In Paul´s confession he witnessed to the continuous unity of the Holy Trinity. God is forever one, just as Jesus testified: “I and my Father are one”, not two! (John 10:30).

In the spiritual revelation of Paul, we read that the entire fullness of deity dwellt in the weak body of a single man. This confession goes far beyond our ability to imagine and resembles an incredible tale - as if the mighty sun could be concealed in the battery of a flashlight! Some of the Jews wanted to stone Paul because of his confession. The Apostle John said the same thing, using other words: “And the Word became flesh and dwellt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth…And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” John 1:14,16). Jesus, in all His authority to create, heal, give the law, control, forgive, comfort, renew and judge, is the Word of God become man. The incomprehensible and great fullness of deity dwellt, worked, and continues to work in Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, until today, just as it will throughout eternity. He Himself testified: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9), and “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11).

Belief in the deity of Jesus is no theoretical faith. Three of His disciples were enabled to see His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9; 2 Pet. 1:16-18).

Paul was totally blinded by the radiance of Christ when He appeared and spoke to him before the gates of Damascus. Following three days of repentance, which were needed to overcome the Old Testament comprehension of justification, (namely through the fulfilling of the Law of Moses), the blind Paul again received his sight via the conveyance of the Holy Spirit through Ananias (Acts 9:1-19). John, the disciple whom the Lord loved, fell to the ground as though dead when he saw the glory of Jesus, who stood before Him like a Judge, Reformer and Lord (Rev. 1:12-18). “His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength” (Rev. 1:16). Whoever attempts to look full into the midday sun or stares at it for a longer time, will be blinded. The glory of Jesus goes far beyond our ability to think or perceive. The entire fullness of deity dwells in Him bodily.

Prayer: We worship You, Lord Jesus Christ, for in You dwells all the power, fullness and attributes of God. Whoever sees You, sees the Father. All power and authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto You. Forgive us when we do not immediately cast aside the fear and anxiety that troubles us. You are almighty. Your name, the great name of Jesus, drives out all evil spirits. Amen.

Question 33: What does this confession of Paul mean: In Christ the entire fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells?

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