 |  |
He does not speak of His cross, His death or His resurrection. He does not take us
back to the glory before the world was nor to the day when every knee shall bow. He
presents to us Christ, now, as He is, an all-sufficient Saviour, Guide and Friend:--
"For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2: 9).
The fullness of Christ and its bearing upon the purpose of the ages is a theme which,
with the one exception of John 1: 16, is the exclusive ministry of the apostle Paul. In the
writings of Paul, the word "fullness", used of Christ, occurs once in Galatians, four times
in Ephesians, and twice in Colossians; a total of seven times.
There can scarcely be conceived a deeper subject or one that demands more care,
prayer and attention. We must discriminate between the fullness of God and the fullness
of the Godhead; between the fullness of Christ and the fullness of Him that filleth all in
all. We must observe parallels and associations, and every phrase that has been recorded.
The importance of the theme must be our complete apology for any weariness which the
reader may feel; it has more than compensated for any weariness experienced by the
writer.
The fullness.
A | John 1: 1-18. | HIS TITLE.--In the beginning. The Word.
HIS OFFICE.--Maker of all things.
His title in the flesh. The only begotten Son.
God declared to be invisible.
B | Gal. 4: 1-10. | The elements of the world.
Ye observe days, months, times and years.
Made of a woman. Made under the law. Sonship.
C | Ephesians. | a | 1: 10. Goal. Head up things in heaven and earth.
b | 1: 23. Foreshadowing Head. Fullness of Him.
Christ and His Church. | a | 3: 19. Goal. Filled unto all the fullness of God.
b | 4: 13. Measure. Fullness of Christ.
A | Col. 1: 12-22. | HIS TITLE.--Before all things. The Image.
HIS OFFICE.--Creator of all things.
His title in the two spheres. Firstborn of all creation.
Firstborn from the dead.
God declared to be invisible.
B | Col. 2: 9-23. | The rudiments of the world.
Holydays, new moons and sabbaths.
Bodily. Completeness.
It will be observed that the references to the fullness in Ephesians are in a class by
themselves. Those in John, Galatians and Colossians stress the Godward aspect of the
fullness; those in Ephesians the receiving of the fullness by the church, especially the
church which is the body of Christ:--
"The main theme of the Colossians is the Person of Christ; that of the Ephesians is the
life of Christ manifested in the living energy of His church. In the former, Christ is the
`Plenitude', the synthesis and totality of every attribute of God; in the latter, the ideal