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undoubtedly was presented very attractively, but it was not after Christ (2: 8). Here is
the touchstone of all truth, the standard by which all things must be measured. Let us not
be deceived. We need not waste our time with any Christian scheme that does not stand
this test. What does it make of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He First and Last, the Centre
and the Circumference of it all? If He is not, then if we are faithful, we can only do one
thing, namely turn away from it.
The Apostle now applies the corrective to all this error:
"For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made
full, Who is the Head of all principality and power" (2: 9, 10 R.V.).
Those who had really embraced by faith the supreme revelation of these two verses
would surely not turn to the poverty-stricken substitute of spirit powers who had in any
case been conquered by Christ on the cross (verse 15). In Christ Jesus alone the fullness
of deity resided and that fullness had been imparted to believers. They had been `filled
full' in Him, no matter what size vessel they were, small, medium or large. The link
between the fullness of God and the filling of the believer, so apparent in the Greek has
been veiled by the A.V. translation `complete' unless we think of it as `filled to the brim'.
This is surely one of the most stupendous truths for a believer to grasp.
Once this has been realized, it immediately becomes apparent that each member of the
Body has everything in Christ that is precious, worthwhile and eternal. There are no
desirable extras. Anything that appears to be so, is a snare and a delusion. The Apostle
is going to follow with the argument that this `filling' makes types and ritual completely
unnecessary. At the best they can only be as unsubstantial as shadows. This Divine
fullness which is spiritual is the supreme reality and none the less so because it cannot be
touched or assessed by the senses. Who wants to try and grasp shadows when they have
this imcomparable fullness? Thousands alas do and in fact still cling to the shadows,
which only shows how little conception they have of this overwhelming wealth in Christ.
The Apostle now gives the Divine ground work that makes this filling of God possible
for the members of the Body:
"In Whom (Christ) ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with
hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having
been buried with Him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with Him, through faith in
the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead" (2: 11, 12 R.V.).
The circumcision of Christ was not the rite performed when He was eight days old but
rather His crucifixion, the putting off of the body of the flesh as 1: 22 has already
expressed. The baptism is not the result of anything a man does. It is not the work of any
Christian minister or leader. It is positively the working of God as verse 12 stresses. Just
as the circumcision relating to the believer is not literally but spiritual (not made by
human hands), so is this Divine linking and identification of the believer with Christ
which is treated in Rom. 6: and Eph. 2: No human being could accomplish this for
himself or for anyone else. God does not wait till a saved person is immersed in water
before He accomplishes this great work. It is His operation through and through and this