#11 Who Is Jesus
 

Down to Earth
 

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
(Colossians 2:9)
 

    This verse ought to be so heavily underlined in your Bible that it comes right through to the leather binding. It is so important. If you forget that in Christ is found all the fullness of deity in bodily form, you will have a shallow view of his reality. If you have a shallow view of the reality of Christ, your relationship with him will suffer - and the essence of your life is relationship with Christ.
    All that goes to make God God is invested in the Lord Jesus Christ. If there is anything you want to know about God, look to Christ. If it is truth, life, or righteousness you are interested in, look to Christ. All those things emanate from the very being, nature, and essence of God and are found in Christ.
    But that's not where people today look for them. When men and women search for truth, life, and righteousness today, where do they look? All over the place. Even believers!
    Paul brings us back to square one and says, "No, all that makes God what he is, all that is good, right, true, and real, is demonstrated in Christ. Don= t wander from him in your search for reality.@
  Notice Paul's emphasis on God's fullness (which is spiritual) residing in Christ's body (which is physical).
    Remember the Gnostic heresy, which taught that spiritual is good and physical is bad, and that the two cold never mix any more than good and evil could mix? But Paul insists that God's Spirit is found in Christ, as man, in bodily form.
    This emphasis on the physical reminds us of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension.
    In the Incarnation, this wonderful God came to be with us.
    In the Crucifixion, this wonderful God chose to die for us.
    In the Resurrection, this wonderful God gave us life.
    In the Ascension, this wonderful God gave us hope and access to the Father.
    When we think of all the fullness in bodily form, we rejoice that this wonderful God - in whom truth and righteousness and reality and life are to be found - lived among us, died for us, and now constantly prays for us.
    This is the basis of our faith. Never let yourself be diverted from it!
    Be warned that deceivers will try to deflect your attention from Christ. They will pervert the gospel and oppose the lordship of Christ.
    Beware! Remember that all reality is found in Christ. Remember that this Christ is the one with whom we have a living relationship.
    How does Colossians 2:9 refute the Gnostic heresy?
 

~Stuart Briscoe~