Saturday, March 15, 2014

The fulness of the Godhead

Colossians 2:9 says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Jesus Christ is far more than an inspired prophet, an extraordinary moral teacher, or even some kind of supernatural Being. The very substance of God exists in Jesus the Messiah in His coming in the flesh, His life on earth, and His resurrected body.

Paul, in addressing the Colossians, takes aim at a popular doctrine that grew out of the first century: Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a term that designates a variety of religious movements that stressed salvation through “gnosis” or “knowledge.” Although Gnosticism did not reach full bloom until the second century, it existed in its earlier forms for half of the first century. 

This naturally led to a seriously defective view of Christ. In Gnosticism the old Greek philosophical dualism had assumed a religious form. The philosophical distinction between the realm of reality and that of apparition now took a new form as God (the light) and matter (the evil), existing in constant antagonism. Therefore Jesus as pure Spirit could not really have had a material body — He could not have come in the flesh!

The declaration that the very essence of deity was present in totality in Jesus’ human body was a direct refutation of Gnostic teaching. Colossians 1:19 had said, “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” What a fantastic picture of Jesus! We see Him on the pages of scripture as a man, but He, in reality, is completely and fully God.


Kyle Campbell

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home