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FULLNESS: Knowing Christ Deeply, Living Christ Daily, Part 1
Rev. Dr. Ken Pruitt, Guess Pastor
. . . statement. No, the gospel is not another dying myth. It's not just another story. It's the story from where all other stories find their meaning. That statement encapsuled the conversion experience of this young man. And on that evening He asked Jesus to become his Lord and his Savior. And the impact of this young man is still felt today. His name is, of course, C.S. Lewis. And his friend who encouraged him is certainly none other than J.R.R. Tolkien. I love this story of Lewis's conversion. And later in his life, Lewis wrote a summary of that night. I'd like to share this summary with you. Lewis said, I now believe in the Christian faith, not only because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything. Lewis testified that Jesus Christ had filled his life. He had become full of the meaning and message of the gospel. This reminds us of a phrase that Pastor Paul Tripp used once, being compartmentalized in our faith. Lewis decided no longer to compartmentalize, but to see Jesus Christ as Lord of all and to see His fullness alive in all of our existence. So I ask you today to consider our response to Jesus. Many of us come to this place of worship from different locales and maybe even different spiritual postures. We come to this place with different experiences. But there's one question that would drive us all together. How are we responding at this very moment in our daily lives to Jesus? Do we tend to compartmentalize? Pastor Paul Tripp said that at times we treat our Christian faith like drawers. in our house we have different drawers. We have drawers for socks and we have drawers for towels and drawers for utensils. And sometimes in our faith maybe it feels as if we have different drawers and that Jesus and the truth of the gospel has just but one drawer to occupy in our life. Lewis would say note, it is vital that we receive the fullness of Christ in our lives and then walk in that fullness. Well, that's the message of the whole of Scripture of the New Testament and of this small letter that we know as Colossians, written by the Apostle Paul, that 1st century pastor and church planter who ministered indelibly in the lives of many brand new churches in the 1st century, particularly in Asia Minor, and Colossae being one of these congregations to whom Paul wrote a letter around 62 AD. And the purpose of his letter was to remind them, Jesus is all you need. He's sufficient. And Paul began through this letter expounding upon this idea of the fullness of Christ. I'd like to walk into this letter with you for just a moment to experience the first of two messages I'll share with you. And in this part one of knowing Christ deeply and living Christ daily. Can we focus for a moment on the fullness of Christ in us? And then we'll focus on the fullness of Christ next week in the church. As we open up the book of Colossians, I'd like to remind you of the theme of Colossians that we find in the opening two verses. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, before we move into the verses that were read for us, we notice a greeting that Paul shared that sets the tone for the remainder of the letter. Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, he identified himself, by the will of God and Timothy our brother, to God's holy people. And Paul presented two identifications here built upon the fullness of Christ. Paul said, I'm apostle of Jesus by the will of God. And then he addressed the church as being the holy people of God. I don't know if you've ever seen yourself as holy, but if you were among the Colossian congregation, you would be addressed aptly, even as you should be today, as a holy people. You may say, and Pastor Ken, that's far from what I would think of myself. Well, Paul addressed the entire church. transferable even to you and to me today that you're a holy people. But Paul also identified himself in that same light by saying, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ. Why are these two identifiers so important for understanding this entire letter and for understanding the fullness of Christ in us and in the church? When Paul said, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ, he added, by the will of God, Anytime Paul uses the phrase will of God, he's referencing not just God having a will for our lives per se for a career or some type of broader guidance. Paul uses the phrase will of God to reference what God is up to in our lives by giving us Jesus. to redeem us and save us and set us in a right relationship with God Almighty. That becomes for the message of the gospel, the will of God. So Paul writes, I'm an apostle by the will of God. He didn't mean that by the sake of his career or calling, but because of what God had done in his life through Jesus. So I stand here today to say I'm a messenger of God by the will of God. I'm leading a seminary by the will of God. I'm a father and a husband by the will of God. But not because these are choices only that have filtered into my life, but this is because of what God has done to redeem and to fulfill his purposes through a relationship with Jesus. Paul then identified the Colossian church as being the saints. You holy people, the saints of God, meaning set apart. You are set apart because of what Jesus has accomplished in you. And so when Paul gave this greeting, he was off and running in this amazing small letter to remind the church that all that we are, all that we do is built upon the fullness of Jesus at work in our lives. Then Paul does something unique. He offers a prayer that we see in chapter 1, verse 9 and 10. Paul said, I pray and ask that God would fill you What did he ask God to fill the church with? Listen to this, the knowledge of the will of God. Paul writes, I pray that you'll understand not just that God's will is real for those of us who preach and lead and plant churches, but God's will is real for you in Christ Jesus. God is doing something in you, which is why Paul prayed in chapter 1, verse 9 and 10, that you would have the fullness of the knowledge of the will of God. Over in chapter 2, I add this because this is vital for this word fullness. Paul gave some exhortation in chapter 2, verse 9 and 10, when he said, oh, I pray that in Christ you are brought to fullness. That the fullness of Christ made known in bodily form, meaning that God sent Christ to us, He lived, died, and rose again, and ascended, and he's ruling and reigning on high. Paul writes, I pray that the fullness of Christ becomes your fullness. This word fullness, although out Colossians from the Greek term pleroma, actually indicates to be complete. So what Paul is saying in all these verses is not too different from what C.S. Lewis said of his conversion. Jesus has filled my life. All that I am and all that I think and do and the lens through which I look at everything is Jesus. This was Paul's message and this was his exhortation to the Colossian church to walk in the fullness of Christ, to know him deeply and to follow him daily. Paul then continues writing and he comes to an abrupt halt at verse 15 and this is where we pause for an application today. In verse 15, it's as if Paul stopped for a moment. Paul is likely writing from a Roman prison, so he's likely dictating to what you and I would call an emanuensis, a secretary. We know this to be reality because at the end of the letter, Paul says, I took the pen and wrote this closing myself. But here Paul seems to pause, he may have put up his hand to the one that was writing down what he was speaking to this church he'd never visited, but his dear friend Epaphras, whom Paul had discipled, had actually been a part of the church's founding. And Epaphras had traveled the 800 miles from Colossae to Rome where Paul was in prison and had given him a report of the new Christians in Colossae, which encouraged Paul to write these words. And I can almost see Paul lifting his hand, telling the one writing his thoughts to stop for a moment. Because in verse 15 all the way through verse 20, it's as if the entire tone of the letter ceases for this one paragraph. Some of your older translations use an indention here to show that there's likely some form of hymnody happening here. It's as if there is a hymn-like presentation. Wright comments that yes, this is actually a hymn, but it's not apart from Paul's writing. There is evidences of Paul's writing all through this great section of verses about the person of Jesus. So for just a moment, having looked at the backdrop of Colossae and this word fullness that will appear all through the letter and having understood that Paul is concerned about a brand new church that's just been founded, And a church that was inundated by all types of heretical teachings that had begun to attempt to undo the foundation of the gospel. Paul prayed, oh that you'd be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Paul exhorted that the fullness of Christ would dwell in you. But between those two statements about the fullness of Christ, Paul presents Jesus. He presents Jesus. I'm here this morning. for no other purpose than to present to you Jesus. If there are questions in your life about some event or some season, if there are fears and concerns and unknowns, I'm just here to present Jesus to you. If you're tired and frustrated and overwhelmed, perhaps confused and maybe even a little apathetic about faith, I'm just here to present Jesus. If you are inundated through the media and all types of social interlocutors who are out there attempting to have a conversation with you and maybe even to present to you some type of delusion of what is truth, I'm just here to present Jesus. Because when we truly look at the Christ, We understand him in his fullness. How can we not but surrender all that we are to him so that we can live in that very same fullness? So as we move into verse 15 and as time comes to a close, I just want to share 5 identifying markers. of Jesus. The theologian would say 5 marks of pure Christology. But since none of us are in the posture of a theologian this morning, I like the simple phrase. These are five identifying marks of Jesus. Yet the hymn is full of pure Christological emphases that will truly be transformative. So listen to verse 15. The Son, meaning Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. The first identifying mark, Jesus is the exact image of God. You may say, well, can we know this? is the meaning of Christmas. This is the incarnation. But do you understand from this verse, there is an overwhelming flood of theology that comes from the scriptures that presents Jesus as the perfect representation of God and the highest manifestation. Paul wrote, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Paul, a former Pharisee, understood that the Old Testament law prohibited that there would be any image set up to represent God. So when Paul says that Jesus becomes the exact image, Paul actually articulates that it is Jesus who is the full perfect expression. Jesus becomes the sum total of God. Like Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 articulates, Jesus is the exact representation. You need to look no further to understand God than the perfect love of Jesus. Christ himself said in John 14, verse 9, if you have seen me, you have seen who? The Father. Jesus is the perfect demonstration of God. Why is this important? Because there were heresies circling about the Colossae church that was tempting the Colossian Christians to add something to the gospel. Are you with me, church? There were influences that would cause these new Christians in Colossae to add to the gospel a practice of Judaism so that my ceremonialism and my legal response to the law must be added to the gospel for me to be acceptable to God. There was another temptation to add asceticism to the gospel. These are the strange heresies. that were trying to pollute the church, to which Paul writes this letter and argues. And asceticism would be not like Judaism, you must do this, but asceticism would declare, you must stop doing this. And so the ascetics were tempting the Colossae Christians to realize that their only true approach to God would involve those restrictions, bodily and otherwise, that would indicate that they are holy and right with God. Paul says, no, Jesus is the full demonstration of God and the highest manifestation. He has brought to you complete salvation. You need no other. You need to look for no add-on. But all our culture produces add-ons to the gospel just as quickly as you and I can boot up our Facebook page or some other public media that allows the culture to sit down with us and to bring influence. Paul said, Jesus is the fullness of God. You need no other. It's as if Paul was saying, I'm not asking you to make Jesus #1 in your life so that there might be a #2 and three. Paul was saying to the Colossian Christians, Jesus is everything, not just #1. He's everything. The highest manifestation becomes evident when Paul said he's the He's the exact image of God and he's the firstborn over all creation. This phrase firstborn I must explain to you because it does not mean that Jesus was created. Jesus has always existed. Is that a shock to you? The scripture teaches he's always existed. But to call him the firstborn in this great hymnody of pure teaching of Jesus indicates not that there was some chronology that made him evidenced here and others followed, no, it indicates the highest manifestation from the Greek word protocols, which means first. There's no other, first in high honor, first in allegiance, first in the pureness of God demonstrated to men. There is no other Jesus is the exact representation of God. When our middle daughter was very young, she picked up a crystal figurine that had an image of Jesus right in the middle of that crystal rock, a picture of Jesus on the cross. Friends of us had traveled and they found this in a shop and had brought it to us. And if you picked up that crystal rock and turned it a certain way, you could see Jesus appear. But you had to tilt it just right. And you had to work with it until it became manifested as a picture of Jesus. Our middle daughter picked it up one day and she was very young and she began turning it. She's turning it and saying to me, dad, where's Jesus? As if he's no longer inside this rock. Where is he? Sweetie, keep looking. She turned it and she finally said, I see him. I see all of him. Because you see, if you didn't turn this figurine just right, you'd only see a glimpse. But her phrase, dad, I finally see all of him. resonates with perfect clarity what Paul's doing here, that the Colossian church would see all of Jesus, not just a glimpse, not just a drawer in one's life to say, well, I'll pull this drawer open and think about Jesus whenever it becomes appropriate. Paul said he's God. He's over all things. He's firstborn, meaning he's first place. Look at this second identifying mark. He is supreme over all realms. Verse 16 and 17. For in him all things were created, heaven and earth, thrones, powers, rulers and authorities. They've all been created. Are you ready for this trifecta of an explanation of Jesus? They've all been created in him, through him, and for him. In him can mean in the locality of the Greek language, a sphere, a place, meaning that Jesus rules and reigns as Lord over all of this. All things are made, principalities, powers, darknesses in Him, meaning unto Him, meaning under His Lordship. My father used to say, not rather quickly, but sincerely and often, if Jesus is not Lord of all in your life, He's not Lord at all in your life. Because Paul's describing Jesus here as all things being under his rule and ring, all things are in him. The Greek would have it the sphere, the location. All things are in him, all things are through him. We know that Jesus as the Son, a member of the Trinity, has that expression of being creator. John chapter 1, verse 3, in him all things were created. What do you mean by all things? If anything has been created, it was created through him and in him and by him and for him. That's the message of John chapter 1 verse 3 and the message here. All things are in him through him and for him, for his glory. Jesus is supreme over all realms. Look at the third identifying marker. Jesus is head of the church. He is head of the church. We're going to stop here today and let this become the A place where we sit down to apply, what does this mean for me? Hear this phrase. Paul writes, he is the head of the body, the church. You see, the heresies that surrounded the church at Colossae were influenced by early forms of what later became known as Gnosticism. You don't have to worry about that term, other than it identifies a belief that something material was evil and that Jesus could not have been incarnate. And so God had to reveal through angelology and other mystical, inspirational experiences, God had to reveal himself that way. And Paul wrote, the scripture indicates, no, God has revealed himself perfectly in Christ. Jesus is supreme over all realms, which will send a message to the Gnostics that that Gnosticism is wrong. These heresies are wrong because Jesus is Lord over all spaces. He's Lord over all. But then Paul adds, he's head of the church. Well, if he's already said Jesus is over all spheres, that would include the church, why would Paul have to add the church? Simply because the gospel not only disarms the dangerous heresies that circle about, The gospel also proves that there's only one way to the Father. There's only one faith that will bring you to the Father, and that's through Jesus. He's the head of the church. This indicates that he is head of the church in authority and majesty. I pastored before coming to lead the seminary for over 31 years. In those 31 years, you know how many days I acted as head of the church? Hopefully none. Hopefully none. Do you know how many days in those 31 years I was head of the church? None. None. Do you know how many elders I met in 31 years that were head of the church? None. Do you know how many deacons and church founders and church planters that I met that are head of the church? The sum total would be none. Because there's only one head. His name is Jesus. Paul said he's the head of the church. There are others here you can see, but I focus on these three for our time this morning. He's the image of God. He's supreme over all realms. He's head of the church. Why would Paul emphasize this so much? Because later in this chapter, Paul would write, that you were once separated from God in your sins. You were alienated. But because of what Jesus did on the cross, absolute redemption, because of what Jesus did, you've been brought to God. You're no longer enemies to God. You've been brought to Him. You've been given new life. If your faith is in Christ, you have been given adoption as sons and daughters of God. You belong to Him, to God, because of what Jesus has done. And Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, emphasized these truths to a very young church that had become inundated with dangerous heresies because Paul, in the Spirit, knew what you and I discovered today. If we can see all of who Jesus is, if we can see all of him, has my daughter turned that little crystal rock If we can look at the truth to say, I see the fullness of Jesus, then our lives can respond to that fullness. And we are walking in the fullness of Christ in us because Paul would say in chapter 2, verse 9 and 10, and you have the fullness of Christ through the Holy Spirit. All that Jesus is, He's He's accomplished that in you. So church, today, those of you who your faith is in Jesus, I want you to know you have the fullness of Christ. He's working in you. He's alive in you. This is why Paul said, I am an apostle by the will of God. Jesus is alive and at work in you. So I encourage you to join me in walking in the fullness of Christ by knowing him more deeply according to these truths and living for him daily. When Queen Victoria of England reigned as Empress of India, the Maharaja of Punjab was a little boy. To show his allegiance, he sent her a magnificent diamond. This diamond he sent Queen Victoria became one of the crown jewels of England and it was safely kept in the Tower of London. When the Maharaja of Punjab grew up to become a man, some two decades later, he went to London to pay his respects to the Queen. When he arrived, the young man went into the Queen's chambers and he asked in shock to the Queen if he could see the diamond. Can you bring the diamond that I gave to you a long time ago when I was a little boy? So she Motion for her attendance and the diamond was brought to the Indian prince. Everyone was stone silent because it seemed as if the prince had a change of heart. He took the diamond, he knelt on one knee in front of the queen. And he said, Queen, when I gave this diamond to you a long time ago, I was but a boy and I really didn't know what I was doing and I didn't know you. But now I really know you. So when the fullness of knowing what I'm doing, I kneel again and I give you the diamond again in full heart, in full strength, realizing that what I do is in response to your majesty. I think sometimes we can become so busy being good church people and good religious people then maybe we lose glimpse of seeing the fullness of Jesus and responding to him. I'm not sure when you bowed your knee and said, Jesus, I invite you into my life as Lord and Savior. Could have been recently, maybe it was a couple of decades ago. But is it possible that at times we need to see Jesus in his fullness so that we can return to the devotion of giving our life to Jesus. Maybe, maybe for some, scales have come off and we've matured in our faith. And maybe now we need to say, Jesus, I know I'm yours, but in the fullness of understanding you and knowing what I'm doing, Jesus, I just, I say, Jesus, I'm yours. Use me as you desire. Perhaps that's a prayer that God may be leading you to pray. Jesus, I know I belong to you, but I just want to say I'm yours because I see you more fully for who you are. Church, I pray that you and I together will know Christ deeply and we will certainly live Christ daily. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for this moment we have not just to have heard your word and to have been led in beautiful worship, but Father, now to respond to you, to understand that God, you gave us all when you gave us Jesus, and there is nothing more that we need for our salvation to be complete. And so Father, you've made it complete, and perhaps at times we've lost sight of this. May we return to you having been reminded of your fullness in Christ, and may we return to say, God, I'm yours. Father, we know that if we've trusted you and we're saved, that has no expiration date. But Father, sometimes we lose sight of who you are and the fullness, the beauty of our salvation through Jesus. And maybe we need to pick up that truth of Jesus and look until we can say, I see all of Christ. And how much more I need to say, Jesus, I'm yours. Jesus, I'm yours. May this be our prayer. And we offer this in Jesus' name. And together we said, Amen. Would you.