Colossians 2:9-10

NASB	NLT	VOICE
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,	9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.	9 You see, all that is God, all His fullness, resides in His body.
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;	10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every rule and authority.	10 You, too, are being completed in Him, the One who dominion over all rule, all authority.

The Colossian church was struggling with false teachers who were diminishing the power of who Christ was, what his ministry was about, and why they should have adopted to it. With Paul stating, “in Christ”, he is affirming that all the spiritual truths and realities are found in him and not what the false teachers were saying. In regard to the “fullness” of God, it means the completeness of God. This was a counter-cultural mindset at this time. Paul is countering the Gnostic (one who follows a collection of religious ideas and systems through a diverse set of beliefs and practices) idea that divine knowledge and spiritual completeness could be found outside of God. Paul is stating that everything needed for salvation and spiritual life – is through Jesus. “Deity” is a way to refer to God’s divine nature or essence. It’s a way of saying that Christ is not a reflection of or a part of God, but fully God himself. To have Jesus well with us shows something permanent. The divine nature of Jesus is not something that happens occasionally but is something that happens as an integral and eternal aspect of the character of Jesus. Jesus becoming God in the flesh affirms this incarnation. It counters early heresies which denied the true humanity of Christ. (see Docetism) Paul is telling his audience, and us, that Jesus was 100% human and 100% God, capable to experiencing life like we do and suffering like we do.

We must understand that everything that we need to know about God is found through Jesus. When we acknowledge this, we can walk towards a path of recognizing our salvation found through him. There’s no need to seek additional spiritual experiences because everything can be found through Jesus. Typically, when Christians talk about this, they talk about using horoscopes, tarot cards, mediums – things like that. I am not one who truly despises these things. I think there’s a part of me that has some skepticism with that, but I truly believe these are harmless to our spiritual world – when we do not prioritize their teachings. I think they can be used to give us a potential idea but recommend that we do not prioritize those over God. Christians can often ask for a sign from God to see if something should or should not happen. I truly believe that these things can help us potentially see those signs, but they should ultimately be submitted to God and that God’s will be done over all.

Being made complete in Christ shows how complete our lives can be through following his commands and lifestyle. For the Colossians, Paul was taking care of the false teachings that show additional spiritual practices or knowledge that are needed for salvation. To be complete, means that we lack nothing in our relationship with God. Historically, the Colossian church faced pressure from both the Jewish legalism and the pagan mysticism – so hearing that they can be complete through God was counter-cultural to what they were dealing with. In the Greco-Roman world, rulers and authorities were often called both spiritual beings and political leaders. Paul counters any belief that humans or other spiritual forces could rival who Jesus is.

Knowing we are complete should impact how we live, encouraging us to walk with confidence and purpose. Our identity in Christ should influence out decisions, relationships,  and priorities. It’s gives us a chance of reflection to ask, “Am I living a life that would honor the life that Christ live?” This could be with our thoughts, what we say to each other, how we act towards each other, and the different facets between them all. We touched on the Trinity with this, but the Holy Spirit has not been talked about. The Holy Spirit is housed within us to give us an inner source of strength and courage to do what God has called us. The Holy Spirit is a part of God living within us, so that God will never leave us. Let us make sure our lives stay focused on God and prioritized on reflecting who he is to the world around us.

Next slice of manna: Salvation for All || Romans 1:16 || Manna for the Mind #240