For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form, so Christ is fully and truly divine. That fullness dwelt in Him while He was truly human, divinity clothed with humanity in one person without either nature changed into the other, so that guilty men could be approached and spoken to heart to heart. He is therefore the brightness of the Father's glory and express image of His person, gathering all the glory and attributes of God into a perfect representation of God and a perfect specimen of sinless humanity. Because He is such a complete Saviour, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, believers are complete in Him as head over all power and need nothing added from outside Him. That completeness is received by beholding Him and being emptied of self, so that through the Spirit believers partake of His fullness, are molded into His likeness, and reflect His image to others.
Divine Fullness in Christ
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ, so He is fully divine and the whole divine nature lives in Him in bodily form. He is therefore the one to look to, contemplate, and follow, and the one in whom believers are complete because He is head of all principality and power and above every power. This stands against being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, which are not after Christ, for Christ is sufficient and the only safe ground of faith. Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord must keep walking in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving, with comforted hearts knit together in love unto full assurance of understanding in acknowledging God and Christ in whom are hid treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To turn from Him to humanity and the changing world for help loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, while remaining in Him keeps completeness and submission to His headship.
The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily but invisible to mortal sight, the Son is all that fullness manifested as the express image of His person, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit in all that fullness. The divine Majesty cannot be truly represented, compared to, or described by earthly things made by His hands, because they suffer under the curse through sin. Therefore spiritualistic representations of Father, Son, and Spirit as invisible light, embodied light, and shed light, or as vapor, cloud, and dew or rain, are imperfect, untrue nothingness that weaken and diminish His Majesty.
Christ is the only-begotten Son, not a son by creation as the angels are nor a son by adoption as the forgiven sinner is. He was begotten in the express image of the Father's person and in all the brightness of His majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection, with all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him bodily. He is the mighty God and Creator of worlds, far higher than any of the angels, the brightness of God's glory and the manifestation of God's character, so that to know Him is to know the Father and to have seen Him is to have seen the Father, for He is the way, the truth, and the life. Because He is fully divine His offering is complete, and there is but one way of escape for the sinner and but one agency for cleansing, by accepting the propitiation of the Lamb whose shed blood cleanses from all sin.
He is not the Father, yet He is God just as the Father is God, God manifested in flesh, the Majesty of heaven equal in dignity and glory with the infinite God. In Him is perfect righteousness and spotless purity without sin, error, or imperfection and without a trace of corruption, though tempted in all points as humans are from childhood to manhood and surrounded by corruption from His first entrance into the world. His divine nature was not turned or transformed into human nature and His human nature was not turned or changed into divine nature, but the two were mysteriously blended and united in Him as the Saviour of men. Though so exalted He did not seek to be thought great among men but lived as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, meek and lowly in heart, inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and His life in this way rebukes all self-conceit, self-exaltation, and ambition to be great. Believers are also to become partakers of that fullness, and only by that fullness can they overcome as Christ overcame.
Divinity United with Humanity
All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Christ while He was truly human, His divinity clothed with humanity so that He did not move farther away from guilty men but came and dwelt among them to be one with them. Though human guilt might seem to put God at a distance, He came near by taking humanity upon Himself and taking human form, remaining fully divine while proclaiming the principles of heaven to enable men and women to walk in divine wisdom. In that clothed state He could speak to the human heart and place the divine impress upon the soul, with all the riches of the universe and the resources of infinite wisdom placed in His hands to give to men. He stood before the world as the representation of the Father and the express image of His person, rolling back the thick darkness and hellish shadow of Satan between man and God and showing God as light and love, revealing to the universe the infinite love of God for fallen beings and drawing humanity into one family away from all sin. To know how to deliver His people He met the fallen host with Lucifer at their head in conflict and pledged Himself to endure all the temptations man must endure, that He might know how to help those who are tempted.
The two natures were mysteriously blended in the one person Christ Jesus, the man Christ Jesus, without either nature being changed into the other. His human nature was not turned into divine nature and His divine nature was not turned into human nature, nor transformed the one into the other, but the two were mysteriously united in Him as the Saviour of men. He is not the Father, yet the whole fullness of deity lives in Him in bodily form as God manifested in flesh, the Majesty of heaven equal in dignity and glory with the infinite God. Though possessing this fullness He did not seek to be thought great among men but lived as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, meek and lowly in heart, inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and His life in this way rebukes all self-conceit, self-exaltation, ambition and seeking to be great among men.
At the crucifixion His human nature died, but His deity did not and could not die, which was impossible. The mystery and the greatness and power of God's gift of salvation will not be fully understood until the redeemed are translated. Though equal with the Father in dignity and power, He lived as a poor, hungry, weary man and was tempted as humans are, tempted in all points like human beings from childhood to manhood. Though surrounded by corruption from His first entrance into the world, He stood before the world untainted by corruption, with unsullied purity and goodness and perfect righteousness and spotless purity free from all sin and error and without a trace of imperfection. His perfect life revealed the character people may attain through divine grace and left an example for Christians to follow, showing what a person must be before entering the holy city, and believers are to become partakers of that fullness, for only through it can they overcome as Christ overcame.
Though the mighty God and Creator of worlds, far higher than any of the angels and equal with the Father in dignity and glory, He became a helpless infant in Bethlehem's manger wearing the garb of humanity. In that mysterious combination divinity and humanity were united and man and God became one, an unfathomable mystery the human mind cannot comprehend that grows more amazing the more it is considered. This union is the hope of the fallen race, for looking upon Christ in humanity is looking upon God and seeing in Him the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Deity in human flesh suffered and sank under the agonies of Calvary, for all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily in Christ meaning Jesus Christ is Deity in human flesh. The Majesty of heaven was made to suffer at the hands of religious zealots, men He had created who depended on Him for every moment of life, and He who was given for the ransom of the world purchased the church with His own blood as the price paid for ransom.
In that incarnate fullness He as the meek, holy Sufferer, humbling Himself below man yet remaining higher than the angels and equal with God in majesty and glory, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, a mystery finite wisdom cannot understand that reveals the value God places on men. On the cross of Calvary mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other, and He hung there as God's sacrifice for sin, revealing righteousness, the great plan of redemption, and matchless love, sympathy and forgiveness. Beholding Him gives the sweet evidence of forgiveness and creates the desire to bear the cross, so that no one can truly look at His sacrifice without the heart being melted and broken to surrender heart and soul to God, accepting Him not only as Redeemer but as Ruler through obedience. From the highest excellency He descended step by step to the very depths of humiliation, and by a death of shame and suffering He paid man's ransom, so that through His grace men may attain to perfection. His life from the manger to Calvary was marked by self-denial, sacrifice and humility, becoming poor so that people might share the eternal inheritance rather than earthly wealth, revealing self-sacrificing love whose depth no line can measure, with His infinite sacrifice revealing God's love for humanity and His abhorrence of sin and duplicity.
Revealing Father and Character
In Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, displaying the full Godhead in bodily form, so that in Him the invisible God's image and the character of the Infinite are seen. He is the express image of the Father's person and the brightness of God's glory, the manifestation of God's character, so that the perfections of God are seen in the excellencies of Christ. To know Him is to know the Father, and to have seen Him is to have seen the Father, for He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by Him. This reveals His relation to His Father and to His church on earth, that believers are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power, words to hold as an anchor in test and trial. He is a personal Saviour and the way to a perfect knowledge of God, which nature alone in its imperfection cannot reveal in moral perfection.
All the glory of the Father is gathered in Christ, and all the attributes of God are expressed in His character. He stands on the one hand a perfect representation of God and on the other a perfect specimen and representation of sinless humanity, combining divinity and humanity and uniting in His person the fullness and perfection of the Godhead with the fullness and perfection of sinless humanity. The eternal attributes shining in the character of Christ are the eternal attributes of the Lord Jehovah, so that revealing Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour reveals Jehovah. In His humanity He relied upon divine power to meet and overcome all the temptations by which Adam was assailed, living from infancy to manhood as a perfect pattern of childhood, youth, and manhood that reveals what fallen human beings may become through union and fellowship with the divine nature and reveals the Father as full of goodness and mercy, love and truth. Because this divine fullness is in Him, His giving of Himself opened a spiritual fountain of divine influence so that by faith in Him man may partake of the divine nature, and the gospel is glorious because it is made up of His righteousness, Christ unfolded and Christ embodied, so that praise and worship belong not to the gospel but to Christ, the Lord of the gospel.
He came to reveal the Father, rolling back the thick darkness and hellish shadow of Satan that stood between man and God and showing God as light and love. All the riches of the universe and the resources of infinite wisdom were placed by the Father into His hands to give to men, and His divinity was clothed with humanity and His divine glory veiled so He could speak to the human heart, place His divine impress upon the soul, and let divinity reach humanity. His words and works revealed the Father's goodness, mercy, love, and character, and though He hated sin He showed tender sympathy for sinners and suffered in their place, bringing them into union with Himself. He came to reveal God's goodness, mercy, and love to fallen humanity, and those who enter eternal life are to bear His image, have His mind, imitate His example, and live as He lived.
The Jewish religious services and the whole economy of types and shadows pointed forward to Him and gain significance from Him, for in Him God's glory was revealed and the glory of the gospel centered in Christ shines back upon the Jewish age. The condemning law points to the gospel that reveals Him, and law and gospel blended convict of sin and must never be divorced in preaching. Christ is the glory of the law, and beholding His character is beholding that glory, which His messengers are to reflect to sinners so they see the wondrous things in God's law. As the Author of truth He came to recover truth from error and present God's law in its original dignity and purity, not abolishing the law given at Sinai but upholding it, and because the unchangeable law could not be altered to suit fallen humanity He took humanity upon Himself, bore the sins of the fallen race, and became sin for us so that in Him we might become God's righteousness, thus fulfilling the types and shadows and standing as the sole Redeemer whom prophecy had foretold. Though possessing full deity in bodily form He was self-possessed, humble, dignified, patient, calm, and balanced, never going to extremes, never losing self-control under excitement, never erring in judgment of men and truth, never deceived by appearances, never asking an inappropriate question, always giving a fitting answer to the point, silencing caviling priests by penetrating to heart and conscience, and never violating good taste in knowing when to speak and when to be silent, making no loud, vehement claims of holiness or sinlessness, and those who accept justification by faith must keep law and gospel closely connected as He did, and if He abides in their hearts by faith they will behold His life, avoid extremism, cultivate calmness and self-possession, become pure, peaceable, and undefiled like Him, both receive and diffuse light, gain clearer views of what He is to them, and show forth the symmetry, loveliness, and benevolence of His life.
Second Temple Greater Glory
For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily means He is God manifest in the flesh, carrying the living divine presence in bodily form. His personal living presence teaching and healing in the courts of the second temple hallowed it and fulfilled the promise that the glory of the latter house would be greater than that of the former. The Desire of all nations had come to His temple when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in its sacred courts. In His presence, and in this only, the second temple exceeded the first in glory.
That second house was inferior to the first in magnificence and lacked the visible tokens of divine presence that had belonged to the first. There was no cloud of glory filling the sanctuary, no fire from heaven consuming the sacrifice, and no shekinah abiding between the cherubim. There was no ark and mercy-seat and tables of testimony, and no voice from heaven answering the priest.
The promised greater glory came not by visible signs of divine presence or by a visible cloud of divine glory, but by Christ Himself. When Israel rejected Him and He passed out from its gate for the last time, the glory forever departed from the temple. The temple was then left desolate.
Believers Complete in Christ
The verse that follows adds that believers are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power and above every power, so that nothing needs to be added from outside him. To be complete in him is to keep walking in him as received, rooted and built up in him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving. It is to refuse to be spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition and the rudiments of the world, which are not after Christ, for linking with the world loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, while remaining in Christ keeps completeness and submission to his headship. Holding fast means unity of faith and love under Christ's name, example, and word, holding the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages until the close of the work, rather than drifting into superstitions, strange new ideas, independent tracks, and false doctrine that disconnect from Christ and from one another. It includes the spiritual circumcision made without hands that puts off the body of the sins of the flesh, burial and rising with him in baptism through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead, and being made alive together with him from death in sins with forgiveness of all trespasses.
That completeness means sharing in his glory and receiving the Holy Spirit without measure even as he did, for God gave the Spirit without measure to Christ. Believers are made full and receive heaven's light as they yield self and obey Christ. This is received only as self and seeking honor for self are emptied out, as love for self is swallowed up in love for Christ, as every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, as God's character is discerned and Christ is accepted by faith, and as Jesus is lifted up as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Through the Spirit's work believers receive of that fullness and are shaped into the divine likeness. The Spirit gives spiritual life, cleanses the soul, and molds it to Christ, so that the renewed soul conformed to Christ reflects the divine likeness. Enmity against God becomes faith and love, and pride becomes humility. This growth is not automatic and is not freedom from temptation and trial, but calls for faith, humility, daily prayer for fresh grace, and the faithful use of God-given powers.
In him is the fullness that satisfies every desire God implants in the human heart, and those who come to him are made full with respect to those desires. He is the bodily fullness of the Godhead, the Word incarnate, the fullness for both Jew and Gentile. Confessing that Jesus Christ with this fullness came in the flesh is a test of a genuine prophetic message, and his incarnation and presence in believers are central gospel truths.
Guard Against False Teaching
Paul's warning around the fullness dwelling bodily in Christ is to let no one spoil or beguile believers through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, because those things are not after Christ. Christ Himself is the only safe guide and the true ground of faith against such teaching, since all divine fullness lives bodily in Him who is head of all principality and power and above every power. Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord must keep walking in Him as received, rooted and built up in Him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving. That walk belongs with comforted hearts knit together in love unto riches of full assurance of understanding in acknowledging the mystery of God and of Christ, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, with order and steadfastness of faith in Christ.
Turning from Christ to humanity for help is folly, whether to human maxims and suppositions, supposed great men, human guidance, or the changing world with its changeableness. Linking with the world in this way loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, closes the door against the divine Helper, and leaves no expectation of power. Remaining in Christ keeps completeness in Him and submission to His headship, needing nothing added from outside Him. Holding fast requires unity of faith and love under Christ's name, example, and word, with hearts comforted and knit together in love, holding the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages until the close of the work. It requires receiving God's word sent, especially the message to the Laodicean church exposing the true state, not as the word of men but as the word of God in truth, without doubt of message or messenger, lest unbelief bar out its effectual working and leave souls in darkness. It refuses superstitions, new strange ideas, independent tracks, worldly spirit and worldly practices, and false doctrine that disconnect from Christ and from one another, since disregarding this unity and love transgresses the law of God and the great danger is a worldly spirit taking the place Christ should have in the life.
Applied to baptism, fulfilling the pledge means walking in Christ as received, rooted and built up and established in faith with thanksgiving and joy for His rich grace, bringing clear and decided victories in every line through trust in the Lord Jesus and union with Him. It means sharing the spiritual circumcision made without hands that puts off the body of the sins of the flesh, being buried and risen with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead, and being made alive together with Him from death in sins with forgiveness of all trespasses. Those so buried and risen enter new life, are sealed as born again of water and of the Spirit, are accepted in the Beloved, and become partakers of the divine nature having escaped corruption through lust. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost pledge themselves to be the efficiency of all who submit to the ordinance and keep the vow, giving help from the source of all power to live free from dishonest practice under the control of the Spirit of truth.
Sufficient Source of Salvation
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the whole storehouse of knowledge and grace. Believers are complete in Him who is head over every principality and power and above every power, made complete through His righteousness rather than their own, so they need not remain in defects of character or the corruption of the sinful nature. Teaching must therefore be grounded in Christ rather than in human tradition, worldly philosophy, vain deceit, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, and those who have received Christ must walk in Him rooted and built up and established in the taught faith with thanksgiving, refusing to be spoiled by what is not after Christ. Believers must come in faith to Christ Himself to receive His fullness rather than seek wisdom from those who have not learned God's wisdom, for knowing and receiving Him brings the riches of His love and power and the fullness of God as the heart opens to His attributes. This truth brings hearts comforted and knit together in love unto full assurance of understanding in acknowledging God and Christ, and it is not dark, mysterious, or incomprehensible but is to be intensely studied as the Book to study.
He is the risen, ascended Saviour, Alpha and Omega, holding all the fullness of God in bodily form, and every advantage is found by keeping Christ ever in view, asking if the way is the Lord's way, and filling the heart with holy desire to live His life. Looking constantly to Jesus, pressing close to His side, and holding communion with Him changes heart and life by the transforming power of the Spirit into the same image from glory to glory, engraving His words on the soul and making believers His witnesses who represent Him in daily life, and that transformed, Christlike character is the only true religious life. He is a complete Saviour close beside His people, their wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, fully sufficient to meet every spiritual need, so they need no more effective help than they have in Him. He came into the world to take away sin, and His attributes provide what is needed for righteousness and Christian character, while failure to hunger and thirst after righteousness shows that His attributes are not sufficiently valued. He is the source of hope and joy and courage, and His goodness and love sustain believers in suffering as the one in whom they find righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Because He is fully divine His offering is complete, for He is the only-begotten Son, not a son by creation as angels are nor a son by adoption as the forgiven sinner is, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person and in all the brightness of His majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. There is but one way of escape for the sinner and but one agency for cleansing from sin, by accepting the propitiation made by the Lamb of God whose shed blood cleanses from all sin. He is the Son whom God gave to die, who paid the ransom and saves, holding all the fullness of deity bodily, and He is pure, so that believing in Him and taking Him as Saviour means seeking to purify oneself even as He is pure. He is the sole Redeemer whom prophecy foretold, who fulfilled the types and shadows and stood as Author of truth to recover truth from error and present God's law in its original dignity and purity. He veiled His divinity beneath humanity so He could come near to people, teach them, and reveal God's true character, so that seeing Christ is seeing the Father, and He did not abolish the law given at Sinai but upheld it. Because the unchangeable law could not be altered to suit fallen humanity, He took humanity upon Himself, bore the sins of the fallen race, and became sin for us that in Him we might become God's righteousness.
Because Christ possesses the whole heaven of gifts, light, power, and blessings, He can bestow them on everyone who seeks them and opens the door to receive Him. He is the believer's joy and peace and power and satisfaction, so confidence rests in Him rather than in the changing world, and looking to Christ brings grace and power to overcome faults, even every fault. The wisdom and strength needed in weakness can be found in Him, for all fullness dwells in Christ. Contemplating that divine fullness provides the help needed to understand spiritual things correctly. All fullness, preciousness, and power are found in Christ and may be received by believers through searching the Scriptures, and Scripture equips them to meet every emergency.
Transformed into Christlikeness
Beholding Christ in whom all fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily transforms the beholder by grace through the Holy Spirit to reflect His image, become a partaker of the divine nature, and share the divine life. Contemplating Him, and especially His self-sacrifice and Calvary, draws the believer closer to the source of power and enshrines Christ in the heart to reach the position God desires. Keeping Him ever in view, pressing close to His side, holding communion with Him, asking if one's way is the Lord's way, and filling the heart with holy desire to live His life changes heart and life from glory to glory into the same image. He is the divine similitude and likeness after which human character must be molded, and beholding Him in cooperation with Him exposes errors needing correction as rotten timbers in character-building that must not be left or excused as "my way." When this converting power acts, heart, hand, tongue, and feet move together in spiritual advancement, faith becomes a shining light shining more and more unto the perfect day, and the old will, ways, and habits are surrendered rather than pleaded for and left undisturbed, for anything short of this change means eternal loss. His life, who has this divine fullness, can be made manifest in mortal lives, so that those begotten by God's Spirit live by God's life, and that life produces Christlike character and works, engraving His words on the soul and making believers His witnesses who represent Him in daily life as the only true religious life.
Completeness in Him who holds all fullness opens before all Christians a path of continual advancement requiring constant striving and progress onward and upward toward perfection of character in the human sphere. That completeness includes everything good and pure and noble and elevated, providing an object to reach and a standard to gain. The ideal of that character and the standard for belief is Christlikeness, being perfect in the human sphere as God is perfect in His sphere. It is a religion that never degrades but refines taste, sanctifies judgment, softens the heart, and purifies and elevates thoughts into captivity to Christ.
That union kills pride and selfishness and brings soul, body, and spirit into perfect subjection to Christ as the perfect Pattern. The once-polluted habitation is purified and cleansed by His blood when His words are taken into heart and life, obeyed, and made a living ruling principle until the whole being is assimilated to Him in perfect unity with His Spirit. This completeness requires heart service and sanctification of the entire person, with the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature and molding human character through the grace of Christ until the image of Christ is perfected, which is true holiness that properly represents Christ to the world in grace and loveliness. It is marked by contemplating His character with set purpose to imitate His life and conform character to His, showing a marked difference from the world and refusing philosophy, vain deceit, human tradition, and worldly rudiments.
Those united to Him testify to the divine fullness dwelling in Him, and from His fullness they receive grace for grace to impart to others, with increase of grace returning as they impart. Receiving Christ Jesus the Lord and walking in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith with thanksgiving, fills the heart with gratitude and love that flows out to refresh others, passes over little grievances, meets larger difficulties in the spirit of Christ, and prays for patience, perseverance, and forbearance. In Him all fullness dwells as the full, abundant, and assuring supply of God's promises and power and the vital chain by which man is bound to God, giving a constant supply of grace with the saving properties represented by salt, so that those with a personal interest in Jesus Christ possess qualities of character that work for the saving of the world and become living witnesses for heaven and His helping hand. Turning from Christ to humanity for help is folly that leaves no expectation of power, for Christ is everything to believers.
Looking to Him leads away from temptation and gives peace, power, joy, rest, and grace to overcome faults and exemplify Him as the divine Pattern kept before the mind and followed in obedience. Learning of Him and wearing His yoke makes believers meek and lowly in heart and teaches by experience that rest is found in service, so they joyfully testify that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Contemplating Him as the one in whom all fullness dwells gives knowledge of His saving grace as personal Saviour, compassionate, loving Redeemer, and pattern for life, making His light, His love, and His work most precious and satisfying. Keeping mind and heart fixed on Him and talking of His love and power causes difficulties and perplexities to pass away and makes believers happy in the assurance of His love, for He Himself is joy and crown of rejoicing, peace, power, and satisfaction, so believers can rejoice whatever happens within or without, with confidence resting in Him rather than in the changing world.
By repenting and receiving Christ as personal Saviour and Life-giver, whose life is eternal life itself, believers become one with Him with the will brought into harmony with the divine will, and derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human, by which fallen people who as children of the first Adam partake of Adam's dying nature become partakers of the divine nature, reinstated in God's favor, given opportunity to win back the lost gift of life and immortality forfeited by Adam's disobedience, and restored to stand in the original position before God with a life more perfect, more full, and more complete than Adam forfeited. Those who receive Him by living faith enter a covenant relationship with God and receive a life that grows, and this growing experience demonstrates divine fullness as God is revealed to the world through Christ manifested in spirit, life, and character.
From His fullness strength is obtained to walk even as He walked and to live in the light with a sanctifying influence upon business associates and common acquaintances, because time is short and there is no time to delay preparation of heart to labor for one's own soul and for friends, neighbors, and all under one's influence. Obtaining this strength requires no separation of affections from Him but giving the entire man, soul, body, and spirit, and when all is done on man's part that He requires, He works for man and blesses and strengthens him by His rich grace. Those truly sanctified sense their own weakness, need, and imperfections and seek to become more like Christ, so they go to Him for light and grace and strength and draw near in earnest supplication by faith and hope in the promises, receiving the light of life and knowledge of the divine will as hidden treasure above all things to be desired, for knowledge is power in spiritual as well as temporal things. This continual sense of inefficiency leads to entire dependence upon God, so that His Spirit is exemplified in them and the treasures of heaven are opened to supply every hungering, thirsting soul, for He alone can supply human wants.
Though possessing full deity in bodily form, Jesus was self-possessed, humble, dignified, patient, calm, and balanced, never going to extremes, never losing self-control under excitement, never erring in judgment of men and truth, never deceived by appearances, never asking an inappropriate question, and always giving a fitting answer to the point. He silenced cavilling priests by penetrating to heart and conscience, never violated good taste in knowing when to speak and when to be silent, made no loud, vehement claims of holiness or sinlessness, and used no noisy protestations or bodily contortions. Those who accept justification by faith must keep law and gospel closely connected as He did, and if Christ abides in their hearts by faith they will behold His life, avoid extremism, cultivate calmness and self-possession, become pure, peaceable and undefiled like Jesus, reveal Christ in character, both receive and diffuse light, gain clearer views of what Jesus is to them, and show forth the symmetry, loveliness and benevolence of His life.
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form, so Christ is fully and truly divine. That fullness dwelt in Him while He was truly human, divinity clothed with humanity in one person without either nature changed into the other, so that guilty men could be approached and spoken to heart to heart. He is therefore the brightness of the Father's glory and express image of His person, gathering all the glory and attributes of God into a perfect representation of God and a perfect specimen of sinless humanity. Because He is such a complete Saviour, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, believers are complete in Him as head over all power and need nothing added from outside Him. That completeness is received by beholding Him and being emptied of self, so that through the Spirit believers partake of His fullness, are molded into His likeness, and reflect His image to others.
Divine Fullness in Christ
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ, so He is fully divine and the whole divine nature lives in Him in bodily form. He is therefore the one to look to, contemplate, and follow, and the one in whom believers are complete because He is head of all principality and power and above every power. This stands against being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, which are not after Christ, for Christ is sufficient and the only safe ground of faith. Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord must keep walking in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving, with comforted hearts knit together in love unto full assurance of understanding in acknowledging God and Christ in whom are hid treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To turn from Him to humanity and the changing world for help loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, while remaining in Him keeps completeness and submission to His headship.
The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily but invisible to mortal sight, the Son is all that fullness manifested as the express image of His person, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit in all that fullness. The divine Majesty cannot be truly represented, compared to, or described by earthly things made by His hands, because they suffer under the curse through sin. Therefore spiritualistic representations of Father, Son, and Spirit as invisible light, embodied light, and shed light, or as vapor, cloud, and dew or rain, are imperfect, untrue nothingness that weaken and diminish His Majesty.
Christ is the only-begotten Son, not a son by creation as the angels are nor a son by adoption as the forgiven sinner is. He was begotten in the express image of the Father's person and in all the brightness of His majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection, with all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him bodily. He is the mighty God and Creator of worlds, far higher than any of the angels, the brightness of God's glory and the manifestation of God's character, so that to know Him is to know the Father and to have seen Him is to have seen the Father, for He is the way, the truth, and the life. Because He is fully divine His offering is complete, and there is but one way of escape for the sinner and but one agency for cleansing, by accepting the propitiation of the Lamb whose shed blood cleanses from all sin.
He is not the Father, yet He is God just as the Father is God, God manifested in flesh, the Majesty of heaven equal in dignity and glory with the infinite God. In Him is perfect righteousness and spotless purity without sin, error, or imperfection and without a trace of corruption, though tempted in all points as humans are from childhood to manhood and surrounded by corruption from His first entrance into the world. His divine nature was not turned or transformed into human nature and His human nature was not turned or changed into divine nature, but the two were mysteriously blended and united in Him as the Saviour of men. Though so exalted He did not seek to be thought great among men but lived as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, meek and lowly in heart, inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and His life in this way rebukes all self-conceit, self-exaltation, and ambition to be great. Believers are also to become partakers of that fullness, and only by that fullness can they overcome as Christ overcame.
Divinity United with Humanity
All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Christ while He was truly human, His divinity clothed with humanity so that He did not move farther away from guilty men but came and dwelt among them to be one with them. Though human guilt might seem to put God at a distance, He came near by taking humanity upon Himself and taking human form, remaining fully divine while proclaiming the principles of heaven to enable men and women to walk in divine wisdom. In that clothed state He could speak to the human heart and place the divine impress upon the soul, with all the riches of the universe and the resources of infinite wisdom placed in His hands to give to men. He stood before the world as the representation of the Father and the express image of His person, rolling back the thick darkness and hellish shadow of Satan between man and God and showing God as light and love, revealing to the universe the infinite love of God for fallen beings and drawing humanity into one family away from all sin. To know how to deliver His people He met the fallen host with Lucifer at their head in conflict and pledged Himself to endure all the temptations man must endure, that He might know how to help those who are tempted.
The two natures were mysteriously blended in the one person Christ Jesus, the man Christ Jesus, without either nature being changed into the other. His human nature was not turned into divine nature and His divine nature was not turned into human nature, nor transformed the one into the other, but the two were mysteriously united in Him as the Saviour of men. He is not the Father, yet the whole fullness of deity lives in Him in bodily form as God manifested in flesh, the Majesty of heaven equal in dignity and glory with the infinite God. Though possessing this fullness He did not seek to be thought great among men but lived as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, meek and lowly in heart, inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and His life in this way rebukes all self-conceit, self-exaltation, ambition and seeking to be great among men.
At the crucifixion His human nature died, but His deity did not and could not die, which was impossible. The mystery and the greatness and power of God's gift of salvation will not be fully understood until the redeemed are translated. Though equal with the Father in dignity and power, He lived as a poor, hungry, weary man and was tempted as humans are, tempted in all points like human beings from childhood to manhood. Though surrounded by corruption from His first entrance into the world, He stood before the world untainted by corruption, with unsullied purity and goodness and perfect righteousness and spotless purity free from all sin and error and without a trace of imperfection. His perfect life revealed the character people may attain through divine grace and left an example for Christians to follow, showing what a person must be before entering the holy city, and believers are to become partakers of that fullness, for only through it can they overcome as Christ overcame.
Though the mighty God and Creator of worlds, far higher than any of the angels and equal with the Father in dignity and glory, He became a helpless infant in Bethlehem's manger wearing the garb of humanity. In that mysterious combination divinity and humanity were united and man and God became one, an unfathomable mystery the human mind cannot comprehend that grows more amazing the more it is considered. This union is the hope of the fallen race, for looking upon Christ in humanity is looking upon God and seeing in Him the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Deity in human flesh suffered and sank under the agonies of Calvary, for all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily in Christ meaning Jesus Christ is Deity in human flesh. The Majesty of heaven was made to suffer at the hands of religious zealots, men He had created who depended on Him for every moment of life, and He who was given for the ransom of the world purchased the church with His own blood as the price paid for ransom.
In that incarnate fullness He as the meek, holy Sufferer, humbling Himself below man yet remaining higher than the angels and equal with God in majesty and glory, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, a mystery finite wisdom cannot understand that reveals the value God places on men. On the cross of Calvary mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other, and He hung there as God's sacrifice for sin, revealing righteousness, the great plan of redemption, and matchless love, sympathy and forgiveness. Beholding Him gives the sweet evidence of forgiveness and creates the desire to bear the cross, so that no one can truly look at His sacrifice without the heart being melted and broken to surrender heart and soul to God, accepting Him not only as Redeemer but as Ruler through obedience. From the highest excellency He descended step by step to the very depths of humiliation, and by a death of shame and suffering He paid man's ransom, so that through His grace men may attain to perfection. His life from the manger to Calvary was marked by self-denial, sacrifice and humility, becoming poor so that people might share the eternal inheritance rather than earthly wealth, revealing self-sacrificing love whose depth no line can measure, with His infinite sacrifice revealing God's love for humanity and His abhorrence of sin and duplicity.
Revealing Father and Character
In Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, displaying the full Godhead in bodily form, so that in Him the invisible God's image and the character of the Infinite are seen. He is the express image of the Father's person and the brightness of God's glory, the manifestation of God's character, so that the perfections of God are seen in the excellencies of Christ. To know Him is to know the Father, and to have seen Him is to have seen the Father, for He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by Him. This reveals His relation to His Father and to His church on earth, that believers are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power, words to hold as an anchor in test and trial. He is a personal Saviour and the way to a perfect knowledge of God, which nature alone in its imperfection cannot reveal in moral perfection.
All the glory of the Father is gathered in Christ, and all the attributes of God are expressed in His character. He stands on the one hand a perfect representation of God and on the other a perfect specimen and representation of sinless humanity, combining divinity and humanity and uniting in His person the fullness and perfection of the Godhead with the fullness and perfection of sinless humanity. The eternal attributes shining in the character of Christ are the eternal attributes of the Lord Jehovah, so that revealing Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour reveals Jehovah. In His humanity He relied upon divine power to meet and overcome all the temptations by which Adam was assailed, living from infancy to manhood as a perfect pattern of childhood, youth, and manhood that reveals what fallen human beings may become through union and fellowship with the divine nature and reveals the Father as full of goodness and mercy, love and truth. Because this divine fullness is in Him, His giving of Himself opened a spiritual fountain of divine influence so that by faith in Him man may partake of the divine nature, and the gospel is glorious because it is made up of His righteousness, Christ unfolded and Christ embodied, so that praise and worship belong not to the gospel but to Christ, the Lord of the gospel.
He came to reveal the Father, rolling back the thick darkness and hellish shadow of Satan that stood between man and God and showing God as light and love. All the riches of the universe and the resources of infinite wisdom were placed by the Father into His hands to give to men, and His divinity was clothed with humanity and His divine glory veiled so He could speak to the human heart, place His divine impress upon the soul, and let divinity reach humanity. His words and works revealed the Father's goodness, mercy, love, and character, and though He hated sin He showed tender sympathy for sinners and suffered in their place, bringing them into union with Himself. He came to reveal God's goodness, mercy, and love to fallen humanity, and those who enter eternal life are to bear His image, have His mind, imitate His example, and live as He lived.
The Jewish religious services and the whole economy of types and shadows pointed forward to Him and gain significance from Him, for in Him God's glory was revealed and the glory of the gospel centered in Christ shines back upon the Jewish age. The condemning law points to the gospel that reveals Him, and law and gospel blended convict of sin and must never be divorced in preaching. Christ is the glory of the law, and beholding His character is beholding that glory, which His messengers are to reflect to sinners so they see the wondrous things in God's law. As the Author of truth He came to recover truth from error and present God's law in its original dignity and purity, not abolishing the law given at Sinai but upholding it, and because the unchangeable law could not be altered to suit fallen humanity He took humanity upon Himself, bore the sins of the fallen race, and became sin for us so that in Him we might become God's righteousness, thus fulfilling the types and shadows and standing as the sole Redeemer whom prophecy had foretold. Though possessing full deity in bodily form He was self-possessed, humble, dignified, patient, calm, and balanced, never going to extremes, never losing self-control under excitement, never erring in judgment of men and truth, never deceived by appearances, never asking an inappropriate question, always giving a fitting answer to the point, silencing caviling priests by penetrating to heart and conscience, and never violating good taste in knowing when to speak and when to be silent, making no loud, vehement claims of holiness or sinlessness, and those who accept justification by faith must keep law and gospel closely connected as He did, and if He abides in their hearts by faith they will behold His life, avoid extremism, cultivate calmness and self-possession, become pure, peaceable, and undefiled like Him, both receive and diffuse light, gain clearer views of what He is to them, and show forth the symmetry, loveliness, and benevolence of His life.
Second Temple Greater Glory
For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily means He is God manifest in the flesh, carrying the living divine presence in bodily form. His personal living presence teaching and healing in the courts of the second temple hallowed it and fulfilled the promise that the glory of the latter house would be greater than that of the former. The Desire of all nations had come to His temple when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in its sacred courts. In His presence, and in this only, the second temple exceeded the first in glory.
That second house was inferior to the first in magnificence and lacked the visible tokens of divine presence that had belonged to the first. There was no cloud of glory filling the sanctuary, no fire from heaven consuming the sacrifice, and no shekinah abiding between the cherubim. There was no ark and mercy-seat and tables of testimony, and no voice from heaven answering the priest.
The promised greater glory came not by visible signs of divine presence or by a visible cloud of divine glory, but by Christ Himself. When Israel rejected Him and He passed out from its gate for the last time, the glory forever departed from the temple. The temple was then left desolate.
Believers Complete in Christ
The verse that follows adds that believers are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power and above every power, so that nothing needs to be added from outside him. To be complete in him is to keep walking in him as received, rooted and built up in him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving. It is to refuse to be spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition and the rudiments of the world, which are not after Christ, for linking with the world loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, while remaining in Christ keeps completeness and submission to his headship. Holding fast means unity of faith and love under Christ's name, example, and word, holding the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages until the close of the work, rather than drifting into superstitions, strange new ideas, independent tracks, and false doctrine that disconnect from Christ and from one another. It includes the spiritual circumcision made without hands that puts off the body of the sins of the flesh, burial and rising with him in baptism through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead, and being made alive together with him from death in sins with forgiveness of all trespasses.
That completeness means sharing in his glory and receiving the Holy Spirit without measure even as he did, for God gave the Spirit without measure to Christ. Believers are made full and receive heaven's light as they yield self and obey Christ. This is received only as self and seeking honor for self are emptied out, as love for self is swallowed up in love for Christ, as every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, as God's character is discerned and Christ is accepted by faith, and as Jesus is lifted up as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Through the Spirit's work believers receive of that fullness and are shaped into the divine likeness. The Spirit gives spiritual life, cleanses the soul, and molds it to Christ, so that the renewed soul conformed to Christ reflects the divine likeness. Enmity against God becomes faith and love, and pride becomes humility. This growth is not automatic and is not freedom from temptation and trial, but calls for faith, humility, daily prayer for fresh grace, and the faithful use of God-given powers.
In him is the fullness that satisfies every desire God implants in the human heart, and those who come to him are made full with respect to those desires. He is the bodily fullness of the Godhead, the Word incarnate, the fullness for both Jew and Gentile. Confessing that Jesus Christ with this fullness came in the flesh is a test of a genuine prophetic message, and his incarnation and presence in believers are central gospel truths.
Guard Against False Teaching
Paul's warning around the fullness dwelling bodily in Christ is to let no one spoil or beguile believers through philosophy and vain deceit after human tradition, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, because those things are not after Christ. Christ Himself is the only safe guide and the true ground of faith against such teaching, since all divine fullness lives bodily in Him who is head of all principality and power and above every power. Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord must keep walking in Him as received, rooted and built up in Him and established in the taught faith, abounding with thanksgiving. That walk belongs with comforted hearts knit together in love unto riches of full assurance of understanding in acknowledging the mystery of God and of Christ, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, with order and steadfastness of faith in Christ.
Turning from Christ to humanity for help is folly, whether to human maxims and suppositions, supposed great men, human guidance, or the changing world with its changeableness. Linking with the world in this way loses the knowledge of God and departs from the faith, closes the door against the divine Helper, and leaves no expectation of power. Remaining in Christ keeps completeness in Him and submission to His headship, needing nothing added from outside Him. Holding fast requires unity of faith and love under Christ's name, example, and word, with hearts comforted and knit together in love, holding the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages until the close of the work. It requires receiving God's word sent, especially the message to the Laodicean church exposing the true state, not as the word of men but as the word of God in truth, without doubt of message or messenger, lest unbelief bar out its effectual working and leave souls in darkness. It refuses superstitions, new strange ideas, independent tracks, worldly spirit and worldly practices, and false doctrine that disconnect from Christ and from one another, since disregarding this unity and love transgresses the law of God and the great danger is a worldly spirit taking the place Christ should have in the life.
Applied to baptism, fulfilling the pledge means walking in Christ as received, rooted and built up and established in faith with thanksgiving and joy for His rich grace, bringing clear and decided victories in every line through trust in the Lord Jesus and union with Him. It means sharing the spiritual circumcision made without hands that puts off the body of the sins of the flesh, being buried and risen with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead, and being made alive together with Him from death in sins with forgiveness of all trespasses. Those so buried and risen enter new life, are sealed as born again of water and of the Spirit, are accepted in the Beloved, and become partakers of the divine nature having escaped corruption through lust. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost pledge themselves to be the efficiency of all who submit to the ordinance and keep the vow, giving help from the source of all power to live free from dishonest practice under the control of the Spirit of truth.
Sufficient Source of Salvation
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the whole storehouse of knowledge and grace. Believers are complete in Him who is head over every principality and power and above every power, made complete through His righteousness rather than their own, so they need not remain in defects of character or the corruption of the sinful nature. Teaching must therefore be grounded in Christ rather than in human tradition, worldly philosophy, vain deceit, enticing words, and the rudiments of the world, and those who have received Christ must walk in Him rooted and built up and established in the taught faith with thanksgiving, refusing to be spoiled by what is not after Christ. Believers must come in faith to Christ Himself to receive His fullness rather than seek wisdom from those who have not learned God's wisdom, for knowing and receiving Him brings the riches of His love and power and the fullness of God as the heart opens to His attributes. This truth brings hearts comforted and knit together in love unto full assurance of understanding in acknowledging God and Christ, and it is not dark, mysterious, or incomprehensible but is to be intensely studied as the Book to study.
He is the risen, ascended Saviour, Alpha and Omega, holding all the fullness of God in bodily form, and every advantage is found by keeping Christ ever in view, asking if the way is the Lord's way, and filling the heart with holy desire to live His life. Looking constantly to Jesus, pressing close to His side, and holding communion with Him changes heart and life by the transforming power of the Spirit into the same image from glory to glory, engraving His words on the soul and making believers His witnesses who represent Him in daily life, and that transformed, Christlike character is the only true religious life. He is a complete Saviour close beside His people, their wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, fully sufficient to meet every spiritual need, so they need no more effective help than they have in Him. He came into the world to take away sin, and His attributes provide what is needed for righteousness and Christian character, while failure to hunger and thirst after righteousness shows that His attributes are not sufficiently valued. He is the source of hope and joy and courage, and His goodness and love sustain believers in suffering as the one in whom they find righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Because He is fully divine His offering is complete, for He is the only-begotten Son, not a son by creation as angels are nor a son by adoption as the forgiven sinner is, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person and in all the brightness of His majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. There is but one way of escape for the sinner and but one agency for cleansing from sin, by accepting the propitiation made by the Lamb of God whose shed blood cleanses from all sin. He is the Son whom God gave to die, who paid the ransom and saves, holding all the fullness of deity bodily, and He is pure, so that believing in Him and taking Him as Saviour means seeking to purify oneself even as He is pure. He is the sole Redeemer whom prophecy foretold, who fulfilled the types and shadows and stood as Author of truth to recover truth from error and present God's law in its original dignity and purity. He veiled His divinity beneath humanity so He could come near to people, teach them, and reveal God's true character, so that seeing Christ is seeing the Father, and He did not abolish the law given at Sinai but upheld it. Because the unchangeable law could not be altered to suit fallen humanity, He took humanity upon Himself, bore the sins of the fallen race, and became sin for us that in Him we might become God's righteousness.
Because Christ possesses the whole heaven of gifts, light, power, and blessings, He can bestow them on everyone who seeks them and opens the door to receive Him. He is the believer's joy and peace and power and satisfaction, so confidence rests in Him rather than in the changing world, and looking to Christ brings grace and power to overcome faults, even every fault. The wisdom and strength needed in weakness can be found in Him, for all fullness dwells in Christ. Contemplating that divine fullness provides the help needed to understand spiritual things correctly. All fullness, preciousness, and power are found in Christ and may be received by believers through searching the Scriptures, and Scripture equips them to meet every emergency.
Transformed into Christlikeness
Beholding Christ in whom all fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily transforms the beholder by grace through the Holy Spirit to reflect His image, become a partaker of the divine nature, and share the divine life. Contemplating Him, and especially His self-sacrifice and Calvary, draws the believer closer to the source of power and enshrines Christ in the heart to reach the position God desires. Keeping Him ever in view, pressing close to His side, holding communion with Him, asking if one's way is the Lord's way, and filling the heart with holy desire to live His life changes heart and life from glory to glory into the same image. He is the divine similitude and likeness after which human character must be molded, and beholding Him in cooperation with Him exposes errors needing correction as rotten timbers in character-building that must not be left or excused as "my way." When this converting power acts, heart, hand, tongue, and feet move together in spiritual advancement, faith becomes a shining light shining more and more unto the perfect day, and the old will, ways, and habits are surrendered rather than pleaded for and left undisturbed, for anything short of this change means eternal loss. His life, who has this divine fullness, can be made manifest in mortal lives, so that those begotten by God's Spirit live by God's life, and that life produces Christlike character and works, engraving His words on the soul and making believers His witnesses who represent Him in daily life as the only true religious life.
Completeness in Him who holds all fullness opens before all Christians a path of continual advancement requiring constant striving and progress onward and upward toward perfection of character in the human sphere. That completeness includes everything good and pure and noble and elevated, providing an object to reach and a standard to gain. The ideal of that character and the standard for belief is Christlikeness, being perfect in the human sphere as God is perfect in His sphere. It is a religion that never degrades but refines taste, sanctifies judgment, softens the heart, and purifies and elevates thoughts into captivity to Christ.
That union kills pride and selfishness and brings soul, body, and spirit into perfect subjection to Christ as the perfect Pattern. The once-polluted habitation is purified and cleansed by His blood when His words are taken into heart and life, obeyed, and made a living ruling principle until the whole being is assimilated to Him in perfect unity with His Spirit. This completeness requires heart service and sanctification of the entire person, with the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature and molding human character through the grace of Christ until the image of Christ is perfected, which is true holiness that properly represents Christ to the world in grace and loveliness. It is marked by contemplating His character with set purpose to imitate His life and conform character to His, showing a marked difference from the world and refusing philosophy, vain deceit, human tradition, and worldly rudiments.
Those united to Him testify to the divine fullness dwelling in Him, and from His fullness they receive grace for grace to impart to others, with increase of grace returning as they impart. Receiving Christ Jesus the Lord and walking in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith with thanksgiving, fills the heart with gratitude and love that flows out to refresh others, passes over little grievances, meets larger difficulties in the spirit of Christ, and prays for patience, perseverance, and forbearance. In Him all fullness dwells as the full, abundant, and assuring supply of God's promises and power and the vital chain by which man is bound to God, giving a constant supply of grace with the saving properties represented by salt, so that those with a personal interest in Jesus Christ possess qualities of character that work for the saving of the world and become living witnesses for heaven and His helping hand. Turning from Christ to humanity for help is folly that leaves no expectation of power, for Christ is everything to believers.
Looking to Him leads away from temptation and gives peace, power, joy, rest, and grace to overcome faults and exemplify Him as the divine Pattern kept before the mind and followed in obedience. Learning of Him and wearing His yoke makes believers meek and lowly in heart and teaches by experience that rest is found in service, so they joyfully testify that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Contemplating Him as the one in whom all fullness dwells gives knowledge of His saving grace as personal Saviour, compassionate, loving Redeemer, and pattern for life, making His light, His love, and His work most precious and satisfying. Keeping mind and heart fixed on Him and talking of His love and power causes difficulties and perplexities to pass away and makes believers happy in the assurance of His love, for He Himself is joy and crown of rejoicing, peace, power, and satisfaction, so believers can rejoice whatever happens within or without, with confidence resting in Him rather than in the changing world.
By repenting and receiving Christ as personal Saviour and Life-giver, whose life is eternal life itself, believers become one with Him with the will brought into harmony with the divine will, and derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human, by which fallen people who as children of the first Adam partake of Adam's dying nature become partakers of the divine nature, reinstated in God's favor, given opportunity to win back the lost gift of life and immortality forfeited by Adam's disobedience, and restored to stand in the original position before God with a life more perfect, more full, and more complete than Adam forfeited. Those who receive Him by living faith enter a covenant relationship with God and receive a life that grows, and this growing experience demonstrates divine fullness as God is revealed to the world through Christ manifested in spirit, life, and character.
From His fullness strength is obtained to walk even as He walked and to live in the light with a sanctifying influence upon business associates and common acquaintances, because time is short and there is no time to delay preparation of heart to labor for one's own soul and for friends, neighbors, and all under one's influence. Obtaining this strength requires no separation of affections from Him but giving the entire man, soul, body, and spirit, and when all is done on man's part that He requires, He works for man and blesses and strengthens him by His rich grace. Those truly sanctified sense their own weakness, need, and imperfections and seek to become more like Christ, so they go to Him for light and grace and strength and draw near in earnest supplication by faith and hope in the promises, receiving the light of life and knowledge of the divine will as hidden treasure above all things to be desired, for knowledge is power in spiritual as well as temporal things. This continual sense of inefficiency leads to entire dependence upon God, so that His Spirit is exemplified in them and the treasures of heaven are opened to supply every hungering, thirsting soul, for He alone can supply human wants.
Though possessing full deity in bodily form, Jesus was self-possessed, humble, dignified, patient, calm, and balanced, never going to extremes, never losing self-control under excitement, never erring in judgment of men and truth, never deceived by appearances, never asking an inappropriate question, and always giving a fitting answer to the point. He silenced cavilling priests by penetrating to heart and conscience, never violated good taste in knowing when to speak and when to be silent, made no loud, vehement claims of holiness or sinlessness, and used no noisy protestations or bodily contortions. Those who accept justification by faith must keep law and gospel closely connected as He did, and if Christ abides in their hearts by faith they will behold His life, avoid extremism, cultivate calmness and self-possession, become pure, peaceable and undefiled like Jesus, reveal Christ in character, both receive and diffuse light, gain clearer views of what Jesus is to them, and show forth the symmetry, loveliness and benevolence of His life.