I was looking for a particular scripture that I couldn’t find, or, remember its location. So I turned to my concordance. While scanning the listing for all the occurrences of the word I suddenly became aware of a strange significance this word held.
The word was used to describe God, Jesus, our relationship with Jesus, when He came, when He will come again, among other uses. The word I was searching was the word fullness. Ironically the scripture I was looking for did not have the word fullness in it, however, I did do some study on the word fullness.
One of the first things I was reminded of was the fact that, ‘Everything belongs to God.’ I believe that we probably are aware that scriptures say that, but have you ever stopped to realize what that really means, ‘everything belongs to God.’
Let me tell you a story. There was a wise, intellectual person who was well versed in the sciences. He took great pride in the fact that science had advanced so far and was capable of doing so many wonderful things. He talked about how science had determined that life evolved from just a small single cell, how we have gone to the moon and have studied the heavens, and we are capable of designing and developing almost anything.
In his great vanity, one day he came before God himself bragging that we can do most anything. We can create anything. God said, “I created humankind from the clay of the ground, can you do that in your great wisdom?” “Yes,” said the scientist, “I believe I can.” “Well then,” says God, “You go right ahead and show me.” With that the scientist bent down to scoop up some clay so that he could begin his fabrication. “Wait,” says God. “You can’t use my clay and dirt. Make your own!”
Can you think of anything we have that did not come from God or was created by God? Ah, the bricks our church was built with. No, the clay for the bricks was created by God. The pages in our hymnal. No, they came from paper which came from a tree. The eggs I had for breakfast, No, came from a chicken created by God. The light in our church. No, came from electricity generated by burning coal which came from God, or from a wind generator put in motion by the wind that God causes to blow upon the earth or by a solar panel that changes the light from the sun into electricity which we then convert to a different kind of light. By the way, the Old Testament book of Genesis tells us how God placed two lights in the sky. One to give light for the day and the other to give light for the night.
In some way, everything came from God. “So what”, you asked? Well, it belongs to God since He is the one who created it. He in turn allows us to use all the resources He has created FOR us. It has taken a lot of time but we have learned to use what God has given us in many ways.
So we now look to those scriptures that attest to the fact that all things belong to God.
1 Corinthians 10:26,28
THE EARTH IS THE LORDS AND ALL ITS FULLNESS.
Echoing what Psalm 24:1 proclaims.
But in this scripture we find the word fullness. That is the word I was studying for its use in the scriptures. And here we find it describing the fact that everything belongs to God. The earth and all its fullness belong to God. It’s hard to imagine that everything belongs to God but after all, He created all things and therefore all things are His. Even us! Even us! Everyone belongs to God.
We might begin to think that only the true believers belong to God. That is the impression we get from scripture, such as John 1:12
BUT TO ALL WHO RECEIVE HIM, WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME, HE GAVE POWER TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD.
One might believe that this is the only way to belong to God, to become a child of God. But there is a big difference between being a child of God and belonging to God. Even though a person may elect to not even believe in God, he is still subject to God and God’s judgment. There is no escaping this. Everyone belongs to God and His judgment.
So now we speak of judgment. We will all be judged by God. Judged because we all have and will sin against God. But the judgment will differ for different people. Why is that? Well that is because of another scripture where we find the word fullness. Listen to this one:
Galatians 4:4
BUT WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME HAD COME, HE SENT FORTH HIS SON, BORN OF A WOMEN.
You see, God was watching. Watching His creation. Watching their failures. Watching their attitudes. Watching their sacrifices. And God saw that all these were not as they should be. And so in the fullness of time he sent forth His Son. When God knew it was time for a change, He sent the Savior.
Why is this Jesus different from everyone else. Because He is the Son of God – He is God. And the scripture affirms this, Paul’s writing in Colossians: FOR IT PLEASED THE FATHER THAT IN HIM ALL THE FULLNESS SHOULD DWELL. Jesus was without sin for all the fullness of God was with Him Colossians 2:9 FOR IN HIM DWELLS ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD; AND YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM.
Jesus is complete, complete with the fullness of the Godhead and we now are to be complete in Him. How do we do that? Paul explained this to the church at Ephesus.
Ephesians 4:13
TILL WE ALL – 1 COME TO THE UNITY OF THE FLESH; AND 2. COME OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON; AND 3. COME TO A PERFECT MAN; AND 4. COME TO THE MEASURE OF THE STATUTES OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST.
As Christ is perfect we too are to strive for perfection in and through Christ so that we too can be complete in –and here is the word – the fullness of Christ.
Paul emphasizes this fullness when He says
…AND THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH; THAT YOU, BEING ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE, MAY HAVE POWER TO COMPREHEND WITH ALL THE SAINTS WHAT IS THE BREADTH AND LENGTH AND HEIGHT AND DEPTH, AND TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST WHICH SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE, THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.
That is a very wordy scripture but it simply tells us that through faith and love, not knowledge, we must come to know Christ and all the FULLNESS of God. Only through this faith and love can we truly understand the totality, the breadth and length and height and depth, of Christ and the FULLNESS of God.
One final observation for the word FULLNESS. This last scripture sums up all the others and brings them to a conclusion. Listen:
…THAT IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES, HE MIGHT GATHER TOGETHER IN ONE ALL THINGS IN CHRIST.
Once again in the fullness of time, meaning when God makes that determination that it is time for a change because things cannot go on like this any longer, in the fullness of that time he will gather together those who believed in the Savior that He had already sent in the fullness of time. He will gather those believers together, both the living and the dead, for that glorious resurrection and carry them with Christ to that heavenly kingdom that awaits those who believe. We will all then be one with Christ.
In the fullness of time God accomplishes all things.
Centenary United Methodist Church