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In this message we will continue to consider Christ as the mystery of God.
In Colossians 2:9 Paul says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The word dwells indicates that the fullness of the Godhead must be a person; the fullness of the Godhead is personified. The fullness of the Godhead dwells as a person in the incarnated Christ bodily, that is, in Christ with a human body. Hence, the word bodily in verse 9 points to the physical body that Christ put on in His humanity, indicating that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as One who has a human body.
Before Christ’s incarnation, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him as the eternal Word, but not bodily. From the time that Christ became incarnate, clothed with a human body, the fullness of the Godhead began to dwell in Him in a bodily way, and in His glorified body (Phil. 3:21) now and forever it dwells. The fact that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily means that it dwells in Him in a way that is both real and practical. Now that the fullness of the Godhead dwells as a divine person in Christ bodily, it is visible, touchable, and receivable.
The Colossians were under the influence of Gnosticism, which regards man’s physical body and the entire material world as evil. The Gnostics considered themselves to have the highest wisdom and knowledge, but they failed to realize that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. In refuting the Gnostic philosophy, the apostle Paul told the Colossians that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily.
According to Colossians 2:9, Christ is the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead. Fullness here refers not to the riches of God but to the expression of the riches of God. What dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead but the expression of the riches of what God is. The Godhead is expressed both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. We should note that in both 1:19 and 2:9 Paul uses the word all to describe fullness. All the fullness, all the expression, is in the old creation and in the new creation.
The Godhead in verse 9 refers to deity, which is different from the divine characteristics manifested by the created things (Rom. 1:20). This strongly indicates the deity of Christ. The fullness of the Godhead is versus the tradition of men and the elements of the world. The world’s tradition and elements simply cannot be compared with the fullness of the Godhead.
All the fullness of the Godhead in verse 9 refers not only to the entire Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — but also to all that the entire Triune God is, has, does, knows, can do, has done, has obtained, has accomplished, and has attained; all this fullness dwells in the Son bodily. The Divine Trinity is the fullness of the Godhead, and this fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. Therefore, Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all embodied in Christ. The fullness of the Godhead is threefold: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is rich, the Son is unlimited, and the Spirit is without measure. Because the Triune God is altogether embodied in Christ, outside of Christ there is no God, and outside of Christ we cannot find God or contact God. Christ is God’s dwelling place, God’s address, and God’s home. If we want God yet do not want Christ, we cannot have God. When we receive, experience, and enjoy Christ, we receive, experience, and enjoy the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
In Colossians 2:10 Paul continues, “You have been made full in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority.” The Greek word translated have been made full is a verbal adjective based on the same root as the word translated fullness, a noun, in verse 9. We should understand the expression have been made full based upon the word fullness in verse 9. Because all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, we have been made full in Him.
According to verse 10, the Christ in whom we have been made full is the Head of all rule and authority. On the one hand, Christ possesses all the fullness of the Godhead, for it dwells in Him bodily; on the other hand, this Christ, who is the Head of all rule and authority, is above all rule and authority, that is, above all the fallen angels occupying positions of power in the air in subordination to Satan (v. 15). Christ not only has the fullness of the Godhead but is also above all rule, authority, and power of Satan. We have been put into such a Christ and have been made full in Him.
The Greek word translated full in verse 10 implies completion, perfection. Because all the fullness dwells in Him, after we have been put into Christ (1 Cor. 1:30), we are made full, filled up, with all the divine riches. Hence, we need no other source. In Christ we lack nothing, for in Him we have been perfected and completed. There is no reason for us to turn to anything other than Christ.
Because all the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ and because we have been placed in Him, we have been made full in Him. The New Testament reveals clearly that all those who believe in Christ have been put into Christ. Therefore, we are identified with Him and one with Him. The result is that all that He is and all that He has belongs to us, and all that He has experienced is our history. We inherit all that Christ has experienced and passed through. Furthermore, because we are one with Him, we partake of all that He has accomplished, obtained, and attained.
We the believers are members of the all-inclusive Christ. We have been put into Him, identified with Him, and joined to Him as our Husband (Col. 1:28; Rom. 7:2-4). Hence, we are one with Him. All that He has passed through is now our history, and all that He has obtained and attained is our inheritance. We are in such a Christ, and He is in us. We have been placed into Him, we are one with Him, and we receive all that He is and has.
Although some Christians have a doctrinal knowledge of this, a mere mental understanding of our union with Christ is not adequate. We need to exercise faith in order to partake of all that is ours in Christ. We should not consider ourselves poor, just as a poor woman who has married a rich man should no longer think of herself as poor. Even though she may feel poor, she must practice applying the fact that the riches of her husband belong to her. In like manner, because we are one with Christ, we should not regard ourselves as in poverty. To the contrary, we need to have a full realization of what we have in Christ.
In their prayers, some Christians like to declare how poor, pitiful, and low they are. This kind of prayer is without faith or assurance. We need to believe with full assurance that we are one with the rich, all-inclusive Christ, with the One who is the embodiment of all the fullness of the Triune God. If we realize this with full assurance, we will never consider ourselves poor.
We should not believe our feelings about ourselves but look away to Christ (Heb. 12:2). We need to exercise our faith to realize what He is, what He has passed through, what He has obtained and attained, and where He is today. Since He is in the third heaven and we are one with Him, we also are in the third heaven. We have been placed into the Christ who is unsearchably rich.
In Christ we do not lack anything. We should not talk about how much we lack. Because we are in Christ, we lack nothing. In Him is the fullness, the perfection, the completion. Actually, He Himself is the fullness, perfection, and completion. Because we are in Him, we also are complete and perfect. We are those who possess the riches of Christ.
In Ephesians 3:8 Paul speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ. We are more than billionaires because the riches we have are greater than can be counted. We simply have no idea what vast riches we possess in Christ. Often we have prayed: “Lord, I am poor and pitiful.” But we need to pray in this way: “Lord, I thank You that I am rich, complete, and full. Lord Jesus, because I am in You, I am short of nothing.” We should tell the Lord, the angels, and even the demons that we are richer than any earthly billionaire because we are in the Christ whose riches are unsearchable.
When we are rooted in Christ as the soil, the first thing to take place is that we are made full in Him; we are filled with all the divine riches to become His expression (vv. 8, 17, 19). In Christ as the soil we are filled, completed, perfected, satisfied, and thoroughly supplied; we do not lack anything (cf. Phil. 1:19). Christ as the soil is the history and mystery of God with all the riches of His person and processes (Col. 2:2). Christ as the soil is the Head of all rule and authority (v. 10). In Christ as the soil there is an element with the killing power which puts the flesh to death (v. 11), an element which causes us to be buried (v. 12a), an element which causes us to be raised up (v. 12b), an element which vivifies us (v. 13), an element which wipes out the handwriting in ordinances (v. 14), and an element which is victorious over the evil spirits in the atmosphere (v. 15).
Christ as the soil is the One in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. Since Christ is the good land in which we have been rooted, we have been rooted in this fullness; in it we have been made full, complete, and perfect. We have no need whatsoever. Having been planted into this fullness, we should simply absorb nourishment from it. As we do so, we will find that we have no lack.
Before we were rooted in Christ as the good land, we did not have anything positive. Instead, we were involved with the flesh, the ordinances, and the power of darkness. But now that we have been rooted in the good land, the fullness has become ours, and we are supplied with every positive thing. In this all-inclusive and extensive fullness, we have everything: God, an uplifted humanity, divine attributes, and human virtues. Because this fullness is all-inclusive, it accomplishes everything for us, it fully satisfies and supplies us, and it makes us full, perfect, and complete. How rich is the soil in which we have been rooted! It supplies us with everything, and we have no lack. We have the all-inclusive, inexhaustible fullness. In this universe there is such a thing that Paul calls the fullness. This fullness dwells in Christ bodily. In Him, the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead, we are made full.
In 2:10 Paul indicates that the Christ in whom we have been made full is the Head of all rule and authority. As previously mentioned, the rule and authority spoken of here refer to the angelic powers, in particular the fallen angels who still occupy positions of power. According to the full revelation of the Bible, after God created the universe, He placed it under the control of an archangel and other leading angels. When this archangel rebelled against God and became Satan, many of the leading angels who assisted him in ruling the universe became the evil rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. These are described in Ephesians 6:12 as the rulers, the authorities, the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. These angelic powers rule over the nations. For this reason, the book of Daniel mentions both the prince of Greece and the prince of Persia (10:20). (A prince here denotes one of the angelic powers or rulers.) This means that all the nations on earth today are under the rule of authorities in the heavenlies; however, not all of these are evil. Nevertheless, Christ is the Head of all rule and authority.
Since Christ is our perfection and completion, we do not need other rulers and authorities as objects of adoration, for He is the Head of all rule and authority. We should remember that the Colossians had been led astray to the worship of angels. Therefore, Paul told them that since Christ is the Head of all the angels and since we are in Him, there is no need for us to worship angels. We are identified with the One who is the Head of all the angels, and in Him we have been made full. If we are clear about this, we will never be deluded into worshipping angels. Rather, we will have the proper knowledge that, in a very real sense, because we are one with the Head of the angels, we are higher than they are. Actually, we are partners of the Christ who is the Head over them, and in Him we are complete. The fact that we have been made full in Christ who is the Head of all rule and authority is versus the worship of angels. Because we are one with Christ, we should never worship angels.
In Colossians 2:11 Paul says, “In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ.” Here Paul is dealing with Judaizers who prize and boast in their circumcision. Paul thus declares that in Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, the saints have been circumcised. This circumcision is not merely to cut off a piece of flesh but to put off the entire body of the flesh. It is also the circumcision of Christ, that is, to be crucified with Him, buried together with Him in baptism, and raised together with Him.
In verse 11 Paul speaks of a circumcision not made with hands. This certainly is different from that practiced by the Jews, which was carried out with a knife. In addition to that physical circumcision, there is another kind of circumcision, the circumcision in Christ, which is not made with hands. This is spiritual circumcision and refers to the proper baptism, which puts off the body of the flesh by the effectual virtue of the death of Christ.
The circumcision in Christ involves the death of Christ and the power of the Spirit. When Christ was crucified, His crucifixion was the genuine, practical, and universal circumcision. His crucifixion cut off all the negative things. These negative things include our flesh, our natural man, and the self. However, along with the death of Christ we need the Spirit as the power. If we have Christ’s crucifixion without the Spirit as the power, we will have no means by which to apply Christ’s crucifixion to us and to execute its effect upon us. The crucifixion of Christ becomes practical and effective by means of the Spirit. By the Spirit as the power, Christ’s crucifixion is applied to us. Then under the power of the Spirit, we are circumcised in an actual and practical way. This is the circumcision in Christ, a circumcision not made with hands. It is a circumcision not made with hands because it was accomplished by the death of Christ, and it is applied, executed, and carried out by the powerful Spirit. This is the circumcision we have all received.
In Christ, on the one hand, we have been made full, and, on the other hand, we have been circumcised. Because we have been made full in Him, we are short of nothing. Because we have been circumcised in Him, all the negative things have been removed. Regarding the positive things, we are complete. Regarding the negative things, everything has been cleared up, and we have no problems. Therefore, regarding the positive things, we are not short of anything, and regarding the negative things, we are no longer troubled by anything.
However, we need to exercise faith and not look at ourselves. We must turn our eyes away from our feelings and from our apparent situation. According to our apparent situation, we are short of everything positive and are troubled by everything negative. But according to the facts, we are not in ourselves — we are in Christ. Because we are in Him, we have been made full positively, and we have been circumcised to clear away the negative things.
In verse 11 Paul speaks of “the putting off of the body of the flesh.” This means to strip off something, as one would strip off clothes. The circumcision that took place by the death of Christ and is applied by the powerful Spirit accomplishes the putting off of the body of the flesh. Our body of flesh was crucified on the cross with Christ and has been put off. Regarding this, we must again exercise our faith and not consider our self and our apparent situation. Let us exercise faith and say, “Amen! The body of the flesh has been put off on the cross and by the powerful Spirit.”
The spiritual circumcision in verse 11 must be in the circumcision of Christ, not with a circumcision made with hands. The circumcision of Christ is by His crucifixion. Our flesh has been crossed out by His death on the cross.
Furthermore, the circumcision in Christ takes place through baptism. In verse 12 Paul says, “Buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised Him from the dead.” We have been buried together with Christ in baptism. To be buried in baptism is to put off, to strip off, the body of the flesh. Moreover, in Christ we have been raised together through the faith of the operation of God. In baptism there is the burial aspect, which is the termination of our flesh, and the raising aspect, which is the germination of our spirit. In the raising aspect we are made alive in Christ with the divine life.
In this verse Paul points out that this is through the faith of the operation of God. Faith is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). The more we turn to God and contact Him, the more faith we have. The Lord is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). The more we abide in Him, the more we are infused with Him as our faith. It is through this living faith in the operation of the living God that we experience the resurrection life, signified by the raising aspect of baptism. Genuine baptism involves an operation in which we are buried and terminated. This operation involves the exercise of faith. The One who carries out the operation is the Spirit. Whenever we baptize someone, there is the need for the exercise of faith to realize that an operation is taking place to terminate the old being of the one who is to be baptized. We must have faith in the operation of God, the Triune God, who raised Christ from the dead.
Whenever we baptize a new believer, we must realize that this one is being placed into a divine operation that will terminate him and bury him. We must exercise faith in the operation of the Triune God. By faith we have the reality of the termination and burial of the old man, the self, the flesh, and the natural life. The operating Triune God will honor this faith by making these things real. This burial and termination of the old man through baptism is the real circumcision.
In Colossians 2:20 Paul points out that we have died with Christ from the elements of the world. These elements include Jewish observances, heathen ordinances, and philosophy. They also include mysticism and asceticism. The elements of the world are the elementary principles of worldly society, the rudimentary principles invented by mankind and practiced in society. With Christ we have died to these elements of the world. When Christ was crucified, we were crucified also. In His crucifixion we were released from the elementary principles of the world.
Since we have died with Christ from the elements of the world, Paul in verse 20 asks the believers in Colossae why, as living in the world, they continued to subject themselves to ordinances, that is, to the elementary principles from which they had died in Christ. The world in this verse refers not to the physical earth but to human society, to mankind. Therefore, Paul is asking the believers why they still subjected themselves to ordinances as if they were still living in human society.
In verse 21 Paul lists some of these ordinances: “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch.” These are rules and regulations in material things. These rules refer respectively to things that move, to things that are edible, and to things that are tangible. Handling, tasting, and touching include virtually every kind of action. Because these regulations are related to the practice of asceticism, to submit to ordinances concerning handling, tasting, and touching is to practice asceticism.
Since we have received the circumcision in Christ, there is no need for us to practice asceticism. Being circumcised in the circumcision of Christ is versus asceticism (vv. 20-22). Those who have been buried and terminated and who are now resting in the tomb, have no need of asceticism. There is no reason for them to treat their bodies severely. To do so is against the spiritual principle. According to the spiritual principle, we have been terminated and have put off the body of the flesh, the thing that asceticism attempts to deal with. Every form of asceticism attempts to deal with the lusts of the flesh. According to the teaching and practice of asceticism, treating the body severely eliminates lusts and restricts indulgence. This is the basic principle of asceticism. This severe treatment of the body is “not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh” (v. 23). The various practices of asceticism are not effective in restricting the indulgence of the flesh. Paul’s concept in Colossians 2 was that since the believers in Christ have been circumcised in the circumcision of Christ, which was accomplished by Christ’s death and is applied by the Spirit, and since this is the circumcision in which they have been buried and terminated, there is absolutely no need for the practice of asceticism. To mistreat the body in an attempt to restrict the indulgence of the flesh is foolish and of no avail. Truly, the circumcision in Christ is versus asceticism.
The experience of Christ’s death is versus asceticism. Day by day we should pass through the cross. This means that no matter what we have done or no matter what has happened to us, the cross takes care of everything. If we are made unhappy in some way by others, we need to apply the cross to our feeling of unhappiness; then the feeling of unhappiness will disappear. This indicates that our way is the cross, not asceticism or any severe treatment of the self. Realizing that we have already died in Christ, we should have a consciousness of the cross. If we realize that we have died in Christ, we will be in resurrection as a new person. We not only have Christ, the unique person, who is versus all things; we also have the cross, the unique way, which is versus all other ways.
As we drive, we come to many intersections; every intersection is a cross. Only by passing through many crosses can we get to our destination. Speaking of spiritual experience, we also must pass through many crosses before we can reach the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). Just as we cannot travel very far geographically without crossing an intersection, so we cannot progress spiritually without passing through the cross. Only when we arrive at the New Jerusalem will we cease to pass through the cross, for by that time all the negative things will have been eliminated (cf. v. 8). Until we come to the New Jerusalem, we need to pass through the cross day by day in our walk with the Lord.
It is a healthy spiritual practice to pass through the cross every night when we go to bed. By applying the cross at the end of each day, we may rest very well during the night. At bedtime we need to apply the cross to every problem and to every negative, natural, or sinful thing. We may pray, “Lord, I want all these things to pass through the cross. I do not want to go to sleep with any natural, sinful, negative, or worldly element that has not been dealt with. When I go to bed, Lord, I want to be a person who has been crossed out.” Because we have Christ as the unique person and the cross as the unique way, we do not need asceticism. Furthermore, we do not even need to make up our minds with respect to certain things. Such a practice does not work. What we need to do is simply lie down through the cross at night, have a restful sleep, and then rise up in the morning in resurrection. We need to be those who pass through one cross after another. We need to daily pass through the intersection of the cross.
Apart from the cross as God’s one way, we should have no ordinances and no particular ways or practices. The way which God has ordained, uplifted, and honored is the cross of Christ. The cross is our only way. Only the cross can enable us to be one and in perfect harmony. We all need to pass through the cross. If we do not experience the cross, we cannot have the proper church life. All the saints must learn to daily pass through the cross. By passing through all manner of crosses, large and small, we will have oneness and harmony in the church life.
In the church life it is possible to have oneness without harmony. In order to have a sweet, harmonious oneness, we all must daily pass through the cross. We should not argue that we are right and that others are wrong. The more we dispute in this way, the less we pass through the cross. To repeat, the way to our destination is through the intersection of the cross. We should not avoid any cross. On the contrary, we should pass through all the crosses that we encounter in the Christian life, in the family life, and in the church life. In married life and in the church life in particular, we need to pass through the cross daily, even hourly. In Ephesians 4:26 Paul exhorts us not to allow the sun to go down on our indignation. This means that we should let go of our anger by passing through the cross. If we have a daily life of passing through the cross, there will be harmony both in the family life and in the church life. God has given us one person — the all-inclusive Christ — and one way — the cross.
