Colossians 1 v 19
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him
Fully God
Through the early centuries of the Church, there were heated debates about the Incarnation. Was Jesus just a man who ascended to be God? Was He an apparition and not a man at all? Was He actually half man and half God?
It was finally settled that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man.
This verse in Colossians tells us that Jesus is fully God. The Divine taking on flesh.
God Is Well Pleased
Luke 3 v 22
And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
2 Peter 1 v 17
He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
In these verses, we see Father God showing approval to His Son, Jesus. God does the same in Genesis 1, where he says Creation was very good.
One of God the Father’s roles in the Trinity is to show approval. I write about this here:
We see in Colossians, God the Father approves of the Divine fullness dwelling in Christ. Logically then, if we are in Christ, that approval extends to us. When we faithfully live within Christ and submit to Him, we receive God’s approval.
Fully Human
Jesus shows us how to be fully human. It doesn’t mean we are to follow in His footsteps, go to Jerusalem and get crucified.
In order to be fully human, we are to allow God to dwell in us. Like Christ, who submitted to Father God, we too must submit to God.
With God’s presence residing in us, we are better able to choose God’s way rather than succumbing to temptation.
If, when we make a decision, we put what God desires first, we are acting ‘fully human’.
If we are loving God and loving our neighbour as ourselves, we are acting ‘fully human’.
So many voices in our culture call us to strive for self-actualisation or ‘fully human’ in worldly terms. But the truth is, the only way to become ‘fully human’ is to submit to the source of eternal life, God Himself.
I have not dwelled on the Father's role in the Trinity much; I just kinda assumed he had one without determining what it was. To think that when we walk in the Spirit's will we walk in the Father's approval is really breathtaking. Can it really be that he would say to us, as he said to Christ, I love you and am well pleased with you? Yes! Yes! And Yes! This is great stuff.
"Believing loyalty."
Believing - our faith in His good news saves through the work of Christ. "For it is by faith you've been saved...not of works..."
Loyalty - submitting to Him out of love for His rescuing us from sin and death. For giving us a forever life with Him one day. As His image bearers, one day we will be like Him in all fullness, as God gives.