Stephen spoke this evening about how we can get to know God in all His fullness. It’s easy for us each to hold a ‘piece’ of the picture of God, but we need to understand that there is so much more of God to know and experience. Eph 1:22-23 reminds us that Christ is the head of the church, the fullness of God who fills everything in every way; Eph 4:13 reminds us that God’s goal is for us to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Clearly, if God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ (Col 1:19), we need to know more of God.
Col 2:6-10 reminds us that in Christ, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form. God wants us to know Him fully, but so often, we are content to simply experience part of the Godhead and never press on or we allow ourselves to become distracted from the pursuit of God. Our discipleship must involve the daily challenge of taking up the cross, being perpetually re-filled by God and letting go of earthly desires. Surrender and submission are essential for us to grasp hold of the fullness of God; we have to be like the woman plagued by bleeding who pressed in to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, knowing that if she did so, healing and wholeness would be hers. We have to be willing to be more than spectators; we have to participate.
1 Kings 18:39 reminds us that a proper response to a vision of God’s fullness is to fall down, prostrate, in awe and wonder. Only as we surrender wholeheartedly to God can we grow in our understanding of Him so that we experience more of His fullness in our lives.