A Christmas Thought

All That God Is For Us Is Found In Christ
Colossians 2:9


The Apostle Paul, was not a man to waste words. In all of his epistles, he chose, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, just the right words to communicate the theological concepts God Himself wanted us to know about Himself, especially as He reflected Himself in the Person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. And one passage in particular serves as a great example of how Paul used just the right words and just enough words to describe Jesus to us and for us. That passage of Scripture is Colossians 2:9. Speaking of Christ Jesus, Paul writes:

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

Now, in these 12 words Paul gives us in as concise a description as there is a picture of Jesus Christ, the babe in the manger, that is almost incomprehensible. Look closely at what he is saying. In these 12 words in English that are a translation of but 10 Greek words—Paul is essentially telling us that the fullest expression of Deity and the most complete picture of the Person and the Character of God is found in Jesus.

That is what Paul means when he writes that “in Christ—all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form”. Note, he does not say—“that in Christ, we have a fairly good characterization and picture of who God is.” Nor does he say—“that in Christ, the overwhelming majority of deity dwells.” No—Paul says, “that in Christ, all the fullness of deity, as in the totality of deity or everything that deity is or everything that God is—dwells.

Thus, again—the fullest and most comprehensibly complete expression of God and Who God is in every facet of His Being is to be found and seen in the Person of Jesus Christ. In fact, you could go a step further and say that if you want to see God you must see Christ; if you want to experience God, you must experience Christ; if you want to understand God, you must understand Christ; if you want to know God, you must know Christ; if you want to love God, you must love Christ—because Christ is the purest and fullest and most comprehensive expression of deity there is. Again, as Paul writes—“For in Him (that is Christ) all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.”

Key in on those words, “all the fullness”. What they are saying is that everything that God is—dwells in Christ—in its fullest, most absolute, most pure, and perfect extent—so that in Christ, God is wholly found because in Christ, God wholly exists.

You see, God has always manifested Himself to man--but just as Hebrews 1:1-2 explains, He has done so—only in part. But when it comes to Christ Jesus, God has manifested Himself completely and wholly and perfectly. Now with all this in mind—do you see what the real miracle of Christmas was—it was not the Virgin Birth, although that was a substantial and necessary miracle nor was it the Incarnation in which God the Son became a man although that too was a miracle of necessity if we were to be saved. No, the real miracle of Christmas—the most spectacular and most unbelievable and really most incomprehensible even for some of you listening right now is that God could manifest Himself perfectly and completely and purely and comprehensively in bodily form in the Person of Jesus Christ.

To take it a step further—God manifested Himself most wholly and perfectly not only in the Man Christ Jesus but also in the Babe Christ Jesus.

So that, the baby Jesus, while completely and wholly human was completely and wholly God.

So that the baby Jesus, while in His mother Mary’s arms being sustained by milk from her breasts was at the same time sustaining her and the whole universe that He had created.

So that the baby Jesus, Whom Mary had delivered as a beautiful little baby boy would 33 short years later deliver her from her sins as an unrecognizable bloody mess of a man Who had been beaten and crucified on a cross that had her name and our names on it.

The miracle of Christmas is that not only in Jesus as a babe, did God manifest Himself but also in Jesus as a man.

So that when Jesus felt compassion for sinners—it was God feeling compassion for sinners.

So that when Jesus intervened to spare the woman caught in adultery and said to her—“Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”—it was God sparing her.

So that when Jesus played with little children and delighted in having them brought to Him—it was God playing with the kids.

So that when Jesus built a table, a chair, or a house as a carpenter in Nazareth—it was God building those things.

And perhaps even more incomprehensible than that—God manifested Himself most wholly, perfectly, purely, and completely not only in the Man Christ Jesus and the Babe Christ Jesus but also in the crucified and dead Savior Christ Jesus Who was delivered to the Cross of Calvary for our sins.

So that when Jesus was spit at, mocked, beaten, abused, laughed at, stripped naked, humiliated, unfairly tried as a criminal, condemned, and then led to Golgatha to be nailed to a cross made from the very tree He had created—God was spit at, mocked, beaten, abused, laughed at, stripped naked, humiliated, unfairly tried as a criminal, condemned, and then led to Golgatha to be nailed to a cross.

So that when Jesus cried out to His Father in Heaven—“My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me.”—it was God crying out as He stood condemned bearing the undiluted, uncompromised, undiminished, and full brunt of His own wrath toward us and our sin.

Thus, the reason why the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that “God was in Christ. . .” when Christ was accomplishing His work of redemption and salvation on our behalf and in our place. Yes, indeed, in Christ all the fullness of deity dwelled and continues to dwell.

So that right now—at this time and at this place in your life—everything that God is and can be for you dwells in Christ Jesus.

So that in Christ Jesus, God will come to you and will meet you at your place of greatest need regardless of what you have done with your life or to mess up your life.

Because in Christ, God sent us the message that it is His pleasure and joy to forgive sinners and reconcile them to Himself so as to give them new life and a new beginning every day of their lives.

That is the message of the miracle of Christmas that everything that God desires to be for us is found in Christ Jesus-the babe in the manger—the teacher in Israel, the Savior on the cross, and right now as the exalted resurrected and majestic King of Kings and Lord of Lords Who is still the friend of sinners.