Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
There is no clearer or more precise statement of the deity of Jesus in all of Scripture than this: “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Jesus did not merely illustrate God, he didn’t merely teach clearly about Him, He didn’t merely show people what God was like by His kindness and his mighty miracles. He truly was God in the flesh living among humanity.
Many try to reduce Jesus today to either a wise or enlightened man, or a great human prophet or teacher. But both of these are errors of the highest order. Jesus was and is God in the flesh, from the moment of His miraculous conception all the way to the present (notice the present tense in Paul’s statement “all the fullness of the Deity LIVES in bodily form”), and on into all eternity.
Because Jesus is the fullness of God, when we come into relationship with Him, we are brought into all that fullness in our own lives. And when Jesus comes into our life and heart, He brings with him all the fullness of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No wonder that when a person comes to Jesus they are transformed into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
Since Jesus is truly God in the flesh, He is also the head over every power and authority. This includes all spiritual beings as well as all human authority. Of course, not every spiritual being, or every human authority recognizes or obeys Jesus’ authority over them. But that doesn’t make it any less true. In fact, their rebellion against His authority makes them subject to his judgment!
Father, merely thinking seriously about this would give every one of us enough to ponder for all eternity. It is a mystery of the highest order. But thankfully, we don’t have to fully understand it in order to fully experience it. Thank You for making this reality of all Your fullness true in my own life, and in the lives of so many people I know. Help us all to live this reality out fully, to experience all of Your presence, Your power, and Your glory every day, all the rest of our lives with You. Amen.