In Ephesians 3:19 Paul prays that we would all come to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, “that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.” One beautiful characteristic of life in Christ is its fullness. Jesus Christ is Himself “the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way” (Ephesians 1:23).
What does this fullness entail?
- First of all, He gives fullness of grace. “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).
- Then comes fullness of joy and peace. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).
- Being “filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-19). Not only does the Holy Spirit indwell us, but so do the Father and the Son, by the Spirit.
Jesus said: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). In this way, the triune God indwells us, and thereby we “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
In Jesus Christ “dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him” (Colossians 2:9-10), “for in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). We should be constantly growing “to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
To achieve this fullness,
- We must die with Christ and rise to a newness of life (Romans 6:3, 4).
- We must put off the old self and put on the new self-created in the likeness of God (Ephesians 4:22-24).
- We must repent and experience a change of mind that causes us to turn from trusting man to trusting God (Acts 2:38; Luke 3:3, 8).
- We must get a new heart. “I will give them another heart and a new spirit I will put within them. From their bodies I will remove the hearts of stone, and give them hearts of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).
- We must become like children (Matthew 18:3).
- We must be born again (John 3:3).
We must change to avoid the wrath and fury of God (Romans 2: 8-9). There is nothing more important than experiencing an inward change in our lives in order to be approved by God through His son Jesus Christ.
“You must be born again.”
Photo Credit: Ekklesia Store
By Charles Anyiam-Osigwe